Tied to a Boss

by Jhon Rose

Chapter Three

  Making it out to Club Empire just before midnight, Amber and Harmony followed behind Vanessa in her Lexus as they pulled inside the parking lot. Alinna expected the club to be packed, but was stunned at how many people were actually there. She saw that the waiting line was nearly stretched around the side of the club building. Once Vanessa parked the truck, Alinna climbed out of the Lexus and onto her Gucci stiletto heels that went well with her skin-tight Gucci jeans and top. Walking around to the back end of the truck just as both Amber and Harmony came walking up from out of the Dodge Magnum, Alinna looked over to her left and saw a group of three guys walking past and staring in their direction. “I know damn well we are not about to be waiting out in this big ass crowd to get into no club,” Vanessa said with her face balled up.

  Alinna smiled as she bumped into her girl playfully and said, “Vanessa, just lighten up a little tonight, okay? We’re here to relax and chill out.”

  “Whatever, Alinna,” she replied knowing that she always carried that attitude.

  “Look at this bullshit!” Vanessa said to herself, looking around at all the people.

  Alinna heard her but ignored the comment. She was trying to think while looking at the herd of people in line when she heard someone call her name. “Alinna!” was heard over the crowd of random chatter. She looked to her right just as Amber got her attention, “Hey, the doorman. He's yelling for you.” Seeing the doorman waving toward the front of the crowd motioning for them to come forward to the front of the line, Alinna motioned for the girls to follow her, holding onto one another as they moved through the crowd toward the front.

  Noticing the light brown-skinned guy in the black metallic jeans with a brown and cream shirt underneath a polo sweater, Alinna caught the entire exchange in words and the head nods between the guy and the doorman just as she and her girls walked up. “You good shorty. Y’all can go ahead and go in,” Alinna heard the doorman yell to them over the club music blaring from inside. She was listening to the doorman but looking at the nicely dress light skin guy, he looked back at her and gave her a wink then entered into the club.

  “Alinna, who you know over here? How did you do that?” Amber asked as they walked in the doors.

  “I didn't,” answered Alinna. “I think we have a friend.”

  “A what?” questioned Vanessa, yelling over the music. Waiving off Vanessa's question already knowing how Vanessa was, Alinna lead them all towards the bar. Meanwhile she kept her eyes open, searching for that guy from the front door.

  $ $ $

  “They're here,” Dante said walking up beside Dre at the bar across the club.

  “Where at?” Dre asked as he passed a bottle of Corona to Dante. Taking the bottle, he leaned back against the edge of the bar and nodded over across the club over by the bar by the front door.

  “The four females at the front bar, the one with them tight ass jeans on and the long curly haired woman is Alinna.”

  “Baby girl got ass back there!” Dre said causing Dante to cut his eyes over to him. He noticed the tall, thick, amazon-brown skin female that was standing with the Alinna chick. Dre began, “Shorty standing next to Alinna, the tall thick one. She with ya girl too, fam?”

  “Yeah, I think that one is Vanessa,” Dante said just as Alinna looked their way and then looked past them only to snap her head back in his direction, staring at him.

  “Ooh she’s watching you now, fam,” Dre said, her stare was direct and continuous right at Dante.

  $ $ $

  She found that guy from the front door staring at him across the club as he leaned against the bar staring directly back at her while talking to a tall muscular guy. Alinna looked to her right at Vanessa when she heard her ask, “What the hell you staring at?”

  “Nothing,” she replied, turning back to look over at the guy only to find him and the big guy were gone.

  Alinna looked around for him but she quickly realized what she was doing and turned her attention back to Vanessa. She noticed both Amber and Harmony a little ways away but there was a crowd of guys blocking their way back over to her and Vanessa. “Come on,” Alinna told Vanessa, seeing Amber snatch her arm away from one of the guys.

  Walking up to her girls and the guys giving them problems, Alinna stopped in front of the guy who was touching Amber, “Is there a reason why you grabbing all up on my girl?”

  “Damn,” one of the guys had said smiling, as he looked Alinna up and down. “You're even badder then her. What's your name sexy?”

  “Trouble,” Vanessa, answered up as she slid up beside Alinna. “My advice is that you clowns keep it moving.”

  “Who the fuck is you? You he-she bit-” Before the homie could finish insulting Vanessa, she smashed her fist straight into the guy’s mouth, sending him back staggering.

  “BITCH. WHAT THE ...” a glass exploded as Alinna snatched up a beer bottle and swung it, smashing it across the across the head of the guy who called Vanessa a bitch. Alinna dropped the bottle and swung her fist punching the guy with the bottle straight in his nose.

  Feeling hands grab her arm as another one of the four guy's jumped into the action, Alinna began to swing. A huge fist went past her and connected with the guy holding onto her arm, throwing him back into his friends. Recognizing the muscular guy, but locking in again on the dude from the front door, Alinna kept her eyes on him as he calmly walked out in front of her, her girls, and the his big muscular friend.

  “Is there a problem here fellas?” Dante asked looking on from one guy to the next.

  “Naw, Dante man, these bitches just ...”

  “BITCH, NIGGA! CALL US BITCHES ONE MORE TIME!” Vanessa roared. “I promise ya ass won't leave this club alive!” Walking up on the guys again as if round two was about to commence.

  “Apologize,” Dante told the guy. Hearing the clown and his boy's apologize, Alinna stood watching as the four guys with him quickly rushed off after they apologized as if someone had started shooting. She turned her attention back to a guy who got them in and looked out for them. He walked away with the large man. Before Alinna could speak, she reached out and grabbed the light-skinned guy by the arm, stopping him. “You just gonna leave now?” Alinna asked.

  Turning his head meeting eyes with Alinna golden brown eyes, he replied, “What reason do I have to stay?”

  “So you’re just gonna jump in for me and my girls and just leave just like that?” Alinna stared into his eyes examining him up close, noticing the six-pack gold grill that for some reason was sexy. “Who the hell are you anyway?”

  “You will find out,” Dante told her. “Aye, you may want to pay attention to what’s going on around you.”

  Watching both guys walk away noticing the way people looked at them and moved as to get out their way as they walked past, Vanessa stepped up to be side by side with Alinna. “Who are they supposed to be?” Vanessa questioned.

  “I’m still wondering the same thing,” Alinna answered, she was thinking hard on the well-dressed stranger, and the so-called advice he had just given her.

  $ $ $

  “Yooooo, what's up fam? What was that shit about just now?” Vegas asked as both he and Tony T met up in the club with Dante and Dre, halfway back to the far side of the bar.

  “It ain't nothing,” Dante assured him as he leaned back over against the bar.

  “Fam, what's up? What you plotting?” Dre asked Dante while watching him staring at the other side of the club back to the direction of Alinna and her girls. She was watching him watch her as well.

  After a pause and awaiting a response, Dante said, “Change of plans.”

  “Fuck is you talking about?” Tony T asked, looking back and forth to Dre and Dante, completely unaware of any plans.

  “Dre will explain,” Dante told Tony T, and then he dapped up with Dre, Tony T, and Vegas. “I’ma hit you up later. I got something to handle right quick.” Dre walked off leaving his boys watching him as he made his
way back over to the other side of the club. Walking up on Alinna as she and her girls were talking interrupting them all, he said, “Let’s go.”

  “She's not going no ...”

  “Shut up.” Dante wouldn't hearing what Vanessa had to argue. “I don't want you to say any other shit,” he finished. Looking at her girl surprised, Vanessa was quiet and simply staring at the guy.

  Alinna looked back at him and asked, “Who are you?”

  “This ain't questions and answers,” Dante told her. “Let’s go Alinna, we gotta talk.”

  $ $ $

  “Who the hell are you?” Alinna asked as she and Dante left the club together. Walking through the parking lot, she asked, “How do you know my name?” Dante ignored Alinna as he walked them to his Altima hitting the remote locks.

  Dante walked around to his driver’s side door when Alinna said from behind him, “You were at my house earlier! I saw your car. WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?”

  “Get in the car Alinna.” He stood next to his opened door.

  “I am not going nowhere with you!”

  “Get the fuck in the car girl!” Dante was getting irritated with her.

  “Nigga who are you yelling at?” Alinna became stern, looking at Dante as if he was crazy.

  Walking over to Alinna stopping directly in front of her, bending to speak to her face to face, Dante said in a lowered voice, “Woman, I don't like repeating myself. If you don't get in the car, I will put your ass in the car. Decide now.” Staring into his eyes for several moments, Alinna sucked her teeth pushing past Dante as she walked over, and got into the Altima. Dante shook his head, walked to the driver’s side, and got inside the car.

  Once Dante cranked up the engine and started to pull out of the club parking lot, Alinna demanded, “You really need to tell me who the hell you are and what is going on.”

  Cutting his eyes to Alinna as he was driving and focusing back on the road, he said, “My name is Dante, but, you got a problem you don't even know about.”

  “What problem? What the fuck are you talking about? What is this problem I got?”

  “Me,” Dante spoke clearly.

  Staring at Dante for a moment, Alinna asked, “What's going on? How do I have a problem with you? I don't even know you.”

  “You don't know me, but you know the dude who hired me to get at you.”

  “Hired you? Hired you to do what? To do what? What's their name?” Alinna was not liking this game.

  “Big Worm,” he said, looking over and seeing her reaction to the name. “Whatever problem you two got going on with one another, he wants you out the picture; permanently.”

  “You some sort of hitman or something?” she asked looking over to Dante.

  “I got a few bodies but I ain't no hitman,” Dante told her. “I get mine the stick ‘em up way.”

  “So you a jack boy then?” Alinna asked really looking him over now. “As a matter of fact, I have heard of you now that I know what you're into. You got them gangsta's out here all shook up.”

  Ignoring the comment, Dante said, “Whatever you and this fat clown Big Worm got going on, he wants me to take care of you.”

  “So that's what this is all about? You gonna take care of me for another nigga?” she asked, wishing she had her .380 with her instead of in her truck.

  “Believe me, if I was going to kill you, you would have been dead back at that apartment on sixty second street where you and girls supposedly work,” Dante said, looking between her and the road.

  “How long have you been watching me?”

  “Long enough.”

  He pulled his car over to the side of the road just to stop in front of a KFC. “What are you doing?” Alinna asked as she watched Dante put the car in park and get out. Looking back through the window following him with her eyes, she saw Vanessa.

  The Lexus truck pulled up behind them. Dante walked up to the driver’s door and swung it open. Alinna climbed out after seeing Dante and Vanessa get in each other’s face. Rushing over to both her girl and Dante, Alinna got in between the two with her back to Vanessa. “Dante, what the hell is wrong with you?”

  “I don't like being followed,” Dante replied while keeping his eye locked onto Vanessa's.

  “Nigga, I was not following you. I am following my girl. We don't even know you dude,” Vanessa told Dante, reading from his demeanor how heated he was.

  “Look,” Alinna said loud enough to get both Dante's and Vanessa's attention. “We are in the middle of the street causing a damn scene. Let's just go in this damn KFC and we can just talk about this shit.”

  Shaking his head, Dante turned and headed back over to his car. He hopped inside the Altima and slammed his door, pulling off only to swing the Altima into the KFC parking lot.