Chapter 3 Asante Njoroge #3
I returned to the bar so I could start my time being a waiter and carrying drinks and stuff to the VIP sections.
I was shocked by how little they needed overall but I was also extremely aware that they probably would have purchased more if I was a beautiful woman bringing their liquor to them.
I took note of that and made sure I had it on my mind to talk to the women specifically how they felt about their uniforms and opening up an option that covered a little bit more skin in case they wanted it.
By the end of the night, I was tired from running back and forth, jumping from being behind the bar to helping break up fights to running shit back and forth to the DJ.
I made it to midnight before I cracked an energy drink open. I’d done overnight shit while in the military, sure, but I’d been out for a few years now and I wasn’t used to the late night shit anymore. I took a slow drink from the can and stretched slightly, gazing around at the club.
I wasn’t trying to keep my eyes on the Barron family or Bishop necessarily but my eyes drifted to them anyway and there he was, standing with his twin and wearing a smile that should have been award winning.
“Aye,” I addressed Kate who was beside me without pulling my eyes from the scene in front of me. “What do you know about the Barrons?”
“Just the regular rumors.” She shrugged as she moved around me, grabbing a beer and sliding it to a customer at the bar.
“What are the rumors?” I pulled my eyes from Rook and Bishop and looked down at her.
“They’re a really close family and they apparently practice arranged marriages in the twenty-first century.
” She looked back and at their section. “The oldest brother King and his wife Xavia have been together for a few years now. They seem happy. They never argue in public and there’s never been any cheating rumors on either side, not from lack of people trying.
The Barron family has a lot of money, old money.
” She looked back at me. “The second oldest son, Knight, just got married like a year ago, but during his wedding party to Nova, they had Casmi in their section with them. A few months later he was with them in public, like with them, with them.” She leaned into me and lowered her voice.
“I mean, I guess with a family that still does the arranged marriage shit I shouldn’t be surprised about polygamy on top of that but sheesh.
” She whistled. “That could not fucking be me.”
“And what about the twins?” I did my best to discreetly push her little story forward.
“Rook is the one that fights here all the time. He’s a cocky, arrogant son of a bitch but he’s kind of charming when he wants to be and he always pays really well and Bishop is…
quiet.” She laughed. “He’s always polite but he definitely keeps talking to a minimum.
The twins are supposed to be getting married in two years but I guess we’ll see. ”
“What do you mean, we’ll see?”
“Word on the street is that the second youngest Barron is…” She paused and tilted her hand side to side.
“There’s not much actually out to back that up because he’s pretty lowkey but I know a girl whose roommate went to Knight’s wedding party at their mansion and says she saw Bishop real cozy with some guy.
I mean, Rook would probably put someone through a wall if they brought it up in public so we won’t get any confirmation or anything but, that’s the rumor. ”
I nodded at that, doing my best to school my face. I knew not to take rumors as truth but I also could admit to myself that a part of me felt like some of what I’d been told was the truth, even if it was just the part about Bishop being interested in men.
It made me feel validated and let me know that there was a good chance that I wasn’t actually reading too deep into things.
I didn’t focus on that though. Instead I hit my bartender on the back and jumped in to work.
I didn’t see any of the Barrons again but when the club closed for the night I felt accomplished. I helped clean everything up, made sure the building was secure and locked up to head home for the night,
I ate a quick salad when I got home, standing in the stove light of my empty house just to put something on my stomach and made a note to shift all my meals to later times so this didn’t become a habit.
I took a long hot shower afterwards. Then I headed to bed where I lay awake for what felt like hours just thinking about my day in its entirety. I was the owner of a club now. Damn. Life happened fast.
Ten years ago I joined the military. Five years after that, I’d gotten engaged then married three months after I’d popped the question just to be divorced three years later. Looking back I couldn’t believe where I’d started a decade ago, but I was glad I didn’t look like what I’d been through.
I snatched my phone off my nightstand and opened social media just to randomly scroll until my eyes got heavy. Instead, a few minutes into my scrolling I caught sight of King Barron. His picture was one in a line of several, all labeled as people I might know.
I tapped on his photo immediately and tried to tell myself that I was just looking through his photos because that was what social media was for instead of admitting that I was looking for Bishop’s page.
It was tagged in a group photo of the entire family seemingly at an event.
Bishop was usually radio silent. He had six posts, the oldest being from when he was seventeen. He posted once a year. He had no online presence to speak of.
I paused and my eyebrows knitted together when Bishop’s name popped up along the top of my phone’s screen but I didn’t hesitate to open his message.
Bishop B: You want to get together and discuss security details sometime later today?
Me: Sure. Just let me know the time and the place.
Bishop B: The club? 6PM?
Me: See you then.
Bishop B: See you then.
I read over our messages slowly then locked my phone and tossed it back on the bedside table. Then, I stared at the ceiling until sleep took me.
The next day I slept in later than I had in a long time. I took care of my hygiene needs, had some protein, ran a few miles, had some breakfast then really sat with how my first night working at the club had gone.
I made sure I got the paperwork for the club officially filed away, stopped at the gun range, went to the car wash and did some clothing and grocery shopping.
I made some late lunch, packed the leftovers for work and headed out to the club.
There was a small mini fridge in my office that I stocked with water, my lunch and some snacks inside and on top of it in a little basket my sister had given me.
I cleaned the office and moved some things around to make it feel more unique to me and by the time I finished up, Bishop was standing outside of the entrance with one hand in his pocket.
I saw him on the security camera before he shot me a text message but I waited to receive it before hopping up anyway.
“What’s up?” I pushed the door open and moved over so he could enter the club. I locked the door up behind him.
“What’s up?” He looked me up and down but I acted like I didn’t notice as I led him back to my office where we sat on opposite sides of my desk facing each other.
“Alright.” I yanked the desk drawer open, grabbed a pen and pad and tossed them on my desk. “Let me hear it.”
“We come out occasionally. We do our best to keep low profiles. We use this space for big events but we always pay for whatever we expect and on a lot of nights we bring in our own security. They’re trained.
They’re legal. They carry. Your current staff knows them.
We match whatever you have on the floor and besides breaking up a few fist fights, we haven’t had to use them for much.
My brothers and I are always strapped. Your guys typically let us through security anyway.
We don’t have any big enemies but we’re not the type of men that can occupy space without our pieces on us.
” Bishop dug in his pocket and plucked out a piece of paper that he handed over.
“Every name on that list is one of our guys. We don’t swap them out and we don’t do substitutions. They’re consistent and constant.”
“Good to know.” I slowly unfolded the paper and glanced down at the ten names written there.
“Yeah, nah. I mean, I understand that this is how things have been going for however long, but that’s not going to work for me,” I admitted.
“You and your brothers can still carry in here. That’s fine, but these ten people?
” I shook my head while reading the last few names on the list. “I can give you two or three of them tops. I can’t have fourteen random men running through my spot with guns on them. ”
“I understand that you don’t know us and that our word may not be all that good to you just yet, but we need at least four people on our security team to pass, one for each of us.”
I exhaled. “Alright, look, I can do that. You and your brothers will get a pass and your favorite four bodyguards. That’s it, at least until I find out if I can trust y’all or not.”
Bishop smiled. “Sounds good.”
“I need to know what four though.” I turned the paper toward him and dropped a pen on top of it.
He didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the pen and quickly drew stars next to four names on the list.
“If for some reason one of them can’t make it, I’ll let you know ahead of arrival which one is picking up for their loss.”
“Alright. Look, I’m trusting you Bishop. Don’t make me regret that.”
“Yeah, alright.” Bishop snickered. “Do you have security experience?” he asked.
“I have military experience.” I leaned back in my seat.
“How many years?”
“A cool eight.”
Bishop whistled. “What made you go from serving our country to serving drinks?”
“Change of scenery,” I deadpanned. He chuckled.
I smirked. “Nah. It was just time to be honest. I enlisted at eighteen. I didn’t know what the fuck I wanted to do with my life.
Then, I met a woman while enlisted. We fell in love and did the whole marriage thing.
When we divorced, shit got hazy for a little bit and I decided I needed to figure shit out on my own.
I was out there alone, no family, our friends felt split between us and it wasn’t that big of a base so shit was awkward all around and it just wasn’t good for me.
Now, I’m my own boss. I make my own rules.
I get to wake up when I want to and call my own shots. ”
“Sorry about the divorce but congratulations on the freedom.”
“Thanks.” I let my eyes trail up and down Bishop. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“What’s your story?”
“What have you heard?”
“You think I’ve heard things about you?” I lifted an eyebrow and smirked.
“Oh, definitely.” A smile crossed Bishop’s face. “You said it yourself, remember?”
“I just heard that your family believes in arranged marriages.”
“They do,” he nodded once. “We get married at twenty-five.”
“Jesus-fucking- how old are you?”
“Twenty-three.”
“Fuck.” I whistled.
“Don’t do that.” Bishop cut his eyes at me even though he was grinning. “You don’t look too much older yourself.”
“Yeah. Well, I have a good five years on you, kid.”
“Kid?” he repeated. “That’s funny.”
“Thanks.” I shrugged. “I aim to please.”
“You seem like the type.”
Bishop and I held each other's gazes for a few moments. Neither of us spoke. We just breathed. Each of us was trying to read the other. I exhaled and rearranged the way I was sitting.
“I heard something else about you too,” I confessed.
“Alright. Let’s hear it.” Bishop leaned back in his seat, “I’m pretty sure I know where you’re going with this anyway.”
“Yeah? Where do you think I’m going with it?”
“You want to know if I’m straight, right?”
“Yeah.” I didn’t hesitate. “I do.”
“Does it matter?”
“I’d like to know if you and your brothers are going to shoot at me if I flirt with you so yeah, it’s pretty fucking important.”
“You want to flirt with me now, Asante?”
“Depending on how you answer the question.”
Bishop exhaled and leaned back in his chair. “Yeah,” was all he said.
I nodded at that. “Me too.”
“You in the closet?”
“Because I had a wife?” I chuckled. “Nah. I’m bisexual. I’ve never been anything else. I’ve never claimed to be anything else. I never will.” I locked eyes with him. “What about you?”
“That closest is fucking glass at this point.” He shrugged. “I don’t confirm and I don’t deny. I just do whatever feels right.”
“And your family?”
“My twin supports me. My other brothers act like they don’t know what’s happening so,” he shrugged.
I exhaled. “You want a drink, Bishop?”
“I probably shouldn’t.” He sat up and pushed up from his seat.
“That’s not what I asked you.”
“I heard what you asked me.”
“Then answer the question I presented.”
Bishop snickered and shook his head. “What do you have?”
“Whatever you want. There’s a bar, remember?” I pushed up from my seat too. I slid the paper he’d given me into a desk drawer and headed toward the door. “Come on, Bishop. How am I going to flirt with you if you don’t cooperate?”
He chuckled and shook his head but followed me out of my office and to the bar.