Long As You Know Who You Belong To 2

by Bri Noreen

  “Come take a seat.” I motioned for her to sit next to me.

  Her perfectly arched eyebrow raised as she cautiously walked over to me and took a seat.

  “Please don’t tell me that you want me to sit and listen to your problems for thirty minutes because that ain’t what I get paid to do. I can dance on that pole and on your lap, but I ain’t playing Dr. Phil, and you ain’t touching, licking, or sucking on nothing. And for the record, neither am I.”

  I laughed. “Nah, it’s not like that. I’m here to talk business.”

  “What kind of business?”

  “I need a girl for a job, and you’re the one that I want,” I stated plainly.

  She looked at me like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop. When she realized that I was done talking, she folded her arms against her chest and sucked her teeth.

  “Look, sir. I got a job. You’re cute and all, but I’m not about to let you sell me no dreams only for you to turn out to be some kind of pimp looking for a new hoe to add to his stable. I done read too many eBooks about shit like this to be stupid. I’m good.” She got up and started walking away.

  “Swinging around this pole…is it going to pay for that $18,000 student loan that’s in your name? What about the $10,000 credit card debt you racked up after high school?” I asked. She stopped walking but never turned around. I had piqued her interest, so I kept going. “That’s a tiny-ass apartment you live in with your home girl. And a beauty like you really shouldn’t be catching cabs to and from work this late at night.”

  “The fuck? You been stalking me, nigga?” She whipped around quickly. “I’ll have security in here on your ass so quick that your head will spin. Don’t play with me.”

  “That won’t do you any good, sweetheart. I own this joint, so the security works for me.”

  “You’re a fucking liar! Raulo owns this place. If you gon’ lie, you gon’ need to come better than that to get over on me!”

  “Raulo is my cousin, Ashlynn. I own the club. He manages it. There is a big difference, especially when it comes to a check. To answer your earlier question, I’m nowhere near a stalker, but I like to know who I’m employing. And you signed a contract submitting to a background check.”

  She placed a manicured hand on her hip and looked at me with contempt. I could tell that she wanted to go off, but I had her more curious than angry at this point, and I was going to use that to my advantage.

  “What if I told you that I would give you $200K to say yes to this job right now?”

  “I would say that I need more information on the job and why it’s so important for you to have me do it.”

  Ashlynn was passing all of my tests so far. She was smart, direct, and she was sure as hell a sexy mothafucka. She was feisty and quick on her feet, and I could tell she was trill. She was a little hood, but I could tame those wild edges and I would. Knowing her financial situation, I knew that with a little finessing, I could get her to take my offer. It had also been a plus to find out that she didn’t have a family. As cold as it sounds, if something were to happen to her, no one would come looking for her, and that would minimize the fallout in the end.

  As I had watched her for the last few weeks, I studied the way she carried herself. I could tell that she was aware just like I was that she could do better than the situation she was in. She just needed an out. And I was going to be the one to provide it to her. With some strings attached, of course, but nothing she couldn’t handle. I could see that her guard was starting to come down. The money that I was offering was starting to sound better and better to her.

  “I can show you better than I can tell you. Say yes, and I promise you’ll be making the best decision of your life. Fucking with me, you can leave all this hood shit behind and start all the way over.”

  “Why would you pay me that amount of money for anything?”

  “Because you have what I need in order to get a job done. It’s a job that takes a certain kind of skill and finesse. And just by watching you tonight, I can tell that you’ve got it. It’s a job that’s going to take a little bit of time, so if you have any obligations that you can’t walk away from, let me know now.”

  She studied me for a moment, looking for any sign of dishonesty, before she responded. “I like how you just arrogantly assumed that I’m interested in your offer.” She rolled her eyes. “But, nah, no obligations outside of paying my half of rent and shit.” She paused. “So let me ask you this. Is this job dangerous? Is there a chance that I’m going to be knee deep in some bullshit that’ll get me killed?”

  “Anything you do nowadays has some level of danger attached to it. Shit, walking into a movie theatre at the wrong place and time could cause you to lose ya life.” I shrugged.

  She grimaced at my statement. “Guess you’re right. I ain’t gon’ lie. The offer is tempting, but I need to think about it. How much time do I have?”

  “About sixty seconds.”

  She threw her hands up in the air and started to pace the floor. I could see the wheels turning inside her head. A bevy of questions were mounting, and I could tell that she was quickly trying to decide if I was crazy for offering her such a vague explanation of what I needed, or if she was crazy for actually considering it. She was weighing the pros and cons of saying yes and she was living in sixty seconds of madness, trying to talk herself out of accepting my offer.

  She needed the money. That was a fact that I was positive of. It was part of the reason why I had chosen her. Money was the biggest motivator, and she needed a lot of it if she ever wanted to dig herself out of the hole she was in. From what I had learned about her background, she didn’t deserve to be stuck in the situation she was in, and I was in the position to give her everything she needed to get out. All she had to do was say yes.

  “So?”

  “When do I start?” She sighed.

  I smiled at her obvious annoyance at herself for doing something so crazy and pulled out an airline ticket from my back pocket. I slid it across the table.

  “Meet me in Los Angeles in three days. I’ll be at the airport to pick you up.” I stood and walked out of the room without another word, glad to have secured the final pawn in my plan.

  Blaze

  July 2015

  “You sure you don’t want me to come with you?” I asked as I watched Grey throw a few pairs of dress socks into his Gucci duffle bag.

  “Nah, baby. What you gon’ do in Detroit?” He laughed.

  That was a good-ass question. I knew absolutely no one in Detroit, so I couldn’t even get a crew together to go out and party. I had heard that there were a few nice casinos there, but with Grey there to handle business and no family or friends in the area, it would be pointless.

  “I guess you’re right,” I pouted and flopped down on his California king size bed.

  “Aww, don’t look like that. I’ll be back before you know it. A week is nothing.”

  I continued to make my sad face, and Grey stopped packing and walked over to me. Leaning over and bracing himself with his hands, he kissed my pouty lips.

  “C’mon, bae. Don’t do that. You’ve got plenty to keep you busy at the salon.” He grabbed my hand and placed it on his crotch. “I know you gon’ miss Big Daddy, but I’m going to give you something that’ll hold you over before I go. I promise.”

  “Boy, gone!” I snatched my hand away and giggled. He was so damn nasty.

  I pulled myself off the bed and walked to my purse that was on the floor by the balcony doors. I loved coming to Grey’s house just for the beautiful view. His bedroom opened up to the most gorgeous view of the hills and on a pretty, sunny day like this, it was just breathtaking. I rummaged through my purse and grabbed my phone and took a step out onto the balcony, letting the warm breeze wrap around my body. I checked my cell. I had two voicemails and three texts, all from Amazing. I pressed play on my visual voicemail.

  “Boss lady, this is Mazy. Um, we might have a situation. Nothing has happened yet,
but Maliah’s baby’s daddy’s other baby momma just walked in. She’s calm for now, but I just know this wasn’t a coincidence. She has an appointment in a half hour with Maliah that she made under her middle name. I know you with Grey, but…” The voicemail cut off.

  I rolled my eyes and pressed play on the second voicemail.

  “Hey, Blaze. It’s Mazy again. Guess who just walked into the barber shop? Maliah’s baby daddy. Girl, something is about to go down. I can feel it. You might want to get down here.”

  Good Lord! Why is there always some drama at the hair salon? No matter how high class and exclusive the shop was, there was always somebody dragging their ratchet situationship drama into the beauty salon for everyone to see. I walked back inside and snatched up my purse. Running over to Grey, I pulled his face toward mine and gave him a deep kiss.

  “Big Daddy is going to have to wait. I gotta go take care of some business at the salon. Be safe, boo,” I said seriously.

  “I got’chu.” He smiled. He grabbed a handful of my ass before he smacked it hard. I giggled. “You so damn sexy!” He grinned.

  I laughed at his mannish ways and pecked him on the lips one more time. Let me tell you how mad I was! These little hood rats were going to learn today. I was going to be a whole week without a man or dick and I was livid that their issues were going to cause me to not be able to get a little something to hold me over until he got back. Somebody was going to get fucked up when I touched down at Park Avenue.

  Thirty minutes later, I whipped my play car, my midnight blue 2015 Chevy Camaro, into my designated parking spot and hopped out like I had jets on my heels. I wasn’t prepared to walk into the fucking Maury Show that was taking place in the middle of my reception area.

  “Bitch, really? You gon’ walk yo nappy-headed, ain’t-seen-a-hot-comb-in ten-years, Dot’s thot, bowlegged ass up in my job trying to start some shit?” Maliah walked from her station with a hot pressing comb in her hand, waving it as she spoke. “You need to get the fuck out!”

  “I don’t need to do shit! It’s a free country, and I made an appointment, so somebody is going to do my fucking hair in this bitch.”

  Looking at Maliah and then looking over at the other chick whose name I didn’t know, I couldn’t understand how they had a baby daddy in common. His taste had to be all over the place. Maliah was tall and thin like a model, with beautiful hazel eyes and a short Halle Berry cut. Maliah was always fashionably dressed in some type of designer wear and accessorized perfectly with the gorgeous jewelry she made as a hobby. And then there was Ms. No Name who looked like she had spent her days in the food stamp line and her nights at the trap. Dressed in a pair of Aztec print leggings, a dingy white tank top, a denim vest that was two sizes too small, and a pair of used-to-be white beauty supply flip flips with the flowers on them. Ol’ girl looked like the complete opposite of Maliah, but they were both acting a damn fool.

  “So you really want your ass beat? That’s what you’re telling me?” Maliah set the hot comb down on the reception desk and started taking her earrings off. “I’ve been waiting to tag that ass since I caught you with Ken!” She rushed the other chick.

  Now as much as I wanted to hop in the middle and save my shop from being destroyed, I was not about to jump in and risk getting socked. Ain’t nobody got time for accidental black eyes. I was way too cute for that plus I had great insurance. So instead, I pulled out my phone and called Fahad in the barbershop.

  “What’s good, boss lady?” His back was turned to me as I watched him line up his client.

  “Yo, I need ya’ll to come help me break this up.”

  Fahad turned around and looked out the sound proof glass at the scene unfolding below.“Oh, shit! Ken, ya babies’ moms are down there fighting, bruh!” he shouted before he disconnected the call.

  I watched as all of the men came rushing down the stairs and started pulling the women apart. I was completely embarrassed as clients started pulling out their phones and shaking their heads at the atrocity that was playing out in a professional place of business. Ken got up in the middle of everything and held his hands out to try and keep the women apart. No one was prepared for the punch that landed directly in Ken’s face courtesy of Maliah, especially not Ken. Blood gushed from his nose instantly. Now was the time for me to jump in and put an end to this impromptu MMA fight. I ran over to Ken and pushed him off of my white rug and let him drip all over the concrete floors.

  “Everybody that is not in this immediate area, please go back to minding your business. Despite the scene that you just witnessed, this is a place of business, and you came for services, not a show,” I said loudly so that everyone could hear.

  Slowly people started to disperse and retake seats at the stations they occupied before the fight. There was one man there who wasn’t involved, but he remained close like a damn bodyguard. Whatever. I didn’t have the patience to figure out his deal. I turned to the people who were involved and went off in the most professional way I could muster.

  “Now I’m not sure how you mistook my salon as a boxing ring, but let me make something very clear. I have worked very hard to establish an upscale and polished business as the one you’re standing in, and you will not tear down everything I’ve built by making World Star videos in my reception area!”

  I motioned for Mazy, and she ran right over.

  “Mazy, please take Ken to the back and get him some ice and a towel so he can stop leaking everywhere. Then call an ambulance to take him to the hospital.” Mazy nodded and started to walk away with Ken right behind her before I stopped him. “Oh, and Ken, you are no longer welcome in my salon. What you and your barber, Chris, work out outside of Park Avenue is none of my business, but you won’t be getting your haircut here anymore.” I turned away, signaling that I was done talking to him.

  “Now wait a minute, bitch! You not just gon’ tell my baby daddy that…” Ms. No Name started in again.

  I cut her off with a simple wave of my hand. “I think it would be in your best interest to shut all that attitude down because I’m about to do you a favor even though you don’t deserve an ounce of my kindness.” I walked up on her. “I’m going to give you twenty seconds to remove yourself from my place of business or I will call the police to have you removed. And not only will they remove you, but they will take you to jail because if you take me there, I’ll be delighted to press charges.”

  No Name opened her mouth to say something.

  “Ah ah! You don’t have a leg to stand on in this argument, sweetheart. So I suggest you heed my warning or I will make sure that you do at least six months. Don’t play with me,” I growled.

  No Name rolled her eyes and stormed out of the salon. I rolled my eyes so hard I thought I had fallen asleep for a minute. I turned around to face a calmed down Maliah.

  “I am so sorry, Blaze.”

  “I am too, Maliah. You were one of my top stylists, but I’m going to have to let you go. I can’t deal with this foolishness in my salon. It’s bad for business.”

  “But…I…Boss! Please! This isn’t my fault!” Tears started creeping down her face.

  I felt bad, I really did, but I needed to make an example. If any of my staff thought I was going to tolerate the bullshit, then they would continue to bring the drama to my door. I refused to be the most talked about salon for all the wrong reasons. I liked Maliah and she had a sizeable clientele, but she had to go.

  “I understand that. But what just happened, you participated in. You rolled up on home girl like ya’ll was down on Crenshaw somewhere! I can’t have that. Now I will give you a nice severance package, but you can’t continue to work here. I’m sorry. You can finish out the day or you can go now. It’s up to you.”

  “I’ll finish.” She hung her head. “I’m really sorry.”

  I gave her a hug. “I know. Come see me at the end of the day, okay?”

  She nodded and went back to her station, wiping her tears on the way. I took a deep breath, glad tha
t was all over with for now and looked up. I realized that the guy from earlier was still standing off to the side, eyeballing the shit out of me. If he wasn’t so damn fine, I would’ve thought he was creepy.

  “Can I help you?” I asked.

  “You’re the owner, I take it.” He smirked showing off a small dimple. I’ll be damned if my clit didn’t jump. I had to tell that lil heifer to calm down and remind her that we already had a man at home.

  “I am. What can I do for you?”

  “A lot actually.” He smiled wide this time and didn’t hide the fact that he was soaking in the sight of me like a kitchen sponge. “Do you have somewhere private we could speak?” he asked.

  I eyeballed him, unsure if I felt safe enough to lead him into my back office. But I was curious enough to see what he wanted. I needed a name or something before I entertained this nigga, though—fine or not.

  “I’m Blaze.” I extended my hand. He shook it. “Now, are you going to give me your name or are you going to just continue being rude?” It was my turn to smirk.

  “I apologize.” He laughed. “I’m Roman.”

  Karma

  July 2015

  “What do you think about these?” I stuck my foot out and wiggled it around, making the fringe on the Stuart Weitzman sandal shake.

  “Cute. But a bitch as bad as you needs these in her closet.” She handed me a box.

  I sat the box on my lap, opened them, and a grin spread across my new face. Inside were a pair of aqua colored gladiator heels piped in black suede by my favorite shoe designer, Casadei. I swear my eyes turned into pink hearts like a damn cartoon character. This girl had only met me a few months ago, but she knew me so well.

  “That’s why you’re my bitch!” I slapped hands with her, and we cracked up.

  Trinity Loyola, or Dr. Loyola as most called her, had been a godsend. Roman had hired her and a team of other doctors to nurse me back to health and rid me of my burns. For that, I was eternally grateful. A lot of things had transpired in the last few months, and without Roman and Trinity, I probably would’ve lost my fucking mind. Trinity, although I could tell she wasn’t feeling a bitch at first because she thought I was fucking Roman, had become my friend. Initially, I’d had my reservations about her as well, thinking that she was going to be bourgeois because she had doctor in front of her name, but she was cool. She'd grown up in the hood and she still maintained some of her ratchet tendencies, but she knew when to turn it on and off, and I liked that.