“What the fuck you want now Troy?” Prince snapped.
“He wants his life, Prince.” I said gravely.
Prince chuckled.
“Wrong move, King. You should’ve stayed out the way, nephew.”
“Just like you should’ve stayed out my father’s way.” I negated with a flick of my hand.
Silence filled the line. That was enough for me. I emptied the clip into Troy’s skull until the gun clicked empty. Then I spit on his body. I snapped a picture of him and sent it straight to Prince with a devil emoji.
Two down. One left.
Prince’s death wouldn’t be quick like Troy’s. I planned on making that nigga suffer.
Because now…
I was playing chess.
And the last thing I had to do before leaving Mississippi was bring my mother back to California with me. This time she didn’t have a choice.
Chapter 16
Layloni
Business for me was booming. Each week that went by, everything was picking up. I even decided to hire a manager. I extended the shop days from Monday through Saturday, meaning extra money for me and my girls. Working Saturday was available to those who needed the extra money and didn’t mind working six days a week.
Two weeks ago, I happened to scroll on social media, I came across Rellianah’s page, she posted herself inside of my salon. She had a side view of me on the phone booking appointments. The photo caption saidBoss bitches make real moves.She then tagged my salon and told everyone to check me out. It caused a huge smile to grace my face and it also became a huge blessing to my shop.
When I looked at the likes, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The picture had over three hundred thousand likes with thousands of comments. I checked my business Instagram, and just from her shout out, I gained thousands of followers. My business line had been ringing off the hook to get booked. It was so many women pumped about being able to come to a one stop shop, where you could get hair, nails, and feet along with a wax done in one day.
My establishment stayed packed. It was women coming in the morning and leaving around six. They would move from one section to the next. The looks on their faces were pleasant. So much buzz surrounded my business, I knew for a fact soon that I would have to expand.
I talked to Rellianah about getting a bigger building and she told me it was time to consider turning it into a franchise in different cities and states. It would be considered a woman’s palace to dwell in for all shapes and sizes. I thought this would be the only place I would have for myself, but it looked like God had other plans for me, and that was to spread my wings further and go bigger.
I was in Cali for at least close to eight months now, and I had it going on. I wasn’t thinking about a man at all. It had been at least a month since I last saw or heard from King. Monty and I became really good acquaintances. When I explained to him that I was not looking for a relationship, he understood me and respected that. He would call me on my breaks and, when I got off, we would talk all night until one of us became too tired. Monty was a good man; he owned his own construction company. He was a single father of a little beautiful girl that was six years old. Her mother died while giving birth. He was also family oriented. He had a hood demeaner but, after spending two years in jail, he flipped his life around for the sake of his daughter. I really admired Monty, I also appreciated how he took his time to listen and hear me out.
“Layloni, where do you want these men to put the new equipment at?” my new manager, Lisa, asked with a huge smile on her face.
I glanced up from the nail station, taking in the organized chaos around the salon. The low hum of dryers, the smell of acetone and polish remover lingering in the air, the chatter of women laughing and talking created a rhythm I had grown tolove. This place felt like something I had built with my own hands, something that finally belonged to me.
Lisa stood a few feet away from me, directing the movers with the confidence of someone twice her size She was the definition of professional. Having her here made my job ten times easier. She kept everything drama-free and running smooth, which wasn’t always easy when you had this many women working in one space. All the girls loved her though. That alone said a lot.
She was tiny and cute, maybe four feet three at the most, but her personality filled every room she walked into. Lisa didn’t tolerate nonsense, and I respected that.
With so many personalities in the shop, differences popped up from time to time. But we shut that down quickly. Before anything could turn into a full argument, we reminded everyone of the rules. When we stepped into this shop, we were family. A sisterhood, full of empowerment. The biggest rule of all was no gossiping.
Gossip was the seed that grew drama.
“Tell them to put everything in the back,” I said, rotating my shoulders a little. “And Lisa, do you mind closing tonight? I’m leaving a little early after Casandra and Lee finish my mani and pedi.”
Her smile grew brighter.
“Of course,” she said immediately, already turning back to guide the movers.
Watching her command the room made me feel relieved. I trusted her. Tonight was Rellianah and Cream’s anniversary party.
She told me to bring a date, so I asked Monty to come with me. Thinking about him made a small smile creep across my face.
