Burning Sage

Chapter Thirty Eight

Ashley walked into the reception area to her motel in the wee hours of the morning after a successful night. Her feet were aching as she dragged them along.

Taking JP out could happen sooner than she thought because JP lacked security and slept alone.

The lights were dim in the foyer and she didn't take note of anybody.

"Long night?" A voice asked and she followed it with her head.

It was the girl from the supermarket.

She had her ombre black and gold braids in a high bun and glasses that sat on her small nose.

The girl's full lips were coated in gloss that shone under the one light that wasn't dim by the receptionist and she wore a navy shirt with a tag on the left side.

Ashley went towards the counter and put her hands on it, "Yes," she stretched her one leg, "You have two jobs?"

"Uhh," the girl hesitated, taken aback by the question, "Three," she said in a thick accent.

Ashley looked at her tag, "Okay Brandi," she read it aloud, "I'm Ashley by the way, I saw you yesterday."

Brandi stared at her in thought then remembered, "Ah yes, at the supermarket," she pointed towards her.

Ashley nodded.

A silence took over them as Brandi watched the girl before her.

"Let me go and sleep, I'll see you later, I guess," Ashley announced and Brandi wished her a good night.

As she walked off slowly, a ringtone filled the silence and it was stopped almost immediately.

"Hey JP," Ashley heard Brandi sing out and her ears perked up.

She looked back to see Brandi smiling, and thought it couldn't be the one she knows. Even though she only knows one.

She shook her head and planned on investigating her new friend later, her mind was too tired to even think.

...

"Okay, so how is this building?" Wes asked Junior who was looking around.

It was their fourth building and Junior hadn't taken a liking to the first three.

He nodded his head, as he looked at the brown shiny vinyl floors. The lights hung low from the high ceiling and the colour scheme screamed masculine with a touch of soft.

"I actually like it," he nodded his head, "I'm feeling it," he looked at the flight of stairs with glass railings that were on both sides to the bar.

Wes chuckled, "Thank you." His phone chimed and he removed it from his pocket.

It was a message from Letoya and he just stared at it. He wasn't ready to respond or talk to her, he wasn't even sure he wanted to go back into that relationship.

He had put himself into his work so as to not think about Letoya and it worked but her consistent contact reminded him of her and he disliked it.

"Yo," he heard Junior say and lifted his head.

He was about to respond when he noticed he was on a video call with JP.

He put his phone away and went behind the bar. It was empty except for a few glasses. He opened one fridge, inspecting it before moving to the next.

"They like it too," Junior said behind him, placing his phone on the high counter.

Wes turned around and smiled, "Well then, let's move onto the next thing on the list."