Chapter 2 #2
“Me?” Natalia asked and lightly chuckled.
Shyriq glanced toward Nhuri, whose face was stern but still beautiful. He had no idea the woman he’d been admiring the past weekend was related to one of his employees. But he was grateful that she was. Seeing Nhuri’s face was the perfect ending to a hectic week.
“Yes, you, unless she isn’t feeling well also,” Shyriq answered.
Natalia chuckled nervously, and Nhuri shot her a quizzical look. Who is this man? she thought.
“I’m feeling much better. There’s no need to do a wellness check. I’m assuming that’s what this is,” Natalia said.
Shyriq nodded. “It is. I understand you were supposed to be out of town with Cara but fell ill.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Will your illness affect your work capabilities moving forward?”
Natalia gulped. She couldn’t give him an honest answer because she knew it would. Nhuri stood idly, keeping her comments to herself, but she had enough.
“I don’t mean to interrupt, but who are you, and what does my sister’s work capabilities have to do with anything? From my understanding, whatever deadlines and work she has been given were completed and on time,” Nhuri said with a bite in her tone.
His eyes drifted inches upward to her face.
Natalia was an average height at five foot eight, leading people to believe she wasn’t the oldest of the sisters.
Nhuri may have been taller, but she was the baby—a protective baby sister who was ready to light into Shyriq’s ass behind the lack of empathy she felt he was showing.
Shyriq cleared his throat. “My name is Shyriq, and you are?”
“She’s my overprotective sister. My illness won’t be an issue moving forward,” Natalia said, intervening.
“If it does become one—”
“If it becomes one, what?” Nhuri sassed.
Natalia sighed. “Sis, please. I got this.”
“And so do I. We appreciate the wellness check, but as you can see, Natalia is fine. Her personal life doesn’t reflect the excellent work she does or will continue to do, so there’s no need to threaten her.
Plus, I’m certain there’s a policy in place for sick leave, and she has enough PTO to miss a few days. ”
During their call, Cara failed to mention that Natalia’s FMLA covered her time away from work. Of course, that’s not something he was privy to, but it would’ve been nice to know.
“I was never threatening her,” Shyriq deadpanned. “That’s not who I am or what my company is about.”
Nhuri lifted a brow. “I’m sorry . . . your company?”
“Yes. I own Great Hendrix Distillery, and Natalia isn’t just some employee who gets overlooked because we can hire someone else. I value and appreciate everything she has done for us, and checking on her takes no sweat off my back.”
He quickly made Nhuri aware of the man she was dealing with and the man her sister worked for.
“Natalia,” Shyriq faced her, “if your illness becomes too much to bear, let me know personally. Cara and I will figure something out.”
Going into his pocket, Shyriq pulled out his wallet and removed a business card to hand her. Natalia took hold of it and appreciatively nodded.
“Thank you. I’ll be sure to do that,” she said.
“Were there any other questions you had for me?” Shyriq asked, now addressing Nhuri.
Annoyed with how direct and poised he was, her nostrils flared. “No. I’m not an employee of yours.”
Shyriq smirked, and Nhuri could’ve fallen out. “You could be. Have a great night, ladies. Tell lil mama who was peeking around the corner that I come in peace.”
Shyriq’s parting words left Nhuri stunned as he pulled open the door.
She stepped up to the door, watching him descend the driveway.
Parked on the curb was a heavily tinted black Suburban.
A man with long locs wearing jeans and a plain black shirt stood outside of the passenger door and opened the back door for Shyriq to climb inside.
Nhuri squinted. “That fine-ass man is the owner of my favorite whiskey and my sister’s big boss. What are the odds?”
“The odds are that I could’ve gotten fired for your smart mouth,” Natalia said, pulling her away from the door and shutting it.
“You’re so dramatic. I wasn’t about to stand here and let him patronize you for something you can’t control. If he has an issue, you can just quit,” Nhuri fussed.
“No. That’s not how things work. You heard what you wanted to hear. He wasn’t patronizing me. Do you truly think the owner of a million-dollar company would take the time out of his Friday evening to check on an employee if he had ill intentions?”
Nhuri cocked her head to the side. “If he had a hidden agenda, yes.”
Natalia waved her off. “I’m not fooling with your crazy behind. He was popping up over here to check on me, and that’s one of the reasons why I love working for GHC.”
“Yeah, I do too,” Nhuri chuckled.
Had it not been for Nhuri completing most of Natalia’s workload, her position would’ve been in someone else’s hands long before now.
Having lupus wasn’t for the faint of heart, nor did it stop Natalia from knocking out her goals, pursuing her dreams, and showing up for herself and the people she loved daily.
Yes, some days, the disease crippled her, forcing her unable to type, walk, or even speak, but she didn’t let it keep her down.
On those days when she couldn’t work, Nhuri covered for her.
With an MBA in international business, Nhuri quickly became Natalia’s fill-in research marketing manager.
The work Natalia did early on in her position was just the groundwork.
Every critical component, presentation, business strategy, etcetera, was a joint effort between the sisters.
As quiet as kept, Nhuri could be an employee of Shyriq’s.
His words couldn’t have been any more accurate.
“Girl, whatever. And I saw how you were looking at him,” Natalia said, walking down the hall to check on Raniya.
“He’s fine as hell,” Nhuri shouted, smiling.
“And going through a divorce, so leave it alone.”
Fake pouting, Nhuri plopped onto the couch. That tidbit of information wasn’t needed. It wasn’t like she’d cross paths with Shyriq again.