She shut up instantly.
“Answer a question for me. You safe, right?”
“Yes, Hawk, but”
“It shouldn’t be any buts as long as your ass is safe. Let me handle what I am doing right now and call the dress shop to see if you can reschedule for tomorrow.”
“But Hawk.”
“Nina, what did I just say? Crying about it isn’t going to help with anything. Find a fucking solution and get to New York the fastest way you can. See if there is another airline flying out sooner.”
“Whatever, Hawk, bye.”
“Bye.”
I hung up.
I let my phone drop into my pocket and kept staring down at that cabana like it was the only thing in this whole damn city worth looking at.
I was in my zone, watching, until I heard heavy footsteps creeping up behind me.
“What you doing up here nigga? I didn’t know you planned on coming to the party today,” Proctor said, joining me at the rail.
“Shit, just scoping the scene. Seeing how the club was vibing today since we doing something new.”
He adjusted the chain around his neck.
“It’s been successful if you ask me. I did have to bust a nigga in his shit earlier, but other than that it’s been pretty calm.”
I laughed through my nose because Proctor couldn’t end a day on duty without some bull shit happening. When I first hired him, I was worried about his cutthroat security methods, but he kept the rest of the guards in line, and my clubs always felt safe to guests. Even the underground casino was run like one that was supposed to be open. My father been doing this a long time. So long that he was barely able to be a father to me at times because he spent his time securing clubs and shit.
“Yo, do you have the guest list? Who is in Cabana 6?”
“Uhh.”
Proctor looked out at the cabanas leaning in for a better look. We had the cabanas numbered, one through ten, and number six was one of the ones with the best location, so we often charged more for that one. It could run you anywhere between five and ten thousand dollars so baby must have a little money to be in there.
“Oh, yeah. Those are some chicks that I upgraded for free. Nigga spilled a drink on one of them on purpose, and I felt sorry for the girl. I moved the people who rented it out to cabana eight and booted eight to the line for a refund. It was some lame dusty ass niggas, so I didn’t feel bad about it.”
I nodded my head, slightly pissed off at the idea of a nigga disrespecting a female in my shit. I didn’t go for men disrespecting women at all.
“But what’s your concern about number six, though? It’s because of them fine ass bitches in there?”
“I don’t know, man.” I stood up from my lean over the railing.
“It’s just this girl that’s in the cabana looks like someone I’ve dealt with before.”
He chuckled because I’m sure he knew me better than anyone in here.
“So, you're reminiscing about a memory or an itch you need to scratch?”
“Both.”
Proctor smiled from ear to ear. The idea of me getting married never sat right in this nigga head. I’ve only seen Proctor settle down once before in my life, and that was with this chick named Unique when I was a kid. She ended up being the mother to my sister, Chelsea, and the reason Proctor went away for some time. He shot up their house when he thought a man was in there, and my sister was with our grandmother. Now that I’m older, I get where he's coming from, but then again, I don’t believe in disrespecting women. I love my mama too much.
“So, what do you want me to do? You trying to call her up here?”
“Nah, because I’m not sure that it’s her I’m looking for.”
