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“Glamma!”
My grandmother has Mayor Salas against the wall, his tie gripped in her hand. Their faces are as close as Cameron’s was to mine when I suddenly freaked. Pedro jerks away from Onyx, but I can’t tell if the look on his face is from disappointment or relief from the unexpected rescue.
“You conniving hussy!” Cheryl Lee storms over to Onyx with a raised hand.
Cameron blocks Onyx with his body. In a flash, Pedro appears beside Cheryl Lee though I can’t recall seeing him move. He grabs Cheryl’s arm on the downswing with an intensity I’ve never seen from him before.
“You should leave, Cheryl Lee, before I have security escort you out,” Pedro growls in a dark voice then releases her arm and allows her to step back.
A scowl mars her otherwise pretty features. Splotches of red suffuse her cheeks. “I’ll leave if Onyx does. She claims she came here to talk about that newspaper article, but the second she got in here she was on you like melted butter on a biscuit.”
Pedro clears his throat, but he can’t hide the pink undertone to his tan skin.
Glamma walks around Cameron to face Cheryl Lee while calmly rolling her sleeves up her arm. “Little girl, if you don’t go home to your momma, Imma teach you why you don’t interrupt grown folks’ business. I am not too old to hand out ass whoopings for the deserving.”
“Glamma, don’t—”
“Don’t you Glamma, me. You and I need to have words after this.”
“You should be ashamed of yourself, chasing after a man young enough to be your grandson. I bet you had your eye on him from when we were all in school together.”
“Oh, hell no. This crud licker did not just call me a pedo.” Onyx launches herself at Cheryl Lee only to be caught in Pedro’s arms.
“Oh, no you don’t.” Pedro swings her away from Cheryl Lee.
“What if I promise not to leave her like a box of crayons? Will you let me snatch her hair one time?”
“No, now, roll your sleeves down. You will not turn town hall into fight club. This is where I work, and if neither of you can behave I’ll ban you both from the premises.”
Onyx spins in Pedro’s arms. “You don’t mean that.”
“Try me.” His eyes glitter as if he is eager for her to do just that.
For five tense seconds, I worry that Onyx will rise to Pedro’s challenge. I don’t trust his eyes or his flexing jaw. To intervene, I pull Glamma to the side. “Why don’t I take Glamma home?”
“Oh.” Pedro’s face falls in disappointment. Whether it is due to me taking my glamma away or because I’m leaving is up in the air. “I was hoping to meet with you to discuss Monday’s meeting. Why don’t you come by my office for lunch tomorrow. I’ll bring you up to speed and we’ll create an agenda for the next meeting.”
“About that…I didn’t actually agree t—”
Pedro bends down to whisper in my ear with his hand clasping my shoulder. “I will owe you forever for this.”
I glance toward Cameron although I don’t know why. I’m not doing anything wrong, but his inscrutable expression doesn’t make me feel any better about how close Pedro stands beside me or the intimate image we must portray. Too late, I realize I’m looking toward the wrong person. I swing my gaze over to Glamma, to find hellfire reflected in her eyes.
As alarm creeps up my back and my stomach twists into knots, I do a two-step away from Pedro.
“Oh my God, first the old lady and now you?” Cheryl Lee curls her lip in disgust. “Is whoredom a family gene or something? No wonder Kenya now heads the committee I’ve worked so hard to lead.”
Before anyone can react, Cheryl Lee lands on the floor clutching her cheek and Glamma stands over her. The previous hellfire in her eyes has magnified tenfold.
“Now, I let these good men stop me when you badmouthed me, but I will not stand for the likes of you disrespecting my Kiwi. Unlike your used goods, my Kiwi uses her brain and talent to get where she is. Mayor Salas is right to recognize her for her abilities. You know what? A whooping ain’t enough for the bullshit you’re pulling. If you don’t apologize to my grand baby right now, ain’t nobody here about to stop me from beating your ass like you owe me money.” Onyx rolls up her sleeve while Cameron and Pedro seem preoccupied with something on the walls.
Tears spill from Cheryl’s eyes and she attempts to stifle her sobs, but my sympathy well is all dried up. From the varying degrees of disgust and disdain on everyone’s face, I’m not alone.
“I’m not one for continued drama, so I’m going to take my glamma and leave. Cheryl Lee, you need to love your life.” I sidle next to Onyx and take her arm.
“Did you just threaten me, Kenya?”
Onyx pulls away. “You want to come again? Because I see your lips moving but the sounds coming out ain’t the right ones.”
