“Now, that’s what I like to hear. Please lead the way,” said an excited Trey as I led him around my pride and joy.
Club Elite was my everything up until I met Tameka and the kids. I had put sweat and tears into seeing it come into fruition. I didn’t want a regular juke joint style club like the ones I had been a victim to during my twenties. Our city was lacking an experience of luxury that I was confident in my ability to provide, so I went out and made it happen.
Club Elite wasn’t getting by week by week, it was thriving. It popped every night with men who wanted to spend their hard-earned money and women who wanted to have a lit time with their girls. From the music right on down to the menu, I was anal about every decision pertaining to the club.
Tameka helped me ease up a little by showing me how to use other people’s gifts to enhance what I’d already done, but I was still involved heavily in the day-to-day operations. Working with an investor who shared my vision would mean making some compromises, but I kept telling myself that successful bosses always put the right people in place to win.
After showing Trey around the club, I led him to my office, where we could discuss the deal. He was incredibly impressed with the crowd and the level of service I offered club goers. He left his crew and his lackey, Rochelle, in the VIP lounge while we sat down to discuss numbers.
“Alright, let’s get on down to it, Jeb. I’m pretty sure you already know that I like what I see. You’re a respected businessman in this town, and I’ve been dying to work with someone who understands making this money as much as me, man.”
“I appreciate that, Trey. I’ve put my heart into this place, and I wouldn’t bring anything less to the club and my future clubs.”
“And I see that. I like that. So, what I wanna do is to have Rochelle come in and work with you for a week or two while we’re deciding how to proceed. Let’s get to work on making club numero dos in Atlanta,” he held up his two fingers which were laden with gold rings, “a reality.”
I was beyond disturbed that he had to have his girl doing his work and with me at that. But it was all for a bigger cause, I had to keep telling myself. It was time to suck it up and just deal.
He stood up and reached his hand out to me. “Do we have a deal?”
I stood and shook his hand with a firm shake. “Of course, we have a deal.”
“Alright, let’s get to making this paper, man. Rochelle will be here bright and early in the AM. I’ll be in touch,” Trey said as he walked out of my office.
I stood there and took a deep breath, wondering how this week would go with my ex acting as espionage for my new investor who I was certain didn’t know I used to date her. Fuck!
***
Tameka
I finished cleaning the kitchen, getting ready for bed, and finally climbed underneath the covers to read a little while I waited on Jeb to get home from the club. He had that big investor meeting with Trey Cox, and I was patiently waiting to hear how it went.
Trey was the kind of man I avoided, and my entire life that’s what I did. We grew up on the same block, and I knew the type of work he was into back in the day. But he was now a well-respected businessman with stakes in a lot of successful businesses in town. It made sense to work with Trey, but I had my reservations, and I let Jeb know about them.
Nonetheless, I was excited for Jeb. The club was his heart, and he lit up like a Christmas tree whenever he revealed his new ideas to me. Jeb’s ambition was the turn-on of all turn-ons. He was always inspired to do more and do better, and that inspired me too. I trusted him, and if he thought working with Trey would help him unfold his dreams of expansion, then I was all on board too.
I put down the book I had been reading and turned on the TV. And there, blasting through the speakers, was a commercial for a Baby Expo that was coming to town next month.
For all expectant and wanna-be expectant mamas! Get your hind tail up here, next month for our annual Baby Expo! Come see all the best products and services that you need for your new bundle of joy!
The commercial screamed at me. And then my uterus started to throb, syncing with my heartbeat. The commercial then proceeded to show insanely cute, tiny, teeny, weensy babies, all round and chubby with cheeks as big as boulders and as kissable as ever.
Ugh! I miss when the kids were so little, I thought, and that’s when I felt it. I felt the baby bug give me a soft bite. Baby fever was beginning to settle in. It didn’t help that my new baby nephew, Bryce, was the cutest little thing that ever blessed this Earth, and seeing Kemara be mommy to her little one was making me miss the days when the kids needed me just as much as Bryce needed my sister.
I was knee deep in thoughts of having a third child when I heard Jeb’s car pull into the driveway. My ears perked up as if I was a dog waiting for his owner to get home, and I sat up in bed and waited for him to bless me with his presence. His keys rattled against the lock, and his ginormous footsteps could be heard as he slowly trekked up the stairs as if he was beat.
“Babyyy!” I exclaimed when his face finally appeared in the doorway. I leapt from under the covers and into his arms.
The Baby Expo announcer was still going at it when I noticed Jeb tilt his head toward the television. A smile cracked through the worn expression he wore. He leaned down to peck my lips and asked, “What’s up with this baby expo stuff? Are you planning to go to it with Kemara?”
“I saw it and started watching it. Then, I just kind of went down the rabbit hole of what it may be like to have a third baby,” I responded as he held me in an embrace.
“A baby, huh?”
“Yeah.”
He laughed and pulled my chin up so that I was looking in his eyes.
“My baby has baby fever.” He chuckled. “This second club location is about to be our third baby. That’s the newest addition to our family, and I’m claiming it.” Jeb started unbuttoning his shirt, and I watched as he peeled his dress shirt off and walked into the bathroom to turn on the shower without saying anything else about actually having a baby.