Page 102 of Tainted

“Fuck you, nigga. I was already on my way. What happened?”

“A ‘lil tussle with Phoenix. She’s in my office.”

“Did she win?”

Kross tilted his head and chuckled, “What fuckin’ difference does it make?”

“I can’t be telling people my girl will fuck you up, and she can’t hold her own.”

“Your girl? It’s like that now?”

According to Zara, I hadn’t asked her to be my girlfriend. The shit sounded stupid, so we were at an impasse on the subject.

“Your girlor not, she can’t come to work and do what she wants, Keyes. You know that.”

“Yours is,” I replied, exposing the lines on his forehead. “Why does Megan keep putting Zara on days?”

“Zara?”

“Nigga can you focus?”

“I don’t know. I’ll talk to Megan about it.”

“Handle it because you don’t want me to.”

“What happened to staying in our lane?”

“The rules don’t apply to her,” I shrugged.

Ignoring all the offers to turn my frown upside down, I walked into Kross’s office, ready to lay into Zara. The words I had lined up disappeared, watching her adjust her silver outfit. The tiny halter top was drenched in sequins and rhinestones, lifting her chest just enough to tease.

“Don’t come in here fussing. I don’t need that tonight,” Zara anticipated, raising an eyebrow like she knew exactly what I was thinking.

“Then what does theSilver Surferneed?”

She spun around, likely shocked that I didn’t fuss anyway, but I knew Zara and all of her faces well. She was extra fidgety and didn’t need my mouth right now.

“I don’t know. I solved one problem, and now it feels like I have gained more. Brandy is a wreck because Otto is in jail. Megan is still on my ass, and hitting Phoenix didn’t help.” she bounced between emotions like she was ready to either scream or cry. “Now I have to perform, and it feels like a million people out there. I can’t afford to fuck up, but it’s so much shit on my mind, and I just.”

Her breathing sped up like she was struggling to catch it between sentences.

“You don’t have to perform tonight. In case you forgot, I’m the boss. That’s an easy fix.”

Zara relaxed her shoulders and summoned me with her finger, and like a puppy, I obliged.

“I know that’s hard for you to understand, but I don’t need you to solve all my problems. Sometimes, I just need you to be here while I solve them. If or when I can’t, I’ll come to you.”

Hearing that made me want to solve her problems even more. Not because she wasn’t capable of handling her own. She was just that special to me that she didn’t deserve the stress that came with doing so.

“I can’t make any promises, but I hear you, Babygirl."

“I love that you always want to help me, but I’ll be okay.”

“Did you just say you love me?”

Zara snorted a little as a laugh escaped. “I did not say that.”

“Then I guess you better get out there and make my money. The first is around the corner, and rent is due,” I grabbed her neck and slid my tongue in her mouth because I was all out of self-restraint, but Zara pushed away and laughed.

---