Chapter 4
Four
“I don’t understand why you won’t get a job that you actually like,” Jazmyn, Nhuri’s best friend, said over the phone.
Rushing around her bedroom, Nhuri almost missed the disdain in her friend’s voice.
It wasn’t that she didn’t like bartending.
She enjoyed it most days. When the customers weren’t belligerently drunk or disrespectful, Nhuri didn’t mind mixing and mingling.
She wasn’t a people person but was skilled in mixology.
When times were rough, and she needed some quick cash, the bar she used to work at in her old town provided just enough funds to get by.
“I do like my job,” Nhuri confirmed. “Just because I complain about going in doesn’t mean anything.”
Jazmyn chuckled. “True. I do the same thing. What time do you get off?”
“Two-ish, but I’m hoping sooner.”
The lack of sleep she’d gotten throughout the week was catching up to her. Thankfully, she was only working a half shift tomorrow. Working seven days a week, tending to her sister, and trying to keep her mental health intact were a roller coaster of a to-do list, but she was making it happen.
“Hopefully. You need to get some rest, or you’ll get sick, girl,” Jazmyn said.
“I know. But money ain’t gon’ make itself, ya’ know?”
Jazmyn smirked. “Girl, please. You don’t have to work this job. I don’t even know how you got hired with your mean ass.”
Nhuri stopped to stare at the screen where Jazmyn was on FaceTime. Laughing, she flipped her off.
“See!” Jazmyn exclaimed, laughing.
“You deserved that, and I’m not mean. Just . . . not with the bullshit.”
Jazmyn waved her off. “Same thing. I’m glad you’re not anymore.”
“Yeah,” Nhuri mumbled.
Silence echoed around them.
“Have you heard from him?”
“Not in a few months.”
Jazmyn was happy to hear that. “Good.”
It was great, actually. Not hearing from him gave Nhuri hope that he’d forgotten about her because she had pushed him to the crevices of her mind long ago.
“More than good. Anyway, I have to finish getting ready. I’ll text you when I make it home.”
“Please do. You forgot last weekend and had me ready to make that drive to come see you.”
Jazmyn wasn’t bluffing. Nhuri had gotten off of work early, came home, showered, and was knocked out before she could place her low-battery phone on the charger. Thankfully, Jazmyn had Natalia’s number and forced her to check on Nhuri because she wasn’t answering her phone.
“It won’t happen again,” she promised.
“Better not. Love you! Talk to you later.”
“Love you more.”
They hung up, and Nhuri finished getting dressed.
She wasn’t behind the bar tonight but on bottle duty for the sections at Club Lush.
Stepping inside her bathroom, she combed through her shoulder-length sew-in, brushed her lash extensions, and spritzed her skin with perfume gifted by Natalia.
She glanced at her phone and noticed she had only five minutes to spare.
Making it across the city during Saturday night traffic would be hectic.
After sliding on her tennis shoes, Nhuri swiped up her bag for the night and headed to her car. The night air was warmer than usual, letting it be known that the summer was just starting. After buckling her seat belt, Nhuri cranked up the tunes and pulled out of her complex.
“Please let tonight go smoothly,” she said.
The night wasn’t going smoothly.
At least, it hadn’t been.
One of the bottle girls called in because her dog was sick, a fight had already broken out, and a large party of fifteen wasn’t trying to pay their tab. Nhuri was ready to leave. Hell, quit. Jazmyn’s words from earlier didn’t sound too harsh now.
“Girl, that’s damn near a two-thousand-dollar tab. Mindy knew better than not to collect a card to put on file.”
Nhuri glanced at one of the twin sisters she had formed a working relationship with. She couldn’t remember which one she was, but she wasn’t lying.
“You don’t know which sister I am, do you?” she smirked.
Nhuri chuckled. “I thought I knew, and then y’all went and got the same color braids. That’s just wrong.”
The blonde and brown knotless braids they got done the day before were so neat and long. The color combination looked so good against their Godiva complexions. Nhuri loved them but knew she didn’t have the patience to sit for a time-consuming style. She’d love the convenience, though.
“I’m Stacy,” the woman said. “Stasia is wearing her hair in a ponytail.”
Nhuri wanted to tell her that didn’t make much of a difference, but instead, she nodded.
“Stacy, right. I got it. I think Mindy has security going over there now.”
The manager, Dan, and four burly men in all black headed to the section. The tab was getting paid one way or another.
“That’s so embarrassing. If they knew they didn’t have the money, they shouldn’t have been in here drinking like that,” Stacy fussed.
That was just how the game went. Nhuri knew it all too well. People put on a front for those around them but couldn’t pay up trying to live up to those expectations.
“Yeah, well . . . You know how it is. I hope nothing else pops off because I refuse to stay late tonight,” Nhuri said.
Making her way through the crowd, she was stopped by Dan.
“A customer is requesting your presence,” he said.
Nhuri frowned. “What? Who?”
She was still a fresh face in town, so there was no way someone had personally asked for her. Her stomach formed knots, and her heart rate spiked at the thought of the person being her ex. She just knew there was no way he’d located her job.
“I’m not sure. He’s in section seven.”
Lines of worry creased her forehead as Dan walked away.
Tugging downward on her short black spandex one-piece that exposed ample cleavage and her toned thighs, Nhuri sighed.
Whoever this was had better been tipping nicely.
She weaved through the crowded club with confident strides as Future blasted through the sound system.
The quick prep talk she gave herself helped none once she approached the section.
It wasn’t filled with enough people to occupy the couch, but her head was on a swivel to make eye contact with whoever requested her.
Thankfully, Nhuri didn’t have to search hard for the man garnering her attention.
Nhuri’s steps faltered at the sight of Shyriq.
He stood out whether he wanted to with his eyes trained on her.
Still handsome as ever, he looked more casual than the last two times she’d encountered him.
Shyriq wore black slacks and a white, short-sleeved button-down in place of a full suit.
Nhuri didn’t have time to check his footwear because his eyes burned a hole in her.
Shyriq tilted his head upward, beckoning her to come closer. Nhuri rubbed her glossed lips together and invaded his space. Leaning down, she went to speak, but Shyriq beat her to it.
“We have to stop running into each other like this,” he said.
Humor laced his tone. Liquor was on his breath and gloss in his brown eyes.
Nhuri took a step back. “This isn’t my section.”
“It’s yours now. Unless that’s a problem.”
Shyriq’s voice was heavy. Thick with the type of masculine energy Nhuri knew only men like him possessed. You’re the problem is what she wanted to tell him. A handsomely dangerous problem that just so happened to smell deliciously good too.
“It’s not a problem. What can I get for you?” she asked.
Nhuri hated that the lights gleamed just right across his face. Shyriq licked his lips and reached for her hand. Gently, he pulled her closer. The high-up sectional made them almost the same height as him sitting down.
“Your name. Can I get that?” Shyriq asked.
Nhuri almost chuckled. “No.”
She couldn’t get out of her brain the sound of him saying it the first night they met. He’d spoken it like he was trying to commit it to memory, but clearly, he hadn’t. Shyriq didn’t take offense to her answer. He just smiled.
“Not even a nickname?” he asked.
“Is this what you do in clubs? Hit on the bottle girls?” Nhuri countered.
Shyriq licked his lips. “Nah. Just you.”
“Hmm. That’s unfortunate for us both because I don’t have time for this. Plus, you said my name the first time you requested a drink from me.”
“My apologies, beautiful. You’re right. That’s a mishap for not remembering your name, but I never forgot your face.”
His politeness took Nhuri aback and made her concerned. “Are you drunk? We don’t know each other, and you requested me as if we do.”
Shyriq chuckled, finally letting his hand fall from hers. Nhuri hadn’t realized he was still holding it until they disconnected.
“I’ve been drinking, but I’m not drunk. I spotted you working and wondered if you’d gotten any rest since the last time I saw you.”
Nhuri swallowed hard. Why the fuck is me resting on his mind?
“That’s . . . not weird to you to be thinking about a stranger?” she asked.
“Maybe. But clearly, my brain has a mind of its own. It thought you up, and here you are for a third time. What do they say about those?”
Nhuri covered her grin. Shyriq was too smooth with his conversation, making her forget why she was there and her attitude.
“I say that it is purely coincidence that we’re seeing each other for the third time. Had I not been privy to who you are, I’d think you were stalking me,” Nhuri said, making a deep chuckle fall from Shyriq’s mouth.
The sound decorated Nhuri’s skin with goose bumps, and her heart sped up a bit. It wasn’t in her nature to flirt with customers, not wanting to give them any impression that she was interested, but flirting with Shyriq came easily.
“You’re worth stalking, gorgeous,” Shyriq said and smirked. “But that’s not my area of expertise.”
“Right. Now, what can I help you with again?” Nhuri politely asked.
“Since you decided not to remind me of your name, Nhuri, I’ll take a whiskey and Coke.”
She smirked. “Impeccable memory.”
“You’re worth remembering.”
Nhuri simply smiled as she retrieved the handheld card reader. She typed in his drink order, sending a notification to the bar. Then she glanced around at the men in their section.
“Will they be ordering as well?” Nhuri asked.
Just as she asked the question, a younger version of Shyriq tossed an arm over Shyriq’s shoulder and widely grinned.
“How you doing?” he asked smoothly.
“Good. Just trying to work,” Nhuri said, giving him a tight smile.
He stuck his hand out for her to shake. “I’m Rush.”
Nhuri looked down at his hand and then back at his face. “And I’m sort of in a rush. So, what can I get you to drink?”
Rush laughed. “Smooth. Real smooth. I know this old man probably ordered whiskey, so let me get a bottle of tequila.”
“Any specific juice?”
“Nah. We don’t need any chasers, baby,” Rush said.
Chuckling, Nhuri replied, “Of course not. I’ll have your waitress bring that bottle and your drink right over.”
“Are you not able to serve our section tonight?” Shyriq questioned.
The intensity of his gaze made Nhuri stare deeply into his eyes. She could tell he was a man used to getting his way, and that tickled her the most.
“That’s not how things work around here,” she let him know.
“If it were up to me, you wouldn’t be working here at all,” Shyriq countered.
They stared at each other until one of the other bottle girls tapped Nhuri on the shoulder.
She was needed at the bar, and she was glad to be of service.
The longer she stayed in Shyriq’s presence, the more she felt something brewing between them.
Natalia’s words about him going through a divorce rang loudly in her head as she turned to walk away.
His married status was just enough to make whatever brewing simmer.
“Who is that?” Rush questioned.
Shyriq kept his eyes trained on Nhuri until she was no longer in his line of vision. “No one you need to be worried about,” he answered.
Rush chuckled. “Shit, neither do you. Loosen up some more,” he said, patting his brother’s back. “There’s too many women here to be tripping off one.”
That was precisely why Shyriq preferred not to hit the club scene.
He didn’t mind it in his younger days when the crowd actually danced and enjoyed themselves instead of standing around looking at one another crazily.
The women had been eyeing him all night, and a few had even approached him.
However, once he spotted Nhuri, all thoughts of possibly getting one of their numbers exited his mind.
Something about her intrigued him, and Shyriq wanted to know more. Maybe it was the liquor talking or the fact that they’d run into each other three times in less than two weeks. Whatever the case was, Ms. Nhuri was on Shyriq’s radar.
As the night wound down, Nhuri had stayed true to her word.
She stayed away from Shyriq’s section, but that didn’t stop him from seeking her out as he exited to leave the club earlier than the crew he came with.
Stopping at the end of the bar, Shyriq asked the woman close to him to grab Nhuri’s attention.
Her head swiveled his way, and she shook it. Shyriq licked his full lips and nodded.
Playfully, Nhuri rolled her eyes but walked his way. “Yes, Mr. Man, who can’t seem to let me be. Leaving so soon?”
He smirked. “I am, but I couldn’t leave without giving you this.” Gently, not to alarm her, Shyriq grabbed her hand and placed a large lump of money in her palm.
Nhuri’s brows dipped. “Um,” she stammered.
“Thank you for your services tonight. The next time we cross paths—”
“The next time?” Nhuri rushed out, flustered by his words.
Shyriq nodded. “Yes. I’m a man who believes in things happening for a reason. The next time we see each other, I’m hoping you’ve gotten some rest. Not just your body, but your mind as well.”
He whispered the last sentence in Nhuri’s ear before pulling away. Giving her a once-over, Shyriq tipped his head forward. “Have a good rest of your evening, Nhuri.”
“You too,” she mumbled, but Shyriq didn’t hear her. He was already feet away, walking toward the exit.
Snapping out of her trance, Nhuri glanced at the money in her hand.
She unfolded the bills and shook her head as she counted $500.
Her services hadn’t cost nearly as much, but it didn’t matter to Shyriq.
He’d taken up her time and had paid for it.
Nhuri was just going to have to come to terms with the fact that he was a generous tipper and man.