Chapter 14
R ennix
I heard what my brother and Kinga said at the party, so after it was over and everybody was gone, I found my way into the office and ran the baby mama’s name.
Not only did her Prius come back to her, but so did the address where it was registered.
From what the maps showed, the address was of one of those rundown, apartment buildings on Chicago’s South Side.
With some of my skills I was able to pull up the schematics for the building as well as any feed that should have been working to protect tenants, but it wasn’t even functional.
Through my digital area sweep, I was able to tell because the only online CCTV were a few ring cameras and the city’s redlight cameras.
I wasn’t too bad with the computer, so what was online wasn’t anything I couldn’t take offline for a minute.
I slept on the information before taking it into the club with me this morning.
Before calling Reminisce, I tracked his location and saw he wasn’t too far from me. Unlike him I wouldn’t pop up on him, but I damn sure wanted to sometimes.
“Yo,” he answered on the first ring.
“Where you at?” I asked, hearing what sounded like exhaustion in his tone.
“Minding my fucking business. What do you need, Renny?”
I laughed because that meant he was on some creeping shit. “Lemme find out you went and saw about Debby after Jade dropped that plate off.
“Yo, fuck you. Now what do you want?”
“To get this shit over with. You and Kinga did all that bitching at the party. You ready to put in this work or you creeping?”
“I’m grown as hell. Ain’t shit ’bout me giving creeping. Now I’m on my way, bitch. Be outside. I owe Lil G fifty dollars because I bet him he couldn’t hop in that fucking pool.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I heard about that. Don’t be ducking smoke. You got it.”
“Don’t matter. I’on like paying folks that I know don’t.”
“Then why did you make the bet then, Reminisce?” I asked, eyes locked on the sight before me.
Boe had just walked the new girl into my office for an interview.
This was a fucking gentleman’s club, but damn, she could’ve come in here presentable, not like she was about to hop up on the stage.
I knew I wasn’t tripping, because on my mama this was a first. Every other girl I hired walked in here dressed for an interview then changed into the Poles & Pastry T-shirt and shorts to show what they had going.
Nah, I wasn’t no creep ass nigga who made bitches do weird shit for the job.
Boe handled the majority of the hiring steps.
I just signed off on it and sat in on the interviews.
“I thought you were at the club today.” Reminisce’s voice brought me from my daydream back to the office.
“I am and I have an interview. By the time you get here she’ll be finished and we can go handle that.”
“Aight. Bet.” He hung up and I focused on Boe and Shorty. Something about her seemed familiar, but I couldn’t place her.
“I hear y’all got benefits. That’s true?” Shorty popped her gum loud as hell while she spoke. I could tell the question was directed toward me because she hadn’t taken her eyes off me since she sat down.
“Yes. So, tell us Ms. Stokes, what is your experience working in a gentleman’s club?” Boe asked because she had worked for me long enough to know I had no intention of doing so.
Shorty nodded. “I worked at Angel Numberz and Blowfish. It was aight, but I wasn’t making much money.”
I nodded, already knowing I wasn’t signing off on her.
Nothing against her looks, because from what I could see she was a beautiful woman, but the two clubs she’d just listed were both undercover prostitution rings.
I meant it when I said I wanted to keep my business clean. I didn’t need that kind of infestation.
Boe also knew because she and I had this conversation a few times. I was serious about the integrity of my business, meaning just because we sold the illusion of sex didn’t mean we sold sex.
“Why did you leave your last club?”
“Because it was too many haters and the money was slow. It thinned out after Sal stopped the VIP privacy. That’s where most of the money came from.
” She sighed, seemingly irritated at the change.
I was half ass paying this interview any attention because I knew already.
I was on my phone about to text Cay and ask her what was for dinner tonight.
She hated that question while I only asked to fuck with her.
“Well, our VIP rooms also only provide minimal privacy as we’re trying to protect the dancers and the club from the wrong type of attention.”
“I heard from my cousin Juicy that y’all got doors.”
That stopped me, pulling my attention. “Juicy is your cousin?” The reason I couldn’t place her face was because she looked like Juicy but wasn’t Juicy.
“Yeah. She said this was one of the nicest clubs she ever worked at.”
“Then why did she stop showing up?” Boe questioned, shaking her head.
“I don’t know. Bitch been sleeping on my grandmother’s couch for the last two weeks, talking about somebody is after her.
I already live with our grandmother, now she wants to as well.
I’m a caretaker during the day for my granny, but at night I’m available to dance.
” Shorty realized she was babbling before finally shutting up.
The interview went on for another ten minutes, all the while I was sure I’d be grabbing her file from Boe.
“You’re not thinking about hiring her, are you, boss?” Boe asked when it was just her and me in my office.
“Shit no. I can’t have that in here. She was cute, better than cute, but she’s looking for an atmosphere we don’t provide.”
Boe nodded in agreement.
“I’m headed out in a few. Don’t hesitate to call if you need me tonight.”
“You’re good, boss. I got the fort.” She nodded before standing to leave my office.
We didn’t say anything more as I put my phone to my ear and she exited.
I had a change of plans, because according to the file in my hands, Juicy’s grandmother only lived five minutes from the club.
Lowkey, if she was there, the idea was genius, hiding in plain sight.
Nine times out of ten, when you lived the life they did, you had to have genius ideas like that.
Too bad you had motherfuckers like Ms. Motormouth who fucked it all up.
My brother let me know he was outside, so I was leaving out when my phone started ringing again. This time when I looked down it was my baby. I had been meaning to check in with her, but didn’t know if she was on a head and didn’t want to bother her.
“Yeah, beautiful.”
“My car started smoking on the way out to the house. Adonis and I are fine. Harlem came to get us and Kinga had my car towed to his shop.”
I paused for a minute, not liking the idea of them on the side of the fucking road even though she assured me she wasn’t. “Why yeen call me?”
“Um, I texted you. We’re good though and almost home.”
“The fuck you texting me for? If it’s a fucking emergency I want you to call me like I’m the fucking nine-one-one.”
“Okay. Well anyway, I’m or?—”
“Don’t okay me, Cay. I mean that shit. And if I don’t answer the phone, you call that nigga who looks like me. He’ll for sure fucking answer. I’m glad Harlem and Kinga got you, but baby, you got me, and I should have been your first call.” I walked out of the club, face screwed up.
“I hear you. I was on the phone with Harlem, which is why I didn’t call you immediately, but you’re right. You forgive me?”
“Shit I’on now. How is my Lil G?”
She laughed. “He’s asleep. How don’t you know if you forgive me?”
I smiled at her question. Nah, I wasn’t mad at her. I was lowkey just fucking with her and grateful she was alright. “’Cause I don’t.”
“Okay, remember that tonight. What time are you gonna be in? I can’t pick up anything for dinner because I don?—”
“Keys to the Wagon are on the nail.”
She sucked her teeth. “I’ll wait. I don’t want to get used to your car then get pissed when it’s time to go back to my own.”
“Drive the fucking car, Caya. Plus, I been told you that Jeep was on its last limb. I know those motherfuckers last forever, but I feel like forever has come and gone for that motherfucker.”
“Don’t say that, Rennix. Betty has been in the family since I was in school. Shit, since Adonis was a baby.” I could hear her frowning into the phone.
“Good memories, but baby, nine times out of ten Kinga’s gonna be telling you it’s time to junk that motherfucker, and when he does, I got you.
” I climbed into the car with my brother whose music I immediately turned to minimum volume as soon as I was in the car.
I knew he was looking at me crazy, but I didn’t acknowledge it or look his way.
“You got me like what? I don’t need you to buy me a car, Rennix. I’m perfectly capa?—”
“Capable of taking care of yourself. I get it, you have only said that shit a million times. It don’t matter to me. You being able to take care of and care for yourself doesn’t mean I’m not providing. I’m a man, Caya, let me do my shit. Fuss less and let me be the nigga you need me to be.”
She laughed. “Aight, I’ll fuss less and let you do you.
Anything extra I can do to get something that matches yours.
” Now I knew she was fucking with me, but little did she know she could get that outta me without even asking.
Caya was hard working and about her paper.
She never had her hand out for anything and that made me want to give her the fucking world.
“Nah, just wait up on a nigga tonight. I won’t be too late.”
“Bet. Be safe. I love you.”
“I love you too, thug.” We hung up seconds later and I just knew Reminisce was ready to clown my ass. About thirty seconds into waiting on it, he never said anything. So I looked over at him and his eyes were on the road. “What, yeen got no jokes?”