“Ashlyn, I’ll have the usual.”
I glanced at Basheer, hoping he’d get the cue to get this girl away from us.
“I’ll have the same,” he told her.
“Perfect. Pot roast, mashed potatoes, and mac n cheese coming right up.”
After gawking, she licked her lips and prepared to walk away.
I stopped her.
“Yo, Ashlyn.”
“Yesss?”
She turned around, eyes beaming, and probably hoping I’d finally give in to her advances.
“Have one of the other waiters bring our food out, aight. I’m sure you got other tables to handle.
“But Mr.…”
I cut her off. “It’s coo, take care of the other guests. We’re straight.”
The smile she wore just seconds ago was wiped clean off her face as she hurried off.
“Damn, bruh. You ain’t have to do the girl like that. All she wants is to get fucked by a rich nigga… well, you, specifically.” Basheer laughed, slapping his hands on the table.
“Nigga, Saje is all I need. Can’t no other woman take me away from what I got at home.” That fast, my body heated up from thoughts of Saje, remembering the position I had her in before I left to come to New York.
“I mean, I guess,” he said. “Some married niggas get new pussy from time to time. You one of the only ones I know who’s still loyal to your wife. I salute you, my nigga. I hope to be just like you when I grow up.” He let out a loud laugh again.
He got a kick out of this. If Ashlyn was on him, it was likely Basheer would’ve had her spread like an eagle in one of these hotels before the night was over.
“Shit, if it was me, I would’ve had her ass pinned against the window in one of these high-rise hotel suites, giving her all the dick she could handle,” he confessed, proving my point.
Enough about this irrelevant shit. I quickly changed the subject and asked, “Man, how you been? You’ve been ripping and running around; we’ve hardly had time to chop it up.”
He grabbed the glass and took a swig of the dark liquid. “I’ve been straight. Making sure we’re hiring people who can elevate the network. We need a variety of programs and daytime shows for the young folks. And at night we can cater to the grown and sexy.”
“So, what do you suggest?”
“I have a few things in mind. Once I finish bringing my plan all together, I’ll present it to you.”
“Aight, sounds good.”
A new waiter brought our food out, and she was young too, but different from Ashlyn. There was no eye contact, no small talk, just professionalism and an “enjoy y’all food” before she walked off.
Basheer and I dug into our food, putting a pause on our conversation. Annie’s Soul Food restaurant hits every time. Every meal served here was finger licking good.
Basheer was halfway through the meal when he looked up with a serious expression. “Reason, you been good? My fault, bruh. I was so excited about mentioning my plan for the network that I forgot to ask sooner.”
I swallowed my food and took one more bite before responding. There was something I never mentioned to Basheer that had been plaguing my mind for a minute.
“I’m ready for Saje and me to have a baby,” I blurted.
He stopped chewing and took a long pause.
I continued when he didn’t say anything. “That’s the one thing I feel like we’re missing. I got everything: a beautiful wife, an amazing family, a TV network, money, investments, mansions, cars, business deals… the list goes on. But what I don’t have is a little person yelling out “da-da” with excitement when I come home after a long workday.” I took a second to imagine a little mini me running around. “I long for that feeling.”
