Wilde rolled a blunt while the conditioner sat in his hair. When he was done, I washed it out, put in leave-in conditioner, and blow dried it halfway. He told me the rest of it could air dry. Wilde walked me out to my car and tongued me down so good and nasty in the process that I almost got out of the car and went back inside so we could get a quickie in. I would have to get on birth control for sure, messing around with him.
Glancing at the clock on my dash, I saw that it was 9:56, and my first appointment was at 10. It was also KoKo’s day to help out at the garage, and that 10:00 appointment was Nina. I broke the speed limit the rest of the way to my garage, and I arrived at 10:08. Sure enough, a gorgeous Range Rover was parked out front. I hurried out of my car and almost ran into the check-in area. Nina was standing a few feet away from the check-in counter, and KoKo was on the phone. The tension in the room was thick for sure.
KoKo was dressed in leggings and a sports bra. She was dressed all the way down but still looked cute. Her natural curls were pulled back into a ponytail, and she smelled amazing. I wasn’t sure what fragrance she was wearing, but she had the entire lobby area smelling like money.
“I’m so sorry I’m late, boo. Come on to the back.”
Nina followed me into my garage area. “You’re fine. I’ve literally only been here for a minute. But um, I’m assuming that’s KoKo.”
“Why do you say that?” my heart began to race.
“Listen, I’m not a petty bitch. I promise I’m not. And if I was the old Nina, I probably would have spazzed on her, but I’m so over that shit. The entire time that I stood there, she didn’t acknowledge me once. I assume she’s KoKo just from her attitude, but this is your place of business. I should have been greeted or acknowledged in some kind of way, even if she only held her finger up while she was on the phone. Attitude with me for what? I’ve had enough Pierre induced drama to last a lifetime. I’m good on that shit.”
“I feel you, and I’m so sorry. I told you from the beginning that I didn’t want to be in the middle of anything. But you are absolutely correct. This is a place of business, and you are a paying customer. You should have been treated better than that. I’ll take a hundred dollars off the service.”
Nina waved the comment off. “Girl, you don’t have to do that. I’m good. I promise.”
I told her she could pull her car into the garage, and it was taking everything in me to remain calm. I loved KoKo, and I was trying real hard to be neutral in the matter, but she was starting to piss me off. Someone came to pick Nina up and as soon as she left, KoKo ran into the garage.
“What that bitch say?”
I shot her an evil glare that made her brows hike. I didn’t want to talk to her at the moment because I was angry. KoKo was my friend, and Nina was the last thing I wanted to argue about, but bringing her shit into my place of business was a no no.
“I know you don’t call yourself being mad at me?” KoKo drew back.
“Yes, I’m mad because she didn’t even know who you were for real. She assumed you were KoKo because of your attitude. How was she standing in there for a minute, and you didn’t even acknowledge her? This isn’t the streets. It’s my place of business.”
“So, now that bitch is so bothered that she’s snitching?”
“She’s actually not bothered at all, which is the reason the two of you didn’t end up into it. And she had every right to say something to me, because in here, I don’t give a damn ‘bout her being Pierre’s girl. She’s a paying customer.”
“You have your head so far up that bitch’s ass it’s crazy. You don’t have to worry about me being unprofessional anymore. I’m out.”
Now she was quitting in the middle of a shift. Lesson learned. I would just hire a stranger off the street because hiring friends and family was dead. Pierre had KoKo about to lose her mind, and I had my own damn problems. I was going to make a post on social media and just have a day for open interviews. Other people’s drama wasn’t going to stress me out and as far as the friendship, if KoKo calmed down and she wanted to talk, we could. I wasn’t about to kiss her ass. She wanted me to have an issue with Nina, and I wasn’t doing it.
I had known KoKo for ten years, and we’d never fallen out. She was dead wrong, however, and I wasn’t folding. I was even willing to give her grace because maybe pregnancy hormones had her acting a fool, but I was still going to check her about being professional. I was paying her to work for me, which meant I upheld her to the same standard I would anyone else.
Tyrese came in about an hour after I got started on Nina’s car. I knew he was going to be late because he told me he had child support court. “Oh damn, I thought KoKo was going to be here today. As soon as I walked up front, I heard the phone ringing.”
“She had to leave. I’m going to hold open interviews Friday, so I can get someone in here on a full-time basis.” That was the only explanation I gave, and he was cool with it.
Even though I was mad, it wasn’t his business what went on. I hated that KoKo felt I was more loyal to Nina than her, but Iknew my character. She should, too, but shit happened. It was what it was.
Later that night,Wilde wanted me to spend the night with him, but I wasn’t comfortable being in the house with cough syrup. I told him to come to my house, and that’s what he did. When I woke up the next morning and smelled bacon, I thought I was tripping. I wasn’t sure who I thought would have been cooking if it wasn’t Wilde, but I still looked over on the other side of the bed. He was, in fact, missing. I had to pee, so I got up and went in the bathroom. After washing my hands, I also washed my face, and brushed my teeth. In the kitchen, I saw Wilde at the stove, scrambling eggs and singing along with the Mary J. Blige song that was playing from his phone on the counter.
I sniggered as I watched him from behind. Even though I couldn’t see his face, I admired what I could see – his inked back, wild curls, and tall frame. I watched him for a good two minutes before he turned around.
“You like what you see?” he licked his lips, making me grin harder.
“I just want to know if you can cook or if you’re in here wasting good food.”
“Oh, I can cook now. My mama was a hoe. All she did was sell pussy and drink, so my grandma raised me. She used to make me sit in the kitchen and do my homework while she cooked. I was around her so much in the damn kitchen, I can probably bake a cake with my eyes closed.”
“What about your father?” I sat down at the table while he fixed my plate.
“He’s a pastor. We don’t talk because after he fornicated on Saturday night, got up to preach on Sunday morning, and tried to tell me right from wrong on Monday, I wasn’t going for it. He’s a hypocrite that plays with God and he can’t tell me nothing about nothing. What about you?”
“I’m a daddy’s girl. I got my love for working on cars from my father. I wanted to hang with him and do whatever he was doing. I’d watch him work on cars for hours. Me and my mom are cool, but I’m closer with my father. For a while, I think my mother was jealous of our relationship.”
