Chapter 5 #2
Cashmere stared at him with wide eyes. She almost felt bad for insinuating that he didn’t know the details of the job, because most of the shit he just mentioned she didn’t even know security handled.
She always looked at them as annoying decorations standing around her property on the off chance someone tried to attack her.
Now she knew it was much more than that.
She sighed. “Look, . . . can we just establish some boundaries since we’re going to be around each other a lot?”
Savio gestured for her to continue. “I’m listening.”
“I need to drive—”
“Nah.”
“But—”
“I’m sorry, Precious, but that’s nonnegotiable. If some shit pops off, I need to be able to get you safely out of that situation at all times, in the car included.”
Cashmere let out a frustrated breath, but she realized he wouldn’t budge on that, so she simply moved on to the next thing on her list. “You don’t get to tell me what to do.”
“Except for when it comes to your safety.”
Cashmere shook her head. “Do you think I can’t take care of myself?”
“Can you?” His eyes pierced her, and for a second, she wondered if he meant more by the two-word question.
“You have no idea what I’m capable of. What I’ve survived. Trust me, I can take care of myself, and I don’t need a nigga telling me how to react when danger arises.” She shifted from foot to foot, feeling emotions rise within her that she didn’t quite understand.
“I can appreciate that you been through some shit, ma, but I ain’t gonna be able to do my job if you can’t listen. We have to come to some kind of compromise.”
The conversation wasn’t going the way Cashmere had hoped, so to cut it short, she said, “Fine. How about you just stay in the background as much as possible, and on the off chance that something bad happens, I’ll listen to whatever you say.”
Savio nodded painfully slow, testing Cashmere’s patience in the worst way.
“That’s a deal.”
“Great. Now let’s go. I’m late for my nail appointment.” Cashmere grabbed her purse from the closet next to the front door and walked out without looking back.
Something about Savio made her feel completely out of control, and she wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about that.
This warehouse was one of many. Cashmere had dozens stashed throughout Ellwood, and there were even a couple in Desmore Bay for the shipments that came in right off the coast.
Cashmere was dog tired after a day of running around the city.
That day had been her maintenance day, so she had to get her sew-in together after her nail appointment and then she had to get waxed, get a facial, and finally stop by her personal shopper’s shop to grab a few pieces she had purchased.
After a night of no sleep, she could barely keep her eyes open.
She had to admit that the one benefit of Savio driving was she could take cat naps in between destinations.
Maybe being a passenger princess wasn’t so bad.
“Sup, Cash? Who dis?” King Ro asked as he stood from the metal chair he sat in.
Cassydie sat across from him, with a flimsy table between them. Surrounding them were a dozen luxury cars that hadn’t even been announced yet, diamonds and jewels that needed to be sent off to a jewelry designer, and art that went anywhere from one million to five million dollars.
“Hey, Ro. This is Savio, my new head of security.” Cashmere introduced them before she hugged Cassydie.
King Ro chuckled as he stood to shake Savio’s hand. “Nice to meet you. Don’t let her give you a hard time.”
Cashmere rolled her eyes and stuck her middle finger up at King Ro while Cassydie snickered beside her. “Fuck y’all.”
When she first met King Ro, she never would have felt comfortable enough to frown at him, let alone stick her middle finger up at him. Now, though, it was like second nature. He could be mean as hell, but underneath all that was a big ass teddy bear. He was cool people in her book.
“I just wanted to go over the inventory with you so we can move this shit. You know I don’t like stuff sitting for too long,” King Ro said as he sat back down.
Cashmere nodded and sat down as well. Her eyes automatically went to Savio, who made it his business to leave them be. She watched as he checked out the cars and moved around the space.
“Cash,” Cassydie said with a snap of her fingers.
“Huh?” Cashmere blinked and turned to look at Cassydie.
“You ain’t hear us talkin’ to you?” Cassydie asked with a knowing smile dancing on her face.
“My bad. What are you doing here anyway?” Cashmere asked, a flash of irritation shooting to the surface. The bad thing about befriending Cassydie was she was very perceptive. Cashmere sometimes felt like the woman could see into her damn mind.
Cassydie shrugged. “Was bored, and Cell mentioned that you were meeting with Ro today. Thought I would pop in.”
Cashmere had a feeling that wasn’t the full story. She was willing to bet that Cassydie came because she wanted to be nosy. Cashmere glanced back at Savio before she looked at Cassydie. “Right.”
“Be careful, girl. That man looks like he don’t play. Trust me, I got one that’s a bit touched in the head. He’s the best thing that happened to me, but you better make sure you’re ready for that before you hop on that dick,” Cassydie warned casually.
Cashmere’s eyes bulged, and she glanced at King Ro, mortified.
“Cassy,” Cashmere hissed.
Cassydie shrugged. “What? I’m just sayin’.”
“I’m not hoppin’ on nobody’s dick. Now that you got that out of your system, you can go,” Cashmere whispered in a harsh tone.
Cassydie giggled, completely unbothered, as she rose from the table. “I’ve been kicked out of nicer places.” Cassydie leaned down to kiss Cashmere on the cheek, who swatted her away in irritation. She couldn’t believe Cassydie had said that and in front of King Ro, no less. “Bye, Ro.”
“Bye, Aries,” he said, shortening the nickname the streets called her by—Aries Heiress.
Cassydie walked out of the warehouse with a wave toward Savio as Cashmere sank lower into her seat.
“You good?” King Ro asked.
“Soon as I choke my best friend out for the audacity of her words, I think I’ll be aight.”
King Ro chuckled softly before he leaned forward with his elbows pressed into the table. “You feelin’ that nigga?”
Cashmere’s eyes bucked. “What? No! I just met him last night. I barely even like him.”
King Ro raised his hands in mock surrender. “Aight, playa, but Aries was right. Think before you get into anything with anyone. You on a new level now, and you gotta act accordingly.”
Cashmere was so over all the unsolicited dating advice. She glanced back at Savio and admired him for a split second before she focused back on King Ro. “Don’t worry about all that. Let’s get this inventory done. I’m tired as hell and want my bed.”
She appreciated that King Ro didn’t press the issue, but it didn’t matter. As they worked, her mind . . . and eyes kept wandering right on over to Savio.