The Grind Don't Stop (16 page)

With her eyes full of lust as the drug and sexual emporium hit her at the same time, Bertha slowly stood up and walked around the desk to stand directly in front of Rose.

Rose's drug-induced eyes looked up at her as the same lustful feelings started tingling through her body. She leaned her head forward to rest on her stomach. The heated aroma of her musky womanhood, drew her further down to Bertha's crotch like a magnet.

The feel of Rose's warm mouth triggered her into action and she started rubbing the back of her head as she pressed forward to meet that warmth. Bertha moaned softly to the sensation of her wet tongue soothing her skin through her clothing. Ever so slowly she began grinding her hips into Rose's face. Her moaning increased when she felt her soft hands start to edge her dress up her thighs. When the hem rose to the edge of her lacy panties, Bertha's stomach began to tremble.

Urged by her reaction, Rose started licking and kissing her crotch through the silky cloth. Bertha's thighs started trembling as well when she felt her juices oozing out of her tingling pussy. Suddenly, the phone started ringing, jarring her senses and both of them jumped. They stared into each other's eyes, neither wanting to give up the emotions they were feeling. Sighing heavily with disgust, Rose leaned back in the chair and nodded for her to pick it up. Bertha rolled her eyes back in her head, snatched the phone off the desk and said nastily into the receiver, “Yeah.” Rose slapped her on the thigh, frowned and wagged her finger as she mouthed, “No-no-no.”

Bertha pressed the receiver to her bosom, then took a deep breath with her eyes squeezed tightly shut until she was able to cool down. “Excuse me, who is this? No, neither one of them is here. No, not exactly, but most likely one of them should be here around seven or so. Okay, I'll let them know that you called. Bye.”

She gently replaced the phone back in its cradle. Sensing that the mood had drastically changed, she straightened her skirt of imaginary wrinkles and went to sit on the couch.

After eyeing the frustrated look on her for a moment, Rose relit the blunt and said between drags, “Is that the time those two creepy muthafuckas usually come in?”

Bertha smiled at her outstretched hand and walked over to get the blunt. She squeezed it between her thumb and index finger, being careful not to let the hot ashes touch her manicured nails, and finished it off. “Most of the time, yeah.” She harrumphed as she rolled it into a small ball and placed it in her mouth.

Rose sighed at the sight of her sexy tongue running across her lips and then took on a more serious tone. “What was the deal why that little bitch Mercedes left? I know that Don was showing her a lot of favoritism over the other girls but hell, she didn't seem like the type of bitch to let snooty bitches bother her, know what I'm saying?”

Bertha looked off as she stretched her arms to the point where her huge breasts jutted out enticingly. She started rubbing her neck before settling her gaze back at her. “Now you know that I used to let that little thing roll with me when I used to run packages for Don when he ran short of hoes to do it every now and then?”

Rose nodded and stared at her more intensely until she was forced to blink away the uncomfortable feeling.

“So I got to know her better than the others, anyway. I don't know how you going to take this, but she gave me every indication that she didn't like Don from the get-go.”

As she expected that drew a frown and nasty grunt from Rose. Her eyes twitched at the corners wondering if Rose would snap or not. When she didn't she continued, “And to be straight up with you, she was just looking for somebody to cling on to to get away from him, if you ask me. And you did ask me, so there it is.”

Rose's eyes swayed from side to side searching the floor for awhile before she finally nodded. “So the little sneaky-ass ho used my nephew. Is that what you're telling me? Because it certainly sounds like that in a fucking nutshell.”

The sour look stayed glued to Rose's face after she stood up and walked over to the window. She stood there with her shoulders hunching up and down for several moments as she forced the anger out of her body. Finally she gave one heavy sigh and spoke over her shoulder. “And that don't seem sorta suspicious the way she did that shit, all of a sudden like that?”

When she didn't get an immediate reply, Rose turned around to face her with her nose flaring. Bertha stirred in the chair un-comfortably for a few seconds before she simply said, “No.”

The corners of Rose's eyes twitched. “Well, it do to me.” Without another word, she walked to the desk to relock the drugs in the drawer and strolled out of the room, slamming the door angrily behind her.

Bertha sat there shaking her head, stunned as the door shook from the rattling that echoed in the suddenly chilly room. “Damn, why her ass so upset about one little bitch? Hell, dozens of girls come and go out of this bitch all the muthafucking time,” she muttered to herself as she left out and headed back to attend to her duties at the bar.

Beverly was feeling womanly special after her rendezvous with Sparkle. And why not? She hadn't had any sex for months and on those few occasions, she came nowhere near the pleasure she got with him. After all these years he still had her number. Hell, a girl had to get some every now and then to keep feeling like she was a desirable woman.

The clicking of the police ticker tape, nor the humming of the printer, nor the ever-present din of noise in the squad room outside her office, was able to penetrate her revelry. But the aggravating banging on the door certainly was able to do so.

She squinted in anger at the rattling blinds before she frowned at the intruder of her solace. She blinked herself out of her mini trance to answer the door. “Yeah, who the fuck is it?”

Her grit faded instantly as her secretary entered the room. She smiled at Sarah, her middle-aged police lieutenant with graying temples. Her ever-present granny reading glasses were perched on her perky little nose, which she had to readjust when they slid down the bridge when she used her wide hips to bump the door open. She certainly fit the bill of the overworked aide-de-camp as she tried to balance an armload of folders against her bosom with one arm, while with the other one tried to keep a cup full of steaming hot coffee from slouching over the rim.

Damn, it seems like every time she comes in here, she's managing that
miracle balancing act of hers,
Beverly thought as Sarah mumbled something undetectably through the silver ink pen clenched between her ruby red lips.

Beverly shook her head with a smile as she tried to put everything down in one motion. She didn't quite make it as the black liquid practically jumped over the rim. Instinctively, Beverly stretched out her hand to try to prevent the spill from spreading all over her highly polished desktop. “Ow, ouch, damn, that stuff is hot, girl. Whatcha do, boil it or something?” she yelped as the hot liquid sprinkled her wrist and forearm. She quickly scooped up a handful of napkins out of the dispenser and began wiping up the mess.

“Sarah, how in the world could you bang on the door that hard and then try to put all that stuff down at one time anyway? Who dya think you are, Houdini? Damn, girl.”

Sarah Barnes, rosy cheeks blushing under her gray eyes, peered undereyed at her boss as she pushed the glasses back up her nose with her baby finger. “I didn't. I do all the time with these big-ass hips of mine, but anyway Lt. Woo saw me approaching the door and called herself helping. Shit, if she called herself doing that, she could have at least taken the cup out of my hand, know what I'm saying? But so much for the hired help, huh?”

Smiling demurely, she attempted to straighten up the nonpresent wrinkles in her navy blue skirt. “Oh yeah, and by the way, she said that she'd be in here after she gets herself a cup of the house specialty here.” She mugged
up at the cup as she sipped and grimaced. “Why can't they change this stuff to Folgers or Maxwell House, or something resembling tasty.”

“Sarah, it is Folgers.” Beverly smiled.

Sarah wrinkled her nose and fluttered her eyelashes. “Hmph, could've fooled me. They need to get somebody else to make it then.”

Beverly took a few sips from her Atlanta Falcons mug and smiled. “You could always bring yo own. Hell, maybe even get some of that cappuccino up in this joint. Then you may not have to go through that face-mugging thing you seem to enjoy doing so much.” She friskily nodded her head.

Sarah, being in a little sassy mood of her own, took advantage of the one her boss was in and kept the good-natured conversation going. “Hmm, who been flocking in your nest there, honey? You sure in a peppy mood there, girlie.” She smiled prissily.

Beverly blushed and stuck her tongue out with a devious smile. She knew that the frisky girl in her was trying to take over, so she started shuffling the papers on her desk. She squelched up her nose. “None of your business, Miss Nosey Ass.”

Sarah wasn't about to let her off that easy and gave her a matronly smirk. “Hmmph, uh-huh, I knew I was right. You been doing the nasty, ain'tcha?”

Beverly's head jerked involuntarily for she couldn't believe that she was getting all up in her biz. On the other hand, if her inner glow was that evident, she must've really been feeling good. She gave her a hiccupped moan. “Aw, girl, shut your filthy mouth.”

Their heads jerked to the door as Lt. Woo whooshed through like she was entering her own palace. Beverly's mini good mood snapped into a nasty grit at her boldness and she stood up and placed her hands on her hips defiantly.

Woo froze in her step and mouthed silently. “What?” She stood with her hands spread at her sides. “Wow, what's up? What did I do now?”

Maintaining her authoritative stance, Beverly gritted in a stern tone. “Lieutenant, how many times do I have to tell your disrespecting ass about coming in here like that? Damn, barging in like it's your office and shit.”

“Aw, girl, please,” Woo responded in her seldom-used Vietnamese-laced twang.

“I beg your pardon,” Beverly growled as she leaned forward and placed her hands with the knuckles shining on the desk.

“Lighten up, boss lady. I got some good stuff to wiggle in ya ear.” She waited wide-eyed for a response. When she didn't get one, she pursed her lips. “That is if you don't mind me reporting for duty, ma'am. Well, do you?”

Beverly covered her eyes and shook her head.
What a woman, whadda muthafucking woman this bitch here is,
she thought before she sat back down. “Okay, little lady, whatcha got? What gives?”

Woo's eyes blinked wildly with excitement as she snake-rolled her head and sat down in the chair opposite the one that Sarah was standing beside. “That's a little better. Uh, by the way, what are y'all girls in here talking about?” She squinted at Sarah, not even attempting to hide the disdain she felt for the older woman. “Surely didn't sound like no official police biz to me.” Her twang had all but disappeared.

Sarah rolled her eyes at Woo, snorted and started ruffling through her paperwork before she cleared her throat. “What difference does it make what we were talking about? It ain't had a damn thing to do with you, Missy.” She stood up and folded her arms across her chest and turned her mouth down when she spoke. “Go ahead, chief, get on with your business.”

Beverly knew that it was time for her to intervene. “Ladies, ladies, I can see that y'all really enjoy each other's company. But shall we go ahead with your report, Woo? Or do I need to continue to referee this cat fight y'all insist on having?”

Woo rolled her eyes away from Sarah and smiled at Beverly. “No, bossa lady, no fight. I just want to keep you up on the activity on the hotel strip. I really think we are close to wrapping up the goods on one of the suppliers.” She leaned back in the chair and wiped her mouth studying both women, wondering whether she should let them know about the deputy chief. But the look on Sarah's face sealed the no on that announcement.

Beverly leaned back in her own seat, all business now. “And please continue.” She leaned forward to rest her chin on her hands that she had pyramided on her cluttered desk.

Woo shifted again in the seat, really cautious now as to how much she could or should say in front of them. Not feeling comfortable, she quickly decided to feed out only enough to let her know that she was still hard on the case. Besides, she felt that she had to dig a little deeper before she turned over what she knew of the deputy chief's obviously illegal activities. There was no telling what all that dirty bastard had his filthy hands in. Maybe what she saw at the Farmers Market was only the tip of the iceberg of a much bigger operation; and well worth investigating further before she let the big heads in on it. After all, he was still one of them, which meant that she had to walk very carefully or she'd wound up in some deep bullshit—shit so deep that she might not be able to dig herself out of it.

And if things proved to be a lot bigger, she surely wasn't beyond blackmailing him. What the fuck; he was a dirty cop. She squeezed her eyes that much more tighter. “I've, I mean, we've tracked the source as coming from a major supplier in Miami.”

Sarah fidgeted in her seat and leaned forward, making sure to show the little bitch just as much disrespect as she had shown. She wrinkled her nose and ran her eyes up and down her body. She fought back the urge to reach across the table and slap her one good one upside her head, praying that the little bitch could see the hatred in her eyes. She chanced a peek at the chief and quickly looked away when their eyes met. The look on Beverly's face made her feel ashamed at the way she was allowing her personal dislike for the diminutive pest to affect her professional attitude.

It was hard but Sarah managed to swallow her anger and pride. Snorting out of self-disgust, she wrinkled her nose, then twisted around in the seat before she squared her shoulders and said in a gravelly tone, “Lt. Woo, we really do appreciate your keeping us informed with your progress.” She paused to clear her throat and crossed her legs as she snuck another peek at Beverly. “We'll put it with the rest of the data we've collected so far.” Satisfied with the bewildered look on Woo's face, she sat back and eyed the chief questionably and rolled them nastily from her adversary.