Working Girls (6 page)

The vibration of the window glass and the sound of music drew Jewels's attention to her living-room window. She pulled her drapes back just enough to see out, even though she had an idea who was disturbing the peace. She shook her head and smiled. Sassy had just pulled up, bumping Beyoncé, with her convertible top down. Jewels thought her friend looked like a million dollars in that ride. She was in a white 2012 BMW 645i, with a peanut butter–colored leather interior, sitting on twenty-three-inch chrome wheels.

When her phone rang, she already knew who it was.

“Bitch, I'm outside. Come on out,” was what Jewels heard.

“I'm not ready yet. Give me a few minutes.”

“I knew it!” Sassy declared. “I'm coming in.”

Before Jewels could protest, Sassy had already hung up.

She could literally feel Rome's eyes piercing her back. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea, after all, she thought for a second.

“She's coming in,” Jewels informed him.

Rome nodded and got up off the plush couch. “Just make sure she don't be roaming around and come across me. Remember our deal,” he reminded her. He went into the guest bedroom and locked the door just as he heard the doorbell ring.

Jewels waited a few seconds before she opened the door to let Sassy in.

“Damn. You slow as fuck!” Sassy complained.

Jewels ignored her comment and gave her a quick hug.

“You look good, girl,” Jewels complimented her.

“As I should.” Sassy spun around. Her smooth-looking dark brown skin glowed as she flashed Jewels her million-dollar smile.

She knew she was the shit and made sure she looked the part on a daily basis. Sassy ran her fingers through her natural, long, straight, Asian-looking black hair.

“You are the most conceited bitch I know,” Jewels said as she turned and made her way back to her bedroom to finish getting dressed.

“Whatever.” Sassy rolled her deep brown, almond-shaped eyes and closed the door behind her.

“Damn. When and where did you get this table from in your hallway?” Sassy called out to her. She knew it wasn't there the last time she was over, which was last week.

“A few days ago,” Jewels answered. “But why are you inspecting my damn crib? Bring yo' ass in here while I finish getting ready.” Jewels stuck her head in the hallway. She wanted to make sure Sassy didn't start floating through her place and stumble across Rome.

“How much that shit cost?” Sassy asked plopping on her bed. “It looks expensive. Plus, I know how you like nice shit,” she added.

Jewels smiled. Her friend knew her all too well. “Cost me almost four grand,” she replied.

“Daaamn!” Sassy said in her best Ice Cube and Chris Tucker impersonation. Her thick perfectly arched eyebrows rose up. She even added the lean with it from the movie
Friday
.

Jewels burst into laughter. She loved Sassy like a sister. She could do no wrong in Jewels's eyes. Sassy was her road dawg, and they had a bond that no one else would understand. She was what you called a lethal weapon. She was exotic looking, with a big-ass apple-bottom booty and some big-ass double D tits. Shamirah Davis, aka Sassy, was only eighteen but had a mentality far beyond her years. But like the saying went, “Never trust a big butt and a smile.” They had chicks like Sassy in mind when they said that. She also had a cold heart.

They had both been through a lot in their young lives, but Sassy had been through a little more than Jewels, and it had shaped her into the coldhearted chick she was today. She was originally from the Lou, but after her mother got killed, Sassy was forced to go live with her uncle, his girlfriend, and their six-year-old son in a two-bedroom Section 8 apartment in Gary, Indiana. She was nine at the time. Her uncle's girlfriend made it perfectly clear that she didn't really want Sassy there and that Sassy should not ask her for a damn thing. It was evident that her uncle and his girlfriend got high. Her uncle began raping her on her tenth birthday. He used to force her to have sex with him. She was sure that her uncle's girlfriend knew what was going on and simply didn't care. Sassy had no one to turn to or tell what was going on with her, so for years she dealt with it. By the time she was twelve, her uncle didn't have to force her or ask her anymore. She enjoyed having sex. When his guilt finally got the best of him and he stopped sleeping with her, he had already created a little monster.

Sassy had started planning her revenge and escape the first day her uncle laid a hand on her. Sassy began forcing herself on his son. In a sick way, in her mind it was payback for what her uncle had done to her. He had taken her innocence, so she took his son's. Then, when the time was right, she decided to blackmail him. She threatened to report him to child welfare services and to tell the cops that he had been molesting and raping her for years. Her uncle wasted no time giving her some hush money. She knew at that very moment what she could get from men and how to get it. She knew that, like her own mother, she would hustle men for life. Her motto was, “The only thing a man is good for is a quick fuck and a quick buck.” With the thousand dollars she got out of him, she purchased a bus ticket and returned to St. Louis. That was when her and Jewels's paths crossed again—on different terms and under different circumstances.

The two of them had first met during the time when Jewels had gone to work with her mother back in the day. Their mothers had been close, so it was only right that they would become close as well.

Jewels's mother had met Sassy's mother, Noel, back when she used to run with that crowd. They had turned tricks and done cons and other capers together when they first started out in the game, but then they had gone their separate ways. Five years later, they had reunited one day, when Melody was coming out of a motel out East. Noel had had a child by then, just like Melody. She had also had a drug habit. She was addicted to crack. But the drug didn't affect her half-black and half-Latino features. She was still beautiful, just like Jewels's mom. Everyone thought she was the finest crackhead on the block.

One day Jewels's mother saw her standing on the corner, begging for food and money for drugs. That day Melody fed Noel and copped her some drugs to get high. The next day, when Noel woke up, Melody told her it would be the last time she starved and got high, and it was all the way up until the day she was killed. She was dragged down the block, while hanging on to a fleeing trick's arm, and he drove her right into a fire hydrant. It was the day both Jewels and Sassy had lost their mothers. It was Jewels's mother who had killed the white man who had killed Noel. The shot from her .22 to his temple had cost her the rest of her life in prison. Jewels and Sassy had been as thick as thieves ever since.

Jewels couldn't stop laughing at Sassy's Ice Cube and Chris Tucker reaction. “You a mess, girl.” She peered back at Sassy through her bedroom mirror as she enhanced her eyelashes with her MAC eyelash brush. She believed she had done a good job of covering up the bruises and marks she had on her face compliments of the dead white trick.

“No, you the mess,” Sassy shot back. “What the fuck happened yesterday?” Her tone became serious. “I thought you was a part of that shit—well not a part of it—but all I kept saying was, ‘Please don't let them say they found a dead woman's body.' I would've lost my fucking mind if that would've happened,” Sassy said, rambling. Her voice was loud.

It made Jewels nervous. She wondered whether Rome could hear her from where he was. She knew she had to shut Sassy up. When she turned around, she saw that Sassy was wiping tears from her eyes. It had never dawned on her how Sassy would be affected by what she had seen on the news. She knew Sassy had known where she was and who she was with. Just like she knew how overprotective Sassy could be toward her. On more than one occasion, Sassy had let it be known that she would kill for and over Jewels. There was an older streetwalker who could confirm that Sassy didn't play when it came to Jewels. She had a keloid scar running from the side of her left ear down to her jawline as a reminder of the day she had disrespected Jewels in public, in front of a bunch of escorts and other streetwalkers at a local playa's ball.

“I told you, I don't know anything about what happened to that fat fuck. I was already gone, after he beat the shit out of me.” She walked over to Sassy and wrapped her arms around her. “But I'm okay. Thanks for being concerned.” She kissed her on the head.

Sassy peered up at her. “Okay, enough of this mushy shit. Let's go fuck up some commas!” She pushed Jewels off of her and sprung up from the bed.

Jewels chuckled. “You are some type of crazy! I'm ready.” She snatched up her Gucci shades and her matching clutch.

Moments later, they were hopping in Sassy's BMW.

* * *

Rome watched from the living-room window as Jewels and Sassy sashayed to the car. “Damn!” He admired Jewels's beauty.

She bad as shit,
he thought to himself as she flung her hair over her shoulder with a swing of her head right before she stepped into the dropped top. It was the first time he had seen her dressed up. Rome blinked, shook his head rapidly, and released the curtain he had peeled back slightly.
Later for that broad,
he told himself.
Stay focused, Rome.

He unlocked his iPhone 6 Plus, scrolled through his call log, and placed a call.

The caller picked up on the first ring and spoke.

“Yeah, I'm straight, but we gotta talk,” Rome began.

“Yeah. You good, though?”

“Yeah. Let's meet in about an hour. I'll text you where.”

“A'ight.”

The phone went dead and left Rome with his thoughts.
I just hope this bitch ain't one of them hungry sack chasers. I don't want to put a bullet in her head too.

Los paced back and forth in the one-bedroom apartment, while Buster rolled up a blunt of Kush.

“Why the fuck ain't nobody talkin'?” Los said in a booming voice. He was still heated behind the news of his brother's murder a few days ago. But he was more heated behind the fact that neither he nor his deceased brother's right-hand man could find out who was behind it and why.

“Li'l bro, don't worry,” Buster said as he dried the blunt with his torch cigarette lighter. “We gonna find out who did that shit. And when we do”—he paused to lick the Swisher Sweets filled with weed—“we gonna handle that.” He put the blunt in his mouth and lit it. “You know the streets talk. Just 'cause they silent now don't mean they gonna be forever.” He took three pulls of the L, then passed it to Los.

“You right,” Los agreed. He plopped down on the sofa and took a long drag of the bud.

“On everything I love, I'ma make whoever did this regret that shit,” he declared in between pulls.

Buster nodded. He knew Los meant every word he was saying. He was only eighteen, but he was a young cannon. The only person in the world who could ever keep a tight leash on him was Mike-G, and he was no longer here. There was no doubt in Buster's mind that it was just a matter of time before Los went on a rampage. He felt he owed it to his ex-partner to watch and have Los's back, right, wrong or indifferent.

After all, had it not been for Mike-G, Buster wouldn't even be alive. The scar Buster that bore on the right side of his neck and that ended just shy of his Adam's apple was a constant reminder of how Mike-G had helped him cheat death after a robbery went wrong and he was left in a pool of his own blood in an alley on the East Side. It was Mike-G who had found him and had taken him to a hood doctor to patch him up. It was also Mike-G who had ridden on the dudes with him who were responsible for slicing his throat and robbing him for an ounce of coke. Since then, Buster had been a loyal soldier to Mike-G.

“We on the same page, li'l bro.” Buster accepted the blunt from Los and inhaled a mouthful of smoke. He leaned his head back, puckered his lips, and let out a cloud of rings, then added, “If it's the last thing we do.”

“Facts,” Los agreed. “Whoever violated gonna be put in the motherfuckin' dirt, believe that,” Los added. He slammed his fist into his palm.

“Don't worry about it,” Buster replied. “Like I said, when the streets start talkin', we gonna be listening.”

“You right,” Los told Buster.

“Yeah, we'll be listening,” Buster repeated as he let out a gust of smoke. “But for now we make sure he goes out the right way.”

“Yeah. I'ma set everything up.” Los took back the blunt from Buster.

“Man, I can't help but wonder how in the world he didn't see that shit coming. He always was on point. Fuck! I'ma make sure whoever did it will suffer worse than a trapped mouse.”

Plaza Frontenac, a mall, was where you could find Jewels and Sassy whenever they weren't with a client. Sometimes you could find them at this premiere luxury-shopping location with a client as well, if they got lucky, which they often did. But today they were spending their own money.

The heads of men of all colors turned and their necks spun as Jewels's and Sassy's hips swayed from side to side through the high-end mall and their outfits clung to their bodies. Jewels's ass cheeks looked like two soccer balls bouncing up and down as her Gucci flip-flops echoed throughout the mall while she strutted. Sassy's, on the other hand, looked as if two midgets were in a wrestling match. Even gay men and women with their girlfriends cut their eyes over in the direction of the two of them in passing. They knew all eyes were on them. It was nothing new. They couldn't help but laugh when a Spanish guy was unsuccessful at trying to sneak a look at them while walking beside his girl. All they could hear was, “You want her, go be with her,
puta
!” right before his girl stormed off.

Out of spite, Jewels was tempted to press him but decided against it after she did her usual quick assessment of him. Physically, he was attractive, but that meant nothing to her. You couldn't deposit looks into a bank account, and nothing about him made her think, feel, or believe he had money. He was dressed in Polo from head to toe: tee, shorts, and kicks. Normally, that look would make for a promising potential client, but Jewels could spot bootleg a mile away, and everything he had on was a knockoff. Jewels continued ripping the mall's runway with her partner in crime until they reached their first destination.

“Welcome back, Ms. Jewels, Ms. Sassy,” said one of Louis Vuitton's security guards as he greeted them at the door with a nod.

“Hey, Andre,” Jewels and Sassy replied in unison, returning the greeting with a smile and addressing him by his first name.

Andre inconspicuously eyed Jewels as she walked through the store like she owned the place. She could see him out the corner of her right eye. Jewels knew he was digging her.
Too bad he can't afford me,
she thought.

“Another cute face with broke pockets,” Sassy said to her.

Jewels looked back at Andre, who apparently hadn't heard Sassy. He flashed her his best smile.

She playfully punched Sassy in the arm. “Be nice.” She grimaced.

“What?” a laughing Sassy retorted.

Jewels rolled her eyes and waved Sassy off. “I can't with you.” Jewels chuckled.

With all the waves and smiles Jewels received from other employees, one would easily figure out that she and Sassy frequented the establishment. Jewels was more known than Sassy. She practically lived in the store. She always got a kick out of a line in a popular rap song that the artist 2 Chainz recited: “When I die, bury me inside the Louis store.”

For the next five hours, they hit up every high-end store from Gucci to Tiffany. Seven stores and swipes later, and minus a combined total of thirty stacks, Jewels and Sassy strolled out of the mall the way they had come in—with all eyes on them. The shopping spree had done Jewels some good. Up until then, she had still been a little on edge about what had kicked off at the hotel.

“Girl, you balled out,” Sassy told her as they strutted through the parking lot with designer-store drawstring bags dangling from their wrists.

“I need all this stuff,” Jewels said in her own defense. “You know my birthday is coming up soon,” she reminded her.

“Really, bitch?” Sassy cut her eyes over at Jewels. “You really needed an eight-thousand-dollar diamond bracelet?”

Jewels laughed louder than normal as she pretended not to see the two gangbanging-looking black guys sporting red bandannas wrapped and tied around their wrists who were trying to get her and Sassy's attention. Sassy moved in closer and matched Jewels's stride. She leaned in and licked the outer part of Jewels's ear, then sucked on it.

“She's spoken for,” Sassy announced just as they passed the two dudes, and then she planted a seductive kiss on Jewels's cheek.

One of the thugs threw up his hand in submission while the other gave a thumbs-up and smiled. Sassy and Jewels chuckled and giggled all the way to the car.

Today was a better day, thought Jewels. This was just what she had needed, something to take her mind off of yesterday and her new guest back at her place. She had just blown nearly twenty grand on herself without blinking. Now, her mind was on making it back to her condo. As if her thoughts had been heard, her cell phone rang just as she climbed into the passenger's seat of Sassy's BMW. She smiled as she peered at her 6 Plus screen.

“Hello,” she cooed into the phone.

Sassy noticed the sudden change in her tone and demeanor.

“Okay,” was all Jewels said before hanging up.

“Bitch, who was that? Got you acting all sultry and shit over there.” Sassy chuckled as she questioned her friend.

“That was someone who's going to reimburse me for some of the money I just spent,” offered Jewels

“Well, I hope he got some deep pockets, 'cause our shopping sprees ain't cheap.”

“Now, you know better than to ask that shit!” Jewels laughed.

“Yo, I wanna ask you a question about the other night.”

Jewels thought she had already satisfied Sassy's curiosity. “What? I thought you got over that shit. Don't tell me you ain't get enough mush!” Jewels let out a nervous laugh.

“Nah, it ain't like that. I just thought you would call Ralph.”

“What makes you think I didn't?”

“I called him right after I spoke to you and he ain't hear from yo' ass.”

Jewels's eyebrows rose. “Bitch, you a fucking investigator now!” She laughed, hoping the questioning would come to an end. “Well, if you must know, bitch, I didn't call Ralph, 'cause I think he set me the fuck up. I'm thinking that agency shit is not for me, anyway. I could have been killed. Can you not see these fucking bruises on my face? I think you should leave it too. You got enough clients on your own, and so do I.”

“You right we should. And I sure as hell don't want to be caught in a situation like that. Besides, we the baddest bitches they got!” Sassy raised her hand for a high five. “And since you mentioned it, you covered those bruises pretty well, or else I would not be seen with your ass!”

Jewels was happy that conversation had ended. She was already keeping a secret house guest, and not telling Sassy about it didn't sit well with her. But she knew it had to be that way. All she could do now was wait until her guest left, and then she'd tell Sassy the real deal.