Queen of Cambridge

By Shakir Rashaan

Billionaire chocolatier Caressa Sidaná is one of the most recognizable names in the confectionery industry, but she is looking to expand into other ventures. She is shrewd and no-nonsense, but in her pursuit of business dominance, she has made some mistakes along the way, including the oft-clichéd misstep of mixing business with pleasure.

Her expansion efforts lead to a chance meeting with Ishmael Abdur-Hafiz, an international weapons dealer with the type of connections that could prove beneficial for all parties involved. Their intense attraction and mutual business pursuits draw the attention of a former lover-turned-enemy, intent on ruining everything she has built and permanently removing Ishmael from her life.

Can she find a way to deal with the consequences of her decisions and save her company from potential destruction?
ABOUT THE QUEENS OF THE CASTLE SERIES
Each Queen book is a standalone, NO cliffhangers

USA TODAY, and National Bestselling Authors have created a world where women can—and will have it all—love, family, career, and leave a legacy while overcoming generational challenges.

These powerful women, brought together for a higher purpose, change lives by providing safety for those who cannot protect themselves; care for those from tragic backgrounds, and make an impact on their families, communities, and the world at large.

The Kings laid the foundation; the Knights created a bridge of hope between continents; but the Queens will change the world.

Book 1–Queen of Lahiana
Book 2–Queen of Shadow Bay
Book 3–Queen of North Shore
Book 4–Queen of Belize
Book 5–Queen of Kingston
Book 6–Queen of Cambridge
Book 7–Queen of Wilmette
Book 8—Queen of Curaçao
Book 9– Queen of Bahia

• Language: English
• Publisher: NEBU Publishing
• Release date: Jan 18, 2021
• ISBN: 9781735751955

Shakir Rashaan

Shakir Rashaan is the author of the bestselling Nubian Underworld series, as well as the Kink, P.I. series (Obsession, Deception, and Reckoning) and several anthology credits, including Zane Presents Z-Rated: Chocolate Flava 3. He currently resides in suburban Atlanta with his wife and two children. You can see more of Rashaan at ShakirRashaan.com.

Book preview

Queen of Cambridge

QUEEN OF CAMBRIDGE

BOOK 6 OF THE QUEENS OF THE CASTLE SERIES

SHAKIR RASHAAN

NEBU PUBLISHING

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Epilogue

LOVE, LUST & BEAUTIFUL LIARS

IN SERVICE TO THE SENATOR

THE DEVIL’S ALL-AMERICAN

UNTHINKABLE

Also By Shakir Rashaan

About the Author

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

This book is for sale to ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It contains substantially sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which may be considered offensive by some readers.

Copyright © 2021 by Shakir Rashaan

All rights reserved.

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the express written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the owner is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

COVER DESIGN by J.L. Woodson/Woodson Creative Studio

PUBLISHED BY NEBU PUBLISHING, LLC

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

E-BOOK ISBN 978-1-7357519-5-5

TRADE PAPERBACK ISBN 978-1-7357519-6-2

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

19 December 2021

2145hrs (9:45PM)

I’m sort of in a contemplative mood tonight, so, bear with me while I indulge, okay?

2021 has been equal parts exciting, anxiety-filled, and blessed all in the same breath, and I’m grateful for all of it. I’m excited for the future, and while I can’t say what that is right now, know that by the time you get your hands on this book, I’ll have life-changing news to share. Stay tuned, Shakir TV is always good for a decent broadcast or three.

More than likely, the last time we’ve had a chance to chat like this, I mentioned that I was trying to find my rhythm. Well, I’ve found my rhythm, and then some! There are so many worlds I can’t wait to share with you, I’m literally vibrating as I type.

My queen, Ms. Caressa Sidaná, first sat down in my office a few years ago, in a novella called Carnal Confections. When it came time to become a part of the Castle universe, and the Queens of the Castle in particular, there was no one else in my literary universe who would fit in better than my chocolatier billionairess. She has always been able to handle herself, regardless of the situations she found herself in, and once we had the conversation about what had been happening since Confections, I couldn’t stop scribbling my notes fast enough! I’m looking forward to her journey with the Queen of Cambridge, England, and I hope she is every bit the badass for you as she is for me.

So, you know what comes next, so let’s get to it, shall we?

To my mother, thank you for everything. You’ve been there since the beginning of the journey, and I hope I have made you proud. I love you.

To my father … your presence is always felt, despite your absence from this side of the veil. Keep bragging, I got more for you to brag about soon.

To my sister, I love you. Thank you for being as much my hero as I hope I have been for you.

To my Beloved, I love you more than life itself. I’m grateful, thankful you chose me.

And finally, I’m going to end this in the usual fashion because we’d be here forever while you had me gushing over folks, so do me the usual solid and insert your name in the following statement:

I’d like to thank ___________________________ for the support and love. I hope to continue to put books out that you will always want to tell your fellow bookworms about.

Thank you and God bless,

Shakir

CHAPTER ONE

A queen builds her empire with the same stones that were thrown at her. The more stones they throw, the larger the empire she can build.

Caressa Sidaná stood with Marco Salazar, her head of security and lover, on the tarmac, arm in arm, as the Gulfstream G700 taxied to its space in the hangar. She gave his hand a quick squeeze to settle her nerves, grinning when he placed a small kiss against the back of her palm. I don’t know why I’m so nervous.

You’re a Daddy’s girl, there’s nothing hard to figure out, Marco replied. He will love the new place. He’s not as old school as you remember. He would have never relinquished control of the company if that were the case.

It’s not Daddy I’m nervous about. Mom is the worry, Caressa explained. She never wanted me to take over the company. The problem was that they never attempted to have another child because she almost died having me. She’d always hoped I would marry, and my husband learned the business from Daddy.

She’d always managed to keep a pulse on the industries she’d stepped into, and those instincts catapulted her into the lead. Her tactics were not considered above board by her competitors, but as far as she was concerned, if they weren’t illegal, then they should have thought about doing them for their companies. Those accusations served to keep her in the forefront of her current venture within the chocolatier industry—alcohol-infused truffles.

If anything, she enjoyed the competition, even if Caressa could count on one hand the number of companies that could rival Sidaná Chocolatier. She’d taken her family’s empire to never-before-seen heights and relocated the headquarters to a sprawling campus outside Cambridge, something her father had long envisioned.

In her mind, it was a long time coming, and a satisfying ending from only a little over a year ago, when the words her father, Vijay, said to her when he stepped down as CEO. You are the future now, my darling girl. You are what this company needs to go to the next level, and I will be a proud father, watching it all take shape.

When the final remnants of the construction were removed from the building, Caressa had the company jet transport them from the new estate she’d purchased for them in nearby Amsterdam. She couldn’t wait to see the look on their faces as she toured the building with them.

Marco nodded as he moved a stray hair from her face. It’s been a year since you took over. She’s had her husband to focus on after decades of sharing him with the business. Perhaps she’s softened in her approach. He wrapped his arm around her waist, giving her a gentle squeeze. You said yourself the conversation with her a couple of weeks ago was more pleasant than it has been in some time.

Yes, that’s true. I hope you’re right. She was really freaked out over what happened with that Jeffers individual.

Caressa thought back to that incident a year ago, when she’d barely had a chance to gain full control of the company, shuddering over how badly things could have gone. She played things a bit too loosely, and she almost paid the price with her life. Since then, Marco hadn’t left her side.

Her phone buzzed as they waited for the jet to come to a stop, and when she pulled it from her coat pocket, noticing an unknown number on the screen disturbed her a bit more than she wanted to admit. That’s the third call from an unknown number in the past two weeks. Something doesn’t feel right, but I can’t think about that right now, not while my parents are in town.

Marco noticed her body language shift, pulling her closer to whisper in her ear. What’s wrong, and don’t say it’s nothing. What was the unknown number popping up on your screen, and is it something I need to put my people on to find out?

I’m not sure, but I don’t want to deal with it while we’re in the midst of everything we have going on at the moment, Caressa replied. I’m sure it’s nothing, but it could be something. Once my parents have been settled in, we can talk more about it.

Marco furrowed his brow, turning his gaze toward her. Do you think it could be Carter? I mean, the way you removed him from the company might have him feeling a bit salty. Besides, not a lot of people have your personal cell number, love.

The mere mention of Carter Stillwell, Caressa’s ex and former vice president of the company, caused her to flex her fingers in an attempt to stave off the rising anger from her core. It could be Carter, but this doesn’t feel like his style. He’s always been confrontational. If he wanted me to know he was doing something, he would literally let me know it was him.

Yet and still, we might need to see about the phantom phone calls, Marco noted. I’ll have IT work through your phone when we get back to headquarters.

Caressa nodded as she turned her focus back to the jet, her smile widening as the doors opened. Fine, but I still think it’s nothing to worry over at the moment.

Her parents stepped down onto the tarmac with nothing but smiles for their only child. Vijay ambled to his daughter first, giving her a long hug and a kiss across her cheek before extending his hand to Marco in a knowing shake. Semret glanced at her daughter, beaming with pride. She kissed both cheeks, taking Caressa’s hands while continuing her once over.

My darling, you look like a billion dollars, Semret remarked in her thickly accented English before turning to Marco. And your beau is just getting better with age. If I was not married to your father—

Caressa blushed, shaking her head at her mother’s candor. Mommy, I’ve told you, Marco and I are not dating. He is my bodyguard, and we enjoy each other’s company, nothing more.

So, that is what your generation calls it, eh? She narrowed her dark brown eyes, obviously trying to get a better gauge of the situation. I would not have allowed such a fine man the ability to figure out whether he wants to be with me or not. She gave a dismissive wave of her freshly manicured fingers. Never mind all of that, I am sure things will shake out in time.

Marco cleared his throat, as though recognizing his employer’s discomfort had risen to the surface. Shall we go ahead and get you inside the limousine so Caressa can show you the new campus? I’m sure you’re dying to see it in person.

Vijay took Semret’s arm and escorted her to the car. Do not mind your mother, darling. She has been suffering from a case of baby fever as of lately. Now, I am ready to see what you have done with the new place, so, lead the way.

As they made the short trip from the private airfield to the production facility, it gave Semret a chance to continue with her not-so-veiled interrogation. So, why did you choose Cambridge, my sweet girl? I believe that expanding the old facility in London would have sufficed. What do you think?

Caressa smiled, relieved that her personal life was not the current focal point any longer. We reviewed the figures and decided it was the best option to build in Cambridge. It turned into a more daunting and expensive task to renovate and expand London.

But that was the building your father and I built, Semret protested, sounding more petulant than Caressa even remembered. Would it have killed you to at least keep the London facility?

Actually, we did decide to … we went through the process of turning it into a training facility and chocolate academy, similar to what Barry Callebaut, one of our contemporaries, has done. Caressa nodded as her mother finally gave up a grin of approval. We felt like it was needed to better equip our sales teams and production workers. We want to keep them long term, and invest in them, too, and not just by giving them generous salaries.

But Cambridge … it is so far from London. Even with light traffic, it would still take you almost two hours to get up here, Semret noted. Outside of the university, I do not remember Cambridge being much to travel for. There is so much more in London for you.

Cambridge was a better fit for the company, and it worked out for me, too, Caressa corrected. The price we paid for the campus was almost half what we would have paid to try to secure a new location in London. It’s a win-win, especially with the London Academy coming online later in the year.

Vijay kept his focus on the façade of the building throughout the conversation between his wife and daughter, but Caressa could tell by the series of smirks and grins on his face that he approved of the moves she made.

Well, it seems that you have all of this figured out … so, when are you going to find a way to free up enough time to give us a grandchild to spoil? Semret countered. You have a more than capable number two in Carter, and profits are higher than they have ever been, your father has shown me the reports. What is the problem?

Caressa pressed a palm against her forehead, closing her eyes as she counted to ten, doing her best to keep calm. Mommy, there’s no problem. When I’m ready, you’ll be the first I’ll call. Running a billion-dollar company is not easy, it wasn’t when dad built it up, and it isn’t now that I’ve had it the last year-plus.

So, how much longer do I have to wait? Semret asked, furrowing her brow. I do not want you wasting your best years the way your father did. I want you to have the same thing we had: a love, a family, and a beautiful, healthy child who makes you proud.

Caressa heard that last part and willed the tears away. Dammit, she always manages to break me down. I promise, it won’t be much longer. Contrary to popular opinion, I had a plan or two for the rest of my life, but it won’t come on your time frame. I need you to understand that, Mommy.

Caressa exhaled the moment she noticed as her mother’s face softened and body