by Ray, Shamara
“I won’t. I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time. I have no complaints. I’m with a woman that makes me happy and my businesses are flourishing. Actually, Jade and I are starting a business together.”
Davis was about to take a sip and abruptly stopped. “Really?” He didn’t try to conceal his surprise.
“She had a great business plan for a spa in Manhattan. I’ve invested in making it happen.”
“Manhattan? That’s some investment.”
“I’m a businessman. That’s what I do.”
“You know going into business with someone you’re in a relationship with can be tricky.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“And you’re prepared to mix business with pleasure?”
“I don’t make any decisions lightly, Davis. We’re going into business together because it’s a great opportunity with a helluva lot of potential to make a helluva lot of money.”
“All right, man. Remember, it’s a fine line to walk. I hope you have good balance.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
JADE
The main dining room at Rituals was bustling. Every table and almost every seat at the bar was filled. Bria and I were blessed that Rituals had been a success from the minute we opened our doors. In an industry where so many restaurants never get off the ground, we were actually doing better with each passing year. I could only hope that Genesis would be as successful. New York City was an entirely different animal.
I was going to start spending three days a week in Manhattan once our temporary office space was set up. I wanted to be on-site to oversee the build-out of the restaurant and spa. There was much to be done. This was my vision and it needed to be perfect. I planned to take Milan’s earlier advice and make sure Bria was in the loop. I had been procrastinating all day. It was after seven and she was planning to leave at the top of the hour. I headed back to the office to catch her before she left for the day.
She was on the phone smiling and laughing when I entered the office. “I’ll call you back, honey. Jade just came in.”
“You didn’t have to get off.”
“That’s okay. Ernest was talking a hole in my head. I’m meeting him at the club when I leave here. Do you want to come?”
Ernest owned Club Blaze, a popular nightclub up in Harlem.
“Not tonight. I have some work I need to do for Genesis—which is what I came in here to talk to you about. Do you have a minute?”
Bria looked at the clock on the wall. “Sure, what’s up?”
“I wanted to let you know that I’m committed to Rituals.”
“I know that.”
“I mean even though I’m embarking on this new venture with Cain, I’m still committed.”
“Jade, I hate when you beat around the bush. What’s really going on?”
I chuckled. “That’s not what I’m doing.”
“Then get to the point,” she said, glancing at the clock again.
“Starting in a few weeks, I’m going to be spending three days a week in the city. I know that’s going to affect your schedule somewhat, and I want to figure out how we can minimize the impact.”
Bria leaned back in the chair. “Minimize the impact?”
“I was thinking that I can still handle the purchasing on the days that I come in here. And technically, we can discuss our special menu items on a—”
“Girl, is that what you’re concerned about?”
“Well, yeah. I don’t want my responsibilities to fall on you.”
“We have a tightly run ship with an amazing staff. I’m not saying we don’t need you around here, but we can manage. I told you that I wish you success. Whatever I can do around here to help you get your new place off the ground, you have my support. I meant that. Honestly, I don’t know why you thought I didn’t.”
Her tone, but that’s just Bria. I smiled. “I didn’t want you to think I was taking you and what we’ve created here for granted.”
“That’s just crazy. We built this together. I know what Rituals means to you. I want you to win in all things, not just what we’ve created.”
My shoulders visibly relaxed. “Thank you, Bria. I don’t tell you enough, but I appreciate you.”
“Same here.”
Bria and I had really worked on improving our communication in the past year. There was a time when we did more bickering than we should have. We were finally in a place where we not only respected one another as friends, we respected each other as businesswomen. It was a wonderful feeling to know I had her support. I’d have to thank Milan for giving me the push I needed to address my new venture with Bria. I underestimated her when I shouldn’t have.
“I’ll keep you posted on my schedule. It may be kind of fluid for a little while.”
“Do you have an idea of when you’ll be opening?”
“Not yet. Cain and I still have a lot of planning to do. It’ll be interesting to see how we work together.”
“As long as you both remember that you’re fifty-fifty partners you should get along fine. Ensure that you’re on the same page when you have decisions to make. And stay on top of the business finances. You know these things, but it doesn’t hurt to hear them now and again.”
“You’re right. I won’t lose sight of any of those things. Let me ask you a question. Say you and Ernest were starting a business, would you have an issue if he were fronting the majority of the capital?”
“I might. I’m not sure I’d feel like an equal partner if his money was used as our startup capital. However, if the paperwork said I was an equal partner, then that may be enough for me. I suppose it would depend on how he felt about it and how comfortable I felt with it. Why? Is Cain providing all of the capital?”
“He bought the building which was a significant investment.”
“My advice is to discuss it with your partner. That’s where you’ll get your answers.”
“I will. Thanks, diva.”
“No problem. Now I have to get out of here before Ernest starts ringing my phone again.”
“Drive safely.”
Bria rushed out of the office to meet her man uptown. I sat for a few minutes more and pondered our conversation. It was time for Cain and me to get down to business.
CHAPTER NINE
JADE
I let the staff know I was leaving for the evening. I walked across the parking lot to my car, listening to the cicadas chirp. It was funny how at times they were background noise that I barely noticed and other times the sound was a repetitious nuisance. Tonight the tune was almost pleasant. It made me aware of the night air, the leaves swaying in the gentle breeze, and that this season would eventually be coming to an end. I put the top down on my convertible, played something smoothed out, and drove to Old Westbury.
I took the newest key on my ring and unlocked the door to Cain’s house. I heard the television playing in the den. I entered the room with a sing-song, “Hello.”
Cain and his friend, Davis, turned to look at me. “Hey, babe,” Cain said.
Davis’s expression was one of confusion. He shot Cain a glance and then smiled at me. “Good to see you, Jade.”
I walked over to Cain, greeted him with a kiss, and gave Davis a hug. “I didn’t know football was on tonight.”
Cain reached for my hand and pulled me down next to him on the couch. “Preseason.” He kissed the side of my face. “And guess what? Next year we’re going to have season tickets courtesy of Davis.”
Davis rolled his eyes. “Don’t believe that, Jade. Your man is going to be bankrolling my Jets seats.”
“It’s obvious I have stumbled upon an old rivalry.”
“This one is as old as they come. You would think Davis would know by now the Giants are a better team than the Jets.”
“I’m not going to dignify that with a comment.”
I looked at the empty beer bottles on the table. One remained in the bucket. “Did you guys have anything to eat?”
“W
e were just about to order a pizza.”
“Pizza? I can whip up something quick for you guys.”
“Nothing for me, Jade. I’m going to head out.”
“Where you going, man? There’s another half left in the game.”
“I know, but I have to get back to Brooklyn.” Davis stood up and polished off the rest of the beer in his bottle. “Cain, thanks for the beers. Jade, it was nice to see you.”
“You too, Davis.”
Cain got up and walked his friend to the front door. They stood in the foyer chatting for ten minutes, still ribbing one another over the game. The front door closed, and Cain returned to the den smiling broadly. “Davis is a good dude.” He started collecting the empty bottles from the table. “I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight.”
“I hope I didn’t run Davis off.”
Cain chuckled. “Couldn’t wait to use your gift, huh?”
“I should’ve called first.”
“I’ve never asked you to call before coming over.”
“I feel like I barged in on you.”
“Don’t be silly.”
“But you were clearly watching the game with your boy. I came in and interrupted and Davis took off.”
“Davis had to get back to Brooklyn.”
“You’re being really understanding, and I love you for it. In the future, I’ll be more mindful that you may have plans that don’t involve me.”
“When I gave you the key, I told you why. There are no parameters for its use. Now you can keep making a big deal out of nothing, but that’s all I’m going to say about it.”
“Fine, I’m done.”
“What I do want to talk about is your offer to make something to eat. I’ll take you up on that.”
I grabbed a couple of the beer bottles while Cain grabbed the bucket and we went to the kitchen. “What do you have a taste for tonight?”
“Anything you want to make.”
I looked in the fridge to see what was on hand. “How about a steak salad?”
“Perfect. I’m going up to take a shower. I’ll be back in a few.”
I took out the vegetables for the salad and started the preparation. Cain patted me on the ass as he passed me by. I shook my head. He could say what he wanted, but I felt awkward. I saw the expression on Davis’s face when I came in. It was a mix of surprise and the look kids got when their parents came home too early and interrupted a good time with friends. As a rule, I wasn’t big on drop-bys. I preferred to announce my arrival. There had been a few times when I was in the area and decided to visit Cain without a call. However, I didn’t have a key and had to ring the doorbell. That was the big difference. Lesson learned. He may not have minded; but I did. And since he didn’t have a key to my house, I wouldn’t take liberties that I had not yet granted. Which raised the question, was I obligated to give him a key now? I wasn’t a fan of pop-ups. If I’m at home alone, I do alone-type things. Sing at the top of my lungs, run around naked, talk shit on the phone with my girls, and a million other things I may not want someone to walk in on. Oh, I had definitely violated. If I were entertaining Bria and Milan, and Cain walked in unannounced, I would’ve been a little annoyed. I would drop it, since he said it was fine, though that was the last time I’d place either of us in that situation.
Cain entered the kitchen in a pair of jersey lounge pants and a tank as I was removing the rib eye from the grill pan. “This needs to rest a bit before I slice it. Do you want a glass of red wine?”
“I’ll get it.” Cain poured the wine and handed me a glass. He gently tapped his against mine. “Smells good in here.”
I grabbed a couple of salad bowls and filled them with the chopped romaine, tomatoes, carrots, charred corn kernels, red onion and crumbled blue cheese. I sliced the steak and arranged it atop the salad, before drizzling it with an herb vinaigrette.
I carried the salads to the table and sat across from Cain. “Bon appétit.”
Cain took my hand in his. “Bless the food and the cook. Amen.”
“Amen.” I chuckled. “I always know how hungry you are by the length of your grace. Obviously, you’re starving.”
He was already stabbing his fork through a piece of steak and romaine and lifting it to his mouth. “Uh-huh.”
We ate in silence for a moment while Cain devoured his dinner. “There’s more on the counter.”
“I was about to go investigate.” He took his bowl and helped himself to another serving.
“When you come up for air, I want to talk about our plan for Genesis.”
“I can’t help it if I love your cooking. Go ahead, you have my undivided attention.”
“I’m still in shock that you bought the building. What else have you done?”
“I’d like for us to visit my lawyer this week to file our paperwork to incorporate the business, get our tax ID number, and file for our licenses and permits. I want to put things in motion. Let me know if Wednesday morning will work for you. And next week, we have a meeting with the general contractor to discuss the space. We need to talk building codes, zoning, the layout, timeline and, most importantly, cost.”
“And you and I need to discuss financing. Are we looking for investors? Are we considering business loans?”
“Right now, none of the above. I’m putting up the financing.”
“Cain—”
“Hear me out. The great thing about our situation is that we both know what it takes to start a business. I’m blessed to be in a place where I have many profitable ventures and have done well for myself. We don’t need to borrow or get any investors at this time. I own the building, but you and I will be equal partners in Genesis.”
“How can we be equal partners if I’m not providing any capital? I don’t think it’s a bad idea to get investors.”
“I’m not against investors. I have investors for a few of my ventures. However, we don’t need them right now.”
“I have savings I can invest.”
“I wouldn’t recommend or feel comfortable with you diving in to your savings. Babe, let’s not make this about money. We wanted to start a business together and we’re doing that. It’s going to take hard work on both of our parts to make it successful. My having the resources to launch this company doesn’t diminish the fact that it’s our company.”
I knew that Cain and I were in two entirely different tax brackets, but this felt foreign to me. When Bria and I launched Rituals, we had financing, invested our own money, and our parents were investors. It didn’t feel right that I wouldn’t be contributing financially to Genesis. I didn’t feel right having him bear all of the financial risk. I was used to working hard for the things I wanted. At that moment, I sort of felt that everything was being handed to me. I wanted our partnership to be balanced.
“Okay, let’s meet with the lawyer on Wednesday. And let me give some thought to what you said about financing.”
Cain nodded. “I’m looking forward to working with you, partner.”
I smiled. “You better be.” I ate the last bite of my salad. “I’m going to wash the dishes and then head home.”
“You’re not staying?”
“I was here all weekend.”
“What’s one more night? Besides, you’re already here.”
“Not tonight, babe.”
“All right, but leave the dishes. I’ll take care of them.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.”
Cain walked me out to my car. “Thank you for dinner.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll call you when I get home.”
We kissed goodnight and I got in my car to leave. I rolled down the window and blew him a kiss.
“Love you,” he mouthed, as I backed out the driveway.
As I cruised to the parkway, I spoke out loud to my hands-free, voice-activated system. “Call Omar.”
The phone rang four times. I reached to disconnect the call. “Well, hello.” His voice filled the car.
“Hey,
Omar, how are you?”
“How are you is the question. It’s been a while.”
“I’m good.”
“To what do I owe this call?”
“I wanted to invite you to dinner at Rituals. I need some financial investment advice and would love to pick your brain.”
“I’m there. Just tell me when.”
“Tomorrow night at eight?”
“I’ll see you then.”
CHAPTER TEN
CAIN
I waited as my pop took his swing. Not bad for a senior citizen. He had been my golf partner for years. I had taken Jade a few times, but she wasn’t into it. My pop and I could spend all day on a course. My brothers didn’t play, so these were moments that I got to share with Pop all alone. We were on the seventh hole. We’d take a break after the ninth for lunch and then resume our play. I enjoyed these times with my father. He was my best friend. After my mother passed, when I was sixteen, we hit a rough patch, but once I got my head on straight we were closer than ever. I learned how to be a man from him. A good man. Hopefully one day, a great man.
“Thanks for coming to play on such short notice, Pop. I wasn’t in the mood to sit in an office today.”
“I’m retired. I didn’t have any plans for today.”
We carried our bags to where Pop’s ball had landed so he could take his next shot. Running five miles a day kept him in shape. Playing a round of golf every once in a while gave me an opportunity to keep my eye on him, to make sure he was doing okay, and determine whether he appeared to be in good health. And, right then, he was putting a hurting on me. He sank his shot.
“Are you paying attention?” he asked.
“Yes, I saw.”
“And what did you learn?”
“That you’re a good golfer.”
“You’re never too old to be schooled.”
I laughed. “Got it.” My pop could trash talk with the best of them. I let him have his moment. If it were me leading, I would do the same.