Chapter 11-Devon
“Since y’all can’t handle somethin’ this simple, this is your chance to leave ‘fore you get fired.” I looked around my kitchen staff, and they all looked like they were getting ready to piss on their selves, if they hadn’t already. “Oh, now y’all ain’t nothing to say now.”
“No, sir, we understand. It won’t happen again.”
“Good. ‘Cause if I have to come back down here, everyone of y’all is gon’ be without a job.” That was all I needed to say. I could tell by the look in their eyes that they got the message.
I pushed through the kitchen doors angrily. What the hell was I paying them for if they couldn’t handle something simple, like a grease fire?
One of the servers came into my office when I was on the phone with Kenya.
He burst into my office without knocking, which was problem number one for me.
Then he saw me on the phone but started talking like he had permission, which was problem number two.
He would’ve kept trying to talk if it wasn’t for me holding my hand up to silence him.
When I ended the call, he immediately started going off about the club being on fire.
Naturally, my first reaction was to run to where he said the trouble was, only to find every person on my kitchen staff running around, giving the fire a chance to grow. None of them had sense to get flour and throw it on there to extinguish the fire.
Every person in the kitchen made way too much money not to know what to do in that situation. Not to mention, they weren’t frying anything but chicken wings. How the hell did a black person not know how to fry chicken? Even my half breed ass knew how to do that without starting a fire.
I walked past the young dude who’d burst into my office, resisting the urge not to fire him off GP.
Just as I was about to walk up the stairs and go back to my office, something … Well, someone caught my eye. The club was packed out, damn near to capacity, but that didn’t stop her from being the only person who stood out in the crowd.
Without thinking too much about it, my feet moved toward the bar where she was standing. She looked good as hell, which had me heated about the man who was trying a little too hard to get her attention.
Was Kenya mine? No, but that didn’t stop my jaw from clenching as I walked across the first floor of Crossroads Deluxe . She looked good, but uncomfortable, and I’d bet money it had everything to do with the man who couldn’t catch a hint, standing beside her.
I didn’t have to hear the nonsense coming from his mouth for me to know he was trying to sell her a dream he didn’t have access to his damn self.
When I got close enough to her, I halted, taking time to appreciate just how good she looked.
Even in the dim lighting, her beauty and physique were undeniable.
Although it was only my second time seeing her outside of the app and video calls, her being in my domain allowed me to take her in from a fresh viewpoint.
With the way the dress hugged her frame, I took my time to appreciate her in a way that I hadn’t before.
Only when buddy, who was next to her, leaned down to whisper in her ear did I move with purpose to get to her.
The moment I closed in on them, my presence gained his attention.
I didn’t have to say anything to him because he knew who I was and, to take it a step further, he knew what I was about.
I may not have been in the streets anymore, but that didn’t do anything to affect the level of respect still associated with my name.
One look at me had him holding his hands up in surrender.
“My bad, Dee Money. Is this you?” He created so much distance between the two of them that you’d swear she had the plague or a bad bum bump.
Kenya was doing a good job of ignoring him until that point. In response to his words and shift in demeanor, she was forced to look over her shoulder.
Her eyes took me in, and she looked just as appreciative of my appearance as I was of hers.
My fit for the night was dress code appropriate, but still on the simple side because I didn’t want to do too much tonight. I wore a blue and black abstract printed suit. The fabric was a mixture of silk and cotton, tailored to my body.
In other words, I was clean as hell.
“Yeah. This is me.” I had no plans of claiming Kenya this soon, yet here I was, doing just that. To my surprise, she didn’t rush to correct or challenge me.
“My bad. Are we good?” He asked before releasing a nervous laugh. “No harm, no foul, right?”
“You’re good. Just move around.” After a single nod of understanding, he was as good as a ghost. With a spot next to her, I took full advantage, invading her space and pulling her body into mine. Kenya was soft to the touch. Against my hands, her skin felt like cotton.
It was damn near like my hands couldn’t help themselves. Even if my mind thought better of it, I wouldn’t have stopped myself. Being this close to her felt better than I expected it to.
At first, she was as stiff as a freshly cut piece of timber in my arms, but as I took a deep inhale of her inviting, subtle yet intoxicating scent, she seemed to relax.
Jasmine, vanilla, and honey had never smelled so good before.
The scents by themselves were nothing special, but combined with her pheromones, I was ready to drag her away from the bar and straight to my office, where I had a king-sized bed ready to be broken in.
Leaning even closer, I licked my lips, tempted to see what they felt like on her skin. After a few moments, I decided to resist.
“Is this what calling it a night looks like?” My question was whispered in her ear.
“My friend talked me into getting out of the house.” She pulled back a little, but not enough to where she was out of my arms.
“I’m glad that of all the places you could’ve ended up, you came here.”
“Coming here was Sydney’s idea.”
The way she said it led me to believe that she was only trying to save face. Even if coming here was her idea, I knew she wouldn’t admit it. At least she wouldn’t admit it yet.
“Sydney?” My brows dipped in confusion, wondering who she was talking about. She pointed over my shoulder, causing my eyes to move in that direction to see a female who was watching us like we were her favorite reality show.
“I’m here for this,” she said with a manicured finger pointed toward us before she extended her hand in its entirety. “I’m Sydney. Kenya’s best friend. Devon, it’s nice to meet you. Kenya can’t stop talking about you.”
Sydney’s eyes bounced from me to Kenya, and mine bounced from her to the woman in my arms. Her vulnerability was quickly masked as she reclaimed her solid, unshakeable demeanor.
“A friend of Kenya’s is a friend of mine.” I said, accepting her outstretched hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Sydney.”
“Okay then, Mr. Charming,” she teased, giving my hand a firm shake.
“Are y’all having a good time?”
“Yes, we are.” Sydney answered with a sip of her martini.
“The aesthetic isn’t what I expected. You have a really nice establishment, Devon.”
“You say that like it’s a surprise.”
“I haven’t been to a club of any kind since my undergrad days, so yes, it is a surprise to me.”
“This place is for the grown and sexy. You’re both. Why wouldn’t you be comfortable, baby girl?”
“Okay, then! He said that thang with conviction,” Sydney chimed with a laugh.
Kenya shook her head, releasing a laugh of her own. She had to realize how long I’d been comfortably holding her in my arms because she stepped back, causing me to instantly miss her closeness. Instead of allowing her space, I pulled her right back to me.
Her eyes met mine, holding a look of intrigue and surprise.
Truthfully, I was just as surprised as she was. I wasn’t one for PDA, but now that I knew what the warmth of her curves felt like, I didn’t want to be without it.
“I know you’re with your girl tonight, but make some time for me tomorrow.”
“Are you asking me or demanding it?” Kenya reared her head back, staring up at me, waiting for my answer.
I shrugged. “Whichever one that will secure me some of your time.”
“Ask me nicely.” The flirtation covering her tone heightened the smile I was already wearing.
“Baby girl, will you give me a chance to take you out tomorrow night?”
“She’ll be there.” Sydney answered before Kenya could.
“Ignore her. Please,” Kenya ordered. “Yes. I’ll go out with you tomorrow. Let me know the time and place.”
“You have about two more dates to drive yourself before I put my foot down.” I leaned in, and from the way she stopped breathing, I knew she thought that I was going to kiss her.
Hell yeah, I wanted to, but I didn’t want to disrespect her by taking things too far.
Says the man who smashes women on the first night.
I played it safe, placing a kiss on her cheek instead.
“Everything is on me tonight. Enjoy the rest of your night.” I stepped back, offering Sydney a nod before going back to my office.
I knew if I stayed at the club any longer, I’d end up back in her space. Deciding against hanging out, I grabbed my stuff and headed out but not before telling two of my best security guards to keep an eye on Kenya and Sydney, and to make sure they got in their vehicle safely.
After that, I was gone for the night.
I drove to my next destination, making sure to stop to pick up burgers and fries before I pulled into the driveway.
Levi had stepped into his role as Uncle Levi to watch Dreux while I showed my face at Crossroads . I knew I needed to find a new babysitter for Dreux sooner rather than later, but I couldn’t trust my child with just anybody.
True enough, when I was Dreux’s age, I was always at home by myself. My mama paid the bills and stayed out the way, and sometimes she didn’t even do that.
She was good at being gone weeks at a time. That was one reason I made sure I was present for my son, even if I was handling him in a gentler way than most kids his age.
He swore he was old enough to stay by himself, but I wasn’t having it. Maybe in a few years, but not yet. Needless to say, if I didn’t find somebody soon, he was going to be in my office while I handled business.
Being at the club, watching me handle business wasn’t the worst place he could be.
Once I parked, I grabbed the food and drinks, got out, and then walked to the front of his place. Levi didn’t give me a chance to ring the doorbell before he opened the door and snatched one bag of food out of my hand.
“Big, hungry ass. You can’t even greet me, my boy?”
“Hell, nah, man. What the hell took you so long? You got me and my boy starving in here. Ain’t that right, nephew?”
He passed up Dreux but not before roughly rubbing his head. His selfish overgrown ass pulled out a double bacon cheeseburger, unwrapped it and went in.
“Big hungry ass,” I teased, shaking my head. “’Sup, son. Did you enjoy your time with your uncle?”
“Yeah, Dad! He let me play Madden while he talked to his girlfriend. She’s pretty. I saw her when she called.” I twisted my lips, not believing what he was saying. “For real, Dad.”
“She may be, but I’m more worried about why your uncle was slacking on watching you.” I looked over at Levi, who was now giving a box of fries the business like he was eating his last meal.
With the way he was eating, you’d swear he hadn’t eaten all day, but I knew better than that.
I took the bag away from him and grabbed what I got for Dreux and me. I grabbed one of the fish sandwiches for Dreux and a double bacon cheeseburger with extra mustard and onions for me. Then I grabbed a fry for each of us.
I had more than enough food for the three of us, but I had to play like Levi was getting ready to eat it all.
“Man, my nephew was good. Look at him. Happier and healthier than you left him.”
“I’ll be the judge of that. Son, let me look at you.” I eyed Dreux like I was giving him a thorough examination, holding his chin in my grasp and moving it from left to right. He cracked up like it was a game while Levi waved me off and refocused on his food.
“I’m good, Dad,” he said through laughter.
“A’ight, but if you start feeling funny, let me know.”
We shot the breeze while we ate, and when we were done, we chopped it up a bit and then headed out.
When we got home, I made sure Dreux was good then I headed to my bedroom.
I had been so preoccupied that I hadn’t checked my phone.
When I did give it my attention, I saw I had a missed call and an unread text from Kenya.
Two hours may have passed from the time she’d sent it, but it didn’t stop me from texting her back. She wanted to thank me for my hospitality, but it was nothing, and if she thought it was something, she hadn’t seen anything yet.
It was easy for me to see that Kenya hadn’t had the experience of being pursued by a real man. Lucky for her, I was about to change all of that.