Alexus
" good morning guys."
" where Symonee?" Demetria asked. Demetria was one of the employess. To be more specific, she was the only one of the ten total employess that worked for the store that I didn't like. Typically I tried to be very chill and understanding because I'd had enough of fighting in the streets growing up but with Demetria I just couldn't shake the feeling of wanting to beat her ass.
"in the hospital. She just gave birth this morning."
" so, where do we apply to be the manager then because-" She made a gesture to herself, almost like she thought she was qualified.
I rolled my eyes. " did anybody ask you if you wanted to be a manager? No? Then you're not qualified." I focused my attention back on unlocking and opening the door than on her.
Once inside, I allowed the five employees behind me to enter before re-locking the door. " ten minutes, every body!"
While everybody rushed to the break room to hang up their coats and put away their lunches, I went to Symonee's office. It was in the very back of the store across from the break room. I assumed the second key Tyrone gave me would open it and I was correct.
I never really went into the office, I let Symonee handle everything money related while I worked on making sure that the floor was stocked and all customers were well taken care of.
The office was small and dark. A few steps into the room there was a chair, then a large metal desk- one that was crowded with papers- and then a large chair on the other side. Hanging behind the desk on the wall was a calendar with dates circled and things crumbled in on practically everyday.
I rounded the desk, getting a better look at the small hand writing on today's date- Tuesday, March 2nd. Cribbed in the little box was 'count the register before opening, remove extra money'.
Each day had that, until Fridays which said 'bank after closing'.
I glanced up at the clock on the wall. There were seven minutes until opening, meaning I needed to make a move.
I grabbed my cell phone. Dialing Symonee's number as I ripped off my coat. I felt bad for calling her when she'd just had her baby but the alternative was calling her father which I definately didn't want to do.
When she answered, she sounded just as happy as ever. " heeeeeeeeey."
I chuckled. " I'm sorry for calling you, boo. I just need help."
" it's fine. I was just about to punch this nurse for stabbing me with this needle over and over so perfect timing. What do you need?"
" how much money do I leave in the drawer?"
" three hundred and one dollars. That's ten tens, five twenties, ten fives and the rest in singles except for that last dollar. The last dollar should be change."
" and where do I put the money that I take out the drawer?"
" there's a bag- hold on-" She pulled the phone away from her ear. " stop shaking her like that, idiot!"
I could hear Dryan laugh in the background. " shut up, crybaby. Look at her face, she loves it."
" so what. I'm going to hurt you if you hurt my fucking baby."
" blah, blah, blah."
Symonee came back to the phone. " I'm going to kill this nigga. I swear I am."
" you not gone kill him, because if you do then there'll be nobody to fuck your ass."
" who's side are you on?"
" yours, best friend. I'm just looking out for your best interest because you're going to kill him and then be all sad because there's nobody to fuck you. I mean, I'm just saying."
She laughed. " anyway, in the bottom right hand drawer of the desk there's a blue bag that the money goes in. Make sure to lock it back up. On Friday night after closing, I'll come pick it up and take it to the bank."
" you sure? Won't you be tired?" I asked. By this time I had already unlocked the register and counted out all the money. I had all the extra money gripped in my hand on the way back to the office.
" I'll be fine, Lex. Can you do me a favor?"
" what is it?"
"pick Drayal up from your mother's house tomorrow night."
" I thought she was going to stay over there until you get out the hospital in a couple days?"
Symonee sucked her teeth. " she was supposed to, but my mother called me like an hour ago. Apparently she's coming to town and wants to see both of my kids. She was so fucking dramatic on the phone, like always."
" that's weird."
" yeah, I know. She's never seen them or even visited me in the three years since I've moved here but now all of a sudden-" She sighed. " if you could just pick Drayal up and then come up here once you get off work tomorrow, I would appreciate it."
" no problem."
We said out goodbyes and hung up. All I could think about was Symonee's mother. I'd never met the woman or ever even spoken to her, but from what Symonee told me, I wouldn't want to. She'd hadn't visited Symonee once in the almost four years since Symonee had moved ... I wondered what prompted this spur of the moment visit.
My day continued, with me mostly trying to get the hang of a few new things that I'd never had to do. There were some things, however that didnt changed with the new job title, like the fact that i had to damn near tackle a woman in the doorway who thought that a pair of jeans belonged to her without paying. The bitch! And to top it all off, she had the nerve to talk to me like i was the one stealing.
I kindly ripped my merchandise from her hands and pushed her out into the cold.
Around 5, I got a call from Teddy. Teddy was the man who brought in our new merchandise once every three or four days. Needless to say, he was a thief- and a good one at that. That didn't bother me any though. He and Tyrone had an agreement that they had worked out where Tyrone paid top dollar for stolen high end clothing, and Teddy always came through.
Teddy arrived at 6, on the dot. The back of his truck was covered with a blue tarp, and when lifted, I saw boxes and boxes of stuff.
" how many boxes?" I asked, throwing the tarp further back and inspected the brown box infront of me.
" twenty-six."
" just twenty-six?"
" yeah. There was a little trouble at my warehouse and some shit got blood on it. I already spoke to Tyrone about it. He told me to add it to the next shipment."
I wasn't even about to ask why some of our product got blood on it. It really was none of my damn business. If he'd spoken to Tyrone about it and had been cleared then it was fine, and if he hadn't really spoken to Tyrone about it... then he'd be dealt with soon enough anyway, which also was none of my business.
" okay."
We started to carry boxes in, that's when the question I'd been dreading came. " so, what did you do to my brother?"
I rolled my eyes, grabbing another box from his truck. " and who might your brother be, Teddy?"
"you should know, you and your brother are the ones who threw him out a window last night."
" i'm afraid that i have no idea what you're talking about." I said, continuing my act like i didn't know what he meant. Ofocurse Tevin had run to his older brother, Teddy, telling him everything. He'd probably even lied to try and cover his own ass and make it seem like i was the one in the wrong.
All i knew for sure though was that Teddy might want to watch his words, because all bets were off when it came to me trying to protect him and his brother from Leon. Leon knew about Tevin now, and he'd be waiting for me to give him the word so that he could make him pay, and he'd be paying with his life this time.
It wasn't until we were back in the office, dropping off the last two boxes when Teddy grabbed my arm. " Stop acting stupid and tell me what you did."
" how about you get your fucking hands off of me before i call my brother and we see if you really 'bout some action!"
He released my arm, pushing me away slightly. " you threatening me?"
" no, i'm telling you like it is. You and your brother are bitches ! Don't ever approach me about some bullshit again."
" what you gone do if i do?"
" try it and see, bitch."
" you know what-" He shook his head. " just give me my fucking money so i can leave."
" how about you get down on your knees and beg for it, because that's the only way you getting some money outta me."
What was I thinking?
I was barely tall enough to reach his shoulders, maybe one hundred and thirty pounds, and in most situations I was a force to be reckoned with ... but against a fully grown man? Hell no.
My problem is that I've never been one to back down from a fight, regardless of who it was against. I always wished that my mouth would close before it got to the fighting point, however, it never seemed to, but I was working on that.
He sneered. " we'll see what Tyrone says about this." Then he marched right out of the office.
All I could think was how I'd fucked up my first day in this new position. Tyrone asked me to do one thing for him and my big mouth couldn't stop me from ruining it. Now, Tyrone was either going to kill me or find a new supplier.
The rest of the day passed dreadfully slow. I spent the last few hours praying not to get an angry phone call from Tyrone while I put the new merchandise on the shelves. Irritating or not, Teddy was an amazing thief. He'd snagged stuff from high end brands that I'd never even heard of, and some that had price tags on then higher than my monthly salary, while the rest was just ridiculously high.
Seven hundred dollars for a pair of jeans? I snatched that tag off and replaced it with my own of thirty bucks. Two thousand for a dress? Again I removed that tag and put on one that read fifteen dollars.
And so on so forth. That went on until closing, when I ended up with piles and piles of remarked clothes, shoes, and handbags.
I locked up the store, just like Tyrone had instructed, and spent the next thirty minutes finding racks and shelves to put the new items on. I was organizing everything by size when the was a knock on the front glass window.
Turning around I saw Tyrone standing outside, looking at me expectantly. Going over and unlocking the door I tried to read more into his expression than he was giving me, but I couldn't. Well, at least he didn't appear angry.
"ready?" He asked, stepping into the store and stomping his feet to rid his boots of the snow. Contrary to what I thought would happen, it'd actually been snowing all day. I could hardly believe it. Snow was piling up everywhere.
" yeah, let me just grab my stuff." I said, slowly, standing still, waiting to be scolded for the way I had acted with Teddy. Once I realized he wasn't going to scold me I rushed to the back to get my coat and purse.
Walking back to the front of the store was like standing up infront of a courtroom ... not that I would know exactly. There was, however, that one time when I was twelve and I got caught stealing a tube of lipstick from the mall. When that manager snatched the lipstick from my pocket, I mean, I definately felt like I was in a courtroom on trial.
I closed up the shop and we started on our way out to his car. He opened the door for me to slide into the passenger side before going around to get it.
I sighed in content. The car was cold, but with the wind blowing outside, I had to admit that I felt a little but better inside.
"heat, heat heat-!" I chanted softly, until he turned the car on and then the heat on full blast.
" happy?" He asked.
" ecstatic."
As Tyrone pulled away from the curb, my stomach instantly dropped. Something on the top of my list of don'ts is driving in the snow, and although I wasn't technically driving, it felt like it.
" slower!" I screeched, a couple of minutes into the drive, even though Tyrone had just stopped at a stop sign.
He laughed, shaking his head. " I forgot you hate the snow."
" I don't hate the snow. I hate the idea of dying in a fiery crash, so be careful!"
" yes ma'am."
The drive was filled with him talking, mostly trying to keep my mind off of my unhealthy fear of car crashes. But not once did he bring up Teddy, which was bothering me. I was just waiting in him to spring questions of Teddy and I's encounter on me... but he didnt. By the time we got to my apartment, I was so ready to get inside that I wasn't even tripping about him not asking me about Teddy anymore.
" pick me up tomorrow morning, please?" I asked him.
" what you tryna make me into? Your slave?"
" yes, except I'd treat you like a king so you'd never know." Quickly, and before he could deny me, I leaned over, planting a kiss right where the edge of his lips met his cheek before rushing out of the car and toward my apartment building. The snow was piled up even higher on the side walks than it was in the street making it damn near impossible for me to move as fast as I wanted to but I managed.
I spent the next two hours in my apartment cleaning out the guest bedroom that Tevin had been living in. I hadn't seen it since he'd been sleeping in it, and it was probably for the best. The entire room was trashed, with clothes and dirty dishes everywhere. The bed didn't have sheets on it, exposing a mattress that had god only knows what kind of stains on it.
If I would have seen that room when Tevin was around, I would have lost it completely.
My night was spent putting stuff in trash bags and scrubbing everything until it was sterile and sparking like new again. I'd have to get Leon to take the bed to the dumpster, but I was satisfied with everything else for the time being.
It took me an additional twenty minutes to haul all ten garbage bags full of shit, down to the dumpster in the back without an elevator but I got it done.
By the time I collapsed in bed, just shortly after midnight, I was exaughsted.