Page 58 of The Smoke Hour

“So you’re her pimp now or what?”

I leaned forward so quickly and slapped the shit out of him in the face and then hit him in the mouth.

“Owww!” He screamed like a bitch. I grabbed a handful of tissues from a dispenser on his desk and handed them to him.

“Watch your damn mouth.”

He pressed the tissues against his mouth and stared in disbelief at me.

“You two deserve each other.” Terry moaned in pain, and I stood up behind the desk.

“We do, don’t we?” I asked with a wide grin. “Have yourself a nice day, Terry.”

I headed to the door and stopped just before I opened it.

“Oh, and Terry. This visit is just between you and me. And it’s the last one that I’ll ever pay you. If I ever hear of my name or her name coming out of your mouth, I’ll be visiting your grandmother. And Big Sam will visit you. And it will be the last visitor that you ever receive.”

I winked, opened the door, stepped out, and closed it behind me.

“You ready, Big Sam?”

“Yeah, Bossman.”

I needed to get my girl back.

I walkedaround the suite and made sure that everything was set up the way it should have been. I rented out a penthouse suite for Kaifiya and me for the weekend. Kaifiya loved lavender because of its royal purple coloring and its sweet fragrance, and she also loved blue. She used lavender oils at home, and her favorite candle scents also contained lavender.

Because I knew she preferred the actual lavender plants over the oils, I ordered thirty bouquets of lavender and thirty bouquets of blue hydrangeas and strategically placed them all around the penthouse. The dining room table was set, and the hotel’s kitchen was waiting for me to send the call for them to serve us. Even the table setting had a mixed bouquet of lavender and blue hydrangeas since purple and blue were her favorite colors.

I picked up my phone and dialed the number again.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me. I’ve just finished that other business and ran back to the hotel to make sure that everything was set up properly. Everything is a go. They’re just waiting for me.”

“Yeah, about that…”

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m having a problem with getting her up and moving around.”

“Shit.”

“I think the only way to get her moving is to tell her the plan.”

“Nah. She’s still too pissed at me. And when she learns what I’ve done, that shit won’t help.”

“Listen, I’ve known her damn near all her life. When I say she can be a stubborn ass, that woman won’t do anything unless she wants to. I’ve tried to get her up, and she ain’t moving, homie.”

“And I’m telling you that she responds to firmness. Now, she might not be used to all that from you, but that’s what I need you to do. Be firm but in a gentle way. Don’t leave her little ass with a choice but to get out of that damn bed.”

“A’ight. I’ll try again.”

“Thanks, man.”

I ended the call and sighed. I had met Noel on a few occasions, but I had to ambush his ass outside of their apartment to have a private chat with him. She wasn’t answering my callsor texts, so I got with him to set some shit up for me. I knew he wasn’t thrilled about it, and he’d shared his concerns with me. I didn’t give a fuck what he thought, and I told him that. I wanted my baby back.

Kaifiya meant the world to me, and I didn’t want to lose her. I hadn’t been in love before. But I knew that I was now. I knew love when I saw it in other people’s relationships.

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