extra month for you. In this case, since this isn’t an issue of unpaid rent per your contract agreement with my father, it’s a selling of the property. Your tenant rights that you spoke of work a bit different. You’ve already been basically running business here scot-free.”
“I paid rent to your father, on time, every single month. He never had any problems outta me and I even did a lot of the repairs myself – hired people for plumbing issues, painting, all sorts of things… shelled it outta my own pocket. You don’t know our history. You don’t understand the importance of this land. You don’t know that—”
“I don’t have to know the whole damn story to know that in the last chapter of the book, you were gettin’ over and taking advantage. He was only chargin’ you a measly $500 a month, and this space is easily worth at least $2000 a month in rent on a bad day, and he included the heat and water, too. Now you wanna keep the free gravy train going and stand there acting entitled.” He shook his finger at her. “You’ve got the wrong guy if you think that’s going to happen. You had a good run. Now, it’s over.”
“Entitled?! You are not going to come up in here, in my place of business, speaking to me this way.” Her face flushed with heat as she looked around the bookstore, noting a few pairs of eyes trained in her direction. “I want your information, you hear me? I want your full government name, a contact number, all of it. Nuh uh, you aren’t about to come up in here acting this way. This isn’t how you conduct business. This isn’t how you treat folks!”
The man scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I’m so damn sick of having to go through this with you people.”
“You people?!”
“Oh, give me a break! I’m not talkin’ about Black people! I am talking about you tenants!”
He opened the folder once again then tossed her a business card like it was some frisbee. She glanced down at it.
Aries ‘Flame’ Creed
Ring of Fire Motorcycles and Repair
“I’ll be glad when this shit is over.” He coolly slipped a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. Taking a drag, he exhaled thick white smolder, the spheres of smoke floating into the air and coating it with the scent of a motherfucker she’d just met, and now loved to hate. “The buck stops here. The free ride is over, sugar.”
“I’m not your sugar, and you can’t smoke in here.”
“You burn sage and incense in here, lady, every morning. Heard it outta your own mouth. And this is my store now. I can do what I damn well please. If I wanna strip down naked and cover myself in mud and feathers, wearing a bright yellow sombrero, then run around here naked singing ‘Uptown Funk’, by Bruno Mars, in Pig Latin, I very well will do it!”
“Tarred and feathered would be more suiting for the likes of you, don’t you think?” He winked at her, sending shivers down her spine. “You sure aren’t anything like your daddy…” Her eyes narrowed on him as she burned with rage. The evil bastard smirked.
“Thank you for the compliment. I’ll be in touch tomorrow, Ms. McKinney.” He tucked the folder under his arm and walked away, moving fast, as if on a mission to not waste time. Each stride dripped with confidence and grit, yet it was somehow forced. Such a strange thing to watch.
The scent of oil, musk, and sweat now hung in the air, merging with the cigarette smoke that faded like a slow death. The rage kept rising within her. He smelled like dirty bike parts, fuel, and the tinkering innards of a world covered in soot, rusty metal, and rude determination. Sherry gasped, and still stood there with her mouth hanging open.
“Close that thing before a fly goes in it!” Lauren snapped before popping the girl on the chin with a flick of her finger.
“What an asshole!” Sherry cried. “He can’t do that! We love it here. Three months? Can he do really do this, Lauren?!”
“Well,” she shrugged as she shoved the Kama Sutra book to the side, “if he’s the owner now, he can.”
“Aren’t you upset?” Sherry’s eyes were a bit glossy.
Yes… I’m falling apart right now, too. But she wouldn’t say that to the young woman. Someone had to be level-headed, after all.