“I already did. She starts tomorrow . . . now! Shit, you know ya husband is a busy man and I be forgettin’ to do shit sometimes.” Ja’Rel smiled.
“Busy my ass. Well, you ain’t gon’ be too busy to be at the shop answerin’ all them calls if Tamika don’t start tomorrow.”
“Oh, so you too good to work for me?” Ja’Rel looked at his wife and asked with a smile.
“It’s not that I’m too good to work for you. I just know you ain’t payin’ enough.” Ke’yoko smirked.
“Whatever.” Ja’Rel laughed while squeezing his wife’s soft ass.
“Whoa, chichi, don’t start nothin’ you ain’t prepared to finish,” Ke’yoko said.
“You a freak.” Ja’Rel smiled.
“Only for you, baby,” Ke’yoko said.
“You better be,” Ja’Rel said as his cell phone began to ring. He looked at the number and pressed the IGNORE button. “I gotta go, I’ll see you in a few.”
“Okay.” Ke’yoko wondered who the call was from. “Who was that callin’?” she inquired.
“That was Bo. I’ll hit him up later. I’m sure he don’t want shit but to borrow some more money. The nigga already owe me.”
“Ummm,” Ke’yoko replied.
“See ya,” Ja’Rel said, kissing Ke’yoko again before walking out of the room.
She watched as Ja’Rel walked out of their bedroom before getting up to get dressed for work, still wondering which one of Ja’Rel’s bitches was calling his phone, knowing for a fact it wasn’t Bo.
* * *
Ja’Rel waited until he pulled out of the driveway to return his missed call. “Talk to me,” he said as he headed to the bakery.
“Man, I need you to get down to the office quick,” Ka’yah said.
“What’s goin’ on?” Ja’Rel asked.
“Not over the phone,” she replied.
“Say no more,” Ja’Rel said, busting a U-turn on East Fortieth and Payne and heading to his office.
Ja’Rel could tell by the sound of Ka’yah’s voice that whatever news she had for him couldn’t be nothing nice. He floored his new chocolate brown Buick LaCrosse, hoping he didn’t get pulled over in the process, knowing good and well that the Parma police didn’t play no games! Ja’Rel busted a quick right onto Broadway, turned up in Barne’s Pest Control, and hopped out of the car.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, rushing through the front door. Ja’Rel looked around the front office and saw the look on the face of his right-hand man, Jonesy, before looking over at Ka’yah, Mitch, Redd, and Mad Dog; and he knew it was all bad.
“Talk to me, man,” Ja’Rel said.
“They found Bo’s body early this mornin’,” Jonesy said.
“What?” Ja’Rel asked, confused, while trying to process the news.
“I called his chick this mornin’ to send him out on a call and she told me they found him in the Walmart parkin’ lot with a single gunshot wound to the head,” Ka’yah intervened.
“Wait,” was all Ja’Rel could say as he continued to let the news about his lifelong friend sink in.
“I know, man, that shit crazy,” Jonesy said, shaking his head in disbelief.
“Did they find anything on him? I mean, damn, I don’t understand what happened. I talked to him last night and he told me he was goin’ to meet somebody and put a big play down,” Ja’Rel said, still dazed and confused.
“Did he say who he was goin’ to meet?” Mad Dog asked.
“Nope,” Ja’Rel said, trying to recall if he’d mentioned a name. “All he really said was this play was about to make us a lot of money.”
“Ain’t nobody talkin’, either. You know it’s been so many rumors goin’ around already, but you know how that is,” Ka’yah said. “Daria called and said she heard from some niggas on the block that it was a drug deal gone bad. I even heard it was his side chick who took him out.”
“Don’t Walmart got cameras in their parkin’ lot?” Ja’Rel asked.
“Yeah, but where Bo was parked, the cameras wasn’t workin’,” Jonesy said.
“This shit is crazy,” Ja’Rel said.
“It’s gon’ be okay, Rel. I know Bo was ya homie,” Ka’yah said, trying her best to console her brother-in-law.
“Fuck Bo. I just gave that nigga over fifty thousand in product. How I’ma get my money?” he snapped angrily.
The eyes of everybody in the office grew big.
“Keep y’all’s eyes and ears to the streets. Send the rest of the crew out, ASAP. We just took a huge loss; we gotta make it up,” he looked at his crew and said.
“We got’chu, my nigga,” Redd replied, speaking for the whole crew.
“I gotta get outta here,” Ja’Rel said, walking toward the door. He stopped and turned back around. “Not a word to Ke’yoko. I’ll tell her when the time is right.”
Ka’yah shook her head okay and watched as Ja’Rel headed back out the door.
Chapter Four
“Heeeey, diva,” Ke’yoko’s best friend and beautician, Nadia, screamed as Ke’yoko walked into the crowded hair salon. Nadia was a sharp, classy woman. She wore her hair in a Mohawk with the sides shaved. Not everyone could rock this style that she dared to rock. This look had become Nadia’s signature look and on occasion she changed the color. She was tall for a woman, with an athletic build and caramel-colored skin. No one was sure of her real eye color; she’d been rocking green contacts for as long as anyone could remember.
“Heeeeey.” Ke’yoko smiled, giving her best friend a tight hug.
“How come you ain’t at work?” Nadia asked.
“Don’t get it twisted. That ain’t my job. I’m just fillin’ in until the neighbor’s daughter start tomorrow, but I’m on my way in. I just wanted to stop by and see you before I go in!” Ke’yoko replied.
“Bitch, that purse is bad! Let me get it,” Nadia said.
“It matches my outfit, but you can have it,” Ke’yoko said.
“That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” Nadia said as the rest of her staff and clients enviously eyed the expensive purse. “What you gettin’ done to your hair tomorrow?”
“I don’t know. I’ma let you do you.”
“I just got this new product in. Come tell me what you think,” Nadia said, leading Ke’yoko back to her office.
Nadia and Ke’yoko had a friendship that went all the way back to high school. In school Nadia had believed in getting money any way she knew how. She would sleep with anyone if the price was right, male or female; it made no difference as long as her pockets were filled with money. She had the best of everything as a result. Ke’yoko, being raised in such a strict home, was instantly attracted to Nadia and her free-spirited ways, hoeish or not. Nadia was a ward of the state and was in and out of different foster homes. She lived life with no restrictions or boundaries. The more Ke’yoko’s father attempted to place restrictions on her the more attractive Nadia’s free lifestyle became and the more she was drawn to it. The girls became inseparable.
Ke’yoko had met Ja’Rel through Nadia and Bo. Ke’yoko was an observer and paid attention to everything. She wasn’t sleeping to the fact that Ja’Rel and Bo kept money, and not just average amounts of it, either. Ke’yoko wanted more than the pocket change Ja’Rel was handing her and began watching his every move. Unbeknownst to him, Ke’yoko learned how to weigh, cook, cut up, package, and distribute all by watching him and Bo. Ke’yoko decided to bring Nadia in on her idea to make money in ways different from lying on her back. Nadia was down for whatever and agreed to help Ke’yoko however she needed. Nadia also agreed to keep this business deal between her and Ke’yoko and never mention it to Bo or Ja’Rel. Nadia grew from ho to hustler, and together Ke’yoko and Nadia secretly began to build their own empire.
“Oh, lord, you about to experiment on my hair,” Ke’yoko said as she followed Nadia.
“That bitch thinks she’s all that,” said Connie, one of the stylists, once Ke’yoko and Nadia were out of earshot.<
br />
“She sho’ll do. Every time she comes in here she thinks she own this bitch,” Dana, another stylist, added. “I don’t know why Nadia always let her into her office but not nobody else. Shit, she ain’t special.”
“They be actin’ like they on some top-notch secret shit when they in Nadia’s office,” another stylist added.
“Maybe they bumpin’ tacos,” Connie’s client interjected while laughing, making some of the other clients laugh too.
“Maybe they are,” Connie and Dana both said, laughing.
“Here they come,” Deon, another stylist, whispered as Nadia and Ke’yoko came out of the office laughing.
“A’iiiight, girl, I’ll call you later. I gotta get to work before the boss man gets to blowin’ up my phone,” Ke’yoko said.
“I seen that purse at the outlet in Lodi,” Connie said with a smirk as Ke’yoko walked past her.
Both Nadia and Ke’yoko looked at Connie like she was crazy.
“You know what, I’m not gon’ even entertain you today, Connie. If you want some entertainment, I heard the circus will be in town this weekend.” Ke’yoko dug in her purse and pulled out a hundred dollar bill and tossed it at Connie, hitting her in the chest with it. “Here, buy yourself some tickets to it.” Ke’yoko then turned and headed toward the door.
Connie’s face was beet red, knowing Ke’yoko had used class to put her in her place in front of the entire shop.
“Bye, girl,” Nadia said, laughing.
“Deuces,” Ke’yoko said, throwing up her two fingers and heading out the door.
Nadia looked over at Connie, shook her head, and smiled. Connie’s ol’ jealous ass stayed getting put in her place.
* * *
Ke’yoko pulled up in front of the shop and looked around the empty parking lot. “I wonder how come nobody is here yet,” she said as she gathered her things and got out of the car. She walked up to the door, unlocked it, and walked in. She set her coffee and purse down on her desk and looked up at the TV on the wall.
“These niggas leavin’ TVs on and shit like they pay bills here,” she said aloud.
“Brian ‘Bo’ Thompson was found dead in the Walmart parking lot early this morning from an apparent gunshot wound to the head.”
Ke’yoko looked up at the news and shook her head as Ja’Rel’s best friend’s picture flashed across the screen.
“The Cleveland police chief said there are no witnesses at this time; however, they believe they were able to lift some DNA from the body that may provide them with more leads. More news at ten,” the newscaster continued.
“Sucks to be you,” Ke’yoko said to the TV before grabbing the remote, turning it off, and getting herself settled. She never did like Bo. He was too sneaky for her, plus she knew he played a huge part in hooking her husband up with so many different females.
It was a busy Thursday. Ke’yoko had been sending the drivers out on calls all morning. If business kept booming like it was, she and Ja’Rel would be living in Turks and Caicos in no time.
“Barnes Pest Control,” Ke’yoko said, answering the phone.
“Do you guys get rid of bedbugs?” the caller asked.
Naw, dumbass, we clean carpet! I could have sworn the sign outside said PEST CONTROL. “Yes, we do.”
“Oh, that’s great! I saw like fifteen hundred in my son’s room. How soon can someone come out and do an inspection?” the caller asked.
Fifteen hundred? What you do, count ’em? Ke’yoko smiled. “I’ll write up the ticket and if we have anyone available I’ll send them out right away,” Ke’yoko said.
“Good. I need an inspection like ASAP.”
“Okay. I’ll see what I can do,” she said before gathering all of the caller’s information.
Ke’yoko called Mitch’s cell phone to see if he could take the bedbug call.
“Mitch speakin’.”
“Hey, Mitch, this is Ke’yoko,” she said.
“Hey, boss lady. What’s goin’ on?”
“I got a bedbug call on Chapelside.”
“Okay. What’s the address? And did they say around how many bedbugs they got?” Mitch asked.
“He said it’s like fifteen hundred in his son’s room,” she replied before giving Mitch the address.
“Cool, I’m on my way ova’ there.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem,” Mitch said before ending his call, grabbing his Glock .42 from underneath the seat, and heading over to Chapelside.
It was closing time and Ke’yoko hadn’t seen or heard from Ja’Rel the entire day. She had tried calling his phone several times, but it was going straight to voice mail. Her first thought was he was laid up with some nasty-ass ho, and the more she called and got no answer, the more she wanted to close up shop and go looking for his ass. Ja’Rel was lucky that calls were coming in nonstop or she would have. Ke’yoko decided to handle her lying, cheating husband when she got home.
Ka’yah barely came to the shop anymore, it seemed like, and Ke’yoko was always having to fill in. She was so damn glad that Tamika would be starting work tomorrow and she wouldn’t need to do this mess anymore.
Ke’yoko tallied all the tickets up for the last time, gathered up her things, locked up the shop, and hurried to her car, jumping in and speeding off, heading home.
Chapter Five
Ke’yoko pulled into the driveway, parked behind Ja’Rel’s car, and quickly got out. She was fussing the entire way up the walk.
“This nigga got me fucked up! I’ve been callin’ his black ass all day. I wonder what lie he about to tell,” she continued fussing as she unlocked the front door and walked in.
Ke’yoko looked around the dark, quiet house. There wasn’t a light nor a noise coming from the TV, nothing. Ke’yoko was hesitant about going farther than the foyer. She stood in place, flipped on the light switch, and called out to her husband.
“Ja’Rel,” she said in a loud whisper and waited for him to answer. She took her cell phone out of her purse before setting it down on the floor. When she got no response, she called his name a couple more times before turning to walk back out the door to call and get somebody to come check out the house for her. She wasn’t taking no chances on investigating herself, just in case somebody was waiting for her or Ja’Rel to come in. They lived in a nice, safe neighborhood, but Ke’yoko was no fool; they did still live in Cleveland.
“I’m in here,” she heard Ja’Rel finally call out from the dark kitchen.
“Well, why didn’t you answer me the first time I called your name?” she snapped as she made her way to the kitchen, flipping on lights along the way just in case it wasn’t Ja’Rel in the kitchen but someone who sounded just like him. Ke’yoko flipped on the kitchen light. “Why you sittin’ in here in the dark?”
Ja’Rel was sitting at the kitchen table with a half-empty bottle of Ketel One, and smoking on a blunt filled with some killa-ass White Widow weed. He was trying to figure out how he was going to make up for the huge loss he’d taken with Bo and at the same time keep his other workers from catching cases while doing so.
“Thinkin’,” Ja’Rel replied, wanting to leave it at that before taking a pull from his blunt and putting it out in the ashtray that sat in front of him.
“Thinkin’ about what?” Ke’yoko asked, not satisfied with her husband’s one-word answer.
Ja’Rel slowly blew the smoke from his mouth before responding. “I got a lot on mind, Ke’yoko,” Ja’Rel said, hoping that was enough to shut his wife’s mouth.
“Just this mornin’ you was one of the luckiest men in the world without a care in the world; now not even twenty-four hours later you got ninety-nine problems? I’m confused,” Ke’yoko said sarcastically.
“You know Bo just got killed! It’s been plastered all over the news all day,” Ja’Rel snapped, fed up with his bickering-ass wife.
“Noooo, baby. I didn’t have the TV on at the shop today,” Ke’yoko said, acting surprised. “What happene
d?”
“Don’t nobody know,” Ja’Rel said, shaking his head, trying to make sense of what had happened to his best friend.
“Awwww, baby. I’m so sorry,” Ke’yoko said, walking closer to her husband, wrapping her arms around his neck, and pulling his head into her stomach all while rolling her eyes into the top of her head.
“I don’t know what I’ma do,” Ja’Rel said, shaking his head.
Keep livin’ ya life, Ke’yoko wanted to say so bad but didn’t. Even though she didn’t like Bo, she knew that he’d been Ja’Rel’s best friend since they were kids and knew how he must have felt. She wouldn’t know how to cope with life if anything ever happened to Ka’yah or Nadia. Even though Ja’Rel was going through it right now, Ke’yoko still wanted to know why the hell he hadn’t been answering his cell phone all day. Deciding to put that on her “things to flip about on a later day” list, Ke’yoko let go of her husband and was about to prepare dinner.
“You hungry?” she looked down at Ja’Rel and asked.
“Naw, I’m good,” he said, not having an appetite at all. Ja’Rel picked up the Ketel One bottle, put it to his lips, and took a long drink.
“Okay, well, let me know if you change your mind. I’m about to go shower and put on some pajamas,” Ke’yoko looked at her husband and said.
“Okay, baby.” Ja’Rel picked up the lighter and blunt and relit it.
Ke’yoko kissed the top of Ja’Rel’s head before walking out of the kitchen and heading upstairs to shower. Being in the shop made her feel dirty every time she went to work. How can working around a bunch of men out in the field killing mice, bedbugs, rats, roaches, and fleas have you feeling any other way? As she walked into her bedroom her cell phone began to ring.
“Wassup, ma?” she asked Nadia.
“What you doin’?”
“Nothin’, about to get in the shower. What you doin’?” Ke’yoko asked as she stripped off her work clothes before walking into the bathroom.
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