BOSS WAS UP EARLY the next morning. He showered and got dressed in metallic blue True Religion jeans, a white Hanes T-shirt, a pair of Timberlands, and a tan blazer-style leather coat. Boss then grabbed his keys, money, and his .45 from the dresser next to the bed, just as Brandi called his name. Boss looked over at her as she lay awake watching him. Boss walked around the bed to her side as she rolled over to face him. He sat down beside her.
“Sorry about last night. I know I fell asleep on you.”
“It’s okay,” she told him as she leaned over and kissed him. “What are you about to do today?”
“I’ve got a few things to handle, and I gotta meet April later today,” Boss told Brandi, brushing her hair back out of her face.
“Will I see you later?” Brandi asked him.
“Hit me up later on,” he told her.
He then kissed her again before standing up from the bed and walking over to his dresser. He picked up an all-white Yankees cap, slid it onto his head, and then winked at Brandi, which caused her to smile before he left the bedroom.
Boss walked out the front door a few minutes later and locked the door behind him. He then walked over to his Porsche, hit the locks, and walked toward the driver’s door. He dug out his phone from its case at his waist and then dug out his Newports before climbing into the car. As he started the car, he called Eazy’s phone and then lit his cigarette. He then backed out of the driveway just as Eazy answered his phone.
“Hello!”
“You still asleep, playboy?”
“Yeah! What’s up though?”
“I’m on my way to your crib now. Get dressed!”
“I’m not at the house, bruh. I’m at Erica’s spot.”
“Well, get ready! I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Yeah, whatever!”
After hanging up with Eazy, Boss then called Rico’s number next.
“Yeah!” Rico answered after three rings.
“What’s up, playboy? You still in bed, too?”
“It’s 7:45 a.m., Boss. What the fuck do I need to get up so early for?”
“Money, nigga!” Boss answered. “Get up and be ready when Eazy and me get to your crib.”
“Yeah, alright.”
Boss shook his smile after hanging up with Rico. He realized he had a lot of work to do to get both his boys on the same page, if he was to truly move his business to where he wanted it to go.
* * *
Boss made it to Erica’s apartment thirty minutes later after stopping and getting breakfast. He parked the Porsche and then carried the food to her front door. He knocked loud enough to be heard through the apartment.
“Hey, Boss!” Erica said a few moments later, smiling as she opened up the front door and greeted him.
“What’s up, cutie?” Boss said, kissing her cheek before entering the apartment.
“Eazy’s in the bathroom,” Erica told Boss as she closed and locked the front door.
“Hey, how long have you known Brandi?” Boss asked as he handed Erica a bag of food for her and Eazy.
“A little longer than I’ve known Eazy, why?” Erica asked as she walked into the kitchen.
Boss followed her but stopped at the counter with his food.
“It’s just that I’m feeling, shorty. But at the same time, I’m trying to get shit right with the shit I got going on with Eazy and Rico, and I’m sure ya know my story. So, if I fuck up, I’m on the streets, just as my mom actually intended me to be. What I’m really saying is that I’m really trying to kick it with Brandi, but she’s trying to take it to the next level, and I’m still on the first level while I’m about to turn up out in these streets. How do I make shorty understand that?”
“Have you tried just telling her, Boss?”
“That’s it there! I know if I tell shorty, she’s gonna think I’m on some shorty’s shit!”
“So basically, what you’re asking me to do is talk to Brandi for you, right?”
“Something like that!” Boss replied, just as Eazy walked into the kitchen.
“What’s up, my nigga?” Eazy said, dapping up with Boss before walking over to the refrigerator.
“Boss brought breakfast,” Erica told her man, handing him his food from the plastic bag.
Eazy thanked Erica, kissed her on the cheek, and then walked over to stand beside Boss at the counter.
“So, what’s up? You got at Rico yet?” Eazy questioned.
“He’s waiting on us to pick him up,” Boss told Eazy, only for Erica to call to Eazy.
“What’s up, baby?” he replied, looking back at her.
“Are you still going to be able to pick me up today from work?” she asked Eazy. “Remember, I’m supposed to take my car to the shop today.”
“What time you gotta take your ride in, Erica?”
“I can take it in this morning if it’s easier. But I don’t know how long it’ll be there, Eazy.”
“We can take care of that,” Boss spoke up, drawing both Eazy’s and Erica’s eyes to him. He looked back to Erica and asked, “You know how to drive a stick shift, shorty?”
“Yeah, why?” Erica asked.
“We’ll follow you to the auto shop, and afterward you can drive my ride to do you until your wheels get right,” Boss explained.
“What about you, Boss?” Erica asked.
“I’ma be good, shorty,” Boss told her, winking his eye at her.
* * *
Vanity hung up the phone with the owner of the Pink Palace after just informing him that she was leaving. She then called a friend she knew in Miami Beach at Club Climax.
“Yolanda Scott.”
“Yolanda, it’s Vanity. You busy?”
“Vanity! Hey, girl! I’m only busy if you’re still not willing to take up my offer to be my headliner at my club.”
“That’s why I’m calling now,” Vanity told Yolanda. “If you’ve still got an opening and—”
“When can you start?” Yolanda asked, cutting her off.
“I can start tonight or whenever.”
“I’ll tell you what, Vanity. Why don’t you come in tonight and just see how the place is, and you can start this Thursday.”
“Okay, I’ll be in around nine or ten o’clock,” Vanity replied. “You mind if I bring a friend?”
“Another dancer?”
“No, it’s my man!”
“Be my guest,” Yolanda replied. “I’ll see you tonight, and just let the doorman know who you are once you get here.”
“I’ll see you later,” Vanity stated before she hung up the phone.
Vanity sat on her sofa and stared at the television screen thinking about what she was actually doing for Boss. She found herself smiling and ended up calling him.
“Yeah!” Boss answered in the middle of the second ring.
“Hey, babe, where you at?”
“Handling business with my nigga Eazy. What’s up though?”
“I wanna see you if you got the time.”
“Let me handle this one thing, and then you can pick me up at the hotel off of 27th Avenue beside the Dolphin Stadium.”
“You gonna call me?”
“Naw! Just meet me there in ten minutes, shorty.”
“Alright, babe!”
After hanging up the phone with Boss, Vanity smiled and quickly jumped up from the couch. She rushed to the bedroom to begin getting ready to go see her future man.
* * *
Vanity was dressed in a Dolce & Gabbana outfit she knew showed all her most curvaceous parts. She was pulling inside the hotel she was meeting Boss at almost twelve minutes later than the ten minutes he told her to be there to pick him up. She pulled out her phone and called him.
“Yeah!” Boss answered at the start of the second ring.
“Hey, baby, I’m outside.”
“Alright. I’m on my way out.”
Once she hung up the phone, she smiled and could feel her heart speeding up while she was waiting for him to exit the hotel. She heard her phone ring, so she picked it up even though it was Malcolm calling her.
“What, Malcolm?” she answered after sighing loudly and deeply.
“So that’s how you answer the phone now, huh?”
“Last time I checked, this was my phone, right?”
“Whatever, Vanity! Where you at though?”
“I’m waiting on someone.”
“Who?”
“None of your business, Malcolm!” Vanity told him at the same time she saw Boss, Eazy, and a Spanish-looking guy walking out of the hotel together.
She broke out in a smile again.
“Malcolm, look, call me later. I gotta go!” she said into the phone.
After ending her call with Malcolm, who was still yelling at her when she hung up, she let down her window and called out to get the attention of Boss and his boys. She saw her boo motion for her to hold on, so she sat watching him talk and dap with the guys. After they were done, he finally made his way over to her Corvette.
“What’s up, shorty?” Boss said as he climbed into her Stingray.
Vanity smiled at him as she pulled off her Dolce & Gabbana shades, leaned over, and slid her tongue into his mouth. “I missed you, handsome!”
“Oh really?”
“Don’t sound like you don’t believe me. I’m the one out here chasing behind your butt!” she joked.
“I see it, shorty!” Boss told her, shooting a small smirk at her.
“That’s good to hear!” Vanity replied, smiling as she playfully rolled her eyes at him before putting her shades back on. She then pulled off and started toward the exit. “Where’s your car at?”
“I let a friend use it,” Boss explained as he pulled an already rolled blunt from behind his ear under his fitted cap.
“Hold on!” Vanity said, looking from the road over to Boss. “You telling me you’re out here catching rides with other people when I know you can afford to buy two cars, boo!”
“What makes you so sure I’m able to afford two rides, shorty?” Boss asked as he lit up the blunt he held up to his lips.
“Boss, come on!” Vanity told him, glancing back over at him. “I pay attention to you, and from the time you got here in Miami to now, you not only have a Porsche but somehow also keep a pocketful of money. And I’ve even seen you try to slip what looked like a baggy with a blue pill inside of it back into your pocket back at the club. I’m pretty sure you’re selling pills, aren’t you?”
“I see you’re pay attention more than I thought!” Boss stated while also ignoring Vanity’s question.
Vanity caught the way Boss ignored her question, but she didn’t mention it. “What types of cars do you like, boo? I see you like Porsches, but what about Ferraris?” she asked.
“Hell yeah!” Boss replied as he handed over the blunt to Vanity. “You know somebody selling one?”
Vanity smiled when she saw how excited Boss was about the Ferrari. “Don’t think I’m crazy, but there’s this guy who’s a regular customer of mine at the club. I did a few parties with some girls for him, and I know he’s selling a Ferrari. You wanna see it?”
“How’s it look?”
“It looks almost brand new, babe!”
Boss thought a few moments, slowly nodded his head, and then said, “Yeah, let’s check the thing out!”