“Your plan,” she chuckled, “was flawed. I have a better plan.”
Rayshawn’s dark eyes seethed with anger. “You think you’re big shit, don’t you?”
“I am. You don’t want to admit it, but I just might be more cut out for this game than you.”
“This power trip that you’re on is pissing me off-”
“I don’t give a damn,” Jaicyn interrupted. “I agreed to take a step back when you came home but you aren’t going to push me out. You may think you can do this alone. You may think that you’re pockets are deep, but like I said, your plan is flawed. You have enough money for us to live comfortably in Washington Heights but wasn’t your plan for us to get out of here? How the hell are we supposed to do that without me doing what I do so well? Come up with a better fucking plan and we’ll talk about me quitting the game.”
Rayshawn’s fists clenched tightly until he could feel his fingernails cutting into his palms. He’d never been so mad with Jaicyn since they’d known each other. The icy stare she was giving him mirrored his own anger. She wasn’t backing down and neither was he.
Anybody else would have gotten the shit knocked out of them for speaking to him the way she had. His hands were tied and she knew it. As disrespectful as she was, Rayshawn would never put his hands on her. He gritted his teeth and unclenched his fists.
“Go check the fuckin’ stash,” he ordered.
Jaicyn walked to the door with an evil smirk on her face. “Fine. Don’t fuck anything up while I’m gone.”
“Fuck you.”
Jaicyn laughed. His words didn’t faze her. A lot had changed in six months. She’d changed. His presence in Washington Heights did little to change what she had become. Jaicyn was the top-dog in King’s organization now. She could have her own crew. All she had to do was ask.
King wouldn’t hesitate to give her 129th Street and all of Marcello’s corners. She knew one thing for sure; she could outsell Rayshawn any day of the week. The last thing he would want was to be in competition with her. She wouldn’t cut him any slack just because they slept together every night.
Always business, never personal.
He better learn to respect her or she would bounce and leave his ass high and dry in Oak Park. Joy, Taylor, Corey, Marcus, and Johnny would come with her. She’d put money on that.
Fuck his plan. She had a better one.
Chapter 31
Jaicyn’s boots crunched on the ice and snow as she crossed the parking lot and stepped into the heated showroom at King Cars. She shook the snow out of her hair and yearned to be some place warm. Winter was her least favorite season and this one was turning out to be the worst she’d ever experienced.
Thanks Rayshawn.
“Can I help you miss?” the receptionist asked.
“You’re kidding me, right?” Jaicyn fired back, annoyed that the girl was even talking to her. “Are you new or something?”
The girl smiled apologetically. “Today’s my first day.”
Jaicyn loosened the sash of her coat and began to walk towards the back offices.
“Figures,” she mumbled loud enough for the receptionist and one of the sales guys to hear.
King looked up with Jaicyn walked through his door without even bothering to knock.
“You wanted to see me?” she asked but her tone was so disrespectful that King had the urge to make her go back outside and start all over, this time with a little more respect for the boss.
“Sit down,” he ordered.
Jaicyn flopped down in a chair and heaved a huge sigh. “I’m going to kill your boy if you don’t do something about him.”
King rubbed his temples. He’d just heard Rayshawn say the same thing about ten minutes ago. He was sick of Rayshawn and Jaicyn. The two of them had been bickering like school kids for two months and everyone was tired of it, especially him.
“I don’t want to hear it, Jay-Jay. You and Rayshawn need to work this shit out like adults. I’m not a fucking referee or a therapist.”
Jaicyn groaned. A therapist or referee might just be what she and Rayshawn needed. She’d don a pair of boxing gloves and get in the ring with him if that’s what it took to get him to leave her the hell alone. Working and living together wasn’t working out anymore. Ever since he came back from Atlanta, Rayshawn was determined to “knock Jaicyn down a peg or two”.
Yeah right.
He respected her more before he left than he did now and she was sick of it. She was done with his nitpicking, done with being told who ran the crew, and done with his nagging little comments and condescending remarks. She knew what she was doing in the Park. She didn’t need his help. No matter what he said, she was not going to bow down and let him fuck up what she’d work hard to build and maintain because he didn’t approve of her changes.
Nobody puts Baby in a corner.
The final straw happened that morning when she got to the Park and found out that Rayshawn had fired Joy and Taylor. Rayshawn had never liked the idea of them working for him. He didn’t trust the girls. They’d never been honest hustlers. They were thieves before they started working for Jaicyn. Just because they hadn’t stolen anything from her didn’t mean they wouldn’t steal from him.
“He fired Joy and Taylor two weeks before Christmas!” Jaicyn shouted. “Who does shit like that?”
“It’s his crew, Jay-Jay,” King reminded her. “He can do what he wants.”
“We have the biggest re-up we've ever had coming in tomorrow. We need them,” Jaicyn argued. “What he did makes no fuckin’ sense whatsoever.”
“A re-up that he didn’t authorize,” King stated. “You stepped outta bounds with that one, Jaicyn, and you know it.”
“It’s not like we won’t sell it,” Jaicyn grumbled. “Rayshawn’s just pissed that I did that.”
“I don’t care!” King finally snapped. “Stop going over his head and doing shit like that. Do your fuckin’ job and let him do his!”
Jaicyn stared at the floor. King had never yelled at her before. All she was trying to do was make as much money as she could. He never had a problem with that before.
“I’m just trying to help.”
“You’re not helping anything,” King yelled. “You aren’t running the Park anymore! Rayshawn is! If you wanted to be in charge, you should have jumped when you had the chance. You gave him back the Park. Deal with it! I’m tired of this shit. In a minute, you’ll be looking for a new job if you keep this shit up. I’m not going to let you and Rayshawn fuck up my business because you can’t get along. Understand?”
“Yes,” Jaicyn half whispered.
“I didn’t hear you.”
“Yes,” Jaicyn repeated louder.
“Good. Now go do your job.”
“I can’t,” Jaicyn admitted rather timidly. “Rayshawn told me not to come back today.”
“Then go do something else like figure out how you’re going to act when you get to work tomorrow. But you’re not sitting around here moping all day.”
King dismissed her with a slight wave of his hand. Jaicyn was smart enough to leave without saying anything else. She’d never been called into King’s office to be warned about her behavior before and it scared her. No one disrespected him or any of his people. Look at what he allowed her to do to Pete and Marcello. The same thing could happen to her if she wasn’t careful. The ice she was treading on was too thin for her liking.
She had to get it together and play nice with Rayshawn or her plan was going straight down the drain.
****
Rayshawn looked at his watch. He and Jaicyn were supposed to be at King’s house at nine. He’d texted her hours ago and she still hadn’t made it home yet.
Being summoned to the boss’s house was a huge deal. No one got invited to his home for business purposes, ever. Whatever he wanted to say to Jaicyn and Rayshawn could not be good. The thought made Rayshawn anxious. He hated that feeling.
Jaicyn walked through the door at eight o’cl
ock on the nose, loaded down with shopping bags and Rayshawn’s agitation grew when he saw all the bags. Spending money was Jaicyn’s bad habit. Sure, they had money to spend but throwing down five grand on clothes at the mall wasn’t smart, especially since she did it in a few hours.
“Where have you been?” he asked, following Jaicyn up the stairs to their bedroom.
“Grove City,” she answered, oblivious to his attitude.
“All damn day? I texted you hours ago!”
Jaicyn came out of the bedroom closet where she was stashing the Christmas presents and looked at Rayshawn.
“So. I said I’d be home in time to get to King’s and I’m here. What’s the problem?”
Rayshawn wasn’t sure what the real problem was. He didn’t want to confide that he was nervous about the meeting. Jaicyn wouldn’t understand.
“There’s no problem,” Rayshawn muttered and left the room.
Thirty minutes after she got home Jaicyn, freshly showered and wearing a black sweater dress and knee high boots, climbed into Rayshawn’s new Benz SUV, an early Christmas present from his boss. Rayshawn rolled his eyes when he noticed Jaicyn’s dress. She looked fantastic but her choice of color wrecked Rayshawn’s nerves.
‘Black is my signature color’ was Jaicyn’s response every time Rayshawn said something about it. Jaicyn didn’t wear black every day because she liked it. She wore it because she had this sick idea that all “bosses” wore black. Black was a power color. Jaicyn watched too many gangster movies and hung around Blaque too much. She definitely looked good in black but Rayshawn liked her better in other colors. Black didn’t fit her personality.
The drive to King’s house in the suburbs took about twenty minutes which they rode in tense utter silence through the snow covered seats. Rayshawn was at his wit’s end with his girlfriend. Since her meeting with King, she was barely speaking to him at home and never spoke to him at the Park. Their working relationship was beginning to affect their personal relationship; something they’d promised to never let happen.
Rayshawn pulled the Benz into King’s driveway and cut the engine. The snow had been falling in Washington Heights since early November and about four inches covered King’s lawn. Sandy had gone all out with the Christmas decorations and the bright twinkling lights made the snow sparkle. It was picture perfect, like a scene from a postcard.
The winter wonderland effect that Sandy was trying to capture was lost on Rayshawn and Jaicyn. Both of them hated the winter and longed to live in a place where it didn’t snow and where fifteen degrees wasn’t considered a warm day. Both of them attributed their dislike of the cold to their bloodline. Rayshawn was half Ethiopian. Jaicyn was half Puerto Rican and claimed that her blood was thinner because of it. Either way, winter was the worst for the young couple.
Jaicyn noticed Rayshawn’s hesitation to get out of the car. He’d been acting strange all day. Jaicyn had no idea what was going through his head. King hadn’t sounded like anything bad had happened but then again, the boss wasn’t known for his public display of emotions.
“This is a nice house,” Jaicyn commented, putting her hand on Rayshawn’s leg.
“Yeah, it’s cool,” Rayshawn mumbled realizing that it was the first time Jaicyn had seen King and Sandy’s mini-mansion.
“Wait ‘til I take you to Cincinnati to Cesar’s house. This ain’t nothing compared to the Valdez compound.”
“Are you okay?” Jaicyn asked.
“I’m fine. Let’s go,” Rayshawn lied.
The Prince and Princess of Washington Heights, as people had started referring to them, got out of the car and walked up the shoveled path to the front door. King was already waiting with the door open. He was mesmerized by how powerful Rayshawn and Jaicyn looked together. They walked in stride, like a team. If he hadn’t seen it for himself, he wouldn’t have known that they weren’t feeling each other at the moment. They radiated power, and money.
After greeting the “kids” as he and Sandy referred to Rayshawn and Jaicyn, he led them to his fully furnished basement since Sandy and her girlfriends had taken over the family room for their monthly book club meeting.
In the basement King fixed drinks and sat down on the micro suede sofa. Jaicyn was astonished at the normalcy in King’s house. Man-cave…book clubs, it was all so normal. On the streets King didn’t speak much. He didn’t laugh and joke. He simply handled his business. He commanded respect wherever he went.
In the comfort of his own home he was relaxed and talkative. In his house King was just plain old Andre.
“So what’s this all about?” Rayshawn asked. He sipped his Hennessy, anxious to know what was going on.
“I have some news and a proposition for you and Jaicyn,” King answered.
Rayshawn looked uneasy but Jaicyn looked anxious and excited. She’d been hearing things on the streets. If the rumors were true, there was about to be a huge change in King’s business.
“What news?” she asked.
King smiled bigger than Rayshawn or Jaicyn had ever seen him smile. “Sandy’s pregnant and we’re getting married.”
“Wow,” Jaicyn shouted. “That’s great!”
“Congrats,” Rayshawn said.
“Yeah, we’re happy about it. It’s been a long time coming,” King commented.
“I’m so happy for you guys,” Jaicyn gushed, feeling a slight twinge of jealousy. Jaicyn fingered the gold ring that she wore on her left hand faithfully and hoped that Rayshawn didn’t wait fifteen years to fulfill his promise. She’d kept all of her promises to him.
“Thanks,” King replied, “but that’s not it. I talked to Little Man last night and he wants to come back to Washington Heights.”
“You want us to go to Atlanta?” Rayshawn guessed.
“I didn’t expect Little Man, of all people, to bitch up and come back home when he’s making more money than ever. But his baby-mama doesn’t want to live down there and he says he can’t be away from his kids. It is what it is.”
“And there’s no one else you can send?” Rayshawn asked.
Jaicyn looked at him like he was crazy. Did he not hear what King said? Little Man was making more money than ever in Atlanta! They needed to get in on that.
“What’s the set up like in Atlanta?” Jaicyn asked. “Is it like here?”
King explained how things were working in Atlanta. The operation was similar to what Rayshawn had done in the Park; only instead of corners and streets King had crews placed strategically in neighborhoods he felt could make the most money.
“So it’s like Oak Park, just on a larger scale,” Jaicyn summarized. “We can handle that.”
King agreed. This was the break that Jaicyn and Rayshawn needed. This was their opportunity to get out of Washington Heights and stand on their own.
The wheels were spinning in Jaicyn’s head. Moving to Atlanta was perfect. Washington Heights was lame. She’d done all she could to make money and they hadn’t been able to significantly increase their profits in the Park since Rayshawn came back. There just wasn’t enough people in Washington Heights.
Atlanta meant more money and a better life.
Rayshawn looked at Jaicyn. “You want to do it?”
“I think it’s a good idea for us to consider,” Jaicyn said, trying her hardest to hide her excitement.
Of course she wanted to do it. There was nothing she wanted more than to move from Washington Heights and Atlanta was only ten hours away from Miami. She could see her father a lot more often.
“I know you want to get out of Washington Heights,” King added. “Plus you’ll be closer to your brother.”
“Why us?” Rayshawn wanted to know. “Why not give Blaque or Slim this opportunity? They’ve been in the game longer than me. They’ve earned a shot too.”
“They don’t want it,” King replied.
He’d already approached Blaque and Slim about Atlanta and neither one of them wanted to go. They’d outgrown Washington Heights too. Blaque wanted
to go east to New Jersey or New York. Slim wanted to branch out west since King was talking expansion. Jaicyn and Rayshawn could have the south.
Jaicyn stared at Rayshawn, silently pleading with him. This was their chance. This was the opportunity they’d been dreaming of. He couldn’t say no. He just couldn’t. She couldn’t go without him.
“Alright,” Rayshawn gave in. “Let’s do it. Let’s move to Atlanta.”
Jaicyn squealed and hugged Rayshawn then King. She was so excited she could hardly breathe.
King went to the bar and popped open a bottle of Cristal. He poured three glasses and Rayshawn and Jaicyn joined him at the bar.
“To new beginnings,” he toasted.
“TO NEW BEGINNINGS!”
TO BE CONTINUED
###
Published by Books By J.C, Inc
Copyright 2011 Jackie Chanel
All rights reserved
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales or, is entirely coincidental.
Acknowledgements
“Whenever they say it can’t be done, remind them they make a jellybean that tastes like popcorn”
I love quotes and this is one of my favorites. So simple, but so true.
I didn’t think I could be an Indie author. But here I am, with three Indie books under my belt and more to come. It’s exciting and I couldn’t have done this alone.
A Hustler's Promise: Some Promises Won't Be Broken Page 26
