Page 84 of No Remedy for Love

“You should have already known that. She’s good though, cousin. She can stay here as long as she wants to.”

“What’s been up with you?” Ferris asked her.

“Besides somebody setting my car on fire, not much.”

“The fuck! Who set your car on fire?”

“I have no idea. Me and Blaze were out having drinks with Tracy and Vinnie. When we got back to the house, we couldn’t even turn on my street. I slept by my mama last night.”

“I saw your ole man at the store not too long ago. I actually thought it was you until he got out of the car. That nigga Mav was frowned up but he knew better than to say something.”

Hearing him say that had Remi thinking. Mav was the one who got that car for her. Maybe seeing Blaze drive it angered him enough to destroy it. Then, there was his ex-wife. Maybe she felt played about getting her ass beat and took it out on her car. Remi didn’t have any enemies that she knew of. Even though she and Kiva were dealing with Mav at the same time, she and Remi didn’t have no beef. Honestly, Kiva handled the entire situation like a boss and Remi was happy to help her.

“Fuck Mav! Let me tell you about his bitch ass.”

Ferris was weak with laughter after Remi told him about how her and Kiva handled him. Mav was quiet about their breakup, but his shop was struggling without her and Blaze being there. Ferris loved his cousin but he tried to warn him. Remi wasn’t the one for him to risk it all for, especially since the feelings weren’t mutual. Sadly, he had to learn the hard way since he didn’t heed anybody’s warnings.

“His stupid ass!” Kiva fussed as yet another one of her calls to Mav went to voicemail.

She was still looking for another shop to work in and she had an appointment to meet with someone in twenty more minutes. Mav was supposed to be getting their son but he hadn’t answered his phone in over two hours. Her mother was sick while Kerri and her family were on a cruise. Nessa was three hours away at a wedding and she didn’t just trust leaving her son with anyone. She could have called Mav’s mother or sister but dropping him off to them would make her late. Showing up to an appointment with her son wasn’t a good look,but her back was up against the wall. Kiva strapped her son into his car seat and headed to her destination.

When she pulled up, she saw a black and silver Benz SUV out front that she assumed belonged to the owner. Kiva had seen the salon a million times before, but it was never open. It was in a nice area that had lots of storefronts and foot traffic. Kiva was nervous as she got out of the car and made her way inside. A little boy around her son’s age came running from the back followed by a tall, dark skinned man. He was handsome and the little boy favored him a lot.

“Um, hi, I’m Kiva. I have an appointment with Rashad.”

“Hey, I’m Rashad. And who’s the little man?” He smiled at Kiva’s son while shaking his little hand.

“This is my son, MJ. I’m sorry for starting off unprofessionally but nobody was available to babysit.”

“You’re good, love. I’m a single father so I get it. This is my mini me, RJ,” he introduced his son who seemed to have instantly taken a liking to hers.

“I’ve seen this shop a bunch of times before but it’s never open.”

“Yeah, my wife used to run the salon part of it until she got sick. She passed away a year ago and I’m just now feeling up to getting back to work.”

“Oh, my God. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Thanks. The shit hurts bad as fuck, but I can’t mourn forever. My son needs me now more than ever. Come on and take a look around to see if this is something that you’d be interested in.”

Kiva was happy to see that the salon area was for one stylist only. She liked her own space and she didn’t like to share it. Mav hired other stylists for financial reasons, but she could have done without the company. Working alone kept down confusion and gave her the freedom to do things her own way. There were two shampoo bowls, four dryers and enough shelf space to fit all of her supplies, towels and much more. They had a separate bathroom and entrance, just like the shop she used to share with Mav. Unlike her ex’s shop, Rashad’s barbershop was only for one barber. The place was smaller than what she was used to but perfect for what she was looking for.

“I love it. I don’t really care for working with other stylists so that’s a plus.”

“Yeah, I feel that. I like working alone too, it keeps down the confusion.”

“MJ, no, don’t touch that,” Kiva said when she saw her son take something out of a box that was on the floor.

“He’s good sweetheart, that’s just a few toys that I left here for my son. It’s been a while since the place was occupied so I’ve been coming here for the past two weeks cleaning and sanitizing. So, where were you working before?”

“My ex and I had a shop together for a while, but I’ve been in my mom’s garage since we broke up. That’s actually where I started out but I don’t really like people coming to her house like that.”

“I understand. So, what do you think? It’s not that big, but you can move some things around if you want to.”

“No, I think it’s perfect just as it is. Do you charge weekly or monthly rental?” She and Mav gave the barbers and stylists the option to do it either way.

“Honestly, I’ve never had to do this before. Like I said, my wife ran the salon and I ran the barbershop. I’ve never had to rent out space before. I guess you can do whatever is best for you. I don’t even know how much I’m supposed to charge for it.”

“Well, our barbers used to pay one fifty a week and the stylists paid two hundred because they used water.” Kiva wasn’t trying to get over on him, and she would pay whatever he asked. She loved the small intimate space and she was ready to get to work.

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