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She exhaled loudly like I was getting on her nerves.
“I told his Daddy. He could have—”
“Zoë, Saadiq has a million things on his plate. You know I do his scheduling.”
Bitch, I added under my breath.
“I just don’t understand why I have to go through a secretary—”
“Executive Assistant,” I corrected.
“Whatever! Why do I gotta go through you when it’s about Saadiq’s and my child? And now his ass ain’t answering the phone.”
I really couldn’t stand this trick. Instead of working with me like Bria, she constantly complained about my role in Saadiq’s life.
“I’ll arrange a driver, Zoë,” I said, not wanting to waste any more time talking to her.
“And make sure it’s ASAP,” she popped before banging on me.
Swear that bitch better be glad God had changed me. I quickly reached out to Demi, one of Saadiq’s drivers, and arranged for her to pick up little Saadiq. I prayed for him daily with the ignorant ass mother he had. I had just picked up my carton of ice cream when the phone rang again.
“Ugh!” I groaned before answering.
“Ay, Paz, you need to get down here. Ya boy got bitches cryin’ and shit.”
Yoli’s mellow voice flowed into my ear. Yoli was Saadiq’s right hand from their younger years in the streets until now, when Saadiq Masters was a bona fide CEO of his own private investment and asset management firm.
“Yoli, it’s my day off,” I damn near whined.
“I know, Thickness, but he on one. The Hayashis popped up and he is not happy.”
Ahhh. So, those were the mystery clients. The Hayashis owned a multi-billion-dollar Japanese robotics company. Masters Capital managed its American assets. They were among our top clients, and I knew everything with them needed to go perfectly.
“I’ll be there in a minute,” I said, moving toward my dining room and my little coffee set up. Sounded like this situation was going to call for it.
“Good,” Yoli said. “’Cause he wants his Apple ASAP.”
Lord. As soon as I made it to the fourth floor, little balls of tissue and wet, red eyes let me know a receptionist was one of the “bitches” Yoli had been talking about. The sage and cream waiting area didn’t have its usual calming, welcoming vibe. I could feel the tension radiating through the place. Shenay was still sniffing quietly as I stood by her desk. I shot a glance at Kenji, her co-worker, but he looked scared, too. What the hell?
“He gon’ fire me, ain’t he? I need this job, Topaz,” Shenay wailed.
“Calm down, Nay. You know this ain’t good for the baby. Tell me what happened,” I said, squeezing her shoulder.
“Mira called in today, so it’s just me and Kenji. He had to take something upstairs. I swear my baby waited until right then to roll over on my bladder. The bathroom on this floor was being cleaned, so I put up my little ‘Back in five minutes’ sign and ran upstairs. The guards were here, Topaz. I swear I wasn’t even five minutes, but the Hayashis came while the desk was empty. Mr. Masters yelled at me after they left. Oh, God, I’ma lose my job!”
She dissolved into more tears, and I rubbed my forehead. I’d quickly gotten a headache and hadn’t even made it to my obviously enraged boss yet.
“Don’t cry, mama,” Kenji said sympathetically.
“You’re not going to lose your job, Nay. Just... chill. I got this,” I promised her.
She sniffed a few more times before looking up at me through watery eyes.
“Really?”
“Yeah. And where is your blood pressure cuff?” I asked.
She’d had preeclampsia with her last pregnancy, and I was not about to have Saadiq stressing her out and risking her and her baby’s lives.
