Page 25 of Dope Boys: Most Wanted
Fawn huffed, waved her off and continued onto the bustling sidewalk.
“I never liked her ass anyway. That’s what I get for letting my wayward brother do the hiring,” Nia muttered before turning back to Reign. “Do you have any store experience? And also a name might be nice, too.”
Reign nodded. “I ran a salon and boutique back in Por-” She cleared her throat. “I have experience. My name is…”
She paused for a second before finding Nia’s eager eyes. “Reign, my name is Reign.”
Nia slowly nodded, sure to not press too much. Pressing too much caused Reign to sink further into herself and there was a nagging need to know her story, not because she was nosey but because there was a tug.
“Self-employed or?”
“Self-employed at both. I’m twenty-six but running a business has been something I used to do in my sleep,” Reign spoke, a light flickering in her eye. “That and hair. Although that part is behind me. I’m just trying not to live off of someone else. I appreciate you but that hotel is too much a night.”
Nia waved it off. “Don’t mention the hotel. What other option do you have?”
“None. At least not yet,” Reign muttered, dropping her eyes.
“Oh no, ma’am, eyes up. I know you’re not from here so you don’t know how the niggas in this city operate. They see that, they ready to eat you alive. If you’re going to be running this store, I need to make sure you won’t let these niggas break you.”
Reign scoffed and muttered. “That’s men everywhere. Not just here.” She straightened up. “You won’t have to worry aboutnothing walking off. I’ll be here on time every morning to open up. I can close, I can receive shipment.”
Nia tilted her head slightly. “If you can do all of that-”
Reign offered her one second of a glimpse into her tightly guarded world. “Because what they give, they can take away. All the time, no warning, no remorse. Just control.”
Nia nodded, catching what she was putting down. “You can start now?”
“I have nothing else to do. But there’s one small thing that’s probably not good for your taxes.”
Nia snickered softly with laughter. “What is it?”
“What’s funny?” Reign’s brows knitted.
“I’m not worried about the alphabet boys. What is it?” Nia posed again.
“I don’t have any identification. All that I left behind when I ran. And I don’t know how to get any without alerting some system of where I am. I just want to work, stack money, lay low and figure out life. I don’t know if that’s going to be a problem.”
“It’s not going to be a problem, Reign. I assure you it won’t. How does nine to nine work for you?”
Reign shrugged again. “That’s fine, I have nothing else to do.”
“Alright. Listen to me though, I got a soft spot for you. I typically don’t have soft spots for people. Don’t fuck this up. Don’t leave me hanging. Don’t lie to me or steal from me. We don’t take easily to thieves,” Nia warned.
“I hear you. You don’t have to worry about it.”
“You know how to do a schedule?”
Reign nodded. “Yeah. How many employees do you have?”
“Three, young girls who need part-time work or discounts. Typical shit. If you want to hire an assistant manager, just run it past me. Other than that, it’s all on you. I’ll handle the shipments.”
Reign nodded, taking in all of Nia’s instructions. Part of her shocked that Nia was so eager to hire her on the spot.
“You’re off Tuesdays and Thursdays, pay days are Wednesdays, don’t disappear when you get your money.”
Reign hummed. “As much as I need money and something to keep me sane, you don’t have to worry about that.”
Nia offered a smile. “Come on, let me show you around.”
