Lani didn’t want to meet with the attorney and she damn sure didn’t want to meet with the police, but she kind of expected this. She knew that the police weren’t just going to go away. “Okay. What’s your address?”

  “300 PeachTree Street NE.”

  Mike Williams eyeballed Lani’s breasts and this brought back the memories of him rummaging through her underwear. She didn’t like his perverted ass.

  Thomas Kearns and Tom Gilliam exchanged pleasantries before Thomas Kearns said, “Good to see you again, Lani.”

  Tom Gilliam was a tall slender white man with a naturally red face and dark brown hair. He had a hook nose and wore horn-rimmed glasses. He had absolutely no sex appeal and a very matter of fact demeanor, but he was a very smart and capable attorney.

  “Likewise.” Lani didn’t want to be there, but it was the right thing to say. She looked at Mike Williams but didn’t say anything to him. Thomas Kearns sat behind his desk and Lani and her attorney sat across from him. Mike Williams stood behind Thomas Kearns occasionally stealing glances at Lani’s erect nipples.

  Thomas Kearns said, “Let’s get down to business.”

  “Let’s do it.” Tom Gilliam said.

  Mike Williams said, “We’re going to take this case to the state grand jury and we’re giving your client a chance to come clean about her involvement of the murder of Chris Jones.”

  Lani said, “Come clean? I haven’t done anything.”

  “Do you think that the grand jury is going to believe that you had absolutely nothing to do with this man’s murder? The common link between the murderer and the victim is you.”

  Tom Gilliam said, “So, who’s been charged with this crime?”

  “Kelvin Bryant.”

  He turned to Lani. “You know him?”

  “No, I have no idea who that is.”

  Mike Williams said, “Her link is Tyrann Massey.”

  “But he hasn’t been charged?”

  “No, but he masterminded the whole thing.”

  “So you’re operating off assumptions that he’s going to be charged?”

  “I’m almost certain that at some point he will.”

  “Almost is not absolute.”

  Mike Williams said, “Look, we wanted to give your client a chance to come clean with us. She seems like a nice girl.”

  Williams stared at Lani’s lips wondering what it would be like to make love to a girl like her, but he could tell by her hair, expensive handbag and jewelry that it would take money to sleep with her.

  Thomas Kearns said, “You know how these things go. I see it every day, young women covering up for their boyfriends. Then when we get the boyfriend, he spills the beans, tells everything, implicates the girl and then she gets more time than the boyfriend.”

  Lani said, “First of all, I’m nobody’s girlfriend.”

  “But you were Chris Jones’s.”

  “I was.”

  “And you were Black’s.”

  Tom Gilliam looked confused.

  “Black is Tyrann’s nickname, Mr. Gilliam. Isn’t that right, Lani?” Mike Williams said.

  “I don’t know. You tell me,” Lani said.

  Tom Gilliam said, “Can I have a moment alone with my client?”

  Mike Williams and Thomas Kearns stepped out into the hallway.

  When the door closed, Tom Gilliam said, “So you know nothing about the murder?”

  Lani looked the man in the eye and said, “I didn’t orchestrate the murder. I didn’t order anybody to kill Chris.”

  “Sounds like they are trying their best to nail Tyrann and if they do, can he implicate you?”

  “No.” Lani felt bad because she knew about the murder, she felt like she was betraying Chris, but she knew that Black would never say that he admitted the murder to her. Hell, she knew Black wasn’t going to admit shit to anybody. Besides if she cooperated with the police, there was no telling what Black would do to her.

  “Well, if you are certain that you can’t be implicated. We’re going to end the interview.”

  When Mike Williams and Thomas Kearns came back into the room, Tom Gilliam said, “Gentleman, we have nothing to tell you. We’ll see you in court.” And they left the small office.

  Lani said to Black, “So you ain’t worried about getting picked up by the police?”

  “Why should I worry? Whatever is going to happen, will happen. I’m not going to have a goddamned heart attack about something that may or may not happen. Besides, I’ll let my lawyer worry about that bullshit. His job is to make shit go away. I pay him good.”

  “But the faster he makes shit go away, the more shit you get yourself into.”

  “Whatever, Lani. You’re always so motherfuckin’ negative. You know how I am, and I ain’t about to change for nobody.”

  “Well, I can tell you right now. They’re on your ass. They are trying their best to link you with the murder.”

  “Look, I know how the police work and what they were doing was trying to get you to flip on me. That’s why I got you an attorney,” Black said. “I’m a mastermind at this shit.”

  “That’s exactly what they are calling your stupid ass—the mastermind.”

  “Well, they are just assuming I did some shit. How are they going to prove it?”

  “Are you sure your boy is not going to flip?”

  “He ain’t going to say shit about me, and if he did, it will take me to implicate you and you know there is no way in the hell I’m going to say anything about you.”

  She believed him. She knew that if he didn’t go to the police when his son was kidnapped, there was no way he would talk if he was arrested.

  “I think they know for sure that you had something to do with it.”

  “Me too,” Black smiled.

  “How can you not be concerned?”

  “Look, I know they know I had something to do with the murder, but proving it is different from knowing. How they hell are they going to prove it?”

  Lani’s phone rang. Jada was calling. “Hello?”

  Her phone beeped, and she said, “My battery is dying. I’ll call you back on Black’s phone.”

  Black passed her is cell phone. “But you can’t worry about that. I don’t know for sure what’s going to happen to me, but ain’t shit going to happen to you.” He put his arms around her waist and she moved away from him.

  “Quit acting like that.”

  “Acting like what?”

  “I already told you there will be no more you and me. We’re friends. That’s it.” She took a deep breath and said, “I can’t believe that I’m even your friend with as much shit as you have put me through. Yeah, I’ve dated hustlers most of my life and I’ve reaped some good benefits, but I never imagined being questioned by the police about a goddamned murder.”

  “You gotta take the good with the bad.”

  “That shit sounds comical to me. I gotta take the good with the bad.”

  “You’re a pretty girl, Lani. You could have gotten a professional nigga, Hell, that pervert-ass police officer sniffed your goddamned panties. You could have had him too, but you know what? You chose dudes like me and Chris.”

  “Every time you see me, it’s going to be about how flawed I am,” Lani said.

  “Hey, you keep telling me how fucked up I am. So I’m supposed to just sit here and put up with that?”

  “I was just letting you know that there is no you and me.”

  “And I’m letting you know that you can’t be with a regular motherfucker with a nine to five.”

  “What’s your security code for your phone.”

  “1982.”

  When she punched in the code, a picture mail came though from a woman named Sasha. All Lani could see was a naked ass and heels propped on the edge of the bed.

  “Somebody sent you a photo.” She showed Black the picture of the naked-ass woman.

  Black stood there with a silly ass grin.

  “So you want to be with me, huh?” Lani asked.

  Black shrugged and said, “What am I supposed to do? You ain’t trying to give me no action.”

  She flung the phone at him and he ducked. It barely missed his head.

  He picked up his phone and saw that the screen was shattered. “What the fuck was that all about?”

  “Quit saying shit that you don’t mean!”

  “You just told me that we will never be together, but you get mad cuz somebody sent me a pic?”

  Lani was trying to calm herself down. She said, “Look, I’m sorry.”

  “No, bipolar is what you are.”

  “Whatever.”

  “Seriously, why did you do that?”

  ” I got caught up in the moment. I’m sorry. Let me see the phone.”

  “The screen is cracked.”

  “Look, Black, I’m sorry.”

  “You love me, and I love you.”

  “I’ll always love you. You’ll always have my heart but not my mind, so I guess in that sense, I might be bipolar. My brain hates you, but my heart will always love you.”

  Black was staring at the cracked screen. Trying to decide if he could still use it to make calls.

  Lani said, “Who is Sasha?”

  “Why?”

  “I’ve never heard you say anything about her.”

  “She’s just somebody I know.”

  “You don’t need any more baby mamas.”

  “Trust me, no more kids for me.”

  “Trust you?” Lani laughed. “You’re a comedian.”

  “I think it’s time for me to leave.”

  “I was thinking the same thing.”

  Chapter 8

  Starr had hired Brooke, the girl who lived beside Trey’s stash house. She was enjoying her second day on the job when an irate customer walked in. Mr. David Walker stormed in and demanded to see the manager. Seconds later, Starr appeared and said, “Mr. Walker, what seems to be the problem?”

  “I want I full refund. I am very unsatisfied with the work you did to my home.”

  Starr was calm. She didn’t want to get into a verbal sparring match with the man. He’d been her first customer when she opened up the showroom. She earned close to eight grand decorating his home. His wife had told her that she had another home in Florida that she wanted decorated and would give her an even bigger commission.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I want my money back.”

  “I’ll give you a full refund, but first I want to know what didn’t you like.”

  “The furniture in the den looks tacky and cheap, and I hate the artwork that you chose.”

  Starr said, “You’re wife chose the artwork.”

  Troy entered the showroom. He stood a few feet away from Mr. Walker and listened to the whole conversation.

  “My wife didn’t choose that tasteless artwork.”

  Starr said, “Could you hold on for a second?” She disappeared into the office and returned with a consent form stating that all the artwork sales were final. Starr showed Mr. Walker his wife’s signature on the paperwork.

  David Walker scrutinized the form before admitting that it was his wife’s signature. “Okay, I’ll take the loss on the artwork, but that still doesn’t excuse the piss-poor job you did.”

  Starr wanted to curse him the fuck out, but she kept telling herself she had to be professional.

  Troy approached Mr. Walker. “Sir, is there any way we can make this right?”

  Mr. Walker was startled and he turned to Troy. “Who the hell are you?”

  “I’m her business partner, and we’re just starting out and want to make sure you are satisfied. If you’re not satisfied, we’ll refund your money and even the money for the artwork.” He winked at Starr.

  Starr didn’t know if she could survive a hit on the artwork if she gave Mr. Walker a full refund.

  “I get this. You just don’t want to give my money back,” Mr. Walker said.

  “That’s not it at all. We’re more concerned with our reputation than your money.”

  Mr. Walker was silent for a long time. “Can you put this in writing? That you will refund the money for the artwork if I’m not satisfied.”

  “We sure will, but only if you’re going to give us your input. We got your wife’s input the first time, and we assumed that she would be happy, but we never considered you.”

  “Not only will you get my input, but I’ll be there while you’re working.”

  The two men shook hands. Mr. Walker left without signing any paperwork.

  When Mr. Walker was gone, Brooke said, “What an asshole.”

  Starr came from behind the counter and hugged Troy and said, “Thanks for handling that situation, I was about to curse his ass out.” Then she turned to Brooke. “Will you fix me a cup of tea?”

  “Sure,” Brooke said then disappeared to the back.

  When Brooke was gone, Troy said, “I’m glad you didn’t curse him out. This is the business world. This is not easy money. You have to be patient with people. People are not going to just throw money away. They are going to scrutinize everything you do. This is not the drug business.”

  “I see. So what brings you here?” she asked.

  “I wasn’t doing anything, so I decided I would stop by. How is business going?” he asked.

  “Mr. Walker has been my only client this far. I have another client this weekend and another the following weekend. I guess to answer your question. Very slow.”

  “It’ll get better.”

  “I hope so.”

  He smiled and said, “Well, at least you stepped out on faith to pursue your dreams.”

  “But is faith going to pay the bills?”

  Troy looked around the showroom. “This is a very nice place you got here.”

  “Thanks.”

  “What are you doing to market yourself?”

  Starr shrugged. “It’s just mostly word of mouth, but Brooke my assistant has been doing some social media stuff.”

  “That’s what I was going to suggest and I have a couple of friends that are realtors and maybe you could pair with them, so they can give your business a boost.”

  “That’s a good idea. If you could help me do that, I would be grateful.”

  “Can’t believe Trey hasn’t tried to help you.”

  “Please. Trey is only concerned with Trey. You know your brother.”

  Brooke reemerged with a cup of green tea and 3 packets of Stevia for Starr.

  “Thanks for your help, Troy. If you will excuse me, Brooke and I need to do some organizing.”

  “Maybe we can meet up later for a drink. I’ll text you.”

  “Okay, cool.”

  When Troy was gone, Brooke said, “I can see you have a type.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “That man resembles Mr. Trey.”

  “He does, doesn’t he?” Starr wanted to laugh.

  Starr called Troy later that evening and they decided to meet at a little bar across from her building. She sat at a small table in the front, so she could spot Troy. She noticed him right away when he entered the room. He was wearing a blue plaid button down with a pink tie and Ray-Ban eyeglasses. His pants were a little tight but somehow he made it work. The outfit made his athletic body look even more amazing. Starr couldn’t believe that she was even attracted to the metrosexual look, but maybe she was growing up. Troy sat at the table and he was smiling hard. When he sat at the table, the barmaid appeared and asked what they were going to have to drink.

  “Water for me,” Troy said.

  “I thought you were a grown-ass man.”

  He laughed. “I am.”

  “Two Cirocs with cranberry juice.”

  When the barmaid returned, Starr slid one of the drinks to Troy’s side.

  “I’m not drinking.”

  “You are if you want to talk to me.”

  He laughed and sipped his drink. “I hope I can get up and go to work tomorrow.”

  “You will.”

  “I know I can’t afford not to. Too many damn student loans.”

  Starr sipped her drink and said, “So, Troy, what’s your deal?”

  “What do you mean, ‘what’s my deal’?”

  “Why do you want a girl like me?”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You’re a college boy, and you know I like street dudes.”

  Troy laughed and said, “So you’re calling me a square?”

  “No, I’m just trying to figure out what’s your motive. Do you want to fuck me to get back at your brother or something? What is it that you want with me?”

  Troy sipped his drink. “I see where you’re coming from.”

  “Good, because I’m puzzled by this attention that you’re giving me.”

  “Look, I’m not trying to get back at my brother, and it’s not about sex. I’m not trying to press you for sex.”

  “If it’s not about sex, tell me what is it about?”

  “It’s about knowing a good woman when I see one.”

  Starr laughed. “How do you know I’m a good woman?”

  “I had a good woman before.”

  “What happened?”

  “I wasn’t ready.”

  “You cheated?”

  “Well, not exactly.”

  “What the fuck does that mean?” Starr sipped her drink and said, “I’m sorry, but I’m not feeling cheaters these days, and just in case you didn’t know, I have a foul mouth from time to time. You sure you want to deal with that?”

  “Well, she wanted a title and I thought that was high school.”

  “How old were you when this happened?”

  “Twenty-eight.”

  “Well, why wouldn’t she want a title? You’re the one that’s high school.”

  “I know.”

  “But you cheated?”

  “Well, she wanted to take a break from seeing each other. While we were away from each other, I slept with somebody else.”

  “Just like your brother.”

  “I’m nothing like him. Nothing. Eversince then, I’ve been keeping it real with everybody I meet. If I want to be in a relationship, I say it, and if I don’t want to be in one, I say it. I don’t lead nobody on.”

  “You’re a grown-ass man, huh?”