AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Shakeeda was definitely thinking about taking Diamond up on her offer, but a part of her was still afraid of getting caught. She needed more time and less alcohol in her system to make her final decision, but she knew Diamond had a way of always getting what she wanted. And she had a feeling this situation would be no different.
TEN
Getting the Ball Rolling
1999
It was a year later when Diamond finally convinced Shakeeda to go for the deal. Diamond had four fraudulent welfare claims set up under bogus names. Tyquan had started to come back around, and he proved to be a huge asset to Diamond’s plan. His sister worked for the Department of Social Security, so Tyquan got fake social security numbers from her, which Diamond then used to set up the welfare claims. Diamond made sure she gathered two thousand dollars between Trey, Tyquan, and Pop, so she could pay Tyquan’s sister for doing the favor. This way, she figured the sister would be less likely to snitch.
Shakeeda set up the claims so the checks came to her sister Tanya, Trey, Pop, and Tyquan’s addresses. Diamond still received her regular benefits. With all the money that came in from welfare and the loot she was getting from her boys, Diamond was rolling in dough.
But Diamond’s greed and selfishness took control, as it always did, and she started reneging on her deal with Shakeeda. What was once a fifty/fifty split was now a seventy-five/twenty-five split in Diamond’s favor. Shakeeda was bothered by the excuses Diamond gave when she stopped sending Shakeeda’s complete share of the profits. She was starting to think Diamond was trying to play her. Shakeeda already had to pay her sister a portion of her profits for letting them use her address, and now with her not getting her full share, she was hardly seeing any money for herself. Finally, she tracked down Diamond to talk with her about her concerns. She had spoken to Dante and he’d told her where to find her.
“Diamond, what happened last week?” Shakeeda asked as she walked over to a table in the restaurant where Diamond sat with Trey.
“What?” Diamond asked, clearly disgusted.
“You didn’t send anybody by with the money. I was waiting on that money,” she said as she helped herself to a seat.
Trey put down his fork, ice-grilling Shakeeda for interrupting their meal.
“How you know I was here?” Diamond asked her.
“Diamond, that don’t matter right now. What happened to my money?” Shakeeda looked over at Trey, whose mean-mugging was starting to bother her. She knew his reputation and wasn’t happy he was there.
“Wait a minute. You walk up in here and interrupt my dinner, making yourself comfortable, and you tell me my question don’t matter?” Diamond rolled her eyes. “Are you kidding me?”
“Diamond, listen,” Shakeeda said calmly, trying not to upset her. She knew Diamond could easily get someone to hurt her, and that wasn’t what she wanted. Diamond had that kind of power over people and Shakeeda didn’t want to one day be faced with death because Diamond ordered a hit on her. She’d heard the stories about her. All she wanted was her fair share of the deal they made. After all, she was the one who was taking the biggest risk. “All I want to know is what happened. That’s all. I tried to call you several times, and you never returned my calls.” Shakeeda smiled, trying to make light of the situation.
Diamond didn’t smile at all. “Maybe I was busy and couldn’t get back to you, Shakeeda. Did you ever think about that?”
Shakeeda shook her head.
“Of course not,” Diamond said. “Listen, young girl, I don’t know who the fuck you think I am, but I am not one of your little young girlfriends. I am a grown-ass woman, and don’t you ever roll up on me again like you about to do something . . . because you really don’t want what I got. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Diamond.” Shakeeda regretted coming to the restaurant.
“All right. I’m gonna entertain your little suspicions this one time, since you came all the way down here to find me. I didn’t send anybody with your share of the money because I am investing it. I’m tryna flip it to make more money for you and me. I got this, and all you gotta do is just chill out and wait till I get this paper up,” she said, using the street lingo she’d picked up from being with young boys.
Diamond wasn’t stupid. Even though she had the upper hand, and she knew Shakeeda was afraid of her, she still had to play it safe. Shakeeda could drop a dime and blow the whole operation. So Diamond had to stroke her lightly to keep her quiet until she was able to start a new hustle.
“At least you got the one check coming in,” Diamond continued. “Hell, you getting a six-hundred-dollar check plus four hundred in food stamps, and that’s on top of your regular salary you make down at welfare. Don’t get greedy, Shakeeda, because when you get greedy, you make mistakes that can fuck it up for all of us.”
Diamond never took her eyes off Shakeeda while she spoke, but Shakeeda couldn’t hold Diamond’s stare. She was afraid.
“All right, Diamond, I’m gonna go. I’ll see you later.” Shakeeda jumped to her feet and made tracks out of the restaurant. When she got to her car, she broke down and cried. What had she done? What kind of a woman had she gotten herself mixed up with? Shakeeda knew she was in too deep, and she had to find a way to get out of it before it was too late.
“Do you want me to handle that?” Trey asked Diamond after Shakeeda left.
“No, she’ll be all right for now.” Diamond continued to eat her lukewarm food.
“I don’t trust her. She gonna blow.”
“Of course she will, but not right now. She’s in too deep with us, so she ain’t gonna say nothing yet. Besides, once I get this other thing up and running, we won’t have to deal with this penny-ante welfare shit no more. It ain’t enough money to feed my appetite anyway, and you know I got a big appetite.” Diamond winked at Trey.
“Yeah, I know you do. You got another
big appetite for something else too, but I can take care of that one.” He smiled at her.
