Page 18 of Cannon

I didn’t remember driving to Sylk Road. My body did what my brain couldn’t. It took over, put the key in the ignition, turned corners, obeyed lights. But my mind? That was still stuck in that damn psych ward. In the sound of ZaZa’s voice when she spit at me. The way I almost slapped her.

The club was empty when I walked in. We weren’t open during the day unlike some other clubs. Having restricted access maintains the illusion of scarcity.

I climbed the stairs to my office and sank into the black velvet chair behind my desk.

This was my peace. My fortress. Obsidian walls. Gold accents. Velvet and marble. Everything in this room was designed to feel expensive, controlled, untouchable. A fantasy I paid for in blood, sweat, and every tear I never cried in public.

But today it felt hollow.

I opened my laptop and pulled up the financials. I had some utilities to pay, and payroll to complete. I didn’t feel like working since I was so exhausted from the previous night.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I wondered if ZaZa had eaten. If the nurses were being gentle. If the drugs they pumped into her made her feel like a stranger in her own body.

I hated myself for not knowing.

I took a break from work and reapplied my make-up. I didn’t want Cannon to see me looking at my worst. Why should I care? He was going to be my employee, nothing more.

As my mind drifted to thoughts of what he might look like naked, I heard two soft knocks.

Only one person knocked like that.

“Come in,” I said, without looking up.

The door flew open.

“Bitch, have you eaten?”

My best friend, Nori,burst through the door. Nori had a light caramel complexion and sported long blond goddess knotless braids down her back.

“Your hair looks cute,” I complimented.

“That’s not what I asked you,” she teased.

“Of course I haven’t eaten. I’m too stressed to eat.”

She plopped a brown paper bag onto my desk. “Grilled salmon, brown rice and kale. From that bougie-ass spot you like over on Lenox.”

I stared at the bag. “I don’t want it.”

“But you’re gonna eat it. Dealing with ZaZa cannot have you losing weight and your hair again.”

I shook my head while laughing. Nori had been with me through the ups and downs of dealing with my daughter more than my ex-husband had.

“Okay, mom.”

“That’s right baby. Now eat, or I’mma climb across this desk and feed it to you like a damn toddler.”

I pulled the bag toward me. The food smelled good, even if my appetite hadn’t caught up to my body yet.

Nori watched me for a second. Her tone softened. “You good?”

“No.”

She nodded, like she already knew. “How’s ZaZa?”

“She spit on me.” I said it like I was confessing to murder.

Nori’s eyes widened. “What?”