Destiny was about to sit when Mrs. Robinson called her name. “So how do you like my little shop?”
“I like it,” she said, “but I wouldn’t call it a little shop.”
“Believe me,” she said, “it’s small. I’m trying to decide between finding a new and bigger site or knocking out a wall here and expanding this place. Come and let me show you around.”
Destiny followed Annie through the main room and on to the back where, as she suspected, were the hair dryers. There was a row of about ten. What she hadn’t expected was the canteen-like area complete with vending machine, table, four chairs, microwave, and a full-size refrigerator. Beyond the canteen were three doors marked LADIES, MEN, and LAUNDRY.
“There’s a full-size washer and dryer in the laundry room. It’s also where we keep our supplies.” She opened the door so Destiny could see inside.
“You won’t run out of supplies anytime soon, will you?” Destiny asked, taking in the two walls stacked high with product boxes.
Annie chuckled. “I know I need to get a handle on the inventory but I’d rather have too much than not have something when we need it.” She eyed her. “I’ll bet you know a lot about managing inventory levels.”
“Not as much as you think,” Destiny said. “At work, we use this computer system that automatically reorders when our stock reaches a certain level. I don’t have to do anything at all. When stock hits those levels, an order is automatically generated. Then like clockwork, each Tuesday afternoon I get a new shipment. All I have to do is shelve it.”
“I’m sure there’s more to it than that,” Annie said. “Running this salon is a lot like running that cosmetics department.”
“In theory maybe,” Destiny said, “but what you have here is a much bigger operation.”
“What do you think of it?”
“I like it. Is it always this busy?”
Annie nodded. “Have a seat,” she said, pointing to a chair at the table. She opened the refrigerator. “We have Coke and Diet Coke. Which would you like?”
“Diet Coke.”
Annie handed her a can of Diet Coke and sat down in the chair next to her in the canteen. “This place is an investment, but it’s also my passion.”
Destiny nodded. “Laura told me that you were helping her get her cosmetology license.”
“She’s a gem. She’s working as my apprentice and that’s how she’s getting the hours necessary for her license.”
“You’re licensed?”
Annie nodded. “You said that you do hair in your home now. Have you thought about expanding that out to a shop?”
Destiny tilted her head. “Are you offering me a station?”
“I’m trying to gauge your interest. You’d need a license to work here. Do you have one?”
Destiny shook her head. “I’ve thought about getting one, but never got around to it. Besides, I only do my friends’ hair.”
“That’s what you do now, but you can always branch out.”
Destiny thought about everything she had on her plate this summer. “There’s no way I can go back for my license now that I’m in school.”
“You could do like Laura and apprentice with me.”
“Why are you offering to do this?” Destiny asked, overwhelmed by the woman’s generosity. Was it too good to be true? She was asking herself that question a lot lately.
Annie shrugged. “Because I like you and I see something in you. And as I said before, I see some of me in you.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say anything,” Annie said. “Think about it. There really is no rush. I know you have a lot on your mind with school and your job.”
“I sure do.”
“It seems to me that the only way you could reasonably add something else is if you saw it as complementary. For example, if you’re still going to be doing your friends’ hair, you could change the location of where you do it so that you can get apprenticeship credit for it. Before you know it, you’ll have the hours necessary to become licensed and you’ll realize you haven’t really done any extra work.”
This all still sounded too good to be true to Destiny. “What’s the catch?”
“There is no catch. Just an opportunity. No hard feelings if you don’t take me up on it. Just promise me you’ll think about it.”
Destiny nodded, her uncertainty still present. “I’ll definitely think about it.”
Chapter 22
OKAY, TURN THE SWITCH NOW,” PHIL HARRIS SAID.
Sitting in his friend’s 2006 red Ford pickup, Daniel did as he was told. Nothing.
“Hold on a minute,” Phil said.
Daniel sat waiting for his next instruction. He’d never pegged Phil as a wannabe mechanic and he never would have pegged him as the owner of an old red truck that he obviously loved. The recently upholstered interior and fresh paint job told him so.
“Okay, try it now,” Phil said.
Daniel turned the switch and this time the truck started. He leaned out the window to look at his friend, who wore a self-satisfied smile. “Whatever you did worked. You really do know what you’re doing.”
Phil clapped his hands together. “I told you, man. I know my way around automobiles. Next time you have trouble with your ride, holler at me.”
“And you’ll fix it for me?”
Phil grinned. “Nah, man, I’ll just give you enough information to keep the repair shop from ripping you off.” He waved Daniel out of the truck. “Get out and wash up. Those steaks are calling my name.”
Daniel turned off the truck and got out. “I hear you,” he said, heading toward the grill on the patio to the left of the garage and resuming his primary role of cook. He opened the top of the grill. “These babies are about ready.”
Phil walked to the sink in the garage and washed his hands. “I’ll get the beans and macaroni salad.”
Daniel nodded as he flipped the steaks for the last time. He’d enjoyed his afternoon with Phil so far. It was good to kick back and do man stuff. This time with Phil reminded him of why he’d liked him the first time he met him. Then Phil had been involved in a silly pyramid scheme. Fortunately, GDW Investigations had been able to expose the fraud before he lost everything and caused others to lose everything. Phil was a good guy, Daniel thought. His preference for the quick buck just got him into trouble.
“Here you go,” Phil said, returning with two bowls. He placed them on the patio table.
Daniel scooped up the steaks and put them on a platter. He took four potatoes wrapped in foil from the grill and placed them on the platter with the steaks. “You got something to drink?” he asked, putting the platter on the table.
“I’m on it,” Phil said, heading toward the refrigerator in the garage. “I’ve got beer, water, and Coke.”
“Coke is fine,” he said.
Phil laughed. “I should have known,” he said. “The Preacher Man doesn’t drink, huh?”
Daniel smirked as he took the offered can of Coke.
Phil laughed again. “I still can’t believe you’re a preacher. Who goes from private investigator to the pulpit?”
Daniel took a gulp of soda. “Life leads us down unexpected roads,” he said, thinking about how Gloria’s death had led him to this path.
Phil chugged his beer. “That’s some road.”
“You’ve traveled some odd roads yourself.”
Phil rubbed his fingers down his can of beer. “You can say that again.”
“So how did your date go with Bertice?”
Phil looked up at him. “How’d you know?”
“Destiny told me. I was surprised. Why didn’t you tell me? You know this was all part of our plan.”
Phil shrugged. “That’s why I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want it to be part of a plan. She’s a good woman, Daniel. A special woman.”
Daniel shook his head. “You’ve got it bad.”
“And I’m not ashamed to admit it. We really had a good t
ime. I took her to a Braves game. She yelled more than I did. Now that’s my kind of woman. Beautiful and loves sports.”
Daniel laughed. “You don’t ask for much, do you?”
Phil grinned. “Just being honest,” he said. “But Bertice is so much more. I can’t explain it. We just have this connection.”
Daniel understood. He’d shared a special connection with Gloria. With that thought, Destiny’s image flashed in his mind.
Phil took a steak and a potato off the platter and put it on his plate. Then he added beans and macaroni salad. “Bertice had quite a bit to say about you and your love life.”
Daniel stopped in the middle of cutting his steak. “What?”
“You heard me,” Phil said. “She told me about you and her friend Destiny. She filled in the blanks that you failed to mention.”
“What did she tell you?”
Phil laughed. “When Destiny first told her that I told you I was interested in her, she thought it was a ruse for you to get next to Destiny.” He shot Daniel a knowing glance. “Was it?”
“It was a ruse,” Daniel said, not sure he wanted to share his feelings about Destiny with Phil. “Don’t forget we’re keeping an eye on these two women so they don’t get in too much trouble. We need to know the minute any evidence of identity theft occurs.”
“Maybe they won’t be chosen,” Phil said. “Bertice has been involved for more than a year and she hasn’t had any backlash like that.”
Daniel gulped another swallow of soda. “You’re probably right about Bertice. Evidently, she didn’t meet the screening requirements for that part of the scam.”
“Screening requirements?”
“Yeah,” Daniel said. “Our technical staff is putting together a profile of who’s selected. Bertice doesn’t meet the profile.”
“Thank God for that,” Phil said.
“Not so fast,” he added. “It looks like Destiny does.”
“Damn,” Phil said.
Daniel felt the same way. “That doesn’t mean she will be chosen. It just means she meets the profile we’ve developed. I hope she isn’t.”
“We should warn her.”
Daniel shook his head. “We can’t,” he said, even though he wanted to put her on alert. “We just have to be there if she’s chosen.”
“I still don’t like it, man.”
Daniel glared at him.
“I know,” Phil said. “It’s my fault. I got them into this. If I could do it all over, I wouldn’t get involved and I definitely wouldn’t get Bertice involved.”
“Do you really mean that?” Daniel asked, unable to keep his skepticism out of his voice. He’d heard this from Phil before.
“You don’t believe me?”
“I believed you when you told me that after the pyramid scheme, but here we are. You’ve got to stop putting yourself in these situations, Phil. You’re going to end up in trouble that you can’t easily get out of if you don’t. It’s only a matter of time.”
“I know, man,” Phil said. “I’m serious this time. I’m going to stay on the straight and narrow.”
Daniel wanted to believe the man, but he knew old habits were hard to break. “You like living on the edge,” he said, thinking the man also liked shortcuts but deciding not to use those words. “You need to find another outlet for that energy.”
Phil grinned. “Bertice could be that outlet.”
Daniel shook his head. “A woman got you into this situation. It’s probably not a good idea to look to a woman as your way out. No, you need something that comes from you, not something that comes to you.”
Phil frowned. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Rather than explain it, Daniel decided to give an example. “We’re doing a personal finance workshop at church. As part of that we’re going to talk about folks finding ways to supplement their incomes. You can be a speaker for us.”
“Me, speaking at a church?”
Daniel laughed. “Yes, you,” he said. “The church is not going to bite you.”
“I don’t know, Daniel,” Phil said. “Given what I’ve done, I’d feel like a fraud.”
Daniel was pleased that Phil had genuine remorse for the situation he’d put himself in. “It’ll be a few months in the future before we’ll need you. Hopefully, by then this case will be wrapped up and you can also talk about the pitfalls in trying to take shortcuts.”
“You’re not asking much, are you?”
“When this is over, you’ll need to do something to put it behind you. You strike me as the kind of man who needs to make amends when he does wrong. Sharing with the folks in this program can be a part of you making amends.”
“I’ll think about it,” Phil said.
“That’s enough,” Daniel said, “for now. And if you really want a relationship with Bertice when this is over, think what this gesture will mean to her. It may go a long way to showing her that you are truly sorry for the harm you caused.”
“I said I’d think about it,” Phil said.
Daniel sensed his friend’s discomfort. On second thought, maybe Bertice was the woman who could change him.
Chapter 23
STOP!’” DESTINY SANG ALONG WITH NATALIE AND BERTICE as they ended “Stop! In the Name of Love” by the Supremes, the last of the three karaoke songs they’d sung tonight.
The audience clamored for one more, but Destiny looked at her two friends standing on the karaoke stage and shook her head as they did. Three was their limit. “That’s it for us,” Natalie said, continuing her Diana Ross role and speaking for the group. “Thanks, everybody.”
The three women made it back to their table amid the applause from the gathering. Before they reached their seats, another would-be crooner took the stage. “Now that was fun,” Natalie said, once they were seated.
“It was,” Bertice said. “I had my doubts though. Karaoke was not exactly what I was thinking about for a ladies’ night out, but it was much better than our original plan to only have dinner.”
Destiny leaned into Bertice’s shoulder. “Admit it,” she said. “You were all over those songs.”
“Yeah,” Natalie said. “You sang ‘Survivor’ like you thought you were Beyoncé getting ready to leave Destiny’s Child.”
Destiny laughed. “Yeah, girl, you belted that one out.”
“You can’t talk about me,” Bertice said. “You thought you were T-Boz on ‘Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg.’”
“What can I say,” Natalie said, blowing on her fingers as though she were at a craps table in Vegas. “I got skills.”
All three women laughed.
“Gavin married you for your singing voice,” Bertice teased. “You know all first ladies have to be able to belt out a gospel tune at the drop of a hat.”
“Please,” Natalie said. “Gavin married me for more than my singing.”
“Tell it,” Destiny said.
“No, you didn’t go there,” Bertice said. “This first lady is coming out of her bag, or should I say, her pulpit.”
“Just telling it like it is,” Natalie said, not backing off.
“Excuse me, ladies.”
Destiny looked up to see the waitress standing at their table.
The young woman inclined her head toward the bar. “Those guys over there would like to buy your next round. What are you having?”
Destiny looked at her friends.
“I’m married,” Natalie said, lifting up her ring finger so the men could see it. “It’s up to you two.”
Destiny and Bertice shared a knowing look. “Tell them thanks, but we’re fine,” Bertice said. She lifted her glass toward the men and gave them a smile. Destiny did the same.
“Well, well,” Natalie said. “Destiny held true to form, but you surprised me, Bertice. You were supposed to take that free drink.”
“Didn’t want to give the guy false hope.”
Natalie leaned in. “Spill,” she said. “You’ve been holding out on us. You’re seeing somebody
, aren’t you?”
After taking a sip from her soda, Bertice said, “Maybe, maybe not.”
“Don’t be coy, Bertice,” Natalie said. “It’s too out of character.”
“Give her a break, Natalie,” Destiny said, guessing Phil Harris was the man who had changed Bertice’s tune. She also guessed Bertice didn’t want to discuss him because it might lead to a discussion of their work at HR Solutions, which they still weren’t ready to tell Natalie about.
Natalie turned to Destiny with a teasing glint in her eyes. “Okay, we can talk about you then. What’s up with you and Daniel?”
Bertice laughed.
Destiny rolled her eyes.
Natalie lifted her arms in frustration. “Well, somebody has to tell me something. Or do I need to share some of my marital wisdom with you?”
“Please don’t,” Bertice said, holding up her palm toward Natalie. She sighed. “I’ve started seeing somebody.”
Natalie leaned forward. “Do I know him?”
Bertice shook her head. “I don’t think so, but Daniel does.”
Natalie sat back. “Oh. Now that is interesting. I see some double-dating possibilities here. So who is he and have you asked him anything about Daniel and Destiny?”
“You never give up, do you?” Destiny asked Natalie.
Natalie waved her off. “Hush,” she said. “I’m talking to Bertice.”
Destiny listened as Bertice told Natalie a little about Phil Harris, praying silently she didn’t give her too much information. As she did, she realized the energy involved in keeping her HR Solutions gig a secret. Was it worth it? It might be easier just to tell Natalie everything and try to ease any concerns she might have.
“So have you asked him about Daniel and Destiny?”
Bertice giggled. “You know I have, but it turns out I knew more than he did. I ending up piquing his interest though, so he said he’d feel Daniel out for me.”
“Good,” Natalie said. She sat back in her chair and looked at her friends. “My babies are growing up,” she said.
The Summer of Me: A Novel Page 13
