Page 12 of Finessed By A Hood White Boy

“Damn,” I panted.

With a smile on her face, she wiped the corner of her mouth and stuck her tongue out for me to see it was clean.

“Good girl.” I wiped the sweat from my forehead.

I took a second to get myself together before we got out to do a little shopping. I wanted to be in and out. We walked around a few stores. I bought Carla some shit in Louis Vuitton before we stopped in Ralph Lauren. I spent a nice piece of change once I settled on a pair of brown Interlocking G loafers, a crisp white oxford button up, and navy blue slacks. On the way out, my phone chimed, and it was Zenobia ringing my line.

“What’s up, Ze?” I answered.

“Hey, you out and about today?” she asked.

“Yea, what’s going on?”

“If you can, at some point today, I need you to come get Zoie and take her to get some all-white shoes for dance. Nothing expensive. It's just for practice.”

“Doesn't she already have white shoes?”

“Now you know how your daughter is. She’s begging me for something new, so I told her to call you,” she informed me.

“Well, I’m already out here at the outlets. I’ll go ahead and grab her something nice and drop it off.”

The sound of Carla smacking her lips caused me to look in her direction. I wrapped up my conversation and immediately noticed her change of attitude. I ignored her and went over to Journey’s to find my baby girl some all-white shoes. It was a quick process once I gave the salesgirl my daughter's size and she went to retrieve them from the back. I kept it simple and got a pair of all white classic Reeboks. As we stood at the register, Carla was huffin’ and puffin’ under her breath. The shit was starting to piss me off.

“You got a problem?” I asked.

“Why are we here?”

“The fuck you mean? What does it look like?” My eyebrows dipped.

“EJ, you pay that girl child support every month. Everytime I turn around, she’s always calling and asking you for shit.”

“And what the fuck does that have to do with you?” I grilled her. “My daughter or her momma is none of your concern. I don’t give a damn if I’m in the middle of feeding my dick down ya throat. They call me, I’ma always hop the fuck up and answer. The fuck you talking about? All you need to do is continue to play your part. Keep suckin’ my dick, fuckin’ me good, and keep your mouth shut. Stay the fuck outta my business,” I snapped at her.

Carla knew better. The problem is, she didn’t like Zenobia and vice versa. I could care the least as long as my daughter wasn’t caught in the middle of their beef. Carla also knew to never speak directly on my kid. Her ass would be on a missing person’s flyer with a snap of my finger.

The sales lady stood behind the counter with her mouth open. I could tell she was nervous to speak, so she just swiped the box, and the total popped up on the screen. I used my credit card to pay and walked out with Carla trailing behind. I wanted to stop and grab something to eat, but this bitch had me heated, so my next stop was to drop her ass off at her crib.

“Are you coming back over later tonight?”

“Nah, I’m good on you, Carla. That shit you pulled about Zenobia got me wanting to break yo’ damn neck. I’ll see you around, though.” I kept my focus straight ahead.

“EJ, you can’t be serious,” she whined.

“Get your shit and get out my ride. I have somewhere I need to be.” I mugged her.

Quietly, she grabbed her bags from the back seat and closed my door without a word.

CHAPTER 5

Ava Gray

“Okay, so today is a pretty big day. We’ll be attending a meeting where Mrs. Whitmore will announce and introduce the new CEO. I heard through the grapevine that it’s not Trenton, thank God.” Stephanie informed me, whispering the last part.

“When we go in here, don’t speak unless spoken to. At the end of the meeting, I’ll introduce you to everyone, so they’ll know exactly who you are. Use your planner to take notes and jot down any appointments mentioned. I’ve already gathered the usual coffee orders for the Whitmores. Each cup is labeled. All I need you to do is pass them out and stand to the side. It’s that simple. After today, your hours will be sure to pick up because we will be back in the full swing of things. I hope you’re ready.” She smiled.

“I’m ready.” I nodded.

“Good. You look very nice today, by the way. I love the dress.” She winked.