Happy Birthday 2pac, you have been a big influence on my taste in music and poetry. I love you dearly and I know your partying hard in the sky💓

Adrienne

"I mean yea, we can. Its not like I have anything better to do." I say, talking on the phone with Jamie. "It'll be fun, my coworker Kiada said she wanted to go shopping anyway."

"Kiada? Oh umm that really pretty bright skinned girl?" Jamie asks.

"Yea, I think you'll like her. She's a fire cracker like you."

"I am not a fire cracker."

"If you say so J."

~

"Oh my goodness this is too cute right?" I ask the girls, holding a dress up to my body.

"Girl no. Your butt is too big for that." Jamie says, before taking it from me and turning to Dada. "It'll look cute on her though." She adds.

"Why? Cause my ass is flat?" Dada asks, before laughing.

"It sure is. But at least you got some hips." I say.

We walk around the store for a while before going outside into the sunshine. Jamie and Kiada seem to be hitting it off, I can tell that she'll be her second best friend already.

"Hey Dri, did you hear that Freefield bank got robbed?" Jamie asks, as we walk to my car.

"Yea, which is so weird because Freefield is like one of the best secured banks I know of. I wonder if its the same guys." I say, before pointing to an ice cream shop and we walk towards it.

Kiada stays silent as we talk about the bank robberies.

"Sis, you alright?" Jamie asks her.

"Yea I'm good. What flavor y'all getting?" She asks.

"Definitely cookies and cream." I say. "Oh or Butter pecan." I add.

"Ew no. I like the cotton candy one." Jamie says, making me and Kiada give her a face.

"You nasty."

~

"Babe your off right?" Annika says, as she sits two glasses on the table in front of her. I nod.

"Lesane said for you to come get your check from him when you finish up." She says, before walking away.

I finished cleaning the table I'm at before taking off my apron and heading up to his office.

We get paid every two weeks, so that's how often I even see Tupac. He went from ignoring me to avoiding me completely after I went to his office to check on him last week.

I never found out what happened to his shoulder, but I heard from one of the other girls that he got shot or something, that's a little hard for me to believe though.

I knock on his office door before I hear him say come in.

As soon as I come in, I see my check sitting on the desk, but when I approach him and reach for it, he puts his hand over it.

I just furrow my eyebrows at him.

"Umm did you need something?" I ask.

He gets up from the chair at his desk and closes the office door.

"Some of the boys told me that Michael finna ask you out. But before he does that, I wanted to let you know that dating coworkers isn't allowed." Tupac says, as he sits back down.

"What?" I ask, genuinely confused.

Michael has been flirting with me for a while before work sometimes. But I didn't think he liked me.

"Michael. The cook. I got word that he gon try to ask you-"

"I heard you. But he's worked here way longer than me, so wouldn't he know of that rule?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Of course he know about the rule."

"Okay then why-"

"If you wanna keep your job, say no." He says, before sliding the check towards me. I pick it up.

Tupac starts to write in his notebook which is my cue to leave.

As soon as I leave his office and go downstairs, Michael approaches me, making me a little nervous. Not because he's asking me out but because of what Lesane said. Would he actually fire me if I said yes to a date?

"Hey Adrienne.." Michael says, giving me a sweet smile.

"Hey Mikey."

"So lately I been wanting to ask you something but I been scared of what your answer might be." He says, making me chuckle a little.

As he's talking, I look around and notice that a lot of the men that Tupac are always around are watching me and Michael.

"Hey do you mind walking me to my car?" I interrupt him before he can ask his question.

"Sure.." He says.

When we get outside I let him finish talking.

"So I was saying, Would you let me take you out sometime maybe later this week?" He asks.

"Of course.. That would be great." I say, before giving him a hug.

Then I notice that one of the men from inside the club had come out. When he saw me notice him, he walked back into Black Cotton. Is Tupac having me stalked or something? What the hell is this?

"Alright, so Friday.. Eight? I'll pick you up." Michael asks, licking his lips. I then notice how handsome he actually is.

A big, pretty smile and thick lashes get me every time.

"We'll both have to leave work early." I laugh.

"Almost forgot.. But yea." He says, nervously playing with the gold chain he has on.

"I'll see you then- well I'll see you at work before then but I'll also see you Friday at eight.." I say, stumbling over my words a little which makes him smile.

"Alright.." He opens my car door for me and I get in and roll down my window.

"Be safe." He says, as I pull off, a goofy smile on my face.

I just got asked out on a date.

"Ugh, that new cook does not move fast enough." Kiada says, as I take my apron off the the hook and put it on.

"New cook?"

"Yea, apparently Mikey quit." Dada says, making a sad face.

"Hm. That's weird." I say.

I'm not fired.. So wait.. I just know damn well Lesane didn't fire Michael because of the dating thing.

Dada must've read my face because she asks me what's wrong. "Nothing. I'll be right back. Can you clock me in?" I ask, not waiting for her response before going up the stairs towards Tupac's office as I tie my apron.

I don't knock like I normally do, instead I walk straight in.

As usual, there's a girl on his lap with her tongue down his throat.

The same girl from last time.

"Did you fire Michael?" I ask, making them stop kissing and look up at me.

He tells the girl to leave and she bumps into me as she does. I'm used to her stank attitude by now.

Tupac just chuckles slightly before answering my question.

"I don't know what you talking about."

I just stare at him as he laughs, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. He's amused.

"So you didn't fire him because we have a date on Friday?" I fold my arms, walking closer to his desk.

"No Ms.Walker. Matta fact, I had no idea about the date." He shrugs, licking his bottom lip. I can tell he's lying. This is a part of him I haven't seen before.

The playful side.

"But since you told on yourself. Your fired." He says.

"Are you serious right now Lesane?" I say, making him burst out laughing.

"I told you what the rule was. I gave you a chance to keep your job." He says, trying to hold in his laughter, he looks down at his note book before closing it.

I don't say anything.

I really can't tell if he's serious or not.

"For real?

He's silent for a while, that same smirk still on his face.

"Well I guess you can keep your job." He says.

"Thanks." I roll my eyes, walking towards the door. "But only because I got a feeling that date ain't gonna happen anyway." He says, making me turn around.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Huh?" He chuckles.

I suck my teeth. "Nothing." I leave his office and close the door behind me.

He's such an asshole. And I didn't even get the answer to my question. There's no way that Michael just up and quit a job he's been working for this long, I'm definitely going to call him and ask him what's up.

My mind drifts back to the thought of Lesane's laugh. I never heard it before today. Its really nice.

"Everything okay?" Kiada asks, as I walk into the kitchen.

"Yea.." I say, grabbing a notepad and pen..

"Hey Dada. Is there a 'no dating coworkers' rule around here?" I ask, raising as eyebrow at her. She chuckles.

"Umm girl no. Me and Lesane dated for two years while I was working here.. If that's a rule, then he just made it up." She says, before leaving the kitchen.

This son of a bitch.

"She said yes. They going out on Friday." Q says, coming into my office.

No they not.

"Aye get Michael in here." I say, sitting up in my chair and resting my elbows on the desk.

"Wassup." Michael says as he comes in, reaching to dap me up.

"Have a seat." I say, making him give me a confused look. Q closes my office door, making Michael furrow his eyebrows.

"Is there a problem asum?" He asks.

"There won't be when you leave this office.." I say.

"Then-"

"I want you to stay away from her." I say, playing with the ring on my middle finger.

"Stay away from who man?" He asks, laughing a little, until he realizes I'm serious.

"Adrienne. Don't answer her calls. Don't take her on that date Friday. And don't come to work tomorrow." I say.

"You joking with me right?" He asks.

I don't respond, making him suck his teeth. "What? You got a crush on her or something boss? I would've stayed out your way if I had known." He says.

I pull my gun from the waistband of my pants and place it on the desk in front of me. "You will stay out the way." I say.

"Man this some bullshit." He says getting up and walking towards the door. "You foul as fuck man, firing me over a bitch."

I don't know why, but when he called her a bitch, something in me snapped. I picked up my gun and shot him in the back of his leg. He fell to the ground, screaming in pain. "What the hell is wrong with you man? You shot me!" He yells.

Q opens the door.

" I don't care where you take him, just get him off the premises without anybody seeing him." I say, putting my gun back in my waistband as they take him out, him still yelling.

I chuckle to myself as Adrienne leaves my office.

I didn't say the words "Your fired" to Michael, so technically, no. I didn't fire him.

I may not be able to have Adrienne, but I can damn sure make sure nobody else can either. Not gonna lie. The man was a good cook, his shrimp and chicken alfredo will be missed around here. But its plenty of niggas that can cook.

I know what I'm doing isn't right.

Which is exactly why I need to keep her at a distance for now, at least until my hands aren't as dirty. I wanna become a better man for her.. But I'm just not sure if its possible right now.

So until then, I'll bust a cap in any nigga I have to.

No matter who it is.