Page 9 of You Make Me Feel

“Okay. I’m at the Houston office today, but I can come tomorrow around ten. Is that a good time?”

“Yes, sir. See you then. Do you know where we’re located?”

“I do. I pass it almost every day on my way home.”

“Okay, good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Thanks for your inquiry, Mr. Taylor, and hopefully, your business.”

“Oh, if you can do it, the contract will be yours. You came highly recommended.”

I smiled, thankful for the word-of-mouth recommendation. “That’s great to hear. Who recommended me?”

“My friend, Corey Sheffield, at Sheffield Infinity.”

“Oh yeah. He’s one of my best customers. I’ll have to give him a discount.”

“You ain’t gotta give him shit . . . just a thank-you. He won’t take the discount anyway.”

I chuckled again. He sounded like he would be cool to work for, just like Corey was. The dealership was so busy that two of my techs reported there and had their own office. When Corey’s IT guy quit, instead of hiring another individual, he decided to go with a Black-owned business and outsource it. He said there hadn’t been a Black IT company in Beaumont before me, not a professional one, anyway. I had a great working relationship with him and his son, Nicholas.

“Well, it’s worth a shot. I have to try to show him my appreciation.”

“Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you when you waste your time. He loves supporting Black businesses. White folks don’t give discounts when you refer them.”

“I guess. I don’t give discounts to everybody, but Corey is my biggest client.”

“Well, go ahead and waste your time,” he said, then chuckled. “I won’t take up any more of your time. See you tomorrow, Oliver.”

“Thank you, Mr. Taylor.”

“Devin.”

“Okay. Enjoy the rest of your day, Devin.”

“You too.”

When I ended the call, I was excited as hell. That accounting firm worked for nearly every large company in Beaumont. If he passed my name around, I knew my business would reach the next level. I couldn’t wait to see what I could do for him. As I looked through the tickets Ronnie had done, I could only nod my head. There were no complaints, and all seemed to be well. I tried to go with my gut when hiring people, and my gut told me that he was a good hire. Hopefully, he wouldn’t prove me wrong.

* * *

When I got to Mr. Taylor’s accounting firm, I was anxious to see what work he needed. I was excited to work for him and know he was so cool. After getting my bag from the backseat, I went inside. As soon as I opened the door, I saw him standing there talking to Corey. They smiled when they turned to me, and Corey extended his hand. I shook it and said, “Thank you so much for the recommendation. I got’chu next month.”

He frowned. “What’chu mean?”

“I’m going to cut your invoice in half next month.”

“Naw,” he said as he pulled his hand away. “I don’t expect shit in return for a recommendation. People that expect that shit doing it for the wrong reasons. If you give everyone a discount that recommends you, how you gon’ make money? Keep that.”

I glanced at Devin as he shrugged. “Told you.”

I chuckled as I heard a woman talking as she came down the hallway. When she entered where we were, and I saw it was Kinisha, I damn near stopped breathing. Seeing her in her business attire wasn’t too much different from her church attire. “Kinisha, I’d like you to come and meet our new IT guy. This is Oliver Andrews. He owns Andrews Technologies.”

She smiled brightly. “Hi, Oliver.”

I couldn’t help but smile in return. “Hey. Small world, huh?”

“Absolutely. Welcome to the team.”

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