Too Close for Comfort

by La Jill Hunt

  “I’ll be here,” she told him. “And remember, open mind, positive attitude.”

  “I love you,” he said.

  “Love you too.”

  Chapter 4

  Yaya sat nervously across the table from Taryn as they watched Quincy walk into Jasper’s. It was their favorite restaurant, and even though it was a Monday night, it was still a nice number of people.

  “Calm down, Yaya, it’s just Q. Hell, you’re making me nervous,” Taryn told her.

  “What’s up, ladies?” Her brother greeted them both with a kiss as he took his seat.

  “Hey, Q.” Yaya smiled. “You look nice.”

  “He always looks nice.” Taryn laughed as she took a swallow of her drink.

  “Ahhh, flattery will get you two everything.” He laughed. “So, Yaya, you and Jason make up yet?”

  “You just go straight for the jugular, huh, Q?” Yaya shook her head.

  She’d tried calling Jason a few times, but he refused to take her calls. She figured he needed some time to cool off and would call her when he was ready to talk.

  “And, no, we haven’t made up.”

  “You will. You two always do.” He smiled at her assuredly.

  “That’s what I told her,” Taryn added.

  “So, ladies, have you ordered yet?”

  “Just drinks,” Yaya told him. “We were waiting on you to order food.”

  “Then let’s get this thing started. A brother’s stomach is on E.”

  “All right, let’s get down to business,” Taryn said after they ordered their food. She pulled out a shiny black folder with a drawing on the front and passed it to him.

  He reached over and began flipping through it.

  “Quincy, we know about the Q-Masters you’re opening downtown, and we think that’s a brilliant idea. It’s a prime spot. Success at the location is inevitable. That being said, Qianna and I would like to follow in your footsteps and open a business of our own.”

  “‘A business’? What kind of business?”

  “A nail and aesthetic salon,” Taryn answered. “After Effex.”

  “A nail shop.” Quincy looked at them.

  “It’s more than a nail shop, Q, it’s a salon. We’ll do brows and faces, and we’ll also sell skin care products too.”

  “Avon?”

  “No, not Avon.” Yaya was getting angry. It had taken her almost a year to get the nerve to come to him with this idea, and now he wasn’t taking her seriously.

  “More high-end stuff, Q. Carol’s Daughter,” Taryn told him. “We’ve researched it, Q, and we know this can work.”

  “What about make-up?”

  “We’ll still do make-up. We just won’t travel as much. We already have a client base built up from what we’re doing now. Besides, we can also do faces in the shop.”

  “That’s why we’re calling it a nail and aesthetic salon. Monya’s a certified nail tech, and so is Taryn.”

  “And what is your job?—You don’t do nails.”

  “I’ll be part-owner of the shop, and in addition to doing faces, I’ll handle the retail portion of the salon—office manager, per se.”

  “Just look at the proposal, Q.”

  “I’ll look at it. And where is the money for this project gonna come from?”

  The girls looked at each other. They knew he would ask that.

  Yaya took a deep breath. “We have start-up capital, but we still need you to invest and back us up, Q.”

  “Our goal is to have After Effex grow as large as Q-Masters.”

  Quincy sat back and folded his arms, looking from one girl to the other as they spoke. They had a positive, well-thought-out response to every question he brought up. Their homework had been done, and just as they told him, they had done their research. Instead of a whining, begging dinner he thought he would be having, it was indeed a business meeting. And two and a half hours later, when they finished, he was thoroughly impressed.

  “Excuse me for a minute.” Taryn stood. “I need to go the ladies room.”

  “So, what do you think, Q?” Yaya asked after she left the table. She knew he was blown away.

  “I see you’ve really studied this, and you may just have an idea here.” He flipped through the pages.

  “Really? Oh, Q, you think so?” She gushed then tried to play it off. “I mean, I know it’s a good idea.”

  “But, Yaya, you’re talking about running a business. Are you sure you’re ready for this? It’s a big responsibility. You know how you like to shop. You may not be able to live the lifestyle you’ve been living these past couple of years. You already know you won’t be able to travel on shoots every week. Have you saved anything to live off of for the next few months to a year?”

  “Yes,” she lied. She really hadn’t thought about saving because she knew if she needed anything, she always had Jason. He was always her back-up plan whenever she ran short, which was often. For some reason, even though she made almost fifty grand a year, she still found herself in a bind ever so often. Quincy was right about one thing—her lifestyle would have to change.

  “Quincy, all I’m asking for is a chance. Believe in me the same way Uncle Troy believed in you when you wanted to open your barbershop.”

  “But, Yaya, I went to school and got a degree in business. I knew what I was getting into. I had been planning to open Q-Masters for years. It was my dream, and I prepared for it.”

  “And After Effex is Taryn’s and my dream, Q, we’ve prepared for it. Just because we didn’t go to college and don’t have degrees saying we went to class for four years, doesn’t mean we want it any less than you did. Guess what, Q—you own four barbershops and you suck at cutting hair.”

  “Hold up, hold up, hold up—”

  “No, just listen. The fact that you can’t cut hair has nothing to do with your success. You’re a great businessman. You hired the best barbers and make mad money off them. All I’m saying is, this is the same concept. We have the best nail techs and make-up artists in the business, but we need you to help us make money for ourselves. We know it’ll work, Q. And with you behind us, there’s no way we can fail.”

  Taryn returned. “Everything all right?”

  Yaya sat back and waited for Quincy to respond.

  “It’s all good,” Quincy said.

  “So, what’s the verdict, Q?” Taryn asked.

  They held their breath in anticipation.

  He took a deep breath and exhaled. “Fine. You’re right. You both deserve the same opportunity that Uncle Troy gave me. I think you two can do this, but it’s gonna take two things.”

  “I told you we have money, Q,” Yaya told him.

  “I’m not talking about money, Yaya—it’s gonna take hard work and commitment.”

  “And we’re willing to do both of those.” Taryn nodded.

  “Then I say, yes, you two can open your shop—”

  “Salon!” They both corrected him.

  “Salon next to Q-Masters.” He smiled.

  The girls began squealing and hugging each other.

  Yaya was so happy, tears formed in her eyes. I knew Q wouldn’t let me down, I knew it. He has always had my back.

  “On McNeil Street.”

  They instantly got quiet, and their jaws dropped in disbelief.

  Yaya frowned. “‘McNeil Street’?”

  “That’s where your old shop is, Q; we wanted to open up downtown next to the new shop.”

  “I thought you wanted my help. I’m giving you a free building.”

  “We do. I mean, Q, come on, McNeil Street?—That’s the hood!” Yaya snapped.

  “And that’s my most successful shop.”

  “We’re talking about opening a high-class, sophisticated salon, Quincy. We need to be downtown. That’s the clientele we’re trying to attract. Not Bonquisha and Shantaniqua who want their baby daddy’s name airbrushed on their nails.”

  “Although I am the bomb at nail tricks, in case someone does want th
at done.” Taryn winked at him.

  Quincy laughed, making Yaya even more irritated.

  “That’s not even funny, Taryn. Look, Q, we’ll still have regular clients who are gonna come in to get their faces done. They aren’t gonna wanna come to McNeil Street.”

  “Then that’s their issue, Yaya. You asked me for a chance, and I’m giving you one. Do you even know how much the rent is in the building downtown? Hell, I’m taking a chance myself by going down there. McNeil Street will give you ample space to do what you need to do.”

  “I can’t believe this. I need some air.” Yaya stood up and walked out the front of the restaurant.

  Her vision of a classy salon was now distorted. Quincy wanted to stick her in the center of the old neighborhood where they grew up. The building had to be older than she was. Uncle Troy bought the building years ago and used to rent offices to small companies. It was his first investment, and once Quincy opened Q-Masters and made it a success, he gave it to him. It would take all their start-up capital just to renovate.

  Maybe this wasn’t a good idea after all.

  Her life seemed to be falling apart around her. First, Jason; now this. Nothing seemed to be going right.

  “You okay, Yaya?”

  She turned to see Taryn standing behind her. “I’m pissed, but I’m okay. I guess we’ll have to wait on opening the salon, huh? Or we can always just open it somewhere else on our own, find our own location.”

  “Girl, please . . . we’re gonna do this the way we planned. Think about it, if we can make the salon work on McNeil Street, we can make it work anywhere.”

  “He’s just trying to be difficult, Taryn. He coulda let us open next to one of his nicer shops. He wants us to fail, that’s all.”

  “No, I don’t think so. I think he wants us to work. He thinks maybe the salon will be good for the old neighborhood too. Maybe we can bring some class to the joint.” She nudged Yaya’s arm. “Come on, we can do this. No time for looking down now, baby. We gotta look up. Lord knows, we’re gonna need to do some serious praying if we’re gonna be on McNeil Street.”

  “McNeil Street.” Yaya looked at her best friend and couldn’t help but laugh. Taryn was always an optimist.

  “Ladies, I know you left me all alone so you wouldn’t have to pay the check—which, by the way, I did.” Quincy walked up and put his arms around both of them.

  “Well, being that you have four shops and we only have one, you should be treating us to dinner.” Yaya rolled her eyes at him.

  “So I guess I’ll meet you two at the shop in the morning so we can get started?” He smiled.

  “Just let us know what time,” Taryn quipped.

  “Is ten-thirty good?”

  “We’ll be there—right, Ya?”

  “Yeah, we will.” Yaya sighed.

  Taryn and Quincy were already at the shop when Yaya arrived the next morning. She fought off the urge to call Jason, even though she needed to talk to him now more than ever. He knew opening the salon was the most important decision she had made in her life and she needed her man in her corner. She needed his support.

  Dammit, Jason, call me. She stared at her phone as she sat in the parked car, hoping that some kind of way she could telepathically reach him.

  Her phone began ringing. She became excited, until she saw Quincy’s name and number on the caller ID.

  “You’re late. Why are you sitting there?” he asked.

  “I’m getting out now,” she huffed at him, opening her door and stepping out of the car. She pulled her sunglasses over her face, which she made sure was perfectly made before she left the house. Even though she wasn’t in the mood to get dressed and made up, she forced herself to, knowing if she didn’t, she would hear Taryn’s mouth all day. She straightened her cream linen pants and belted shirt and headed inside.

  “Well, well, well, look who the wind blew in,” a familiar voice called when she stepped into the barbershop.

  She cut her eyes and tried to ignore Jarrod, the manager. She and Jarrod had graduated from high school together. He was voted class clown and still wore the title proudly.

  “What up, Ms. Thang? Q tells me we’re about to be neighbors. Welcome to the neighborhood.”

  “Whatever, Jarrod.” She brushed past him. “Hello, everyone else.”

  “Hey, Yaya. What up, Yaya,” the other barbers greeted her.

  She knew most of them, like she did Jarrod, from school. “Where’s Quincy?”

  “In the back”—Jarrod aimed the clippers he was using in the direction of the office—“making plans for your new salon with T, new neighbor.”

  Yaya walked to the back, where she found Quincy and Taryn talking. Taryn was holding her leather-bound note-pad, and Quincy was measuring something with a tape measure.

  “Good morning.”

  “Hey there, girl. That pantsuit is fierce. I love it.” Taryn winked at her.

  “Hey, Yaya, check this out.”

  Quincy led them out the back door of the barbershop, into the back of the other side of the building, which was now being used as storage and would somehow become their salon. They showed her the layout he and Taryn had come up with so far. Despite it being dark and unappealing, it did have more than enough space for the salon.

  “It’s bigger than I thought,” she said.

  “I told you.” Quincy smirked.

  They walked through, continuing to make plans and taking notes.

  By the time they finished, Yaya’s initial excitement had returned, until he told her, “I’ll have a door cut right here so people can walk through both shops.”

  “Oh, no, I don’t think so.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t want my customers being harassed by Jarrod and your rowdy barbers,” Yaya huffed. “It’s bad enough we have to be next door. Now you want them to be able to just walk over whenever they feel like it?”

  “I have to agree, Q.” Taryn nodded. “You know they can get loud over there.”

  “Fine. Suit yourself.” Quincy shrugged. He took his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed. “I already talked with a guy yesterday and showed him your layout; he should be here any minute.”

  “I hope that was a professional contractor and not some jackleg who rolls thru every week, and gets a haircut,” she said.

  “He was professional enough to do my other shops and install the flooring in your condo when you wanted me to have it done.”

  “I’m not saying that, Q. I mean, there are certain things we want to have done, and I just wanna make sure he can do it.”

  “And I’m sure if he’s done work for Quincy, he can do it for us.” Taryn laughed nervously. “Excuse us for a minute, Q, we need to step out back and talk.” Taryn whisked Yaya out the back door. “What is your problem? Why are you being difficult?”

  “I’m not trying to be difficult, Taryn. I just wanna make sure we’re on point with this. I need for Q to understand this isn’t some little home project that he’s gonna pass off to one of his boys.”

  “He’s not trying to do that. He’s trying to help us . . . something we asked him to do. Lose the attitude, Yaya. I’m trying to—” Taryn stopped mid-sentence.

  Yaya turned to see what caught her attention. Walking out the back door was the finest man Yaya had ever laid eyes on. He stood about six foot four and weighed about 245 pounds. Dressed in a pair of jeans and some worn-out Tims, his physique was immaculate. The cut of his chest and arms was like that of a Greek God. His caramel skin was smooth, and there was no hair on his face or head.

  “Now you see the difference between a wife-beater and a tank top.” Yaya kept her eyes on the beautiful specimen coming toward them.

  “Yeah, I do,” Taryn mumbled.

  “Excuse me, I’m looking for Q. They told me he would be back here.” His deep voice made Yaya shiver.

  She pointed. “Uh, he’s on the other side, through that door.”

  “Thanks.” He smiled at them, his teeth just as
perfect as the rest of him.

  They continued to watch him until he walked inside.

  “Oh, God, he’s fine. And you wanted to hire a professional. I can’t breathe.” Taryn began fanning herself.

  “Fine ain’t the word,” Yaya told her.

  They walked back inside.

  “Lincoln Webster, this is my sister, Yaya, and her partner, Taryn Green.”

  “Nice to meet you, ladies.” Lincoln reached and shook both of their hands. “I think this place is gonna be nice. From what Q showed me, your design concept is unique, and you can do a lot with it.”

  “Do you think you’ll be able to handle the job?” Taryn asked in a husky voice.

  Yaya shook her head, tickled by her friend’s obvious attempt to flirt.

  “Oh, no doubt.” He smiled.

  “I can’t wait to get started.” She smiled.

  “I’m just as excited.”

  “Well, how much is this gonna cost and when do you think you can get started?” Yaya interrupted, bringing them back to reality.

  Taryn shot her an ugly look.

  “Well, let me get an estimate on the materials you’re gonna need. Everything should pretty much be reasonable, depending on the fixtures you all want. But I have a guy who can get you a deal on that too. The construction on your brother’s shop downtown won’t be finished for a while, so that gives us a little time. I say we can pretty much begin gutting the place as early as tomorrow.”

  “Are you serious?” Yaya’s eyes widened. “Wow, so soon.”

  “How long do you think it’s gonna take to finish?” Taryn asked.

  “A month, maybe sooner.” He looked over at Quincy.

  “Sounds good to me,” Quincy said. “Well, ladies, we are now standing in what will soon be After Effex.”

  Yaya’s emotions ran from utter happiness to sheer panic. In one way, she was elated that this was really happening, in another, she couldn’t help but wonder if she was ready for it. One thing was for sure—she had to make up with Jason because there was no way she could do it without him.

  Chapter 5

  “He is so beautiful.” Paige caressed the baby’s tiny head. Meeko and Stanley had just arrived home with their newborn son, Isaiah. “As long as no one calls him Precious, I’m good,” Meeko told her.