Chapter 18
V Saint
“A nigga used to women agreeing with him don’t know what to do with resistance at first.”
By the time I left the site, my whole body felt tight. Nine hours around Sade Bennett had a nigga mentally exhausted. I got in the whip, shut the door, and sat there for a second before pulling off.
The music wasn’t even on yet.
That’s how I knew something was off with me.
Usually, I would’ve been peeling out of the parking lot with the windows shaking, but my mind kept replaying the whole day instead. Her voice. Her attitude. The way she kept correcting shit. The way she walked around my project with a stick up her ass.
Cocky ass woman.
I chuckled low to myself before shaking my head.
This bitch already running a nigga dry.
As soon as I thought it, I regretted it. Sade wasn’t a bitch. She just… wasn’t what I expected.
I thought hiring her would be easy. Pretty virgin designer girl. Quiet. Professional. Probably one of those women who just nod, agree, and look good while a nigga handles business.
Yeah, fucking right.
That woman had an opinion about every damn thing on my site.
And somehow… I liked that shit but hated it at the same time.
I frowned at myself immediately.
“That’s the problem,” I muttered, finally turning the music up.
Snoop Dogg’s “Dog’s Gonna Get Cha” started blasting through the speakers while I drove toward the city. Traffic was light, the sun dropping behind buildings, the sky turning orange over L.A.
My phone buzzed in the cup holder.
Alana.
Ignored it.
Buzz.
Nia.
Ignored that too.
Neither one of them was who I wanted to hear from right now, and that alone irritated me more.
I stopped at a light and looked out the window, my thoughts circling right back to Sade again.
The way she looked at me after I told her not to slow my project down.
The way she ain’t back down all day.
I exhaled low and rubbed my chin.
The light turned green.
I pressed the gas harder than necessary and headed straight toward the strip club in West LA to meet CK.
CK was already there when I walked in, sitting in our usual section with a drink in front of him, money in his hand, while women danced around, damn near naked, to old Jeezy. The club was active but not packed yet. Perfect timing.
“Waddup, project manager,” CK laughed as I walked up.
“Man, shut up.” I dapped him up and sat down.
A dancer walked over immediately, trying to sit on my lap, but I waved her off. That alone made CK look at me funny.
“Oh yeah, you stressed for real.” He handed me a stack of money.
“I’m not stressed.”
“You just turned down ass in a strip club. You stressed!” He laughed and took a drink.
I grabbed the tequila bottle off the table and poured myself a shot. “That girl I hired is annoying as fuck.”
“Sade?”
“Who else?” I threw a shot back. “She too bossy.”
CK started laughing harder. “You just used to women bowing down to you.”
“That ain’t true.”
“It is true. Most women around you just agree with whatever you say, so they can stay around.”
I frowned. “That sound crazy.”
“It sound accurate.”
I poured another shot. “Every five minutes, she got something to say. Fix this. Move that. This don’t look right. I be wanting to tell her, damn, shut up.”
“But was she wrong?”
I looked at him, frowning. “That’s not the point.”
CK shook his head, laughing. “Nah, that’s exactly the point. You need a woman around you that ain’t scared of you.”
I leaned back against the booth. “She need some dick. That’s what she need.”
CK damn near choked laughing. “And you gon’ give it to her?”
I smirked a little before looking away. “She don’t like me.”
That made him pause for a second. “You don’t know that.”
“I can tell.” I shrugged casually. “That lady barely look at me unless she correcting something.”
“You sound disappointed.”
“I’m not disappointed. I’m irritated. It’s a difference.”
“Mhmm.” He took another drink. “You like that girl.”
I looked him dead in the face. “Relax.”
“I’m serious.”
“I hired her. That’s it.”
CK held his hands up. “A’ight, bro. Whatever you say.”
A woman walked over and started dancing in front of me again, but my mind wasn’t even there. I looked past her, grabbing my drink instead.
CK watched me for a second before shaking his head. “Yeah… you gone.”
“Man, you gotta chill.” I chuckled low this time.
A couple of hours later, I left before CK did. I wasn’t in the mood to stay out all night. The liquor settled in my chest while I drove home, city lights blurring past the windows.
By the time I got upstairs and sat down, my phone buzzed again.
Vanessa.
I opened the text.
A picture of Sade loaded slowly.
She was kissing the same nigga from the restaurant.
It was taken outside somewhere nice too. Just an hour ago.
I frowned before I could stop it.
Another text came through right under the picture.
V Baby: Looks like she got a nigga now…
I stared at the screen longer than I should have.
Zoomed in once.
Then locked the phone.
“She don’t like me,” I said to myself, leaning back against the couch.
But for some reason…
That shit got under my skin.