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I finished my client up and sat the next person in my chair. The conversation I was going to have with Merci would have to wait. I had clients waiting on me. Perc finished his client and then slipped right back to Merci’s area. I couldn’t see Merci’sstation from where I was located but I could tell by the way Perc was in a rush to get back there to her, he wasn’t about to say anything nice.

Ilooked over the clock on my nightstand to see the time. It was the same fucking time every night. My nights of sleeping were over. It always ended with me waking up in cold sweats. My mama thought coming over here with all her bless oil and shit was going to work but it hadn’t. The best sleep I had got was after I slept with that fine ass girl the other night. Shit messed my head up because I didn’t even know her name. The way we had sex that night, I thought her ass was going to be clingy and be there when I woke up. The shit surprised me when I woke up and shawty was gone.

She had to be a solid one because she didn’t touch none of my shit. I know most hoes would’ve taken them a few hundred, maybe even one of my chains too. Usually, I wasn’t that careless but the sleep that took over me was needed. I had to make surethat shit never happened again. My eyes shot back at the clock, and it read the same time as it did yesterday. I got up and sat on the side of the bed. Pulling the drawer out on the side of my bed, I grabbed my bag of weed and the tray so I could roll one up.

It was three in the morning, and I had to be up early to meet the realtor at a new apartment complex I was trying to buy. When I didn’t rest, it fucked my whole day up. My thinking was off and I lost shit. Last week I lost a whole rack and still don’t know where I put it. My mama thought it was time for me to find a woman and settle down. That was always her answer for me and my brother. She could run that nigga life but I had my shit in control.

I was raised right on The Bluff. As soon as I was able to get away, I got the fuck on. By then I was so deep into the streets that my mama was afraid to even let me come home. Her house got shot up so many times because of me. That was before I made a name for myself. Now you couldn’t get anyone to get wrong with me. Not only did my name carry weight, but my brother was starting to take over and he was crazier than me. Nobody fucked with me or him.

Lighting the tip of my blunt, I laid back on my bed and watched the ceiling fan go around in a circle for a few minutes until I grabbed my phone and scrolled through to see who I wanted to call to keep me company. I sent out two text messages, whichever one hit me back first was going to be the one to get it. My phone lit up with the one that I thought was going to hit me back first. She wanted her rent paid so she was going to deliver.

After an hour of waiting, I wasn’t in the mood to be fucked up with her anymore. As soon as she hit the doorbell, I sent her ass a text and told her to go back home. My dick was soft now and I was starting to get tired. I had a few hours to sleep before I had to get up and make my drive to the city. She sent me a nasty ass text back, but I didn’t give a fuck. The only reason she was mad,was because she thought she was going to get that rent money out of me. I felt bad for getting her hopes up high. Maybe this would teach her a lesson about moving faster when I called. I closed my eyes and waited for sleep to take over on its own.

I threw my glass up with my business partners as soon as my name was signed on the contract. I was trying to own as much property as I could.

“Make sure you don’t let your brother fuck this property up,” my partner stated as I swallowed down my liquor.

“You worry ‘bout the money and let me worry ‘bout my brother. I got this shit under control. You keep them people off my brother ass, and you’ll keep getting paid. It won’t be like this always but while it is, do your fucking job.” I slammed my cup down, causing him to jump.

I put fear in a lot of people. When I spoke, I meant every word. It was something in my eyes and my tone when I met business. I didn’t have to pull a trigger to prove my point. When it came to my family, I protected them with everything in me. There were times I felt like my brother couldn’t be protected because of his recklessness. He would tell me all the time to stop having people look out for him because he could handle himself. I believed him, but I did so much shit in my younger days that I knew karma was waiting on the perfect time to come knocking at my door. I sat in my car and pulled out my phone to call my brother to give him the news.

“Yooo.” He answered.

“What's up bruh?”

“Shit, wassup witcha?”

“I made the deal go through. We good on that property. I don’t need you and your people over there once we get it up and running. I’m trying to keep that shit clean for once.”

“Nigga, you stoppin’ my money.”

“Listen, I’m trying to keep this one clean. I don’t want them attaching shit to my name. If I let you come over and take over, it’s going to alert a few muthafuckas that we don’t want on us. Keep it clean.”

“That white boy got to you, huh.” He chuckled.

“Nigga don’t nobody run me. I’m my own fuckin boss but I’m thinking ahead unlike your ass.”

“Yea, aight. I’ll meet you at mama house in a few hours.”

“I’m about to run in this barbershop that’s up the road from where I’m at.”

“Oh, yea? Where you at?”

“Why you acting like you don’t know where I’m at. I told you I was going to be in College Park today. That’s where the complex at dumb ass boy.”

“Oh okay. I’ll see you at mama house.”

I hung up and made the quick drive a few blocks up to the barbershop that I passed on the way to my meeting. The only reason it caught my attention was the number of cars that was parked in front of the building. It ain’t like I had shit else to do today so I had time to waste. The best haircuts came from the hood barbershops. I found an empty spot across the streets, so I parked and made my way in the barbershop.

“You can have a seat. My other barber just went to grab something to eat, and he’ll be back,” a female said with her back turned to me.

She was getting a nigga tape line right with a razor. The way she handled the sharp razor across his skin was impressive.

“It looks like you know what you doin’, how long I gotta wait on you?” I asked her.

She turned around and she looked like she seen a ghost. I don’t know why the fuck she was looking at me like that for. I wasn’t hard up for her, a nigga just needed a cut.

“I got…” she looked around but everyone else was being serviced. “I’ll get you next.”