Chapter 2
Kadeem
Isat at my desk, hand still on my phone, as I nodded my head.
I knew I’d made the right decision with hiring Saniyah.
She was the best interview we had in weeks, and from her resume, she was a prime candidate.
She was quick on her feet with answers and seemed to be trustworthy.
I sat back in my chair, dragging my hand across my beard slowly.
It had been months since we had a secretary, and after all of the interviews we’d gone through, she was indeed the best one.
It didn’t take me long at all to call her back and offer her the position.
I opened the new employee file and started one for Saniyah. I’d just finished when Crue walked into my office without knocking yet again. Closing the door behind him, he sat in one of the chairs across from my desk and just looked at me.
“If you gon’ walk into my office without knocking, the least you can do is speak.”
“I just set up another interview for tomorrow morning at ten.”
“There’s no need. I just hired her. You can go ahead and cancel that interview.”
“You hired her? Why? I don’t even think she’s qualified.”
I glanced over at him, confused about what he meant by that. “You don’t think she’s qualified to be a secretary? Didn’t you read her resume? Shit, if you ask me, she’s overqualified.”
Crue blew out a long breath and shook his head. “She’s never worked in a place like this before. This is not the regular business that she’s used to working in. This might be a challenge for her.”
“I doubt it will be, but we will cross that bridge if and when we get to it. But she starts tomorrow.”
“Alright, if you already told her, then I guess that’s what it’s going to be. But if she gets around here and get to fuckin’ up, that’s on you.”
“Alright, I take full responsibility, but I feel like she’s going to be a great asset to the company.”
“I guess we’ll see,” Crue spoke. He stood to his feet and walked over to the bar and made himself a drink.
We sat in my office for about twenty more minutes, just talking, before he finally walked out and let me get back to work.
I had several clients that I had to set up for the week, and I hadn’t even started one.
By the time I was leaving the office, the sun was beginning to set.
I stepped out the building, and the cool air hit my face as I loosened the top button of my shirt before heading toward my SUV.
I drove home in the quiet. I didn’t even turn on any music as I allowed the drive to clear my head.
I hated to take the stress of work home with me, so my drive home was always my therapy.
Fifteen minutes later, I was pulling into my building.
I parked in my designated parking space before taking the elevator up to my penthouse.
The moment the elevator doors opened and I stepped into my home, I felt the weight of my workday instantly leave.
Walking into my kitchen, I tossed my keys on the counter and grabbed a bottled water from the fridge.
I stepped out onto the balcony, leaning against the railing, as I took in the fresh air.
It was the end of April, and the weather had been nicer than normal for this time of year.
I stood there, watching the sunset, as I sipped my water.
My phone buzzed, and I reached in my pocket and pulled it out. Looking down at my screen, I frowned when I saw it was an unknown number. I almost ignored it, then at the last minute, I decided to answer.
“Kadeem?” The voice came through low yet commanding.
“Who is this?” I asked, confused.
“Derrick Lawson,” he spoke, and I instantly recognized the name.
Derrick was an elite businessman whose name rang bells around the city. I knew if he was calling me personally, then this was serious. I cleared my throat before responding.
“What can I do for you?”
“I was given your name by one of my trusted sources,” he confirmed. “I was told that you handle… umm sensitive situations, if you know what I mean.”
Walking back into my penthouse, I made my way to my home office, already switching back into work mode.
“I handle a lot of things,” I spoke, sitting at my desk before I booted up my computer.
He paused as if he were thinking of the right words to say. “I need protection, discreet protection,” he finally voiced.
“Okay, that’s what I specialize in. When would you need it to start?” I asked, punching a few keys on my keyboard.
“I have a private event coming up, and I don’t want any issues.”
“What kind of issues are you trying to avoid?”
“The kind that don’t need to be explained over the phone.”
“Understood.” I nodded.
I pulled up a blank file, already typing. He gave me the location and date, along with the guest count, and I typed up the information. He also confirmed that he already had security in place but didn’t trust them. That was all I needed to hear.
“I’ll send you a contract within the hour. Once it’s signed and the deposit is made, my team will take over.”
“Great, I’ll be looking out for it.”
I ended the call and began drawing up a contract.
With him calling me directly, I knew that this was a serious matter and wanted to ensure that I handled everything myself.
Once the contract was drafted, I emailed it to him before shutting down my computer and leaving my office.
I sent Crue a quick text, letting him know about our new client, before heading to my room.
After taking a hot shower and throwing on some basketball shorts and a white t-shirt, I made my way into the kitchen to find something for dinner.
I normally ate out on the weekends, but during the week, I always cooked.
I was actually really good at it. After taking a pack of shrimp from the freezer, I placed them in a bowl of water to thaw.
After that, I cut up a few smoked sausages and peppers before boiling some pasta.
After my meal was finished and plated, I walked into the living room and ate in front of the TV, finding something good on Netflix while I ate my food.
I’d just gotten done washing my plate when my phone rang. Looking down at it, I saw that it was Crue. For a second, I thought about not answering, knowing that if I did, my chill night would be anything but that; however, I answered anyway.
“What you got up for the night?” he asked without even saying hello.
“Shit, I’m just chillin’. What’s up?”
“You tryna get into some shit tonight?”
“What shit?” I asked, already knowing what he meant.
“Her name is April, and she on that. You remember me telling you about the girl I met at the bar a few weeks ago? Well, this is her, and when I tell you she with the shit, I mean she with the shit.”
“You do know that we both have to work tomorrow, right?” I asked.
“Yes, I know exactly when I work. We good though. It’s still early.”
I stood in the middle of the kitchen for a while, just thinking.
It didn’t take me long to decide as I told him to send me the address, and I made my way to my room to get dressed.
I already knew what this was; we had been doing this shit since college.
It was only supposed to be just one drunk night after a party with his ex-girlfriend.
It wasn’t even planned. One minute, we were drinking and partying, and the next minute, I was eating his girlfriend’s pussy, while he fucked me from the back.
That next morning when we all woke up naked in the same bed, we vowed to never speak of that night again.
And although we might not have spoke on it again, we damn sure continued doing it, finding different females to accompany us.
It wasn’t like we were in a relationship.
I wasn’t attracted to men, and neither was he.
We fucked, never made love, and only when there was a female present.
It was the freak in us both, and it had worked for this long, so there was no need to stop now.
I kept it simple with a white button up and a crisp pair of jeans.
I placed a gold Cuban link around my neck before spraying myself with Xerjoff Naxos.
Once I was done, I made my way to my car and headed to the address Crue had given me.
It was about nine at night when I pulled into a set of townhomes about twenty-five minutes outside the city.
I shot Crue a text and waited for the door to open before I got out the car.
I walked in the door and was immediately greeted by Crue.
I dapped him up before he introduced me to April, who was sitting on the couch, sipping from a glass of wine.
April was beautiful with dark chocolate skin and deep dimples in both cheeks.
Her hair was in a short pixie cut, and she had several tattoos across her chest and down her arms. I walked over to her and extended my hand for her to shake, but she stood to her feet and hugged me instead.
She was short, probably about five foot two, and thick as hell.
I knew she was thick from just looking at her as she sat on the couch.
However, I wasn’t expecting the backside I saw when she stood up.
“It’s nice to finally meet you. Crue has told me so much about you. Can I get you a drink?”
“Yeah, he’ll take some Crown over ice,” Crue answered before I could even respond.
April nodded, letting me know that she would be right back with my drink, then left the room. Crue walked over to me with a smile on his face.
“She fine as fuck, ain’t she? Thicker than a pot of cold grits.”
“Yeah, she thick as hell, but are you sure she down with this shit? I don’t need no surprises.”
“And it won’t be none. She with the shit for real. Hell, she brought it to me before I even said anything about it.”
I looked at him, one brow raised. “Brought it to you how?”