I smiled subtly because for some reason, I liked when he talked to my stomach. Him doing it over the phone now didn’t make it any less enjoyable for me.
Taking the phone from my ear, I placed it near my stomach like he’d asked.
We talked for the rest of the night, until we both fell asleep on the phone. For a night, I was at ease, all because of my little gangsta … big gangsta.
Chapter One: Virginia Carter
For a few days, I’d been staying in a hotel, sending email after email looking for a new assistant job. I hated job hunting because it was so damn nerve-wracking, wondering if you’d find something before you ran out of money.
Thankfully, my last job working for the sick ass Michaels, paid me more than my previous jobs, so I had a nice amount of cushion this go-round. Not to mention, my skills and experience level were much higher than before. Shit, I honestly think Wonder only hired me because he was attracted to me, because before him, the most assistant-like thing I’d done was work a front desk at a hair salon.
Today, I was checking out of the hotel and going back home. I was pretty much done sending off emails with my resume attached, so I could get back to my condo. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get shit done with Vigo’s drunk ass around, which was why I was here in the first place.
“You have a nice day, Miss Carter.” The hotel clerk smiled at me as she handed me two printed papers, which was my receipt.
“Same to you, Alyssa,” I replied.
Being away from Vigo had me feeling pretty good. He was such a damn burden these days, so it was beyond relaxing to just forget about his ass for a minute or two. As for Wonder’s foolish ass, he’d been calling me so damn much that I had to block him for two days straight. I did miss him a little bit and did want him back, but not until he was a single man.
Being away from men and only speaking with Draylah and her homegirls, helped me to reflect a bit, I guess. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking, fucking with a married man, when I had so much going for me.
The mistress position was for bitches who didn’t have shit or looked like shit, and neither of those applied here. I was pretty, in my opinion, had a nice body, could cook, had a bachelor’s degree even though I didn’t put it to use, and I made good money. A lot of niggas would be lucky to have me, so if Wonder wanted to be that nigga, he needed to complete my checklist; number one being, getting a divorce.
I pulled into the driveway of my condo, and rolled my eyes at the sight of the beer bottles sitting on my porch. I was so fucking tired of this boy.
Getting out, I hit the alarm on my car and walked past my old ass nosey neighbor, Geraldine, who was watching me like a hawk as she “watered” her grass. Bitch watered her grass five times a damn day, just so she could peep what everyone else had going on.
“Vigo!” I burst into my place, and then immediately held my breath because of the loud stench flowing through the living room. “Vigo! What the hell did I tell you about drinking on my damn porch!” I hollered, ready to give his ass a piece of my mind.
“Oh, my bad, I forgot.” He came walking out, dripping in water with a towel tied around his waist. As much as this man drank, somehow, his body stayed intact.
Shielding my eyes, I said, “It’s fine. You need to go put some clothes on, and stop dripping water all over my floor.”
“Come here, let me talk to you.” He grabbed my hand down from my eyes, and as soon as he did, they ran amuck all over him. This was part of the damn reason I couldn’t leave his ass; fine as hell, deep caramel skin, a rock-hard body, and waves that made you seasick. “Where you been?” he inquired once we sat down on the couch together.
“I was at a hotel, working on some things.”
“You’re an assistant, what kind of shit you have to work on in a hotel room, Nia?”
“I don’t have that job anymore, so I’ve been applying to new ones. I needed the peace and quiet that I knew I couldn’t get here.”
“Why you couldn’t get it here?” he had the nerve to ask.
“Because, all I do when I’m here is look after you like you’re a damn child, and clean up constantly because you spill drinks all over my shit. It’s too damn stressful, and I guess I can’t expect you to know that because you’re always in a drunken stupor!”
Scratching his facial hair, he exhaled heavily. I already knew what was coming; a heartfelt speech about how he was gonna get it together, and how he loved me so.
Years ago, when I was young, stupid, and looking for the wrong things in a man, his little talks would get me. I was a nineteen-year-old girl at the time, and all I really cared about was the fact that he was fine, had good dick, and told me he loved me. Now, I needed much more.
“Nia, I swear I’m gon’ fix myself. I’m going to these AA meetings now online and I—” He stopped talking when I chuckled sarcastically. “What?”
“AA meetings online? You don’t even have enough motivation to sit your ass in a meeting in real life? Just stop talking, Vigo, because I don’t wanna hear that bullshit.” I stood up and he yanked me back down.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, baby.” He kissed on my face. “I ain’t mean to yank you like that. I just need you to understand. I’m taking baby steps with this shit. After a while, I will be able to go to AA meetings in person.”
“You need rehab, Vigo. Not some online shit that I’m sure you’re not even committed to.”
“I told you rehab don’t fucking work for me, Nia!” He exhaled. “Now be quiet, I need to tell you some shit!”
“Go!”
“I umm, I got into an accident the other day. I hit this girl because I ran a red light. I wasn’t in my umm, right mind, so I thought the light was green, but it was really the light for a street up. So … I smashed through the intersection and ran right into her. I sent her flying, and I just…”
“What? Where the fuck is the car? What happened to the girl? Is she okay?” I ran off question after question.
“Uh … I left the car and I just ran, but once shit died down, I had the homie get it and take it to a junkyard. And I don’t know how she is because I just ran until I couldn’t anymore.” He stared hard at the floor as he spoke.
“Oh my gosh, Vigo, you have to find out some information. If that girl is hurt or even worse, dead, you need to turn yourself in. At the least the damages on her car need to be fixed. What kind of car was she in?”
“G-Wagon.”
“Oh my gosh!” I almost had a heart attack. “Why couldn’t you hit a damn bucket! You had to fuck up with a damn luxury vehicle! Come on, we—”
“I ain’t going no damn where, Nia! Just leave the shit alone. If the bitch is dead, it was her time to go. If not, great. Win-win.”
“Well if you don’t go, I don’t wanna be with you anymore.” I folded my arms.
“You just talking.” He sucked his teeth and waved me off. “You would never leave me. What other nigga can love you like I can?” He laughed almost.
Was he joking?
“Plenty, nigga, and they already have been.” I stood up again, but moved away some so that he wouldn’t pull me back to him.
“Fuck you mean, they already have been?” He rose to his feet as well, towering over me, wearing a scowl. “You fucked around on me?”
Shrugging, I admit I was a bit scared to continue with my admission, but it was too late to pull back now.
“While you were out drinking until you passed out, someone else was taking care of me. That’s all I’m gonna say.”
“Taking care of you,” he repeated and chuckled.
WHAM!
I flew onto the bar we were standing by, and held my stinging face. It’d been a long while since Vigo had hit me, and right now, I was in utter disbelief.
“After all I’ve done for yo’ ass!” he barked.
“All you’ve done for me? What the fuck have you done for me, nigga?” I hollered right back, slamming my fists into his broad chest. “You haven’t done shit bu
t give me a fucking headache! Get out!” He grabbed my wrists to stop me from hitting him, so again, I yelled, “Leave! Get the fuck out!”
“I need to get dressed first—”
“No! Go right now before I call the damn police and tell them about your hit-and-run. You know that’s a crime, right?”
After glaring at me for a few seconds, he finally started towards the door.
“We ain’t done yet, Nia,” was the last thing he said before he yanked the door open and left out with only a towel on.
Rushing to my bedroom, I snatched all of his shit from the drawers and closet, then ran out to toss them all. He stopped walking to look behind himself, and then started back my way, so I went back inside and locked the door.
Finally, I had done something I should have done ages ago.
***
The next afternoon …
This morning, I’d gotten a call back for an assistant job. And not only was I happy because I got a call back, but it was the job I wanted the most. If hired, I would be assisting this rapper named Frisk. He was well on his way up, so I knew the money would be much greater than the cash I was getting from working for Wonder. Frisk was fine too, but I wasn’t trying to do all that again.
I entered the building located downtown, and approached the receptionist at the front desk to let her know I was there to see someone on the twelfth floor.
“Okay, here is a name badge. Go right on up.” She handed me a sticky badge.
I took a deep breath and gave a short and sweet smile to the security guard as I got onto the elevator. On the way up, I ran over question after question in my head, making sure I had my answers all figured out.
I made it to the floor I needed to be on, and I could hear some music playing. I went down the hall, and came to a stop at an open door where I saw Frisk sitting at his mixer, bobbing his head. His hair was tapered on the sides, with a little bit of length on the top, and his beard was lined up nicely as well. I could smell his cologne even as I stood outside of the door, and when he saw me and stood up, I swear he was a damn giant. For a moment, I’d thrown all my morals out of the window as he moved towards me.
“Virginia?” he quizzed with the raise of a brow as he stuck his hand out.
“Uh, … oh yeah, that’s me!” I laughed, kicking myself mentally for being such a loser right now. “I umm, … I’m here for the interview for the assistant position.”
“Right, right. Come on in and sit down.” He brought a chair out for me. I sat down in it, and he cut the music off before turning to face me. “I saw on your resume that you’d been assisting Ricky AK’s deejay for the last couple of years.”
“Yeah, I have been; uh, he and his wife actually. I helped him out with his work he needed to handle for Ricky AK’s shows, and also with his workout empire.”
“Oh, aight, nice. And he’s been doing pretty well in both, so you must be doing something right.” He bit his lip. I didn’t know if he meant to look as sexy as he did, but damn. “So why did you leave?”
“I just felt like I needed a bigger job. I love the world of music, and I think I need a heavier load. You know, with someone like you, up and coming and soon to be as big as Ricky AK, Qamar, MG—”
“Well I’m definitely not on their level yet, but Ricky AK is the homie. It’s funny you mentioned them because I just signed to Bankroll, and I’m about to be a part of the Head Honcho crew.”
“Yo—you are?” I swallowed the lump in my throat. I did not want to be working so closely with Wonder in a sense. He wasn’t a part of the crew, but he was with them a lot because of Ricky.
“Yeah, I’m excited about that. I mean, they got Flow, Butch, and Automatic, but I think I’d be a good addition. Between me and you though, they’re getting rid of Flow and Butch.”
“Damn, really? I want no parts of that war.” I giggled.
Frisk took me in for a little bit with his pretty brown eyes, as he stroked his beard.
“So the job pays $4,000 a week, so a little over $500 a day. I’m sure you know how assisting me would work, but just in case you don’t, I can run it down for you. I pretty much need you to handle all the shit I can’t handle when I need to record, perform, etcetera. That goes for emails, appointments, my social media, and anything else.”
I wanted to turn the job down since he was about to be in HH, but $4,000 a week had me salivating. I only got $1,000 from Wonder, and at the time, I thought that was a lot of damn money. Well, until I found out Dakota was getting $6,000 a week for working for Ricky AK.
“I can handle that. You can even ask Ricky; I’m good at my job. Well ask him one day since he’s locked up.”
“Yeah, the homie stays in some shit, but he gon’ get it together.” Frisk shuffled some papers before turning back to face me. “So we in business? Should I email the contract over?”
“You should.” I half smiled, and he nodded.
Frisk and I talked a little more, and honestly, it was hard to concentrate because of how handsome he was. The studio lights had his toasted brown complexion looking so damn supple it was ridiculous.
About an hour later, I was on my way out, ready to get home so I could electronically sign the contract. I was so damn happy I had a job that I wanted to celebrate. Just as I was about to call Draylah up, she called me.
“Hey, girl, what are you doing?” I smiled into the phone.
“Relaxing right now. I just got off work. That damn car accident and this baby have my back hurting.”
I knew Draylah had gotten into an accident, but for some reason, only right now did it hit me. She had a damn G-Wagon, and I was willing to bet my life that she was the one stupid ass Vigo hit.
What the fuck? Vigo was always ruining some shit for me.
Chapter One: Bia George
A week and some days later …
Today I was going to go ahead and visit Qamar, since I promised I would. These past few weeks without him were pretty relaxing; not only because he wasn’t causing havoc in my life, but also because I knew he was getting the help he needed. I just prayed like hell this stuck, because I was sure that I wasn’t the only one in his life that was tired of his bullshit.
I understood he had an addiction, and I saw nothing wrong with helping him deal, but Qamar wasn’t at the stage where others could step in and assist him. He needed a professional to get him on track first. Not to mention, his doctor here gave me some alarming information that had me looking at Qamar sideways.
“And we just need you to leave your bag here, up front, Miss George,” the female doctor explained.
“Of course,” I replied, handing it over as I got a look around at the place. It was really nice and clean, but very quiet. I knew Qamar was having a hard time adjusting to this shit. The thought alone made me chuckle.
“Alright, follow me.”
I followed behind the doctor, and she took me to this room that had a small bed in it and really nothing else. Finally, my eyes landed on Qamar who was seated on the couch by a window.
“Wow,” I commented at how bland the room was.
“Mr. Hampton, you have a very beautiful visitor here to see you.” The doctor smiled and pushed her short blonde hair behind her ears.
Qamar looked away from the window to see me, and I gave him a wide grin. He was stale faced though, so my smile immediately faded. I could already tell that this visit wasn’t going to be a good one, and I wanted to take my ass back home. Truthfully, I didn’t even want to visit his ass, I was only here because I didn’t want to go back on my word. Also, I needed to tell him something.
“Hey, Qamar.” I moved further into the room.
“There are cameras in here, so we can monitor everything that is going on. You two have one hour, and the door stays open,” the doctor explained before prancing off.
“What you doing here? Why you ain’t with yo’ old nigga?”
“Because I don’t want to be. I wanted to see you, which is why I’m even here, Qamar,” I lied
. Unfortunately, seeing Qamar was on the very bottom of my wish list.
“I can’t believe I got cheated on.” He chuckled. “Me. Qamar Hampton, got cheated on by a South Central thotty.”
Yeah, this was regular Qamar. Him being immature and disrespectful was just a part of his nature. It had nothing to do with his condition or his cocaine habit, I had to learn.
“I didn’t cheat on you. I dealt with him before you and I made things official, Qamar. I told you that.”
“Yeah, aight. Well, I just wanna let yo’ ass know that you can’t talk to him no more. I don’t want you around that nigga, period, you got it? No bitch of mine is gon’ be hanging around some nigga she gave the pussy to.”
Laughing, I replied, “So then maybe I should ban you from hanging around every female I walk by on the street.”
“You’re funny. I fuck a lot, but not every damn body. And ever since we’ve been official, I haven’t slept with another girl.”
“I don’t hang around Switch anyway. If you’ve forgotten, you knocked his daughter’s respirator out of the machine, and she had a heart attack, so he doesn’t want too much to do with me anyway.”
At this point, Nadine was doing better, but she was having a hard time getting her speech back together. I was happy she was alive though, and I was able to get her my number so she could text me whenever she was alone so I could see her. I knew Switch, Cody, and definitely Panama would probably wanna fight me if I showed up while they were there.
“Well good. Why were you fucking him anyway? I mean, he and I are two different types of niggas?”
“I needed money, and that was kind of the only way I could get the amount I needed at the time. But now I have a good job, so there isn’t really a need for him.”
“Wow.” He shook his head.
It was quiet for a moment before I asked, “Qamar, were you the one who assaulted Nadine?”
“Nah.”
“Qamar.” Before, I didn’t think he was the one who had touched her, I only believed she was at his party. But now, knowing how Qamar’s temper can get, and seeing as how he felt the need to come up to the hospital to visit her, painted a very different picture than before.
She Got It Bad for a Heartless Gangsta Page 3
