Removing the sunglasses from her face, Joyce beamed up at him. She was a small woman, standing at five feet four, and Najee had been taller than her since he was a teenager. Her smile stretched a mile wide as he met her halfway and hugged her.
“Ma, you’re late,” Najee teased, smirking. He planted a kiss on her forehead.
“I’m here. I don’t know why they keep doing construction all around the city. I’m sick of it,” she fussed.
All he could do was chuckle and agree. He and his drivers were fed up with all of the detours, but there was nothing they could do about it. It was nice to see their hard-earned tax dollars getting put to good use.
“You look real sharp,” Joyce complimented as they approached the entrance.
“You gon’ always hype me up, huh?”
She smiled. “But of course, my big ol’ baby.”
Najee held the door open and motioned for to step inside first. “Ladies first.” He grinned.
She gave him a playful smirk. “Always the gentleman.”
She hadn’t raised him to be anything less. As soon as they walked into the building, Aunt Joyce paused, soaking in the clean, professional vibe of the front entrance. The floors had a polished concrete finish, with dark leather chairs against the walls, and black and gold accents throughout the space.
The Echelon Express logo was mounted on the wall in backlit bold gold chrome letters. It offered subtle luxury while stillmaintaining a welcoming vibe. The fresh scent of lemon lingered in the air from the cleaning service he had on payroll. Synovi Black and his team would forever get his money and referrals.
“Look at this building! Chile, it doesn’t even look like the same one from when you first showed me!” Joyce exclaimed, adjusting her purse on her shoulder.
When he first bought the building, Najee had it gutted. He wanted a clean landscape to work on and bring his vision to life.
“I know, right? Wait until you see the rest,” Najee replied with an eagerness in his tone.
He guided her through the building, leading her past the front desk where he introduced the receptionist, then down the hall to the dispatch and operations room first. As they entered, Joyce’s eyes grew wide.
“This looks like something out of The Matrix,” she said, making Najee laugh.
“Yeah. It does kinda look like that.”
There were multiple flat screens mounted on almost every wall, showing real-time GPS locations of his drivers with moving pins, live traffic conditions, weather alerts, and active route optimizations. A large dry-erase board on one wall had the week’s schedule broken down and color-coded with neat penmanship, along with client notes and reminders.
Desks lined the back wall, where dispatchers were either on the phones or checking tablets, coordinating everything in real-time. Joyce was in awe and almost brought to tears.
“Baby, I’m so proud of you. You haven’t even shown me half of the space and I’m just overjoyed,” she said.
Najee licked his lips and cleared his throat. If anyone could pull some emotions out of him, it was her.
“Thank you, Ma. Stealing your car all those times and going joyriding paid off, huh?” He smirked, and she swatted his arm.
“You aren’t too big for me to get my belt,” she warned. “Now, what all goes down in here?”
“This is where the magic happens,” Najee said proudly. “We track every car that leaves this lot. Real-time updates, emergency reroutes, ETA adjustments, the whole nine.”
“You’re really running an empire, huh?”
Najee chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Trying to. Come on. Let me show you the client lounge.”
They exited the dispatch room and walked a short distance before entering the client lounge. The space felt more like a hotel lobby than a car service office. Plush leather chairs were arranged in sections, sleek coffee tables displayed magazines and bowls of mints, and a self-serve coffee and tea bar was situated in the corner. A flat-screen TV played a soft jazz playlist, and potted plants filled the space, adding a pop of greenery.
“This is where the clients chill if they’re early or gotta wait,” Najee explained.
“It’s fancy in here and smells good,” Joyce praised.
