Page 152 of Shâhzâdeh

“No loose ends.” Navi grinned happily, like the thought of taking someone out made her day. You would’ve never guessed this stunning woman would be a trigger-happy little sociopath.

I sighed and couldn’t even be made about what they were saying. “I guess.”

“Did you find a dress?”

“I didn’t.” I glanced at Quentin who only stood with his arms crossed. The office wasn’t big and was a typical rental space. Glass office doors that were of course replaced with ballistic glass. Two desks sat side by side with about ten feet in between the two of them. Navi wanted to expand the office as though I needed privacy, and I didn’t think it was necessary. She didn’t work for me, she worked with me.

Her brows shot up and from her grin she looked like she was ready to get her gun. “Oh, what happened?”

“What makes you think—”

“You hesitated to respond, which means something minimized the excitement that you had at shopping. You don’t have a shopping problem, but you like pretty things. You seem irritated over the trip instead of happy. So what happened?”

“That ex of hers showed up.”

Navi looked so irritated at the idea of Jonathan, and I didn’t blame her. “Did we check all her shit for trackers because I don’t understand how he keeps popping up?” She looked genuinely confused about how he kept bothering us.

“Divine intervention. Even God is ready for us to send him to hell.” The three of us were laughing and I should’ve felt bad but I didn’t.

“His, our, adoptive mother works in that store. She bothered me and Frankie there previously. I guess she was around and told him I was there. Either way, I’m going to file a complaint—”

“Already on it.” Navi walked to her desk, pulled out her phone and began to type away and I could only imagine what she was saying.

I didn’t make it over to my office door before Vincent walked in dressed in his usual business attire with someone walking behind him.

“What’s up, V?” He gave me a head nod before he took in everyone else in the room.

“Hey, Vincent. What can I do for you?”

I saw Quentin frown from his spot near the door and Navi narrow her eyes at his familiarity. None of them knew that he and I were friendly and the man who walked in behind him I didn’t know at all.

“I got a bone to pick with you. How you run off and get married and not say shit? I ain’t even get an invitation or nothing.” An announcement was put in the paper and the wedding had made the news because of how much of Uptown was going to be shut down because of it. There was no online footprint of Xerxes’ face, but mine had been attached to my business. That quickly changed after the broadcast.

“I doubt her husband wanted someone around that would be trying to flirt with his wife.” Navi sat up in her chair like she would jump across the desk and take him out. The orange of her outfit looked amazing against her almond colored skin. Vincent didn’t realize he was playing with fire because I could see the flirtation in his eyes when he looked at her.

“It ain’t that type of time beautiful, but damn it sure could be with your fine ass.” Vincent looked at Navi like he’d want nothing more than to get to know her inside and out.

“I would hang you upside down by your toes on the roof before I cracked open your sternum so the birds could feast.”

My mouth hung open at the way she so quickly and vividly painted a bloody picture. Quentin was laughing and the man that had come with Vincent now looked intrigued.

“All that over a compliment. I must be doing something wrong if I’m failing with every woman I come across. Her ass is more your type ‘Mad.”

“Maybe.” His eyes left from Navi and came back to me, making me frown. I don’t know why he was looking at me but I wished he would stop. I didn’t feel like having Vincent die because of his friend.

“But no harm on that, Vanya. I’m glad to see that you are improving stuff around here. Since you shot me down I had a chick I took out and that was a terrible move. She’d been trying to come up here and cut up but the new security shut her down quick. So thank you for that. And I should probably keep my Black ass at the house since the crazy women I want don’t want me.”

An email to all tenants had gone out about the new owner and, of course Vincent knew my name and congratulated me on the purchase.

Navi sucked her teeth and I had to interject before she said something out of pocket. Well, more out of pocket. “I mean I wanted to get what I was paying for when I lived here so why shouldn’t everyone else?”

“That’s admirable.” His friend spoke up from behind him and I looked at him and saw he still a curious look on his face.

I smiled briefly before I responded, “That’s good business.”

“I see you ain’t keep up the tradition of money laundering through the cafe.” Vincent cracked a smile but it dropped off his face when Navi and Quentin both pulled guns.

My hands flew up but I wasn’t crazy enough to get in the middle of this shit. I turned to Quentin and Navi so they could understand the joke but neither looked moved to stand down. The tension in the room was now higher than the damn building and I needed to diffuse the situation.

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