Chapter 14 #3
“Hold the fuck up.” Micah cut Prince off and looked at Vega. “Come on man, what’s this about?”
“I did my research. This club has potential but poor management is fucking that up. It’s also a piece of shit. Regardless, it brings money and can bring a lot more. I plan on making that happen, with a few upgrades, new clientele, and better dancers.”
“I’m not selling.” Micah stood firm and Vega chuckled before releasing an annoyed exhale.
“I respect you, Micah. We’re cool and all but business is business. You came to me because you were in the hole. You’re struggling. If I don’t invest, you’ll lose this place in six months to a year. I’m giving you a respectable way out. You don’t know what the fuck you’re doing here—”
“And you do?” Micah shot back, seething.
“Yeah, actually, I do. I know business. The product is selling a fantasy to men instead of keys to junkies but it’s still business none the less.
I’m good at selling shit. I can do that here but I don’t want you as a partner.
I’m going to own this club outright. Take the out or lose everything. The choice is yours.”
“That’s fucked up, Vega. Really fucked up.” Micah knew he had no fight. If Vega wanted his place, it was already as good as his.
“No, it’s business. You did what you could but that wasn’t good enough. Just take the money and walk away.”
Micah glared at Vega for a moment longer before his eyes moved to Prince, expressing defeat. Prince picked right up where he left off.
“If you look at page one, you’ll see three places to initial. You’ll also see the amount Mr. Orr is offering you. We can start there.” Prince reached into his coat pocket for a pen which he slid across the table to Micah. Vega stood and removed his phone from his pocket.
“I’m about to make a call. I’ll be out front if you need me.
” He addressed Prince who only nodded but didn’t look at Vega.
Giving Micah one last nod of acknowledgment, Vega saw he was pissed, but business was business.
Whether Micah wanted to admit it or not, he knew what Vega was telling him was the truth.
He was struggling. The amount of money Vega was offering was more than fair but Micah didn’t like being strong armed.
Unfortunately there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.
Once Vega was outside in the parking lot, he got Nyelle on his line to make sure they were still good with their plans for the evening. Vega smiled to himself at how much he was looking forward to spending time with her but she had that effect on him.
“Pretty Ny, you ready for me?”
Vega waited patiently as she paused before her answer. “To spend time with you, yes. Ready for you specifically, no.”
He chuckled at her answer. “What are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying that I’m nervous about being around you. You don’t respect personal space and I’m trying to move as slow as I can with this.”
Vega’s smile stretched wider and he nodded, even if she couldn’t see him. “I feel you on that and I will try to respect your personal space, if that’s what you really want. I just like being close to you. Is that so terrible?”
“For me, yes, because you challenge my will power and I don’t want you to have me out here in the streets looking crazy.”
“Then relax, I would never have you looking crazy. I told you I’m gonna get my shit right so you can trust yourself with me. Everything about you. Not just that sexy body of yours but your heart too. If I say I got you, then believe I got you.”
“Those are just words, Vega. I’ve had enough of those to—”
“Hold up. I know you’re just getting to know me but don’t compare me to some shit that shouldn’t be in the same category, Pretty Ny. I’m not him. Don’t let that thought fuck up a good thing. Let me be me and prove I mean what I say. That’s all I ask.”
Nyelle was taken aback by his tone and the confidence in his words. She liked everything about Vega, especially when he pushed his agenda in a way that left no room for debate. “Fair enough.”
“Aight, cool. So we’re good for tonight. You have things handled with your shorty?”
Nyelle smirked at Vega mentioning Nick. It mattered to her that he understood how Nick was her first priority.”
“Yes, Joi is here.”
Vega smirked at the mention of her girl. “Oh word, so that means she’s filling you in on my moves from the other night. Did I pass?”
“That depends, were you trying to pass or just being true to who you said you are?”
“I never perform, if that’s what you’re asking. I can’t control women wanting me, but I can control whether or not I rock with it or shut them down. I told you… I only want you, and until you shut me down, then that’s what I’m on.”
Nyelle sucked her teeth and smiled, grateful he couldn’t see her.
“You don’t want to give a brother credit for shit, but it’s straight. I can show you better than I can tell you.”
“I’m sure.”
“Good because you should be. I need to finish up this meeting but I’ll be there soon. Be ready with your sexy self.”
“I’ll be ready, you just be on time. I haven’t eaten all day.”
Vega ran his tongue over the top row of his teeth. “Me either.”
They were thinking two different things, but he left it at that and ended the call. If he could sample her again, he would, but if not, he was happy just to be in her presence.
“We been busy as fuck this week,” Numbers stated more to himself than East who was sitting behind his desk when Numbers entered his office and plopped down on the small suede sofa in the room.
“You complaining?” East asked after sending his last text to Joi. He was a little annoyed that he couldn’t see her until late, and possibly not at all, but he understood she wasn’t gonna let her girl down just to be with him. That, however, was the least of his concern.
He also didn’t like the fact that he wanted to see her so soon.
She slept in his bed last night and they had sex twice this morning but here he was hitting her up trying to get more.
The crazy thing was he wanted the time, not sex.
East wasn’t like most men. He could go without because he wasn’t controlled by his urges.
If it was available that was one thing, but even in that case, he could still turn sex down and not be pressed about it.
His norm was once or twice a week if time permitted and he had already exceeded that quota with Joi in one night. All he wanted right now was to be around her. Something he was still uneasy about.
“Hell nah, I’m just acknowledging it because I’m tired as fuck and couldn’t figure out why. Now that I think about it, I swear I had like ten clients already this week and I have three more today. I’m never gonna complain about money. The fuck I look like?”
Numbers grinned and East looked up at him, shaking his head. “That’s what I thought.”
“Ay, but what’s good with you? You wanna tell me about shorty you had lunch with the other day.”
East chuckled at the look Numbers gave him and the emphasis he put on the word lunch. He knew it was coming sooner or later because that was definitely out of character for East.
“Hell nah I’m not telling you about her.”
“Oh word, so that means she’s somebody. I mean I already knew that shit when she walked her pretty ass up in the shop and had your non-social ass grinning and opening doors.”
“Fuck you. My mother raised me right. That’s all it was. A man being polite.” They both knew it was a lie.
“She’s tight East, I respect your urge to be polite.”
Numbers thought about Joi. She was a little slim-thick but pretty as hell and fuckable. Those were his only qualifications where women were concerned. Not that he would get with one he knew was attached to East but he had no issue acknowledging Joi was nice.
“Yeah, she is, and don’t mention that shit again or I’ma crack your shit,” East warned, half-joking but with truth attached. He didn’t like the fact that Numbers had recognized anything about Joi, but it wasn’t like he could stop anyone from seeing what he himself saw.
“Come on, fam. You know that’s not me. I’m just stating facts. But you’re telling me everything I need to know. You damn near gave me play by play on what Nae’s mouth was like, but you don’t even want me mentioning how pretty little baby was.”
“Ay, what the fuck did I just say?” East warned again with a little more aggression behind it.
“Chill. You get my point.” Numbers laughed before lifting the blunt from behind his ear and digging in his pocket for a lighter. When he didn’t locate one, East opened his drawer and tossed one to him.
“’Preciate it.” After he fired up, he relaxed a little more. “So what’s good though? You trying something new?”
East thought about Numbers’ question, leaning back in his chair but staring at the door to his office. Truthfully he didn’t know what the hell he was doing with Joi but he was damn sure doing something.
“I can’t really answer that.” He laughed at himself for not knowing.
“That’s my answer right there. If it wasn’t anything, you would have hit me with ‘Nah, fam. We’re just fucking. You can have next.’ You’re on some ‘I can’t really answer that’ type shit. That’s your girl.”
East smirked and dragged his hand down his face before he gripped the back of his neck.
“We are what we are,” was all he gave.
“So she can fuck with another dude and you’re cool with that?” The thought alone had East’s trigger finger itching.
“If she wants to see another side to me, then yeah, she can fuck with someone else.”
Numbers nodded. “You still fucking other hoes?”
East smirked, considering Joi had made it clear he had better not be moving like that but he refused to admit that to Numbers because he agreed and planned on honoring her request, for now.
“Why the fuck are you in my office?” He glanced at Numbers, whose smile spread wide.
“That’s your girl, East. There isn’t a damn thing wrong with that if she’s a good one. Hell I’m thinking about finding me a solid little baby to get with.”
“Bruh…” East shot him a look that had Numbers laughing hard and choking on the smoke from his blunt. His name was derived from the fact that his sex partner number was so high. It was nothing for him to be with two or three women a week, sometimes in a day and all different.
“Ay, every man has to slow down at some point. If the pussy is good, then I can settle down.” He shrugged like he really meant what he was saying but East wasn’t falling for it.
“Didn’t Ms. Anna have you up in church last Sunday and now you’re sitting here lying your ass off? I see that repentance doesn’t last long.”
Numbers chuckled and shrugged. “All I’m saying is I might try it. I didn’t guarantee success.”
East laughed at his boy, totally understanding.
It was his feelings exactly about how he was dealing with Joi.
East planned on trying things her way but there was no guarantee for success.
He was a loner, had been that way most of his life.
She was infiltrating the solitude he had grown used to without his permission, however East didn’t possess will power to stop her.
“But ay, there’s nothing wrong with wanting something solid,” Numbers added, almost giving East permission to change.
Numbers was the closest thing East had to a friend.
They had known each other for years, hung out occasionally and hit the streets together from time to time.
Neither man had a propensity for bonding with others and that was what made them work.
They had each other’s backs but never in a way where either felt pressure to be one way or another out of obligation.
They moved how they moved. Neither needed anyone in their corner because they were self-sufficient but they had each other if it were ever necessary.
“I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing,” East admitted, not concerned with how it would come off. There was no judgment from Numbers and he appreciated the ability to speak his mind freely without it.
“I know you don’t. All you’re programmed to do is bust a nut and move on to the next.”
East laughed, nodding to agree. “But that means she must really be something. If she has your ass unsure and questioning things, then she’s worth you not knowing. You might not like it but the benefit might outweigh the struggle.”
“Women complicate shit and I’m not the complicated type. I’ve never seen a case where they didn’t. I don’t have time for that.”
“Maybe not but looks like you’re making time, otherwise we wouldn’t be having the conversation. Just be you. Do what you do.”
“If I do what I do, that’s really gonna complicate shit.”
“Then do what you do and don’t fuck other hoes.
Just be with her.” Numbers shrugged then placed the blunt he was holding to his lips, speaking through the smoke as he expelled it.
“She already has you switching shit up, having lunch dates and shit. You don’t even fucking date, so looks like it’s too late anyway. She’s running that ass already, fam.”
“Fuck you. Don’t nobody run me, but me.”
East knew it was a lie but he wasn’t ready to accept the truth yet. Joi did indeed have him and that was something he would have to get used to and pray he didn’t fuck up.