by K. C. Mills
“Have fun with your dad today, and make sure he buys you whatever you want. Go to every store in the mall mami.”
“I will but, Daddy hates shopping,” she said with a grin.
“Not today he doesn't. You can spend all day at the mall if you want, and if he doesn’t you tell me, and I’ll take care of him for you.”
“Okay Uncle K.”
I lowered her to her feet again, and she took off towards her room.
“You know I’m gonna fuck you up for that, Keem.”
“Just making sure my baby girl is happy,” I said before I walked to the front door.
“I’ll hit you up later,” I said, and then left Jodie’s apartment. He loved Angel and wouldn’t tell no for shit, so he was about to have a long ass day.
Tasia
Things with Keem and I had been going great, and I couldn’t have been happier. He was still going back and forth, but for the most part he was living here in New York with me. I was currently on my MacBook scrolling through a list of apartments since Hakeem was dead set on us moving. He said my place was too small and he needed more space, which I didn’t understand since it was just the two of us.
My phone started going off, and I smiled when his name flashed across the screen.
“What’s up Tay?”
“Nothing, just looking at all of these apartments. They’re expensive Keem,” I frowned, even though I knew he couldn’t see me.
“Don’t worry about that. Just pick what you like and let me worry about paying for it.”
I didn’t say anything; I knew he had the money, but it was still weird for me.
“Tay, I work hard for shit like this. So just pick what you like and don’t worry about the money.”
“Okay,” I said, deciding to let it go.
“So are you ready for tonight,” he asked. I could tell he was trying to switch things up.
“As ready as I can be.”
“Aye, don’t start that shit Tay, you’re good at what you do and they know it. You’re about to shut that shit down tonight, and then everybody who’s anybody is going to be blowing up your phone to get down with styles by Tay.”
I couldn’t help but smile, because I could hear the smile in his voice. Sometimes I felt like Keem believed in me more than I believed in myself.
“I sure hope so.”
“You got that shit, don’t sweat it.”
“Are you on your way back?” Hakeem had gone home to meet with Jodie and check on a few things, and even though we had hours until the event tonight, I still wanted him in the city now.
“I’m already back, I just need to check on a few things here, but get dressed. I have a surprise for you.”
“What is it?”
He laughed. “You did hear me say surprise, right? Get dressed I’ll be there in an hour.”
“Fine, smart ass.”
Again, he laughed. “I’m gonna let that slide, for now. Get dressed.”
“Bye Keem.”
I bookmarked the place I was looking at and closed my MacBook before I stood up and stretched. I looked around my tiny studio apartment and smiled. There were signs of Hakeem everywhere. His game system hooked to the TV, his shoes in the corner, his clothes laying across my leather armchair; life was good.
I walked in the bathroom and turned on the shower while I found something to wear. After I had a pair of light denim boyfriend jeans and a navy silk shirt laid out on the bed, I removed my clothes and walked into the bathroom to shower.
Thirty minutes later, I was dressed and doing the finishing touches on my side braid. When I was done, I checked myself out in the mirror and smiled at my vintage look. My vanilla skin could use some sun, but for the most part I was killing it. I completed my outfit with a pair of oversized silver hoop earrings before I sprayed on my Coach Poppy and grabbed my purse.
Just as I hit the living room, Keem was walking through the front door looking good as ever. Even in the simplest things, he looked sexy as hell–like today. He was rocking a pair of jeans, wheat Timbs, and a light gray henley that hugged his muscular chest and arms. My baby was shutting shit down without even trying. He looked at me and smiled before his hand went across his jet-black wavy hair, and the craters in his cheeks got deeper the longer he stared at me.
“What?” I asked as I bit down on my bottom lip.
“You’re sexy as fuck, Tay. You gone fuck around and cause me to end up in jail. I swear on everything, if a dude looks at you too long I’m going off.”
“Shut up. Nobody's checking for me. You’re the one.” I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his waist, and looked into his hazel eyes.
“You know better than that. I peep dudes sweating you all the time. I just don’t say shit about it.” Hakeem leaned down and kissed me. “Come on, let’s go.”
He pulled away from me and grabbed my hand. Once we were in the car, I tired one last time to get information about my surprise.
“You still didn’t tell me where we’re going.” I glanced at Hakeem, but he kept his eyes on the road.
“You’re so impatient Tay, just chill. We’ll be there in a minute.”
“You know I hate surprises.” I folded my arms and just stared at him until he turned to look at me.
Keem chuckled and then looked at the road again. “I know. That’s only because your ass is impatient as fuck.”
Before I could say anything, his phone rang, and he turned off Bluetooth, holding it to his ear instead.
“Yo, what up? Nah, we’re heading that way now. Yeah that’s cool. Hell yeah, you already know. But I’ll hit you back, I’m pulling up now.”
Hakeem ended the call and dropped his phone in his lap, and when he could feel me staring at him he turned and laughed.
“The fuck you looking like that for.”
“Why did you turn off Bluetooth?” He must have had something to hide if he didn’t want me to hear his conversation.
“Because Jodie has a big ass mouth and I didn’t want him to ruin your surprise.” Hakeem pulled up along the curb of a building that I didn’t recognize and parked.
“Come on,” he said with a big ass grin. I swear, for somebody who used to never smile, he seemed to forever be doing that shit now.
I got out and stood on the curb until Hakeem grabbed my hand and walked to the oversized grated metal door, and pulled out a set of keys. After he had them in his hand, he kneeled down and pulled the lock off before he grabbed the handle and lifted the metal door, exposing two oversized glass doors.
“What is this?” I asked, looking at him strange.
“This is our new club.” Hakeem pulled the door open, and we stepped inside. It was dark, but I could tell that it must have been a club at some point. There was a dance floor, a stage, and metal staircases that lead to an upper level. The bar was lined with stools, but all the other furniture was covered with white tarps.
“You own this.” I couldn’t contain my smile, which made him smile.
“Do you like it?” he asked as we stood in the center of the floor looking around.
“I love it. When did you do this?” I asked.
“The sale was final today, so I went and picked up the keys. I still have to renovate it, but I should be able to get it up and running within the next six months.” He was excited. I could see it all over his face.
“I’m so proud of you,” I said. He pulled me into a hug, and then kissed me.
“I’m just trying to keep up with you.”
“Whatever.” I lifted myself onto my toes and let my arms fall around his neck before I kissed him again.
“This is perfect,” I said.
“Now for your surprise,” he said, and led me back to the front door.
“I thought this was my surprise,” I said, looking up at him confused.
“Nah, yours is next door.”
When we were on the street again, he took my hand as he guided me further down the street, stopping just past a little coffee sh
op in front of another metal door.
Hakeem used the same keys to remove the lock, and then pulled the door up.
“You own this too?” I asked
“No, you do,” he said with a big ass grin.
“Wait what?”
“I can’t have my baby styling out of somebody else’s shit, so this is your new office.”
“You bought this place?”
“Yeah why?”
“You shouldn’t have done that.”
“Come on Tay, don’t start with the money shit again.”
“I’m not, it’s not that. I don't really have enough business to have my own place yet.”
“Chill with that shit, Tay; you’ve got clients and after tonight, you’ll have a whole lot more, so you need your own spot.” I was so happy that I couldn’t stop smiling. I just hoped that I could make it work.
“That’s more like it,” Hakeem said, referring to my big Kool-Aid grin.
“Thank you,” I said, and hugged him so tight that I was sure I was restricting his breathing.
“That’s my job. Whatever you want, I’m here to make that shit happen.”
I couldn’t even say anything. This man was my everything. We locked up the club and my office, and were back in his truck heading towards my apartment when I looked over at Hakeem. He looked content. He was happy and so was I, finally.
“Don’t think I didn’t peep the fact that my office is only a few feet away from your club.”
Hakeem looked at me and laughed. “Hell yeah. Your clients like to be around your ass naked and shit. I need to make sure I can pop up on you and make sure shit’s on the up and up. I’m not playing that shit.”
“Are you worried?” I asked with a smirk.
“Hell no. You know better and you know I’ll fuck somebody up quick if they step to you wrong, so no more of that dick swinging shit around you. In fact, I’m making a sign like those restaurants have.”
“What signs?”
“The ones that say no shoes, no shirt, not service. Your shit is gonna say no drawers, no service.” He looked at me so damn serious that I couldn’t help but laugh, because I knew he meant it.
“I love you too,” I said, and playfully rolled my eyes. He was too much, but I loved him anyway.
Hakeem
“Well hello stranger.” I felt a hand slid down my arm, and then across my back so I turned to face those green eyes again. She smiled at me seductively, which immediately made me look up to try and locate Tay. I found her across the room deep in conversation with a few of her clients; her back was to me, but Brit looked right at me and frowned.
“I didn’t get your name last time we met,” she said after she followed my stare and realized I was looking at Tay.
“My name is not important,” I said, stepping back to create some space between us. That made her laugh.
“It’s very important since you’re now officially my boss’s man. I’m sure I’ll be seeing a lot of you, so I need to know what to call you.”
I guess the look on my face forced an explanation, because she kept talking.
“Tay just asked me to join her team. Apparently, her loving boyfriend just purchased her a building to run her own company. She asked me and Jacob if we’d be interested in working for her.”
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Fuck no! She was damn near mentally fucking me right here in a room full of people, so I damn sure didn't want to risk being alone with her. That was just asking for trouble.
“Too late. I already accepted and I think it’s a great idea. Tay is blowing up. She’s got some many people wanting to work with her that it’s crazy. Why would I pass up an opportunity like that?” Again, she smiled at me in a way that basically said fuck me now.
“Look, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I don’t roll like that. I’m happy with my situation, so you might want to rethink that offer.”
She chuckled. “Nah, it’s too good to pass up; besides, I love a challenge.” She winked at me, and then walked off.
“Fuck,” I mumbled. I watched her as she walked away and could feel my dick getting hard. I had no plans on cheating on Tay, but my body obviously didn’t get that memo. I knew that I was in trouble, but what the hell was I supposed to do? I damn sure couldn’t tell Tay don’t hire her, she wants to fuck me. That would have Tay looking at me sideways. I was just going to have to wait this shit out and hope for the best. I wasn’t about to lose Tay over some bullshit.
It was after midnight, and Tay and I were laying in bed. The room was dark and you could hear the city below us. It was a sort of peaceful type of chaos.
“Today was perfect,” Tay randomly said.
“Oh yeah?”
"Yeah.” She turned to face me, so I let my arm fall across her waist and kissed her on the forehead.
“Are you happy?” I asked.
“Are you?”
“As long as you’re right here with me, then I’m happy. I don’t need anything else.
“Me either.”
Tay closed her eyes, and within minutes she was out. I just laughed. Her ass could go to sleep in the middle of a damn sentence. I closed my eyes as the sounds of the city filled my head again, and before long I was drifting too.
*****
I woke up later to the sound of my phone going off, and apparently Tay heard it too because she turned her back to me, pulling the covers up over her head, and let out a long sigh. She was so grumpy that it made me laugh. I grabbed my phone, answered, and held it to my ear.
“What up?’
“Keem, I’ve got a problem, can you come meet me?” I could tell from Rasta’s voice that he was pissed, but I knew better than to talk about it over the phone.
“Yeah, give me about forty-five minutes.”
“I’m on the block.”
“Aight bet.”
I ended the call and climbed out of bed. After I had my jeans on, Tay sat up and looked at me.
“Where are you going?” I could see the frown forming on her face.
“I need to go take care of something. Hopefully I won’t be gone long.”
Lately things had been running smooth, so I hadn’t had to make any moves at night. Once I was in, I was in so this was different for Tay. She wasn’t used to calls in the middle of the night.
“This late?”
“Tay, you know what I do and you know that shit is 24/7.”
She looked at me for a few more seconds before she fell into the bed with her back towards me. I knew she wasn’t feeling this, but this was my life.
I walked to the side of the bed and sat down next to her. I leaned down and kissed her before I let my hand slide through her hair.
“How many nights have you seen me on the block? You know how this works. It’s no different now than it’s been in the past.”
“Why isn’t it? You’re running things now right, so don’t you have people who should be doing this for you?”
“I do, but if there’s a major problem then they call me. If it wasn’t important then I wouldn't go. You know that.”
“I know, I’m just not used to it.”
“This is my life, Tay. I can’t control what happens, and sometimes that means I have to leave in the middle of the night.”
“Just be careful, Keem.”
“I’m good, Tay. You never have to worry about me. Okay?” I kissed her on the neck.
“Okay.”
“Go back to sleep, and hopefully I won’t be gone long.”
I pulled up on Rasta’s block and parked. Rasta was outside of our spot on the phone, but when he saw me he ended his call and walked over to me. I got out and locked my doors to see what was going on.
“What’s good?” I dapped Rasta as we entered the house. Once we were inside, I looked around and noticed Craig sitting on the sofa, with two of Rasta’s men standing next to him with their guns drawn.
“The fuck is going on?” I asked eyeing, Craig and then Rasta. Craig w
as hired to make deliveries for us after our shipments came in and were packaged and ready to hit the streets.
“This is your boy, so I decided to let you handle it,” Rasta said as he glanced at Craig, and then focused on me again.
“What’s going on?”
“He tried to short us. He did that shit last month and I let it slide, figuring there might have been a mix up, but this time he was short ten keys. I’m not gonna be responsible for that shit, and when I asked him why the product was short, he said you changed the shipment.”
“How much was it short last month?”
“Two keys.”
I walked over to Craig and yanked him off the sofa by his shirt.
“Are you stealing from me?” I asked him as I held him so that we were eye to eye.
“It’s not like that Keem. I don't package this shit. I just deliver what they give me.”
“So you’re telling me that they're fucking up at the warehouse?”
“I mean, I don’t know Keem. I just deliver what they give me.” He was rambling and scared as shit. I could see it in his eyes, which let me know that he was lying.
I let him go, and the second he had his balance I punched the shit out of him. He fell back across the coffee table, and tried to move back as I came at him again.
“Keem wait. I didn't steal from you!” he yelled as he covered his face, trying to shield himself after I clocked his ass again.
I snatched him off the floor and threw him into the wall, holding him in place with my arm.
“Where is my shit, Craig?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t take it, I swear.”
I was tired of fucking around with him, so I pulled my gun out of the waistband of my jeans, cocked it, and shoved it in his mouth.
“I’m going to ask you one more muthafucking time, and you need to think about your answer before you speak again.
“Did you steal my shit?”
Craig looked at me with a fear that I knew too well. He was going to die, and he knew it. He slowly nodded his head, telling me yes, and I pulled my gun back to allow him to speak.