M E E T I N G S
"Y O U G O T T H E C O L D E S T
C O R A Z O N
B U T W A R M E R S K I N."
Bakari
"H-how can I help you?" The girl at the front desk asked me when I came into Lana's building. She had short curly hair, full lips, and almond shaped eyes. Her cheeks turned red, and she would switch off, making eye contact with me, then the computer in front of her.
"I'm here to see Solana, sweetheart." I chuckled. "We have a meeting, is she in?" I leaned against the large desk. I got a look at the name tag that was on her desk: Riley Evans.
She looked me up and down, frowning a little before going back to her computer. "Ms. Farris doesn't have any meeting scheduled for today, and she didn't tell me about you coming in."
"She knows that I'm coming. Do you want me to show you—"
"He can come in, Riley." Solana's head popped out from behind the large white doors. A charcoal colored hat was on her head, that matched with the dress she had on, and a few curled ends sat on her shoulders. "It's fine."
"You sure, Ms. Farris?" The girl asked her, and I could tell my facial expression wasn't the best.
"I'm sure, Riley. Thank you, though." She opened the door even more and stood next to it, looking at me. "Hurry up and come in." She sighed. The smell of sweet pea came pouring from out her office, but it wasn't overbearing— it was light. I remembered her liking that specific smell even when we were younger; her entire bedroom would smell like it when she lived with her parents.
I walked in and tossed my jacket onto the chair that was in front of the large table while she closed the door— locking it. Turning to look at her, she looked back at me with her arms crossed, "Spread your arms out."
"Huh?"
"Spread your arms out, and part your legs. I don't trust you, I kept my word on my end, and that doesn't mean that you kept yours." She walked towards me. "I have no one here, and I don't know if you have wires or any of that shit on you."
"Didn't I tell you I wasn't coming here on that shit?" I frowned.
"Does it look like I care? Do what I asked." She tapped her nails against her arm. I sighed and held them up, watching her. Her hands went across every inch of the bare skin on my arms, leaving warm traces over each spot her fingers ran over. She patted my chest before doing the same to my back, finding nothing.
Her hands went to my pockets, sticking her hands in the back of them, then moving to the front ones, and tossing my wallet, phone, and keys on the desk. "You find what you looking for, sweetheart? Your hands go any further you're gonna grab something else."
"Wouldn't you like that." She mumbled before pulling her hands away and walking around to the opposite side of the table, sitting on it; instead of the chair that was next to her. "You're here... what do we need to discuss?"
"My business as well as yours. You can say what you want, but you're gonna need my help." I tapped my knuckles against the table. "You're a up and coming organization here in New York, and even if you have the funds to get your shit started, you need the funding from other companies to get you the attention you need. You keep forgetting that I'm not new to this shit, sweetheart."
"I didn't forget anything, I just don't need your help." She corrected me and shrugged her shoulders. Her eyes stayed planted on me in the most unsure way. "I can run all this by myself."
"I'm sure you can, but like I said... you're gonna need endorsements from other companies, and that can take months to clear... I'm sure you don't wanna wait months, when I'm offering you something up front that'll only take about a week and a half to clear. All I'm asking for is a third. Besides, I gotta sponsor a event at a school coming up, and you could be a profitable bonus."
"A third?!" Her eyes widened and she laughed. "What makes you think I'd give you a third of my earnings when you still owe me, love?" Her voice went soft. But, it wasn't in a sweet way. It was more sinister and sultry. "Sounds fucked up, doesn't it?"
"We didn't come here to discuss personal affairs, beloved. We decided to meet today to talk about business. I told you, I don't mix the two."
"Well," she stood up and walked around the room, and I knew she was only doing that because she was irritated. That was always one of her habits, that I guess didn't die. When she didn't want to argue, she would pace the room to distract herself from letting any frustration build. "Looks like you won't be getting an answer."
"There's a business luncheon that's gonna be coming up soon, and your name is gonna show up on that list. Like I said, you can either take my deal, or go with one of theirs and wait."
"I'll take my chances." She shot back, making me smirk at her. I watched her hips move in the dress she had on and shook my head. She knew the power her body still had, and she definitely knew how to work it to the best of her ability. The dress that she had on also left little to the imagination. "So fuck you, and your offers."
"You definitely need the right person to tame that mouth of yours, babygirl." I caught on to her wrists and pulled her towards me. "Cause it's definitely gotten too disrespectful, so I know the youngin you with ain't doing a thing to keep it in check."
"And wouldn't you love to be the one to do it." She used her other hand to press against my forehead. "But that ship definitely sailed."
Omniscient
"That definitely don't mean shit." Bakari hummed and looked her up and down. "You definitely think a nigga stupid." Bakari pursed his lips together, quickly dropping his hands to the back of Solana's thighs, picking her up to switch their positions, sitting her on the marbled table while he stood between her legs.
Catching her off guard, Solana's eyes widened at him. Before she could bring her fist up fast enough to collide with his cheek, he caught her hand in his own, pulling it behind her back while his other hand pinned her second down. Solana's heart pounded against her chest as she looked up at him. "Imma ask you a question, Lana. And I need answers to it." He slipped her other hand behind her back and pressed his head against her own.
"I-I'm not telling you—" Shit. Solana thought you herself and bit against her top lip when she felt his dance against her neck, in a special spot. "Michael." She hissed, making him smirk against the sensitive flesh.
"Talk to me, babylove." He pushed her closer towards his body, dancing his fingers against the sensitive flesh between her thighs. "You know how badly I missed having you this close to me?" He chuckled, making his thumb run circles against her flesh. "Hearing those pretty ass sighs come from your mouth..."
Solana bit her lips, trying not to get worked up by his touches. But he knew that his touch was one that her body would react to perfectly, turning her into putty. Mentally, she thought she was winning. But she knew her body would go against her, as soon as his fingers brushed against the thin fabric covering her folds. Solana took in a sharp breath and tried to close her legs, failing. "Let that shit go, Lana. Ain't nobody in here but us... talk to me." His lips would lightly brush against hers as he spoke, before kissing her fully. Bakari's lips molded to her own— perfectly; his full ones against her own.
His hand went back towards her neck and gripped it gently, bringing her lips away from his. "You don't play fair, do you?" His head cocked and grunted with a smirk, making her chuckle.
Bakari brought his hand from behind her back, showing the small wire that Solana kept tucked inside her dress. A smile came across her face, bringing her hands around his neck. "I don't really have time to play fair these days, baby." He snatched the wire fully from her dress, stepping on the bud shaped microphone, crushing it under his shoe. "That was for my own personal use, it would've stayed between us."
"Hmm." He licked his lips and nodded. "Exactly like how that surveillance is for my own personal use?"
Solana frowned at him and pushed his body away. "What surveillance?"
"The one that's been in your gate for weeks, sweetheart. I told you, shit doesn't move in this state without me knowing... exactly like how you didn't know I put it there."
Solana's mouth fell open as she looked at him. Eventually a bitter chuckle came from her lips as she shook her head. "You've been spying on me? You're so worried about the moves that I'm making— me... little ole' Solana, that you had to spy on me. I'm flattered."
"Are you?"
"Mhmm... because that means you see me as competition." Solana wrapped her legs around Bakari's waist, pulling him closer. "And I love that, because I love games." She whispered. "Especially ones that I typically win at."
"Who said you're winning?" Bakari's hand went towards her hair, gripping it gently and exposing more of her neck. "I just one upped you, sweetheart. And it wasn't even that hard. You kept trying to look for the obvious, and didn't notice the small detail."
"Don't worry, cause when I get home, I'm smashing that shit and mailing it right back to you."
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The front door to Solana's house slammed, catching Isis and Lauryn off guard as she stormed in, tossing a aluminum bat onto the couch, along with a broken surveillance. "Wanna explain what's going on? Or should I just go along with it?" Lauryn raises her eyebrow while Isis took the blueberry muffin from her hand— which was Lauren's obsession.
Solana laughed and ran her fingers through her hair; the laugh that came from her lips being a sarcastic one. "Let me tell you guys about bitch ass Bakari." She clasped her hands together. "Bitch ass Bakari decided that after our first meeting we had a while ago, that he'd get his men to follow me, and plant a surveillance on my fucking gate." She smiled.
"A what?!" Isis stormed over and looked at the broken equipment. "When did he even give them time to do this? The week you two met, he had everyone running around confirming deals—"
"I told you... you should've let me shoot him the night of that dinner, but nooo." Lauryn interjected before taking in Solana's flushed appearance. "Ma'am... why do you look so—"
"I don't wanna talk about it!" Solana shouted through the house, going up the steps. "Isis, can you find a way to get me in with the business luncheon that's gonna be coming up? Also schedule me to meet with the therapist again?"
"If that's what you want, I can do that."
"Thank you. I also need a box and some tape."
"Still not explaining why you look so flushed." Lauryn mumbled.
Solana sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm... going to take a shower. I don't wanna talk about it." She huffed and continued to walk up the steps towards her room. Her thoughts still clouded due to still being able to feel the warm sensation of his hands on her skin from earlier. She was upset that she even gave into it— even if it was in the slightest.
Lauryn looked at Isis with knowing eyes, before Isis shook her head. "None of our business."
THREE DAYS LATER
Solana
"How're you liking things so far?" I smiled at Marcus who shook his backpack off into the chair inside of my office. His bright smile made my heart feel warm. "I've heard you came up with some good ideas."
"I did— I would've sent them to you, but I didn't wanna bother you... I know you're busy." He opened up his notebook and started shooting off some ideas for the program. I kept a mental note that I would eventually have to get him a laptop to keep himself organized. It wasn't like he already wasn't, but it would be a nice addition.
I listened to Marcus explain the programs he felt like youth his age would enjoy, things that they wouldn't, and even some ideas for those younger and older than him. I admired his dedication and the fact that he was willing to help other kids.
"This won't get overwhelming for you? I mean... with you still being in school and everything, Marcus?"
"Nope." He shrugged his shoulders with a slight smirk. "I'm still doing great in school, Ms. Farris— and I just wanna help. I talked to my mom about you... she said she wants to meet you one day." He laughed, making me do the same. "But I told her that she might have to wait a little bit for that one. She wants to thank you in person."
"The next time I'm free, I won't mind meeting with her. I gotta thank her for raising a great kid." I smiled, seeing his cheeks slightly flush.
"If um, you don't mind me asking... I had a question— but I don't know if it's crossing any lines..."
"Go ahead and ask, Marcus." I kept looking over his notes.
"When I came to your office that day... and Bakari was here?" He stopped, trying to see if he could continue. When I nodded to him, he kept going. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine." I waved him off and smiled. "You don't need to worry about him... he's not gonna mess with you, and I'll make sure of that."
"To be honest Ms. Farris... I was asking for your sake."
"Me?" I raised my eyebrow.
"I-I saw the way he was looking at you when be came in, and the way you were looking at him. I didn't know what was going on, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried." I sighed and put my hand in front of my mouth. "I didn't know if you were okay with being in a room with him alone, so I didn't actually leave until I saw him leave... just to make sure things were okay."
"I was fine, Marcus. I promise." I wanna placed my hand on his cheek. "Bakari and I... have history. It's gone back for a few years, so I promise you had nothing to worry about. Thank you, though. It was sweet of you." I politely pecked his cheek.
Marcus nodded his head, and his cheeks turned red. "O-okay. Can I help with anything else while I'm here?" He stumbled over his words and stood from his chair.
"I'm sure we can find something. Let's go see." I clasped my hands together before dropping them on his shoulders, leading him out the room.
I was stressed this week, and I knew that the therapy session that I had coming up was only going to add more stress to the load. She was great at what she does— despite me putting up a fight the majority of the time, but sometimes I don't want to talk to someone about the past. I'd prefer it stayed there.
Dr. Williams wanted to spend our next session talking about relationships I had with others, aside from my parents. And that was something that could take a long time to dissect. My phone went off within a few minutes of me sending Marcus off with one of the other women who was organizing a few files.
"Darling." I answered the phone and smiled, walking back towards my office. "What do I owe the pleasure of you calling?"
"Kiss my ass, Lana." Lauryn laughed and I could hear papers rummaging in the background. "I'm just letting you know that Isis and I sent Savanna to wrap up a deal in Seattle— we didn't trust her being around Lupe for too long... because you know how they get with their emotions for each other, so we sent Rizza. Is that okay?"
"Perfect."
"Cool... wanna tell me what happened with you and struggle beard now?"
"Lauryn—"
"Bitch, tell me. I need some entertainment today, it's been boring around here." She yelled. "Did he kiss you?"
"Yup." I mumbled.
"Did... you two fuck?"
"See bitch, now you're crossing the line. No we didn't do that."
"I'm just asking!" She huffed. "I've never seen you look like that before, not even with slim dick— who also popped up over here today, might I add."
I rolled my eyes and pressed my head against my door. "King has been calling me for two weeks straight. I don't know if I should just keep ignoring the calls or pick up."
"Or... you could kill him."
"That's drastic."
"That's life. But, what are we gonna do about your cut of Bakari's money? Cause I know you're not just gonna let this die; and I don't expect you to."
"Trust, I won't." I licked my lips. "And he's not expecting me to, either. That's the interesting part. I'll be popping up at his place soon with a offer. Isis gave me his schedule for the week, so I'll be seeing him shortly."
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Lauryn
After I ended the call with Lana, I sat in the coffee shop inside of the bookstore, looking over files on my computer that would end up being sent to Savanna so that she could be on top of her shit.
I pushed my hair off to the side of my face and tapped my foot against the table, picking up my coffee cup again— mentally rolling my eyes when I realized that I finished it all.
Standing up from the chair, I grabbed my wallet and went back into the line to order. I couldn't get another coffee, because if I did, I'd be up for hours, and I didn't even want to deal with myself if that was to happen. I shifted back and forth on my feet, waiting for the girl in front of me to hurry up with her extra ass order. The more she asked for extra things added and taken away from her coffee, I groaned and rolled my eyes.
"You must really be in a hurry." A guy from behind me laughed. When I turned around, I had to work hard to not get overwhelmed. He was taller than me, and his skin was the same rich tone as mine. He had the best teeth I've honestly ever seen in my life— not like I've been alive for years but that's saying something. "She's been up here for a few minutes though. I thought by the time I came up, she'd be done... but you know how those girls can get." He shook his head, referring to her skin tone.
"Not really in a hurry, just impatient. I've always been like that though." I shrugged and tried to keep my cool.
"Same here, so I don't blame you. You're hoodie slaps though, by the way." He pointed down to the image of Malcolm X's that was morphed into Tupac's at the same time.
"Thank you! I see you have taste."
"I try, I try." He laughed. "I get it from my dads side of the family." He cleared his throat before closing his mouth again when he realized that the girl in front of me. "Looks like you're up..."
"Lauryn." I responded and laughed. "My name's Lauryn."
"Like Hill?" He joked, and I playfully rolled my eyes. "Yes, like Hill— hi, can I have a grande black tea lemonade, with sweetener added?" As soon as he nodded, I tried to hand him my card, but the guy behind me held his card out before I could even get the chance to extend my hand. I turned to him and smiled, raising my eyebrow.
"I insist." He assured me. "Can a Carmel macchiato be added to that also? A tall, please?"
The man took his card and he even put a few singles into the tip jar. "Thank you—"
"Rakim."
"Like the rapper?" I mocked what he said earlier, and it made him chuckle.
"Yeah, like the rapper." He ran his hand against his face. "If I'm not bothering you, do you mind if I sit with you? Only if I'm not interrupting anything, though. I don't wanna throw you off of whatever you're doing." He must've caught on to the smug look I was giving him and his hands shot up. "I swear, I'm not on any funny stuff— that tryna get in ya pants type shit. I have respect for women; my mom and my older sister would beat my ass. I'm new to the city, and it would be decent to know someone else that's not family."
"Where are you from?"
"Jersey. I hated it there though, I figured coming here would be a good way to start over when I was done with school."
Nothing about him seemed off, and I could normally tell those things from off the bat... but I didn't get that from him. And I wasn't letting the fact that he was cute cloud my judgement of that. "Sure." I pointed to where my things were. "I'm sitting there, you can sit with me when we get our drinks. You're cute... so I don't mind."
"T-thanks." He laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorta glad you were the first one to say it, cause I didn't have it in me to just throw that out there like that— I'm not that ballsy. But you are too."
I smiled at him, which eventually turned into a bigger smile. "Come sit, I'm sure they'll call our names."
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CHAPTER UNEDITED
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SHAMEIK MOORE AS RAKIM
This took so long to post cause I wasn't sure if I wanted it to be an actual chapter or a filler... so this is a mix of both lmao
Y'all will like Rakim, he's gonna be good lmfao he's not harmful and I swear by it.
I forgot to finally show who the faceclaim for Marcus is, so there's y'all favorite boy ❤️ and a small taste of his slight crush/admiration for Solana.
And I know the "BITCH WHY DIDNT YOU LET THEM FUCK" is coming but I SWEAR THEY WILL SOON LMFAO
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