The Mike Black Saga; MOB Read Online Free

trader. His pink slip was next. His firm dropped the news on him late one Friday afternoon. He wasn’t all that surprised. He had watched week after week as colleagues lost their jobs. It became known as the Friday afternoon death march.
    On Friday nights, Ronnie always met Travis and Jackie at Cynt’s, a private gambling house with strippers. The place was run by Mike Black’s organization. By the time Ronnie arrived at Cynt’s, he had already been drinking with the other fired trader and came in cursing. “God-damn muthafuckas fired me today!” he told Travis and Jackie.
    Travis had been out of work for two months by this time and was surviving on unemployment checks. “What! You bullshittin’, right?” Travis asked, but he could tell by the look on Ronnie’s face that he wasn’t. “Jackie got fired today, too.”
    “Get the fuck outta here. You the best fuckin’ chemist they got.”  Ronnie had believed Jackie’s job with Frontier Pharmaceuticals was secure.  “Everybody out there knows that shit. Muthafuckin’ pharmaceutical industry doin’ fantastic. Last quarter’s numbers were phenomenal. Shit, all them fuckas poppin’ pills ’cause they got fired or ’cause they worried about gettin’ fired, shouldn’t be no fuckin’ layoffs in pharmaceuticals.”
    “I didn’t get laid off, Ron. I got fired for insubordination,” Jackie said quietly.
    “You? Got fired for insubordination? What’d you do, tell the president of the company that you had sex with his wife at the last Christmas party?” Ronnie laughed.
    “No, Ronnie, I’m not stupid enough to tell him nothing like that. My supervisor, a bitch made busta named Jake Rollins, fired me ’cause I refused to work on some project he had goin’ on.”
    “Shit, Jackie. You were supposed to get fired for that. That is insubordination.”
    “Yeah, I know, but he wanted me to work on my own time. Then he lied about it.”
    “That’s fucked up.”
    “For sure.”
    As the months dragged on, the New York economy went from bad to worse, and then September 11 changed the world. But through it all, they stayed true to one another and tried to help each other get through these hard times. They still met at Cynt’s every Friday, but one particular week they agreed that this would be their last Friday as it was something they could no longer fit in any of their budgets.
    Since this was to be their last night, they decided to go out in high style. Their glasses were never empty, and there were never less than two women dancing at their table—that is, until Travis sent them away.
    “Hey!” Jackie said. “What you send her away for?” she said of the dancer who was making her cheeks clap while standing on her hands. “I was just about to make a move on her.”
    “Shit, save them two bills, Jackie. You know you got better things to do with that money,” Travis said. “It ain’t like she was gonna fuck you for free.”
    “Now, Travis, you know I got half these bitches in here linin’ up to suck this pussy. I don’t have to pay any of them.” Jackie laughed. She was a very attractive woman and had no problem getting anyone she wanted.
    She liked hangin’ out at Cynt’s with Travis and Ronnie. She liked watching the women dance, but her vice was gambling. She loved to play poker. “Payin’ for pussy is Ronnie’s thing,” she said playfully.
    “Watch that shit, Jackie. Girlie or not, you can still get your fine ass kicked,” Ronnie said and finished his drink.
    “I guess you forgot what happened the last time you tried that. I was the one who kicked your ass.”
    “Give me a fuckin’ break, Jackie. We were nine and I slipped on some ice. That’s how you got me. I also remember Travis grabbin’ and holdin’ me when I got up, and you running away.”
    “But I ran away after I kicked your ass, and I ran home laughing all the way.”
    “Anyway,” Travis said. “I got something to say.”
    “What’s that?” Ronnie asked.