I grinned. “What happened to the banker?”
“Banker?” Deja combed my hair over to the side.
“You know? Wasn’t it one guy that worked at the bank—”
“Girl, heownedthe bank. Are you crazy?” Deja laughed. “She said worked at the bank.”
“My bad.Ownedthe bank.”
“Get it right.” Deja sucked her teeth. “Yeah. Money CEO stud was cool for a little bit. Flew me out here and there, gave me a couple nice bags, but he got boring real quick, kept asking to come to my house and meet my family like I’m a damn genie that grants wishes. Boy, stop asking me for shit. I had to go Patrick Swayze.”
I quirked my brows. “Do what now? Patrick Swayze?”
Nika jumped in. “She ghosted him.”
“Oh.” I chuckled.
“Yeah. He’s constantly sending me texts every other day, having full blown, deep conversations with himself.” Deja nodded. “You know I have to protect my peace and sacred space. Dude thought that dropping thousands here and there meant something, but I don’t let justanybodymeet my family. They’re special.”
“Then, what about the restaurant guy who had that high-end soul food spot in Manhattan. The jazz was always so good there. He would give me the best table just because he knew that I knew you.”
Deja sucked her teeth. “Dude said no too many times for my liking.”
“How many times did he say no?”
Nika held up one finger.
I laughed.
“I’m too expensive to be providing discounts for the Deja experience.” She sprayed my hair and combed some more. “My face card is worth more than an Amex.”
Nika clapped. “I don’t know about that. I would rather have the American Express card.”
“No way. That card has bills. This face? Not one.”
Kaoru spoke from his chair, "What would a man have to do?"
Deja paused. "Huh?"
"To avoid you going. . ." He searched for it. "Patrick Swayze."
Nika snorted.
Deja sighed. "First of all, don't bore me. I can't stand a boring man. I don't care how much money he has. If he can't keep my attention, we're done."
"What else?" Kaoru asked.
"He has to stop asking me what I need and just pay attention. If he’s watching close enough, he’ll already know. And then. . .”She considered something and spoke, “After that it’s not much else. Just don't waste my time, respect me, and don't make me repeat myself."
Kaoru nodded slowly. "Interesting."
Yoichi's eyes shifted to Rin for a half second. Just a quick glance. As if he was checking to see if Rin had heard that.
Rin's bored expression didn't change.
Good. He’s not listening.
I smirked.
