Daddy's House (20 page)

“
I got some serious business to take care of before I take you to my spot. I gotta make sure it’s safe for you first.”

“
I don’t care!” I shouted. I moved around in my seat, anxiously leaning in closer to Daddy.

However, when I did, he went the opposite way. He didn’t show much emotion, which was the norm, but I needed him to feel what I was saying.

“
I just wanna be with you,” I pleaded. “Please don’t make me go back in there. You promised.”

A couple of seconds later, a light popped on in the foyer. Ms. Dottie was probably waiting patiently to grin in my face. “She knows I’m coming back,” I pointed to the house.

He shook his head. No words. Just confirmation. Daddy seemed cold. I’m not sure if the situation with his mother had gotten to him on the ride back, but my guess was he needed therapy.

“
You wanna be with me?” I asked, snatching his hand tightly.

“
Of course I do,” he said, finally looking at me.

“
Tell me you love me.”

He said nothing.

“
Tell me you love me,” I repeated. “I know you do.”

“
I like you more than any of the others, Can…”

The others? What the fuck?
Was he comparing me to the other bitches in the house? Or was he saying his other women? I didn’t care. I just wanted to be with him. His other broads could be deleted later. “Can…dice,” I finished.

“
I got a lot going on. I’ll explain later,” he said, taking a heavy breath.

This time, he grabbed my hand, and clutched it. His silence told me he was waiting for me to get out. I looked over my shoulder at the house, then back at Daddy. He turned his head swiftly, sure to miss my stare. “Good night,” he said.

I opened my car door, thinking,
I saw this shit in a movie once.

Chapter Twenty

Something in me forced my body to do as I was told. I had no intentions on being back at the house again until I married Daddy and became half owner. Even if Daddy had something to do, why couldn’t I chill at his spot? I felt like I was being played, and was starting to question how much he really cared for me.

My presence back in the house didn’t feel good at all. When I opened my bedroom door the next morning, Ms. Dottie appeared immediately. Hell, it was only 10 a.m., so I knew she wasn’t expecting me to entertain anyone before breakfast. She stood like a statue, keeping me from exiting the room.

“
So, what brought you back?” she asked.

I threw her a smirk, like I was confident about my relationship with Daddy. “Oh, it won’t be for long. Daddy said just a few days.”

“
Sure. I’ve heard that one before.”

“
Umm…huh.”
Her time was getting shorter by the day, she just didn’t know it
. “Is there anything else you
need from me?” I asked, brushing against her. She knew I
wanted to leave my room.

Ms. Dottie bent down to reach into the large white cardboard box that lay on the floor beside her. When she displayed the clear vase with twelve beautiful red roses, I smiled broadly.
He really does care
, I thought.

I grabbed the vase and rushed downstairs to show off my flowers. The moment I sat them on the table, I looked around for someone to share my moment with me as I reached for the card. Sushi was just coming through the door; the perfect person to spread the word throughout the house.

“
Sushi, look what Daddy just sent me.”

She tried to smile, but it was fake. Something was definitely wrong. Normally you couldn’t keep her ass from smiling. “Are you alright,” I asked.

“
We talk…okay?”

“
Sure.” Her choppy English had gotten on my last nerve. I needed a girlfriend from the hood to share my happiness with. “C’mere,” I said, pulling her by the arm. I snatched the card off the stem and read.

Tulips are for Mistresses, Roses are for Lovers. I am willing to take this one step further. Hope you’re thinking about me the way I’m thinking about you. I’ll be back for you real soon, my sweet candy treat.

Senator Marion Hatchett

My mouth remained wide open from the initial shock, but Sushi’s response topped mine. With a cold blank stare, I knew we had to talk. Sushi told me Ms. Dottie was in the process of hiring a new girl in the front office, so we needed to sneak to a place where we’d have some privacy.

She kept pointing to the front of the house nervously. “The gym,” she finally said, in a low voice.

I thought about throwing the flowers away, but just grabbed the card with Marion’s information, and followed Sushi. If I ever needed money, he’d be the man to call. He seemed to be the type that could be jerked easily.

Standing near the stair climber, Sushi and I stood close like two secret lovers. I just knew she was pregnant. That’s the only thing I could think of serious enough to have her acting like that.
Oh, no
I wondered.
Daddy’s
baby?
I’d kill his ass and Sushi too for that matter.

“
Spill it,” I finally said.

“
So much me need to say.”

“
Just say it,” I ordered, with a louder voice.

“
Shhhuuush.” Sushi seemed to be very afraid. More than before. “Ms. Dot not like. She trashed you room. Not Cat.”

“
Are you telling me, Cat didn’t do that shit to my room?”

“
Yes.”

My eyes grew to the size of watermelons as I folded my arms, and paced the floor. The first chance I got, Ms. Dottie had some explaining to do. Then I was gonna kick her ass, and fire her on the spot. Daddy would back me when I explained what happened. I just knew he would.

I was on my fifth circle around the gym, when Sushi said the unthinkable.

“
Daddy pay me to spy on you.”

I wanted to rip her nose ring from her fucking nostril.“What did you say?” I asked, making sure I heard her correctly.

Sushi held her head downward. “Me so shame. He pay me lots.”

“
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Save it! Spy on me how?” I got up real close in her face.

“
He say just watch you. Anything bad tell him. Me like you Candy, really do. You friend. Only friend me got. That’s why when Ms. Dot told me to try hang out with you week ago on you day off, I did. No ‘cause they paid, but ‘cause me wanted to.”

“
What did you tell’em?” I asked, pushing Sushi against the treadmill. I had to get gangsta with my girl. Using both hands and all my strength, I gripped her by her collar. I had no intentions on hurting Sushi, but she didn’t need to know that.

“
Nothing…I swear. Me told truth. Just go shopping,” she stuttered, “and eat with Tracey. That’s all me say.”

I rewound the events of dealing with Sushi in my head. I thought about the times when Sushi could’ve told something about me that would get me in serious trouble. Nothing registered. It was all too crazy.

When my grip loosened off of Sushi’s collar, she felt like it was okay to speak again. “Candy…”

“
Candice, bitch!” Her face wrinkled. She didn’t know how to take my sudden attitude change. “You betrayed me.”

“
No…no…no. It’s Daddy. He fool you. He fool all the girls.”

“
This is about me and you.” I felt like I still needed to defend my man.

“
He do this again…all the time. You get hurt.” She started crying- tears flowing like the Nile. “Please, please…stay away from him.”

“
Stay away from who?” Ms. Dottie asked, standing in the doorway.

Our secret meeting was obviously over, and I had a lot to think about. For starters, I made a mental note to put everyone I’d come in contact with over the past few weeks in two separate categories,
those for me
, and
those
against me
.

Chapter Twenty-One

“
What in the hell is going on with you?” I heard Daddy say, as he burst through the front door. The door slammed hard, real hard, almost coming off the hinges. I leaned over the railing at the top of the stairs to eavesdrop a little better.

“
What do you mean, what’s going on with me? You should ask yourself that,” Ms. Dottie responded professionally, but a little louder than normal.

“
It’s been two days, and you’ve only serviced two customers. We can’t survive like this!” he shouted. “Why haven’t you been calling some of our regular clients to let them know we have new talent like you normally do? Money gotta be made if everybody wants to get paid this week, including you!”

“
Oh, so now you feeling the heat. You seem to be whisking the girls off whenever you want, firing the others when you want, and lowering the moral...period. I can’t do my job under these circumstances. Besides, it’s not what we agreed.”

Anxiety got the best of me. I made my way down the steps just as Ms. Dottie said ‘not what we agreed’. I wondered what they had to agree upon that would have them looking into each other’s eyes that way.

“
I knew you would come back for me. A man of his word,” I said, walking up to Daddy. I shot Ms. Dottie a nasty smirk. The bitch was mad jealous. There was no way she could hide it.

“
Let us finish,” Daddy shouted my way, just as my arms opened and reached for his neck.

Damn, I can’t even get a hug
, I thought. And he smelled good as hell too. It had taken two days for Daddy to come get me. But yes, he was right. The house had been unusually slow, but it wasn’t our fault. I didn’t even like Ms. Dottie, but didn’t think she deserved all the slack he was giving her. Maybe it was slow because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Hell, dicks needed holidays too.

I looked at Ms. Dottie thinking about how she’d changed over the last few days. She definitely wasn’t putting the full court press on us about our schedules like she normally did, and even forgot to call me down for a customer who was interested in me last night. She’d even turned a few customers away the day before. It was very unlike her.

Daddy shot me a mean look. So, I switched back up the stairs hoping he would take a look at my backside. I wanted him to want me. Instead, he kept chewing Ms. Dottie a new asshole. I rushed to my room, and packed my bags as quickly as possible. I threw my stuff into the two new Gucci duffel bags I’d gotten in Connecticut. What didn’t fit, stayed. I figured, leave it for charity. Whoever the new girl was, who’d occupy this room, could have it, compliments of Candy.
Sweeet Candy
. I laughed thinking about Senator Marion.

I glanced around the room momentarily as I prepared myself to leave. A new chapter in my life would be good. Suddenly, Daddy appeared at the door; his face twisted up like he had a beef to settle.

“
Just saying goobye,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.

He never smiled.

“
Sit down,” he ordered. He shut the door, and locked it, then rushed toward me. “You got something to tell me,” he asked.

I frowned. “No,” I responded hesitantly.

“
Well, I went by Tracey’s funeral today. Surprisingly, you weren’t there.”

I could’ve shit bricks.

“
I told Ms. Dottie if you asked to go, allow it. But you never tried. I wonder why?”

He pulled the obituary with a picture of Tracey from his pocket, and tossed it on the bed next to me. Visions of Tracey’s face made me cry instantly. The first real tears I’d shed in days.

“
Enough of that,” he said harshly. “Why weren’t you there?” he drilled. Your Aunt Vicki was there. A lot of your family was there.”

My heart pounded. I waited for him to say my mother’s name. He just looked down at me, while he paced the floor.

“
I’ll explain it all later. Let’s just go,” I pleaded.

“
Go where? There’s money to be made around here. You see my nephew, J-Cee, hipped me to how you ruin lives. How you love money. Well, I love money too.”

My heart felt like it fell in the bottom of my stomach. “What are you talking about?”

“
He told me about how you ended up going on a run for your mother once, and ended up sleeping with her Columbian connection. You good at seducing the big men in charge aren’t you?”

I wanted to scream nooooooo, and defend myself, but Daddy moved toward me with speed, managing to gain a tight grip on the back of my neck.

He continued like it was a strain to speak. “You fucked the connection, and started getting product from him real cheap.” He moved closer to my face, tightening his grip. “How much were you getting? Three, four, kilos, at a time?”

I was too scared to lie. I was too scared to speak.

“
You had a good thing going, making a lot of money, and hiding it from your mother. You knew she’d kill you if she found out you betrayed her. Didn’t you?” he badgered.

“
That’s not what happened,” I lied.