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“In the bathroom,” Diamond said to her.
Once inside the bathroom, they made sure no one was in there before they spoke.
“What’s up?” Diamond asked. It was evident that she was feeling good from the bottles she and her friends had been popping that night.
“I been tryna get in touch with you, and you ain’t returned any of my calls.”
“Oh, my bad. I’ve been busy.”
“Diamond, I know you said you was investing the money and all, but I ain’t heard from you, and I was just wondering what’s going on.”
“Oh, so we still on that?” Diamond asked.
Just then a woman walked into the bathroom and looked at the two of them standing there.
Diamond and Shakeeda stood there, not saying a word.
The woman looked in the mirror and began to fix her hair, after which she applied more lipstick. She hastened out of the bathroom, uncomfortable with the evil way Diamond was staring at her through the mirror.
“Listen, Shakeeda, what’s the problem?”
“I don’t have a problem, Diamond. I’m just saying, we had a deal, and it seems that you the one reaping all the benefits. I mean, I can’t afford to do it big like you. How is it that you can live that large?” Shakeeda pointed to the jewelry Diamond was sporting.
Diamond laughed a little and shook her head at Shakeeda like she was a pitiful mess.
“Let me set you straight right now. This little jealousy thing you got for me needs to end. I been around a long time, sweetheart. I ain’t new to this. You see them little niggas that’s at my table?”
Shakeeda didn’t answer. She continued to listen.
“I got all them little muthafuckas on a string. They will give me whatever the fuck I want, and if they ain’t got it, oh, trust, they gonna go out and get it. You think that chump change we getting from them claims gonna do something for me? Naw, baby girl, I am high maintenance, and that ain’t enough. So instead of riding my ass, you need to get your shit together and stay the fuck outta mine. Now this is the last time I want to have this conversation with you about this. Understand?”
“Yeah, I understand,” Shakeeda said.
“Oh yeah, and if you think about cutting off the claims, just remember, I got some witnesses that will definitely say it was all your idea.” Diamond looked at herself in the mirror, and then shot an icy glare at Shakeeda over her shoulder as she walked out of the bathroom.
Tanya came into the bathroom several seconds later. “You all right, girl?” she asked, looking her sister up and down, making sure Shakeeda was still intact.
“Yeah, I’m OK. I gotta get out of this shit with her. I’m scared.” Shakeeda began to cry.
“What happened?”
“Tanya, that bitch is crazy. I know if I do something, she probably gonna have me killed or something. I gotta get out of it, but I don’t know how.” Shakeeda looked at her sister for help.
Tanya felt bad for her sister. She’d never thought about the consequences of what Shakeeda was doing, because Shakeeda had shared her ill-gotten gains with her. She knew Shakeeda was afraid for her life. “OK,” she said, pulling Shakeeda into her arms for a hug. “We gonna think of something. We gonna get you out of it.”
***
After they left the club and went home, Shakeeda and Tanya talked for about an hour, trying to figure out what they could do to get Shakeeda out of her involvement with Diamond.
They came up with a plan that would have Shakeeda cancel the claims coming to her house and her sister’s house. That way, they wouldn’t be tied to the scheme. They agreed that once that was done, they would get together to go over the next step on how to take care of Diamond Reed.
First thing the next morning, Shakeeda went into work and canceled the two claims. The rest of the claims would have to wait until the time was right.
Shakeeda really wanted to report Diamond. She felt like if she reported her and had her arrested, she would go to jail for a long time and wouldn’t have to deal with her at all. Tanya agreed with her, but that was something they really had to think long and hard about. The last thing Shakeeda wanted was for Diamond to find out she was the one who ratted her out. If the cat got out of the bag, Shakeeda would be in the next cell across from Diamond.
THIRTEEN
The Diamond Syndicate
