Page 86 of All In

“That game is messy as hell and should only be reserved for your day ones.”

“Jamir, I took all the messy cards out the deck,” Malaya said, coming from the kitchen. Her eyes met Newdy’s, and she rolled them. He just shook his head. It was clear she was still in her feelings. Newdy hadn’t seen or spoken to Malaya in almost a month. Malaya approached him about investing in her mobile I.V. hydration business. She had come correct with a business plan, data, and real numbers. Really, she sold the concept to his mother first when she was her nurse, and that was actually what convinced him. Before she was diagnosed with cancer,Tru Toussaintwas the ultimate businesswoman. She had expanded the family’s legitimate business interests tenfold, invested wisely and cleaned all the family’s dirty money. Once his mother gave him her blessing, Newdy gave Malaya over a hundred bands in seed money. He used his connections in the city and linked her with some of his associates who owned private health clubs and med spas, and the business took off almost overnight. Malaya had done so well in the first two months that she was already trying to expand into a brick-and-mortar spot.

Newdy told her it was too early and to start with a suite first. She did not listen, instead she went behind his back and approached one of Jamillah’s latest flavors of the month, Montrel Jeffries, for the money. Montrell was a wide receiver for Pittsburgh who spent most of his time in Miami. Mont was cool, just loud, and flashy. He was originally from Delaware and Newdy could tell Jamillah must’ve been his first bad bitch, because she had him wide open. He had her set up in a condo in Miami, bought her a pink McLaren 560S, and was funding her entire lifestyle. Newdy had even sat courtside with Malaya, Jamillah, and Montrel on some double date shit. It was that night Newdy saw Malaya’s true colors.

She was a money-grabbing, social-climbing dragon. After that, Newdy distanced himself, and now she was pissed. She even tried to offer him sex on a late night, and he passed. Which only made her angrier. Jamillah held up a bright pink card, smiling like she knew she was about to start some shit. “Not to be messy… but who wouldn’t you let make the potato salad?” She didn’t even hesitate.

“Oh my God, Kormia.” Jamillah kept going, “No shade, I know she ain’t here, but my good girl cannot cook.” It was light. Playful. The kind of fun shade friends threw when they actually liked each other. Newdy was about to check his phone again when Malaya reached for a card. Something in her face made him pause. She read it slow, like she was savoring it. “So, I’m gon’ choose a different category,” she said. “I thought you said you took all the real messy cards out,” Jamillah said while pouring Jamir a drink. “Damn bae, that’s a lot of Henny,” Jamir said, slapping Jamillah’s ass.

“Stop bitching,” she laughed as she kept mixing brown liquor with clear.

“She making that nigga a headache on the rocks,” Cal joked as Malaya pulled two cards.

“Ooh, I got a double or nothing,” Malaya said, looking at Newdy.

“The first card says, Not to be messy…but who wouldn’t you trust around your man.”

Jamillah was too busy pouring drinks to notice all the eyes in the room drift toward her. Malaya quickly pulled another card. “Ooh, this is good,” she said, smirking. “Jamillah, this one’s for you.”

“Okay, okay, I’m ready,” Jamillah said, sitting next to Jamir and handing him a big solo cup before pouring herself a shot of Casamigos. “Now you can take a shot if you don’t wanna answer the question,” Malaya said, still smirking. “I think it’s fittingsince you brought her up already, and the city is curious. Word on the curb is Wheezy got his new girl pregnant, cut Kormia loose, and now she living in her salon. Confirm or deny… is that tea or piss?” The room went dead.

Newdy’s eyes narrowed.Living in her shop?

Jamillah didn’t say anything at first. She just grabbed the shot sitting in front of her and tossed it back in one motion. Then she stood up. Malaya smiled. “Oh? So, you denying it?” Before Newdy could even blink, Jamillah snatched the solo cup out of Jamir’s hand and threw the entire drink into Malaya’s face. Then she snatched her over the table by her hair. “Bitch, you got me fucked up. That’s my family, don’t you ever mention her name! You hear me hoe?” The room exploded.

Jamillah was yelling while Jamir tried to pry her hands from Malaya’s wig. Malaya was screaming and wiping Hennessy out of her eyes. One of the girls was recording. Cal was laughing his ass off. Newdy still hadn’t moved. He was stuck on what Malaya said.Kormia living in her shop.

He looked over at Jamillah, who was still going off. The way she told him everything he needed to know. It was true. Newdy waited until Jamillah calmed down a little, then nodded toward the hallway. She followed him without asking why. When they were far enough from the noise, he spoke. “She really staying in the shop?” Jamillah wiped her hand across her mouth and nodded. “Yeah,” she said, voice still tight. “She been there for a minute now. And it’s not because of no fucking Wheezy either. Contrary to popular belief, Kormia Brown is not a kept bitch. She has a home. It is just…” She paused, then stopped herself. “I already said too much.” Newdy didn’t push. He just stood there, jaw tight. All the small shit he’d been noticing over the past month started adding up. The lights on in the shop late at night. Her car still parked outside every time he drove past. How tired she looked the last few times he saw her. He thought shewas choosing to stay there. Kormia was hardheaded enough to do some shit like that just because she felt like it. But now it was starting to make sense in a different way. He had been getting new HVAC units installed in all the businesses along the strip. Koi’s people were supposed to finish the job this week, but they paused everything because of the storm. Which meant Kormia’s shop was still running off the old, fucked-up system… if it was even running at all.

Newdy looked toward the window. Snow was already coming down harder than it was when he first got here. The wind had picked up too. He pulled his phone out and checked the time. 8:42 p.m. He still had to stop by his mother’s house and find her home girl. But now there was something else sitting heavy on his chest.Kormia.She was in that shop with no heat, and this snowstorm was about to shut the city down for days. Newdy slid his phone back into his pocket wishing he could be done with this night but knowing he wasn’t. Not even close. First order of business. Go toKormia’s.

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

KORMIA

The shop was freezing.

Kormia sat wrapped in a blanket behind her station, staring through the front window as the snow swallowed the block a little more every minute. The space heater beside her was trying its best, but it sounded tired. Every few minutes it rattled, coughed, and pushed out a weak burst of heat before giving up again. Across the room, Graveyard was eating Chinese food straight out the container.

“Slow down.”

“I ain’t ate all day.”

“That’s because you wanted to camp out on Market Street waiting on this mysterious nephew to come pick you up.”

“He is coming,” Graveyard shot back, almost choking on the fried rice. “His momma would never let me be out here like that in a blizzard.” Kormia wanted to say,She let yo ass be out here in every other weather condition, but she kept it to herself. Instead, she let Graveyard run her movie.

If there was one thing Graveyard was gon’ do, it was tell a story. Sometimes it was about this nephew that was so connected niggas had to check in with him before they made a move in the city. Other times it was about the good ole days with her and her two best friends and the man she almost married. Kormia never knew what was true and what was the drugs talking, and at some point, she stopped trying to figure it out.Most people only saw addiction, dirty clothes, missing teeth, and a woman who sold her body. Kormia saw something different. She saw the woman underneath all of it.

Years ago, Gloria “Graveyard” Turner had been one of the baddest bitches West Philly had ever produced. She had the kind of beauty old heads still brought up like she was a legend. Flawless deep chocolate complexion, long jet-black hair, body for days. She got the name Graveyard because she used to knock ’em dead. Beautiful, funny, popular… and apparently one of the best natural hair stylists in the city. Then life happened. Now she spent most of her time floating between shelters, abandoned houses, church basements, and whatever man would tolerate her for the night. The funny part was she never treated herself like a victim. She didn’t even charge Kormia for any of the odd jobs she had her do. And when Kormia tried to pay her, she’d never take the money. Graveyard was the first person she met on the deuce to show her real love. She even gave her the drop on Medina’s snake ass.

The only thing Graveyard would allow Kormia to do was her feet and nails.

And that was sometimes. Kormia had just done them earlier because supposedly she was going to wait out the storm with her rich best friend that lived in a fat-ass crib out in Cheltenham. Graveyard talked about this lady for damn near an hour. The bitch sounded like Monet Tejada— classy, street smart, business savvy and according to Graveyard her family had serious connections.

Kormia knew most of it was cap, but she was just happy to have found her. She’d been looking for Graveyard for weeks. One of the other working girls in the neighborhood had been found frozen to death under the “L” train. Looking for Graveyard had taken Kormia’s mind off her own bullshit. She was still living in her shop. And just when she was gonna bite the bullet and movein with Jackie for the winter to regroup. Najee had moved Jackie and Fat Daddy to Center City.

Kormia stopped by her condo the other day and the place was unrecognizable. Her daddy could barely look her in the face. All she could do was cry. She hadn’t spoken to Wheezy since news of his new baby momma hit the streets. But she was ready to break no contact and let him put her up in one of his spots. Because by the looks of this weather, Old Man Winter was outside for real this season.