Chapter 3
chapter three
Brayden.
“Nox, we need three more orders of brisket.”
“Damn, I might not have three.”
I swiped the last customer’s card and handed it back, reaching for the next. “You need to make it work, I already sold it.”
“Don’t sell anymore unless you want to do refunds,” Nox muttered, closing the lids on two styrofoam containers which he turned and placed on the small counter beneath the service window.
“That sold fast as hell.”
He smirked. “Because I’m the truth. Change the board so we don’t get any more orders. You know these customers are ready to go to war if they can’t get what they want.”
I lifted the containers he brought me and checked the number scribbled on top. “Order sixty-seven,” I called out, doing a quick glance at the crowd. After a few minutes a woman pushed her way to the front. The crowd was crazy. These people believed moving out the way meant their food wasn’t coming or they thought hovering and staring me down would make the order deliver faster. It didn’t and although we prided ourselves in delivering good service, I wasn’t about to be rushed. The process was the process. I let Nox do his thing and they were always grateful for the offering once it was in their hands.
“I’m sixty-seven.” She smiled seductively and I didn’t miss the way her eyes traveled from my face and moved south. I returned a smile and leaned forward.
“I’m supposed to take your word for that, Pretty?”
“You should but if not, I have my receipt.” She lifted a hand and extended it toward me. I latched onto the receipt but didn’t take full possession. Only examined the details so our fingers met. After verifying what I already knew, I tossed my chin and winked.
“You are indeed correct. This is your order.” I lifted the containers and handed them off. She blushed and took them from me but didn’t leave right away. I had no interest in the woman, but a little flirting meant repeat customers. It was harmless.
“Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I hope so.” I flashed a charming smile and she nodded, easing out the way of other customers. I would definitely see her tomorrow and we’d go through this flirting session again but that was all it would be.
A harmless sales tactic.
For some reason, as I watched the woman move toward the office building where she worked, I felt a blaze of annoyance on me. It was weird that I felt the mood, but it was impossible not to and sure enough when I turned my head I caught the glare from my competitor shooting daggers my way. I offered a nod and her stare narrowed. She then gave away the reason for her irritation when she glanced toward the participant of my latest flirt session.
When her eyes were on me again, I arched a brow and she clenched her jaw and pulled away from their service window, no longer in my view. Her reaction had me amused. Maybe she was feeling me.
Unfortunately the impatient mass of people looking to fill their stomachs with our savory lunch specials denied me the privilege of traveling down that road. I grabbed a paint pen, drew a line through the brisket option, and ignored groans and huffs from customers who had to rethink their preferred selections because we sold out. There were orders to fill and customers to service, so my sugar princess would have to be put on hold for now.
By two o’clock my back was aching and the muscles in my shoulders were locked tightly from the repetitive motion of taking orders and handing them off to customers. Today of all days, the flow was nonstop. There were at least four thousand people who worked at the business complex and on average two to three hundred of those employees visited our truck daily.
We were the guilty pleasure, rich savory barbecue with somewhat healthy sides that created the illusion that they were making the right decisions about their daily meal selections. Either way, I appreciated that our food kept them coming back.
The traffic today was on the heavier side and by the mental math I did throughout the day we likely grossed a little over five grand. With just under three hundred fifty customers and a fifteen-dollar average sale per customer, there was no way in hell my sugar princess came close to reaching fifty percent of our sales.
My ego was relishing in the victory while the soft spot I harbored for her had me feeling bad for her loss. Regardless we both would celebrate because her loss was my gain, by way of a meal and her time. I was a gentleman, I had no problem sharing the love which meant she would be just as much a winner as I was.
“I don’t know what the hell happened today but I need it to keep happening. We pretty much sold out of everything.”
“My ego is what happened,” I murmured and Nox delivered a quick glance of confusion. I pushed the thought aside. I wasn’t about to tell him I let a woman goad me into a bet, no matter how damn pretty she was. I followed up with, “We had over three hundred and fifty orders today.”
“Damn, that many?”
“Yeah, and I feel every single one.” I rotated my head in a circular motion, attempting to relieve some of the tension.
“Hell, me too. I’m ready for a hot shower and a few hours to chill. I wouldn’t have survived if we hadn’t installed that unit back here. You can’t convince me we didn’t reach a hundred degrees today.”
“At least you can feel the air. I’m out here sweating my ass off.”
Nox shrugged. “Are you really complaining about swiping cards and handing over orders?”
“When the sun is beating my ass down, hell yeah I am.”
He laughed and pointed to the back. “Then you come handle this and I’ll work the front.”
We both had the ability to navigate all aspects of the business but Nox loved being hands on with the food and I was more motivated by the numbers profited from his skillful hands.
“Nah, you have your thing, and I have mine, which is why we work, fam.”
“That’s what I thought, but now we both need to break all this shit down so we can be out of here by three.”
“Bet, let me close out the sales for today first. I need a good ass nap before I try to figure out the rest of my night.”
Hopefully my night would consist of getting to know a certain sugar princess with discreet curves, beautiful brown skin, and eyes I feared would change my life.
“You’re not going to do that when you get home?” he said while stacking the metal chargers used to keep the orders warm.
With the system that processed our sales, I could pull our numbers at any time. I usually did it after I got home and could add all the metrics to our sales reports. Telling Nox why I needed a total wasn’t an option, so I lied.
“I just want to see the numbers in real time. I’ll do the rest later.”
“Me too, with all these orders I know we broke our daily goal.”
Which was the problem, but before I could respond, my phone vibrated with a text. When I had the device out of my pocket and was able to see the text I got annoyed because I knew this woman so well I could feel the dysfunction in one simple question.
Mellie: You still on the truck?
Me: Yeah what’s up?
Mellie: I need to see you. I’m on my way there. Can you wait for me?
Me: We just started breakdown. We’ll be here for at least an hour. You on your way now?
Mellie: Yes, please wait…
Me: What the hell did he do this time?
…
Start.
Stop.
Start.
Stop.
Mellie: Just promise you’ll wait…
Me: You good?
Mellie: Yes
She wasn’t, but I didn’t want to argue through a text thread. Melanie was one of the only people outside of Nox I spent time with. People often argued that men and women couldn’t have platonic relationships but Melanie and I were living proof. We had been close since high school and never once dated or crossed lines. The bond was often questioned but I was always ready to argue the assurance that neither of us ever had any feelings beyond friendship.
She was a beautiful person, looks and spirit, and of course I had plenty to offer, but she and I always knew our lane and stayed there. I loved her like family and the sentiment was returned, which was why I hated that she settled for a man that didn’t respect or value her. We argued about it often until Nox stepped in to remind me that no matter how much I cared, she wouldn’t leave him until she was ready. All I could do was be there. And beat the shit out of Jerome if he ever put his hands on her. For now, his m.o. was cheating and being a poor excuse for a man and provider. They disagreed often but things never shifted to physical altercations. If he ever took it there, I would match his energy and take it there.
“Why are you frowning at your phone like that?”
“Mellie.”
“What’s up?”
“The usual, I’m guessing. She didn’t say but she’s on her way up here.”
“Let me guess, she’s beefing with her dude?”
“Probably but she didn’t say. Just mentioned she was pulling up.”
Nox shook his head. “Y’all and that weird ass relationship.”
“What’s weird about being cool with somebody?”
“Not a damn thing unless that somebody is a fine ass woman like Melanie.”
“Men and women can have platonic relationships, Nox.”
My cousin smirked, shaking his head again. “Nah, they can’t, but I’ll let you have that.”
He went back to breaking down equipment. Nox swore Melanie and I had been intimate but we hadn’t and wouldn’t. I understood how he could believe we did. I cared about her, but only as a friend. It didn’t matter who believed what where Melanie and I were concerned, not even Nox and he was family. I wanted what was best for her and as of now, that was my friendship.
“You can tell me if you smashed. I won’t judge. It would actually make things make better sense,” he said over his shoulder and I smirked until my phone vibrated with a call. I glared at the screen and immediately silenced it, looking up just in time to catch the odd look on Nox’s face.
“That your mom again?”
“Yeah, how’d you know?”
“You have that look like you’re ready to fight the world.”
I snorted and shifted my notifications to silent. If I was heartless I would block her but I feared she would one day do something so incredibly reckless and I wouldn’t be there to help. She’d likely refuse my help but regardless of the dysfunction in our relationship, she would always be my mother.
“Anything concerning her fucks with my peace.”
“When is the last time you saw her?”
“A few months ago.”
“Then you know it’s coming. If nothing else ,she’s consistent.”
“Yeah,” was all I said, which he accepted and went back to stacking supplies to start our final cleanup. Neither of our mothers were the best but at least my Aunt June learned to put in some effort as a mother. She wasn’t great at the role but she tried.
I envied that aspect of Nox’s life. May never tried. The most I ever got was lectures and rants on how I ruined her life through random drunk calls and visits when she was fed up with pretending her life was the picture of perfection. Eventually she’d fall back into her routine of work, and friends who had no clue how unhappy she truly was. I knew, she made a point of never allowing me to forget.
After I ran a total for the day’s sales, printed the receipt and slipped it into my pocket, I helped Nox with breakdown. As much as I hated that the sugar princess lost the bet, I was also loving that I was going to wipe that arrogant smile off her face when I proved that she did.