If It Ain't About the Money

by Saundra

  Chapter 29

  Isis

  Driving back from the prison, the two-hour conversation I had just had with Felicia played over and over in my mind. For the first time since she went to prison we shared a real mother-daughter conversation. It had been a year or more since Bobbi and I had last seen each other, or since he had run off with our life savings, leaving me speechless. I tried not to think about it, and heaven knows I never talked about it. In some ways I assumed if I didn’t mention it, I could pretend it never happened. But it did happen, and as fucked up as it was, I had moved on and found happiness. Noticeably so, because one of the first things Felicia said when she laid eyes on me was that I seemed happy. Never had she said that to me before. It was then I decided to tell her about Bobbi and me not being together anymore. I decided to leave out the details, mainly because I didn’t want to relive them.

  Felicia had never cared for Bobbi, so her reaction to the breakup was natural. She was relieved. It was then that I decided to tell her about my happiness with Rico. But I did make it clear that we were only friends because I wasn’t looking to be in a relationship. I did, however, assure her she would like him. The feeling I had after talking to her was indescribable. It felt so good to be able to share something good in my life with her. It felt wonderful not to be angry with her the entire visit and even angrier when I left. But when I thought about how disappointed in me she would be when or if she found out what I was doing for a living, I felt guilty. After all the stealing she had done in her past, she had always made it clear that she wanted better for me.

  Back in the city I tried to shake it all out of my head as I pulled up to my bank. Kirk had given me a pretty big payout the day before, and I needed to put it into my safe deposit box. Since our money was not legit, we kept it in a safe deposit box so we didn’t have to report it to the IRS. We had bank accounts, but we only kept about two thousand in the accounts. But we also both had safes at our houses, in which we kept at least five thousand at all times just for spending money. The teller took me back to unlock my box and walked away. I waited a minute so that I could be certain she was out of the room before I did a quick addition of all of my money. All together I counted two hundred thirty thousand in savings. That didn’t include the ten thousand I had in my purse or the five thousand at home in my safe. It felt great to feel secure on my own terms and with my own name on all of my shit. Never would I ever be caught with all of my money tied up in the same account as a nigga. I didn’t care if I loved his ass to the moon and back. It wouldn’t be about love or trust. It would be about the determination to survive. I smiled to myself, knowing that I was that much closer to being able to start my own business. My goal was three hundred fifty thousand.

  “What’s up, chick?” I answered my ringing cell phone as I climbed back into the car.

  “Where you at? I’m outside your crib.” I was a few minutes late; we were supposed to be meeting up to do some work on Push, which was the code name they’d given this job.

  “I’m headed that way. I had to make a quick stop by the bank. Use your key and go inside.”

  “Bet.” Secret ended the call.

  Fifteen minutes later I pulled into my garage. Inside the condo I found Secret in the kitchen adding grapes to the fruit tray she had put together. “That looks good. I could use a snack.”

  “I figured I’d make something healthy instead of grabbing cookies. But now I think I want some Italian.” All we ever did was eat. “Maybe we could order some takeout in an hour or so.”

  “I’m wit’ it.” I grabbed the food tray and headed toward my office. “You already got your laptop set up?”

  “Nah, I just put it the office. I wanted to get started on this food tray.”

  Inside the office we got set to pull an all-nighter, which meant Kirk had several jobs for us, but they would come in pieces because of time zones. Normally when he did that we worked together so that we could talk, laugh, and eat. It was always fun.

  “I finally told Felicia about Bobbi and me not being together anymore,” I revealed.

  “Damn. I still can’t believe you waited this long. But wha’d she say?”

  “Happy as hell, just like you. But I couldn’t bring myself to tell her about him taking the money. That would have upset her too much. So I left that part out.”

  “Fuckin’ bitch-ass nigga.” Secret always got angry when she even thought about what he had done.

  “I also told her about me and Rico being cool.”

  “That’s what’s up. Sounds like the visit went well. You told her a lot.”

  “Honestly, this is the best visit we have ever had over the years. And it really felt good not to be angry with her, to actually open up and share with her.”

  Secret looked at me with a smile, but I knew that she was thinking about Jackie. “That’s good,” she responded.

  “Enough about me. What’s up with you and Sway? And don’t play dumb neither,” I warned her. I could tell she was feeling him because she had been chilling with him a lot.

  “He cool. We’ve been kickin’ it a bit. I can’t front, though, that nigga got that bomb. Plus he spending, so he straight.”

  “Damn, I think him and Rico got a lot in common.” We both started laughing. “So what’s up with Kirk, though? Is he still gon’ help with this paperwork so we can start this business or what?” I needed to know now because I was serious about it, and my money was growing and time would be of the essence.

  “Hell, yeah, he better. But we need to decide what kind of business we want to open up.”

  “I was thinkin’ a clothing boutique.”

  Secret nodded her head in agreement. “Not a bad idea. But I really been leaning toward a shoe store, red bottoms and all type of designer shoes. You know these Miami bitches will go broke for some heels.”

  She had a point; we had witnessed women in Nordstrom spend twenty thousand on nothing but shoes. It was bananas. “You got a point. And at this point I don’t care, but we need to open up something so that we can clean this dirty money we done made.”

  “Aye, I’m game. What we need to do is set up a meeting with Kirk so we can get this shit cleared up. You know what’s what.”

  “Cool. You still stackin’ and savin’ that dough, right?”

  “Hell, yeah.”

  “You better, ’cause we got to be legit so we can not only have lots of legal money one day, but a bank account to put it in. That would make us certified boss bitches.”

  Chapter 30

  Isis

  Beyoncé’s “Dance for You” blasted out of the speakers of my Challenger as I sped down the interstate headed toward Rico’s house in northeast Miami. He also owned a house out in Santa Rosa; that was where we spent most of our time. The beach was beautiful, and we hung out for hours on it. The sun was shining bright and I felt good. I couldn’t wait to see Rico. He had invited me out for dinner; he had his chef coming through to cook for us. Rico opened the door just as I reached out to ring the doorbell. I smiled at the sight of him clearly eager to see me.

  “I’ve been waiting by this door for an hour in anticipation of you arriving.” He reached his hand out to help me step inside.

  “If I were waiting on me, I would do the same,” I kidded around.

  “You look beautiful,” he complimented me then handed me a glass of champagne.

  “Thank you.”

  “I thought we’d sit out by the pool. The sun is setting so it won’t be too hot. It’ll be beautiful.”

  I was convinced. “Let’s do it.” He gestured for me to lead the way. We hadn’t spent as much time together at this house, but I was still very familiar with it. Stepping outside into the backyard, I was always mesmerized. The blue water in the pool always reminded of that scene of Brandy’s pool in the movie A Thin Line Between Love and Hate. And boy, did Rico have the mood right with Keith Sweat’s “There You Go Telling Me No Again” softly playing in the background.

  “That is my song
,” I announced. Rico took my champagne glass out of my hand and placed it on the table. Gently he pulled me into his arms, the scent of his Versace cologne putting me in a trance. He smelled so good, I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly and held on. We danced to the song, and I hoped it would never end. Rico rubbed his soft lips against the left side of my neck, and I had to stop myself from pulling him down to the ground and fucking him. The song ended just as his lips found mine. We kissed, and it was so passionate that I moaned. Damn, he was making it hard for me. He invited me over for dinner, but I wanted to tell him to skip dinner and let’s go to bed. But I chilled.

  “Dinner is ready to be served,” Don, his chef, announced.

  “I hope you ready to eat,” Rico said.

  He caught hold of my left hand, and we walked back over to the table. Rico pulled out my chair, and I sat down. Don came back out and placed shrimp cocktails in front of each of us and poured us a fresh glass of Opus One Napa red wine. Talk about delicious, the wine was superb.

  “This is good,” I complimented after my first sip.

  “One of my favorites. I selected it especially for this meal.” He seemed proud of his choice.

  I looked around and took in the beauty of the sun setting and the slight beam off the pool as it faded. “We’ve never been out here when the sun set. It’s so beautiful.”

  “I figured you’d enjoy it. I sit out here sometimes after a busy day at work and sip on Hennessy. It helps me relax,” he revealed. I loved having these types of conversations with him. Bobbi and I never talked about things like this. For him it was always how much more money we could save and how fast. But I guess he had his reasons for that.

  Don brought out filet mignon next with asparagus. The meat was marinated in something so good I sucked on the meat before chewing it. God, the man could cook. For dessert he brought out homemade cherry pie right out of the oven with homemade vanilla ice cream. The choice of dessert had been at my request, and he’d done a perfect job.

  “I am so full.” I gave my stomach a pat.

  “That was the plan.” Rico walked around to my side of the table and reached for my right hand. We walked out by the pool. I kicked off my heels as we climbed into the chaise lounge so that we could relax.

  Don came out and poured us another glass of wine. This time he left the bottle resting on the table. “That’ll be all for the night,” Rico told Don.

  I sipped on my wine and looked up at the sky. “I could do this every night. Come out here with a bottle, get tipsy, and chill. You know growing up in the hood it’s like the stars in the sky never existed. Something was always blocking it. Or maybe it was the sirens that kept us from looking up.”

  “Probably both; that’s why I take advantage. I never want to take this beauty for granted.” He leaned in close, and we kissed again. I could kiss him all night and never get tired. He stared into my eyes. “We’ve been chillin’ with each other for a while now, and I haven’t been in a real relationship in a long time. But with you I’m thinkin’ different. I want us to be more exclusive.”

  And that changed the mood for me. That one word of commitment: “exclusive.” Why did he have to say it? Not only was I not expecting it, we were having so much fun. I sipped from my wineglass. “Listen, Rico, I’ve been enjoying all the time that we have been spending. Not one minute of it do I regret, but it’s like I told you when we first started kickin’ it. I’m not lookin’ to be serious . . . That has not changed.”

  I felt bad seeing the disappointment on his face, but I still was not deterred. My decision was clear-cut. With Bobbi I had done things his way, thinking I was making myself happy at the same time. I could not and would not make that mistake again. I would do what I thought best for me, regardless of whom it hurt. Rico was a great guy from what I had seen so far. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt him, but I also had to come first.

  “I know this is not what you wanted to hear, Rico. And if it’s a problem I can step back and give you your space.” I scooted toward the edge of the chaise prepared to leave.

  “Wait, where are you going?”

  “I think I should get going.”

  “Aye, no, that’s not what I want you to do. And I hear you, and I don’t want to force you or make you feel obligated to do anything you’re not feeling. I have all the time in the world and I will give it to you. Whenever you ready, just let me know.”

  I swore he was so sweet; his words were music to my ears and brought out the sexy in him. I turned up my wineglass and drank it dry. Passing him my wineglass, I stood up, thankful that Don had left. I undressed right there and watched as Rico’s eyes bulged with excitement. Rico sat up and placed both of our wineglasses on the grass next to the chaise. Standing in front of me, he picked me up and laid me on the chaise. He kissed me from my lips to my breasts, and traveled down to my hot spot, where he sucked until I screamed out from pure pleasure. And just before I released, he entered me and filled me all the way up. Damn, I had to be a fool not to want to commit to all this. The man was gifted in more ways than one.

  Chapter 31

  Secret

  Two Months Later

  “Sway, don’t forget to bring the popcorn back this time,” I reminded him as he went into the kitchen for the third time. Each time he came back out without the popcorn. We were at his house about to watch Set It Off. We both declared that to be our favorite movie. I was successfully rolling up the blunt while he was supposed to retrieve the bottle of Jack Daniel’s and the snacks from the kitchen, but so far he was failing. And the movie was due to start in less than two minutes. “Sway, hurry yo ass up!” I yelled again.

  “I’m right here, baby. I was trying to make sure I didn’t leave anything this time. Go ahead and fire up that smoke.” He set the popcorn and cheese Doritos down on the table in front us. I reached for the lighter and blazed up the blunt.

  “Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about. That killa.” Sway rubbed his hands together, all hyped as I took my first puff, then passed it to him.

  “Boy, you crazy.” I laughed. “Damn, I hate that bitch-ass cop, she a woman, she could have been more helpful.” I referred to the lady detective in Set It Off. You would have thought this was my first time watching the movie. Each time I watched it I was more emotional and extra dramatic than the last.

  “That’s fucked up.” Sway passed the blunt back to me. The ringing of his doorbell interrupted us.

  “You are expecting someone? I thought we were chillin’, no interruption tonight. Shit, you made me put Kirk on hold. And you were supposed to put your shit on hold, too.” I held the blunt between the tips of my fingertips, prepared to smoke. He had some serious explaining to do.

  “Secret, I did just what I promised. I don’t know who at that damn door. But I’m ’bout to find out.” He reached for the blunt and inhaled, then exhaled before heading off to the door. “Pause the movie, babe. I don’t want to miss a thing.” Whoever it was was becoming impatient: they rang the doorbell again. I sighed with frustration then hit the blunt, which would solve any problem I was having.

  “How you get in here?” I heard Sway yell.

  “Nigga, don’t question me, I used a damn key. How the fuck you think? What took you so long to come to the damn door?” I heard a voice that sounded familiar. It was getting closer.

  “Look, you need to give me back the key to my damn house and get out. What do you even want? Why you here?”

  “I want to talk to you . . .” As she stuck her head in the den, we looked each other dead in the eye. This was the first time I had ever seen her face to face. But I had heard her voice on Sway’s voice mail several times. It was his baby mama Sherri. “Who the fuck is she?” She looked at Sway with her hands on her hips.

  “Technically, that ain’t your business, but that’s Secret.”

  “Secret.” She said my name as if it was full of disease. “And your mama named you that.” She gave a fake giggle.

  “The last I checked,”
I said in a calm tone, looked at her, and smiled. I was not prepared to let this chick blow my high.

  “Why you got this bitch up here anyway?” she questioned as if he owed her an answer, totally disregarding me even being there. Still I chilled.

  “Sherri, get up outta my house with this nonsense. I don’t owe you no explanation. Now give me my key.” He reached out his right hand.

  “Boy, you and this white bitch got me all the way fucked up.” That was it: she had managed to squeeze off two rounds of bitches and I had chilled, but now she had me fucked up. She had the nerve to call me white as if she really knew my ethnicity.

  “This is my last time tellin’ you to leave. Now drop the key and go.” Sway pointed toward the door.

  “Check this, though; I don’t know you, but I swear I ain’t gon’ be too many more bitches up in here.”

  “Fuck you, Sway, put that bitch out.”

  Jumping off the couch, I lunged at her so fast Sway didn’t see me coming. My right fist went right into Sherri’s cheekbone then into her mouth. She screamed for Sway to get me off. He tried, but I grabbed her by the head and pushed it to the floor. Suddenly, I heard Kirk call my name, and I felt the force that was too strong for me to fight, which turned out to be Sway and Kirk pulling me off Sherri.

  “Get the fuck off me,” I yelled at Kirk and Sway as I kicked and tried to wiggle away from their grasp.

  “Calm down, Secret,” Kirk yelled.

  “I’m calm; now let me go. I’ll catch you later, bitch,” I shouted at Sherri.

  “Fuck you, too,” she screamed back at me.

  “Sherri, get the fuck out my house,” Sway barked. Sway blocked my path to Sherri while she attempted to fix her clothes.

  “No, she ain’t gotta leave. Let the bitch stay; I’m out.” I went for my keys, but Sway stood in the way.

  “Aye, you ain’t gotta go nowhere. She’s the one gon’ get the fuck out.”