Page 7 of Obsessive Love
“Yeah,” I said, laughing to try and break the tension I felt in the air. “I got you.”
“Thank you!” she giggled, then returned to her customer. We’d been friends for more years than I could count, and I never took her for granted. She was the daughter of a loan shark, while I was the daughter of his worst customer. I’ll never know how we became friends, but we did, and I thanked God daily for allowing it to happen.
I took the cookies to the counter behind the register, packed them, and then put them on the counter next to Yamari. “Havethey been paid for?” I figured they had because we were busy, but I didn’t want to assume anything.
“Yes, ma’am,” she answered with a nod. “His name is Pyrite Stone.”
“Thanks.” I grabbed a pen from the cup next to the tip jar, wrote his name on the box, put it in my pocket, and then set the box next to Yamari. “Here they are.”
“Thanks,” she said as she rang up the last customer.
“Call me if you need anything else; I’m going to start cleaning up the back,” I said as I left the front.
The kitchen wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but I still wanted to get a jump on the cleaning. I grabbed my headphones, only putting one in, and started getting to work. Like baking, cleaning brought me peace; while some hated it, I loved it. I started with the counters, ensuring I properly wiped them down before cleaning them. After finishing, I swept and mopped the floors before moving to the front. Yamari was long gone, but she’d cleaned before leaving, which I was grateful for.
“Hello?” I answered my phone and moved to the storage room to check supplies.
“Are you home?” Javien asked, and I rolled my eyes. We hadn’t talked in months, even though the last I heard, he was in town. More than likely, he was running between his three girlfriends’ houses, causing havoc. As long as he stayed away from me, I was good. “Huh, Fable, are you at home?”
“No,” I answered as I counted supplies and noted what I needed to order. “And no, before you ask, I don’t have any money you can borrow. I paid my bills.”
“You always got money,” he kissed his teeth in annoyance. “You just don’t want to share. Shit selfish.”
“Javien, you have a multimillion-dollar contract, and there is no way you are as broke as you pretend to be,” I replied as Istepped out of the storage room and closed the door. “You need to-”
“Aye, I ain’t trying to hear all that lecturing shit you do,” he cut me off. “I need the money.”
“I don’t have it,” I said as I walked to my office.
“Yeah, you do,” he laughed humorlessly. “I saw your accounts. You got way more than you act like you do.”
“You saw my accounts?” I repeated because he shouldn’t have seen anything related to my money. “How the fuck did you see my shit?”
“It pays to know people,” he replied. “Now, let me get a few stacks. I owe a nigga and need to get him off my back.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “If you owe, then you need to pay.”
“Not happening,” he said. “That nigga will have to kill me before I hand him my shit.”
“Then you better tell me what color you want me to wear to your funeral,” I said, grabbing my keys, purse, and laptop to leave. It was close to ten at night, and I had to be back here by four to start my day.
“Yeah, that ain’t happening,” he grunted. “How much is your lil bakery worth to you?”
“Don’t play with me, Javien,” I said, turning the light off and heading to the back door. “I’ll kill you my damn self if you think for one second that I’m going to sell my shit because of your debt.”
“It’s the shop or your life,” he replied, and I rolled my eyes. “Pick one.”
“Go to hell, Javien,” I said as I put the code in for my security system and stepped out of the building. My car was close enough to the back door that I didn’t have to walk far, but I still pulled my mace from my purse just in case. “Because baby, one thing I will never do is play about my life.”
“Good to know,” a deep voice said. I pulled the phone from my face and looked at the screen, slightly confused.
“Who the fuck is this?” I asked when I put the phone back to my ear. “And where the fuck is Javien?”
Instead of an answer, the phone disconnected. I stopped walking and tried to call Javien three times, but each time, it went straight to voicemail. Lord knows what my stupid ass brother had gotten himself into. Instead of stressing, I dialed Javien Sr.'s number, which went to voicemail.
“Fucking typical,” I said, hanging up and calling again, just for it to go straight to voicemail. “I don’t know what your stupid ass son has gotten into, but he called me talking about he needs some money. You better get to shooting those dice and making it for him. I’m not dealing with this shit from either of you. Fix it, Javien.” I hung up the phone, put it in my purse, and continued the walk to my car.
I pressed my key fob to unlock the doors just as a black SUV pulled up next to my car, blocking my path. The driver got out, rounded the car, and opened the back door. I watched as the man from earlier got out. He gave me a sexy smirk, and he licked his pretty ass lips.
