Chapter 6
Stassi pulled up to the brick building and parked curbside as she hopped out of her car.
“You’re late.”
She heard the baritone behind her and she looked up to find Day climbing out of the black, big body Benz. Black Jeans and an open hoodie, revealing a fitted white t-shirt beneath. He certainly wasn’t dressed for the occasion.
“I’m not,” she said. She was but she couldn’t let him know that she had destroyed the fondant on the cake she was currently making twice before getting here.
She was supposed to be earning his business.
This was supposed to be a meeting where he could see her in action, all professional, composed and orchestrating a corporate event so that he would feel good about hiring her company to handle an event of his own.
So far, it had been a disastrous morning.
“I actually emailed you letting you know we had a thirty-minute delay.” A lie, but she knew a man like Day wasn’t paying attention to emails.
“I must have missed that memo,” Day said as he met Stassi at her trunk as she opened it. She reached in and grabbed the cardboard box that was inside, passing it off to him.
“Put potential customers to work. Got it. That’s how you run your business?” he said, smirking.
“You look like you can handle it,” she said, giggling as she grabbed her overflowing tote.
“You got your whole life in there or something?” Day asked.
Stassi smiled. “Literally everything,” she replied. “So, I’ve been planning this event for six months. It is a wedding, but I’ve learned that the reason for the event doesn’t matter. I’ve handled both corporate and personal events. The process is pretty much the same.”
“It’s a wedding?” Day asked.
“That’s why I told you to dress up,” she said.
He glanced down at his street gear. “You can stay out the way, it’s fine,” she said.
Stassi’s dress clung to her curves as she pulled her heels off her feet and put them in the tote, replacing them for crystal slides that would allow her to maneuver around the event easier until start time.
“This way,” she said.
“Yo, that dress,” Day said as he followed her, eyes where they shouldn’t be.
“Is not the focus,” she said, blushing as she opened the door. As soon as they stepped inside, it was like they were transported into a fairy tale. “So, of course, this theme isn’t your vibe. This was what the couple wanted, but I can transform any space in any way you want.”
“Nah, I’m familiar with what this looks like on a normal day. This shit dope. You did all this?” he asked.
“I did. Me and a team of very creative people who work with me,” she said.
“Stassi! I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you!
” The manager of the event space said, approaching her with relief in his eyes.
“The kitchen is a disaster! We’re missing the lobster for the bisque.
It was supposed to be flown in this morning, but it isn’t here yet and one of the damn servers dropped the top layer of the cake.
It’s completely destroyed. I don’t know how to salvage this. ”
“What?” Stassi hissed.
“I know, I know. What do you want me to do? I’ve called every baker in town,” he said.
“Calm down, just lead the way,” Stassi said, her mind spinning.
Stassi and Day followed the panicked man through the venue and into the kitchen. Stassi took the box from Day and sat it on a countertop.
The kitchen was in a panic. A line of chefs attempting to prepare 400 custom orders for the arriving guests.
“You have an apron?” she asked. She was passed one and she turned and put it on Day.
“Yo, fuck you think this is?” Day asked, laughing. “I ain’t getting paid to be here.”
“Oh, you’re definitely not getting paid,” she said.
“But if you want to see how I make sure my clients’ events go off without a hitch, this is how.
I put aprons on thousand-dollar dresses, and I do whatever I need to make sure shit gets done.
I’ve got exactly three hours to pull off a miracle, so yes, you’re helping. ”
Day rubbed his chin and eyed her curiously.
“Yeah, a’ight,” he conceded. “What type of cake anyway? You got a picture or something? What’s the flavor?”
Stassi frowned and pulled out the rendering of the cake. “This is the cake. Lemon with custard filling on top. Now, can you help me please?” she asked.
Day nodded, picking up the picture and annoying Stassi’s soul because what the hell would looking at a picture of the cake fix.
“Yeah, I got you,” he said.
Stassi tied up her hair into a top knot and then slipped the apron over her head.
She moved around the kitchen like the chef she was.
She thanked God she had chosen to learn desserts too.
Day was patient as she ordered him around.
He was measuring, whipping, cracking, spreading ingredients all over the place and Stassi was grateful.
“How long you been a chef?” he asked.
“Like two years, but I’ve been cooking all my life,” she answered.
“It shows,” he said, as he leaned against the counter, arms folded across one another, watching her work. “You locked in on it like you love it.”
“That’s because I do,” she said, looking up, smiling. “But wedding cakes are not my specialty, and this is hella pressure. This bride is super particular.”
“It’ll work out. Day of the wedding I’d think the last thing the couple would be concerned about is the fucking little-ass cake on the top,” he said.
“You’d be surprised,” Stassi said. “This bride is hell and I don’t exactly have everything I need here to replace her $15,000 cake and I’ve been running my own full-service event company for so long that I haven’t seen a kitchen lately.
I always have my lead chef handle the kitchen, but he doesn’t bake. ”
Stassi finished the cake as Day distracted her with conversation. Surprisingly, she was grateful for his presence. What would have been panic otherwise was lessened because of him.
“So, what’s it like being famous?” she asked. “Did you always want to own a record label?”
“Nah, I wanted to sell dope, but every little boy got to eventually become a man, so this was natural progression,” Day explained.
“That’s kind of terrible,” Stassi said.
“It’s life,” Day answered. “It’s real. Every rap nigga ain’t fronting. It’s a few of us who create from the real. Most of these niggas in this music shit just play gangster. They ain’t about it for real,” Day answered, smirking.
“You sound proud,” Stassi said.
“You sound bougie,” he shot back. “You must have come up with that silver spoon. I don’t know nothing about that.”
“I guess we’re from two different worlds,” Stassi said. Day nodded, biting his lip and staring at her for a moment longer than awkward. His glower flustered her as she iced the cake.
“What are you looking at?” she tittered nervously.
“Just looking,” Day said lazily. He hopped down off the steel table he used as a seat. He removed the apron Stassi had tasked him with. Stassi dusted her hands on her apron and then took it off.
“The wedding should be over. Come on,” she said.
Day followed her out to the main ballroom. It had taken her two hours to bake a cake from scratch. The couple was an hour into the reception by the time she showed her face. Couples took to the dance floor, dancing to love songs.
“Are you going to ask me to dance or are you too tough for that?” she asked.
Day rubbed his chin and looked out at the crowd. He was underdressed and stood out like a sore thumb, but still, he took her hand and led her onto the dance floor.
“Nah, nigga used to earn his stripes by slow dancing with bougie-ass girls like you at the parties back in the day,” he said.
“Before niggas was getting any kind of pussy, slow grinding was all we had.” He chuckled and Stassi blushed, shaking her head, giggling too because she knew it was true.
She remembered giving teenage boys free feels to R.
Kelly as he sang about feeling on your booty.
“Is that right? Just sell us bougie girls all the dreams and break our hearts, huh?” she teased.
Let me knowwww- Let me knowwwwww
Oohhhhhh, ohhhhhhh
Let meeeee knowwwwww.
Let meeeee knowwwwww.
Let meeeee knowwwwww.
When I feellllll, what I feellllll.
“Hell yeah, back then,” Day admitted. “A nigga was just looking to rub up on something and earn his respect. Today, I’m just trying to act like I’m good enough for a girl I’m pretty sure is out of my league.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her smoothly into his arms.
Stassi blushed as she placed her hands on his shoulders while Aaliyah serenaded the room.
“I’m not out of your league,” she replied, a demure smile showing off those cheekbones her mother had blessed her with.
“You don’t give yourself enough credit,” he answered.
They swayed to what sounded like an angel as classic Aaliyah described Day as a positive and motivating force within Stassi’s life. His hands went from her hips to one on her upper back as he pulled her close, the other to the nape of her ass.
“You smell good like a motherfucka,” Day whispered as they swayed.
“Hmm,” Stassi whispered, her eyes closed as she rested her head on his shoulder. “I was thinking the same thing.”
It was his body for Stassi. His strength. She felt like she was wrapped in a fortress, protected and her breaths were so light she felt like she was filling with air every time she inhaled. Like she could float away.
When he extended her hand and turned her around, she smiled. He held her from behind as they two-stepped. Stassi reached behind her, her fingertips gracing his face.
Should you ever feel the need to wonder why
Let me knowwwwwww, Letttt mee knowwwwww
“Yo, a nigga ain’t danced with a pretty girl since I was 15 with whack game,” he said.
Stassi laughed as he buried his face in her neck.
“Got to come back from behind all that hardness and be soft sometimes,” she replied.
Stassi turned to him, snapping her fingers. “A nigga can get with soft,” Day said.
“You’re good at soft,” Stassi whispered.
Before she could say another word, his lips were on hers.
The man was an entire vibe. With his expensive cologne hypnotizing her, his body pressed against hers.
He tasted like Backwoods and Jolly Ranchers because he kept candy on him.
A green apple-flavored tongue had her captured and her panties soaked.
“Day, I’m at work,” she whispered, pulling back slightly because she was too absorbed in this dance, this kiss. Her head swirled. “If we’re going to work together, I can’t do this.”
“You’re about your paper, I respect it,” Day said. “If that ever changes...”
“It won’t,” she answered quickly. “It can’t, Day. Women don’t have the luxury to date without thinking about it. Like, I can’t just throw myself at you, can’t enjoy your company and allow you to put me on too.”
“And you’re choosing business over pleasure?” Day asked.
“I always choose business over everything,” Stassi said.
“I got a problem with that, lil’ mama,” Day said, smirking as he took a respectful step back.
“I respect it, though. I want to introduce you to Lauren Sky. She puts together all my company’s events but she’s in high demand, so she’s been outsourcing a lot of her work.
She’s been looking for a partner to expand her shit.
She does everybody shit. The whole industry fuck with her. I can connect you.”
“Thee Lauren Sky?” Stassi asked. “She is goals! She does all the planning out in L.A. for Emmy weekend and the Grammy’s. She does major productions!”
“Yeah, sis official, but the way you kept your cool with the cake and executed this wedding, I think y’all can benefit from partnering. I’ll set up an introduction and tell her to bring you on for all my company’s events. Starting with the talent showcase we do monthly,” Day said.
“Wow, yes. I’d love to work with her and on your events, Day,” she said, nodding. “I really, really appreciate the opportunity. Thank you!”
“Not a problem, beautiful,” he replied. “I’ma break out of this wedding. I’ll have the lawyers draw up an agreement.”
“I’m sorry to interrupt, Stassi, but the new cake is here.” Stassi looked at one of her line cooks and frowned.
“New cake?” she asked.
“It was always handled,” Day explained. “I just wanted to see how you worked under pressure. I’ma get with you.”
He walked out, weaving through the fancy crowd as Stassi watched him in shock.
“Package the one I made, and have it sent to him,” she said.
She would have to work hard to keep things professional between her and Day.
He was handsome, powerful, and hard to resist. The taste of his lips still lingered as she watched him push out of the ballroom.
She would love to get to know him better but not at the expense of her reputation or her career.