Page 137 of Are You Going to Love Me

“I'm a girls’ girl, Eden. I also believe in giving men who try to silence women and take their power the middle finger. I’ll let you and Staysha ponder over this. Here’s my card. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Enjoy your breakfast. Oh, and try the watermelon salad, it’ll help you in the mornings,” Samyra shared, sliding her card over and leaving Eden alone.

Another fifteen minutes or so passed before the group of women who’d taken Eden in as their own arrived. Staysha led them with more flowers and balloons, just like Poppi would’ve done.

“Happy day after birthday!” Staysha squealed, hugging her sister’s neck. “We have been charged with accompanying you through the day until your man takes you from us.”

“And we are going to take your phone and your wallet,” Daysha chimed. “The whole day is on us.”

“Can I at least buy y’all a coffee, champagne, something?” Eden whined.

Davina shook her head. “Not a thing.”

They settled at the table, ordered the meals, and talked amongst themselves. Eden leaned into her sister and spoke. “Guess who just left here and offered you an apology and forty percent of a coffee shop rebrand?”

Staysha’s brows fused. “Who?”

“Samyra St. Harlem. Seems like that COO was doing some shady shit.”

"Damn. I saw his wife the other day while I was out, and I apologized to her because I was dead wrong. Surprisingly, she forgave me and said that I opened her eyes up to how he was treating her. Apparently, she thought he wouldn’t do to her what she did to his ex-wife to get him. Karma is a bitch with a long memory.”

“She is. See what happens when you do right.”

Staysha smirked like a weight fell off her shoulders. “I do.”

“What do you say to the offer?”

“I say we do it. Just like Poppi taught us.”

“Like we, Poppi’s daughter. Max is going to eat that shit up,” Eden spoke with laughter. “I hope everything is okay.”

“He’s fine, let that man move through this. Think about how we’d feel if Anzel popped back up.”

“I’m not going to lie to you. I’d be mad as hell. But let’s not even entertain the idea, please.”

Staysha sighed, knowing that sooner-than-later, she’d have to tell Eden that Anzel was lurking too close for comfort.

forty-three

. . .

“Why the fuckare my phones tapped?” Anzel hissed as she burst into her sister’s office.

In true Mama fashion, she had a bitch on her knees, face between her obese thighs, paying a debt. Mama blew smoke and looked toward the entrance. Anzel snapped her fingers. “Get the fuck out of here.”

“Don’t listen to that bitch,” Mama grunted, pushing the stripper’s face back between her things. “Yeah, that’s that shit.”

Anzel frowned with disgust etched over her tight face. She hated the life she lived in Trae Way, and the first out she got, she took. Raising her voice as she threw a paperweight at the back of the woman’s head, “I said get the fuck out. Smells like dirty pussy in here!”

“Ouch!” the stripper gritted, staggering to her feet and looking down at Mama with weary eyes.

“Priya, don’t take your ass too far now. This pussy ain’t gon’ eat itself. Matter of fact, find Augustus, I want to have some fun tonight,” Mama grumbled as she shooed Priya away and put herself back together.

Anzel looked at Priya. Too young to look so old. Her face looked like it’d been beaten repeatedly, sewn back together, and injected with fillers. Her BBL didn’t match her legs, and it looked like there was an infection setting in. For Priya to have fallen from being on top of the pole to her knees seemed like karma, but Anzel wasn’t worried about that.

Once the door closed, she posed her question again. “Why the fuck are the feds on me, Moriah?”

Mama sat back down and smoked her blunt, not impressed by her sister. “You know that bitch that just took her ass out of here used to be my money maker. She fumbled the bag. Fuckin’ with a nigga’s brother and their opp. Had the brother kill that nigga and then set the other brother up. You know, the one yousigned and then gave him a five-million-dollar advance with my money. Money, I want the fuck back.”

“Your money?!” Anzel screeched. “Every dime going through Urban View Entertainment is mine!”

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