“I don’t know her. I just know of her and her sisters. Her name really started ringing bells last year, when she was dealing with that married man, and his wife shot her. You know that I know all the scoop. I heard it in the streets for months that Tank was dating her, but I kept forgetting to ask you. I did this girl’shair at the shop the other day. Her name is Crystal. She just moved to Miami last week. I was giving her the scoop, letting her know who was the who’s who in Maimi, and she brought up Tank. She told me that she used to date him,” Promise said, and I didn’t know anything about what the fuck she was talking about.
I’ve never been a gossiping ass nigga, so I wouldn’t know about this shit. I didn’t even know who the fuck Crystal was. Only female that I know that Tank ever fucked with was Renee. Tank was secretive as hell when it came to bitches. Dionne was the first woman that I’ve ever seen my cousin all out in the open with, so I knew that the shit that they were doing was real, and genuine.
“I don’t know a Crystal. Where she moved here from?” I asked, just to sound like I was interested.
“Alabama,” she said.
“That’s where Tank mama from. In the summer, he used to go to Alabama with his grandparents. That’s probably how he knows her. It couldn’t have been that serious though because he never mentioned her to me. That bitch better move around though. My cousin in love. That nigga be having her staying the night and everything. He even brought her to one of my games. She met damn near the whole fuckin family too. They all like her,” I shared, feeling like a messy ass nigga for even entertaining this shit.
“I don’t know Rico. The way that bitch was talking at the salon, she seems determined that she was going to get her nigga back,” she finished, and I just shook my head at that shit.
My cousin didn’t need any more problems. He was already down my back, trying to get me to give him a location on Toby, so that he could handle it. The last thing he needed was a bitch from his past, coming down here, trying to stir up shit. I felt likehaving issues with a bitch was ten times worse than beefing with a nigga.
Bitches were malicious, and they could be spiteful. They’ll set your ass up too. I had to hit my cousin up about this bitch Crystal, so that he could be on the lookout for her, just in case she did come back on some crazy shit.
Chapter 9
Dionne Henry
Boss Lady
“Okay so… I see you were a manager at a clothing boutique for two years. Your last day there was about six months ago. What have you been doing for work for the past six months?” I asked Simone, who was sitting across from me.
I was finally insidemywarehouse. It was so big, and spacious in here, that with each word that I spoke, you could hear my echo, even though I wasn’t talking loudly. The building was new, so it was hanging onto that new paint smell.
It was going on four in the afternoon, and I had been holding interviews since nine this morning. I needed staff. A lot of this stuff was new to me because I’ve never ran a business before but thank God for my man because he helped me with a little bit of everything. I learned from him about posting the job posting on the Indeed. I was looking for everything from a warehouse manager, associates, and even an inventory specialist. Because this was a new business venture, with every interview that I had today, I made sure that I was upfront with everyone. They all knew that things might start off slow at first.
Funny enough, I had been tracking a shipment all day because FedEx would be bringing over the bulk of everythingtoday. With that, I told everyone that although I’ll have the inventory, everything would all depend on how many orders were going to come in, and that would all depend on how the hours would work.
My job wasn’t to sell anyone a fantasy. They had to understand what it looked like to grow with a business, and everyone that had come in today were all understanding. I had been in my head, feeling like no one would show up for the interviews, but I had so many people come, and I was hiring people left and right on the spot. So far, all the positions were filled for associates, and inventory specialist, but with Simone sitting right in front of me, who would be my last interviewee today for the manager position, hopefully I would be able to make my mind up by tonight.
I really had some good candidates come in today for that specific position, and just like Simone, they all had hefty resumes of working in retail, and manager positions before, so it wasn’t an easy decision to make.
“I haven’t been working in the last six months. Honestly, I was on a mental break from work. The last manager position that I held six months ago, the environment was super toxic. The owner was a black woman, and often, she would bring her husband into the work environment. He would help with the inventory some days. He was sleeping with pretty much all the staff. He tried getting with me a few times, but I never went for it. I think his wife suspected that her husband was crushing on me because out of nowhere, she started treating me nasty. I let her get away with it because I was desperate for the job. My grandmother was living with me full time, and she was sick. I was working to pretty much pay my bills, and pay for my grandmother’s expensive medicine,” Simone started out, and then she paused for a little bit.
“During all of that, with all the drama that was happening with the staff, people were quitting left, and right. I was juggling everything. I was doing manager, inventory, HR, customer service, just anything that you could think of, while the owner wasn’t tackling the problems because her, and her husband were taking trips every other weekend, so everything was getting thrown on me. My grandma passed away six months ago, and when I put in a request to put in a leave of absence, she ended up firing me. All the blood, sweat and tears that I put into her business, and she let me go like it was nothing,” her voice cracked, and I could see it all in her eyes that she was fighting to keep her tears at bay.
“I’m sorry. I promise that I’m not trying to play the pity party here. I’m not even like that. I’m tough. It’s just talking about it, and remembering all the things that I endured there, it made me a little emotional. So yeah, I took these last six months off, so that I could get my mental in check. I wanted to make sure that when I started working again, that I was in a healthy place. I saw that you posted a listing the other day, and I tried my luck, and just applied,” she continued, scooting up in her seat a little bit, so that she could look over at me.
“I truly believe that I’ll be a good fit for your business. I know that I’m a strong manager. The last position that I had, I ran that team as if I was the owner. I also know how to work under pressure. With everything that I had to endure at that boutique, I never folded under pressure. I can build a structured work environment here. I can lead without making staff members feel like they are small, and beneath me. I know that mentally, I can give my full effort to your business. I know it’s just a small business right now, but I would like to take the chance if you would allow me to grow with it,” she finished.
Her words moved me for whatever reason. Her words stood out from everyone else that I’d met with today. Don’t get mewrong, the others that came in, they were good, but they weretoogood if you get me. There answers were way too perfect. You could tell that everything that they said to me was rehearsed. As if, on the way over here, they were reading off flashcards, with the perfect answers to deliver to me today at the interview.
With Simone, it felt real. It felt genuine. Then, the fact that she was able to get vulnerable with me, and share intimate details about her last job, the death of her grandmother, along with the mental break that she took to heal, were all things that moved me, and made me feel like choosing her would be the best fit.
I cleared my throat, so that I could go ahead, and say to her what I needed to say.
“Before I get to what I really want to say, I would like to start off by offering my condolences to you. I’m sorry about your grandma. The way you teared up when you started talking about her, I can tell that you loved her. From what you shared with me; I know that you have a big heart. Sounds like you poured so much into that boutique, even when nothing was getting poured back into you. You weren’t appreciated there, yet you still stayed, and that shows a lot about your character,” I started, and with a smile on her face, she nodded her head.
“From listening to you speak, I can tell that those six months that you took off, it really did help you in your healing process. Your personality is beautiful. Because of that, I feel like I need you here. If you’re willing, I would love to offer the management position to you. I know it’s a big decision because you’ll have a big role to fill here, so you don’t have to answer right away. You can sleep on it if you have to,” I said, and she smiled, but she also looked at me like I was crazy.
“I don’t have to sleep on anything. I’m ready right now. I have tennis shoes in my trunk. I can slip out of these heels right now,throw on some sneakers, and get to work right away. Where do you want me?” she jokingly asked me, getting me to laugh.
I could tell that Simone and I were going to get along just fine. The moment she walked in, I could sense her good energy. Simone was a few years younger than me. She told me a little about herself before the interview started, so I knew that she was single, and she didn’t have any children. Beautiful woman, who articulated herself well, and with her hard work, I knew that she was going to be a good fit.
I had her sign over some paperwork, and from there, I let her know that she could report here Monday morning at 9:00 A.M. She was happy, as she extended her arms out to me, asking me if it was okay for her to hug me. I walked into her embrace, hugging her, and if only she knew that I needed this hug just as much as she probably needed it.
I was watching my business form right before my eyes. I had employees, and soon, FedEx would be pulling up with inventory. There was plenty of shelving here, and all of that inventory that was going to come from that truck would be filling these shelves.
