Chapter 26: KYENNA - A Street King's Widow

My intentions were not to come in today. I had planned on going to get myself a massage and facial. Those plans changed when one of my managers called and said that a bartender was caught trying to give her friend and her crew free drinks. I had told her to fire her at first, but then I thought about what Rah would’ve done. I decided I would meet with her instead. I wasn’t dressed in my usual business suit because I didn’t plan on staying. Instead of coming through the front and everyone seeing me, I came through the back and told them to send her up to my office. She walked in shaking. I softened my face a little.

“You can have a seat,” I told her.

She looked back at Grif and then back at me before sitting. I opened her file and went over it. She had three children and had been a bartender for years at some of the local clubs. She had been at Royal Flush for a year. So, she was hired right before Rah died.

“Do you enjoy working here?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Please, you don’t have to add ‘ma’am’ on the end. We’re close in age.”

“Okay.”

“How long have you been giving them free drinks? They frequent here often.”

“That was my first time.”

“You sure? I can’t help you if you’re lying. I’m not Rah, and he let a lot of shit slide because he had love for y’all. Not saying I don’t, but I know how to take my emotions out of this business.”

“I’ve done it three times.”

I nodded. “Okay, and how do you think I should handle this?”

“I’m willing to turn my tips in at the end of the night so you can take a percentage of it until I pay it back.”

“You hear yourself? I don’t even take y’all tips from y’all, and y’all still get a paycheck. I appreciate you offering it, but money is not the issue here. It’s trust. My question is, can I trust you not to do it again if those damn friends come in?”

“I’ve already talked with them. It will never happen again.”

“The next time, I will personally fire you. Are we clear?”

“Yes. And thank you for being understanding.”

“Thank your kids when you get home,” I told her.

I nodded for Grif so he could walk her out. My operational manager had sent me an email that she needed to meet with me before I left about an event that someone was trying to book. This would be the first event since I had taken over. I wanted everything to go as it was supposed to. This was going to bring so much money in. As we were in the office going over the contract that I wanted to send, I could hear yelling downstairs. At first, I ignored it because that’s what I had security for. They needed to do their job. Royal Flush was full of grown people with money and alcohol around them. Loud didn’t always mean there was a problem. Then I heard Grif’s voice, and that got my attention because he never raised his voice. He was more of an action man. The yelling got louder, and then I heard my name.

“Please don’t let this be who I think it is,” I said, closing my eyes.

“You want me to go see?”

“No, if it is, Grif already knows what to do.”

A few seconds later, Grif appeared in the door looking irritated. That confirmed it before he spoke.

“Raya?”

He nodded.

“What the hell does she want?”

“She got some paperwork in her hand talking about you holding her money. I told her she couldn’t come up here yelling, but she said she ain’t leaving until she talks to you.”

“Bring her up here,” I said.

I cleared all the paperwork and gave it to my manager.

“I’ll come back,” she said.

“Nah, stay so we can finish when she leaves.”

Raya walked in with her nose flared.

“Where the fuck is my money?”

I slowly stood because she was standing. The only thing separating us was my desk.

“Good afternoon to you, too,” I told her.

“Don’t do that fake ass professional shit with me, Kyenna. Lloyd told me you have the authority to release money from my daughter’s trust, and I need it.”

She threw the foreclosure on my desk. I looked down at it and back at her ass.

“Behind on your mortgage?” I asked, being funny.

“Obviously.” She frowned.

“How far?”

“That’s not your damn business.”

“It becomes my damn business when you come into my business demanding money.”

I picked the notices up and skimmed over them. The amount wasn’t small. It also wasn’t trust-fund emergency money.

“Did you contact Lloyd and tell him to send you the request paperwork?”

“Yes, and I’m not filling all that shit out just for you to sit around and decide whether I deserve money that belongs to my daughter.”

I pushed the notice back towards her until it flew off the table.

“Looks like you wasted a trip,” I told her.

“What?”

“You hear me. Ryleigh’s trust does not belong to you. If you need a distribution that directly benefits her, there is a process. You fill out the request. You submit the documentation. It gets reviewed, and that’s how Rah structured it.”

“See, that’s exactly the shit I’m talking about. You love throwing Rah’s name around whenever it benefits you. ‘Rah wanted this. Rah left that. Rah put you in charge.’ It’s always some shit that ends with you controlling everything.”

“I don’t control a muthafuckin’ thing.”

“You control enough.”

“No, I manage what was legally left under my authority. There’s a difference, but I don’t expect you to understand.”

“Same shit.”

“It’s not, but okay, sweetheart.”

Raya laughed and looked around my office until her eyes landed on Rah’s picture.

“Of course, you would say that shit sitting your ass in here like some big boss. This is his money. You live in his house. You drive his shit. Everything is his.”

Now it was my turn to laugh. She was foaming at the mouth, trying to make it seem like I didn’t help build this shit.

“Raya, I didn’t ask for any of this shit. I’ve told your stupid ass that over and over again. I’m tired of being nice to you.”

“Bitch, we both know you think you’re better than me.”

“I’m better at managing money than you because I’m not standing in somebody else’s business holding foreclosure papers for a house I couldn’t afford,” I said, smirking.

“See, now you’re getting disrespectful.”

“Raya, you’ve been disrespectful from day one. And if we’re talking about just today, you came through my doors yelling, so you started the disrespect.”

“I’m yelling, Kyenna, because you are sitting on millions while I’m about to lose my daughter’s house.”

“Your daughter has a home,” I told her.

“Where? Your damn house?”

“If she ever needed one, yes.”

“Bitch! That’s the shit right there. You stay trying to play mama to everybody’s damn kids.”

Her statement pissed me off, but I wasn’t going to show her. Grif noticed and started moving towards her.

“Don’t!” I put my hand out.

He stopped, and I looked at Raya.

“Nobody is trying to replace you as Ryleigh’s mother. I have told you that more than once. Your problem is you don’t want anybody loving that baby unless they love you too, and that is not how family works.”

“My daughter don’t need you.”

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“She loves me.” I shrugged.

“She’s three. She loves anybody that buys her shit.”

“Okay.”

“The point is she got money sitting somewhere, and I need some of it to keep a roof over her head.”

“Then fill the paperwork out.”

“And I already told you I’m not sending you shit.”

“Then I already told you the answer.”

Raya approached and slammed her hand on my desk. “I’m not asking permission to use my child’s money.”

I moved from behind my desk. I was taller than Raya, and I had her by at least ten pounds. She was about to see a side that I had been sparing her from.

“Legally, my hands are tied.”

“Fuck you!”

“Raya, that’s enough,” Grif said.

“Nah, everyone protects this bitch. She got all that nigga shit, but her pussy wasn’t good enough to give that nigga a baby.” She laughed and stuck her tongue out. “I’ll always be the last one to carry that nigga seed. Dumb ass bitch.”

I moved closer to her and Grif moved with me.

“Kyenna–” Grif started.

“Don’t touch me,” I warned him.

“Oh, now this bitch wants to fight because the truth hurts.”

She was doing so much talking that I done punched her in her fucking mouth so hard that one of her veneers was stuck in my hand. She was shocked until the blood started leaking from her mouth. She lunged, and that’s what I expected her to do. I had been raised by a man who believed his daughter should know how to count money, shoot a gun, and protect herself. My daddy didn’t raise me to stand around and pull hair. Raya swung wild. I ducked and caught her ass clean across her nose. She stumbled back into one of the chairs and fell to the floor. Grif called my name, but I wasn’t listening. I got on top of her ass and gave her fucking face a beating. Blow after blow, her head kept hitting the floor.

“You wanted this shit, bitch!”

That didn’t slow me down from continuing to punch her in the face. Grif pulled me off her and wouldn’t let me go. I was angry, and the bitch could’ve died in this bitch I wouldn’t have cared. That was years of built-up anger for her ass.

“Bitch you ain’t did shit.” She stumbled as she stood up.

Her eyes were barely open, and her teeth were missing.

“Move. Grif!”

“Chill out, Kyenna.”

Security came a few seconds later and dragged her ass out. My manager was standing in the corner with her mouth wide open.

“Fuck, my fucking hand is probably broken,” I said.

My phone started ringing, so I leaned to see if it was someone important. Shameek’s ass was calling.

“Did you text or call him?” I looked at my manager.

“No.” She shook her head violently.

“I did,” Grif said, bringing me a bag of ice for my hand.

“You don’t have to call him every time something happens to me.”

“No disrespect, but he was going to find out anyway. I prefer it come from me since I am head of security here. Who got time for the yelling he would’ve done had I not told him.”

I rolled my eyes as I placed the ice on my hand. I had a hole where her veneer was. She had a few fucking teeth under the chair in my office. I was sure I was going to have to go get it checked out. My phone started ringing again.

“Answer him,” Grif said.

“What?” I answered the phone.

“Grif said Raya came up there showin’ her ass and you beat the shit outta her. What the fuck happened?”

“I handled it.” I kept it short.

“You hurt?”

“No.”

“Lie again. Grif said yo’ hand fucked up and it’s swollen.”

I stared at Grif. The just telling all my damn business. His big ass looked up at the ceiling like he was innocent.

“My hand is fine.”

“I’m on the way,” Shameek said and hung up.

“Grif, this is all your fault.”

“Glad to help.” He shrugged.

“Y’all get out. Let me calm the fuck down.”

They both left and closed my door behind them. Shameek must’ve flew his ass up here because he was walking in my office without knocking.

“Let me see yo’ hand.”

“My hand is fine.”

“Nah, this bitch might be broke. Let me call the family doctor to look at it. I would hate for you and Raya to end up at the hospital. Who the fuck taught you how to fight like that? Grif said you ain’t pull her hair not once. You were literally boxing her face in.”

“My daddy taught me everything I needed to know to survive in this cruel world.”

“I ain’t mad atcha. You really should have been hit her in her shit. I’m proud of you,” he smiled.

After he got off the phone, he came back and kneeled down and pressed the ice pack down on my hand. And in busted Jaharee. Her eyes immediately went to Shameek kneeling behind my desk, and then she looked at me.

“Well damn,” she said, closing the door.

Shameek let my hand go.

“What?” Shameek asked.

“I came to check on you after Mama called saying you beat Raya ass. I didn’t know you already had a personal nurse here.”

“I was checkin’ her hand. Do you see it?” he said.

“Mhmm, I see it.”

“What you implyin’?” Shameek asked.

“Shit, I ain’t implying anything. You did that yourself.”

“Okay, y’all. Damn. I already know the news has hit half the city, how they took her ass out of here screaming and bleeding,” I said.

Jaharee picked the chair up and sat down.

“I’m sat. Give me the full damn story.”

“I got some shit to handle. The doctor is going to meet you at your house in an hour. Have someone drive you, and I’ll come grab your car later,” Shameek said before leaving.

Jaharee’s eyebrow raised.

“Don’t you fucking dare,” I told her.

“Does my brother like you? That nigga is possessive like he fucking you.”

“Jaharee, are you serious right now?”

“Dead ass.”

“Did you come for the story or to stir up shit?”

I ran the story down to her, but I couldn’t help but think she was picking up on Shameek and I. Keeping the shit hidden was starting to be harder than actually dealing with the feelings themselves. Jaharee was watching, and her ass noticed everything. Grif was picking up on it, and then my personal security already knew because of all the late nights Shameek was coming to my house or me going to his. This shit was getting out of control, and it wasn’t because of me. Shameek had to get control of his feelings in public.