Chapter 1
Cast:
Benjamin 'Benji' Smith Jr.
Aries Valentine-Marvel.
Dylan Smith.
Laila Carter.
Devin Banks.
Mariah Chen.
Yasmine Reed.
Marlon Torres.
Detroit, MI
12 Years Earlier:
Benji’s coming out of the locker room, jaw tight, hands balled into fists inside his hoodie pocket. He’s been holding this in all week, the whispers, the side-eyes, the muttered slurs.
“Yo, Benji!” Darwin’s voice cuts through the empty hallway like a dagger.
Benji doesn’t stop. He keeps walking, his footsteps echoing, but his pulse is pounding in his ears.
“I’m talkin’ to you, fairy,” Darwin says, stepping in front of him.
Benji stops, his eyes locking on Darwin’s smug face. “What do you want?”
Darwin snickers. “What I want? I want you to stop prancing around here like you belong. You don’t.”
Benji drops his bag, his hands trembling, but not from fear. “Say that again.”
Darwin blinks, surprised. “What? You got somethin’ to say, princess?”
Benji doesn’t say a word. He swings. His fist connects with Malik’s jaw so hard the smack echoes down the hallway. Darwin stumbles back, holding his face, his eyes wide with shock.
“Oh, you messed up now,” Darwin growls, lunging.
But Benji’s ready. He ducks the swing, driving his shoulder into Darwin’s chest and sending him crashing into the lockers. Darwin’s head hits the metal with a clang, and he groans, sliding to the floor.
Benji stands over him, breathing hard. “You done?”
“Hell no!” Darwin spits, struggling to his feet.
Before Benji can react, one of Darwin’s boys grabs him from behind, locking his arms. The third guy steps in front, punching Benji square in the gut.
The wind rushes out of him, but Benji plants his feet, yanking his arms free and throwing an elbow back into the guy’s ribs. The grip loosens just enough for Benji to spin and slam the guy into the wall.
“C’mon, y’all need three to take me down?” Benji spits, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
“You talk too much,” the third guy sneers, landing a punch to Benji’s face.
Benji stumbles, his vision blurring. They swarm him then, Malik, finally back on his feet, leading the charge. Fists and feet connect from every direction. He fights back as best he can, swinging wildly, but there’s too many of them.
Finally, they step back, breathing hard, leaving Benji slumped against the lockers. Malik leans in close, grabbing Benji by the hoodie. “Next time you think you can take me, remember this. You don’t belong here.”
Before Benji can say anything, the first punch lands square in his gut, stealing his breath. He doubles over, wheezing, and that’s all they need.
Fists and feet come from all directions, his ribs, his face, his back. He hits the ground, tries to curl up, but it’s no use. They’re laughing, calling him names he’s heard a million times before. Fairy. Freak. Faggot.
He doesn’t know how long it lasts. When they finally walk away, Benji’s body is screaming in pain, and his face is wet, blood, tears, or both. He pulls his phone out of his pocket, his hands shaking so bad he almost drops it.
He managed to call his dad.
“Yo, what’s good?” Ambrose answers, his voice calm but sharp.
Benji sniffles, trying to hold it together. “I... I need you to come to the school.”
“Why? What happened?” Ambrose asks, his tone instantly on edge.
“Just... can you come?” Benji whispers, his voice cracking.
“Say less. I’m on my way.” Ambrose hung up, and Benji struggled to pull himself off the ground. He dragged himself out of the school and eased down onto the last step, waiting for Ambrose to pull up. His eyes were fixed on Darwin and his crew, who were loitering in the empty parking lot by their truck, blasting music and laughing.
Ten minutes later, Ambrose’s truck screeches to a halt outside the school. He doesn’t even park properly, just jumps out, slamming the door behind him. He sees Benji sitting on the last step, holding his ribs, his face bruised and bloody.
“Benji,” Ambrose says, kneeling in front of him, his voice low and dangerous. “Who did this?”
Benji nods toward the parking lot, where Darwin and his boys are laughing and shoving each other around.
Ambrose stands, cracking his knuckles. “Stay here.”
“Ambrose, wait—”
But Ambrose is already moving.
“Yo!” Ambrose’s voice booms across the lot, cutting through their laughter.
Darwin turns, smirking teasing Benji further, “Who’s this faggot? Your daddy?”
Ambrose doesn’t answer. He’s already swinging. The punch lands like a freight train, knocking Darwin off his feet.
The second guy charges, but Ambrose steps aside, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and throwing him to the ground. The third one tries to run, but Ambrose catches him, slamming him into the side of a car.
“Y’all think y’all tough, huh?” Ambrose growls, his voice cold as ice. “Three-on-one? You feel big now? Go ahead, call whoever you want. Your brothers, your uncles, whoever I’ll beat they ass too. But you ever touch my son again, imma bury you. You hear me?”
The boys scramble to their feet, tripping over themselves as they run. Ambrose made his way back over to Benji helping him up from the step, he allowed him to lean onto him as he limped to the truck. Ambrose helped him into the truck before he got in on the driver side.
“Yo, your mama’s gonna throw a damn fit. I told her the school would handle this the last time it happened, and that’s the only reason she calmed down. I can’t make any promises this time, Benji,” Ambrose said, his eyes locking onto Benjamin’s bruised face.
Present Day:
“Welcome to Marvel, Litz, Maddox & Associates,” Isabella announced, commanding everyone’s attention the moment she walked in. Benjamin sat up straight, just like he always did in school, giving his mother his undivided focus. “If you’re here, it’s not just because you were the smartest on paper, that’s a flex, sure but because of the essays you wrote. Each of you brings something unique to this law firm that we don’t have yet. You’re all strong in your own way, but most importantly, you each understand the one thing we preach here, the importance of family. I’m Isabella Marvel, and I look forward to working with each of you. Hear me when I say that each of you will have your time with me before your 90 days are up. So please understand: I may seem nice when you see me passing by in the halls, but I’m not so nice in the middle of a case. There’s no room for mistakes you can prevent if you just stay focused.”
Benjamin only knew the sweet and caring side of his mother, he’d never met the business side but it couldn’t be that bad could it? “Good morning, I’m Monica Maddox, a partner here,” she said, her voice steady. “Isabella and I bought this building ten years ago when we needed more space for our careers, and we turned it into our own. We’ve built a high-ranking law firm that people like you only dream of working at. You won’t see much of me; I’m not a people person. If I ask you to do something, I expect it done promptly. You won’t work with me during your first 90 days, and you probably never will, but you’ll hear from me, and I expect to be heard. Got it?”
“Got it,” they all responded, including Benjamin. Despite Monica’s stern demeanor, he couldn’t help but think she was probably the nicest one in the family. It made him smile slightly.
“Hello, beautiful people! I’m Lilah Litz, another partner, and I’m the one you’ll report to directly,” she said with a bright smile. “We don’t have a junior partner right now since Monica fired the last one. So for now, you’ll report to me here every morning. I’m really easygoing, as long as you all listen. Over the next six months, I’ll assess where each of you is strongest, and we’ll place you accordingly. That means if you aren’t good at immigration but excel at white-collar law, that’s where you’ll be.”
Benji was nervous about following in his mother’s footsteps; she was the talk of the law world. He knew he had huge shoes to fill and just wanted to make her proud, fully aware she would be the toughest on him. From the moment he told her he wanted this path, she expected nothing less than excellence. He worked hard, mirroring everything she had done, including graduating at the top of his class from Harvard Law. He didn’t want anything handed to him or for anyone to treat him differently just because Isabella Marvel was his mother. In fact, he never mentioned their connection in these situations. Since he didn’t share her last name, no one ever put the pieces together.
“Mommy, where the donuts at? All the donuts are gone from the break room,” Dylan said as he entered the huge conference room, his smile dropping when he saw the crowd of new hires. “Oh damn, Ma, you doin’ your orientation?”
“Obviously. You’re grown as hell, boy. Go get your own donuts and stop eating my employees’ breakfast,” Isabella shot back.
“Ma, I gotta finish this deposition and then get back down to the arena. I don’t have time for donut stops. Plus, if Pops finds out I’m eating donuts before practice again, he’s gonna kill me,” Dylan replied.
“Boy, get your ass out of there before I ring your neck,” Ellie gritted out, standing outside the conference room, out of breath like she’d been searching for him everywhere.
“Told you, you’re gettin’ old. Ma, who’s that?” Dylan pointed past Benjamin at someone sitting behind him. Everyone turned to look at her. The darker-toned woman with braids was lost in her own world, dreaming of the possibilities at this law firm. The girl who came from nothing was actually living her dream, people from the Bronx never got this lucky. She basked in the moment, unaware of the attention until she looked up from the pamphlet they were given upon entering.
“What’d I do?” she asked, glancing around, confused.
“Boy, get out of here and wait for me in the other conference room. Your case is the only thing you need to be focused on.”
“You know imma be back for her.” Dylan replied before he backed out of the conference room he winked at her and she scrunched her face in disgust.
“Dylan’s a whore, and I apologize in advance for him. Ladies, don’t get caught up in my son’s nonsense and think I’m supposed to help, you’re on your own. Never date the boss’s kid if you think it’ll affect your career,” Isabella announced. Dylan, only 20, was enjoying every aspect of life. He didn’t go to college; instead, he kept his job with the Detroit Pistons’ dance team, easily working his way up to run the entire dance department. He traveled and refused to settle down, he just wanted to savor everything before choosing one path. His reputation for dabbling with women in the law firm, only to ghost them afterward, often put Izzy in a compromising position.
“This is Ellie, my assistant,” Isabella continued as she entered the room. “You’ll all work with her to get your login information and anything else you need. Lilah, we’ll regroup with you all after lunch,” Izzy announced.
They all stayed seated when Isabella, Monica, and Lilah exited the room, but low chatter quickly filled the space. “Man, I knew I recognized you from somewhere,” a guy next to Benji said, flashing his phone. Benji leaned in to see a recent picture of himself. It was from one of his sister’s basketball games, where she’d just broken a record. The snapshot included all nine of his siblings, his mother, and his father. “You’re Isabella Marvel’s son.”
“Wait, who?” someone asked from behind them, drawing everyone’s attention
“Ay, that’s not fair! You just slid right in here because your mom’s the boss,” another guy chimed in.
“Hater,” a girl chuckled, side-eyeing the whiner.
“What’s your name?” the girl Dylan had pointed out earlier finally asked.
“Benjamin,” Benji replied.
“Hi, Benjamin! I’m Laila, and I think it’s cool that you work for your mother.” She offered a friendly smile that eased the rising nerves within him.
“Nah, for real. That means you’ve been learning from the best your whole life! I’m jealous.” The guy who had moved next to him grinned. “I’m Devin.”
“I’m Mariah, and I think that’s your best secret weapon, use it,” she said.
“I’m with egghead over here; it just ain’t fair. We all busted our asses to get here, and you’re a nepo baby. If anyone has a problem with me having a problem with that, my name is Yasmine,” she spat. Benji didn’t bother defending himself; as long as no one put their hands on him, he could handle a little trash talk. He would let his work speak for him, there was no need to prove himself when he knew he was great.
“I like you, Yasmine, you not kissing his ass cause he the boss son,” Marlon, the guy who had thrown the first jab, said with a smile.
“Misery loves company, no surprise there,” Laila muttered, earning laughter from both Devin and Mariah.
“Alright, shut up, half-baked bitches,” Ellie said, instantly quieting the room. “I’m going to pass around folders with your names on them, and then you’ll follow me to the associates’ floor. I’ll let you know where you’ll be sitting and pair you with the paralegal who will help you throughout your journey here at Marvel, Litz, Maddox & Associates.”
