“Did you really just forget that she already told me she was going to visit a damn realtor about selling her grandmother’s house? Like nigga, it hasn’t even been an hour, and you’ve already forgot what the fuck was going on?”
The driver did not respond, but I could see the bead of sweat rolling down his temple. I almost felt bad for the guy. I mean, he may have been a creep, but he was just doing his job. Not very well but still doing his job.
“I asked you a question,” Mr. L’s voice sliced through the silence.
“Y-yes sir. I mean, no I didn’t forget I just –”
“How about this, do not call my line unless Addison’s ass has run away or got some nigga in her face.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I swear hiring this young muthafucka was a mistake.”
The line disconnected and I heard the driver let out a shaky breath. He quickly cleared his throat and exited the car. I wanted to give him some words of encouragement, but I didn’t. Besides, he was literally there to tell on me. Not my fault his ass got in trouble.
A few seconds later, my door was opened and I hastily stepped out of the vehicle, avoiding eye contact with the driver. I tilted my head back to see S&V Realty in bold white letters on the front of the building. The green lawn was carefully manicured and held neatly trimmed bushes and a few tall trees around the permitter. The modern four story building had large windows across the front, allowing the natural glow of the sun to beam into each office. The sleek black glass façade gave the building an intimidating yet powerful appearance, which made my confidence for Mr. Adalyn to help me that much stronger.
Taking a deep breath, I headed towards the revolving doors and made my way inside the building. Stepping inside, the open layout was decorated with hues of black and gold. I stepped closer to a picture on the wall displaying happy families holding up keys to their new homes. I even saw a picture of a beautiful Black couple about to cut the ribbon in front of a bookstore. I couldn’t help but smile at all of the contagious joy radiating off each of the memories. Across all of the pictures, I noticed that S&V really helped the local community. I read their reviews online and I was impressed by how much they were really for the people and not just after their money.
“Good morning, can I help you?”
I jerked my head to the side to see a petite woman with shoulder length curly red hair and hazel eyes smiling up at me.
“Oh, good morning. My name is Addison, and I have an appointment to see Mr. Adalyn.”
Her eyebrows dipped as her red coated lips slightly frowned. “I’m sorry dear, but Mr. Adalyn is not in at the moment.”
“What? He told me that I could meet him at the office today.”
“Let me double check with his assistant. Sometimes he sneaks in and leaves without anyone knowing. Addison, correct?”
I nodded my head.
“What’s your last name, hun?”
Oh, right. I never gave him my last name. I bet he had hundreds of clients named Addison and probably couldn’t remember which one to add to his list for meetings.
I swallowed and cleared my throat. “Billingsley, but you can tell him we texted about a meeting the prior week.”
She smiled with a nod. “Sure thing. Just give me a second, sweetheart.” The woman said, gesturing towards the lobby area.
I smiled and took a seat, trying to control my racing mind. Did I get the day mixed up? No, I couldn’t have. I’ve read and reread our text thread over and over again. Hell, it was the only hope I had and it gave me the strength to keep fighting for my freedom. Maybe this was a prank. I mean, maybe I emailed the wrong address or was texting the wrong number. Maybe it was Mr. Adalyn’s girlfriend or wife this whole time. I shook my head. No, that was dumb. Why would his partner get mad about a business proposition?
I bounced my leg as sweat began to creep down my neck. I was nervous and becoming afraid. What if there wasn’t any Mr. Adalyn? What if there was but he was a big creep like Dr. Johnston? I clamped my eyes shut and inhaled through my nose. Counting softly to five, I exhaled through my mouth. I was overthinking and assuming the worse for no reason. I needed to stay positive. I had a good feeling when I reached out to Mr. Adalyn, and I was going to see this meeting through.
“Ms. Billingsley?” the receptionist called.
I stood to my feet and headed back towards her desk.
“You may go up. Security will get you to the right place.”
I looked over my shoulder to see a Black woman in a white button down blouse, black blazer and black slacks holding her arm out, pointing towards the elevator. Around her waist was a baton, gun holder, flashlight, and a can of mace. She had on gold framed glasses and her hair was styled into a pixie cut. She had a medium frame, but I could tell by her demeanor that she was probably toned. Hell, her tight jaw and pinched brows let me know that she could most definitely kick anybody’s ass that get in the way of her boss.
I followed behind her as we stepped onto the elevator. She pressed the top floor and used her thumb print to bypass the security code when prompted. I couldn’t help but notice the few similarities between this office and Mr. L’s. The main difference was that I didn’t get an uneasy feeling here. I looked up and saw the numbers creeping closer to the top floor. My heart raced and sweat began to form in my palms. My anxiety was through the roof because this needed to work. Mr. Adalyn was my final option.
The elevator dinged before opening. We stepped off the elevator and walked through double glass doors. The sitting area had a leather sectional couch and gold end tables. There was a closed office door with a black metal door frame to my right that had V. Reense stenciled on the front. To my left was a similar door, but the name had S. Adalyn. In the middle of the two doors was a desk that the security guard took a seat in.
I opened my mouth to ask her if I should sit and wait when the door to my left opened. My lips parted as a tall, deep olive-toned man stood in the doorway. His black hair was pulled back into a low ponytail. He had on a black button down shirt that was partially opened, causing his gold chain that had a cross on the end to rest against his broad chest. A tattoo of a red and black scorpion ran down the side of his neck and underneath his chin. Another tattoo was on his chest, but I couldn’t make out what it was. I could tell by the ink on his knuckles that he was probably tatted all over his body. His full lips spread into a smile, showing off a gold bottom grill and two gold fangs.
