The man walked to the nearest work station and looked at his reflection briefly. I watched as he walked across to a different one and slowly walked from one booth to the next. He made it to the last one then crossed. I stayed where I was while he slowly closed the space between us. I was well aware that he’d had me pivot. His two friends were behind me now. I shifted slightly to the left, just enough for me to feel confident I could get behind some equipment if it came down to it.
He closed the space between us.
“I’m willing to buy this place from you for more than double what it’s worth.”
“I’m not selling.”
“That’ll probably change.” He reached over and set his card on my work station. “This street isn’t what it used to be when your dad and uncle brought it, Kaleo. With the rise in crime around here, it would probably be better to just sell and get out before you ended up getting dragged into some of the unfortunate events.”
“Nigga, is that a threat?”
“Just a warning from a concerned neighbor.” He shrugged.
“Yeah, okay. Well I’m willing to take my chances. I know I do good business and I know if somebody is dumb enough to send shots my way, I can handle it with or without Rob.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Take it there and find out.”
The man smiled. “Yeah, alright. Have a good night, Kaleo.”
He reached over. He grabbed my barbacide and slid it, knocking it down. The blue liquid and all the combs that had been inside of it crashed to the floor. The glass shattered. I shifted on my feet.
“Get the fuck out before them niggas be carrying you out.”
“You believe that?”
“I know it and I’m not gon’ repeat myself again. Whether you want to fight or take it to pistol play, I bet I take you down.”
The dude smirked. “Alright, Kaleo.” He brushed past me, shoulder checking me on the way. “If you change your mind, let me know.” He knocked the jar off the next work station on his trek to the door.
His friends opened it for him and the three of the filed out.
I grabbed my phone immediately and started to jot their descriptions down while I walked to the door and locked it in place. I peered out of the glass one way then the other but only saw the car driving off.
I pulled the bars down for the windows and went to work cleaning up the mess that had been left. I was halfway donewhen knocking sounded at the door. It ended up being my scheduled appointment so I let them inside. I finished cleaning. Then, I cut my clients hair and when I walked them out, I left with them.
I called Rob almost as soon as I was on the road.
“Yo. Yo. Yo. What's up, lil nigga?"
"I just got pressed."
"The fuck you mean you just got pressed?" Rob's voice got serious. "By who?"
"I'm assuming your lil friends."
"You had the cameras on in the shop?"
"Yeah. I never turn them off."
"Good. I'll take care of it. Don't even worry."
"How you gon' take care of it, Rob?"
"What part of don't worry about it didn't you understand?" He didn't wait for a response. "Are you good?"
"Yeah."
