Page 14 of Disrespectfully, Relic

He walked toward the door with that order, pulling it open before turning to her with bored eyes and a simple toss of his head. Her reluctance was noticeable, but Relic waited with unusual patience just to show her that he always ended up the winner. The teasing murmurs from his folks at her expense proved, they knew the same.

Kennedy folded her arms in defiance but stomped out of the studio as if a simple conversation with Relic pained her. She couldn’t reveal that her curiosity about him had been piqued since their first encounter, but his notorious reputation dissuaded her from entertaining any interests in him.

“What the hell are you looking at?” she snapped, brushing past his solid build and into the small lobby.

Relic ignored her attitude and scrubbed a thumb over his bottom lip, examining her figure as she leaned against the front desk that been deserted since he’d purchased the place. His scrutiny raked across the hoodie hiding most of her burn scars, before it dipped to the biker shorts squeezing her thighs and round ass. The thin material gave him an outlining glimpse of a pussy he’d consider playing nice for.

“I’m looking at you.” His answer came easy as he sauntered to the desk to stand beside her. He rested an arm on the wooden surface before quizzing, “You always cover your scars?”

“See, you’re already worried about the wrong shit, Relic. What do you want?”

“I want to know what’s up with this date situation between us that you put in my son’s head?”

That got Kennedy to spit out a laugh before she finger-combed her tiny, butt-length braids while turning to face him. She leaned on the desk to mimic his stance and angled her head.

“You tell me. Your son initiated it, so it had to be for a reason. Probably because you keep telling the damn boy that I’m your girlfriend when we don’t know each other from a can of paint.”

“I explained to him, I was just fucking around.”

“Oh, you do that? Because if I recall correctly, you told me that you weren’t the type to joke around. Which is it?”

“I do it when I’m comfortable. When I’m with my folks or son and don’t have to worry about watching my back as much.”

His admission snatched the smirk off Kennedy’s face before an understanding stare replaced it. Her brother had been the same way. Koda was tough as nails with the world, but as soft as cotton with her and Tekken. He’d shoot a nigga in broad daylight one moment and in the next, pick her up from school and sing songs with her at the top of their lungs as if he hadn’t just stolen a life. Her brother had always told her that she was his safest space.

“I get that. They’re the ones who you can trust and let your guard down with.”

“I never let down my guard. Now, let’s get to the point of you thinking that you can run my business better than me.” Relic changed the subject because she’d treaded into personal territory that didn’t concern her. “What if I offered you a proposition to prove it? A partnership, so to speak.”

“A partnership where I run your business?”

“One where I teach you the ins and outs, so when I’m tied up with other shit, my tasks can be delegated to you.”

“Does this said partnership mean I’m getting paid? If not, we can end this small talk now before you waste your time. I’m not a bitch that’ll move at your beck and call for free, sorry.”

Every muscle in Relic’s face tensed as he inhaled a controlled breath. Joseph would’ve sent her head slamming against the desk before the snarky rebuttal flowed through her lips if she was Judith. His fingers pinched at his nose bridge, containing that knee-jerk reaction while he debated reneging on his spur of the moment proposal for the infraction. Relic let her insolence slide, knowing the ends was bigger than the means.

“You’ll get paid if you do the work, Kennedy. Since you think you can be a boss, I’m putting you in the field. Savvy has been doing a lot in the background for me lately, but she has the restaurants, my accounts, and dealing with the kids to worry about. She can’t do it all, and you aren’t doing shit.”

“I could be doing a lot if my salon was finished like Nu’s spot is. Mind you, the grand opening is around the corner.”

“Mysalon, and it’ll be done. If the contractors aren’t moving fast enough, go up there and check some shit. As far as what I need, are you good with social media?”

“Of course. Did you not do your homework before randomly offering me to run your business? That doesn’t sound very boss-like of you.”

“You need to watch your slick ass mouth.” He eliminated the space between them in a single step while delivering that reprimanding. Her lips pursed while staring at him, unfazed, as he explained, “Savvy did all of that. Now, you’ll do it. I need you to search for a female rapper for the label. I need a makeup artist for Nubia’s spot because the one we hired, moved. You need—”

“Don’t worry about me. I handpicked every stylist for my salon, and you’ll meet them at the grand opening,” she cut him off to divulge with a smug grin. “What else?”

“I need you to find a dress for our date. Revealing but not over the fucking top or tacky. Preferably red, and don’t hide your scars.”

Laughter spilled from Kennedy at his request, but it waned as she stared at his stoned eyes, full mouth, and strong jawline that didn’t flinch. A lump built in her throat once realizing that he was serious.

“First off, check my stats because I’m never tacky. Secondly, that’s not going to happen.”

“Why not? You know, these are a part of you now, right?”

He reached out to pinch her chin between his fingers before she could recoil. Her breathing shallowed as he turned her head, inspecting the unevenness of her damaged skin before grazing the keloid ridges with a thumb.

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