When A Woman Hustles, Danielle Martin [books to read in your 20s .TXT] 📗

back against the door as she realized what was going on.

What if he is right? What if people are watching me? What if I go to jail or even worse, get robbed and shot??? She tapped her foot nervously. “Shit!” she cussed out loud. How did she allow Levi to show up and ruffle her feathers the way he had. This was out of her character, she never meant for him to get a rise out of her. She couldn’t help but question what would happen if she slipped up? What were the consequences?

Standing back on her feet, Reese retrieved her handgun from the night stand and began walking across the living room towards the bedroom. As intimidating as Levi could be, she was not going to allow him to mess up her focus. He wasn’t crazy enough to snitch on her. He had no proof behind his accusations so there was nothing to snitch about. She looked down at her 9mm. She didn’t need anyone to have her back. She was a grown woman now who had to hustle to make a living. She wasn’t going to let anyone, or anything slow her down in life. Not Levi. Not anyone.

 

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

 

VROOM VROOM.

 Pumpkin revved up the engine as she pulled her Range Rover into an empty parking space. She did 60 in a 40 mile zone the entire ride here, riding with the windows down letting the air’s warm breeze blow through the wind. A relaxing car ride was a great way to calm her nerves. She placed the ignition in park as she slid on her sunglasses. She checked for the time. 5:58 pm. King should be arriving shortly. He never showed up late. He fully understood Pumpkin’s lack of patience and rarely kept her waiting. As she waited, her eyes slowly traveled up the large building towering over her vehicle. Queen’s Hair Salon. The salon sat alone and deserted, chained and locked up. Pumpkin lost herself in her thoughts. She never understood why King put so much money into a salon that he never opened to the public. She became frustrated all over again.

Pumpkin was in a very negative space right now. She kept replaying her last meeting with Reese in her head over and over again.  She was angry. That was not the way she wanted to find out about King’s inner harbor condo, and she couldn’t stop thinking about what could have happened if she never did. King has never invited inside his home. Why Reese? Why her??? She didn’t want to over think it but she couldn’t ignore her gut feeling. She was intimidated. Sickened with panic.

Pumpkin caught a glimpse of King’s Porsche truck pulling into the parking lot. Her heart stopped. She grew weak each time he came around. She shuddered in fear. Pumpkin couldn’t shake this scary feeling on her chest. Witnessing King fall in love with another woman was one of her worst nightmares. She may have been thinking too far ahead, but Pumpkin had to step in and put a stop to it before it happened. She reached over in the passenger seat clutching the large black duffel bag that sat next to her. She got that football coach for almost $500,000 last night. That was one of her biggest hits in her entire career. She didn’t even make that kind of money back in the days when she and Trix used to hustle. Pumpkin was anxious to show King what she was bringing to the table this time, but also hesitant because she didn’t want him to think Reese had anything to do with her success. She would have got this money regardless to if Reese was there or not.

King’s truck pulled up beside her. She took another deep breath as she mentally prepared herself for this conversation because it wasn’t going to be easy. It had been a few days since she spoken with King. He had no idea that she knew about his Inner Harbor Condo and today was the day she planned on confronting him about it. She reached over, grabbing the duffel bag before exiting her truck. Shutting the door behind her, she nervously trailed around the car heading towards the passenger side. Pumpkin locked eyes with King, staring at him through the dark tint as she approached the car door. She had to get her emotions under control before she began this conversation, because she was bound to fuck up and say the wrong thing out of anger right now. She placed her hand on the door handle, swinging open the car door so she could climb inside.

"What’s up Punk?" he greeted her. She smiled a half smile while climbing into the passenger seat. "Hey." she responded quietly. Pumpkin shut the door behind her, sitting the duffel bag on the floor at her feet. She wanted to talk personal before they talked business. She had a lot she needed to get off her chest.

"Soooo King." she looked over at him. He sat laid back in his seat, his wrist glistening in pure gold. She observed him. As usual, he dressed in a casual blue shirt and faded blue jeans. He wore a matching hat which gave him the perfect look. Her insides jumped, her skin grew hot. She could not fight her attraction to him no matter how hard she tried. She hated how irresistible he was. Pumpkin tried to so hard to forget about King. Find her a real man and move the hell on with her life. But she couldn’t. She had an inner connection with him that she never shared with anyone else. Not with Mason. Not anybody.

 He immediately picked up on her vibe knowing something was on her mind. "What’s up, Pumpkin?" He asked curiously. She looked away staring straight forward. Her expression was blank. She was too afraid to show her true emotions. "I'm not really happy right now King." She spoke under her breath.

He nodded his head as if he knew that was coming. King shifted his weight in his seat so he could turn to her. "And why is that?" he asked.

Pumpkin finally looked him in the eye. They locked gazes as silence spread through the truck. She wanted to hop across this seat and pounce on him physically and sexually, but she couldn’t. The distance between them drove her insides crazy. She could not fulfill the gap she was missing in her life. Only King could fill that space. Pumpkin was empty inside and there was no more denying it. "I thought I was your ride or die King."

He took a deep breath, knowing she was about to get deep. "You are Pumpkin. What you talking about?"

She nervously cracked her knuckles, beating around the bush. She didn’t want to use the wrong approach. "You know what I’m talking about." She narrowed her eyes at him. "I know you’re a grown man and you can handle your own. But what the hell were you thinking taking Reese to your condo? Why didn’t you put her in a hotel or something King?" she didn’t hold back. Her heart was racing. She needed answers and prayed his explanation was a good one. He shook his head. He visibly was not happy to hear that she had found out. He hesitated before he asked, “Who told you that?"

She smacked her lips. He knew where she heard it from so there was no reason to play stupid. "Of course Reese told me!" She snapped louder than she intended. Lowering her voice, she continued. "And why would you not tell me about the condo in the Inner Harbor? Why did I have to find out about it through Reese??? I thought we were partners, King."

He pressed his lips holding himself back from saying something they both would regret. King sat forward, placing his elbows on his knees as he faced straight forward. "Pumpkin, why are you questioning me like this? You know I don’t have to answer to anyone." He was telling the truth. King was a boss. A very powerful entrepreneur. A business man who called a lot of shots. No one questioned him. They knew better. But Pumpkin wasn’t just anyone. King always had a soft spot for her and allowed her to get away with a lot of shit that others didn’t. She was his main girl. The only woman he allowed inside his private life. Pumpkin wanted to keep it that way. She was terrified imagining what would happen if someone came along and changed that. She continued to stare at him awaiting an explanation. He looked over catching her as she waited. He chuckled after noticing her serious expression. "Loosen up Pumpkin. You’re so tense all the time."

She shot him a crazy look. This was not a laughing matter and she didn’t see anything funny about the situation. King had come too far in this business to let some bitch distract him from what’s important. For all she knew, Reese could be the world’s biggest con-artist. Her shy, timid persona could have all been a front. Pumpkin turned her body in her seat towards him. She was tired of playing games. She wanted the truth. "King, just be honest with me. What’s really going on with you and Reese?"

The truck grew silent once again. She bounced her knee up and down, her anxiety rushing. He did not answer immediately which made the suspense even more tense. They continued to stare at each other for a moment without saying a word. Mentally, she began to feel desperate for some closure.

"Pumpkin, I’m not fucking Reese if that's what you’re thinking." He broke the silence speaking firmly. "You can’t jump to that conclusion every time a woman gets close to me. The last time you and I met at the office, I told you I did not want another repeat of Trix. I meant that."

Pumpkin froze as King mentioned her ex-best friends name again. She held her breath as a familiar feeling of regret rushed over her body. She turned her body to look out the window. I don’t want another repeat of Trix either. She began to reminisce once again. Pumpkin couldn’t fight the memories once they resurfaced. Damn Trix. Why did you have to go???

Nothing had been the same since the day Trix died. Pumpkin never had family. She never had a real friend. Other than King, Trix was the only human being in this world Pumpkin would have laid down her life and died for. She owed so much to that woman. It had been over 5 years since Trix was murdered and even to this day, the memory of her haunted Pumpkin in her sleep. After all this time, she still hadn’t gotten over it and the pain felt fresh. I should have been there for her. I should have protected her. I should have answered her phone calls that night. Shit!

Pumpkin’s thoughts pondered. She began to think about those weeks leading up to Trix's death. They had a falling out and were not on good terms. Rumors, lies, and deception sadly broke their friendship apart. Pumpkin’s past had a lot to do with her reasoning for staying away from people. She didn’t