Page 19 of The Key To His Soul
I nodded, appreciating the fact that I got to witness what unconditional love looked like firsthand.
CHAPTER 4
So, We Meet Again
MEHKI
“When the decisions start affecting y’all pockets, then y’all can make them without consulting me. Until then, everything runs through me first, aight?”
All eight heads nodded in understanding as I conducted a brief meeting with my demolition crew. I’d just arrived on site at a new property scheduled for demo and a flip. The plans that I had laid out had been semi altered by one of my leads who felt his way would save time. And had he brought it to me first, I would have considered his suggestion. But thinking he could go around me? Fuck no. That was a violation. After addressing him one-on-one, I talked to the team as a whole, so there would be no confusion going forward.
This was the part of house flipping that people didn’t see –– the decisions made before walls were knocked down, beams were exposed, and drywall was put up. The planning stage. Before the pictures on Instagram and sold signs were put up, this was where I decided what took priority and where monies would be allotted. Which parts of a house could be salvaged and what needed to be completely gutted out. The vision couldn’t be executed without me. So, anyone thinking they could go around me would never be okay.
Although it could be hectic, I loved the process, especially being hands on and in the field. I needed to not only see my investment, but I also had to walk through it. I had to touch the walls and then come up with the plan of execution. The ideas lived in my head before they became a physical blueprint. My process was what made me successful.
“We’re going with the original plan. Taking that wall first.” I pointed toward the kitchen. “I want the whole sightline open, so whoever buys it can see straight through to the backyard. Think family home. People wanna be able to see what they kids doing while they cook. Whether that’s for safety reasons or because they just bad as hell, they wanna see.”
“I was thinking…” Rome, my lead crew member, started, and I cut him off.
“There you go. Thinking with money that don’t belong to you again, Rome. I only want thoughts in the form of feedback, my guy. Which means I’ll ask for them. For now, we gon’ with the instructions provided. Copy?”
“Copy.” He nodded and walked off quickly.
The rest of the team dispersed, and my phone vibrated in my hand. I glanced down to see a message from Karima on the screen. Unlocking it, I read the message.
Baby: Don’t forget about me tonight. We have a reservation at Czen near me at eight. I wanted to stay close to home to secure a proper nightcap.
I held the message down to heart it and replied back.
Me: Okay, bae.
Sliding my phone into my pocket, I walked out front and heard the distinct bars of the Detroit rapper Kash Doll just as anall-white Maserati eased into the driveway. A smiled tugged at the corner of my lips because I realized who the person was –– an invited guest making a grand entrance.
“Damnnnn, whoever whippin’ like that got some paper.” I heard Tank, one of the crew members, say from behind me. “Potential buyer?”
“Somethin’ like that,” I replied, not taking my eyes off the car. I didn’t want to miss the person getting out.
Turning the volume down a bit before pushing the driver side door open, Key stepped her fine ass out the car. The camo pants she had on, although a little baggy, did nothing to hide that ass that could be seen from the side. She wore a black, off the shoulder top that showed a little skin, and when I looked down at her feet, I smirked at the black strappy heels she wore. I nodded, silently giving her props, as she navigated in the shoes without struggle.
“Damn, she bad.” I heard from behind me again. This time, I turned around.
“You got something you need to be doing? Something I’m paying you to do?”
“Yeah. Yeah. Let me get to that.” He rushed off.
I started to walk toward her to meet her halfway.
“You know, when you said you wanted to see me, I thought, he gave me an address and it’s not to a business. I hope this nigga ain’t tryna lure a bitch somewhere to kill me.”
I laughed and shook my head. The fact that she said whatever came to her mind was funny as hell because she couldn’t help it. “What you do, look the address up on Google Earth?”
She stood with her feet shoulder length apart, holding her purse in front of her. “Sure did. Had to scope the scenery out. Word to my bitch, Meatball.”
“Girl, a nigga ain’t tryna do nothin’ to you. Gimme a hug.”
“Oh, I know. They’ll find your body before they find mine,” she said, stepping into the hug, throwing her arm around my neck.
“Heard the gangsta.”
