VANYA
“YOUR LITTLE THUG isn’t here to protect you now is he?”
I was starting to wonder what I had done so wrong in my life that I was still being bothered by these people.
I continued to flip through the dresses that were hanging on the rack of the boutique hoping I wouldn’t have to curse this man out.
“Johnathan, you act as though I need someone to fight my battles for me. I don’t. If memory serves, I’m still the woman that foiled not only your plan for my future, but theirs as well. Y’all are the only people who underestimate how strong I am, which is ironic since you saw it firsthand. If you want a demonstration, I’m more than happy to provide one.” My hair was down around my head, something I knew they abhorred. They said it was too wild and too nappy despite the tension headaches I would get from the tight buns and braids. I tossed the curly flames over my shoulder just to piss him off. His sneer making the entire thing worthwhile.
“I wish you would try it. The way you had your little body guards jump me that day you were out with Francesca. I told you she was a bad influence on you. Running around with a little bastard baby—” He pointed his finger at me and I knew I was going to lose it.
My eyes narrowed at the way he spoke about Skye and I needed to once again make it clear I wasn’t the same Vanya who would just meekly do what he said. I took a step forward and he looked surprised at my confidence.
“I will kill you in front of all these people and have my husband cut them a check to keep it quiet. Never insult my godchildren again in your life.”
“What happened to you?” His strange skin tone made him look weird. Like when Sammy Sosa popped out and he was all gray and pink. That’s how Johnathan looked now. He was dressed as he always was, like he was on his way to the golf course.
“What happened to me? Let’s see. I was adopted by a crazy white couple who were racists yet everyone around them praised them for adopting only minority children as though we were living badges of honor for them. And instead of actually treating us like human beings, we were sociology experiments for them to show that white people could make any race of a child the perfect child. Only that wasn’t true was it? Because look at you, just as sick and twisted as he is. You’ve probably got your eye on some barely legal girl that is running around the city trying to live her life and you’re going to ruin it. But trust me, I have my eye on each of you and if you step one foot wrong it’s all over.” I grinned because the idea of them no longer being around was sounding better and better. I turned back to the racks wishing he would go away.
“You think that his money makes you someone important?”
“No. My heart makes me someone important. My husband’s money doesn’t do anything but make people like you fall all over themselves to impress him. But he would never do business with you. He only invited you around for me to see the type of person you were. Because he didn’t want me to be concerned when you end up dead.”
“Dead?”
I nodded happily because there was no reason to lie to him. The idea of him living scared on however much time he had left seemed fitting for how I had to live my life with him. “That was your decision. When he warned you to leave me alone. To leave him alone. But you come around trying to make him think I’m less than. Why is that?” It was the only question that I had. I knew why he treated me the way he did: it was pure obedience to his white supremacist overlords. But this constant following me around when he didn’t want me in the first place baffled me.
“Because you aren’t supposed to leave me! Like I wasn’t good enough for you! Like you were better than I was!” He looked at me in disgust again and I smirked not bothering to feel any sympathy. The good white people he was always trying to impress were looking at him funny and I could only imagine how he would get in trouble when his daddy found out.
“Ah, so you’re embarrassed. Because I don’t behave the way they think I should I wasn’t good enough. Because I didn’t buy into the hierarchy they told you was the truth, I messed with the foundation of your self-worth. Sucks you couldn’t pull your ego up by its bootstraps the way they taught you.” I shrugged and looked at the dress I had in my hands, knowing it wouldn’t suffice for the dinner.
“What did you—”
I cut my eyes to him seeing the furious way he looked at me.
“You should run away now. Not that it would make any difference because we already know where you would go and how you would move. See the man that you are trying to irritate is very irrational when it comes to his wife. She is the very reason for his existence and you are threatening that. I’ve never seen someone become so possessive over another person so quickly. And he’s not the kind of possessive you are. He’s the kind that comes with knowing that someone is yours to protect. The most precious person to you. Your soul in human form and you won’t allow anything to disturb their peace. You disturbed her peace and instead of blowing your life up, she allowed you the ability to walk away. But for some reason, you can’t take that L, bruh. Remember this conversation. The one he had with you the night before they married and all the ones before then. He granted you grace off of the strength of the leniency that Vanya wanted to extend to you. That’s dead and done and soon you will be too.”
I giggled but glanced at my friendly shadow who was standing in between Johnathan and me before patting him on the back. “Not a death threat in Nordstrom’s, Quentin.”
“This is exactly why he didn’t want you to buy something off the rack you know.” He didn’t bother to turn his head to speak to me, but I understood why he didn’t. He stayed turned around until Jonathan stomped off in a snit.
I huffed because he was acting like this man’s delusions were somehow my fault. “I know, Quentin, but there’s no time to have something made and I completely forgot about it with all the wedding stuff.”
“He would’ve paid someone—”
I scoffed because I wasn’t going to have money be the answer to my problems. “Yeah but a mess up on my part isn’t an emergency on someone else’s. I can handle getting a dress for a function without him having to put someone into a coma to get a dress ready on time. It’s a dress. It really doesn’t matter and frankly I’m not pressed about it. He asked me to find a new dress so that’s what I’m doing.”
Quentin glanced around the store that wasn’t at all full before he turned back to me. “You know he’s going to have his aunt send you over her entire collection so you never have to do this again right?”
“She’s gonna be so mad I didn’t ask her but I’m trying not to take advantage of her kindness.”
“Ms. Pat is never gonna feel that way. But I understand you need to get cussed out by her one good time to understand.” His unbothered shrug had me cracking and I pushed him playfully while I pointed to the next department.
“Let’s go this way before we head out. If I’m going to get cussed out, I’m going to at least have a new pair of pretty shoes to strut my way to the guillotine.”
Despite having gone dress shopping, I still needed to check in at the complex. Since we were in the same area as the building, it didn’t take us out of our way to go there. I looked in on the revitalization measures we’d put into place including doing some of the interior refresh on the lobby and common areas. The rental spaces that had sat empty now had a small concierge grocery store inside that would deliver to the apartments for a small fee. They would also shop at the larger store next door for fees less than other food delivery services. It carried some normal items, but many were the higher end luxury food items such as exclusive wine and spirits from Merrick distilleries. It was crazy how each man was a partner to some extent in each other’s business. It made sense because it ensured that they were committed beyond their brotherhood to seeing one another win. Yacouba placed one of the Miller Bank and Trust ATMs inside the lobby as well, which was free for his members to use. The never open bistro was replaced with a small Black woman owned business. She was usually only open for breakfast and dinner because of the schedule of the young professionals but we’d discussed allowing her to do a carry out or delivery service for a few of the local office buildings. There were several medical towers and day spas within five miles that would keep her busy. I was all for her making money and I wanted to see her successful because that meant our residents were happy.
Xerxes was adamant about the taking it easy even though our contract was up. I’d found his home, the stables for the horses and his parents’ home. In addition, we’d found a property that he could work out of that was on the outskirts of uptown so him flying into the city wouldn’t be an issue. I had a new client I was supposed to be meeting later on in the week who’d been traded to our professional basketball team. Navi was still happily listing and selling homes and despite my asking if she was ready to go back to Atlanta, she said that she hadn’t made that decision yet.
“Hey, Navi!”
The leasing office was toward the back of the first floor since none of the residents were on the first floor. The only apartment down here had been for the previous owner, but since he’d taken over the penthouse, it had been empty. I wanted to turn it into on campus housing for the maintenance man I was looking to hire. I wanted someone who had knowledge of and potentially certified in HVAC and plumbing. With the way building had slowed because of the economy, I had a stack of applications to go through. It wouldn’t be difficult to find someone, but so far, none of the people I’d reviewed seemed right.
“Hey, Vanya. I have a bunch of applications in your inbox for the manager position. I’ve gone through who I think will suck and a few others had backgrounds that didn’t check out.” Navi was dressed in a fitted orange pencil skirt and matching halter neck vest. The lobby smelled clean and inside of the office smelled delicious. It was some type of scent that smelled like someone was baking.
“Who ran background checks on applicants?”
Navi looked behind me to Quentin and when I did the same, he was shaking his head at me.
“She forgets.”
“I see that. Uh, Mrs . Mahdavi Cannon, I need you to remember the man who put that boulder on your hand. He ain’t about to let just any ol’ body near his wife. I’m not even going to have you do these interviews solo because you’ll be out here ready to take people at their word. Can’t have anymore murders in the building.” Navi was giggling like something was funny but my mouth fell open in surprise.
I turned around to Quentin angrily and hissed at him, “You told her about that?”
“You think that man didn’t go back and report what he did to his people? Navi is part of his people so of course she knows. We gotta make sure whoever it was wasn’t connected to anyone and if he was, we needed to handle it.” Quentin looked completely aghast at my thinking that he what happened was private.
“Just like that.” I snapped my fingers and both of them were nodding their head like I was finally getting it.
“No loose ends.” Navi grinned happily, like the thought of taking someone out made her day. You would’ve never guessed this stunning woman would be a trigger-happy little sociopath.
I sighed and couldn’t even be made about what they were saying. “I guess.”
“Did you find a dress?”
“I didn’t.” I glanced at Quentin who only stood with his arms crossed. The office wasn’t big and was a typical rental space. Glass office doors that were of course replaced with ballistic glass. Two desks sat side by side with about ten feet in between the two of them. Navi wanted to expand the office as though I needed privacy, and I didn’t think it was necessary. She didn’t work for me, she worked with me.
Her brows shot up and from her grin she looked like she was ready to get her gun. “Oh, what happened?”
“What makes you think—”
“You hesitated to respond, which means something minimized the excitement that you had at shopping. You don’t have a shopping problem, but you like pretty things. You seem irritated over the trip instead of happy. So what happened?”
“That ex of hers showed up.”
Navi looked so irritated at the idea of Jonathan, and I didn’t blame her. “Did we check all her shit for trackers because I don’t understand how he keeps popping up?” She looked genuinely confused about how he kept bothering us.
“Divine intervention. Even God is ready for us to send him to hell.” The three of us were laughing and I should’ve felt bad but I didn’t.
“His, our, adoptive mother works in that store. She bothered me and Frankie there previously. I guess she was around and told him I was there. Either way, I’m going to file a complaint—”
“Already on it.” Navi walked to her desk, pulled out her phone and began to type away and I could only imagine what she was saying.
I didn’t make it over to my office door before Vincent walked in dressed in his usual business attire with someone walking behind him.
“What’s up, V?” He gave me a head nod before he took in everyone else in the room.
“Hey, Vincent. What can I do for you?”
I saw Quentin frown from his spot near the door and Navi narrow her eyes at his familiarity. None of them knew that he and I were friendly and the man who walked in behind him I didn’t know at all.
“I got a bone to pick with you. How you run off and get married and not say shit? I ain’t even get an invitation or nothing.” An announcement was put in the paper and the wedding had made the news because of how much of Uptown was going to be shut down because of it. There was no online footprint of Xerxes’ face, but mine had been attached to my business. That quickly changed after the broadcast.
“I doubt her husband wanted someone around that would be trying to flirt with his wife.” Navi sat up in her chair like she would jump across the desk and take him out. The orange of her outfit looked amazing against her almond colored skin. Vincent didn’t realize he was playing with fire because I could see the flirtation in his eyes when he looked at her.
“It ain’t that type of time beautiful, but damn it sure could be with your fine ass.” Vincent looked at Navi like he’d want nothing more than to get to know her inside and out.
“I would hang you upside down by your toes on the roof before I cracked open your sternum so the birds could feast.”
My mouth hung open at the way she so quickly and vividly painted a bloody picture. Quentin was laughing and the man that had come with Vincent now looked intrigued.
“All that over a compliment. I must be doing something wrong if I’m failing with every woman I come across. Her ass is more your type ‘Mad.”
“Maybe.” His eyes left from Navi and came back to me, making me frown. I don’t know why he was looking at me but I wished he would stop. I didn’t feel like having Vincent die because of his friend.
“But no harm on that, Vanya. I’m glad to see that you are improving stuff around here. Since you shot me down I had a chick I took out and that was a terrible move. She’d been trying to come up here and cut up but the new security shut her down quick. So thank you for that. And I should probably keep my Black ass at the house since the crazy women I want don’t want me.”
An email to all tenants had gone out about the new owner and, of course Vincent knew my name and congratulated me on the purchase.
Navi sucked her teeth and I had to interject before she said something out of pocket. Well, more out of pocket. “I mean I wanted to get what I was paying for when I lived here so why shouldn’t everyone else?”
“That’s admirable.” His friend spoke up from behind him and I looked at him and saw he still a curious look on his face.
I smiled briefly before I responded, “That’s good business.”
“I see you ain’t keep up the tradition of money laundering through the cafe.” Vincent cracked a smile but it dropped off his face when Navi and Quentin both pulled guns.
My hands flew up but I wasn’t crazy enough to get in the middle of this shit. I turned to Quentin and Navi so they could understand the joke but neither looked moved to stand down. The tension in the room was now higher than the damn building and I needed to diffuse the situation.
“Y’all—”
Instead of being afraid, Vincent laughed, and his friend pulled a gun.
“You pull it you use it.” Quentin issued the warning with ease like there wasn’t a whole gun being pointed his way.
“Playboy, if you want to live to fight another day take that shit off my boy.” His friend was coming to his defense so vehemently I wondered if he was his bodyguard. The man had to be nearly as tall as Yacouba, if not taller with a slightly smaller build.
“Your boy in here smelling like a rat. Like he coming at my boss, who he knows is married, like he doesn’t value his head being attached to his spine. He can’t even keep his eyes off her.” Navi didn’t back down and I wondered if Xerxes was telling her to stay here because I needed a sitter.
“You crazy as hell girl, When this shit is done let me get your number.” Vincent was still flirting with Navi, trying to lessen the pressure in the room while his friend was still unmoved.
Navi stood slowly her gun still trained on Vincent. “I don’t fuck with corpses. You got the wrong bitch if you think I’m into necrophilia.”
His friend chuckled like he wasn’t able to be serious despite the inherent danger he was in. “Damn, she threatening your life too easily, Vincent.”
Vincent was still smiling and he glanced at Quentin like he was going to call everything down. “I see that. Quentin, we do business together, but I need you to put this shit down. I vouch for his ass. If you trust me—”
This was the first I’d heard of Quentin doing business with anyone and now I had even more questions. “Plenty people been set up by their mans. You sure he good? It comes out of your bloodline if he ain’t.” And now Quentin was threatening to kill this man’s family like nobody’s business.
“On my mama.”
Quentin sucked his teeth like he was thoroughly irritated. “You really would put Miss Cheryl in the middle of some bullshit like this.”
“We made a joke months ago that the last owner was using this place to launder money because the rent was so high but the amenities weren’t on par. That’s it that’s all.” I was waving my hands in front of everyone to get their attention. There was a whole glass wall behind them and I prayed no one came into the building and saw this.
“His ass would know plenty about money laundering. Don’t let him fool you, Vanya.” Quentin was laughing but that gun didn’t waiver.
“Damn and you talking about my business like that?” Vincent wasn’t denying it and now I was looking at him funny.
“If I trusted them enough to implicate myself, you should know it’s good.” Quentin shrugged again but didn’t put his gun down.
“But his word on me ain’t sufficient?” His friend spoke up from behind him like this was the time to remind everyone that he was there.
“I don’t know you so, nah.” Quentin’s eyes were narrowed on him and I could see that he still wasn’t going to relax.
“Fair enough. My name is Ahmad Thornton.”
“Ahmad Thornton? I’m supposed to be showing you a house soon.” I was even now more pissed that we’d made this type of impression on this man.
“That’s why I was bringing him in here when I saw you walk in the building. I wasn’t just gone holla at you like I ain’t have manners.”
“No, you’re fine. I’m sorry Mr. Thornton, welcome to Charlotte.” I stuck my hand out toward him unbothered that none of them had put their weapons down.
“She really acting like all this shit is fine.” Mr. Thornton was looking at Vincent like my behavior was the odd one out of the five of us.
“I mean hanging with Quentin’s ass she ain’t got no choice. We good?” He looked at Quentin who nodded his head before lowering his gun.
“You can still get shot playing with me, though.”
Vincent nodded at Quentin’s threat with a smile. “Noted.”
“I’m Vanya Cannon. I don’t have every listing pulled, but I planned to send you over a preliminary listing of homes and condos today.” I reached into my tote bag and pulled up my tablet.
“He was going to check out my spot to see how he felt about buying or renting. Either way, it would be money in your pocket.” Vincent was explaining their presence and I appreciated him thinking of me.
“Oh, I hadn’t realized you might be more focused on renting.” I felt as though I’d missed something and I hated to think my joy had me slacking at work.
“Why not?”
“From what I gathered you are further along in your career than most and that lends your choices to be focused on good financial decisions instead of putting money into rent. I didn’t bother looking at your pictures but I didn’t see any information that you were married.”
“I’m not.”
I’m glad he didn’t take offense at my summation of his life. The questionnaire I had all of my clients fill out helped me shape what homes I showed them.
“Okay, so maybe not a full house, but there are plenty of condos that are further out than South Park. But if you’re looking for an area of the city that’s got everything at your fingertips, this would be it. The downside is, it’s far from the facility and traffic can be ridiculous. With the new training facility opening up in Uptown, I still gave you plenty of options for there, University and NoDa.”
“NoDa?”
I understood his confusion so I didn’t mind explaining. “North of Davidson. It’s North Charlotte and kinda artsy. Used to be part of the mill town side of things once slavery tapped out.”
“I’ll have to leave that up to Vincent. He’s the money man and the one who’s been here longer. Like you said, I’m on the end of my career but still too young to sit around bored and retired.” He shrugged like he didn’t care about how much money he spent but it wasn’t boastful. It was the confidence that he would buy what was the best home for him while he was here.
“I mean you have the money to make sure you’re never bored. Why would you ever sit around?”
“Says the woman married to a prince.”
I glared at Navi wondering why she was telling my business. I was at least happy that the gun was on her desk and not in her hand. “I mean… that’s different. That’s his money.”
Navi gasped and I heard her shuffling around. “Oh, let me tell him that so he can transfer some more assets into your name.”
I turned trying to figure out who the hell I actually had in my corner. “Navi, whose side are you on?”
“Yours, hell. You plan a girls’ trip and me and twin tagging along.” Her face was playful but I knew she would really call that man on me.
Vincent’s face perked up again at the thought. “There’s two of you?”
Navi waved her gun with a grin. “Don’t get any ideas.”
“Even though Quentin will have my head for thinking I’m flirting, I’m not. I gotta ask, who are your people?” Mr. Thornton was looking at me with the same intensity and I had to figure out why. My hackles went out and I had to wonder if he knew the Kennedys.
“Trust me, they’re awful and you don’t want to know them.” I had to wonder if they’d approached him about finding him a property before he’d been referred to me.
“He means your biological people, Vanya.” Now Navi was staring at Ahmad strangely and glancing back at me.
“Oh. I was adopted so I don’t know.” I felt less uncomfortable talking about the ghosts of the past and I was sure it was because of my recently expanded circle.
“You look a lot like my mother did.”
I was irritated because that was just a strange thing to lead with when you met someone. “Not all black people look alike.”
“Yeah, but it’s rare you come across them in two different states with the same red hair and freckles. And damn near the same face.” He was still staring at me strangely and I got a weird feeling in my gut.
I blinked slowly and glanced at Quentin who was now also studying Mr. Thornton’s face. “What are you trying to say? Where are you from originally?”
“Virginia. Norfolk.”
“And you’re what, 32 or 33?”
“I’ll be thirty-three this summer. Crazy thing is, I used to have a little sister.”
My throat got tight and I really wished that Xerxes was here with me. Since he wasn’t, I had to pull my confidence from within and ask what we all wanted to know. “What happened to her?”
“Our parents were killed in a home invasion. Way back when I was five so she would’ve only been three.” He pointed to his pocket and Quentin nodded. Mr. Thornton pulled out his wallet and handed it over to me. Inside the flap was a little boy that looked like him, a toddler with carrot red hair and a man and woman. I couldn’t deny the woman looked a lot like me.
I handed his wallet back to him still not sure if he was saying what I thought he was. “But what happened to her?”
He tucked his wallet back in his pocket with a grimace. “She died the same night as my parents did.”
I was so disappointed in myself for thinking I could’ve been that little girl. I’d promised myself that I would only look toward the future and not the past. I had been given so much now in the life I’d built for myself. “Oh well, then it’s clearly not me. I’m alive and well.”
“Yeah, you are.” He nodded his agreement but there was still something behind it that felt strange. Determined.