Chapter Seven

Liam took a deep breath as he approached the imposing wrought-iron gates that guarded the entrance to the opulent mansion. His heart was pounding in his chest, a mixture of nerves and adrenaline coursing through his veins. This was his last resort, his final gambit in the high-stakes game he was playing with fate itself.

He pressed the call button on the intercom, his finger trembling slightly. "Yeah, who is it?" a gruff voice barked after a moment.

"It's Liam. Liam Parker," he replied, trying to keep his tone steady. "I'm an old friend of Jamal's. I need to see him."

There was a pregnant pause, and then a derisive snort. "Jamal don't get any friends named Liam. You got the wrong place, buddy."

"No, wait!" Liam blurted out desperately. "We grew up together in Brooklyn and ran with the same crew back in the day. Tell him it's Liam from Crown Heights."

Another tense silence stretched out until finally the voice growled, "Wait there."

Liam shifted his weight anxiously, his palms growing clammy as the minutes ticked by. Just when he was starting to think he'd been dismissed entirely, the gates slowly began to grind open. He didn't hesitate, striding forward with determination blazing in his eyes.

The path wound through immaculately landscaped grounds and gardens before opening onto a grand courtyard with a fountain bubbling at its center. Liam's jaw went slightly slack as he craned his neck back, drinking in the full opulence of Jamal's sprawling neoclassical mansion.

"Well, well...if it ain't Liam Parker, back from the dead," a familiar voice rang out.

Liam spun to see Jamal himself emerging from the shadows cast by the portico, a wolfish grin plastered across his face. His gold jewelry glittered as brightly as ever, though his physique had thickened over the years into a solid bulk.

Unable to stop himself, Liam broke into a broad smile and started forward to embrace his long-lost friend. But before he could reach him, Jamal's meaty fist lashed out, catching him squarely in the gut and driving the air from his lungs in a pained whoosh.

"That's for ghosting on me for damn near a decade, you disloyal punk," Jamal growled, his grin now more of a sneer.

Liam doubled over, wheezing as he clutched at his stomach. "Damn...Jamal..." he gasped out between ragged breaths. "Guess...I had that...coming..."

Jamal let out a bark of laughter and clapped Liam firmly on the shoulder. "Shit, man, it's good to see you again. C'mon inside, let's catch up over some drinks." His demeanor shifted once more to idle friendliness, but there was a sharpness lurking behind his eyes that warned Liam to tread carefully.

Liam nodded, recovering his breath as he allowed Jamal to lead him through the marble-tiled foyer and into a lavishly appointed study. As he sank into one of the buttery leather armchairs, he took a fortifying sip of the glass of bourbon Jamal pressed into his hand.

"So..." Jamal leaned back, eyeing Liam with undisguised curiosity. "To what do I owe this unexpected reunion? Last I heard, you went all straight-laced, ditched the streets to be a model citizen." There was an unmistakable hint of disdain in his tone.

Liam shifted uncomfortably, steeling himself for Jamal's reaction. "Yeah, well...I'm in a bit of a situation. Kind of a crazy one, honestly."

Jamal barked out a laugh, taking a healthy pull from his glass. "Crazy situations were always your specialty back in the day, Liam. Though I gotta say, from the looks of this place, it seems like I've been doing just fine for myself on that front too."

Licking his suddenly dry lips, Liam decided to dive right in, hoping his carefully constructed bravado wouldn't falter. "There's this girl...Ava Taylor. I met her a while back, and long story short, I might've made a pretty stupid bet with the guys that I could date her."

Jamal's thick brows shot up toward his hairline, but before he could interject, Liam barreled onward. "I know, I know, it was an idiotic move. But you have no idea how badly I want to prove those smug rich punks wrong, to shove it in their faces that I can run in those elite circles."

Setting his glass down, Jamal let out a low whistle. "Ava Taylor, huh? As in, billion-dollar oil heiress Ava Taylor? Damn, Liam...I always knew you swung for the fences, but that's some big-league crazy right there."

Liam's cheeks burned, but he forced himself to maintain eye contact, his desperation steadying his voice. "I need your help to make it happen, Jamal. I need you to set me up with all the trappings of wealth and status...the car, the penthouse, the fancy suits. Enough to make a high-society girl like Ava take me seriously and fall for me."

A heavy silence fell over the study as Jamal regarded him appraisingly, his expression inscrutable. Finally, he threw his head back and bellowed out a roar of laughter that seemed to shake the very foundations of the mansion.

"Now I know you've lost your goddamn mind, Parker!" he chortled, slapping his knee uproariously. "You expect little ol' me to bankroll this harebrained scheme to swindle a billion-dollar babe just so you can win some sorry bet?"

Liam opened his mouth to protest, but Jamal swiftly cut him off with a raised hand, his laughter subsiding into a crocodilian grin. "But this hassler Taylor chick...now there's an angle I could get behind. Maybe helping you out wouldn't be such a bad move after all..."

Leaning forward, Jamal fixed Liam with a predatory stare that made his stomach twist into a slithering knot of unease.

"Listen close, friend. I'm willing to spot you everything - rides, cribs, paper, you name it. All the accouterments to max out your player lifestyle. But we're not just chasing some silly little bet here." 

His smile stretched wider, baring a glimpse of gold-capped teeth. "If we're gonna put in the work, we may as well score the ultimate payday too, feel me? I'm talking a multi-million dollar slice of that hefty Taylor family pie..."

As the full implications of Jamal's insidious proposal sank in, Liam felt a frigid trickle of trepidation snake down his spine. This had all suddenly rocketed far beyond anything he could have imagined, soaring recklessly into uncharted, hazardous territory. 

"No way I am going back to that kind of lifestyle…"

"And no way I am gonna set you up with all of this just so you could win a bet, I am a businessman and I need money to remain here," Jamal stated.

"As if I know it is a waste of time coming here," Liam stood up in annoyance.

"This is a win-win thing with or without you I will still go on with my plans so if I were you I would jump on this offer and be made for life," Jamal stated before Liam finally left.