Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
NYROBI
The little bell above the coffee shop door rang as me and Kendra walked inside, and I swear the first thing that hit me wasn't even the smell of coffee. It was how different everybody looked.
Well damn, I thought.
Folks were sitting behind laptops talking about business deals like they owned half of Orlando.
Every table had somebody in slacks, a blazer, or one of them little business dresses with heels that looked uncomfortable as hell.
Meanwhile, I was standing there in black leggings, an old white T-shirt, and my favorite pair of Nikes that had definitely seen better days.
I leaned over toward Kendra.
"You ain't tell me I was walking into a damn job interview."
She looked at me like I'd lost my mind.
"I didn't."
"You could've fooled me."
She laughed and kept walking.
"Girl, would you stop looking around like you accidentally walked into the White House."
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
"I don't belong in here."
She stopped walking long enough to look me dead in my face.
"And who told you that?"
I looked around the coffee shop again before shrugging.
"Ain't nobody had to tell me. Just look at these people."
She followed my eyes around the room before looking back at me.
"I did."
"What?"
"I told you to look."
I frowned.
"What that supposed to mean?"
"It means everybody in here got dressed this morning just like you did. They put one leg in their pants at a time just like you did. They probably got bills, relationship problems and headaches just like you do too."
I sucked my teeth.
"You always trying to preach."
"I ain't preaching."
She smiled.
"I'm reminding you that money don't make nobody better than you."
I wanted to believe that. I really did. But it was hard when I felt like I could barely keep my lights on.
We finally made it to the back of the coffee shop where a woman was sitting by herself with a laptop open and a stack of folders spread across the table. She looked up the second we got close, closed her laptop without saying a word, and just watched us walk over.
I don't know what it was about her, but she had one of those faces that made you sit up a little straighter.
She wasn't flashy. She didn’t have no loud designer labels or any jewelry screaming for attention.
Just a clean white button-up, black slacks, gold hoop earrings, and a nice sleek bun to the back.
Kendra smiled before I could even open my mouth.
"There she go."
The woman stood up and reached across the table.
"So...you must be Nyrobi."
Her handshake was firm. It wasn’t hard but it damn sure wasn’t soft either.
"Yes, ma'am."
She looked over at Kendra.
"You wasn't lying."
Kendra frowned.
"'Bout what?"
"You said she looked tired."
I wanted to crawl under the damn table.
"I know I look rough," I muttered.
The woman surprised me by laughing.
"I wasn't talking about your face."
That made me look up.
"I was talking about your eyes."
She pulled her chair out and sat back down.
"People who carry the weight of the world always have the same look."
I didn't know what to say to that because...She wasn't wrong.
She pointed toward the empty chairs across from her.
"Sit down."
Me and Kendra looked at each other before taking our seats.
A waitress walked over almost immediately.
"What can I get y'all?"
"I'm good," I answered.
The woman looked up from the menu.
"Three iced coffees and three turkey croissants."
I shook my head.
"You don't have to buy me nothing."
She closed the menu and handed it back to the waitress.
"I know."
I couldn't help but smile.
For the first time since walking into the coffee shop I felt like maybe I wasn't as out of place as I'd convinced myself I was.
The waitress came back a few minutes later balancing our drinks and sandwiches on one tray.
The second she walked away, Tiffany slid one of the croissants in my direction.
"Eat."
I laughed.
"You don't play, huh?"
"I don't."
She took a sip of her coffee before folding her hands on the table.
"Kendra tells me you're looking for work."
"I am."
"What kind?"
I shrugged.
"At this point...the kind that pays."
That made the corner of her mouth lift.
"I like honest people."
"Ain't no point in lying."
"There usually isn't."
She looked down at the notebook she'd been writing in before we walked in, then looked back at me.
"So tell me something."
I nodded.
"Okay."
"What's the hardest job you've ever had?"
I didn't even have to think about it.
"Taking care of my mama."
Neither one of them said a word.
I don't even think I realized what I had said until I looked up and saw Tiffany watching me.
"I was talking about employment," she said.
"I know."
"But that's still your answer?"
I nodded.
"My mama got congestive heart failure."
Kendra looked down at her coffee.
"Some days she can't do much on her own. Some days she alright. Other days...Other days I don't even wanna leave the house because I don't know what I'm coming back to,” I shrugged.
"And you've been doing that by yourself?"
"Since my daddy passed."
"How old were you?"
"Sixteen."
She nodded slowly like she was putting pieces together in her head.
"So let me ask you something else."
"I'm listening."
"When life start kicking your ass...what do you do?"
She leaned back in her chair.
I frowned.
"What you mean?"
"I mean exactly what I asked."
I looked down at my hands.
"I get up."
"That's it?"
"What else I'm supposed to do?"
She didn't answer right away.
Instead, she reached into her bag and pulled out a manila folder.
"You'd be surprised how many people quit."
She slid the folder across the table.
"Some quit when the work gets hard."
She tapped it once.
"Some quit because they don't like taking directions."
And then tapped again.
"And some quit because they think cleaning is beneath them."
I looked down at the folder but didn't touch it.
"I ain't above nothing."
"I figured."
"You know why?"
I looked back up.
"Because you never once asked me how much I'd be making before you asked me what I'd be doing."
That caught me off guard.
"I noticed."
She smiled.
"People desperate for quick money usually ask about the paycheck first."
"I just need an opportunity."
She nodded.
"And opportunities are earned."
I finally picked the folder up.
Inside was an application. A confidentiality agreement. A list of company policies.
The very first line at the top of the page caught my attention.
Walker Property Preservation & Hospitality Services
I looked back at Tiffany.
"So...what exactly do y'all do?"
"We take care of property people pay good money to protect."
She took another sip of her coffee before continuing.
"Vacation homes. Luxury condos. Executive offices. Corporate housing."
She paused.
"And hotels,” she said.
I nodded as I kept reading through the paperwork.
There was an application. Nothing about it looked easy. Nothing about it looked impossible either.
I looked back up at Tiffany.
"So what happens now?"
She looked at her watch before taking one last sip of her coffee.
"Now I go back to work."
I laughed.
"No...I mean me."
"I know what you meant."
She reached into her purse, pulled out a business card and slid it across the table.
"My office opens at seven."
I picked the card up.
"So...I'm hired?"
She tilted her head.
"Did I say that?"
"No."
"Exactly."
Kendra started laughing beside me.
"Told you."
I looked back at Tiffany.
"So what am I showing up for?"
She folded her laptop shut.
"To see if you're as serious as you say you are."
"I am."
"We'll find out."
I frowned.
"That's it?"
"That's it."
She stood up and slipped her purse over her shoulder.
"I've learned not to make decisions off first impressions."
She looked down at me.
"I make 'em off consistency,” she added.
I stood too.
"I'll be there."
She nodded once.
"Be there early."
"What time?"
"I unlock my office at seven."
I smiled.
"So six-fifty?"
For the first time since we'd sat down, she smiled.
"Now you're catching on."
Kendra looked at me and grinned.
"I think she like you."
Tiffany shook her head while walking toward the door.
"Don't confuse opportunity with favoritism."
Then she looked back over her shoulder.
"I've fired family before."
"I won't lose no sleep firing somebody I met over coffee."
The bell above the door jingled as she walked out.
Me and Kendra sat there looking at each other for a second.
"...Damn," I finally said.
Kendra laughed.
"I forgot to warn you."
"Warn me about what?"
"She ain't mean...but she don’t sugarcoat shit either"
She picked up the last bite of her croissant.
I looked back down at the business card still sitting in my hand.
Tomorrow morning. Seven o'clock.
I slid the card into my wallet a little more carefully than I probably should've.
Funny...A business card shouldn't have felt that important.
But right then, it did. I didn't know if Tiffany was about to hire me or if tomorrow was just another test. Either way, I couldn't afford to screw it up.
Not with my mama still laying in a hospital bed and damn shol not with that damn eviction notice that was taped to my front door.
I looked over at Kendra.
"Thank you."
She frowned.
"For what?"
"For not giving up on me."
She rolled her eyes like I'd said something stupid.
"Girl, if I gave up on you, who gone get on my nerves?"
I laughed.
"Shut up."
"I'm serious."
She stood up and grabbed her purse.
"You would've done the same thing for me."
She wasn't wrong because I would've.
I stood up beside her, taking one last look at the empty chair Tiffany had been sitting in just a few minutes ago.
It's crazy how one conversation can make you feel like your whole life is standing at a crossroads.
I just prayed I was finally about to take the right turn.
"C'mon," Kendra said, nudging my shoulder.
"We got somewhere to be?"
"Yeah."
"Where?"
She smiled.
"Back to that hospital."
The smile slowly slipped off my face.
Reality had a funny way of reminding me it wasn't finished with me yet. I tightened my grip on my purse before following Kendra out the coffee shop. Tomorrow could wait right now my mama needed me.