Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Side Chicks

by N'Dia Rae

  “You’re crazy. I can’t go there with you.”

  “Yeah, not tonight at least. I gotta make sure you ready for a real nigga. So, give me your number and I’ll hit you up,” he seduced me. There was something about him that set me aflame.

  Typically, I gave niggas a hard ass time when they were trying to get my number. But today, I typed my number in his phone without any hesitation.

  * * *

  A oki

  Chop, my old boss, called earlier today because he said he had a job for me. Back when I was still in school with Skye, I was running coke for him and was even selling some on campus. However, I started with stripping in his club. But it became too much and I wanted out. I didn’t want to strip nor run coke.

  Of course, like a real goon, he wasn’t having it. He thought I was being shady and was working on ratting him out. But that couldn’t have been further from the truth. I was afraid of getting caught. After begging and pleading him, he told me I could quit running drugs, but I only if I still did a few jobs for him.

  Every once in a while, he needs me to finesse a nigga, to get him in a compromising situation so that he could rob him.

  But if my big brother was around to see what I was doing he would be livid! My brother Miyagi was sent to prison a few years ago and was then placed in witness protection. He was never able to tell us why, and now I can’t even get in contact with him.

  Chop believes that Miyagi is a snitch. He would say why else would they put him in witness protection? But I don’t believe it. My brother lives and will die by the code. He doesn’t talk to the feds. Never have, never will.

  Him and Chop used to run together, but my brother was arrested on possession charges. They gave him twenty-five years, and the last I heard he was fighting it in appeals. Then he disappeared. He called one day and said he was going into witness protection and he would call me as soon as he can.

  That was four years ago, my senior year of college. I pray daily that he’s still alive. And I guess if he were to be die, they would let us know. But my mother and I still worry about him.

  “What up!” Chop greeted when I entered his back office. The room was brightly lit compared to the rest of the smoky club. Under the fluorescent lights was a marble desk surrounded by security monitors. He could see every single thing that happened in the club from what goes down behind the bar to the hallway where the bathrooms were.

  “You tell me. You called me here,” I sassed before plopping down on the leather couch in his office. I crossed my legs, exposing my sexy outer thighs, catching his attention.

  “I need you to lay off Xavier,” he flatly stated while rolling a joint of a Dutch.

  “Why? And how do you even know about him?” My eyebrow rose to the ceiling. This nigga was messing with my bread. Xavier sponsored me very well even though he has a wife and three kids.

  Chop licked around the paper, rolling it into the perfect blunt. He was a sexy nigga. 6’2”, chocolate skin, long dreads that were always neat, and a pair of the sexiest lips I’ve ever seen on a man. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve daydreamed about sitting on his face. But we’ve never fooled around because my brother would kill me if he found out.

  “Don’t question me. Just do it. Stop seeing him.”

  “And how am I supposed to pay my car lease?” It was a silly question because the truth is, I had enough money saved to live off of for about six months. But I like to keep stacking.

  “Get a fucking job or you can run for me again.” He laughed out loud.

  “Nigga please. We both know that those aren’t options.”

  “Lazy ass little girl. Your brother would be ashamed of you if he knew that you were out here doing.”

  “And he want to toe-tag you if he knew that you were paying me to do it sometimes. Now why else did you call me down here?”

  “Leave Xavier alone and in exchange, I got another nigga I need you to finesse.”

  “Who?”

  “This nigga named Tyriq. I can pay you to fuck with him for a while because I need some info. When the time comes, I’ll let you know exactly what I need. But you can’t mess with him and Xavier at the same time. If I find out that you still fucking him I will strangle your ass.”

  “You wouldn’t lay a finger on me. My brother…”

  “Where is your brother? Do you see him anywhere? No, I didn’t think so. No one knows where that nigga is and if I body you, he won’t realize it until he’s released. And that’s IF he is released.” I knew not to play with Chop, but that nigga didn’t have the heart to kill me. But I guess I shouldn’t take any chances.

  “I hope you know, I remember every time you threaten me. And WHEN my brother gets out I will be telling him. He will come down here and make sure you have a closed casket funeral. Don’t fuck with me,” I barked back at him. He didn’t take me seriously. Instead, he erupted into laugher.

  “You’re so cute when you get mad. Awww. Little girl is mad at me? Get the fuck over it and do your damn job. I’m going to text you the deets on the nigga Tyriq. You’ll be paid well for your services. Now get the fuck out of my office before you irritate me.”

  Shaking my head, I stood up from the comfort of the couch. His eyes followed my shapely legs as I pulled my mini-skirt down.

  I turned and walked to the door. I know he was looking at my ass. A fat ass he will never get to touch.

  “I expect a down payment by tomorrow morning. And then I will get to work,” I said before walking out of the door.

  When I got back into the main lounge area, I saw Skye giving her number to some sexy light-skinned nigga with light eyes. He looked much older than her, but he was definitely fine. I could see from here he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. This bitch doesn’t follow directions.

  I told her to only fuck with a nigga who is married because they are more grateful. They are trapped in their marriages and ain’t getting no pussy. These single niggas get pussy like it’s water.

  “Wsup,” I said when I approached her. The guy who was standing with her had left her side by now.

  “Hey, how was that meeting?” she asked while smiling ear to ear. That nigga wrapped her up for about ten minutes and she already had her nostrils open.

  “It was fine. But damn bitch, you look dictamized. Who was that?”

  “His name is Quan. He’s thirty-five and he’s single.”

  “You don’t listen! I said married niggas only. Maybe you can get away with an engaged nigga. At least tell me what he does? If he got bread, then you can rock with him.”

  I saw the excitement in her face fall.

  “I don’t know what he does.”

  “So, he could be a broke nigga. I thought you needed money.”

  “I do but I liked him. And you know I’m not cut out for this shit,” she whined.

  “Whatever, but when your ass can’t pay tuition and you end up stripping in some club, don’t say I didn’t tell you so.” I rolled my eyes before reaching for my phone. Someone was calling me and when I looked at my caller ID it was Xavier.

  I hit ignore and sent him a text message that read: It’s over nigga. Go be with your wife.

  I giggled before sliding my phone back in my bag. These niggas get so attached.

  I partied the rest of the night with Skye. Luckily, we were cute. Men bought our drinks the rest of the night. And Chop covered our hookah. I hope whoever this nigga he wants me to fuck with is fine though. That usually makes the job easy.

  9

  Nova

  T he night Tyriq and I went out to dinner, he showed me a side of him I had never encountered. I had never heard him speak to me that way and be so disrespectful. That night, I bolted out of that restaurant and took an Uber home.

  When he came back home that night, he apologized profusely and even took me on a shopping spree the next day. But clothes and shoes can’t make up for the embarrassment I felt. He was trying to make it up to me, but it was taking me longer to forgive him than usual
.

  “Nova, what time are you going to lunch?” my coworker and friend Kiss asked. Yes, her mother named her Kiss.

  “I have to finish up these press releases. I at least want to get the first drafts done before I eat. Your ass is always hungry,” I playfully teased as she stepped closer into my office while closing the door behind her.

  “That’s because I’m pregnant,” she said, her face lighting up with joy.

  I didn’t say anything. I just sat there staring at her like she had lost her mind. Just two months ago she was crying about her husband cheating on her with some young bitch. Now she was having his baby. Not only did that bother me, but the fact that these women with ain’t shit husbands kept giving them babies, while my good husband didn’t want any yet.

  “Why are you making that face?” she asked me, her eyes filled with concern.

  “He cheats on you. Are you sure you want to bring an innocent baby into that?”

  “This will bring us closer. This will make him stay home,” she foolishly reasoned.

  Rather than tell her the millions of reasons why that was false, I offered her a forced smile and said, “Congratulations.”

  “Thank you! That’s all I need from you, is to be happy for me.”

  “If you’re happy, then I’m happy for you. Let’s do lunch at 1:30. I should be finished by then,” I suggested.

  She smiled before exiting my office. As soon as the door closed behind her, I rolled my eyes. This simple bitch should know better. Then again, she is only twenty-four years old. But she’ll see that he won’t change after the baby is here. Cheating men never changed.

  I continued to work on the press releases so that I could eat lunch with her. While I wasn’t necessarily pressed to talk to her, I was starving.

  “Can I speak with you a moment?” Andrea, my manager, asked when she knocked on my door.

  “Sure, come in.” I hit save on my documents and gave her my full attention.

  Andrea was cool but I always had to be on my p’s and q’s around her. This woman determined whether I moved up in the company.

  “I wanted to let you know, I pitched your name to lead this new campaign,” she announced before sliding into the chair in front of my desk. She swiped her blonde hair behind her ear.

  “What campaign?”

  “It’s for Durden Development. They are building some new condos and need help with rallying the community behind it. Many people are upset about that ghetto being destroyed. So, I pitched you as a PR manager.”

  The way she said that ghetto made my stomach twist. That ghetto is where many poor people call home. At one point, I called The Gardens home. We lived there for a chunk of my childhood until my mother got that house. So, it had a special place in my heart, no matter how I tried to deny my poor childhood.

  “Thank you for pitching me.”

  “You’re welcome. I’ll give you more details as they come,” she added before leaving my office.

  A part of me felt uncomfortable with the project while another part of me was excited. Durden Development was the name of the company my husband worked at. In fact, I wanted to go see him on his lunch break, rather than eat with Kiss.

  I jetted out of the office and texted Kiss to let her know I had to see my husband because of an emergency. Hopefully, he wasn’t too busy to eat with me…

  * * *

  T yriq

  “Why won’t you come over anymore? I already apologized for the way I acted when I saw you out with your wife…” Kinasha whined to me while I attempted to get work done.

  My nose was buried in the pile of financials sitting on my desk and I had no time to deal with her shit.

  “Go back to work. I’m busy,” I said without looking up with her.

  What happened over the weekend almost made me lose my wife and I wasn’t trying to go back there.

  “I’m sorry, Ty! I really am. I swear that shit won’t happen again. Please don’t be done with me, baby!” she pleaded but I still refused to look up at her. There was too much on the line.

  Before I knew it, she turned away and locked my office door, which forced me to view her.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” I asked.

  “You seem tense, Ty, let me take care of you.”

  “Kinasha, I’m done with your ass. You don’t know your motherfuckin’ place. Nova is my wife and I am never going to leave her.”

  ‘That’s fine. But let me relieve your stress while you’re here at work.” She bit down on her lip before unbuttoning her blouse, exposing her Victoria’s Secret leopard bra.

  My dick jumped at the visual of her perky tits protruding towards me.

  “Put your shirt back on,” I protested, but she ignored me. Instead, she walked over to me and dropped to her knees. My dick throbbed with anticipation.

  “I’m serious, Kinasha, put your clothes back on and go back to work.”

  “I’m trying to put in work now. Let me work on you since you my boss,” she whispered as her small hands crawled to my belt buckle.

  Undoing my pants, she began to jerk me off while flicking her tongue around the tip. I relaxed in my chair. There was no point in fighting her. Besides, I haven’t busted a nut in damn near a week since Nova was still upset with me.

  I tilted my head back and my eyes rolled up in my head. While she bobbed up and down on my rod, I brought my hand to the back of her head, gently forcing her to deep throat me.

  Just as I was beginning to get into it we heard someone pull at my doorknob.

  “Shit,” I mumbled as I pushed Kinasha away. She had a look of shock on her face as she scrambled to button up her shirt.

  “Ty, are you in there?” I heard my wife call out from the other side of the door.

  “What is your wife doing here?” Kinasha whispered.

  I shrugged maniacally while pointing to the area underneath my desk. She needed to scoot her little ass there and hide.

  In response to my ridiculous suggestion, she sucked her teeth until I shoved her towards the desk. Obeying me, she crawled underneath and scooted my office chair to meet her.

  “Ty!”

  “Coming babe,” I shouted back as I zipped my pants up.

  I opened the door and Nova walked right past me.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “I’ll get to that in a second. Why was your door locked?” she questioned as she neared me. I stood in front of my desk and leaned against it, trying to act casual.

  “I keep it locked because sometimes the cleaning ladies bust in and it disrupts my flow of work. I just got off of a conference call and didn’t want any interruptions. Now what brings you here?” I attempted to flip the subject back to her.

  “Where is your assistant?”

  “She’s at lunch.”

  “What does she even do around here? Every time I come here she is on her phone or at lunch.”

  “Weren’t you the one who was saying she should ask for a raise when we saw her at dinner?” I asked, confused at my wife’s questions.

  “I was just being nice. You all need to let that little hood booger go. She’s messing with the image of this company. And the fact that she is your assistant makes my skin crawl. How are you going to have her representing you?” she nagged.

  “First of all Nova, this is my place of work. Your name isn’t Durden and you don’t own shit around here. Now hurry up and tell me what you need and get out of my office so I can get back to work. Because ultimately I represent myself. And if I am caught arguing with you in my office that makes me look bad.”

  “How dare you speak to me that way. I am your wife,” she started up again.

  “Okay, and be a good wife and get out of my office. I have too much to do today for you to be in here acting like a bitch. If you want to continue to drive fancy cars and eat expensive dinners, let me work,” I barked in a low tone. I didn’t want anyone in my office to hear me speak to her this way.

  “Whatever, Ty. I’m out
. And the only reason I came is to tell you that I was going to be working close with your company on a new PR campaign. But fuck you!” she snapped as she marched out of my office.

  I let out an audible exhalation as Kinasha climbed from under the desk.

  “Who does that bitch think she is?” Kinasha questioned as she straightened her blouse and skirt.

  “Just get back to work.” I waved her off. I was beyond pissed that my wife had popped up on me. And that she would be working with my company makes things been more difficult.

  “What the hell do you even see in her? She is so stuck up!” Kinasha yelled.

  “Little girl, why the fuck is you trying me right now?” I barked as I pushed her towards the wall. My eyes burned into hers. I could barely think straight.

  Kinasha was just a jump off who didn’t know her place. And my wife was going to be in my business, which irritated me. I just needed a moment of silence, yet this trick wanted to start some mess.

  “Fuck you, Tyriq! If you keep treating me like this, I will go to HR and tell them about our affair. And then where will that leave you,” she threatened before jerking away from my clutch.

  Frustrated, she rushed out of my office, slamming the door, causing the awards on my wall to fall to the ground.

  This bitch had to go. If a senior executive was around to see this shit, I would be in trouble. I knelt down to pick my awards up and placed them back on the wall before slumping back in my chair.

  And when I did, I noticed a text message from Chop, threatening me to get my company to ease up off of The Gardens. I shook my head and deleted the text. That nigga was still trying to behave like a thug while dealing with corporations. Niggas need to know it’s a whole other ball game. I just pray he doesn’t do anything stupid, thinking he is getting back at me. Because I know where the traps are and I’ll gladly get the DEA on that ass.

  10