3. Merci
MERCI
Instead of me being on my way to pick Ariel up, I was going through one email after another from my clients who decided to come forward and tell me about Emmy trying to take them with her when she left my company to start her own.
I was fully aware of her trying to take one of my employees, even though Emmy had vehemently denied it.
Had it not been for Christina’s loyalty, I wouldn’t have known what my ex-best friend was up to.
As Ma said it would, the truth had started to reveal itself.
After her social media spiral was over, and people started dissecting what she was actually saying, they realized just how crazy she sounded and how a lot of what she was saying didn’t make sense.
When the people who were once sympathizing with her started to question her, Emmy deleted the posts.
By then, the damage had been done, and my clients had been reaching out like crazy with text messages and emailed proof that she was trying to steal them from me.
A bark of laughter escaped me as I shook my head.
There was nothing humorous about the situation, but I had to laugh to keep from crying.
I thanked God that my clients were loyal, and I also thanked Him for revealing Emmy’s true character in a way that I couldn’t deny.
He’d given me sign after sign that she didn’t need to be in my life, and I ignored them.
That wouldn’t be the case this time around.
When my doorbell rang, my first thought was that Ariel decided to meet me here instead of waiting for me to pick her up. At the sight of Emmy standing on my doorstep, I released a long sigh. Either this girl had a death wish, or she really didn’t think there was anything wrong with her behavior.
Turning the microphone on for the camera, I said, “Unless you’re here to get your ass beat, get the hell off my property.”
“Merci, please. I just want to explain—”
“There’s nothing to explain, Emmy. You didn’t just betray me; you lied on social media and tried to taint my character. My professionalism. Ain’t no explaining that.”
“It was Shyanne! She knew I’d stopped taking my medicine, and she took full advantage of it! I didn’t even plan on talking to her anymore, but she kept calling and showed up at my house. She convinced me that I couldn’t trust you, and I believed her. I’m so sorry, Merci. Please. Can we just talk?”
Scratching my nostril, I released a soft sigh.
“Our triggers and mental health are our own responsibility. You like to use not taking your medicine as an excuse for your bad behavior, but that’s not going to work with me anymore.
Whether you took your anxiety medicine recently or not, that doesn’t take away from the fact that you’ve been betraying me, disrespecting me, and using me our entire friendship.
Most of those times, you were taking your medicine.
Now I’ve decided not to sue your ass since you took the posts down.
That’s my goodbye and final act of love for you.
If you’re still at my door by the time I get there, I’m beating your ass for all things—old and new. ”
Emmy continued to try and plead her case, and since I wasn’t interested, I closed the camera.
I took my time walking to the closet, where I slipped into a pair of sweats and sneakers before tossing a t-shirt over my head.
By the time I made it to the door, she was gone, and I thanked God for that.
The last thing I wanted to do was fight her, but until I calmed down and released the anger and hurt in my heart, Emmy would not be safe around me.
All I could do was pray she accepted accountability for her fucked up behavior and left me the hell alone for the rest of our lives.
Alia: MA’AM. Meet me for lunch tomorrow at the Korean bbq place. You clearly failed to tell me about your girl because you wanted to tell me face to face. See you at noon pookie
All I could do was laugh and agree to Alia’s demand because I really had no choice.
My girl was a spoiled princess who was used to getting her way.
More than that, she was such a sweetheart, and she cared deeply about everyone in her life.
Alia was the youngest daughter of Asylum and Dauterive.
Growing up, Asylum, my daddy, and Bully were like the main trinity, so I was closer to their kids.
True, Asylum’s stepdaughter, was the oldest out of all of us.
Then there was Shiloh, then Alia. I was also super close to Innah because my mom and her mom, Innvy, were best friends.
After I confirmed that I’d meet her for lunch tomorrow, I put my phone back in my pocket and looked around the room for Ariel.
I’d taken her to my favorite old-head club.
Well, it was more like a bar that had live music a few nights out of the week.
People rarely danced unless their favorite song came on.
It was always packed, smoky, and guaranteed to be a good time.
Plus, they had the best fried fish and spaghetti I’d ever had in my life.
Combine that with the cheap shots and heavy pour, and it was my favorite place to be lowkey and unwind.
The only downfall was how some of the men wouldn’t take the hint and leave me alone.
A lot of them got a kick out of just buying women drinks and getting a dance or two, but the others always felt entitled to more.
I chuckled at the sight of Ariel’s face. She looked so annoyed as the man grinned in her face at the bar. A cigarette hung from his fingers, and there was no doubt in my mind that his breath stank as he talked with just a few inches of space between them.
“Will you move?” she asked as I made my way next to her. “I’ve told you like three times I’m good. You don’t have to pay for my shots.”
“Aww come on, baby. Let daddy take care of ya,” he all but pleaded, wrapping his arm around her waist.
At that point, the humor from his presence was immediately replaced with anger.
“Alright, old man. You taking it a little too far now,” I said, removing his arm from around her. “Keep your hands to yourself before I have you thrown out.”
“Before you have me thrown out?” he repeated, pointing to the center of his chest.
My face scrunched as his breath filled my nostrils.
It reeked of stale cigarettes, liquor, and vomit.
Covering my nose with one hand, I grabbed Ariel’s hand to pull her away.
The last thing I was going to do was go back and forth with his drunk ass.
If he didn’t catch the hint, I’d tell the guard at the door to put him out.
One thing the owner didn’t play about was the safety of his customers, especially women.
“I’m not done talking to you yet, red bone,” he said, grabbing Ariel’s arm and jerking her back into his chest.
“Nigga—” she blurted, jerking away from him.
Before I could try to remove her from his hold, a long, brown arm flew past me. Its fist connected with the man’s head, putting him to sleep before his body even hit the ground. While those around us whistled, cursed, and instigated, the man casually looked around for security and flagged him down.
“Y’all good?” he asked calmly, as if he hadn’t just knocked a man out.
“Uh, y-yeah,” I answered, unable to take my eyes off him.
I’d dated a lot of fine men over the years, and there was never a shortage of them at my events, but this man was in a league of his own.
Even with the dark lighting, I could tell he was hood fine—strong features; gold grill and jewelry; tattoos on his face, neck, and arms; and diamonds in both ears.
“The fuck going on?” a second man asked, making his way toward us. They looked so much alike that I was sure they were related.
“This nigga didn’t know how to keep his hands to himself,” the hitter said casually, looking down as security picked Stinky-Breath up.
“Thank you,” Ariel said, squeezing the hitter’s hand with a sincere smile.
I expected him to soften and smile a little, or at least say she was welcome, but neither was the case.
Instead, he told his lookalike, “I’ma sit with them until they’re ready to go and make sure Geno don’t try to come back with his crackhead-ass brother.
You know that nigga don’t give a fuck who he goes after. ”
“Aight, cool,” the lookalike said before turning toward Ariel and me. “Where y’all sitting at?”
“Oh. That’s really not necessary,” was what Ariel said, but I said…
“In the corner over there by the back.” I pointed and grinned, hoping the lookalike would entertain Ariel enough to make us coming out tonight worth it. Well, it would have been okay if the hitter was into her too. It wasn’t like I could have him for myself.
“Aight, bet. We’ll take the empty table in front of that one so y’all can still have your privacy,” the lookalike said, giving me the impression that he was the oldest between the two.
While Ariel continued to insist that we were good, I took her hand and led her back over to our table.
“We can go now, Merci,” she grumbled, plopping down in the booth.
“No. I wanted you to enjoy yourself tonight and potentially find you a man. I’m not going to let that old bastard ruin it.”
Ariel chuckled with a shake of her head. “My divorce isn’t even finalized yet, and you’re already trying to put me with someone else.”
“So? You wasted enough time with Raheem’s ass.”
It wasn’t long before the two men joined us.
Instead of them sitting at the table in front of ours, they sat at our table once I asked them to.
The hitter sat next to me, while his lookalike sat next to Ariel.
As much of an attitude as she wanted to have, a couple of minutes into talking to him, and she was smiling all in his handsome-ass face.
“What’s ya name?” the hitter asked me as the bartender set my and Ariel’s shots on the table.
“Merci. You?”
His head tilted as he looked my face over. “Only reason you would need that was if you were going to give me your number, Merci.”