“Chef Tony, this is the friend I was telling you about.” He looked me over, and I can see he admired how the scandalous uniform fit.
“Get on the bus.” He said before looking back down at his checklist.
“Okay girl, I’m not going to be riding there with you. But don’t do anything till I get there, we are coming a little later. Once I get there I will let you know when the time is right. Go ahead.” I turned to step up on the bus.
“Yas!” She whispered loudly. I paused looking back at her.
“Whatever you do, don’t draw any attention to yourself.” She smiled. “Be that mouse you’re so good at being.” I stared at her as she walked away. That was the story of my life. Yasmin the invisible—Yasmin the country mouse nobody cared for.
Surely, she didn’t care or else she wouldn’t be making me do this. I may be from a small town nobody has ever heard of, but even I knew that if I get caught I was dead. But what choice did I have. She didn’t mention putting me out because she was so sure this was going to work.
My mama used to say that God will never put more on us than we can handle. I thought about the series of unfortunate events that had happened to me in the last few weeks, one after another. Beginning with me finding my pa-pa slumped over dead in our raspberry grove.
And know I’m thinking that maybe God misjudged me. Maybe he had too much faith in me. I was slipping… falling and I don’t think I can hold on much longer. I’ve reached my breaking point and I don’t know what’s going to happen when I snapped under this pressure.
“Okay listen up!” Chef Tony said stepping up on the bus. “I know that most of you are Temps and don’t understand how we do things around here.” He waved his clipboard in the air as he spoke.
“Shugga’s Place is the best in town because we give the best service. Tonight, you represent us and you will be expected to give your best. This is a very important client. For those of you who worked for us, I don’t have to tell you how Shugga feels about this client. But for you Temps, it’s simple. Go there, do your job and go home. You are not here to entertain the guess. You are not here to enjoy yourself. You are only here to do your job, which is to serve the food and clean up behind the guest.” He held up his hands.
“Period.”
chapter three
Unfamiliar Territory
Gabriel
“Work with me Gabe! We need to change your image. You’re scaring away potential investors.”
I grunted as I looked down at my foyer for my missing girl. The strippers had been here for over an hour and I have yet to see her.
“People are afraid to tell you no. They think they’ll turn up dead if they do!” I lifted one side of my mouth in a grin, but it felt foreign so I stopped.
“Big guy, that’s not a good thing. Investors need to feel like they have options. They need to feel safe.”
She should have been here by now. My eyes connected with Kenny’s, who was downstairs sweet-talking a woman in a black dress. He excused himself and headed my way.
Damn it!
She wasn’t here!
“Bro, are you even listening to me?” Barry my attorney for the last six years continued to squawk in my ear. However, I was in no mood for his nagging. Turning slowly to look at him, I gave him my undivided attention. He swallowed and took a step back.
“See what I mean? You have to stop that!”
“Stop what, Barry? I simply looked at you.” He chuckled, as he took his handkerchief out of his pocket and mopped it across his forehead before shoving it back in with hands that shook slightly.
“You know you have a way of looking at people that’s a little unnerving.” I exhaled, turning to see how close Kenny was. This is why I made him President of my company. Not only to be the face of it, but to be a buffer between me and the people I do business with. I ran my company from behind the scenes, mainly because I have a vicious nature. At least, that is what Barry and Kenny were fond of telling me. The truth was, I had no tolerance for bullsh*t. And Barry’s nervous way of trying to be down was getting ready to really upset me. I don’t even know why he thought he could come up here and speak directly to me in the first place.
“Have you found your mystery lady?” Kenny asked as he walked up the last few steps, coming to join Barry and I where we stood at the second-floor balcony that overlooked nearly the whole first level of my home. My eyes scanned the crowd again.
Damn, this girl had me caking like a buster—thirsty for another taste of her sweetness. I felt like a feen. I can’t remember the last time I hungered for a woman. They came a dime a dozen… too often for me to think about one longer than our time together; which was generally a few hours?
Yet, it was something about this innocent. She did something that hadn’t happened in a long time. She tweaked my curiosity. I didn’t become the business man I am today without being able to read people.
She had never kissed a man before. I would bet my fortune she was still a virgin. I watched my touch awaken her for the first time. I almost groaned remembering it. The look of wonder and pleasure she wore when she peaked had almost made me lose control and ravish her lush body that begged for
