Hustle Hard

by Saundra

  “Hey, boo?” I said to Secret as she made her way inside and took her seat next to me. I had reserved our seats so we were good. The technician was already prepping Secret as soon as she sat down.

  “I’m cool. Just done wit’ the bullshit.” Secret pulled off her sunglasses. “I just cannot sit down with Jackie and play the cool card. That shit is dead to me.” Secret jumped right to the situation and kept it real. That was just her style.

  “I feel you. I just don’t think you should be getting this upset. And remember, everything affects Penny. That’s why I’m even more convinced that the trip we talked about will be good. We need a break from all of this. And we can take Penny; she also needs a getaway.”

  “Aye, I agree. Shit, if anything, this will get her away from Jackie’s leeching ass.”

  “Good, we can tell her about it when she gets here.” The technicians in charge of doing our feet instructed us to put our feet in the waiting water. “Ahh, I needed this.” I sighed as soon as my feet touched the water. Penny walked in and sat next to Secret. “Hey, Penny,” I said.

  “Hey, Isis,” she replied. Her tone was not her normal upbeat tone.

  “You late,” Secret said, just to torment Penny.

  “Don’t start.” It was clear she was not in a good mood.

  I signaled the technician over at the desk to start on Penny’s feet. The technician wasted no time coming over. But Penny held up her right hand to stop her, then said, “No thanks, I’m good.”

  “What you mean, you good?” Secret asked. “Why you not gettin’ yo’ feet done? That’s what we’re here for.”

  “I’m cool, Secret. I got them done a few days ago.”

  “Whatever.” Secret was getting upset. Things were already going left, and I had to do something to at least get a smile out of Penny. Then maybe Secret would come around.

  “So what’s up with Patrick? He is cute.” I added his looks as a bonus to get her to smile, but she didn’t.

  “Well, actually I don’t know how Patrick is, since he hasn’t called since the disaster at my house. Secret and Jackie scared him off.” I guess I had asked the wrong question.

  “Gone wit’ that weak shit. Ain’t nobody scared him.” Secret waved her off.

  “Yeah, you did,” Penny threw back. “All that jungle screamin’. I swear you was actin’ like you ain’t got no home trainin’.”

  “I don’t. And his ass weak for that.” I chuckled, but Penny didn’t have laughing anywhere on her face.

  “No, he not weak, Secret. But why you got to air our businesses out during what could have been a nice family dinner? That shit was not about Jackie, it was about all of us. But you have to give Jackie a coming-out VIP party.” Penny was now sitting on the edge of the chair.

  “Listen, I ain’t do shit, so don’t come up in here blamin’ me. And furthermore, I can say whatever I want. I’m a grown-ass woman.”

  “But that wasn’t the time, Secret. It could have waited. And yes, you are grown, and it wouldn’t hurt for you to act like it. All the time, it ain’t about you and your feelings.”

  “I know that, but I can’t be fake, Penny. I told you I didn’t want her ass around. The sight of her pisses me off.”

  “Again, you making it all about you.” Penny shook her head with disappointment and stood up. “Have you ever thought about giving her a break? Allowed her to at least try?”

  “Hell, no,” Secret yelled and snatched her foot out of the technician’s hand. “She had enough time to fuck us up. Or did you forget? ’Cause I didn’t.” Secret looked at the technician and gave her the okay to continue.

  Penny stood for a brief moment glaring at Secret. “Well, that’s sad, Secret. Because she is our mother, and maybe she deserves a try.” Without another word, Penny walked away.

  Secret watched as she walked out the door. She looked at me, then at the technician, and then rested her head on the chair. Then she looked back at me. “Did you hear that dumb shit Penny was ripping off to me? She act like she lived in a different house than me. See, that’s why I want Jackie’s ass out, she over there brainwashing poor Penny. Fucking bullshit.” Secret pouted.

  Again I was at a loss for words. I didn’t know if Jackie was brainwashing Penny or not. But Penny and Secret were definitely on different pages when it came to Jackie. And that was not good at all.

  Chapter 16

  Secret

  “So we got two big shipments coming in two days. Here are the pre-invoices I had put together. Isis, I need you to put the numbers in the system.” Kirk handed her the papers he had cradled in his hand.

  Kirk, Isis, and I were at Hot Rides in our office having a meeting on a couple of big shipments we had coming in a few days. Kirk always wanted to have a meeting right before, just to be sure we had everything together and we were always on the same page. Sometimes we did it the day before, though. We never wanted to get too comfortable or assume that things would just go right. We worked toward putting together a strategic plan that kept us on point.

  “I got it.” Isis studied the paper.

  “Secret, I need you to call today to check the weight on the shipment to be sure that it matches up, as always.”

  “I’ll call right after the meeting.” Making sure the weight of shipment was spot on was always important. The weight being off could cause the haul to be pulled over, which could cause searches, and that was not okay. So we always checked several times, almost as if there was a trial drive, to be sure. So far we had been spot on with every shipment.

  “I think we ready. Y’all be here on time ready to rock. And you know ya’ boy got the rest.”

  “No doubt,” I cosigned. “Stack up.” I chuckled. Things with Penny and me were still in an uncomfortable position. But I smiled in spite of it. Penny was my baby sister, and I loved her with every ounce of myself, and no one or nothing was going to change or take that away from me. I believed that.

  “Now in other news. I’ve been thinkin’ about opening up another location out in LA.”

  “Another location? Like another Custom Hot Rides?” Isis questioned.

  “Yep. I got a few connects out there, and the business is needed,” he stated matter-of-factly. “I might need you two to go out there in a few months to help get it up and running.”

  Now that got my attention. Isis and I looked at each other. “Kirk, now you know I’m always down for the coin, but I got Penny, and right now I don’t know if this is the time to be leaving her alone.”

  “Aye, you ain’t got to leave her. She can go with you, and you know I’ll foot whatever expenses y’all got. What about you, Isis?” He looked at her for an answer.

  “I’ll have to think about it,” Isis said. But I’m sure he didn’t expect any different from her. Isis never jumped right on board; she had to think things through first.

  “A’ight. I just wanted to put it out there. It’s just something to think about it. I don’t have a definite yes just yet. I don’t know if I’ll even do it or not. But I like to keep y’all in the loop of all possibilities. I’ll let y’all know.”

  A sudden knock on the office door stalled us. Courtney knew not come back or allow anyone back when we were having meetings. And she always called back first, so it was suspicious. Kirk reached for his hip where he kept it his gun locked and loaded at all times. Then the phone suddenly rang; the call was from Courtney’s phone at the front desk.

  I hit the speaker button. “It’s Penny at the office door,” Courtney announced. “I tried to tell her you all were in a meeting, but she wouldn’t wait for me to call y’all.”

  I stood up to unlock the door; Penny knew the rules already, so I figured she was on one.

  “What’s up, Penny?” Kirk spoke first.

  “We in a meeting.” I stood in front of Penny.

  “Hey, Kirk.” She ignored me and bounced around, basically begging for attention. I wasn’t sure what that was about, but I ignored it. I knew she was possibly still mad at me from the
nail salon. Maybe she wanted to annoy me.

  “Don’t worry about the meeting, it’s over. How you been, Penny?”

  “Not up to shit. Just still tryin’ to convince Secret to let me be a grown woman.” She gazed at me. “But I guess you already know how that is.”

  “Life’s a bitch.” Kirk laughed and stood up. “I got business. I’ll catch up with y’all later. You take care of yourself, Penny.” He bounced.

  “Why you comin’ up in here interrupting our meeting? Where the hell you been at? I been callin’ you,” I questioned her. “Talkin’ ’bout being grown. Grown people answer they calls, they respond.”

  Instead of answering me, she laughed and sat down.

  Courtney called from the desk again, this time asking Isis to come to the front desk to sign for a package.

  “Secret, I seen your calls, and I know you think I was ignoring you. But I was not, and I’m not mad at you.” I was glad to hear her speak some sense. “I just needed a few days alone. You know, time to think and clear my head.”

  “I understand,” I agreed. I was glad she was talking to me. For a minute I thought I would have to curse her out just to get her to act right. But she was coming around on her own. “I’m sorry that I came off so strong the other day at the nail salon. I just was in my feelings. I really didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “It’s cool. I know you didn’t. We just got a lot of pressure going on, but we gone be okay. Now can we please go grab some food? I’m hungry. I haven’t eaten all day.”

  “No doubt. Let’s grab Isis when she done.”

  Isis was game to go eat; we had been in a meeting with Kirk since we had come in and had not had breakfast. So we couldn’t wait to eat. Courtney hadn’t had lunch, so she wanted to roll. Shutting the office down, we headed out for Mexican, one of everyone’s favorites.

  Chapter 17

  Secret

  A few weeks had passed since the drama with Jackie, Penny, and me. But it still seemed like yesterday to me. I couldn’t shake Jackie’s hurtful words that she didn’t owe me shit. But in spite of her bullshit, things were going well, at least with Penny and me. We were back on the same page, except where Jackie was concerned. I still wanted her out of Penny’s house, but for now, I was biding my time, because one thing that I could count on was that Jackie would be Jackie and somehow she’d prove me right again. She was just a selfish drunk who had kids that she didn’t give a fuck about.

  But one thing Penny was right about: I had to try to get over it. I wasn’t sure if I would ever be able to forgive Jackie, at least not anytime soon. The hate was rooted in me too deep. Something had to give, though, because my hate for her was weighing me down, and I no longer wanted that. Hanging on to it, in my opinion, made me no better than she was, and I longed to be nothing like Jackie.

  The doorbell rang, bringing me out of my thoughts. “Coming,” I yelled as I raced to get the door. I was sure it was only Isis, but she was clearly leaning on my doorbell.

  “Would it be too much to ask to for you to hurry up when someone ringing your doorbell. It’s hot out here,” Isis complained.

  “Would it be too much to ask impatient people to have patience?” I teased back. “Get yo’ ass in here.” I pulled her inside. I had invited Isis and Penny over for drinks and to hang out by my pool. It had been a minute since we chilled at the pool, so it was time. “I already got everything ready so we can go right outside.”

  “It’s about time we chilled like this. I’ve been needing this.” Isis sat down on the beach chair and scooted into a comfortable position.

  “Me too. We use to do this almost every weekend. I’m tellin’ you, we are turning into old-ass working ladies. And I tell you I ain’t ready to get gray hair and start wearing no Depends just yet,” I joked. I popped open a bottle of Cristal. Yes, me and my girl were about to sit outside in the bright sunny afternoon and sip Cristal. We had it like that.

  “I swear, me either. No early menopause for me.” We both laughed at our silly jokes. “Come on, hurry up and pour me a glass of that. I’ve been craving a glass of champagne since I woke up this morning.”

  “At your service.” I filled a glass and passed it to her.

  “Thanks.” Isis sat up and reached for a chocolate-covered strawberry. “All this fruit looks delicious. But where is the food? I didn’t eat breakfast this morning.”

  “I got you. I have some turkey and cream cheese roll-ups in the fridge. I’ll go grab them.” I hurried inside for the sandwiches and came straight back out. I didn’t want to miss a second of the sun; it was soothing to my skin. “So I know Kirk hit us with the bullshit the other day about LA and all that. I ain’t heard you say nothing yet. How you really feel about it?”

  “Kirk, I swear, he never seems to amaze me. This guy just come out the ass with everything like it’s nothing. LA. I could have never guessed it, but I guess I can’t be shocked, this is Kirk we talkin’ about. I can’t lie, I wouldn’t mind visiting the city, but workin’ out there . . . That’s a whole other situation . . . I’m just not sure,” she said. I shrugged my shoulders.

  “I can’t front, it caught me off guard, too, especially when it comes down to me leaving Penny behind. But he cleared that right up, so I’m straight on that. I have to agree with you, though, LA a whole other situation. Yo, but remember when he took us out to eat and he was leavin’ town saying he had other business that he was workin’ on? Maybe the LA setup is what he was talkin’ about all along,” I replied.

  “You know what, I never thought about that. But he also still sayin’ it ain’t definite yet. I’m just gone chill until he give us some facts.”

  “As long as I don’t have to leave Penny behind with Jackie’s unstable ass, we can talk.” I was not playing about leaving my sister, and Kirk knew that.

  “One other thing, I just worry if it’s safe. This is LA we talkin’ about. What about competition? That’s a big-ass city, so I know they trickin’ cars and all that. And the drugs, well, I guess we don’t even need to talk about that. It ain’t math.” Isis was speaking some real shit. I had thought about that, too, but I didn’t want to say it out loud just yet.

  “Real talk. And we done received some of our shipment from out there, too,” I reminded her.

  “I know.” Isis sighed, then took a sip of her drink. “Things could be different, I mean, I’m sure they will. And we don’t know nothin’ about LA. Miami is our home, it’s easier to have things on lock.”

  “True that. But one thing is for sure, Kirk gone make sure we are safe. And that we can be sure of.” Isis shook her head in agreement on that. “But hey, look on the bright side, maybe I could find me a man out there. ’Cause Miami ain’t showing me no love. Hell, maybe LA got a man for you, too.”

  “Nah, I think I’m good. If I can’t find a man out in Miami, maybe I should be alone.”

  “I feel you.” I laughed. “Maybe it ain’t the niggas, it’s us.”

  “No, I ain’t takin’ no blame, it’s definitely them.” Isis reached for another strawberry and bit down hard. I laughed. “But what’s up with Calvin? Why you trippin’ off him?” Isis asked with her mouth still full of strawberry.

  I gave her the driest look I could muster. “Look, don’t start askin’ me dumb shit. You know I ain’t on that commitment shit. Calvin, he cool wit’ that, but he really likes me. He be tryin’ to spend nights and all that. You know I ain’t into that, but I let him do it a few times. Well, he call himself tryin’ to get mad when I told him a few weeks back I’m cuttin’ that back. So I guess he want to be on some payback shit by ignoring my calls for a week. Hmmph, I guess didn’t nobody warn him to be careful wit’ that shit when it comes to me.” I chuckled.

  “What did you do?” Isis laughed. She knew me to all too well.

  “Let’s just say now it’s been almost a month, and I’m still ignoring his ass. Who the fuck did he think he was dealing wit’?”

  Isis continued to laugh. “Clearly he didn’t know. Secr
et, you need to stop, though. Calvin’s cool, a real good dude.”

  I knew what Isis was saying was true, but I never had any mercy for a man and his heart. Like them, I kept it straight gutter; that was the only language men seemed to understand anyway. First sign of weakness from a woman, and they take it and run with it. I was not having it. “Fuck that nigga. I will not get played. Ever.” I felt bad as soon as that left my mouth. Isis and I both glared at each other, and things got quiet. I didn’t mean to say that. The last thing I wanted to remind Isis of was Bobbi, and when he had run out on her. The worst part was him stealing from her. I hated his punk ass, but I felt like he had it coming soon in life anyway. Lucky for him, he had left Miami.

  Again I saw this look on Isis’s face that I had only caught a glimpse of briefly, but this was the second time I had caught it recently. And she hadn’t been talking much lately; today was the first day that she seemed a bit more open. I had been so wrapped up in my own bullshit that I hadn’t been paying much attention to my friend. “Aye, you cool? You been quiet lately.”

  “I’m good. You already know that. Like I said before, I’m just a bit overworked. I need to get that vacation in.” Isis smiled for good measure, but I still wondered if she was holding something back. I didn’t know what she would have to keep from me, but I still wondered.

  “Heyyy.” We turned to see Penny singing her introduction. “I had to use my key. You knew I was coming. You should have been waitin’ for me. I even called when I was down the street.”

  “My bad. I left my phone in the house,” I apologized.

  “I see you came bikini ready,” Isis said. “Normally you say you have to change when you get to the pool.”

  “Today I thought I’d be like you and Secret, ride the city with my bikini on.”

  “Aye, that’s the best way to do it. I bet you felt free,” I added.

  “If you say so. I’m ready to take a dip, but first I need a drink. What you got here?” She picked up the wine bottle. “As usual, my sister got the good stuff, Cristal.” Penny turned the bottle up and filled her glass. Isis and I watched as she drained the glass on sight.