Roy Glenn - All About The Money

So, I dressed down-no makeup and definitely no ice-and went down there. I thought that it was a little strange that Simone hadn’t gotten a similar call to come in, but I just figured that they would get to her in due time.

After a short wait, I was taken to what they called an interview room and was introduced to Detective Albert Gineconna. “Thank you for coming in, Ms. West. I won’t take up a lot of time. I just need to ask you a few questions about what happened the night before at Sensations,” he said and placed a tape recorder on the table in between us. “I’ll be recording our conversation, if that’s all right with you.”

“Not a problem.”

“So, tell me what you saw.”

“I really didn’t see anything. I was there with a friend of mine,” I started, but the detective stopped me.

“What’s your friend’s name?”

“Simone Frazier.”

“And it was just the two of you?”

“Yes,” I said slowly.

“Go on.”

“We were just sitting there, when all of a sudden we saw a commotion in front of us. When we heard the shots and saw the people running, we ran in the VIP room.”

“You say you heard shots.”

“Yes.”

“Was it a single shot or more than one?”

“Well, the music was playing so it’s hard to be sure, but I think I heard more than one shot.”

“What happened after that?”

“Nothing. We were told that we couldn’t leave until the police talked to us. After that I went home.”

Then his questions got personal: Where I lived, what I did for a living, and how often I went to the club. I told him that I came to the club pretty regularly and gave him my correct address, ’cause he could check those things out if he wanted to know. I told him that I sold insurance, glad that Sasha got one of clients to get me a license without having to take the test. After that, he thanked me for coming in and told me that I was free to go.

As I left the interview room was when I saw him. The eye candy I had the bad feeling about the first night we came to the club. He wasn’t iced-out or as well dressed as he was the last time I saw him, but it was definitely him. I knew right then that he was a cop.

As quickly as I could, I put on my sunglasses and dropped my head. I walked out of there considering the possibility that he could just be there like I was, to give a statement about what happened the night before at the club. I didn’t know and didn’t care which one it was, I just got out of there and hoped he didn’t see me. Once I got to my car and was on my way out of the parking lot and thought about it, they’d only made the people that were in the VIP room stay and he wasn’t one of them. No. He was a cop; I was sure of it. And since that was the case, I had to consider the possibility that this wasn’t a coincidence. Maybe they brought me in for him to ID me. I made the decision right then and there: We needed to stay out of the clubs for a while.

After that incident, we laid off Sensations for a couple of months. During that time business had been very good. I no longer felt the need to make elaborate public displays in order to market the ladies. I had reached the point where I wanted to be in this business. Now that I had stronger contacts, I was always one of the invited guests at social gatherings. I was running my program exactly the way Sasha ran hers. Now, it was me carefully scrutinizing all of the men, making note of those who were their with dates. And before I left, I’d have leads on new clients. With all the new business, I was thinking about adding some new talent.

I was sitting around the apartment relaxing with Diane one afternoon, and we were talking about our increase in business. I had just offered her, her choice of the last three appointments that had come in. “What times are they?”

I ran my finger down the appointment schedule on my laptop. “Uh, seven, ten, and a late night will call.”

“Jackson?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll take them all,” Diane said.

“What?”

“You were just sayin’ that business was so strong that you had to handle some new clients.”

“And?”

“I’m trying to keep you from havin’ to go out like that.” One thing I had to say about Diane, she was true to her word. She was a good ho. “If business is so good, why don’t you recruit somebody?”

“I’ve been thinking about it, Diane; I really have. And I’ve been looking at some women, sizing them up. I just haven’t found what I’m looking for.”

“What about Creme? She’s been all over me to talk to you.”

“Oh hell no! Creme likes to powder her nose too much.”

“True that,” Diane agreed as Bella came in the apartment.

“Hey, Bella,” we both said.

“That is not the type of person we want to invite into our family,” I continued.

“What type of person?” Bella asked.

“You remember my friend Creme?”

“The one that used to work with y’all at the club?” Bella questioned.

“That’s her,” Diane said.

“What about her?”

“Jada thinks she would be a bad influence on us because she sniffs.”

“I don’t know about her being a bad influence; we’re all grown and capable of making our own decisions, but I agree with Jada.”

“Why, Bella?” Diane asked.

“I don’t know. I just never liked being around people that do that,” Bella said.

“People that do what?” Simone asked as she came dragging out of the bedroom.

“Well, good afternoon, sleepyhead,” I said. “Glad you’re still with us.”

“Yeah, well, y’all are making so much noise out here I couldn’t sleep. So what y’all talking about?”

“Diane wants us to start hanging out with her crackhead friend from Ecstasy,” Bella said.

“She is not a crackhead,” Diane insisted. “And I only brought it up because Jada was talking about recruiting somebody new.”

“Why?” Simone asked quickly. “I think we’re doing just fine. We don’t need anybody else,” she added.

“Jada thinks we do,” Diane said like a pouting child.

“I just said that business has picked up and I was thinking about it. But let’s talk about it.”

“I say no,” Simone told us firmly. “It’s true we all have been working a lot and I am a little tired, but what I’m not, is ready to give up any of this money.”

“I agree with Simone,” Bella said.

“Well, when you put it that way”-Diane said and winked at me-“there’s just enough money for us.”

“I guess that settles it,” I said. “But from what I’m hearing, we all could use a break.”

“Maybe we could take a trip,” Bella suggested. “Go to one of those resorts in the islands and have West Indian men wait on us hand and foot.”

“That’s sound like a great idea,” I said. “But I was thinking of something a little more immediate. It’s been a while since we went to the club.” I didn’t have to say another word. The ladies were all for the idea and we quickly agreed that we were ready to go back to Sensations.

The moment the limo pulled up in front of the club, flashes of the last time we were there flooded my mind. “You thinking about the last time we were here, huh?” Bella asked reading my mind.

“Yeah, that shit was foul,” Diane added.

When our driver got out and opened the door for us, there was a small round of applauses from the few members of security that were standing outside. “Welcome back, Ms. West. The place hasn’t been the same without you ladies.” He walked up to Bella. “I really missed you, cutie.”

“Thank you,” Bella said to him and kissed him on the cheek.

Just as they always had, security escorted us to our spot. It did feel good to be back. Sherman, the clubs manager, sent over a complimentary bottle of bubbly and it seemed like old times.