“Yeah, alright.”
I slid my glass toward him and he plucked up the bottle to pour me another half glass.
“So, what do you do, Bishop?”
“What? You haven’t heard rumors about that too?”
“Nah. Besides, I don’t want to hear shit from other people. You’re the source. I want to hear it from you.”
“My brothers and I deal in art. Rook finds the best pieces for the best prices and secures them. Knight makes sure all the pieces are legit, sets the prices and vets the people that show interest in purchasing.. I make sure our assets are protected and arrange transportation for each piece we purchase. King does everything else.” I took a hit of my cigarette.
“How the fuck did you get into art dealing?”
“Family business,” I chuckled. “My dad used to do it but when he got old enough to want to retire, he passed it on to King who brought the rest of us in as we got older.”
“You ever want to do anything else?”
“No. Never,” I admitted. He nodded at that and poured himself some more liquor. “So, what? Is this your version of flirting?”
“Nah. I’m just getting to know my new favorite patron.”
“Your favorite, huh?” I took another hit from my cigarette then leaned it over to put it out.
“Well I haven’t had anyone else over before opening to drink for free.” Asante smiled and I chuckled.
“What about you, Asante? What’s your story?”
“No story. I graduated top of my class and went to the navy. I got married. I got divorced. I finished out my time in the military. I moved here. I brought this bar.”
“So, you don’t have any business running or bartending experience?” I scoffed.
“Nope. I’m just winging it.” Asante took a sip from his glass.
“What made you pick this place then?”
“It was selling,” Asante said simply.
I shook my head with a little shocked smirk on my face, but didn’t comment.
Just thinking about this man throwing his money into a spot he knew nothing about had me fucked up. I couldn’t imagine taking that kind of risk.
Bzz. Bzz.
I grabbed my phone from my pocket immediately and saw that it was Rook texting me. I shot him a text back and decided that was a sign. I finished the rest of my drink in one quick gulp then tapped my knuckles on the bar.
“Well, thanks for meeting with me and agreeing to the security details but I’ve got to get going.”
“You sure?”
I froze. It wasn’t necessarily the question that did it, moreso the way the question had been asked, like he was just asking about my job or hobbies still instead of the fact that he actually really was somewhat flirting with me.
I wasn’t used to that shit. I hadn’t been joking when I’d told Asante that the men I usually messed around with were just that. The men that were usually in my space knew my family and how we got down. They didn’t bother with the twenty questions. They knew that I had a marriage pending. It was flirting and sex, but it was never more than that.
They never looked at me the way that Asante was, like they genuinely wanted to figure everything about me out.
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure that I’ve got to get going. I have some family stuff I need to deal with.”
“Some art to get appraised?” Asante asked.
