The rest of the day went by smoothly, and I made way more money than I had anticipated. I loved what I did, and it showed in my work. After we closed up, I talked to Carmen for a bit and then headed home. On the ride home, the scent of that man’s cologne was still stuck in my head, but I quickly shook it off. Once I made it home, I posted my work for the day on all my social media platforms, took a long, hot bath, and prepared myself to do it all again tomorrow.
The next morning, I arrived at the shop early, but not as early as Carmen. That girl gave me a run for my money when it came to hustle and work ethic—she was always in grind mode. My dad instilled in me to only do business with like-minded people, or my business would always fail. I took that to heart, and that’s why I made Carmen my right hand when it came to my business. I knew it was in good hands.
When I walked into the shop, it was filled with what looked to be a hundred, if not more, bouquets of roses. I didn’t know what was going on, but I felt like it had something to do with Jakari wanting forgiveness. The roses were all so beautiful, but it was gonna take a miracle for me to talk to him again. I was far from gullible.
“Boss Lady! What are you out here doing to these niggas? I can’t even get a value meal out they ass. I was barely able to get to my workstation after they dropped off all these damn flowers.” Carmen laughed.
“Girl, it’s all a game. Niggas don’t wanna be sweet like that until they lose you. You just gotta be smart enough not to fall for the trap.”
Once I was set up for work, I picked up my shop phone and dialed J’s number while I moved the roses out of the way.
“Moni, are you okay, baby? You never call me or take my calls when I call your shop,” J asked when he answered the phone.
“What were you thinking, sending all that shit here? It’s not gon’ make me change my mind. I’m still done with you! Have somebody come get this shit! I have a business to run and I don’t want shit from you!” I said.
“Sent what? I’m confused now. I didn’t even know you were back at work. When you changed your number, I tried calling the shop for a month straight, and Carmen told me you took some time off. I knew you was there and just didn’t want to talk to me. What was sent to the shop?”
“Are we really gonna do this? You want me back, but you wanna play like you not the one who sent all these roses to my shop? That’s weird, but okay, have a great day. I’m done talking to you and honestly, I just gave you too much of my time as is,” I said.
Before I could hang up, Jakari yelled my name. “Harmoni, you really got niggas sending you roses? Then yo’ hoe ass don’t even know where they came from? Please don’t tell me that to get back at me, you out here making a fool of yourself and being a fuckin pass-around like that. That’s the shit that’s weird, then you gon’ call my damn phone with the bullshit. Fuck you, my nigga.”
Before I could curse this nigga out, I heard his car door close and what sounded like his baby momma asking who he was talking to. The call got muffled like he was trying to cover the phone.
“Really, nigga? You a disrespectful bitch! You on the phone with that hoe while I’m in the store getting your sick son some medicine. You a wild nigga,” I heard a female voice say.
I laughed and hung up on him. I was gon’ let him tend to that, and I made a mental note to add it to the list of ways he had me fucked up. I couldn’t believe he was with that hoe, and the way she was acting was as if they were now in a relationship. They say niggas loved their baby mommas, and now I was inclined to believe it. I went to my office and sat down to gather my thoughts. I was so mad at Jakari, but at the same time, I needed to know who sent me all those flowers. I hadn’t been entertaining anyone at all, so I couldn’t even guess who they were from.
My workday seemed to drag, although I was busy as hell. I couldn’t stop thinking about Jakari being with his baby momma after he swore up and down they didn’t have any dealings. I didn’t want to get caught back up in the stress of this nigga’s transgressions. He made that bed, and I had to train my mind not to give a damn about how he lay in it. I grabbed two dozen roses before I left the shop; I was gonna take them home and put them in vases. The rest I would leave in the shop until they eventually die. They gave the shop a nice feel.
Once I locked up my shop at the end of the night, I peered down at my phone as I walked to my car. Just as I popped the locks, a familiar scent hit my nostrils, causing me to immediately look up.
I was now face to face with the chocolate nigga from last night. He looked and smelled good as fuck. He wore a black turtleneck with a black denim jacket, gold chains, black denim jeans, and some fire Alexander McQueens. He was hood but nicely dressed, and that was attractive as hell. He leaned against my car and held out a single orange rose for me. I looked at his hand, unsure if I should accept the rose.
“Hey, beautiful. I know that’s not how you gon’ greet a nigga that’s been trying to make you smile since I woke up this morning,” he said, flashing his pearly white smile.
I instantly got wet just looking at him, and his smile didn’t make it any better. In my mind, I knew I shouldn’t be lusting over someone else’s man, but damn, he was fine. Now I needed to know why he had to come up here fucking with me, knowing I was cool with Dimeo.
“So, you the one who bought all these roses?” I asked.
“Yes, ma’am. I thought you would like them, but it’s clear yo’ ass don’t like roses, or maybe you just don’t want them from my black ass.” He laughed.
“I love the roses. I just don’t love that they came from somebody else’s nigga. That’s all,” I said as I crossed my arms.
“See! That’s why it’s best to gather facts before you assume, mommas. Who’s nigga am I supposed to be? Because Dimeo is my first cousin, and I wanted to treat her yesterday. When I found out you were the one doing her hair, I used that as my opportunity to slide on you.”
“Why would you wanna do that? You don’t even know me,” I said.
“I know enough, and what I don’t know, hopefully, you’ll let me find out,” he said, extending the rose again.
This time, I took the rose from his hand, and he took that opportunity to grab my hand and kiss it. My knees buckled, and I almost hit the ground, but he quickly caught me. With his hands on both sides of my waist, I damn near melted. We locked eyes, and I weakly smiled at him. Baby, SWV wrote that song just for me ’cause this man literally had me weak in the knees. I stood back up and gathered myself.
“You not from around here, are you?” I asked.
“How can you tell?”
“Yo’ demeanor and vibe are just different. Even the way you dress says you’re not from here.”
“Let me find out you know a little something about something. Nah, ma, I’m here to be closer to family and check out some business opportunities that I have here. I’m from Mississippi.” He smiled.
