by Tiana Laveen
“King, that’s not—”
“Ya know, none of this surprises me.” He laughed dismally. “I knew not to trust you mothafuckas! You are just like everyone else. Bottom feeders.”
“King, you’re crossing the line.”
“You crossed the gotdamn finish line fifty miles ago when you called me with this bullshit! How’d you expect me to act? Are you honestly surprised that I’d be okay letting you jip me? Treat me like some ho, some trick?! I don’t fuck for free! I don’t design for free! I don’t do anything but love for free! I’m an artist, not an idiot. Not a starving artist. None of that. I know how to make money. Hustling is in my blood. I got it honestly from my father.”
“King, this wasn’t my decision.”
“Oh, so this is Lincoln’s idea, huh? Mr. Big Shot fashion designer who’s been texting me all the time, acting like he and I are buddy buddy now but behind my back, he is about to stab me with a knife. And he’s got you being the bad guy?”
“King, I want you to think of this from our perspective. It’s a numbers game.”
“I don’t want to hear all of that and the fact that you let him run you like this is even worse because that means you refused to stand up to his greedy ass! After everything I’ve done for you, man!”
He heard his name being called, then Suri appeared, worry in her eyes. He looked away, his heart pumping, his rage bursting out of him like water from a broken dam.
“Let’s talk in person. I shouldn’t have done this over the phone. I can show you the numbers and—”
“I’ve been runnin’ all over the fuckin’ city for you, dropping shit off which, by the way, I knew wasn’t always on the up and up. But I did it for you because you were compensating me and I thought we had a level of respect for one another. All the late hours at that damn shop, all the time I’ve put in! Sometimes I was in there until almost midnight putting up new displays, working my ass off, and this is the thanks I get, huh?! I could’ve been working on stuff for my show, which is sure to bring in some money, or spending time with my woman, but no, I’m in that fuckin’ store wrestling with mannequins! I’m a fuckin’ bodyguard to those women you always hire because idiots and pervs keep comin’ in the store to look at their tits and say inappropriate dumb shit to ’em. Making them feel uncomfortable. You haven’t hired any protection for them so I have to do that, too. I’m a damn therapist to the customers half the time. I can barely even take a piss in there without being interrupted and you have the fuckin’ audacity, the unbelievable nerve, to call me and tell me this shit, to tell me you’re going to give me less than I deserve because you want to be gluttonous and gobble the whole pie!”
He felt Suri’s hand on his shoulder and flinched, feeling out of sorts, needing an anchor, but not sure how.
“Can I speak to you in person, King?” Oddly enough, Ricky wasn’t fighting back the way he thought he would. In fact, he sounded downright deflated. “Please. I can come over, if that’s all right?”
“Speak to me in person for what? So you can bring one of your goons with ya? I know all about you, man. The circles you run with’. You’ve beat the fuck outta people and hired people to do the same, and now you expect me to open my door to you after I’ve told you about yourself? Really? As if I still trust you after this. Oh, and if you do try somethin’ slick, I will fight someone to the death, and I do keep that heat on me. I’m not a pacifist by any stretch of the imagination. Please don’t get my typically calm nature, the art, and love supreme ideology I hold dear, twisted.”
“You can trust me, King. I would never do something to hurt you. I told you I see you as a son, and I mean that. I didn’t even want to make this call. I feel like a fuckin’ idiot right now. I should’ve trusted my gut and not done it but at the same time, I was hoping we could negotiate so that all parties could be happy. If I don’t come up with a compromise, Lincoln could threaten to shut the whole thing down.”
King took a deep breath and massaged his forehead, trying to think.
“I’ll talk to you outside the building. My girlfriend is over here. The last thing I want is for her to overhear any more of this shit.”
“I’m coming right over. See you in forty minutes. I hope that—”
King disconnected the call before the bastard could finish his sentence.
Suri looked at him, crossing her arms, her lips twisted and worry etched across her face.
“King, what the hell is going on?”
“As soon as I open up as you encouraged me to, this is the sort of shit that happens.”
“Oh, so this is my fault now?” She frowned, pointing to herself.
“Of course not! I’m tellin’ you, baby, people aren’t shit! Do you see why I believe that now? Lincoln is trying to steal some of my stake in our deal and Ricky’s ass is letting him do it. I’ve got court coming up and could do jail time if things don’t go well. The art show is approaching and I’m not even half way finished with the paintings. I’m exhausted and I’m trying to fix everything in a short amount of time. My mother is depressed and barely eating because Tomas left rehab and once again no one knows where the hell he is. The car is still M.I.A. My stepfather has had it up to here with Tomas and it’s putting a strain on their marriage; so much so, divorce is not out of the question. And then, my father is going ape shit because he promises if I spend one more fuckin’ night in jail on account of my brother, he’s going to make Tomas pay. Everyone who knows Brian knows he means every damn word of that. This can’t go down like this. My life is crazy right now and I hate drama, you know that, and I’m sorry you’re wrapped up in this shit. My life is never this exciting,” He smiled sadly at her. “But right now, things are completely out of control. Regardless, I got this. I will take care of it.”
“You’re not Superman, King. You can’t be everything and everywhere. All you can do is be the best you can be, and try.”
“You’re wrong. You’ve fallen in love with an ambitious man who knows exactly what he’s doing, in part thanks to you. Let me tell you something, Suri. I can do everything I put my damn mind to. I believe in me. I believe in you. I believe in us.” Her expression softened as he grabbed her arms and brought her in for a hug. “And this shit right here is not going to end some kind of fucked up way. You can bet on that. Watch Superman in action. Bet you didn’t know Clark Kent was born and raised in Harlem…”
Suri sat in King’s apartment and cracked the window. A blustery cool breeze flowed in as she absently flipped through the canvases, while trying to eavesdrop. She drew closer to the window, peeling back the curtain as King walked to the shiny black car. Ricky got out, wearing a dark suit. She could see his Rolex sparkling and a half smile crease his face. She heard them speaking, but couldn’t make out much, so she lifted the window a bit higher, and could now hear things much better.
“So, I mean, that’s where we’re at with this. Come on now.”
“Come on nothin’, Ricky.” King waved off the man and took a couple steps back. “I’m done. Cut me a check for the designs. I want nothing else to do with Lincoln from this day forward. I will work at Alpha until you find someone else. That’s it.”
“King, what are you talking about? Why would you take it to this extreme?”
“Because you and Lincoln took it to this extreme.”
“You’re blowing this out of proportion. I asked you a question, King. No one did anything yet. I wanted to speak to you about it.”
“No, you wanted to play another mind game. You wanted to test me to see if I’d go for it. For a split second, you were blinded by the money. I believe you probably see you shouldn’t have listened to Lincoln, but once again, you didn’t appreciate what I bring to the table because if you did, you would have shut him down fast.”
“I went to bat for you, King.”
“If you went to bat for me, Ricky, then you left before the first inning was over. If you’d truly went to bat for me, Ricky, you wouldn’t even have made that call, and you da
mn sure wouldn’t be standing right here. Since you apparently know so much about me, things that were none of your business, then you must know I’m not afraid to defend what’s mine.” The two stared each other down. “You’ve given me all these tests, mind fucks. I played along like I didn’t know what you were doing. I wasn’t born yesterday. You play games twenty-four-seven. You’re a smart businessman but your emotional maturity is lacking. Since you’re always trying to get over, you think everyone is trying to get over on you, too, and I’m just not with this shit. You say you saw me like a son. Well, I looked up to you, too. I admired you.”
Suri looked down at the canvas before her, slid it out, then turned back towards the window. Ricky shook his head.
“I’m disappointed, King. I drove all the way over here for a reason.”
“I’m disappointed, too, and I want out. Without trust, there’s nothing. Oh, and please believe those designs have already been claimed for trademarks, so make sure Lincoln knows that before he runs off into the sunset with my shit. While you two were playing checkers, I was playing chess. I’m far from stupid. Fuck Lincoln and fuck this entire agreement, and I’ll say that shit to his face unlike him, who couldn’t even face me. He’s a coward. He sent you to do his bidding, and he wasn’t even man enough to tell me his concerns himself. I hope you both have a good time, an absolute blast, because you’ve burnt this bridge. Lincoln could’ve gotten ten more designs from me and made triple the money, probably more. You need to think about that next time you strike a deal with him. He just messed both of y’all up. I hope it was worth it.”
Ricky stared at him for a long while, then lowered his head and looked away.
“I’m sorry you feel that way, King. All right, this isn’t going anywhere. I’ll take care of the paperwork in the next couple of days.” The older man turned away and began to walk to his car, then paused. “King, you’re speaking out of anger right now. I get it. You just signed for a new apartment and bought a car. You’ll need the money from your job because the money you’re due won’t be paid right away as you know. Don’t let your rage put you in a precarious financial situation. You’re not thinking this through. You’re allowed to change your mind. Call me if you do.”
Suri jumped up, opened the window wider, and jammed her head out.
“Ricky, he’ll be okay! I got his back. He won’t be homeless, and he won’t be out here getting repoed, either. I work. He works. God works. But thank you for your concern! We’re good!”
She slammed the window shut with venom, not bothering to wait to see King’s reaction or Ricky’s response, and went back to flipping through the canvases.
And then, she burst out in tears when she landed on the one he’d done of her…
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
April Showers, Bring May Flowers
“Shit, I could move in here.” Shane slung his bag over his shoulder and looked about, admiring King’s new digs. “Since I helped you move into this mothafucka and all you gave me was beer and pizza, you can at least let me crash here for a few months. Rent free,” he teased. King smirked and shook his head. “How’s the website going? Everything cool?”
“Definitely. Even better than expected. I got my logo on there and Gino helped me get the payment situation all taken care of, too.” Shane nodded. “I can make sales now with no issue. Got PayPal, CashApp, and GooglePay. So, I’m ready to take more orders.”
“Are they art prints?”
“Yeah. I already worked out a deal with the printers and have my UPS account all set up. I’ve got about twenty-five pieces on the website now, limited number prints, and I’ve started advertising on social media. I have to play with the strategy a little, see what works, but so far, so good. The great thing is that orders are already coming in.”
“That’s what’s up, man. You always land on yo’ feet.” They slapped hands. “A, don’t forgot about that gig we’re doing together next week. A nice grand.”
“You already know I’ll be there. I’ve got the show coming up, too. I got a car payment now and this damn apartment. Still at Alpha, but you know that’ll be coming to an end soon. Ricky is stalling. We haven’t been talking much.” He shrugged.
“That situation is fucked up. I can’t believe it imploded like that.”
“Yeah, it is fucked up, but I know my worth. I have my principles, man. I’ve calmed down about it, and I don’t even hate him or anything like that, but if I can’t trust someone then there’s no need for us to do business. I’m working for myself now.”
“You always wanted to anyway.”
“Exactly. I know I can do this and on top of it all, Suri got this staging job last week, right? And they needed some art, so I got to slide right in there and they didn’t just rent the piece, they paid for it. Then, the hotel commissioned me for two more like it. Suri and I have been talking about starting up a side business now, combining forces. Between my art, the modeling, the T-shirt business I’m about to start in a few months, and school, I’m gonna be all right, man. Busy as hell, but just fine. I feel good about this. Confident. Good friends that have my back. Bomb ass woman by my side. All the support I need. I’m good.”
“Nigga, I swear you got nine lives. Only thing to deal with now is Tomas. So, they moved the court date again?”
“Yeah. The courts are busy I guess, but my lawyer has been keeping me in the loop. I took my mother to the store the other day and his ass was there at her house. But we didn’t speak. If he tried to blow the whistle because of that bogus ass restraining order he knows our mother would’ve hit the roof, so he just kept quiet. She keeps telling him to drop the charges, but he won’t. At this point, it is what it is. I’m not bowing down to him, and I’m not apologizing. I have no problem saying sorry when I’m wrong. But I wasn’t. He stole our mother’s shit, sold our father’s car and then said some slick shit to me that night, so that was the final straw.”
“Man, you know I get it. I haven’t talked to my brother in like five months. Family be fucked up sometimes.”
Just then, Suri emerged from the master bedroom, her hair parted down the middle and wrapped in two buns, one on each side. Donning a pair of baggy black jogging pants and white tank top, she looked good enough to eat. Beads of sweat covered her face as she marched in with a cardboard box.
“Found another box of art supplies, baby. Do you want them in the other bedroom, or out here? It’s getting kind of full in there. I know you said you wanted to sort through them again.”
“I’ll set it right here, baby.” He took the box from her grasp, kissed her nose, and smacked her ass, causing her to giggle as she disappeared back down the hall.
“Well, man, I’ll get going now. See you tomorrow.”
King walked Shane to the door.
“Bye, Shane!” Suri called out.
“Bye, woman-that-stole-my-best-friend-and-monopolizes-all-of-his-time-but-he-loves-you-so-I-will-let-this-shit-go!” All of them burst out laughing and King shoved Shane playfully in the back, pushing him out the door.
“Hey, baby. Why don’t you take five?” he called out, not sure where she’d vanished to. “I’m going to jump into the shower and then start up again. The bedroom is almost finished. We need a break. Been doing this all day.”
“All right. Let me jump in with you.”
“Okay. I’ll start the water.”
He entered the hall bathroom, loving it more and more. White and clear tiles covered the walls, and a matching liner hung from a silver bar. There was a good amount of vanity space, a deep sink basin, and a nice mirror to boot. It was simplistic, but clean and modern. The fixtures were stainless steel and it even had a small closet inside to place his towels and soaps.
Once the water was warm enough, he made quick work of removing his clothing. He grabbed his phone, turned on a playlist, then stepped into the water, two washcloths in hand. Lucky Daye’s, ‘Love You Too Much’ played on the highest volume from his phone. He placed one cloth down at the back of
the shower for her, then walked back to the spout, allowing the warm water to run over his face and hair. His tresses felt heavy as he closed his eyes, falling in love with each drop that christened him, washing the day away. He soon heard the crinkle of the plastic from the shower liner, and smiled when a warm hand grabbed his ass and squeezed.
“Where do I slide my credit card for a dirty dance?” she teased. “In the crack of this cute ass of yours?”
“If you put anything in my ass, Suri, it’s going to be war in here. You will be waterboarded. Believe me.” He chuckled.
“Oh, but it was okay for me, huh?” He knew she was smiling. He didn’t have to see her; he could feel it.
“That’s different.”
“No, it’s not. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”
“That’s silly. You don’t have a dick, and we’re heterosexual. You’re comparing apples and oranges.”
“You’re just a sexist pig.”
“Oink.”
She playfully slapped his shoulder.
“I let you convince me to try that shit and thought I was going to die. Never again!”
“Oh, stop. It wasn’t that bad.” He scrubbed his neck, then behind his ears. “What was I supposed to think? It wasn’t your first time, so I thought we were cool. You said you’d done it before.”
“I had. But not with the iron giant.” They both burst out laughing.
“You’re exaggerating and besides, I didn’t even have it all the way in. We’ll try again someday soon. You just weren’t relaxed enough.” He reached for the Irish Spring soap and lathered his cloth.
“Ain’t that much relaxing, lube, weed, alcohol, or horse-strength tranquilizers in the world.”
“We’ll see about that. I’ll get you in the mood.”