“She good?” I asked the moment he walked up to me.
Crue nodded, walking over to the bar and ordering a drink. I scanned the field, and I saw Saniyah inside her cabana. She looked so beautiful in the dress she wore, and I couldn’t wait until this party was over so that I could take it off of her. I watched her as she made a small plate of food before sitting back down in the lounge chair, talking with her friend.
A couple hours had passed, and the party was still going strong. The music was blasting, and drinks were flowing as partygoers danced, laughed, and had an all around good time. I sat at one of the tables, eating with Crue, when I noticed one of our clients and his entourage walking toward Saniyah. He wasan up-and-coming rapper in the city by the name of Tru. He’d made a name for himself in the streets, but his talent made him real money. I didn’t say anything as they walked toward her, just watched.
“What the fuck?” Crue mumbled.
His jaw tightened, and I whispered for him to wait. Maybe the nigga wanted to holla at Nazuri. I didn’t want either of us jumping to any conclusions. We both watched quietly as the man stopped at the cabana opening, clearly greeting both of them. Nazuri walked up to the man, smiling, as she shook his hand. I relaxed, but Crue didn’t as he continued to watch. Just the niggas being around her had him on edge.
I watched as Saniyah walked out of the cabana, and one of Tru’s entourage walked behind her, trying to get her attention. She turned to him and said something before turning back around to walk away, but he grabbed her arm. That was all we needed as Crue and I both jumped up and walked over to them.
“You too pretty to be out here with no man. Let me keep you company, baby.” I could tell by the way he was talking that he was drunk.
“I’m not alone,” Saniyah answered.
“Nigga, let her arm go!” Crue yelled the moment we got close enough. “Touch her again and I’ll cut off every one of your fingers.” He grabbed Saniyah’s waist and pulled her toward him. “You good?”
“Yeah, I’m good.”
The nigga stepped up as if he had something to say, and I was ready because if he touched her again, his people would be picking both him and his teeth up off the ground. Crue’s arms were still wrapped around her waist as I stood there between them and this man, waiting on his next move.
“Yo, who the fuck is these big ass niggas?” the man asked, turning around to Tru and the rest of the entourage. Before theycould answer, the man turned back around to me. “If she doesn’t want to talk, then she can tell me that.”
The man tried to push past me, shoulder bumping me in the process. I didn’t know what the fuck he did that for because I grabbed him by the throat with one hand, lifted him off his feet, and dropped him on his back. A few of his people tried to step to me, but my employees were on their ass in seconds. Seeing the amount of guns trained on them had them back up. Tru walked forward, trying to calm the situation and apologizing for his friend’s actions.
I nodded, taking my hand from around the guy’s neck and allowing him to stand to his feet. Tru’s crew put their guns away, quickly standing down to show us they didn’t have any beef. With every Blackline employees’ gun trained on them, they walked out the party. Everyone knew not to ask questions, so the party continued after they left just like nothing ever happened.
On Monday morning,I woke up at six and went down to the gym inside my building and worked out. When I was done, I took a hot shower before getting ready for work. I knew it was going to be a busy day due to the office being closed for a three day weekend. I also had a meeting scheduled for a potential client, but whatever the day threw at me, I was ready for.
I walked through the front office, adjusting the cuff of my watch while scanning the room automatically. I walked down the long hallway toward my office and smiled when I saw Saniyah already sitting at her desk, typing on her computer. She looked good today. Her hair was brushed back neatly in a ponytail, and the gold jewelry she wore brought out the golden hue in her skin. She glanced up at me as I got closer and stoodup, showing the nude dress that she wore. She greeted me before grabbing a folder and walking around her desk over to me. She handed me the folder, letting me know that it was all the information I would need for my meeting today. I thanked her before walking into my office.
I removed my suit jacket, hanging it across the back of my chair, and took my seat. After booting up my computer, I began going through this week’s schedule. We had several clients lined up, and I knew this was going to be a busy week. Over the next few hours, I took calls and designated security for each client we had on the books this week. By noon, I was off to my meeting. Just like I knew we would, we landed that client as well. An hour later when my meeting was done, I decided it was time for me to grab some lunch. I walked up to Saniyah’s desk where she was sitting gracefully, fingers tapping on the keyboard.
“Have you gone to lunch yet?” I asked.
“Nah, I wanted to finish up these files, and I’m just wrapping up.”
“You wanna head up to the restaurant with me and grab something?”
“Sure,” Saniyah replied with a smile.
I watched as she set the answering service up to take the calls and grabbed her purse. We walked into the restaurant together and took our seats as we looked over the menu. I already knew what I wanted, but I looked at the menu anyway. During lunch, I let Saniyah know that I wanted to see her later tonight, and she agreed, letting me know she wanted to see me as well.
I walked back into my office, happy that the day was almost over. Sitting back at my desk, I began answering emails. The first few emails were normal, clients either requesting invoices or security. Then, I noticed one come through on Blackline’s encrypted system with no sender ID. I clicked on the email and opened it.
Y’all fucked up, and now, none of y’all are safe.
That was all the email said, and even that made my jaw tighten. Was this supposed to be some type of threat? If so, who the fuck was it from? It was shit like this that pissed me off, muthafuckas hiding behind keyboards and shit.If they was on some shit, the email wouldn’t have been encrypted. Fuck them,I thought. I was just about to close the email when I noticed the attachment underneath the message, a single image file. I opened it and instantly went cold. It was a picture of Saniyah.
In the picture, she was walking into the building, holding a coffee. When I realized she was wearing the same outfit she had on earlier, I knew the picture was taken today.Oh, these muthafuckas want to die,I thought. I placed a call to Crue, telling him to come into my office, letting him know it was urgent. When he walked in a few moments later, I showed him the email.
“Oh, muthafuckas want to die. Who the fuck sent this email?” Crue asked, pacing the floor.
“I don’t know. The shit is encrypted.”
He nodded. “I’ma get Dez on this shit asap. Niggas got the game fucked up. We need to keep eyes on her at all times. I don’t want her living in fear either. So, I don’t think we should tell her unless we absolutely have to.”
I nodded, agreeing with what Crue suggested. I didn’t want Saniyah living in fear either, so we would ensure that she didn’t have to. I let him know that I would be going over Saniyah’s house tonight, and we agreed to take shifts until we got this shit sorted out. That day, I left the office an hour early so that I could go pack a bag and be at Saniyah’s house by the time she got there.
