“I’m talking tonight.”
The older one scratched his beard. “Give us two hundred a piece, and we got you. We can board it up now and come replace the glass first thing in the morning.”
“And the office?”
“Won’t hear it from us.”
I grabbed my purse immediately. “Bet.”
By the time the maintenance men finally finished boarding up the window, the living room was filled with sawdust. The older man wiped his hands on his jeans before nodding toward the plywood covering the shattered glass.
“We’ll be back early in the morning with the measurements.”
“Okay. We probably won’t be here, so let yourself in, but you better not steal shit,” I warned, staring them both in the eyes one by one.
“Trust me. We won’t,” the older man replied while the other nodded his head in agreement.
“Cool. Fix me up, and I might have a tip for you,” I said as they stepped out.
“We got you.”
I locked the door behind the maintenance men, then stood there for a second staring at the plywood covering my window.
“You ready?” Booda asked from somewhere behind me.
I looked down at my gray leggings, oversized T-shirt, and pink slides.
“Hell nah,” I answered before turning back toward the bedroom.
When I came back out, I’d changed into a fitted black suit with a blazer cinched at the waist, no bra, and matching black heels. My hair was slicked back into a bun, and I threw on some dainty gold jewelry. Then, I gathered an overnight bag before slinging it over my shoulder.
Booda looked up the second I stepped into the living room, and a slow grin spread across his face. “Damn,” he whispered, and the hunger I saw in his eyes made me want to strip out that suit and jump his bones.
Had we not been in a situation, I would’ve done just that.
Instead, I glanced down at myself before adjusting the sleeve of my blazer. Oddly enough, the outfit made me feel calmer, more in control. I knew exactly how I wanted people to see me tonight.
“You look good as fuck,” Booda said, his eyes moving over me.
“That’s the point.” I flashed him a sexy grin, and the next thing I knew, he’d wrapped me in his arms.
“What made you choose that outfit?” Booda asked while placing soft kisses along my neck.
“Mmm, that feels good, but we gotta go.” Before I let his advances distract me, I slipped out of his arms and grabbed my purse off the counter. “And to answer your question, when I saw this hanging in the closet, something clicked. I’ll get my hands dirty when I need to, but something in me keeps saying I was never a soldier.”
Booda stayed quiet while I continued.
“I realized I’m a boss, not a soldier. If I want people to respect me like one, I gotta look the part. Otherwise, niggas will think I’m weak.” I looked down at myself again before grabbing my overnight bag. “I might not remember everything about my past, but I’m still that bitch.”
The corner of his mouth lifted slowly after that.
“Now that sounds like the old you.” Booda grinned proudly.
Booda’s eyes moved over me briefly before he nodded toward the bag. “Glad you packed that ‘cause we wasn’t coming back here tonight.”
“Oh, I know.” I checked my purse for my gun, then headed for the door with Booda beside me.
After locking the apartment up, I checked the knob twice before finally turning away.
