I told him thank you. When the doors closed, Lo’ak chortled. “I don’t know what happened, but if you had to call Seth, I know it was some other shit.”
Lo’ak was very familiar with Seth and his team. He used him from time to time. Seth definitely was a last resort kind of call.
My head turned side to side. “Man, these fuckas really don’t get it. I tried to save this bitch, but she ran up a $7,000 bill and now doesn’t want to pay. You know I’m gonna get my money one way or another. Before I go up here, Derrick, you can let me know when you’re ready if you can agree to my terms. If so, I’ll make the move, but if not, I wish you well.”
Derrick smirked. “Oh, I don’t need time. I can agree with your terms. I can only hope that you end up wanting to stay longer. I know you got your own situation up here, but I appreciate your willingness to help a nigga out.”
I nodded. “Yeah, my situation up here will always be that unless I decide otherwise. It’s nothing to help another solid nigga. Like Lo’ak said, I’ve been looking for a change.”
We all stood and had a few more words as well as handshakes. They followed me out to the front to the waiting lounge. I heard the nigga before I saw him. His girl must have sauced his head up more than the situation needed.This is going to be fun.
When I turned the corner, and the dummy saw me, he piped down a little. He glanced at his girl, who was ready. “That’s him right there, baby. He was talking big shit when I was in here earlier.”
“Miss Williams, I see you’re back with your companion.” With a tilted head, I looked at him, then asked, “Are you here to settle this invoice?”
Dude’s eyes ping ponged between his bitch and me. Her mouth ran a mile a second. His eyes tightened in her direction. “Aye, shut the fuck up!”
Ol’ girl’s head bucked back. She thought this would play out differently. It looked like her nigga knew exactly who I was and what I was about. “Scotty, my bad, man. How much is the bill?”
That’s what the fuck I thought.He pulled a wad of money out of his pocket after I told him the total. His bitch gawked at him as he counted those bills out then handed them to me.
I counted out the bills to confirm it was what was owed. “Thank you for doing business with SCM. Miss Williams, your car will be pulled around to the front. It’s been fully detailed. Also, your property will be returned to your home by the end of the business day tomorrow.”
“Wha—what do you mean, my property will be returned to my home? What the fuck! Jeremy, you’re really going to let this nigga handle me like that?” She was pissed, and I didn’t think any of us gave a fuck.
Who I now knew as Jeremy looked at her with a side eye. “Shut the hell up. Your ass should have paid the fucking billwhen those insurance people gave you that check. Now you owe me, bitch.”
He turned and started his retreat. Miss Williams ran behind him with thebaby, baby, baby.I turned to Grady and told him to let Seth know what was up. “Fellas, sorry about that. Derrick, when do you need me in Charlotte?”
The Golden Touch . . .
When I got here, Derrick undersold how fucked up not only the under-the-table operation was, but also how fucked up the shop was in general. A week after I arrived, I knew the steps that needed to be taken for the business, so I called a meeting with Derrick and Seneca. Derrick owned the shop, and Seneca was the current head of the underground empire that was passed down to him from Derrick and his brother Tiberius Jr.
Charlotte was an interesting city. It was like a person that wore expensive perfume on a body that they never washed. The people were too quick to smile and tell their stink-ass business. One trip to one of these spots that was hot in the city showed me that. The city was different from where I was from, but there were a lot of similarities.
Clean shop!That was what was needed in this situation. When I told them that the shop on both sides needed to be shut down for a couple weeks so I could clean house and reset the foundation, they didn’t hesitate to let me do what I needed to do. After a few terminations of their auto technicians and a few of the underground workers from the Earth, I was able to restaff with individuals from Seneca’s team as well as my own. I pulledfour of my men that wanted a change as well to aid me in the transformation.
Yes, I could have just used Seneca’s people, but I still needed my people who I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, had my back. See, these were new niggas. I had a trust level with Derrick and Seneca that came by way of my trust with Lo’ak. The fact was that I didn’t trust any of the niggas in the shop yet, and until I did, my people would be implanted.
The shops had been back up and running for two weeks. ATouch of Gold Autobody Shopwas under new fucking management, and it was obvious. Their parts distributor was ass when it came to the auto body shop. The customer waiting area wasn’t anything that I would want to wait in. All of that shit mattered when it came to the level of business that you wanted. You couldn’t ask muthafuckas to pay Benz prices for Hondas. That wasn’t how that shit worked.
When I suggested they either moved to a new and better location or opened a second shop in a better location, he agreed to that. They could do so much more in a different location, but until then, I would work with what I had. Derrick and I looked at potential new locations last week.
Since I only committed to six months for now, I didn’t want to buy property here yet. Lo’ak owned a luxury apartment complex. He gave me a great deal on a six-month lease for a two-bedroom apartment that I paid out upfront. My spot was on the top floor of the six-story building and faced their man-made pond. The pond had a dove and ducks in it, which for some reason, brought me peace. I sat on my balcony every day at some point just to watch them as well as the people that sat around it or the children that played at the playground that was nearby.
There was a knock on the door of my office. I told whoever it was to come in. Ace came in with a blank expression. He was a young dude fresh out of school. I liked him because he was eagerto learn all that he could to be a better auto technician. “Scotty, um, there’s someone here to see you. She told me not to tell you who she was.”
He emphasized theshe. That alone told me who it was. Seneca texted me a little over an hour ago with the heads up that she would be here. “Thank you, Ace. Let her know I’ll be out in a moment.” I tittered a little with my words.
Ace looked bothered that I didn’t get right up to come out. I had never been a man that moved on other’s time unless it was a deeper connection. Ace nodded before he closed the door on the way out.
I intentionally took a few minutes longer than I should have. When I came to the front, I noticed the shift in the atmosphere of the shop.Damn. She causes that kind of shift?
My head turned toward the sound of the clicks of her heels on the floor. There she was. Her attire was relaxed. She wore a pair of distressed skinny jeans and a woman’s cut Carolina Cougars jersey with a pair of black heels.That boy Asher Kane is a beast on the field.Her hair sat in a bun on top of her head.
She was beautiful. It was a dangerous beauty for weak men. It was the kind that would cause him to make stupid decisions. Her demeanor said that she liked to be in control in every situation. This was a situation that I controlled, so we would see how she adjusted to that.
“How can I help you?” I asked once I was closer to her space.
