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“Cairo why can’t you behave anywhere that you go? Seriously?” I said through a chuckle then I stopped my movement. All of Prince’s crew was there. “What are y’all doing here?” I asked looking around.
“We just making sure we solidify our daily lunches. Can’t have yo’ basketball head ass depressed and not cooking. Tell us where you need us.” Cairo, of course, spoke for everyone.
“Cairo, if I wasn’t so happy to see all of you, I would curse yo’ ass out, but I’ll let you live today. Melissa, you have permission to slap the hell out of him if he gets too mouthy with you. He is all talk, and he doesn’t hit women.”
“Shit, nah, not like that anyway.” He snuck the last part in, and everyone laughed. Even Melissa cracked a grin. Cairo was a lot of things, but ugly wasn’t one of them. After a long day, she may be in for a night of fun, and I wouldn’t judge her one bit.
“Okay, Melissa, start working on a new batch of sauce. We need to be ready to serve in another fifty minutes, so everyone gets on clean aprons and meets me out front in forty-five.”
There was a corporate mumble of understanding while Prince and I left the kitchen and went back to the front. I turned to him. He looped his arms around my waist, and I threw minearound his neck. The few people that were muttering around the dining hall faded away.
“How is it that you always know the right thing to do without me asking.”
“That’s my job. Is everything else taken care of?”
“Yes, I’m down a few servers, but I can step behind the line and manage that. I brought flat shoes just in case.” I answered, feeling confident that the job would get done exactly how I wanted.
“No, your place is in the front. The sun is going to shine on the most beautiful woman in the world today, and I’ll be damned if anything blocks it. I can man a station.”
“Prince, you know you don’t have to do that.”
“I do, though. It’s not even that you have done so much for me. I mean, I could count it all.” He smirked, and I knew he was getting ready to. “I mean, you cooked for these niggas and drove my productivity through the roof. When my assistant walked out, you took up the task, and you've been dealing with my tired ass for weeks. I owe you this and more, but we are going to stop counting favors because every win that we get belongs to us both. I love you. You know that?”
I nodded with a smile. “I love you, too.”
“Well, get ready to shine, baby. I’m going to go change. I know how you are about uniforms.”
I giggled a laugh as he disappeared. As the dinner service started, my nerves melted away. The patrons raved about the food. Many of them threw decorum out the window, doubling back and going through the line multiple times. It was so funny for me to see these uppity people falling into such a faux pas. Thanks to Prince, I’d been to many of these events, and therewere so many unspoken rules. Good food made them lose their sense.
“Alesha, may I have a word?” I looked up and a balding white man was standing a few feet away from me. I noticed him as one of the owners from the meeting with Prince. When I didn’t answer right away, he rushed in. “I am the owner of the hotel. I apologize that we haven’t been officially introduced. Brandon Henry.” He stuck his hand in my direction. I looked over my back, and I saw Prince looking in my direction, but he didn’t move to come my way. He knew I had this.
“Sure. What can I help you with?”
“Your food was a hit! We have more events coming up, and one thing that a lot of the people who reach out to us ask if we have catering. I would love to schedule a time when we can sit down and establish a partnership. Of course this would have to be lucrative for us both. Can you give me a call this week?” He extended a card in my direction.
“Certainly.” I retrieved his card, and as soon as I turned, a smile burst through my lips. Prince met me halfway.
“My baby doing big business.”
“Did you know he was going to ask me about a partnership?” I asked.
“I didn’t but I figured. They are killing this shit. Remember, stick to your guns on they ass. They need you, not the other way around.”
“And I need you,” I whispered honestly.
“Good, because I don’t plan on going anywhere.”
He dipped me again and kissed my lips.
Epilogue
Prince
She was the best decision you ever made.
Remy’s words rang in my ears. I wanted nothing more than for him to be a part of this day. He was here in spirit, and that was going to be enough for me. He and his wife were doing exactly what they should have been. He took his wife back home and she didn’t want to leave. On a day like today, I felt many things, but nothing could overrule the joy I was experiencing. Keeping my promises to this woman was the easiest thing I could accomplish.
“This ugly ass nigga stay eye fucking the mirror!” Chaz yelled loud as hell from the corner.
