3. Lawton
Lawton
After my conversation with Miss Howard the other day, my mind had been reeling.
Hearing her detail the things she wanted to implement at the youth center toppled with the way she was frantically trying to stop that kid from retaliating against his brothers killer had me feeling like I needed to do better.
Because the center was something Dah dealt with, I didn’t interfere with anything they had going on. I trusted her and her team therefore I didn’t see a need to intervene. Thinking back on the conversation with Talitha let me know that we did have room for improvements.
For the past few days, I had been held up in my office doing research.
Trying to see exactly what I would need to do to bring what would essentially be like job corps to the center.
Talitha wanted us to partner with the schools around town that already offered those programs but in the grand scheme of things, I knew having those programs in-house would be for the best.
With everything being held at the youth center, we could design the program around the needs of the kids who were interested in them.
I had the money to make it happen, what I didn’t have was the knowledge of how these things worked which was why I had reached out to a colleague of mine and had set it up for him to meet me at the youth center so we could sit down with Talitha.
Patton St. Marie, or Poppa as we called him, was born and raised in Atlanta and much like me had his hands in a lot of different things.
Poppa owned his own sports agency here in Atlanta.
He also owned a youth football camp which is why Dahlia ended up opening the sports annex at the center.
Poppa’s football program catered to boys from the ages of seven to thirteen, and once they aged out of his program, they were referred directly to the one at the center.
We had retired football players on staff that worked with the few who showed interest in taking their career further.
Like Talitha explained, playing sports was good, you just had to survive the hood long enough to make it out.
If she felt strongly about offering them professional trades, then I was all for it.
Stepping out of the truck, I tipped my head at my driver, adjusted my jacket, and headed inside of the building.
I had purposely showed up before the center open so I could get a few things done before I sprung this meeting on Talitha.
Since I wasn’t planning on going into my main office today, I would conduct all of my business from the center today.
After powering on my iMac, I shot my assistant an email letting her know I needed all of my calls forward to this location and for her to let the rest of the staff know I would be out of the office for the remainder of the week.
I had a few business acquisitions that I needed to go over before hopping on my scheduled conference calls for the day.
After graduating from Howard University with my bachelor’s degree in computer engineering, I ended up going back to school to further my education and finished with my PhD in Computer Science.
After completing my collegiate studies, I used the money that I had stacked from my illegal business ventures and opened up what was now one of the largest tech firms Atlanta had ever seen.
My company, Tech Law, employed well over one hundred people.
With the age of social media being on the rise, the majority of our clients were those who desired to create social apps.
The tech field was growing and becoming one of the most lucrative fields to dive into.
My businesses granted me the opportunity to rub elbows with some of the more affluent people in the city.
On top being the CEO of my own firm, I owned a few buildings located around the city that served as startup office spaces. Those spaces were rented on weekly or monthly basis to individuals who worked remote or freelanced and didn’t have an office of their own.
My eyes were fixated on my computer screen as I read over the contracts that I needed to sign and return back to my assistant when I heard heels clacking across the marble floors.
Peering down at the computer, I noticed we still had a few minutes before the staff was scheduled to arrive so when I tipped my head to the side, I observed Ms. Howard sauntering down the hallway with a coffee mug in her hand.
Being that I rarely came to this site, I was ok with Dahlia putting my office in the back of the building close to the breakroom. The mug Ms. Howard carried let me know she was on her way there. She was so busy strutting down the hallway, she hadn’t noticed me sitting behind the desk.
Pushing my chair back I stood, fixed my tie, and walked to the entrance of my office. Before I could step out in the hall, Talitha was walking toward me.
“Mr. Harvey.” She smiled. “Pleasure seeing you here this morning.”
“Good Morning Ms. Howard. Is there anything on your agenda first thing this morning?”
“No.” Her head shook. “I don’t believe there is.”
“Great.” I accepted and slid my hands into the pocket of my slacks. “Since we spoke the other day, I’ve been putting a few things together. I have a friend that’s a little more versed in the things you spoke about that’s going to stop by this morning. “
“Really?” she beamed.
“Yes ma’am.” I confirmed with a quick bow of my head. “I heard everything you said, and I want to make those things happen in house. Using the local colleges could work however, I feel as if you and the rest of the staff know the kids who attend the center better than anyone.
You guys work with them five days a week. Why put their education in the hands of someone else? Especially when you can be the ones motivating them to give it their all. Wasn’t it you that said something along the lines of ‘having faith in our kids’.”
“Yes sir I did. I just thought,” she paused like she was unsure to express her thoughts.
“You thought what?”
“I just thought by having them to enroll at a junior college would maybe push them toward seeking a degree.”
“I’m not counting that out. I understand your plight.
I’m college educated as well but going back to another thing that you said.
Giving them societal experiences at this age could open the door for the unimaginable.
The goal is for them to earn some sort of certificate, hell, if we decide to offer certain programs they could even finish with an associate. ”
“Programs like what?”
“We can discuss it in detail when we sit down for our meeting.”
“I would really love that.” She smiled. “I’m headed back to my office. I forgot my creamer.” Talitha held out her mug. “I’m logged into the company chat; you can message me when you’re ready.”
“Will do,” I let her know before turning and going back to my office.
Now that I had put my thought process on her radar, all that was left was to sit down with Poppa and see what I needed to do on my end to make these things happen.
* * *
“And you are sure this ain’t another Dahlia situation?” Poppa quizzed, as he took a seat across from me at the conference room table.
“Not by a long shot. She’s only been here a few months. This was her idea and after thinking about it, the shit made sense.”
When Poppa texted me to let me know he was walking in the building, I left my office to meet him in the front. On the way to the conference room, I gave him a brief run-down of why I had requested this meeting with him. The nigga went from it being a good idea to him asking about Dahlia.
In the past, anything she asked, I made happen so I could understand why he asked that question. Outside of what I had read on Talitha’s resume, I knew nothing about her. I genuinely loved her idea and wanted to make it happen.
Maybe a part of me felt guilty because the demise of my relationship had caused Dahlia to skip out on the center. I wouldn’t share that thought with anyone. But other than that, the idea was a good one.
“I know you Dutch. Something is up,” Poppa retorted after staring at me for a few seconds.
“You gotta hear her out. She came to me with an idea, and I took off with it. What she wants is similar to what I’ve come up with. My shit just on a grander scale,” I chuckled.
“Yeah cause we all know Dutch don’t half step with shit.”
“Aye.” Tossing my hands up in the air I conceded, “I’m with ya’ when ya’ right.”
“Where is the lady with the master plan?”
“She will be here any second. She was finishing up a call. And when she gets in here, kill all that Dutch shit. They don’t know nothing ‘bout that.”
“I’on need no sermon, Law,” he retorted smugly before laughing.
“Mr. Harvey,” Talitha announced her presence from the entry way garnering mine and Poppa’s attention.
The other day when I saw her, she wore a skirt. Today she was dressed down in a pair of dark denim jeans, a plain white t-shirt, and a navy blazer with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, showcasing her slender face.
One look at her had Poppa slanting his eyes at me. “Just like I thought,” he mumbled low enough for only he and I to hear.
Laughing him off, I invited Talitha into the room. After introductions were made, we got right down to business. Poppa and Talitha had basically spear headed the conversation. I only chimed in when it was necessary.
“I gotta agree with Law on this one Ms. Howard. I think what the center needs to do is build out. And not in the sense of construction… I’m talking about becoming a technical college.
You can still run a youth center and do the trade programs, but if you’re wanting to offer programs on a grander scale of things, you’re going to have to seek accreditation. Why stop at just offering trades? You can do that and offer associate level programs as well.”
Slamming her back in the chair, Talitha pushed out a dejected sigh. “Accreditation? Shit. I’m having a hard enough time getting anyone to fund a trade program.”