Page 18 of All Out of Love

She didn’t want to press it down, because she really didn’t want to be bothered, but she pressed it down anyway. “What, Bam? I don’t feel like picking up nothing for nobody tonight.” Because she knew it was going to be beer.

“I didn’t ask you pick nothing up for me.”

“Then what you want?”

“Where you going?”

“I’m going to get me something to eat.”

“Can I ride with you? Yo’ mama wants some beer.”

“Don’t you think she’s had enough to drink for the day?”

“I want some too,” Bam said, which, Toya knew, was the real answer. She unlocked her door, Bam hopped in, and she took off.

“Keisha said you got the job permanent.”

Toya smiled. “I did.”

“I thought everybody that worked at Burger King was on permanent.”

Toya shook her head. “I’m not working at Burger King. I answer the phones at the Carrington estate.”

Bam frowned. “What’s the Carrington estate?”

“You never heard of Carrington Capital? It’s a huge business in Brockhurst.”

“I don’t know nothing about what they got going on in no Brockhurst. Them rich folks wouldn’t let me step foot in that town. I never heard of no Carrington Capital.”

“To be honest with you, before I got this job, I never heard of it either,” Toya said, and they laughed. “But according to what I found out online, they’re one of the largest venture capitalist companies in the country. They buy businesses in danger of closing for little of nothing, and then they turn them around and sell them for a huge profit.”

“They flip businesses the way people flip houses, in other words,” Bam said.

She nodded. “In other words.”

“Are they friendly there?”

“Some are. Some aren’t.” Then she added with an awkward smile: “One person is really nice.”

Bam looked at her. “Who? The supervisor I hope.”

“No, she’s terrible. But Mr. Carrington is nice.”

“Carrington? As in the namesake of the whole company?”

“Yup. He’s really nice.”

“Okay now.”

Toya looked at him. “Okay now what?”

“That’s that same shit you was saying about Richard Lowe of Leonard and Lowe, and you see what that got you. Be careful, Toya. These powerful white men love to sexually exploit our pretty black sisters and then toss them aside. Don’t let it happen to you again.”

“First of all,” Toya responded, “I didn’t even like Richard Lowe. And he didn’t exploit me, he tried to rape me. I stayed out of his way the whole time I worked there. But even that didn’t help me.”

She wanted to forget forever that bitter memory. “Don’t you worry about me,” she said. “I’m there to do a job and try to move up the ladder of success. I want a career again. That’s all I’m about.”

“Good,” said Bam, nodding his head. “Just don’t let that white man fool you.”