Chapter 8 #3
“Hmm, what about working for a relative?” Troi asked, an idea springing to mind.
“Shit, nepotism is alive and well as far as I’m concerned. What relative?”
“Onyx.”
“There’s a position here at WCMG? Because I am not trying to be Kian’s nanny or nothing like that. I love my nephew, but I’d end up tying his bad ass up and sticking him in a closet somewhere.”
“No, not a nanny bitch, and stop coming for my son. He’s just a curious little boy.”
“Which translates to bad as hell, but what’s the job?”
“I guess you would call it executive assistant, but the job duties are along the lines of what you just mentioned. There’s a lot of things that need to be handled behind the scenes.
Things that neither me nor Onyx really have the time to do.
There’s a mixer coming up, interviews, photoshoots, and all that, someone is needed to oversee it all.
Of course, it pays well, and I’m sleeping with the boss so I can put in a good word for you. ”
“I’m sold. Ooh, here he comes. Promise him you’ll bounce on it tonight if he gives me the job.”
“I was gone do that anyway.”
Onyx stepped into the suite, face souring at Zahra’s attempt to hit a run the same as Troi had done on the reference. She missed the mark, sounding like she was confused on what she was supposed to do.
“Oh, my God.” He shook his head as he approached Troi and encased her in his arms.
“You thought I was exaggerating in the text I sent? You gone have to get a coach in here for her, asap.”
“Yea, because that’s not gone work. Kas, we can go ‘head and call it a wrap for the day.”
Kas turned around and shook his head at his brother. His eyes then journeyed to Yanna, a smile growing on his face as he noticed she was there. Turning back to the control board, he motioned to Zahra that she could come out.
Yanna didn’t like the way Zahra was ogling Kas with stars and lust in her eyes, so for no other reason than to be petty, she pranced over to where he was.
She straddled his lap, turning the chair so their backs were to Zahra.
Never needing a reason to love on her, Kas gripped Yanna’s ample behind and planted kisses all over her face.
Yanna could practically feel Zahra’s eyes piercing her back.
She walked over, attempting to gain eye contact with Kas, but Yanna kept turning the chair so she couldn’t do so.
“Um, Kas, can I talk to you?”
“What you need to talk to me about, shaw?” Kas asked, attention fixed on Yanna, hands roving her body as if Zahra wasn’t standing right there.
“About the next session. What time are we coming back tomorrow? Is there anything I should work on tonight?”
“The boss is right over there. You can talk to him about all that.”
“Kas,” Onyx called sternly, letting Kas know he was being unprofessional.
“Ugh, hop up, Yanna boo.”
Releasing a huff, Yanna stood and joined Troi on the other side of the room while Kas went out into the hall to talk to Zahra. Onyx joined them, and Yanna nudged Troi in the side, giving her a look to bring up their previous conversation.
“Um, Onyx, me and Yanna were just talking, and she was telling me how disrespectful the guys in the club can be.”
“Uh huh.”
“Well, both of us think she’d be the perfect fit for the assistant position.”
Onyx looked up from his phone, eyes landing on Troi. She offered him a smile, hoping it would weaken his defenses a little.
“This Yanna right here?”
“Yes, me! What the hell? I know how to be professional, and I have a degree in business administration. Plus, Troi’s pet food company did the numbers it did in its first quarter because of me. Right or wrong, Troi?”
“She’s right.”
“Don’t let my usual shenanigans fool you, I graduated top of my class at Virginia State, and when it comes to business, I’m something like a savant.”
“Okay, pitch!” Troi complimented. “And hiring Yanna will save you the hassle of going through the whole process of interviewing candidates.”
“Plus, Troi said she’d do a split on it tonight if you give me the job.”
“She was gone do that anyway. I hear you talking, and you did good work with the pet food company. I just don’t know about you working here with Kas.”
“Ain’t nobody gone be worried about Kas. If I’m here to work then that’s exactly what I’ll be doing. WCMG is good but let me make it better. Pleeeease, Onyx, big brother I never had.”
“You can cut all that shit out because it won’t work with me. I really don’t want to go through the whole search process, though. Ight, you can start in a week or so, but yo ass gone have to be on a 90-day probation. The first time I catch wind of you and Kas arguing in my shit, you got to go.”
“Oh, you’d fire me but not him?”
“Shit, I need my producer.”
“Fine. But I promise you won’t have any problems out of us.”
“Bet. I know you coming by the house, so we’ll discuss the rules and pay. Neither one of them is negotiable.”
“Everything is negotiable, Onyx.”
“Yea, ight, you’ll see. Let me go talk to this girl and let her know she’ll be meeting with a vocal coach.”
“That was easier than I thought it would be.”
“Oh please, he did all that extra shit for show. He was going to give you the job simply because I asked him to,” Troi bragged.
Yanna chuckled, already knowing her cousin had Onyx wrapped tightly around her finger. Troi could ask Onyx for the moon, and he’d try to attain it while attempting to grab a few stars in the process.
After he was done talking with Zahra, Kas packed up his things to leave the studio for the day.
Onyx, who was a stickler for keeping costs low, walked around the suites making sure he unplugged anything that didn’t need to be hooked up.
Kas sluggishly padded his way to Yanna, wrapping her in a tight hug and resting his head on her shoulder.
“Yanna boo.”
“Yes, Kas,” she answered, instinctively rubbing her hands along his back.
“I’m tired.”
“Aww, you are? You been working hard?”
“Yes, harder than I needed too because that bitch can’t sing.”
Both Yanna and Troi cackled at his candor. “Well, luckily for her, she’s working with the most talented up and coming producer. And you fine as hell, so if nothing else is motivation to get them vocals in shape, that should be it.”
Kas’ head jerked up, and he glared at Yanna, squinting his eyes. He was trying to find a hint of guilt, remorse, sneakiness, or something. Yanna would’ve usually hit him with at least two smart remarks by now. “What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything. Damn, I can’t compliment you now? You know what, move, you ruined it. That girl probably couldn’t hit them notes right because she was distracted by you smiling all in her face.”
Yanna pushed Kas away, and he kissed his teeth, wrapping his arms around Troi in the same manner as he’d done Yanna.
“Troi baby, I’m hungry.”
“What you want to eat?”
“It don’t even matter. Yo fiancé been working me like a slave, and I didn’t have time to eat anything.”
“Onyx.” Troi scolded.
“Onyx, what? That nigga knew how to get him something to eat if he was hungry. Stop letting him finesse you… move, nigga.” Onyx used Kas’ backpack to pull him away from Troi.
“I see you still threatened by me, Nyx. Don’t worry, you already trapped sis with Kian bad ass, she ain’t going nowhere.
” He ducked, evading Onyx’s attempt to punch him in his arm.
“Quit playing. Come on, Yanna boo, I’mma follow you to the crib,” he declared, taking Yanna’s hand and leading her to the exit.
“What I don’t understand is why you always got on them lil’ ass shorts. Stay complaining about niggas being touchy but always got yo’ ass out,” Kas chastised Yanna as they entered Troi and Onyx’s kitchen.
As Onyx predicted, Troi let Kas finesse her, and she’d ended up making a quick dinner of baked salmon, asparagus, and garlic mashed potatoes.
“I don’t care if I was ass naked, that doesn’t give an invitation for anyone to touch me.”
“That shit looks like an invitation to me,” Kas countered, slapping Yanna on the ass to add emphasis.
“Keep your hands off me.”
“Man, I’m too tired to deal with the two of y’all. Y’all muh’fuckas swear y’all not together but always on this same bullshit.”
“That be her with all that we not together shit. You see where she always at, though.”
“Whatever,” Yanna replied as they convened around the table, passing dishes around until everyone’s plates were filled to their satisfaction. “This salmon looks so good,” Yanna mentioned as her phone vibrated on the table.
“Who texting us?” Kas questioned.
Picking up her phone, Yanna checked to see she had a text message from her mother. Scoffing, she slid the phone over to Kas. “Here, it’s for you.”
Kas picked up the phone and entered her passcode. Opening the iMessage app, he read a text from her mom. “Yo mumma said she hungry and got a taste for some Jamaican food. She want you to bring her something from that spot downtown.”
Yanna rolled her eyes because her mother was always demanding something of her without bothering to see if she was busy or not. After being in the club all day, the last thing she wanted to do was deal with Janis.
“I think they’re on DoorDash. Can you go on there and order her a large Oxtail dinner with cabbage and a side of rice and peas? The 5th Avenue address saved on there is hers.”
Kas nodded, going into the app to put in the order.
“Wait, he has the code to your phone?” Troi questioned disbelievingly.
“He does because of you.”
“Me? How the hell is it because of me?”
“Because you let Onyx dick whip you. Remember that night you made us sit up with you for hours while you cried about how Onyx wasn’t shit?”
“I do.”
“Kas bet me you would fold, but I said you would stand on business. Not even an hour later, we heard your ass screaming, so I lost that bet. I was supposed to post Kas on my Instagram, but I wasn’t doing that dumb shit. The code to my phone was the alternative.”
“Well, that’s not my fault at all. You should’ve posted him on the gram.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Everybody already know you mine anyway, you might as well put my fine ass on yo page.”
“They don’t know shit. They only think they know, and that’s their problem. Anyway, did you order the food?”
“Yea, I just sent it through. She’ll get it in 45 minutes.
” Unbeknownst to Yanna, Kas had removed her saved payment methods and added his card as the default.
Yanna was always so adamant about not allowing him to take care of her.
However, for Kas, one of the reasons he was so endeared to Yanna was because of the way she cared for her mom, even though Janis was the source of a lot of her trauma.
Therefore, any opportunity he got to surreptitiously lighten her load, he took it.
“Thank you, Kasra.”
“Don’t act brand new because we in front of Troi and Onyx. You don’t gotta thank me for a $20 meal,” Kas assured. Yanna leaned over and placed a gracious kiss on his lips. Onyx and Troi sat across the table, both sporting identical looks of confusion. “Fuck you looking at me like that for, Nyx?”
“Because y’all muh’fuckas weird as hell. Like two fucking Sour Patch Kids. First, y’all sour, then y’all sweet. Shit is crazy.”
“The shit don’t got to make sense to nobody but us,” Kas affirmed.
With a point of her finger, Yanna added emphasis to his statement.
Onyx shook his head while Troi laughed, prompting Kian to laugh with her.
The group continued to joke and eat. When they were done, Onyx let Yanna know he would get her the necessary paperwork for the new position she’d be starting soon.
He enforced one more time before doing so that he would have no bullshit from her and Kas.
She swore there would be none, but anyone who’d been around long enough to know the couple knew that was a promise she wasn’t capable of keeping.