Diamonds and Pearl (25 page)

“Stressful.” She fell across his lap dramatically. “We got called into a meeting this morning so they could announce more budget cuts. In the last month in a half they've already fired four people, and more are sure to follow. Everybody is walking on eggshells, hoping that they're not the next ones banished to the unemployment line.”

“Well, you know if things fuck up at your gig, I'll look out for you,” Knowledge said sincerely.

“You know I ain't never been one to look for no handouts, but thank you. I got a few things lined up in case the bottom falls out of this. To be honest, I wouldn't be too broken up if they did fire me. Standing on my feet for all those hours during the day and then having to stand up at night while I'm in school is breaking me down.”

“Worse case, fuck that job and focus all your attentions on school. How else are you gonna become a head chef in some world-famous restaurant?” Knowledge teased her.

“Fuck being the chef—I wanna be the owner!” she said seriously. “Don't get me wrong—I love cooking. Outside of you, it's one of the few joys in my life. It's my passion, but I've got no plans to be a laborer all my life. I don't mind starting in the kitchen, taking orders, but I wanna end it in the big chair upstairs, taking meetings.”

“You know you turn me on when you start talking that boss shit.” He leaned over and kissed her on the lips. “If you feel like that, then why don't you quit that pain-in-the-ass job and find something else to hold you down until you finish culinary school?”

“Don't think I haven't thought about it. Getting fired is one thing, but if I quit the job, I'll feel like I'm quitting on the girls I look after all day. There are some bad apples, as with anywhere, but for the most part, I get along with the girls at St. Francis. A lot of these girls come from families that substitute money for love, and these girls are running around, broken inside with nobody to talk to about it, except their shrinks and Officer Jones. To a lot of them, I'm more like a big sister rather than a jailer; they open up to me in ways they can't open up to their parents. It makes me feel good to be able to help them when I can. I'm paying my blessings forward.”

“Then maybe you should become a shrink instead of a restaurant owner?” Knowledge joked.

“Laugh all you want, but it's people like me who keep kids like your precious Ms. Pearl out of harm's way. Why is it that every time I turn around, she's into something?”

Knowledge shrugged. “Asia, I'd be lying if I told you I knew. That girl loves trouble.”

“Well, she's gonna end up finding out the hard way that trouble don't love nobody,” Asia capped.

“By the way, good looking out on helping to squash that thing earlier. Pearl could've gotten into a lot of trouble for that,” Knowledge said.

“Trouble is an understatement. From what she did to that girl's face, she's lucky the parents didn't try to press charges; though I hear they're quietly discussing whether or not to sue the school, since it was their lapse in security that allowed someone to come in from the outside and kick the shit out of their daughter.” Asia gave him a look.

“Sorry about that, ma. Seriously, you know I'd never intentionally jeopardize your job like that.”

“Knowledge, you're my man and Pearl is your family, so whenever I'm in a position to help, I don't have a problem with it. My thing is that it's happening too frequently. That girl runs around like she's Michael Corleone, and I can't keep creeping around, trying to clean up her messes! Maybe if we finally come out of the closet and let Big Stone know we're dating, Pearl would tone it down, knowing she had an extra set of eyes on her.”

“Knowing Pearl, it'd probably only get worse if she knew she had someone on the inside,” he said honestly. “I'll let Big Stone know what time it is with us when the moment presents itself.”

“What, are you ashamed of me or something?” Asia's eyes flashed hurt.

“Not at all, love. Making you wifey was the smartest thing I've ever done in my life, and if I could, I'd shout it from the heavens, but I'm a man who believes in safeguarding what he cherishes, so as not to feed temptation. I'd never want someone to use that which gives me so much joy to try to bring me pain. Does that make sense to you?”

“More than you know,” Asia replied. Moments like those allowed her to see Knowledge for the first time all over again and remember all the reasons she fell in love with him. He wasn't perfect, but he was hers.

“So, Madam Chef. I'm sure you didn't come over here and invade my space without at least bringing a sample of your wares,” Knowledge said, changing the subject to lighten the mood.

“But of course.” She sat up off his lap and propped herself against the cushioned headboard. “There's a plate of beef ribs and macaroni and cheese with collard greens in the microwave, waiting on you, and before you ask, I used turkey not pork neck bones. If you look in the fridge, you'll find the bowl with the potato salad in it. I was pressed for time, so I had to keep it simple.” She brushed imaginary dirt off her shoulder.

“Damn, you trying to make a nigga give you his last name.” Knowledge pressed his lips against hers.

“The blueprint every girl should follow.” She patted him on the cheek softly.

“I'm about to see what this shit hitting for.” Knowledge slid off the bed.

“Hold on, baby,” she called after him. She pulled the Knick jersey up over her hips and revealed the rest of the dragon tattoo. Its horned head was depicted across the soft flesh just below her bikini line, its gaping maw thrown wide open around the opening to her freshly shaved pussy. The tattoo had been painful, but worth it for the shock value of those who were fortunate enough to ever see it. “Before you get to your main course, come take care of this appetizer.”

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

When Diamonds entered the office, the first thing he noticed was a tender little beauty lounging on a cracked brown love seat. She had one thick leg thrown over the arm of the chair, showing off her shaved vagina. She absently ran her fingers back and forth across her bare slit. Her glazed-over eyes drifted toward the new faces in the room, but she looked too stoned off whatever she was on to care.

Sitting behind a desk across the room, enjoying the show, was Pops Brown. He was a balding man with skin the color of scorched earth. His red-rimmed eyes were fixed hungrily on the girl, while his hand was just out of sight under the desk, doing God only knew what. When he noticed that he had company, he reflexively sprang to his feet, forgetting to tuck his squat black cock back into his pants. “Fuck is this?”

“A shame.” Vita covered her mouth to hide her snicker. She couldn't help but think how much Pops's dick resembled a breakfast sausage.

Pops composed himself enough to stuff his half-hard cock back into his pants. “TJ, what the hell you doing, busting up in my office like this?”

“Pops, excuse my intrusion—” TJ began respectfully, but Pops cut him off.

“Intrusion is an understatement. Since when do you show such little respect?” Pops was furious. “And where the fuck is Rob? I told him I wasn't seeing anybody.”

“I'm afraid I'm the answer to both of your questions, Mr. Brown.” Diamonds stepped forward. “I've been passively trying to get an audience with you all night, so when that didn't work, I had to take a bit more of an aggressive approach, which included sending your unruly-ass kid off on a little smoke break.” He smirked.

“You hurt my boy?” Pops asked, moving closer to the desk drawer that held his revolver.

“Only his pride. He'll be on a liquid diet for a few weeks, but he's still amongst the land of the living … at least for the time being,” Diamonds assured him. “You don't mind if I sit, do you?” He motioned toward an empty chair near the desk. He didn't wait for a response before helping himself to the seat.

“Sugar,” Pops addressed the girl, “go on and wait for me by the bar. This shouldn't take but a few minutes.”

The girl didn't look thrilled to be getting the boot, but she knew better than to argue. She pulled her dress down, rolled her eyes, and left the office.

“Didn't mean to bust up your little party, old-timer,” Goldie said from his position near the door.

“I don't recall addressing you, so why don't you keep your mouth shut until I do?” Pops said angrily.

Goldie made to step forward, but a look from his brother stopped him.

“You know all the hostility isn't necessary,” Diamonds said in an easy tone.

“And who are you to come into my spot and tell me what is or isn't necessary?” Pops questioned. “And, TJ, I'm surprised at you for pulling this bullshit. I know for a fact these streets raised you better than that, or maybe they didn't?”

While Pops continued to rip into TJ, he looked to his cousin Diamonds, who was shaking his head in disgust. Before coming to New York, TJ had regaled Diamonds with exaggerated stories of his standing in the criminal underworld, and Pops was punching holes in his façade. The conversation was not going the way TJ had planned, and he needed to get a handle on it before his credibility was completely shot in front of his cousin. “Look,” TJ said, cutting Pops off. “We came here to speak to you like gentleman and submit a business proposal, so why don't you show a little respect?” he demanded.

“Respect?” Pops laughed as if this were the funniest thing he'd ever heard. “What the fuck have you done in the street that commands respect? You think because you shot a few niggas and moved a little weight, you big-time now? You can lie to people who don't know you, but not with me. You small-time, TJ, and considering the way you handled this tonight, you always will be.”

“I was big enough to have Pana Suarez put on his back!” TJ blurted out to everyone's surprise, including Diamonds. The minute the words had left TJ's mouth, he regretted them. He hadn't intended to spill the beans, but Pops had him so flustered, he had to say something to save face.

Pops's face went slack. “Bullshit.”

“Afraid it isn't,” Diamonds reluctantly confirmed. “I can attest to it because I'm the one who cut his heart out.”

Pops suddenly felt his legs get weak, and he leaned against his desk for support. The fact that Pana's heart had been cut out was a piece of information that hadn't been made public. The only reason Pops knew was because of his contacts within the department. “Well, I'll be damned. I have to admit, when I heard Pana got touched, a lot of names popped into my head and yours certainly wasn't one of them, TJ. I never figured you to have the brains or the muscle to make it happen.”

“As you can see, I have both,” TJ said cockily, motioning toward Diamonds and Goldie. “But like I was saying earlier, we ain't here on bullshit. We here on business.”

Pops shook his head. “You think killing Pana is supposed to all of a sudden put us on the same level to where we can break bread? Little boy, you're out of your league and out of your mind if you think you're gonna get me tied to you by association. You're a dead man walking behind what you done … all of you.”

Diamonds chuckled. “If it were the first time I'd heard that, I might have a mind to be nervous, but men been trying to kill me for years, and as you can see I'm still here to pop shit about it. I'd be more worried about my own mortality than the next man's if I were you.”

Pops gave Diamonds a hard look. “You talk a good game, friend, but Pops Brown don't scare that easy. You know I ain't never been no big fan of Pana, but I know some people who ain't happy about his untimely passing. What's to stop me from blowing the lid on this sneaky shit and making you the most hunted man in the city?”

Diamonds's eyes hardened. “I've been hunted all my life, so what's a few more people who want me dead gonna matter? And I know for a fact you ain't gonna open your dick suckers, because you ain't no fool, old head. Let's stop this dance and speak frankly between us.” He spread his hands. “I didn't come here intending any disrespect, and I sure as shit didn't mean to lay something on your plate that could put you in a compromising position, but my bigmouthed-ass cousin dragged it to the table, and for this I apologize. Now, based on my body of work, you already know how I play, but what you may not know is that I am a man of reason and vision. As a man of vision, I would never come to a potential ally, or enemy for that matter, unless I had done my due diligence first. You can act like you're sour over Pana's death, but you and I both know you're really relieved he's gone. You and Pana share neighboring territories, and he had been stepping on your toes for years by letting his bullshit spill over into your yard. Had it been anybody else, you'd have probably rousted what troops you could and rode on him, but you didn't have the muscle to dance with Pana. No slight—just stating what I know. If you look at it, I really did you a favor, whether it was intentional or not.

“No, sir, all I'm asking you to do is to put your assumptions about me aside so you can see the bigger picture. Now, you may not agree with my methods, but you can't deny their effectiveness. With Pana out of your hair, this whole side of Harlem will belong exclusively to the Blacks again, and you finally being able to spread out means an increase in your profits. I'm thinking that maybe this misfortune can turn into a blessing and open up the lane for you and me to get down together on something.”

“I can move my drugs well enough on my own. I don't need no partners,” Pops told him.

“You got me all wrong, OG. I got no interests in your drug business or any other illegal activities you got going on. I've come to speak to you about your bar.”

Pops blinked twice as if he were hearing him wrong. “You went through all this to ask me about my bar?”