A Woman's Worth (7 page)

Chapter Eighteen

Quinton

I left the office, got in my Jeep and took off toward home. Tiffany and Madison were staying there until her new house was done being renovated. She had moved out the hotel and decided to stay with me because she didn’t have to keep paying rent. It was soon, but I felt comfortable with them there. That was all that mattered.

Tone had missed me with all that barking orders shit
. The only reason I dealt with that nigga was because we were on a business level. We would occasionally have a drink or share some advice around the office from time to time, but nothing to where it would be personal. There was love lost. That nigga needed to stop running in every ratchet stripper and he wouldn’t have lost his bitch. He was lucky I left the office because I was going to lay his ass out and then smoke the rest of his weed.

Tyrisha moved on
. Everybody fucking knew she moved on. He was the only one thinking she was sitting around waiting for him to finally get his act together. She had been messing around with my brother for a long time. It was so obvious and it was sitting in his face. He was too dumb to notice.

  Moses
and I were half-brothers, same father different mother. We had twin sisters, Epiphany and Promise, by our father. Promise lived in New York while Epiphany was running around Miami, but we didn’t get along, so I just stayed away. When Moses moved down here, we both continued my father’s car detailing businesses. He found out I was getting money selling coke and he got down with the plan. Now, we both were sitting on money. I went legit by partnering with Tone, to becoming a real estate agent, and slowed down in the drug game while Moses was still getting it by any means necessary.

I didn’t know Tyrisha was fucking my brother until I came to
Sunday dinner. She was there serving dinner. I was waiting for Tone to come out the bathroom, but when she kissed my brother, I figured it wasn’t my business and I wasn’t about to be the mailman delivering that package.

Moses had Sunday dinner every Sunday following my father
’s tradition he had before he died and everybody was supposed to attend. My ratchet ass sister Epiphany came every Sunday with a different dude with her hand out for money. I was planning on bringing Tiffany and Madison this Sunday because I was serious about her.

When I came home from work
, I was happy to see her and Madison in the living room watching TV. It made me feel good.

I pulled out my phone to call Moses to let him know about what went down with Tone.

“What’s good?” he asked, sounding just like my father.

“I just came from seeing your boy
,” I said.

“What’s going on with him?” he
asked, sounding like he could give two fucks.

“Make Tyrisha tell that nigga
. He bringing personal shit into my business and I ain’t with that shit.” I said as I took a seat next to Tiffany.

“I got you
, buoy,” he said, faking his Jamaican accent.

“Ight I'm out
.”

“Wait
, nigga, can you pick up Reshawn from the airport? I'm moving. Me and Tee don’t have room in this hotel room. Let him stay with you and I’ll give him the keys to my condo tomorrow,” he said quickly and hung up.

Fuck
! This nigga is always fucking up, I thought in my head. I knew I was going to have to explain to Tiffany why some nigga was staying with us when there were hotels he could stay in.

We had made ou
r relationship official and her only request was to never disrespect her and never cheat on her. I was cool with that as long as she stayed just how she was.

“Babe, I gotta make a move. I have some family staying for the night, if that’s cool with you,” I said, praying she was cool.

I didn’t feel like using my own money to help a grown ass man pay for a hotel room.

“That’s cool. It’s your house. Me and Maddie are guests, too,” she said, handing me Maddie.

“I want it to be y
’all home, too, right Maddie?” I bounced Maddie up and down while she blew spit bubbles and laughed the entire time.

“Too soon
… Quint… too soon,” Tiffany said.

***

This nigga’s plane had already landed and if he called me one more time, I was about to leave his ass standing there. I forgot I had to pick his ass up.

Tiff
had given me a massage and I went to sleep. I was asleep until Moses called and told me Reshawn had landed. I was trying to call his ass every ten minutes. I sped towards the airport with no ID and half dressed in a white wife-beater, slippers, and basketball shorts.

When
I pulled up, this nigga had the nerve to have a slight attitude ‘cause I was late.

“Damn, nigga. I’ve been here for like an hour already.”

“And
, if you don’t wanna still be here, you’ll appreciate the ride or you can take a cab,” I said before pulling off and heading home.

I was a year
younger than Reshawn. Sometimes, I felt like he was my younger brother instead of Moses. Reshawn claimed to be up in New York, doing big things, but as always, he was begging to get bricks on consignment and needed to borrow money.

I wasn’t
that close with the nigga, so I didn’t know why he always saw the need to reach out to me whenever he couldn’t get in touch with Moses. I just wanted the night to go by fast and get him out my house by the morning.

“My girl and her daughter is sleep, so be quiet when you come in the house,” I told him, without taking my eyes off the road.

“No doubt
. I'm tired my damn self, so I’ll crash on the couch,” he replied, looking out the window.

“You gonna have to
‘cause her daughter took over the guest bedroom,” I laughed.

We pulled into the driveway and the whole house was pitch
-black, just how Tiffany liked to sleep. She even turned off the kitchen lights. I walked in the house with Reshawn right behind me. I showed him the living room and went upstairs to get back in my comfy bed with my babe.

Chapter Nineteen

Tiffany

I woke up with the sun shining in my face. I was happy for two reasons that morning. I had slept all night without Madison waking me. I woke up next to Quint’s sexy ass. I smelled bacon and Quint was still in bed, so I knew that it was his family that he said was coming. I figured I would introduce myself, make Madison’s bottle, and my morning cup of coffee.

I put on
Quint’s sweat shirt, a pair of leggings, and walked down the stairs. Whoever the guest was had finished cooking in the kitchen and had moved into the living room, so I stuck my head in the living room. I almost had a stroke at the sight of him on the couch.

H
e must have been feeling the same way ‘cause if looks could kill I would’ve been dead.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Reshawn asked, sitting up on the couch.

I
didn’t have a response, I thought maybe I was hallucinating and he wasn’t really there, but when I heard him ask the same question again I knew I wasn’t. He was right there in the flesh.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you the same thing? Why
the hell are you here?” I asked. Looking at him I could tell he was taking back from my bluntness but he continued with his usual dictator ways, always trying to take control of the situation.

“How you know Quinton?”

“That’s none of your business, when I left you, my business became just that, my busine-”

B
efore I was able to get the rest of the sentence out, Reshawn jumped off the couch and hemmed me up against the wall, causing the lamp to fall to the floor and shatter.

I heard footsteps running across the floor upstairs and thanked
God because I knew Quinton was on his way downstairs.

“What the fuck is going on down here
? Reshawn, get the fuck off my girl,” he yelled shoving Reshawn so hard he fell on his ass.

Reshawn got up and was ready to fight
. I tried to stand in between the two, but Quinton pulled me behind him while looking at Reshawn with daggers in his eyes.

Before Reshawn could get the upper hand in
, the fight Quinton rushed him and body slammed him on the floor making the floor shake. He started punching him and giving Reshawn rib shots.

Quinton and Reshawn were both over six feet and probably weighed about two hundred pounds, so my pushing and pulling wasn’t fazing them.

“Get off of him Quinton
, please,” I screamed while punching his back.

I wasn’t defending Reshawn
. I felt this ass whopping was well-deserved and he had earned every bit of it, but you can’t fight fire with fire and Quinton was just stooping down to his level.

Quinton finally got up and I called myself
taking control of the situation, until he pulled me close to him and grabbed me by the waist, to let Reshawn know I was his.

“Fuck this shit
. I aint with this. Yo, my man, just know when I catch you it’s over for you,” Reshawn threatened.

Quinton looked cool and calm.

“Nigga
, I ain’t with the talking as you can see. If you wanna talk gun play you know where I’m at. Just don’t bring it to my front door. Now get the fuck out my house, punk ass bitch, and let Moses know I put the paws on ya ass,” Quinton said laughing, making Reshawn mad.

H
e looked like he wanted to start round two but I was glad when he walked out the door and slammed it behind him waking Madison up.             

I went and fed Madison and returned back to the livi
ng room where Quinton was trying to clean up the mess and ice his hands.

“How do you know Reshawn
?” I asked picking up some pieces of glass.

“That’s Moses’s brother on his mother’s side. I don’t fuck with that nigga like that
. I was just doing Moses’s a favor and he crossed the line when he put his hands on you. He thought that shit was just gonna rock. How you know that nigga?”

“That’s Madison’s father
. Do you think he will try to catch you slipping?” I asked concerned.

I knew Reshawn and he didn’t take too lightly to someone whipping his ass and
, in his mind, stealing his girl.

“Small fucking world
, aint it? Madison don’t need his ass anyway and he ain’t never gonna catch me slipping, even when I’m off, I’m still on.” He smirked, leaning in for a kiss.

I gave him
one and we continued to clean up the living room
.

****

I arrived at Moses’s house where Tyrisha said she would be. I pulled up a block away because there were moving trucks and people in and out of the house. I walked in the house in search for Tyrisha.

When I heard her loud mouth arguing
, I knew exactly where she was. I walked into the kitchen and she was sitting on the stool bossing everyone around and telling them where to pack each item.

“Hey
, Tee, stop yelling at these people and talk to them,”  I said, walking up on her.

H
er stomach was so huge, she could barely turn around to greet me until I walked in front her.

“Look at you, Give a bitch some good dick and
a lil’ bit of sun and she be ready to take over the world,” she said, admiring my outfit.

I couldn’t blame her
. I was rocking a pair of cut up jeans with a halter top and laced Jimmy Choo booties.

“First of all
, we haven’t slept together, yet, and yes, hunnie, that sun does a bitch right, don’t it?” I laughed, twirling around the kitchen.

“Gone with the
wind fabulous.” Tyrisha laughed getting up so we could go to lunch.

An
hour later we were sitting in OLA restaurant eating lunch. I caught her up on the drama that transpired this morning.

“Gurl
, I can’t believe Reshawn is Moses’ brother. What the hell this world is coming to?” she asked, stuffing her face.

“Me either
. I’m kind of worried. He threatened Quinton and I don’t know what I would do if something happened because of me. I don’t want to be the cause of nobody dying, getting shot or whatever.”

“He ain
’t crazy, but I do feel bad for Moses. My baby got both his brothers fighting–like who side can he choose? If it was me, I wouldn’t be on Reshawn’s hating ass side. I can’t believe someone as fine as him is so damn ugly inside.”

“It ain
’t for us to choose.”

“Well enough about their asses
, are you coming to Sunday dinner tomorrow? Since you and Quint dating and shit, I feel like it’s my obligation to invite you.”

“Sunday dinner?” I asked confused.

“Moses has this dinner where everyone gets together like a family and shit. It’s nice. I wish my family did it, and I can’t wait ‘til my son get here so he could have that.” She beamed with happiness.

Her family history was for another place and time
. Just say I understood why Tyrisha acted the way she did.

“I guess so if Quinton is going.”

“Good, because ya’ll coming. The dress code is formal. And since he’s moving it’s gonna be in a nice restaurant. Leave Madison ass at home. You know her lil’ ass is messy.” She laughed, playing around.

“Leave my baby out of it
? She don’t wanna sit and eat with your messy ass either.”

I paid the bill and we left
. Moses picked up Tyrisha for her ultrasound appointment while I went back to the house. I couldn’t help but feel like someone was watching me. I felt a chill go down my spine.

I shook it off and got in my car and pulled off.
I needed to get myself together and stop worrying about Reshawn and his messiness.