Page 30 of Stolen Moments with a Bad Boy

Londen stepped next to me.

“The café is doing great also. It’s doing so great that some of Chicago’s hottest rappers will be performing at the fourth anniversary celebration!” Londen animatedly announced, rubbing my hair.

“Damn! That’s what I like to hear. Now that we’re here and acquainted, where’s the food at? I can smell it.”

They all laughed at me. I was so serious. Just because I was hurt didn’t mean I wasn’t hungry. Janeiro’s uncle and aunt passed out trays of food from my café, and I beamed with joy.

Fourteen

Erie

Three months after my attempted assassination, I still had a hard time processing that my own brother wanted me dead. The man was so serious that he’d made a couple of attempts. He even hired my own man to take me out. Troy Jr. was as delusional as they came. Since he was still a free man, I feared when the next attack would be.

Ro continued to reassure me, but I didn’t fully believe it because something told me that Troy wouldn’t stop until I was dead. What Troy didn’t know was that I had a real rider by my side. He could continue with his attempts, but Ro was going to handle business every time. My baby didn’t play about his Bella.

I’d recovered quite well. There was still some soreness in my shoulder. The thin scar on my head was close to being invisible. The healing process was slow, but nonetheless, I was good. I was grateful for my fighting spirit and a very caring lover.

Today was a special day for Ro and me. I was in my office and worked diligently to tackle everything that I needed to do before I was forced by Janeiro and Londen to go on maternity leave. The last task on the list was my proposal for Raquel, my lounge bartender. There was a knock on the door.

“Come in!” I shouted.

Raquel popped her head in.

“What’s up, boss lady? You wanted to see me?” she asked skeptically.

“Yes. Come on in and have a seat.”

“Is everything okay?” she quizzed, taking a seat in the opposite chair of me.

“Relax, Raquel. You’re good, boo. Remember some months ago, I told you I had a proposal for you?”

“Oh, yeah. It slipped my mind. My bad, boss lady.”

“No problem at all. The proposal I wanted to run by you was us working together to start our own line of fruity alcoholic drinks.”

“Yoo! That’s a dope ass idea! I’m down seriously!” she replied eagerly.

I smiled genuinely.

“Yass, boo! Let’s get this schmoney!” I animatedly rubbed my fingertips together, making the universal money gesture. “Okay, do you have time to talk?”

“Yes, I do. I got nothing but time right now. Thank you for this opportunity, and I won’t disappoint you. I honestly thought you gassed me up, but now I see you meant every word.”

“You damn skippy. I don’t fake it for nobody, boo. Now, here’s the contract I had drafted for our business. This is an equal partnership. I want you to find your own lawyer and have him look this over. If you can’t afford one, I will cut you a check to pay for one,” I stated.

“No need, boss lady. My uncle is a lawyer, so I get a family discount. Thank you for the offer. We about to take over, girl!”

“You ain’t saying shit but the truth. Now, go celebrate but pay attention to the deadline for the contract. I want to make sure we get the ball rolling soon.”

“Oh, no doubt. I’m on top of it.” Raquel stood to leave when there was a knock on the door.

“Come in!” I yelled.

Dawn stepped into my office, and immediately, the atmosphere changed. Raquel and Dawn stared at each other with lust filled eyes. Raquel’s tongue snaked out of her mouth and ran across her upper lip with skilled precision.

I cleared my throat. “Hey, Dawn!”

“Hey, Erie,” she spoke, not taking her eyes away from Raquel.

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