CHAPTER THREE SEVEN
CHAPTER THREE
SEVEN
“First of all, I’m not the one you want.
You not finna come in my office making demands.
Ask your questions, maybe make suggestions.
But the fucking buck stops here. You don’t like that shit, move around.
You could have left when everybody else did, but you thought you would benefit from the Henderson dollar if you stayed. ”
I was staring at Mr. Jones while my dad read him for filth.
He came in here wanting to demand they do something about Entergy.
His problems were individual, not collective.
No one else was having issues. I slowly shook my head as Mr. Jones huffed.
I swore, old people thought they could talk to people any kind of way, and they were supposed to just take it.
Mr. Jones had to be at least eighty-five years old.
He turned and walked out with his lil cane. I glanced at my daddy to see the frown on his face. Had it been up to him, there would only be Hendersons living in Nome and maybe Mr. Red’s and Brixton’s families.
“Well, another disgruntled citizen told to go to hell,” I said, then chuckled.
“Hell yeah. I don’t know who the fuck they take me for. What you doing in here today? You ain’t got shit going?”
“Naw. I think I’m gonna be done with the FBI shit.”
He lifted his head from the papers he was scanning over. “Why?”
“Ain’t shit popping, and umm . . .”
“Spit it out. You ain’t never one to fidget.”
“You were right. My undercover personality has completely taken over. I mean, I wasn’t a nice person from the beginning, but I’ve gotten worse because I know I can get away with it.”
He slowly shook his head. “What made you come to that realization?”
“Iesha. I want her so bad. I ain’t never wanted a woman as bad as I want her.
I went over to her apartment Saturday. That nigga she had with her is her cousin.
I knew he had to be related, because showing up on our turf with another nigga is beneath her.
She wouldn’t do no shit like that. She love me, but I’m gon’ lose her. ”
“The side of you that you’re showing me is the side she needs to see.”
“I always start off showing her that side, but then she says something that causes it to take a turn. I’m not the most patient person, so when it starts feeling like the conversation is getting repetitive, my hostile side emerges.”
“You love her?”
“I don’t know, but I have to be close for me to want her so bad.”
“Y’all fucked?”
“No.”
His eyebrows lifted. “Yeah, you gotta love her. I mean, what is it about her that’s drawing you to her?”
I thought for a minute, mainly to gather my thoughts.
“She cool. She gets along with almost anybody . . . except my ass. She’s sweet.
She’ll do what she can to help anybody. Have you seen her?
She’s beautiful and all that thick ass body .
. . got a nigga feenin’ for a taste. Those slanted eyes and high cheek bones just pull me in.
You seen her smile? I don’t know how to get to her.
It feels like she wants me to be this soft ass nigga. That ain’t me.”
“Have you ever asked her what she wants?”
I took a deep breath. That was my greatest fear. I never asked, because I was afraid that what she wanted would be the opposite of everything I was. “No.”
“She is clearly attracted to something about you, beyond your good looks. I mean, you look like me, so you can’t help but have women throwing panties at your feet.”
I slightly rolled my eyes. “I ain’t had sex since I met her.”
“Yeah, you love her. What do you think she loves about you?”
“That’s a good ass question. Maybe I should ask her. She put me out of her apartment Saturday. I told her she was mine, regardless of what she said. I swear, if she try to move on with somebody else, I’m gon’ make their lives fucking miserable.”
He slowly shook his head. “But you don’t know if you love her.” He rolled his eyes. “Quit trying to boss her, man. You ain’t gon’ win that way. I mean, your mama lets me talk and run my mouth, but who do you think has the final say in our household?”
“Yeah, I get it.”
“Do you really?”
“No.”
He chuckled. “Until you can figure out how to be what she wants without changing who you are, you need to leave her alone. Your mom and I had time apart. Hell, she was engaged when I met her. I was aggressive as fuck. When she went back to Houston, I didn’t see her for a minute.
We ended up being in the same club, and she was drunk.
But so was I. I was a little more sensitive and open about who I was at my core.
She needed that. If you love her, eventually it will come naturally. ”
I turned to look out the window and saw Uncle Marcus arriving.
“Iesha only seeing surface shit. Let her see who you are, man.”
I took a deep breath and stood as Uncle Marcus came in.
“What’s up, nigga?” he said.
We slapped hands as I said, “Ain’t shit. What’s up wit’chu?”
“Shit. I would much rather be in my bed getting some good shit, but this nigga needed me to come in.”
I chuckled as my dad frowned at Uncle Marcus.
I was not about to sit here and listen to their asses go back and forth.
I didn’t know how they got anything done with as much as they argued.
It was like that was their dynamic. After shaking both their hands, I made my way to the business office.
Iesha said she had to go by the office. She was going to think I was there for her, but it was already planned that I would be in the office today in a meeting with Jakari, Rylan, Uncle WJ, Ashanni, Aunt Chas, Nesha, Royal, Uncle Philly, and Maui.
I wasn’t sure what she had to come to the office for, but I guess I was about to find out.
When I turned in the parking lot, I saw her car was already here.
I hurriedly got out of my vehicle and made my way to the door.
After putting in the code, I opened the door, then put in another security code for the next door.
Once inside, I could hear Aunt Chas laughing. They were always loud in this muthafucka. Then I heard Ashanni say, “A’ight, Chas. Tone that down.”
That only made her get louder. Then I heard Iesha’s laughter. Before I could get to where they were, I heard Maui. “You know Seven is coming through. We have a meeting in a lil bit.”
“I didn’t know, so let me get out of here before he gets here.”
I walked through the doorway and said, “Too late.”
All of their asses jumped.
“You know it looks like y’all were in here doing some shit y’all shouldn’t have been doing.”
“I wouldn’t say it was something we shouldn’t have been doing, but it was kind shocking that you walked through the door as we were talking trash about you,” Aunt Chas said.
I rolled my eyes. They must have had that part of the conversation before I got here.
Iesha looked to be stuck in wet cement. Her eyes were on mine and mine were on hers.
My dad’s words came back to me, so I backed out of the doorway and went to the next room.
I didn’t know how to be anyone other than Seven Henderson.
My best bet was to avoid her ass like she had that fucking virus from that cruise ship.
When I entered the other room, I saw Uncle WJ seated at the head of the conference table. He looked to be in deep thought about something, so I turned and walked out. Jakari was in the hallway. He smiled, and asked, “Where you headed? The meeting starts in ten minutes.”
“Yeah, I know.”
I walked right by him and went to the kitchen.
I opened the fridge and saw something marked, Maui.
I grabbed it to see it was a sub sandwich.
Pulling the paper back, I took a bite. It was turkey breast. That was perfect since I didn’t have breakfast. I was starving, but there wasn’t anything cooked in the house to eat.
Ever since Mama been going through menopause, she been hell to deal with.
Maui was gon’ be pissed when lunch time came, but she would get over it. Then again, she was pregnant. She probably wouldn’t get over it as easily. I’d go get her another one later.
After I scarfed it down, my phone started ringing. When I saw the ID, I answered. “What’s up?”
“We need you in Ames. There’s something big going down in that vast acreage.”
I rolled my eyes. “The back forty. I actually wanted to tell y’all that I was going to be done.”
“You’re done? You still have six months left on the contract you signed. Go back and read the contract. If you terminate early, we can charge you with every crime you’ve committed. So it’s either jail time or finish out your contract.”
I was fucking steaming. “Fine. Who is my contact out there?”
“Philly Junior, or as you call him, PJ.”
“What the fuck?”
“I bet you didn’t know he was still in that shit, right?” He laughed. “He’s about to find out that you know. Unfortunately, he’s gonna know you’re up to something too. When he gets busted, so will you. We will take you somewhere else though.”
“Naw. I’m not doing that shit to my cousin. Lock me the fuck up.”
I ended the call steaming. I was going to have to tell my dad and our attorneys what was going on. If they wanted PJ, they were going to have to get somebody else to do it. PJ was working with Watchful Eyes. Ali couldn’t have known what was going on.
Just as I was about to go inside the meeting, the ladies joined me in the hallway. I was trying to check my composure, but they saw it before I could, including Iesha. She told them bye and gave me a glance and headed out.
“Seven, you okay?” Maui asked.
“I’m cool.”
I followed them inside the conference room for the meeting, but my mind was somewhere else.
That muthafucka had to be bluffing me. If I was acting as a federal agent, they couldn’t go back on that shit.
There was no way that was in my contract.
I’d have to go look at that shit when I left from here.
I flopped into my chair as Rylan stared at me. “Yo, you good?”
“I’m cool.”