Page 1 of Search My Soul (Taylor Family Saga #3)

“And what’s that? Game point, mothafucka!” Pooh shouted as he shot a basket from the half-court line.

“You’re full of shit. You ain’t have to do all that with your long ass arms,” I teased. He smiled big, showing all thirty-two teeth.

“I don’t know why you and Armon thought you were gonna win against me and Quest. You already know I do this in my mothafuckin sleep.

” We dapped each other up, then I jogged over to the bench to grab my water bottle.

Basketball was like therapy to me. As a youngin, I had dreams of being in the NBA, dunking on the best in the league.

Reality and life changed those dreams, but I still found comfort in the game.

“Yeah. Yeah. You just make sure you keep that same energy when it’s time to go to the big leagues.”

“You already know I’m about to show out. Speaking of, are you going to be there for the draft party? My momma said she invited you, but you never got back with her.” His eyes peered at me, and I could tell he was waiting to see if I was going to let him down.

“I’ll be there. I never got back with her because I was on my way to a meeting when she called me.

Pure and I will be there. I’m praying you get drafted to one of my favorite teams, so I don’t have to root for my enemies.

” I grinned, thinking about seeing him on the big screens.

It was rare that young men from our neck of the woods made it this far, so it made me proud whenever I saw a black boy reaching for their dreams.

“We’ll see. I should be getting a call soon. You already know I’m gonna make sure you have a custom jersey and court-side seats. I need you to be front and center to watch me pop my shit.”

“You already know I’m gonna be there front and center, talking shit.

I’m proud of you, kid. You’re doing everything you said you would.

Whoever you go to will be lucky to have you on their squad.

Just make sure you stay focused and keep your eyes on the prize.

Don’t let anything or anyone get in the way of your success.

And when you make it big, remain humble.

I don’t mean you can’t splurge and enjoy the good life.

Just don’t let anyone make you feel like you owe them.

Outside of your mama, you don’t owe anything to anyone.

“A lot of people make it to the league, and all types of family and friends come out of the woodwork with their hands out. It ain’t your job to take care of the city.

Not to say that you shouldn’t give back to your community, but you are not an ATM.

If they weren’t around for your struggle, they shouldn’t be able to benefit from your success.

” I schooled him. When my little brother was drafted into the NFL, a lot of people in our family tried to latch themselves onto him.

We shut it down immediately because we weren’t gonna let anyone take advantage of him.

“I feel you. It’s crazy you said that because my dad has been calling a lot lately.

He gave this speech about how family gotta look out for family and all this other bullshit.

I’ve worked hard to forgive him for the hell he put our family through, but he’s crazy if he thinks that means I want a relationship with him. ”

Pooh’s father was serving a life sentence for murder, amongst a host of other charges.

He used to run the streets, but his poor decisions caught up to him.

After my parents were killed, he started doing business with a competitor and attempted to get over on the wrong people.

They shot up his house and killed two of his children.

One of them was my childhood best friend, Semaj.

His death fucked me up because it happened six months after I lost my parents.

After his funeral, my already cold heart completely shut down.

Death was something my parents always talked to us about, but they never explained the long-lasting scars that came with the shit.

Semaj’s death led to a series of murders as two different sides of town went up against each other.

I couldn’t count how many souls I snatched during that time in my life, but I refused to let anyone get away with what they’d done.

My grandfather trained us to shoot, but I never imagined I would become so comfortable with taking a life.

“I can’t really say too much because you already know I don’t give second chances to anybody.

You have the right to do whatever you feel in your heart as long as you protect yourself.

You have to pay attention to people’s motives and keep your heart on lock.

Your future is bright, which means the wolves are gonna come out from every angle. Keep your eyes open.”

“I hear you. You already know I take what you say to heart. I appreciate your support. Hell, if it weren’t for you and your family, I wouldn’t even be in the position I’m in right now. Big bro always said you were solid, and he ain’t told one lie. Thank you.”

His words made me uncomfortable, but I tried to shake it off.

The thought of all the time Maj missed out on made me angry.

In my heart, I believed we would be living it up right now.

We made so many plans about how lit our lives were gonna be, and it would never sit right with me that I was here to live it by myself.

“No thanks needed. You already know I’m gonna be here for whatever you need. It doesn’t matter how far you go; I’m only one call away.”

“No doubt. Love you, Soul.”

“Luh you, too, youngin.”

“Aye, did you finish Mrs. Jenkins’ car? She’s out here to pick it up, but I thought it wasn’t due to be finished until Thursday.” My receptionist, Angel, rambled as she burst into my office without knocking.

“Damn, did you forget your manners on your way in here?”

“Sorry, boss. This old lady is out here cussing up a storm, and there isn’t enough coffee in the world to prepare you for things like this.

Now, can you please come out and talk some sense into her?

Otherwise, I’m gonna have her tossed out with her stiff ass wig.

” Her tone let me know that I needed to intervene, and fast. Angel was one of the sweetest people I’ve met, so she must have been really flustered to act like this.

“Alright. I’m on my way.” I checked a few things on my computer before getting up. When I arrived this morning, I worked on a couple of cars, and there were still a few more that needed my attention before the day ended.

“Thank you. My momma taught me to respect my elders, but if she calls me a trifling bitch one more time, I’mma knock her out and have her thinking she’s about to see the King of Kings.” Her fists were balled up in frustration. This wasn’t the time to be laughing, but I couldn’t help it.

“Now you know you can’t do that. It’s alright, I’ll take care of it. You can go take a break. You seem a little tense.”

“You’re damn right I am. I don’t even smoke, but I feel like I need a whole pack of Newports.

My nerves aren’t built for this mess.” She huffed.

Instead of responding, I put on a smile as I swaggered out to the front lobby.

One thing I’d grown accustomed to was putting out fires.

Customer service was a different kind of demon, and I learned that you got more with kindness than anger.

Plus, if that didn’t work, I would just kick them out of my shit.

Usually, it never came to that because people knew better than to play with me.

“I don’t give a fuck about what you’re saying, little bitch.

I want my mothafuckin car or I’m going to call the cops.

For all I know, you’re trying to steal my car and sell it for parts.

I know how you people operate.” The tiny terror with the gray, crunchy wig continued to unleash her wrath on my other receptionist.

“Good morning, I’m Soul Taylor. The owner and head mechanic of this establishment. What seems to be the problem?” As soon as she turned to me, her body language changed. I noticed her smoothing her skirt with her hands, then swiping her non-existent bangs.

“How are you, young man? I do apologize for my anger, but I was told my car would be ready for pickup today. I have a very important church function to attend to, and I need my car to transport all of the food I’ve cooked.

I’m sure you can understand my concerns.

” She used a completely different tone than the one I’d heard earlier.

It honestly made me laugh because they always did this when I came on the scene.

Angel and Macy couldn’t stand it, but I told them this face had gotten me out of all kinds of trouble.

“Well, let me start by saying that I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. Would you mind if I consult with my staff to verify the status of your vehicle so I can provide you with the best possible solution?” Her smile exposed her pearly white dentures as she stood there batting her eyes.

“Absolutely. It’s so nice to speak with someone who has manners.

Do what you need to do. I’m not going anywhere.

” It took everything in me not to break character, but this was business, so I couldn’t.

Once I checked with the girls, I realized that it was one of the cars I had scheduled for this evening.

The ticket showed the estimated pick-up was set for Thursday, so I wondered where she got the misinformation from. Nevertheless, I would take care of her.

“Mrs. Mayes, do you have the confirmation ticket with your estimated pick-up date with you?” Her eyes widened, and she began to frantically search through her purse.

Once she retrieved the paper, she held it out for me.

After checking the dates, I realized where the confusion came from.

I recognized Roderick’s chicken scratch right away and it was damn near illegible.

I had gotten on him about it countless times because some of his numbers looked similar.

Her car was due for pickup on the sixteenth, but the paper looked like it said the twelfth.

“It seems like there has been a mistake on our end. The date on the ticket is supposed to say Thursday, the sixteenth. Based on the ticket, I understand there may have been some confusion. Here’s what I can do for you.

I’ll pull your vehicle and work on it today, and then I’ll personally deliver it to you this evening.

It won’t help you get to your event, but if you’d like, I can send one of my drivers to escort you and your food wherever you need to go. ”

“You would really do that for me?”

“Absolutely. Our goal here at Taylor Auto is to provide the best quality of customer service to everyone who chooses our business. We go above and beyond to make sure you are completely satisfied with your service because we appreciate everyone who takes a chance on us.” I already knew Macy and the crew were behind me, ready to roast me.

I kept telling them that you had to have two sides to you when it came to business.

You can’t be quick to go off because that’s not how you maintain a successful business.

Now you can’t please everyone, and there are some customers who couldn’t be helped, but I worked my ass off to make sure that satisfaction remained high.

We had won several awards for our efficiency and customer satisfaction ratings.

I might be a street nigga, but I knew how to handle myself on the business side as well.

“Wow. I don’t even know what to say. I expected this conversation to go a completely different way, but now I see why people speak so highly of you and your business.

I’ll accept your offer to have my car delivered.

You don’t need to send a driver, though.

I’ll get one of the deacons from my church to come and grab my food.

Thank you for your kindness, young man. It’s people like you who help build our community, and I’m grateful for it.

I’ll be sure to recommend your business to everyone at the church.

” She reached up to cup my cheek, and I offered a smile.

The moment she made it out of the door, the whole room burst with laughter.

“Y’all are childish as hell.” I scoffed.

Macy expressed, “Boss man, I don’t care how many times I witness it, I’ll always be fascinated by the way you code switch. Not only that, you have these women about to toss the pussy at you as a form of payment. It’s truly a gift.”

“I keep trying to tell y’all that you have to handle some customers differently.

Even if they are the ones in the wrong, you have to make them feel as if they aren’t.

The semantics really don’t matter at the end of the day because we are getting paid to provide a service.

” They hung onto my every word, even though I knew we would experience a situation like this again.

Most women ran on emotions rather than logic.

In most cases, it was okay, but when you had to deal with an irate or emotional customer, it was important to try to meet them with a level head.

Allow them to get out their frustrations and then do what you can to resolve the issue.

Another lesson my grandparents taught me.

“Well done. Now get to work on old lady Gertrude’s car before she comes back up here with her pantyhose wearing posey,” Angel teased.

“All of y’all can go to hell. And, Roderick, you need to take some damn handwriting classes or something. You write like a three-year-old hyped up on sugar. Don’t let this shit happen again.”

I headed to the garage to get started on the car.

The work could be time-consuming, but I loved what I did.

My father used to have Pure and I under his old cars every weekend, teaching us a new skill.

Pure hated it, but I found it fascinating.

I learned how to take a car apart and put it back together by the time I was eleven.

It kind of reminded me of a giant puzzle piece.

Every single part was essential in its own right, but when placed together, it served a greater purpose.

I put on my headphones and got to work. This was one of the few places that brought me peace, and with the kind of life I lived, I needed every second of peace I could get.