Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
NYROBI
Iknew them nosy hoes at work was gone have something to say. And that’s why I wasn’t too fond of bitches if it wasn’t Kendra.
Hell, I would've had something to say too.
I had just started working there and somehow Tiffany had come looking for me personally yesterday because Mr. and Mrs. Stylez wanted me upstairs in their office.
Not one of the managers or somebody from HR.
The damn people whose last name was on everything.
Then I came back downstairs and didn't tell nobody shit.
Yeah, I knew they was talking.
What I didn't expect was to walk in the next morning and damn near catch their asses holding a whole meeting about me.
I hadn't even made it good into the back before I heard Ariel.
"I'm telling y'all, something ain't right," she said.
I slowed down.
Another girl said something too low for me to catch, but whatever it was had Ariel ready to defend her little investigation.
"Okay, then why Tiffany came and got her? When have you ever seen the Stylez call one of us upstairs to personally talk to them?"
I stopped right where I was.
Oh, this bitch had evidence and everything.
"I heard she knew Mrs. Stylez before she even started working here."
"Who told you that?"
"I don't know. Somebody said they met at the hospital or something."
That part made me frown, because wow Ariel I had just told you that bitch, talking about some damn she heard.
"Maybe she family."
"She ain't no damn family."
"How you know?"
"Because why would their family be cleaning rooms?"
"Maybe that's the point."
There was a little pause before Ariel lowered her voice like she was about to crack the whole case.
"Watch. They probably got her working with us so she can report back what everybody doing. Like a secret employee."
I had to cover my mouth.
A fucking secret employee? These hoes had turned me into the FBI overnight.
"I wouldn't tell her shit."
"Me either."
That was when I pushed my cart around the corner and both of their faces dropped so damn fast I almost felt bad.
"Good morning, y'all."
Ariel looked like she had swallowed her tongue.
"Morning."
I reached into my cart and grabbed a pack of washcloths like I hadn't heard a damn thing.
The silence got so uncomfortable that I finally looked up.
"Why y'all so quiet now?" I asked with sarcasm.
"We was just talking."
"I know."
Ariel's eyes narrowed a little.
"You heard us?"
"Heard what?"
She looked at the other girl.
I shrugged.
"I don't know what y'all talking about, but if I was secretly working for the Stylez, standing around gossiping while you on the clock probably wouldn't be the smartest shit to do."
The other girl busted out laughing.
Ariel slapped her arm.
"See! I fucking told you!"
I laughed and pushed my cart past them.
"Y'all better straighten up before I send my first report in."
"Bitch, wait!"
I kept walking.
"Too late. I'm telling Mrs. Stylez everything."
They were still laughing behind me when I turned the corner, but mine faded once I got inside my first room. Bitches were so fake.
And if they knew what Mr. and Mrs. Stylez had really called me upstairs for, they wouldn't have been laughing.
Shit, I barely was. I had spent damn near the whole night thinking about that offer.
Even after talking to Kendra. Even after talking to Mama.
Even after dropping Nysheca off to go do exactly what I had just fussed at her about doing.
Every time I thought my mind was settled, some new shit popped into it.
That money sounded real good when all I thought about was what I could do with it. It sounded a little different when I remembered I had to grow a whole fucking human being to get it.
I pulled the sheets from the bed and threw them onto the floor.
Mama had gotten in my head. Not in a bad way either.
She had asked me shit I should've been asking myself from the beginning.
What happened if I couldn't work? What if I got put on bed rest?
Who was paying if something went wrong with me?
What if something went wrong with the baby?
Did these people expect to control everything I did for nine months just because their baby was inside me?
Hell, was I even allowed to have sex?
I stopped pulling the pillowcase off.
"Wait a fucking minute."
That one hadn't crossed my mind until right then because I didn’t even have nobody to even fuck on but…. If I wanted to then what?
I pulled my phone out so fast you would've thought somebody texted me.
I opened my notes and started typing.
Can I still work?
What happens if the doctor says I can't work?
Who pays ALL medical bills?
What happens if something happens to me?
What happens if something happens to the baby?
What can I eat?
Can I travel?
Then I stared at my phone for a second before typing:
Can I still have sex?
I looked at it and immediately deleted it.
After yesterday, absolutely the fuck not.
They were already probably upstairs laughing about me thinking I had to fuck Billion to get pregnant. Now I was about to walk back in there asking when I could have sex.
Nope.
I put my phone down. Then picked it right back up and typed the shit again.
Fuck that.
If they wanted to borrow my uterus for nine months, I needed to know what came with the rental agreement. And this time when I sat down in front of Kaizleigh and Billion Stylez, I wasn't going in there confused. I was going in there with questions. A whole fucking list of them.
Because as crazy as the shit still sounded, somewhere between talking to Kendra, listening to Mama, and lying in my bed staring at the ceiling half the night, I had gotten a lot closer to knowing what I wanted to do.
I just needed to make sure that money wasn't about to cost me more than it was worth.
By the time I made it through my first three rooms, my little list had turned into damn near an interrogation.
Every time I thought of something, I stopped what I was doing long enough to add it.
Do I have to go to every appointment they tell me to?
What happens if I need a C-section?
Do I get to choose my own doctor?
What if I have to miss work for appointments?
What if they change their minds?
That last one had been bothering me since Mama brought up all the shit that could go wrong.
Everybody kept talking about what happened if I changed my mind, but what happened if they did?
What if I got four or five months into a pregnancy and Billion woke up one morning deciding he didn't want to be married anymore? What if Kaizleigh got tired of his ass and left? What if one of them decided this wasn't what they wanted after all?
I knew rich people had money, but money didn't make them any less crazy than everybody else.
If anything, some of them had enough money to be crazier.
I added another question.
What happens if Mr. and Mrs. Stylez get divorced while I'm pregnant?
I stared at it for a second before laughing to myself.
That might've been a little too personal.
I deleted it.
Then typed:
What happens if something changes between them?
There…Professional.
Look at me. I was learning already. I slid my phone back into my pocket and went back to making the bed.
"How many reports you sent in so far?"
I looked toward the doorway.
Ariel was standing there with a handful of towels and a stupid ass smile on her face.
"Three. You the main one."
"I knew it."
"You getting fired by lunch."
"Can you at least let me finish my shift?"
"Nope."
She walked farther into the room.
"So for real, though."
Here we go, I thought.
"What?"
"What they wanted yesterday?"
I tucked the corner of the sheet underneath the mattress.
"Who?"
"Bitch."
I laughed.
"What?"
"The Stylez."
"Oh."
"Don't 'oh' me. You know who I'm talking about."
I walked around to the other side of the bed.
"Why you wanna know so bad?"
"Because I'm nosy."
"At least you honest."
"And everybody talking."
"I noticed."
"So tell me, then I can tell them the right shit."
I stopped and looked at her.
"You really think I'm about to tell you my business so you can go give everybody an accurate report?"
"Yes."
"Absolutely the fuck not."
"Damn."
She threw the towels onto the counter.
"Was you in trouble?"
"No."
"They promoting you?"
"I just started."
"That's why I'm asking! Ain't no telling what the hell going on around here."
I laughed.
"No, I'm not getting promoted."
"Are you related to them?"
"No."
"You sure?"
"Ariel, how the fuck would I not know if I'm related to somebody?"
"I don't know. People find long-lost family every day."
"Get out my room."
She laughed.
"Fine."
She made it halfway out before turning around.
"Wait. You fucking Mr. Stylez?"
My mouth fell open.
"Ariel!"
"What?"
"Why would you even ask me that?"
"Because Mrs. Stylez was in there too, so maybe they got some rich people arrangement."
I grabbed a pillow and threw it at her.
She ducked out the door screaming.
"See! I hit a nerve!"
"You hit my fucking nerves, that's what you did!"
Her laugh disappeared down the hallway.
I stood there shaking my head.
These hoes had no idea how close she had accidentally gotten to the dumb ass question I'd asked yesterday.
I finished the room and checked the time. I still had hours left. Normally my shift moved fast once I got going, but that day felt like somebody had slowed the clock down just to fuck with me. I couldn't stop thinking. I couldn't stop calculating either.
I need that money.
Even if taxes or whatever took some of it, it was still more money than I'd ever had at one time.
Hell, it was more money than I'd probably made in the last few years put together.
But the more I thought about it, the less I wanted to walk into that office sounding like I was ready to sell my whole body because somebody threw a number at me.
Mama was right about that. I needed to know what I was agreeing to. And if they got irritated because I asked too many questions, then that would answer one for me.
I was cleaning the mirror in another bathroom when my phone buzzed.
I glanced toward the open doorway before pulling it out.