Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
KAIRI MOORE
Today was the first day I started working as a housekeeper. Since meeting that woman, I would be lying if I said I hadn’t hyperventilated a few times about who her son was. Even when I made my way over, I couldn’t stop my mind from running with different ideas of what type of person he was.
Thankfully, just like the first time I came here, he wasn’t home.
It had me wondering what type of work he did that had him gone as much as he was.
He kept his condo relatively clean, so there wasn’t much for me to do.
I vacuumed everywhere and cleaned the bathroom, which was the only place that showed any signs that someone was living there, but even then, he kept it clean.
His kitchen was practically untouched, as was the rest of the living space.
He even made his bed before he left, so I didn’t have to do that. I looked around for any pictures of him while I vacuumed, but there were none other than ones of his mom. It was nice to know that he loved his mother, so maybe he wasn’t that much of a terror.
Once I was finished with the little cleaning, I went out to the local grocery store to buy some things.
His mother had left a black card for me to use, and there was an envelope with my name on for me to take when I left.
Everything was so well thought out, and for a job I only needed to do once a week, I couldn’t complain.
Seeing as though this man was never home, I stocked up on water, lots of fruits, and protein bars I’d seen in the cabinet. His mom let me know that he didn’t cook very often, so I opted out of buying meat and things to cook.
After my store run, I put away the things I’d bought, picked up the envelope with my name on it, left the black card on the kitchen island, and left.
The easiest job ever.
It beat all the hours I used to spend on my feet working for the catering team. This job was an in-and-out one that took me a maximum of two hours.
I thought about going to see Sparkle but decided to head home instead.
When I stepped into the house, I frowned when I heard my brother and dad arguing.
“What’s going on?” I called out, getting their attention. My dad looked at me and sighed heavily.
“Your brother is not too pleased about me getting my job back,” Daddy explained.
“Because those mothafuckers don’t mean you any good!” Shaks yelled back, but I was still stuck on what my dad just said.
“What? You got your job back? You mean under Viper?”
Daddy nodded while Shakur smacked his mouth.
“It’s clear to see that nigga is up to something! I don’t trust it,” Shakur said.
“Wait? Daddy, Viper let you back to work?”
I was confused because I’d heard that once Viper or Orlando Sanchez cut you off, there was no going back.
“Yeah. I told Shakur it was a disagreement, I guess that Viper had a change of mind,” Daddy said. My brows knitted because I was confused as hell.
I’d gone to the cops to let them know about Sony trying to rape me, so what part of that was a misunderstanding?
It just didn’t make any sense to me.
Did they believe me now, or was this Viper’s way of keeping us quiet?
Then it hit me—it was to keep us quiet. It was clear to me that Sony or Viper didn’t want my brother to know the truth, which was why they gave my dad back his job. It was a clear threat: keep quiet, take back your job, and our family will be left alone.
“I agree with Daddy,” I said, making Shakur look at me. “Clearly, Viper found out the truth.”
My dad looked at me, and silently we told each other that this was something we would never reveal to Shakur because I didn’t want my brother getting into trouble and having to leave again.
“Of course you do,” Shakur complained.
“I’m just saying, Shakur. Everyone has to work to live,” I explained, because we did. We lived comfortably because of Daddy’s job. Did I like it? No, but I hated it when my father stressed over money. This way, he wouldn’t need to.
“Y’all don’t need that money! I’m back; I got y’all,” my brother said.
“It’s not for you to look after us, Shakur. We know what we’re doing,” Daddy said.
“We?” I questioned, because I didn’t understand why he was involving me in that. Yeah, I agreed with him to go back to working for them, but I wasn’t getting involved.
“Yes, we. Viper has set you up with a job at the club.”
My eyes widened before a huge smile appeared across my face. For almost two years, I had tried everything to get a job in that club, and finally, I got it.
“Really?” I asked excitedly, already seeing the huge tips I was about to come home with.
All the young girls my age who worked there were driving nice cars and living in their own apartments, so I’d been dying to get some of that money too.
That was why I worked with Carlene for so long.
At least my hard work hadn’t gone in vain.
It just wasn’t easy getting a job in that club.
But was this a trap set by Sony, or did they really just want to make peace now? My heart rate spiked slightly at the thought it could be another way for Sony or Viper to pressure us, but maybe I was just thinking too much.
“That’s great,” I beamed.
“Hell no! Absolutely not!” Shakur objected.
“Shaks, please. It pays well.”
“Is that all y’all care about?” he scoffed. My brows knitted in annoyance.
“Now you know better than that, Shakur, but you know that it takes money in order to live! And I won’t feel ashamed about wanting a job,” I said. He looked at me and smacked his mouth.
I sighed and calmed myself down.
“Look, I know you’re worried about us, but I promise we know what we’re doing. We won’t get mixed up in them,” Daddy said. “We will just do our jobs and keep it moving, son. Nothing more or less.”
My head was bouncing in agreement. As much as I was grown enough to do what I wanted to do, I just didn’t want to be at odds with my older brother.
Shakur stood there looking between the two of us before he exhaled a heavy breath.
“Any signs of bullshit and they’re gonna have to deal with me.”
I smiled and said, “There won’t be any trouble, I promise!”
As I stepped through the club doors, I couldn’t contain my excitement. This was the place I used to dream about working in for the last two years.
The last thing I wanted to do was leave my dad, but now, I was in a position to. With this job, I could finally start paying rent and my own bills. Plus, with Shakur back home, I didn’t have to worry about my dad being left alone.
Taking a deep breath, I walked through the club toward the bar where I saw someone cleaning.
“Uh, excuse me. My name is Kairi, I was told to report here,” I said to the girl. She stopped wiping down the glass bar and turned to look at me.
“You the girl Sony said was coming?”
I wasn’t sure why Sony was the one to get me this job; I thought it was Viper to keep us quiet. Still, it was the least that Sony could do after the trouble he caused.
“Yes,” I nodded and smiled.
“The office is upstairs, first door on your right. Welcome to The Cove.”
I thanked the girl and followed her instructions to the office. Mr. Blair was already expecting me, which I was grateful for.
He wasted no time showing me to a locker and giving me a t-shirt to wear with my boy shorts and fishnet tights. I laced up my sneakers, and I was ready to work. Thankfully, he put me to shadow the girl I met earlier. Her name was Felicity, and she was nice.
I felt my stomach bubble with nerves when the club started to get packed. Needless to say, I’d never even been inside here before now. Only the children of those high in rank came here.
Felicity was in charge of the VIP sections, so with my notepad and tray in hand, I followed her into the first section.
Money was spilling all over the place. More money than I’d ever seen before.
The young niggas inside were just throwing it around as if it grew on trees.
I’d heard about their behavior before, but seeing it firsthand was another story.
It amazed me that they were out there making so much money, they didn’t know what to do with it.
But at least I understood how the girls here were making over a thousand dollars in tips.
“Kairi, could you go and clear away the glasses in the other section and let them know that I will be over to take their orders in a minute?” Felicity called out to me and pointed at the other section. I nodded and quickly headed over.
She had two sections to look after tonight, and the club was packed to capacity.
“Hi, I’m Kairi. I’ll just clear away these glasses for y’all, and someone will be right with you to take your next order,” I announced myself as I stepped into the section. This one wasn’t as rowdy as the other because it only had females inside.
I headed for the table and started stacking the dirty glasses on my tray to take to the bar.
“Bitch, am I seeing things?” I heard someone call out, and I lifted my head only to come face-to-face with Ocean. I hadn’t seen her since that night they came to my house.
Her eyes narrowed on my face, and then she fell out laughing.
“You have got to be kidding me. This bitch works here now!” she pointed right in my face.
I looked around and noticed all the other girls were now looking at me with an attitude on their faces. And then I saw River. She just sat there staring at me.
“Girls, you better hide your men because this desperate hoe will try to offer him some pussy, then cry rape when he rejects her ass,” Ocean yelled and then fell out laughing with her girls. I looked at River again and saw that she wasn’t laughing along with the others.
Sighing, I decided to ignore Ocean and continue with my job so that I could leave this section. Today was my first night, and I damn sure didn’t want to get fired behind someone like Ocean.
“Hold on, isn’t she the girl one of your exes was obsessed with?” one of Ocean’s friends shouted out. I frowned and turned to look at Ocean. She had this weird look on her face.