Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
Tunk
I sat in the office going over the schedule now that I had all the new employees onboard.
Najee’s limited background had him gone to train for the next few days so he could officially take over guarding Oakley, who gave me permission after our day yesterday.
Until then, I had Marco with her. She just didn’t know it was happening, regardless if it was him or not.
Knowing I was soon taking on Lourdè sealed the deal.
Two knocks on the door had me looking up from my paperwork to see Naja standing in the door with a quizzical expression.
I immediately went to my hip but she quickly shook her head.
“Um… your appointment is here. It’s that guy that hit Boss.” She whispered that last point, making me chuckle before my mind fully registered she was talking about Quincey.
“You can send him back. Thank you, Naja.”
I began stacking my papers up and pushing them to the side, then stood to greet Quincey who appeared to be more polished than the other day when I’d picked up Johnni.
“Quincey, what can I do for you?” I motioned toward the chair, granting him permission to sit with me doing the same.
“Tunk, thank you for seeing me. It’s about Johnni.”
The way my heart skipped a beat as my breathing stalled.
Shit, he knows. He’s about to shut us down for me dicking his wife down multiple times now.
How though?
Your damn gun would be in the drawer too, nigga.
Fool, calm down. You already know why he’s here.
“Is everything okay?” On the inside I was lowkey trying not to trip while I maintained my calm on the outside.
“Well, as you might’ve heard, we were in a situation at my fundraiser the other night and you can imagine the stress and anxiety I feel now. While I caught a bullet, Johnni was inches from losing her life had the gunman not missed. And—”
He paused, clearly shaken up, while I sat there calm.
“I can’t let anything happen to my wife.”
Hearing him refer to Lourdè as his almost had me forgetting that he was actually married to my lady.
“Well, you came to the right place. Our guys are trained to protect you and your loved ones as if they were family. How often would you need services and for how long? Will you need a detail too?”
My mind was back on the schedule now, seeing who I could move around to cover him if he needed one because I was for damn sure taking on my woman myself, even if I had to lie to do it.
No other man would ever protect mine.
“Both of us. Tunk, here’s the thing, I want you to protect, Johnni.
She’s fighting me on this and I would rather it be someone I know she’s already comfortable with.
I mean, my father and mother both mentioned you were at the hospital that night and comforted her in that tough time.
This is twice now that you were present when she needed you most.”
I frowned, confused by what was happening.
God, clearly I’m failing this test.
There was no way my prayers were moving like this. This had to be the push from the devil.
Why the devil, fool?
Because ain’t no way God is making it this easy for me to be with this muthafucka’s wife.
I knew he was coming in and knew the reasoning, but never did I think he would actually request me on her. I thought I would have to finagle some shit to make it happen.
Quincey just didn’t know what he was doing.
If I was any other man, I might’ve told him not to open his doors like this, considering I knew how his wife felt in every way physically allowed and had gained full access to her heart and soul.
I had the total package to completely remove him from the picture.
But since he already cracked the shit, I was moving right the fuck in.
Respectfully, of course.
Tunk ain’t nothing respectable about how you about to move.
And it wasn’t, but this muthafucka didn’t know that.
Before I could respond, my phone vibrated. My mind instantly went to one of my new crew, so I had to check it.
“I apologize. I have to make sure this isn’t one of my new guys.” That was the only reason I bothered to even interrupt Quincey giving me the green light to full access to his wife.
To my surprise, it was a message from my queen.
Queen Lou: Baby, I know you’re working but I had a free moment and wanted to tell you I love you more.
I held my composure while I laughed silently as I read her message again.
Lourdè was almost as bad as me. We both sent random ass messages throughout the day only for us to end up on the phone talking for hours until either she or I had to go.
Me: I was just thinking about you, that’s probably why I ended up on your mind. I love you the most. I’ll see you later.
Queen Lou: What do you mean you’ll see me later?
I went to text her back but decided to just let it be a surprise.
I locked my phone and put my attention back on the man going to put me directly in my lady’s face.
“Okay, I apologize again for the interruption. Now, you were saying you wanted me to detail your wife. Why me?” To say this whole situation wasn’t sparking some shit in my mind would be a lie.
First with him coming in and requesting me to getting the text from Johnni, I had to be sure this wasn’t a scheme to catch us up.
“I know it’s messed up to request you to leave a client already established in your schedule, but with the gunman not captured, I trust you.
Yeah, we got off on the wrong foot in the beginning, but I meant what I said.
It takes a lot to tame Johnni, and well, let’s just say my wife is good at fooling the world.
She’ll have you believing she’s in the bathroom and be a mile down the street, leaving her detail waiting at the door.
And plus you said you’re good at your job.
You returned her home safely the other day, I trust you’ll do it again.
” I blew out a sigh as I nodded, listening, contemplating my options.
When I noticed Quincey’s tone or demeanor didn’t change, still holding sincerity in his eyes and voice, I decided to take on the job.
“I appreciate the confidence in my abilities. I won’t let you down. Now, back to my original question, how often will you two need service? Are we talking round the clock or only for public appearances?”
“Okay. Uh… around the clock. Johnni does these pageants and she travels for them sometimes and I move around a lot with out-of-town trips. Will that be a problem?” I shook my head, writing his care needs down.
I had Johnni taken care of. Mentally, I was already swapping out people on the schedule to accommodate the night shift and someone to cover him.
“Not at all. I have a couple options I think are perfect for your lifestyle. When are you available for us to stop by your house or would you prefer to come back in when I can get them all together? In this situation, trust and comfort go hand-in-hand. I want you solid with whoever you choose for your personal detail as well as your night guard.”
“How soon can you make the trip to the house happen? I want them to meet Johnni too. Also, will you provide thorough background checks that I’ll be reviewing? I need someone equipped to handle high-risk cases. Right now, I would be a liability to whoever agrees.”
“Of course. A lot of the crew have either military background or close to it. They are no strangers to high profile clients. Give me a day or two to round up everyone. I’m currently moving some things around.”
“Right. That works for me.”
“Okay, so just to reiterate, twenty-four-seven coverage. Detail on you and your wife both, with guys on the house at night.” I wanted to make sure I repeated what he was asking for as I wrote everything down so I could tell whoever picked up the Wilsons as clients.
“Yes, twenty-four-seven protection for the foreseeable future.” He nodded.
My phone began to ring this time. I flipped the screen toward me, seeing Johnni’s contact on display. I ignored it.
“I got you all set. Just leave a contact number. I’ll be in touch the second I have a solid day and time for you.”
“Perfect. But since we already know you’re covering my wife, can you start immediately?” I smiled, hoping he gave me the green light.
“Absolutely. Give me an hour to finish up here and I’ll meet you at your house.”
My fiended out ass ended my day early at the office so I could rush over to see the surprised look on Lourdè’s face who had managed to call my phone two more times.
I ignored her, wanting to surprise her when I knocked on the door.
I was halfway there when my phone rang again.
I glanced at the dashboard to see that it was BK.
My mind immediately went to Boss and I thought the worst.
I hit the button to accept the call.
“Yo, what’s going on?”
“Ain’t shit. Got Boss on the line. They got this nigga on a one call type of shit.”
I laughed.
“Damn that’s some jail shit. You sure this three-way call is allowed? Can’t have you losing your yard time to talk to little ol’ me, fool,” I joked.
“Man, fuck y’all. I could lose my phone privileges, but I would rather y’all hear from me than pass word of mouth too many times.”
“Then pass the word, nigga.”
“I’m good. Hating this muthafucka, but glad y’all convinced me to come. I still have a long way to go, but moving. No lie, I feel like I’m on a nice ass vacation some days.”
“An expensive ass fucking vacation, fool,” BK said, making us all laugh.
“Hell yeah. Who I owe for this bill?”
“Nigga, your damn self. This round is all you. But I am glad you feel that way. Rest is an essential part of recovery. I’m working on keeping that same vibe once you come back and reclaim your business.
I’m making some adjustments to the lists of employees on the board, and don’t worry, you can afford to pass off the load. ”
“You hear this nigga, B? His ass ain’t even been in the position no more than two months and already making changes. Well do that shit then, fool. Any fuck ups coming out your shit.” I laughed.