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When the truck rolled to a halt in front of the youth center, I peered out the window in confusion. A woman clothed in a black pencil skirt, white blouse, and black flats on her feet stood on the side of a beat-up Honda Civic, frantically poundingher fist on the passenger window. In all the years that we’ve been in this location, I had never witnessed such a commotion.
Before Baker could round the truck, I had opened the back door and hopped out. Noticing Dahlia’s former assistant standing at the door, I called out to him.
“What the hell is going on?” I asked as soon as he was standing near me. The car had finally pulled away from the curb, leaving the frantic woman with a face full of tears while Marsha tried her hardest to console her.
Tossing his hands on the top of his head he muttered, “What isn’t going on? That’s Tali the one you hired to replace Dahlia.”
“That’s not explaining why she’s standing on the curb crying, Rossi.”
“Let me make sure she’s okay and I’ll meet you inside.”
When I went to oppose, Rossi begged me with his eyes to drop it until he could handle whatever he needed to handle. There really wasn’t much I could do so instead of protesting, I grabbed my shit off the back seat and let Baker know I would call him when I was ready for him to pull the car around.
Bypassing the melee in front of the building, I headed inside and up to my office. The youth center was the final stop on my agenda today. I wasn’t planning on spending much time here seeing as though I only popped in to show my face to the staff and see if there was anything I could do for them.
After I had replaced Dahlia, I slowed up on my visits. I was secure with the staffs competency and knew without a doubt that Rossi and Marsha would see to it that the new hire got the proper training that she needed. As I’ve said before, this was Dahlia’s love child; I simply funded it and oversaw the renovations. My only obligation to the center was to make sure they had whatever resources they needed.
Swift raps on the door jarred my attention away from the proposal I was reading. “Come in.”
“Mr. Harvey,” Rossi sighed. “I apologize about that. Tali?—”
Squinting my eyes, I queried. “Who?”
“Talitha. Ms. Howard, the one you hired.”
“Right right right.” I nodded in understanding.
“Like I was saying Tali is a far stretch from Dahlia,” he chuckled ambiguously. “Poor thing wears her heart on her sleeves. Don’t get me wrong, she is doing a phenomenal job here. The staff loves her and most importantly, the kids love her.”
Placing my elbows on the desk I rubbed my temples. “What was that unfolding outside?”
“One of our newest members lost his brother last night to some gang mess. He’s one of the ones Tali has taken a personal interest in, given his jaded past. Well, let’s just say he showed up today full of fury and all but told her today would be the last day either of us saw him.”
“I’m guessing he’s planning on getting even?” I asked, knowing full well that was the case. When it came to the streets, we lived by the code “an eye for an eye”. I knew firsthand how I would react if someone had killed Preme, and while I respected lil’ man for wanting to get his revenge, that was the reason Dahlia fought so hard for this center.
She wanted to not only impact the community but have an even bigger impact on the youth. Basically, get them out of the streets and that was a notion I respected to the fullest. Dahlia, unlike a lot of others, only knew the legal side of me. Lawton and Dutch where two completely different people.
Part of the reason I credited Adele for me being the man I am is because it was her connections that got me roped up in the dope game. Adele’s father was a Columbian drug lord coining her the princess of his empire. When he was killed, everything was passed down to her. Her husband was too stiff to run drugs, so she offered it to me.
Of course, with my astute background, I knew absolutely nothing about cocaine but as the Bible says“If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.”
After learning everything there was to know about running a drug ring, I pulled Preme onboard with me and the two of us had been in business for years. I finished my degree and made sure Sincere got one as well. I needed us to be as legit as possible on paper. Not only on paper but also where our financial portfolio was concerned.
“Unfortunately, he is,” Rossi confirmed. “Tali was begging him not to do it and things kind of went from there.”
“Clearly I selected the wrong person,” I noted rather frankly.
“I would have to disagree. I think sheisthe perfect person. Our resources are limited Mr. Harvey. There is so much Tali wants to do around here. The state hardly wants to get involved with anything. It’s like beating a dead horse trying to get them to fund anything around here.”
“Where is she?”
“Who, Tali?”
I nodded my head.
“In her office,” Rossi grumbled.
“Send her in here for me please.”