Chapter 7
Alayah
One of the conditions of my parole was that I found a job.
I think my biggest fear was going for an interview and having someone recognize my face.
I’d been home for two weeks now, and other than going with my aunt to the grocery store, I hadn’t left the house.
I spent most of my time in my room reading or in the backyard in the garden.
In prison, my first work duty consisted of maintaining the garden.
It was supposed to help build vocational skills, boost mental health and self-esteem.
I can admit that it gave me a sense of pride in growing something with my own two hands.
My aunt grew most of her fruits and vegetables and had been doing so since I was a kid.
Growing up, my sisters and I used to help her when we came over.
In a way, it made me feel closer to them since I couldn’t see them.
Today, I was going with my uncle to his mechanic shop to start my training.
His receptionist was going on maternity leave soon, so he’d graciously offered me her job temporarily.
Once she came back, he said he would find something for me to do if I wanted to stay there.
I appreciated him being so accommodating.
I was a little nervous with meeting everyone.
There was no telling how they would react to me.
I got up bright and early to get myself together.
Technically, it wasn’t an office job, but I would have my own office.
He told me to dress comfortably, so I threw on a white V-neck that I tucked into a pair of green cargo pants, along with my white slip-on canvas shoes.
I slicked my curls into a low ponytail and borrowed a few pieces of jewelry from my aunt to accessorize.
“You look so good,” she said, beaming with pride. “Turn around. Let me see you.”
I giggled. “Aunt Penny, this isn’t the first day of school, and I’m not a kid.”
She waved me off. “I don’t care about any of that. This is your first job.”
“Given to me by my uncle. I didn’t earn it.”
She cupped my face and peered into my eyes. “It’s still something to be proud of, baby. Most people who come home from prison come home to nothing. Celebrate your wins, even if you had a little help getting there, understand?”
I nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. Now, spin for me!”
I playfully rolled my eyes, and I spun so she could get a three-sixty look at me. My uncle came to the room door with a smile on his face.
“You look great, baby girl.”
“Thank you.”
“Alright, Clive,” Aunt Penny said. “Don’t let those men in there get in my baby’s face.”
“Oh, they have already had that pep talk. They know not to look in her direction.”
I shook my head. I didn’t even want to think about a man. They were the last thing on my mind. As far as I was concerned, they could stay as far away from me as possible. I didn’t need one, and I didn’t want one—not as my man, not as a sneaky link, not as a friend.
My thoughts drifted back to Killian.
Once upon a time, he’d been my friend—my best friend at that.
I knew he cared about me, and I shouldn’t have expected him to try to contact me after I was arrested, but it hurt me that I never heard from him.
Seeing him in the courtroom, then in the grocery story fueled that hurt because why would he want to talk to me now?
Maybe it was childish. Maybe I expected too much.
It wasn’t like I reached out to him either, so it was what it was.
“You ready to go?” Uncle Clive asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“All right, baby. We’re gonna head out.”
He pulled my aunt into his arms and kissed her sweetly. That made me smile. He’d always been the most loving and caring man and the only father figure I’d ever had. If I were to end up with a man one day, he had to be like my uncle.
“I’m gonna bring you two some lunch later,” Aunt Penny said. She cupped my face again. “Have a great day, Alayah. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Auntie.”
She kissed my cheek then ushered us out of the room.
I followed my uncle out to his car and climbed in.
The drive didn’t take more than fifteen minutes.
I’d been to his shop often as a kid. Usually, he let me help him change a tire or pass him a few tools.
Today would be interesting to say the least.
When we got there, he introduced me to the crew. There was a mixture of younger and older men and one woman. I didn’t miss the lustful stares or the overly friendly smiles. The woman, who he introduced as Londyn, offered me a warm smile.
“You are gorgeous,” she said, snapping her fingers.
Her nails were long, and I wondered how she did any work with them. She was a beautiful girl with flawless butter-pecan skin, full lashes, bone-straight weave down her back, and a body I was sure most women went under the knife for.
“Thank you,” I said, returning the smile.
“Londyn is gonna try to make you her best friend,” Uncle Clive warned.
She giggled. “I absolutely am. It’s tough being the only female mechanic on the team, girl. They treat me like I’m delicate and don’t know anything when I could run circles around them.”
The men all spoke up in protest.
My uncle quieted them down. “All right, all right. Introductions are over. Get back to work.”
“We’ll talk,” Londyn said, winking at me.
She left me with a smile as they dispersed back to their assignments. Uncle Clive led me down the hall to the office where I’d be working. He knocked softly before opening the door. Inside stood a very pregnant woman at a copy machine.
“Morning, Charlene.”
“Good morning, Mr. Clive.” She turned to face us and smiled. “You must be Alayah. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too.”
“I’m gonna leave you two to get better acquainted. I’ll be right out front if you need me, baby girl.”
“Okay.”
He kissed my temple and left the room. Charlene gathered her papers and waddled back behind the desk.
“Your uncle is a very sweet man.”
“He is.”
“You ready to take my place?”
“I might as well be. I don’t know anything about being a receptionist.”
“Lucky for you, I’m a great teacher. I have a pretty simple organization system.
The hardest part will probably be entering data.
Everything else is pretty much basic customer service.
You greet customers, take calls, schedule appointments, handle complaints, and take payments.
Don’t pay these men in here any mind. They will fuck anything with legs, and a pretty little thing like you is right up their alley. ”
I swallowed hard. “I peeped that. I’m not interested. I just want to do my job and go home.”
“That’s the spirit. Well, we’re about to open. You’ll simply shadow me for the day. Tomorrow, I’ll see what you’ve learned.”
I took a deep breath and nodded. I was a little nervous. This was my first day at my first job as a twenty-eight-year-old woman. This wasn’t what I had in mind, but it was better than nothing, and I was grateful for it.
Today will be a good day, I told myself.
Lunchtime rolled around before I knew it. I was feeling confidant in my new job duties already. Granted, we hadn’t done anything too complicated. Tomorrow would tell if I had really learned anything.
Aunt Penny brought Uncle Clive and me lunch.
While he ate in his office, I decided to go to the break room to enjoy my meal.
When I walked in, a few of the guys were also on lunch.
I gave a light smile and took a seat in the back.
I ate quietly for a minute or two before the one Uncle Clive introduced as Theo came and took a spot in front of me.
“How you doing, beautiful?” he asked, flashing his gold grill at me.
My brows furrowed as I swallowed my food. “Fine.”
“Why you looking at me like that?”
“Because you just invited yourself into my space.”
He chuckled. “My bad, shawty. I was just being hospitable. I didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers. Mr. Clive never said he had such a beautiful niece. Where you been hiding?”
I stared at him with a blank expression, hoping he would get the hint. He continued to sit there, waiting for me to answer.
“Oh, you one of those playing-hard-to-get women. I know that type all too well.”
Something about that statement sent a chill up my spine. He was giving off predator vibes, and I didn’t like it.
“Look, I’m just trying to eat so I can get back to work.”
“And I’m just trying to get to know you a little. You don’t have to be so cold, pretty girl.”
Pretty girl.
The sound of that caused my heart to race. I squeezed my fork and tried to control my breathing. Those two words would forever haunt me. It didn’t matter that Rodney was dead and gone. The significance of those words lived rent free in my head.
The sound of approaching footsteps caused my gaze to shift. Londyn walked in, and her eyes immediately fell on me. She stood there for a moment, looking between me and Theo before walking over.
“Theo, didn’t Mr. Clive say to leave this girl alone?” she asked.
“I was just being friendly—”
“Well, take your friendly ass on somewhere. Go on. Git.”
He kissed his teeth as he pushed off from the table and stood. He looked back at me like he wanted to say something, but Londyn smacked the side of this head.
“Bye!”
He waved her off before going back to the table he’d come from. Londyn turned to me and motioned to the chair.
“You mind if I sit?”
I shook my head no. “Thank you.”
“No thanks needed, girl. These men can be creepy, and I don’t just mean the ones that work here.” She shook her head as she opened her lunch bag. “So, how’s your first day been so far?”
“It’s been okay. Charlene is very thorough.”
“She’s good at her job.”
“How long have you been here?” I asked.
“Five years. Mr. Clive was one of the few people willing to give me a chance. You know men think they own and run the world. God forbid a woman do the same job as a man and do it better than him. Anyway! I take it you’re new to town?”
“No. I grew up here.”
“Really? Now that you mention it, your face looks very familiar.”
I swallowed hard. “Well, you know what they say: Everybody looks like somebody.”
“True, but I swear I’ve seen you before. Did you go to Eastpoint?”
Slowly, I nodded. I knew where this was about to go. I was hoping to avoid this shit.
“What year did you graduate?”
“I, uh…I didn’t graduate.”
“Oh. Did you drop out or something?”
“Or something.”
She eyed me curiously before a grin broke out on her face. “I can tell when I’m being nosy. I’m sorry. I won’t pry. Anyway, we should hang out sometime.”
“I don’t know—”
“I promise I’m not that pushy. I just don’t really have many people I consider a friend. Mr. Clive and Mrs. Penny are angels, so I figured you were good people. You seem quiet and out of the mix. I just got a vibe we might make good friends. Plus, you’re gorgeous. Pretty girls like pretty girls.”
“Are…Are you hitting on me?”
I’d been in prison a long time, so it wasn’t uncommon that women in there found me attractive.
Londyn laughed out loud. “What? Girl, no! Well, if I had a little liquor in my system, I might want to rub on your booty a little bit, but I’m strictly dick, love. I just give credit where credit is due. I mean, your auntie is a baddie, too, for her age.”
I blew a breath of relief. “Just making sure.”
“Why? Are you—”
“No. I’m not interested in women, men…nobody. I’m just focusing on me at the moment.”
“I get that. My money is the only thing that makes me cum right now.” She offered me a warm smile. “So, what do you say? You wanna hang out sometime? We can take it slow—maybe go out for lunch at work. I get the feeling you aren’t too trusting of people.”
I hesitated for a moment. She read me right.
The only people I’d trusted in ten years outside of my aunt and uncle were locked behind bars.
I knew I had to learn to trust other people on the outside at some point.
Londyn seemed nice. I’d make sure to ask my uncle about her, but what could it hurt being friendly?
“Okay,” I said softly.
She clapped gleefully. “Awesome! Don’t worry. I’m gonna make sure you’re comfortable here. Let me give you the rundown on everybody.”
My lunch hour seemed to fly by listening to Londyn talk.
I mean, she never stopped talking, but she seemed like a genuine person.
I’d just have to get used to her. When lunch came to an end, I headed back to the office with Charlene.
My uncle stopped me to check in, and I told him about lunch with Londyn.
When I mentioned Theo, the frown on his face told me that maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.
He walked me to the office and told me he would take care of it. What did that mean?
“You had a good lunch?” Charlene asked.
“It was okay.”
“Well, I hope you’re energized and ready to jump back in.”
“I’m ready.”
We were about to get started on the next task when a slight commotion out front caught our attention.
Charlene peeped through the blinds, and we saw that my uncle had Theo out front giving him what looked to be a stern talking to.
I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but he had his finger in that man’s face and a frown on his own.
Theo raised his hands in surrender and shook his head frantically. The only thing I could make out was Uncle Clive saying, “Don’t fuck with her.” He left Theo standing there rubbing the back of his head. Charlene closed the blinds and sat back down.
“I wonder what that was about.” She shrugged as she signed into the computer.
I didn’t say anything. I just hoped I hadn’t opened a can of worms.