AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I closed out of her message without responding. I would respond later when I got home. Ghosting her had crossed my mind, and I honestly thought that may have been best, but after yesterday, I knew that shit would be hard to do. However, I refused to save her number. That would seem more permanent in my mind.
I tuned back into the conversation to hear Philly say, “Well, I guess you have it under control. If you need anything from us, just let me or Jakari know.”
“Most likely, Philly will be your point person since y’all are familiar,” I added.
I could see Philly’s interest in their business, and I could actually see him working with them sometimes. His eyes were wide with curiosity the more Ali talked. I could see how Ali’s work as a PI and security could be lucrative. Some people probably found him intimidating as hell with all the tattoos. They covered his skin completely. The only place he didn’t have them was in his face.
“Okay. Whatever y’all decide is fine. Just let me know. Next time we meet up, maybe y’all will get to meet Shy, Jungle, Seneca, Chad, Rondo, and Jericho. I have other employees, but they are my main go-to’s, and they’re my brothers. My cousin, Dinalee, works with us as well, but she hates when I include her as one of the fellas.”
I nodded. “Yeah, just let us know when. We’ll try to make time for that.”
I shook his hand and so did Philly. We made our way to the Suburban. The minute we got inside, I turned to him. “I can see your wheels turning. That trigger finger itching, ain’t it?”
“Shiiid, it’s been itching for a while, but I think I may have found a way to scratch it. I mean not full time, but maybe part time.”
“I don’t have an issue with it, but you know who you would have to talk to about that. I think you would be good to be their point person though.”
“I think so too. Now that I know who he is and who he’s associated with, I think we’ll get along just fine. I know how to function with street niggas. While they aren’t in the streets anymore, the streets are still in them. I can see it, because they will always make up who I am.”
“I get it, bruh.”
We rode in quietness for a while. When he opened his mouth again, I wished it would have remained quiet. “So what’s up with you and the chick at the diner?”
“Nothing. I met her at HJ Wednesday. Two of your nieces were trying to play matchmaker.”
He chuckled. Although Philly wasn’t related, my uncles looked at him like a brother. So to everyone’s kids, he was Uncle Philly. Nesha, Jess, and I even called him that from time to time. His brother was our uncle since he married Aunt Tiff.
“You gon’ try to get to know her?”
“I don’t know yet,” I said, leaving the conversation just like that.
He caught the hint and started talking about his racecar. Philly was a smart dude and could easily peep shit. There was never much I had to explain to him. He could read my mannerisms and somehow knew exactly how to respond or approach me. I was grateful for that because I wasn’t the most expressive person in the world.
Once we got to Nome, I dropped Philly at the office so he could get his car, then headed home. When I got there, I pulled up Yendi’s message again. I responded,Hey. It has started off good. I hope you’re enjoying your weekend so far.
I got out and carried my things from the office inside. Work was never done when it came to the family business. We were always trying to evolve with the times and how frequently they changed. Because of that, I was always running statistics and reports, detailing our sales and marketing successes. The reports helped us know how to proceed.
My phone chimed again so after unlocking the door and setting my things on the table, I checked it to see Yendi’s response.I am. I’m at a massage parlor in Beaumont. I had this nigga over yesterday that was bending me all kinds of ways. Almost every muscle in my body is sore.
I chuckled.That nigga must be the real fucking deal if he got’chu sore. He worked that ass out, huh?
Hell yeah. I didn’t get out of the bed until it was time to come here. Can I hit you back when I get home?
Yeah, that’s cool. Talk to you then.
I smiled slightly as she sent a kissy face emoji. I cleared my throat, trying to shake myself of the haze she had me in. I slid my hand over my face and began going over the reports from the many stores that carried our rice, roux, and rice dressing mix. Once I tallied up the demand, I could decide if our production numbers were compatible. Empty shelves at the grocery store weren’t putting more money in our pockets. We needed to make sure the supply matched the demand.
I also planned to visit a couple more stores by next weekend. One in San Antonio and another in Mesquite, not far from Dallas. Aunt Tiff and Malachi had participated in rodeos out there. I enjoyed selling our products. It made me proud to be a Henderson. Sometimes, I wished I would have changed my last name to Henderson. I supposed it wasn’t too late.
Rylan had adopted my stepfather’s last name. He was Rylan Douglas by the time he graduated from high school. Christian had changed his last name to Henderson. I didn’t know why I hadn’t done it yet. It was the one thing in my life I didn’t follow through on. At first, I was hoping the mess with my father was all a big nightmare. I would wake up from it, and he and my mom would still be married and happy.
I wasn’t so fortunate. I looked up to him. We had a fairly decent relationship up until that point. He taught me how to be a man. How could he teach me to be someone that he wasn’t? There was no excuse for what he did to my cousins, aunt, and that other little girl. As a grown man, he knew that wasn’t right. He knew he had a problem. It was up to him to seek help instead of hurting innocent girls.
I supposed I took what he did super hard… harder than my brothers. As the oldest, I tried to be like him. He broke my heart and now it wasn’t fit for anybody. At this moment, I knew I needed to make a decision to get the help I needed instead of being like him and ignoring the signs, thinking I could handle it myself. At least I knew not to get seriously involved with anyone. I had issues that needed to be dealt with and refused to bring anyone into my turmoil.
That meant I surely needed to back away from Yendi. With the state my mind and heart were in, I wouldn’t be able to handle everything she had to offer me. I didn’t deserve her love. I would only hurt her. I went to Serita Gardner’s website and made an appointment for next week. It was time to get on track with who I knew I was supposed to be.
CHAPTER6
