“Y’all some fools,” Clover said as he stood. “Stay out this shit. If he starts something with them and Matthew gets involved, y’all are risking an unnecessary war. Let them move first. Don’tlet me hear about y’all doing anything to any of them without my say so.”
As if the conversation was over, Clover left.
“What did you have in mind, Son?”
Pops calling me Son was the only reason I stopped stalking Clover as he left the room and looked at him. He’d never called me that before. It was ‘lil nigga’ when I was a teenager and Draco after I turned eighteen. When he was mad or disappointed, he called me Bridges because that was my mama’s last name. Just another way for his petty ass to deny that I was his blood I supposed.
“Uh…” I cleared my throat because I was honestly shocked. “I want to go to Matthew and see what he offered them, so I’ll know what I’m dealing with before I make any plans.”
Pops nodded his agreement. “I think that’s smart. Maybe he thinks it’ll be an easy takeover, and that will change once he sees you. Get your old team together and take them with you. Keep your brothers out of it unless, and until, it’s absolutely necessary, to keep the peace within the family.”
The family?
I chuckled at the sound of that but nodded my agreement. My younger brothers were my family, yeah, but I didn’t give afuckabout keeping the peace with Clover.
September
My time off at work was finally over, and as much as I thought it would be hard for me to go and focus, I enjoyed the distraction. Plus, it was nice talking to myassociates and customers again. A part of me loved the stability and security that came with a salaried managerial position, but I couldn’t lie and say I hadn’t marveled at the thought of working for myself in the future.
While on my break, I decided to grab something to eat at the mall. My Sephora location was in an outdoor mall, so we didn’t have a food court, but there were several restaurants within walking distance. I decided on grabbing a Caesar salad and fries from the steakhouse.
I took a seat at the bar and placed my order with the bartender before distracting myself with a book. When a man sat next to me, I looked up. Not only did his cologne smell good, but he sat next to me when there were several seats at the empty bar. Our eyes locked, and I smiled. He was handsome, I’d give him that. He was dressed in slacks and a quarter zip sweater, which led me to believe he was on his lunch break too.
“Hi,” I spoke, because I honestly never met a stranger if they were close enough for me to speak.
“Hey, beautiful. My name is Donovan. And you are?”
“Cordova,” I replied, placing my hand in his. Instead of shaking it, he kissed it.
“Beautiful woman, beautiful name.”
With a blush, I pulled my hand out of his. “Thank you.”
“I’m picking up my to-go order, so I don’t really have time to waste. Are you single?”
Giggling, I nodded. “I am, actually.”
He put his hands together in prayer position and looked up like he was thanking God. “Yeah, it’s definitely my lucky day.”
We talked a little longer, and I learned he was thirty-five, a therapist, and single as well. When his order came, he asked for my number and also asked if he could take me out tomorrow. I was shocked that he wanted to go out so soon, but when he said he didn’t waste time and went after what and who he wanted, Iagreed. After he left, I called Lily to tell her about my date, but she didn’t answer. I figured she was at work, so I called Him instead.
“Hey, boo,” he answered, making me smile.
“Hey, pooh. Guess what?”
“What?” he asked, lowering the music in his background.
This man loved to drive. He’d drive for hours with no destination in mind. I loved that about him. I loved riding with him, talking, or just vibing in silence. Some of the best nights we had, we were in a car while we listened to music and talked.
“I’m going on a date tomorrow.” When several seconds passed and he didn’t speak, I thought maybe his service was going in and out. “Him?”
“Huh?”
“Did you hear me? I said I’m going on a date tomorrow.”
“I heard you. I’m tryna figure out how you’re going on a date when I ain’t asked you out yet.”
A sputtered laugh escaped me, but I reeled it in and thanked the bartender when he put my drink and fries in front of me.
