17. Pressure Mensah
Trill-Land, Jungle Estate
A fter a shower and throwin’ on somethin’ smooth, I took the elevator downstairs to join the women for dinner.
The chef had the dinin’ room set up right.
The table was laid out with candles burnin’ low, silverware polished and plates set for a feast. He went all out.
There was ribeye steak cooked just how I like it, lobster tails with lemon wedges, salmon with some creamy dill sauce, roasted chicken stuffed with spinach and cheese, racks of lamb, and jumbo shrimp scampi.
The sides was stacked too. We had baked macaroni with three cheeses, mashed potatoes loaded with butter, grilled asparagus, wild rice, and a whole salad spread.
He had cornbread muffins with honey butter and desserts lined up on a cart.
Red velvet cake, peach cobbler, chocolate mousse.
Drinks covered everything from champagne and wine to tequila and fresh fruit punch.
I made sure to talk to his ass before I sat down. After what happened with Zaniyah the other day, I wasn’t lettin’ that shit happen again. I told him to ask every woman what she couldn’t eat and make sure none of it was on the table tonight.
The ladies was dressed to impress tonight.
All of ‘em looked like they wanted my attention. Dresses hugged their curves, hair and makeup on point, and heels clicking across the floor like they was walkin’ a runway.
Some went loud with bright colors and thigh splits that damn near came to the waist. Others kept it simple but sexy, lettin’ their confidence do the talkin’.
I let my eyes travel the table slow, takin’ in the view, but my mind drifted for a second.
I could still taste Pluto on my tongue, that sweet mix of her pussy and the way her body had given in to me earlier.
She swore she was keepin’ her guard up, but she let me in a little more than she planned, and now she was sitting’ at the table with no idea a nigga was still thinkin’ about it.
My gaze landed on Kashmere for a second, and she caught it.
She didn’t smile, but there was a spark there that made my chest feel heavier in a good way.
That woman had been keepin’ me entertained since the night in the hot tub, and the way she looked right now had me remembering exactly how she felt under me.
She had on a dress that made her skin glow, and for a second, I almost forgot we wasn’t alone.
Then there was Toni Roc, sittin’ with her arms restin’ on the table, laughin’ at somethin’ one of the girls said. Baby girl had this way of sneakin’ under my skin without even tryin’, and I knew she was just waitin’ for her next moment with me. Shid… I was waitin’ too.
Between the three of them, my focus had been stretched thin these past few days, and I wasn’t mad about it.
But tonight, I kept my expression cool. No matter what was in my head, I had fourteen women sittin’ at this table, all of them here to be seen, and every single one of them watchin’ me just as hard as I was watchin’ them.
I pulled out my chair at the head of the table and sat back while the conversations kept goin’.
I was just listenin’ when Chanel Banks leaned toward me from a few seats down. She had that polished look on her face like she’d been waitin’ to talk.
“Pressure, I feel like I ain’t been able to spend no time with you,” she said. “Every time I look up you with somebody else. You wasting your time with women who ain’t even worth it.”
I kept my tone even. “You’ll get your time if you chill.”
She smiled but kept goin’. “I hear you, but I’m just saying, these women ain’t about shit like I am. I know what I bring to the table, and it’s better than what you been sittin’ with. All I’m saying is, spend more time with me and you will see.”
Before I could answer, Toni Roc leaned back in her chair. “Girl, shut the fuck up. If you was all that like you think you is, you’d have gotten your time already. Maybe he just ain’t checkin’ for you. Could be your personality. Could be them patchy ass elbows. Who knows.”
Some women laughed, some gasped, but before Chanel could come back, Lola Reign spoke up. “Clearly, you’re miserable, Chanel. Like real miserable.”
Chanel rolled her eyes slow, pushed her hair back, and said, “And clearly, you’re a man, bitch.”
The table went quiet. Lola frowned at her, and I caught the way her shoulders tensed, and her hands moved under the table.
“Shut the fuck up,” Lola said. “Matter fact, I wish I was a nigga so I could beat your ass right now.”
Chanel leaned forward. “Girl, please. Look at them big burly ass hands. I ain’t never seen a bitch with a pussy as big as yours. You probably got your dick tucked in your asshole right now.”
Some women covered their mouths, and a few shook their heads.
Lola was about to fire back, but Savannah Bleu jumped in. “Only way to settle it is to show Pressure your pussy.”
Lola’s face twisted. “Girl, huh? I’m not about to expose my pussy at a table full of bitches. Get the fuck outta here!”
It was heatin’ up quick. Voices was gettin’ louder and insults kept flyin’.
“Everybody calm the fuck down,” I said, my voice cuttin’ over all of them. They went quiet, but the tension was still there. I didn’t say anything else out loud, but in my head, I was already on it.
As the food got passed around and everybody started eatin’, I kept catchin’ myself glancin’ at Lola.
She hadn’t said another word since the blow-up.
No more side comments, no slick looks, nothin’…
She just sat there, pickin’ at her plate, her eyes movin’ between her food and the table like she was somewhere else in her head.
I paid attention to that shit too. Most of these women loved being loud and noticed, especially at my table, but she was damn near shrinkin’ into her chair now, and that made me curious. If Renza had set me up with a nigga, I was gonna beat the skin off his ass.
I was gon’ get to the bottom of this shit and find out the truth.
Chanel had just planted a seed I couldn’t ignore.
One way or another I was gon’ know if Lola was a man or not.
I didn’t give a fuck if I had to set up a whole investigation and call it ‘Operation Drop Them Drawers.’ Whatever it took, I was gon’ solve this mystery.
After dinner, I called Renza, Kay’Lo, and Blaqson into my office.
“A man? What the fuck you mean a man?” Blaqson asked as soon as they sat down.
I leaned back in my chair and looked at all three of them. “That’s what Chanel said at the table. Called Lola a man in front of everybody. Whole room went silent. I’m watchin’ her the rest of the night and she sittin’ there all quiet, ain’t said another word. She looked uncomfortable as hell.”
Renza shook his head, laughin’ under his breath. “Naw, that’s wild. Chanel messy as hell, but… damn.”
I wasn’t laughin’. “Renza, look me in my face and tell me you ain’t set me up with a nigga.”
He threw his hands up quick. “Hell nah, I ain’t do no hoe shit like that. Come on, man, you my blood. I love you too much to even play with you like that. When I picked these women, I went through all they profiles myself. I put it on the flyer clear as day—real women only. No funny business.”
Kay’Lo was leanin’ against the wall smirkin’. “I mean… now that I think about it… Lola do got some big-ass hands. I noticed it the first day, but I ain’t say nothin’ ‘cause I figured maybe she just one of them tall-handed women. But bruh…” He started laughin’ before he could finish.
Renza grinned. “Big hands, big feet… what about the neck though?”
Blaqson cracked up. “Yeah, we talkin’ Adams apple territory. You know you can’t hide that shit. If she got a ‘hello’ stuck in her throat, it’s over with.”
Kay’Lo pointed. “Yup. Soon as she talk, we gon’ be lookin’ at her neck like it’s the scoreboard at a basketball game.”
They was clownin’, but I wasn’t all the way in the mood. “This shit ain’t funny to me. If y’all really put me in here with a man, I’m beatin’ her like one. No hesitation.”
Renza shook his head again, still tryin’ to keep it light. “Man, you actin’ like I went to the Salvation Army and just picked somebody out the back. I did my homework. But look, I’ll admit… Chanel got a mouth on her. She either lyin’ for attention, or she know somethin’ we don’t.”
Blaqson leaned forward in his chair. “We gon’ have to get to the bottom of it. Only one way to be sure.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And what’s that?”
“We sneak in her room while she sleep,” Blaqson said with a straight face, like it was the most normal suggestion in the world.
Kay’Lo damn near spit his drink. “Nigga, what? That’s how you catch a charge. We all gon’ be on TMZ talkin’ about ‘it ain’t what it looked like.’”
Renza laughed. “Nah, for real, Blaqson got the right idea but the wrong execution. We ain’t gotta be the ones. Have one of the women do it. Somebody she’s cool with. All they gotta do is ‘accidentally’ walk in while she changin’ and report back.”
Blaqson grinned. “Or we could get her drunk enough to loosen up and start talkin’. You know liquor make people run they mouth.”
Kay’Lo leaned back in his chair. “Or just throw a pool party and tell everybody it’s mandatory skinny dippin’. She gon’ either show up or come up with a weak excuse.”
Renza pointed at him. “That’s not bad. ‘Cause if she don’t show, that’s gon’ make her look even more suspect.”
I tugged at my beard thinkin’ it over. Every idea had potential, but none of ‘em felt like a hundred percent guarantee. “I’m not about to get hit with no sexual harassment lawsuit over this shit. We not puttin’ our hands on her or doin’ anything that can be flipped on us, but I am gon’ find out. I don’t give a fuck what I gotta do.”
They went quiet for a minute, all three just sittin’ there thinkin’.”