If It Ain't About the Money

by Saundra

  “Fuck that ho. What you need to be worried about is your damn daughter. Why don’t you go outside and get her?”

  Sway froze, then turned to Sherri. “Yo dumb ass left my daughter in the car?” he screamed. Sherri put an evil grin on her face and sucked her teeth. Sway took off running outside, all while begging me not leave.

  “Bitch, you really are psycho.” I laughed and grabbed my keys.

  “Sherri, why don’t you just leave?” Kirk was frustrated.

  “Sway on some bullshit,” she continued to rant, burning a hole in the same spot. “And I don’t have to leave. I have his child.” She looked at me and sneered.

  I couldn’t believe her; that’s all she could think about, never mind she left her child alone in a car. All she cared about was Sway and who he had in his house. It was ridiculous, and it made her look pitiful. “Bitch, you are dick drunk . . . You can have Sway, and I hope y’all have a nice life.”

  Outside, I headed to my car with Sway calling my name as he held his daughter. Sherri ran outside and jumped in her Camaro. Sway called her name, but she just started the ignition and burned rubber out of the driveway.

  I shook my head at him as I pulled away. This was the kind of shit I did not deal with. Crazy-ass, still stuck on their baby daddy bitches. Life was much too short and I was too damn fly for that shit. I didn’t know one nigga I was willing to fight over. But I would kick a bitch’s ass for getting me in the wrong.

  Pissed, I dialed up Isis. “Where you at?” I asked, balling down the interstate doing a full eighty miles per hour. Tickets didn’t mean shit, I had it to spend.

  “Over here chillin’ at Rico’s shop for bit. Where you? I called you earlier.”

  “I was over at Sway’s crib. Yo, text me that address to the shop. I’m ’bout to come by.”

  “It’s coming your way. See you in a minute.” I could hear the excitement in her voice.

  After speaking the address into my GPS, I pulled up to Rico’s racecar repair shop in fifteen minutes. I looked for a parking space in awe. The place was nothing like I imagined. There were racecars all tricked out and banging in every direction. Isis was outside waiting on me. She waved me into an empty parking space.

  “Damn, bitch, your man is ballin,” I complimented, climbing out of the car. “Shi’d, I thought this was like a regular car garage or dump at best. I didn’t know it would be bangin’ like this.” I continued to look around.

  “It’s hot out here. Let’s go inside.” She led the way. “I told you it was racecar shop. You got everything from Nascar cars to your regular fast–and-furious tricked-out racing cars.”

  “And the brothers.” I eyed Rico standing close by talking to a host of fine-ass niggas as soon as we stepped inside the building.

  Isis looked at me and smiled. “I should have known you wouldn’t miss that.”

  “Hmph, no chance in hell.” I sucked my bottom lip. At that moment I wished I had a mirror to check myself. But who was I kidding? I was always a bad bitch. Rico started walking in our direction.

  “What’s up, Secret?” he said.

  “Hey.” I looked past him and smiled at the guys. Every single one of them was cute. “You have a nice place here. And these rides are wicked.”

  “Thanks. I’m glad you came through.”

  “No doubt.”

  “Babe, I’m about to run a few rounds in a car we just got in. Be back in a bit.” He bent down and gave Isis a kiss. “Secret, make sure Isis shows you around the spot.”

  Isis introduced the two girls at the front desk as Rico’s assistants before she led me back to his plush office. Talk about nice: that Ethan Allen furniture was on point, mahogany desk with the matching hutch. And my favorite, a Hudson leather sofa that was to die for, exactly what I needed to relax and get Sway and his bitch off my chest.

  “So what’s up? What really brought you this way?” Isis twisted her mouth up at me. The girl knew me too well, and she knew something was wrong.

  “How in the hell can you read me so well? So damn creepy.” I crossed my arms, leaned back, and buried myself in the Hudson comfort.

  “It’s my job to know. Now drop it off.” Isis sat on the edge of Rico’s desk and waited.

  “Girl, I just had to beat Sway’s baby mama’s ass. This crazy bitch gon’ have me locked up out this bitch.”

  “What the hell happen?” Isis eyes bulged with surprise. “I didn’t know she even knew you.”

  “That’s just it; she doesn’t. Me and Sway at his crib chillin’, smokin’ good, mindin’ our own damn business. Next thing we know this bitch rings the doorbell. And when he don’t answer fast enough, she uses an old key and invites herself in. Then she sees me and goes bananas, callin’ me out my name. And I let the bitch get away with it twice. But after that, you already know that ass was grass. She lucky Kirk showed up when he it did ’cause it took him and Sway to get me off that ass.”

  “Damn, Kirk came through, too?”

  “Yep. I didn’t even know he was stoppin’ through.”

  “I can’t believe ol’ girl doin’ it like that, though. And for what, though?”

  “Isis, that ain’t the half. Tell me why the whole time that crazy bitch was in there actin’ a ass, she left their daughter out in the car. Alone,” I stressed.

  “Oh, hell naw. This bitch is crazy,” Isis cosigned. “Sway should have kicked her fuckin’ ass for that.”

  “I think he was so shocked, he didn’t know what to do. That shit was too much for me.”

  “So what happened after that?”

  “Well, Sway was outside getting his daughter, I grabbed my keys to leave but that nut case jumped in her car and left first. Girl, I’m through with his ass, though. That drama I ain’t got time for. I’ll be in the penitentiary fuckin’ wit’ that ho. Bitch got the nerve to call me white,” I added. I had almost forgotten about that.

  “No the fuck she didn’t?” Isis’s mouth flew open. “So this bitch branded you with ethnicity.”

  “That ho tried it in more ways than one. She better pray the streets of Miami hide her, ’cause I’ma finish putting this size nine foot in her ass if I ever see her again.” And I meant every word of that.

  “Crazy situation. Well, I’m glad you came by. We need to talk anyway. Your boy Rico confessing his love and everything. It’s all too much.”

  “I’m tellin’ you. I could use a shot of cognac or five.” I chuckled, but I was serious. “And you can tell me all about it.”

  “Cool, let’s head over to the bar up the street. They got some fire hot wings over there,” Isis suggested.

  “Bet. You drive.” I grabbed my Gucci bag, ready to bounce.

  Chapter 32

  Secret

  I dreaded opening up my eyes to even look at my ringing cell phone. All I craved was the option to sleep in late. It was pouring down rain outside, with a constant roar of thunder, lightning, the whole nine. The perfect time to sleep. I pulled the comforter tighter over my head and pushed my left ear deeper into my pillow. But nothing was helping; the ringing of my phone had taken on its own cry for help. Grunting from pure annoyance, I reached my head from under the covers on top, the pillow next to me, and gripped my phone. Tossing the comforter out of my face, I glanced at the caller ID; to my aggravation, Sway’s name was lit up.

  He’d been blowing me up for the past two weeks since the whole bullshit charade his baby mama pulled. I had purposely ignored all of his calls, but it seemed like he wasn’t good at taking a hint. Frustrated, I laid the phone back down and pulled the cover back over my head just as my phone signaled a text coming through. I assumed it was another one of Sway’s attempts to get my attention, so I ignored it. Again I snuggled up to my comforter and tried to find coziness, but my phone started to ring again. I contemplated just blocking Sway. I wasn’t even sure why I hadn’t done it already. Suddenly, my prayers were answered when the constant ringing stopped. I was squeezing my eyes tight, all the while praying that sleep would cl
aim me, but the ringing started again.

  “Shit,” I hollered. I came from under the comforter like the thunder and grabbed my phone with the intention of turning it off. “Hello,” I answered and cleared my throat at the same time. I still had that groggy early-morning sound.

  “Rise and shine, sleepyhead,” Kirk sang in my ear.

  “Nigga, ain’t no sun out, so what do you want so early?” I was grumpy.

  “We got Push.” He gave the signal.

  “Cool. And stop blowing up my phone before I kick yo ass,” I threatened him.

  “My bad, ma.” He chuckled before hanging up.

  Since there was no chance I would get any sleep, I pushed back the covers, slid my beautifully manicured feet into my comfy pink Prada slippers. Dragging my sluggish body to the bathroom, I washed my face and brushed my teeth. The house was quiet as I made my way to my office, where I geared up my laptop to handle business. But honestly, as much as I hated to give up my bed, it gave me a thrill that I couldn’t describe when I hit that transfer button. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not, but something inside me just didn’t give a fuck.

  Finished, I powered my laptop down and stood up, ready for some hot coffee. Stepping back into the hallway again, I noticed how quiet the house was, which was a bit of a surprise. Even more surprising was the fact that I didn’t smell any coffee already brewing or brewed. Penny always made coffee in the morning before leaving for school. Once in the kitchen I confirmed no coffee had been made. Making the decision to make my own, I powered up the espresso machine.

  Afterward, I made my way to Penny’s room. Just as I curled my fingers into a fist to knock on her door, I realized it was slightly ajar. Pushing the door all the way open, I saw the bed was made, and there was no sign of Penny.

  “Hmph,” I sighed. It was odd; normally she woke me before leaving. But it was possible that she had tried, and I was in a deep sleep. Either way, I hated missing her before she left for the day. Back in my room I noticed the sun was shining brightly now. I looked out the window and there was not a cloud in sight or any evidence that it had ever rained. Suddenly my plan to sleep in on a rainy day was ruined. I had a few errands to run, so I decided to get dressed and burn up Miami’s streets.

  Since my espresso was cold by the time I got dressed, I made Starbucks my first order of business after leaving the house. I dialed Isis’s number as I pulled up to a red light.

  “What’s up, chica?” I sang into the phone. It was nice out and I was feeling good and glad I decided to get out.

  “I just left the dentist, got my teeth cleaned.”

  “No fun.” I did not envy her for that. “Speaking of that, I got an appointment coming up. For the same damn thing.” I frowned.

  “Well, get ready to be annoyed. I hate them diggin’ in my mouth. Ugh. But gotta do what I gotta do.” She sighed. “What are you up to?”

  “Shit, just getting out the house to handle some business. I hoped to stay in today, but thanks to Sway blowin’ me up, then Kirk hitting me up with a push, shit, I had no choice but to get my ass up. The rain finally let up, so I’m out here.”

  “What’s up with Sway? You talk to him?”

  “Hell, naw, I told you that nigga through in my book. I gladly ignored his call.”

  “Cold hearted, Secret.” Isis laughed. “Dude gon’ kill his self.”

  “Well, let me drive over and take his ass the gun,” I joked. “But check this out, what’s up, we ain’t had no fun in a grip. We need to hit the club this Saturday. Penny gets out of school on Friday for the semester. So you know we got to celebrate her first successful year of college.”

  “Dang, school out for the year already? No doubt then, let’s do it. She deserves it.”

  “A’ight, I’ll set it all up. You know it’s VIP all day. Spendin’ nothin’ but them stacks all night.” I got hyped as I pulled into the Starbucks parking lot. “A’ight, bet then, I’ma hit you later, though; I’m ’bout to get this latte.” I ended the call.

  One sip of my latte and I was back to life. I savored the first taste and wasted no time going back in for the second. Finally I was satisfied. Scrolling through my phone, I hit Penny’s name, but it went straight to voice mail. I headed over to the bank to put some money in my safe deposit box, then over to Macy’s. I needed to pick up some new bedsheets for Penny’s bed and mine also. But of course once I was inside, I ended up doing more shopping than originally planned. I can’t lie, I enjoyed buying what I desired. I was in control. I determined when it was too much, not my wallet.

  I realized how long I been inside the mall when I came out and the sky was totally dark. It was past dinnertime. That’s just how much spending money distracted me. Starving, I decided to stop and pick up some stir-fry. Pulling into the garage, I didn’t see Penny’s car.

  After hauling all my things inside, I was tired. Setting the bags down in the hallway, I walked to Penny’s room. Her bedroom light was off. I turned it on and looked around. I observed that it still looked the same as earlier. Flipping the light off, I started back toward the kitchen but stalled for a minute, puzzled. Suddenly I realized that Penny hadn’t been home last night when I came in. I had concluded that I had beaten her home. Tired, I had lain down to watch a movie and went to sleep. Rushing back to the kitchen, I opened my Coach bag and reached for my cell phone. I pushed Penny again; it went straight to voice mail.

  Chapter 33

  Secret

  Scrolling through my contacts, I knew just who to call, because if Penny was anywhere it was with Erica. They were attached like Siamese twins; they did everything together. And that Lexus had them tripping: they were burning Miami streets up stunting daily. “Erica, where is Penny at?” I got straight to the point. Now I was pissed. Penny knew better than to not check in, especially for this long. She was already gone by the time I woke up, nor had she called me all day. She must have been really feeling herself. I understood she was growing up and needed her space, but she was doing way too much and I was ready to make that clear.

  “I have been wondering the same thing. She wasn’t at school today.” Erica’s words sent my gut flipping.

  “What do you mean, she wasn’t at school?” I asked for clarification.

  “She didn’t pick me up for class this morning. So I called her cell, and it was going straight to voice mail. I figured she was sick or something, so I jumped on the bus.” My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. My hands and forehead started to sweat.

  “So you’re saying you haven’t seen Penny all day?”

  “Nope. The last time I saw her was yesterday at school. I didn’t get a ride with her because I had a late class. I was supposed to call her last night when I got in, but I ended up hangin’ out with Jeff.” That was her on- and off-again boyfriend.

  My cell phone nearly slid out of my hands. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Erica, I gotta go.”

  “Secret, call me when you hear from her.” I ended the call without responding. For a minute I stood in silence, my mind racing. I looked up, and it seemed like the kitchen was spinning. I felt as though I couldn’t think. I tried to find Kirk’s name in my contacts, but I was so spent I kept scrolling past his name. My hands shook uncontrollably as I was unable to focus.

  “What’s up, Secret?” Kirk said into the phone. Music was playing in the background, and I heard a million voices. From the sound of it, he was probably at a strip club.

  “Kirk, I think Penny is missing,” I managed, not even sure of the words that flew out of my mouth.

  “Aye, wait, what? I can’t hear you let me step outside.” I heard Trey Songz’s “Bottoms Up” playing in the background. It seemed like it took forever, then finally I started to hear the music fading, which told me he was probably outside. “Secret, now what you say?” He was back on the line, and I could hear him clearly.

  Tears started to run down my cheeks, my hands felt hot, and a huge knot had at some point formed in my throat. “I think
Penny missin’,” I repeated, my voice shaking.

  “Missin’? What the da fuck going on over there?” he questioned.

  “I . . . I . . .” I tried to speak, but the reality of what I was trying to say made me break. I cried so hard I could barely breathe. “Help me . . . Kirk,” I managed.

  “I got you, baby girl. I’m on my way. But listen, I need you pull it together and call the police. Call the police now.” He ended the call. Shaken, I held the phone as best as I could and dialed 911.

  Chapter 34

  Isis

  Lyfe’s “Must Be Nice” blasted out of the speakers of Rico’s Cadillac Escalade as we balled down the interstate on our way to Capital Grille for a late dinner. Looking over at him, I marveled at his good looks. I could look at him all night and not be bored. Yet, still I was not able to commit and call him all mine. Secretly I kicked myself for that. I knew chicks who would jump at the chance to have him willing to commit to them. The brother was young, fine, and rich. And here I was with principles.

  “You do know that the Capital Grille ain’t got nothin’ on me in the kitchen?” Rico grinned at me as he attempted to brag about his skills in the kitchen

  “Oh, really, well we shoulda put you in the kitchen. I got an apron at my crib with your name on it,” I teased. He would always brag, but never once had he attempted to really cook.

  “Nah, a brother don’t need an apron. Too fly for that.”

  “Damn right you are.” I bit my bottom lip seductively.

  “Don’t do that thing with your lip; you’ll make me have to turn this truck around,” he warned. “And you know what that means.” If I wasn’t so hungry, I would have snatched the wheel and turned the truck around myself. I was hooked, and he knew it.

  “You better not turn this truck around, the way my stomach growling.” I laughed. “I’m ready to smash.”

  We were interrupted when my cell phone started ringing. Digging inside my purse, I pulled it out and saw Secret’s name on the screen. “Hey,” I answered. She started talking fast, but her voice was breaking up. “Secret, what’s wrong?” It sounded like she was crying, but I was not sure. “Secret.” I had to say her name again. “Slow down.”