Chapter Fourteen
Trina and I stayed outside admiring the new ride and test-driving it for almost two hours. We drove around the whole city just to flex. I couldn’t believe such a good thing had happened to me. It was like a fairy tale.
“The million-dollar question is, are you going to dinner with Cash tonight?” Trina asked as we pulled back up to the hotel. Our trip was supposed to end today, and we were scheduled to hit the road by 2:00 p.m. in order to get home and prepared for the coming workweek.
“Life is about taking risks. I think I’m going to stay and go to dinner. I have to see what Cash is about.” I was so open for this nigga that he could’ve driven a Mack truck up my nostrils.
“I’m not even mad at you. This is a real once-in-a-lifetime encounter. Hell, if you don’t call the nigga and accept the date, I sure will!”
“Bitch!” I punched her arm.
“I was just playing.”
“Yeah, okay.” I looked at her sideways. “Hey, let me have a few minutes of alone time to call Dom. I’ll be up to the room as soon as I’m done.”
“You better sound believable,” she coached before stepping out of the car and leaving me alone.
* * *
Lying to Dominic was as easy as 1-2-3. I told him I needed to extend my trip for an extra day because of the car accident. After swearing to him I was okay and uninjured, I told him I loved him and would see him tomorrow. I failed to mention the new car because I didn’t feel like doing all that explaining. My plan was to show up with the car and a fabricated story. My lie included a wealthy white lady who paid for the car outright. I would say that she didn’t want her husband to see an insurance claim or police report for drunk driving. It sounded believable to me, so that was my story and I was sticking to it.
Even with my lie to Dom covered, I was still nervous. All day I pondered calling Cash and actually accepting his date invitation, or declining. On one hand, he was the very man I’d prayed to meet my whole life. On the other hand, I feared what spending more time with him would do to my relationship. I was so attracted to him that it would be hard to disconnect from him and return to my regular life.
After a little more thought and persuasion from Trina, I decided to go. Of course, Noel was out of the loop on this one. Trina created a diversion by taking her sightseeing to get her out of my hair for a while. Right now, they were probably at the Motown Historical Museum, which was the old Motown recording studio. Of all the times Noel had visited the D, she’d never been. Therefore, the plan was perfect, and she was none the wiser.
As I paced back and forth in the hotel suite, my mind kept telling me to call Cash and cancel, but after glancing at the nightstand clock, I changed my mind. He would be arriving in a few minutes, which meant it was too late to back out. Besides, I had been cooped up in the house with Dom for too long with tension thick enough to cut. A chance to hang out in good company was just what the doctor ordered.
Everything about what I was doing was wrong. I didn’t know what it was about Cash that had me going against my better judgment. Truth be told, dude had me gone. Maybe it was his style, his money, or his good looks, but whatever it was, I was fiending hard. Looking myself over in the mirror, I blew my signature kiss and took in the beautiful sight before me. I had on a red strapless Yves Saint Laurent sundress with gold accessories and gold wedge sandals. I air-dried my hair, causing it to curl even tighter than it already was. A little oil sheen and curl activator put the finishing touch on my Marilyn Monroe look. Just as I grabbed the gold LV bag Trina had given me for my birthday, my cell phone rang.
“Hello,” I said in a sexy tone because I knew it was Cash.
“What’s up, Chanel? I’m downstairs,” he said in the most masculine voice I’d heard in a while.
“Be there in a sec.”
“All right. Don’t keep a nigga waiting with your sexy ass.”
If I’d had on any panties, they would’ve been wet behind that statement. Without another word, I ended the call and headed out the door.
I smiled wide when I saw the money green Range Rover parked outside. Cash’s boy Caesar jumped out and opened my door. As I stepped inside, the smell of some serious Kush filled the air. “Damn, y’all are smoking good!” I sat back on the leather seat, then clicked on my seat belt.
“Only the best,” Cash replied as Caesar pulled off, bumping Plies’s “In Love With Money.”
“That’s my favorite song!” I said, rapping along to the words.
“Mine too! My favorite part is when he says, ‘Talk to a broke nigga, I bet his life rough, talk to a rich nigga, I bet he cheer you up.’”
I smiled and nodded because that was also one of my favorite parts.
“Where to, boss?” Caesar asked.
“Stop in Highland Park really quick. We need to talk to that nigga Dino about that count coming back wrong.”
Caesar nodded and continued driving.
“You don’t mind, do you, ma? Can we make a quick stop?” he asked, looking at me with dreamy eyes that I had just noticed for the first time.
“Not at all. Handle your business,” I said with a wave of my hand. Truthfully, I didn’t give a damn where we went as long as I was with him.
As we pulled up in front of a run-down, seemingly abandoned house on Eason, Caesar turned down the music and pulled his cell phone out. “What up doe, where is Dino? Send that nigga outside!” he demanded before getting out of the whip to open Cash’s door.
A young male about 18 or 19 walked from the side of the house, and I noticed a look of pure evil come across Cash’s face as he got out of the SUV. His grimace reminded me of one a cutthroat killer might wear. It kind of scared the shit out of me, but it also turned me on at the same time.
“Where the fuck is my motherfucking money?” Cash asked with saliva flying from his mouth.
I could tell the young boy was scared out of his mind as he replied, “Cash, um, Moe told me, um . . .” he stuttered.
“What the fuck are you trying to say, little nigga?”
“Um, Moe said that he would collect the money last night, and he let me go home early,” he said with what looked like tears in his eyes.
“Did I give you that order personally?” Cash’s question was rhetorical. “No, the fuck I didn’t, so I’m holding you responsible for my shit coming up short!” In one swift motion he backhanded Dino so hard his nose and lip busted at the same time. The action scared me so bad it caused me to leap from my seat. Dino bent down instantly and grabbed his face just as Cash punched him so hard in the stomach he threw up all over the sidewalk. I turned my head because I had a weak stomach, and I didn’t want to ruin my dress by throwing up too. I was unable to look away for long, however, so I turned back to the scene. Poor Dino was now laid out cold. Caesar bent down, picked up his arms, and dragged him to the back of the house. Cash reached into his back pocket and retrieved a black leather glove as he walked behind the two men. Seconds later I saw two bright flashes and heard two gunshots.
“Oh, hell no!” Was all I could say before Caesar and Cash were back at the car. Right then and there I wanted to jump the fuck out and pretend I never met either of them, but fear kept me planted in my seat.
“Sorry about the detour.” Cash got back into the SUV just as calm as he’d been when he picked me up. “Let’s ride.” He tapped the back of Caesar’s seat, and we pulled off.