A Sticky Situation (3 page)

“Yep, that was him.”

“So, you guys didn’t have any words?”

“No, we didn’t. All I did was say a few words to Marcus.”

“Well, did you look at him in any way?”

“No, as a matter-of-fact, I didn’t.”

Karen scratched her forehead. It was apparent that she was in deep thought. I sat there with the ice pack pressed against my head and waited for her to say whatever it was that she was thinking about.

Finally she said, “Are you able to go down and file charges on him?”

“Oh yeah, I’ll be filing them as soon as I get out of here.”

“OK, then, do that. And when you’re done, take off the rest of the day.”

“What about my other clients? Karen, I have a boatload of people to see today.”

“Call them and reschedule.”

“OK,” I said, and as I was about to get up Karen told me to hold up a minute.

“What, you need me to do something for you before I leave?” I wondered aloud.

Karen gave me a weird look and then she retrieved a typed document from a manila folder placed on her desk before her and handed it to me. “I know this isn’t a good time to tell you this, but my conscience would’ve killed me if I would’ve allowed you to walk out of here without knowing who would be filling my shoes after I left this office.”

Anxiety crept into my stomach, but I remained calm. “I got your position?” I asked as I grabbed the piece of paper from her hand.

But, Karen remained silent as she watched me read the document.

I scanned the letter in less than thirty seconds. It took me no time to find out that I didn’t get the promotion. I was furious, and my expression showed it. “This can’t be the final word,” I protested.

“I’m afraid it is,” Karen said.

“So, you’re telling me that Carolyn got the position?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“But I thought I had it in the bag. I have been here a lot longer than she has. So, how did she get the promotion over me?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Well, who made the decision to give the job to her and not to me?”

“My boss and Carla Perry from personnel.”

Angry, I stood up from the chair. “Can you call them both and set up a meeting so I can ask them what the hell was on their mind when they decided to give Carolyn your job?”

“Maxine, I’m afraid it doesn’t work like that. You’re just gonna have to accept it and move on. And who knows, another promotion could come up and they’ll give it to you. So, don’t be upset. It just wasn’t your time.”

“I understand all of that, Karen. But, I worked my ass off in this office. I have gone by the book from day one, and I haven’t gotten one written complaint from any of my clients, including the ones I violated. And not only am I doing a damn good job, I just got my ass kicked by an ex-client to prove it. So, where is the justice?”

Karen stood up from her desk and walked around it to pat me on my back. “Maxine, I understand your frustration, but believe me, your time will come. But, until then go home and get some rest.”

“Yeah, right!” I said and turned to leave.

Immediately after I exited Karen’s office I made my way downstairs to the U.S. Marshal’s office. Marcus was sitting down behind his desk when I walked through the glass door. He had Dwayne handcuffed to the chair in which he sat—which was approximately four feet away from Marcus—but his back was facing me. There were three other marshals huddled around, drinking coffee, talking amongst themselves. Marcus’s boss, Tom, was one of them. To avoid any more confrontation with that asshole Dwayne, I walked to the other side of their office and gathered up the appropriate paperwork I needed to file charges against Dwayne. Looking at that motherfucker sitting there with a smirk on his face made my blood boil. I wanted so badly to go right over there and punch him right in his damn face, but I knew Marcus’s boss Tom wasn’t going to allow it. That cracker was strictly by the book, so I guessed I was going to have to get that fat, stubby bastard in court.

It didn’t take me long to fill out the paperwork, and when I was done, I handed it to Tom, waved at Marcus, and turned to leave their office. As soon as I grabbed the doorknob, Dwayne turned around and said, “Bitch! Do you think I care that you filed charges against me? That shit ain’t gon’ do nothing but make me madder.”

“Shut your mouth, Mr. Harris!” Marcus warned him.

Dwayne refused to listen. “Yeah, you thought I forgot about when you violated me, huh? I don’t forget shit! And I’m gon’ get your ass again, because you took me away from my daughter when you did that shit to me.” His threats continued as his face turned blood red.

Instead of entertaining his bullshit, I kept walking. Thank God Karen gave me the green light to get the hell out of there. As soon as I got back to my office, I made contact with everyone who was scheduled to see me today, grabbed my things, and left.

When I got inside my car, I pulled out my phone and called Seth to see where he was. He answered on the second ring.

“What’s good?” he asked.

“Where are you?”

“I’m on my way to your place. Why?”

“Just curious. So, how was your interview?”

“It was cool.”

“Did you get the job?”

“Yeah. I got it.”

“Well, at least somebody got some good news today,” I commented.

“Whatchu talking about? What happened?”

“After all the shit I’ve done for this office I was just told by my boss that I wasn’t gonna take her place when she left.”

“Who did they give it to?” Seth asked.

“They gave it to this bitch named Carolyn, and I know she’s gonna rub it in my face when she finds out.”

“Why would she do that?”

“Because for one, she knows she’s gonna be my boss. And not only that, she’s just a petty-ass bitch!”

“Don’t let that bullshit get to you. But didn’t I tell you them crackers didn’t give a fuck about you for real?”

Dreading the fact that I had to answer his question, I sighed and said, “Yes.”

“Where are you at right now?”

“Sitting in my car, why?”

“Where you getting ready to go?”

“I’m on my way home.”

“Good. Because we need to talk.”

“About what?”

“About this job shit!”

“What about it?”

“Maxine, I can’t get down with that company pimping me to work for them for eight-fifty an hour.”

“Seth, I understand all that. But, it’s a start, baby.”

“For who? Some ol’ lame-ass nigga who ain’t ever had nothing,” he struck back.

“Look, Seth, I am not trying to start an argument with you. I just simply wanted to make a point.”

“Yeah, I know whatchu was trying to do. But I ain’t in the mood for that right now.”

“Well, what are you in the mood for?”

“Some real money. And if I don’t get it sooner than later, I’m gonna lose my motherfucking mind.”

“I told you what we need to do.”

“You told me a lot of things.”

“I’m talking about opening up a business.”

He sighed. “What kind of business, Maxine?”

“I don’t know. Maybe a Laundromat or something.”

“Do you know how much that’s going to cost?”

“Yes.”

“How much?”

“Probably close to fifteen grand, if we can get some of the washers and dryers used.”

“And how much do you have?”

“I got six grand in my savings.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes. But I can get a loan from my bank for another ten grand, if I need to.”

“That’s cool and all, but what kind of nigga am I to let my woman put up all the dough for a business, when I can come up with my own?”

“Well, if you can come up with your part of the money, then how come you haven’t gotten it yet?”

“Because you won’t let me go out and do what I need to do.”

“I know you are not talking about going back into the streets!”

“I’m sorry, Ma, but that’s all a nigga like me know.”

“Look, I can’t talk about this right now.” My blood was boiling. “Stay at the house, I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

MAXINE

Love Conquers All

Seth was in the kitchen, sipping on a can of energy drink when I walked through the front door of my place. Before I could open my mouth, he rushed over to me and said, “What the hell happened to you?”

“This stupid-ass fool I used to have on my caseload ran up and headbutted me,” I replied while Seth examined my forehead.

“What, y’all had some words or something?”

“No, we didn’t.”

“So, what happened?”

“Well, when I was walking down the hallway, he was standing by the elevator in handcuffs with one of the U.S. Marshals. So, as I walked by them, I spoke to the marshal and then—out of nowhere—this guy leaps right at me and headbutts me.”

“What did the marshal do?”

“He grabbed the guy by the neck and slammed him down to the ground.”

“So, what’s going to happen now?”

“I filed assault charges against the asshole, so he’ll be thrown back in prison for about five more years.”

“Come sit down,” Seth urged me as he led me toward the kitchen table. “Did you put some ice on it already?”

“Yeah, my boss gave me an ice pack earlier.”

“Well, I think you might need some more because that thing is big,” he insisted, going to the refrigerator. He placed a couple of ice chips in a Ziploc bag, handed it to me, and sat down at the table next to me. “You know I’m mad about this shit, right?”

“Trust me. You’re not the only one, because I am furious right now.”

“What’s that nigga’s name? Because I am going to kill him!” Seth roared.

“Look, don’t get yourself all upset because there’s nothing you can do about it. He’s in federal custody, and he’s going to be there for at least five years.”

“You think I care about him being in their custody? Shit, I can get that nigga done at the drop of a hat if I want to.”

“Please stop talking like that,” I begged him. “I’m gonna handle it.”

“On some real shit, I ain’t trying to hear that! I want something done to that nigga.”

“Shit, I want something done to him myself. But, since I’m a federal probation officer and an officer of the court, I can’t do anything. We’re gonna have to let it go and let the system handle it. Anyway, we need to continue where we left off from our telephone conversation earlier.”

“It ain’t shit to really talk about, unless you gon’ let a nigga go back to the streets.”

Frustrated by his irrational thinking, I said, “I don’t know why you even went there. I am your probation officer.”

“Yeah, but you’re my woman first.”

“True. But how will I look letting you go back and hustle drugs?”

“What? Your conscience is going to have you feeling all fucked up inside because you supposed to be upholding the law?”

I was getting irritated. “Don’t go there, Seth.”

“It’s too late for that. That law shit went out the door when we started fucking with each other, so you can go ahead on with that bullshit.”

“It’s not the same.”

“How is it different?” He pressed the issue. “What’s the difference between fucking me and letting me go out into the streets to grind for a couple of weeks so I can scrap up some dough? You can get in trouble for both of them. And at this point in the game, you shouldn’t even want to be there after how they played you with that promotion by giving it to that other chick.”

“Oh trust me, I’m not gonna be there much longer.”

“Well, there you go. Now, we ain’t gon’ have nothing to worry about.”

“Seth, I’m sorry, but I can’t do it. That shit is illegal, and I’m not going to be involved in it.”

“But you’re not. I wouldn’t even bring the shit around you.”

“That’s not the point, Seth. Just knowing about it makes me responsible and I could lose my job. Better yet, I could get locked up right with you.”

“Fuck that job! I don’t want to hear nothing else about it. Those crackers don’t give a fuck about you. And yet, you’re around there hunting down motherfucker’s for them to lock up and getting your ass beat up in the process. You’re just a pawn in their eyes, and they ain’t gon’ ever give you a position over another cracker. I don’t care how smart you are. It just ain’t gon happen.”

“You’re probably right. But, I’m still not going to change my mind.”

Seth stood up from the chair and got down on his knees. “Please, baby, I know you’re against what I’m trying to do. But if you give me just a week out there on them bricks, I promise I’ll bring you all the dough I make so we can start up that business, and I won’t ever ask you to let me do it again.”

I shook my head. “I’m sorry, but—”

Before I could finish my sentence, Seth placed his finger against my lips. “Baby, all I need is one lick. That’s it! And just so you’ll feel better, the shit I’m trying to move ain’t nothing but a few pounds of weed.”

I hesitated for a bit. “And who are you supposed to be getting this weed from?”

“You don’t need to worry about all that. The less you know the better off you’ll be.”

“Well, where are you going to get the money to purchase that stuff?”

“I don’t need any money. I got a few peoples I can see.”

I sighed heavily. “Seth, I don’t know about that. You could really be getting into some major shit if you go back into those streets.”

“I got this, baby. Don’t worry about it,” he assured me as he started massaging my face.

“I still don’t know. I mean, what if those guys you’re talking about are being investigated, and you get caught right up in it?”

“Will you stop being so damn paranoid. Believe me, nobody is investigating them.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Look, let me tell you something,” he said in an aggravated way. “I could’ve gone back to the streets a long time ago. Niggas been trying to put me on since the day I came home. But I told them nah, ’cause I was trying to do shit a little different. And what’s so crazy about that is the road I’ve been trying to take ain’t been treating me right. So when those niggas approached me with the same proposition again, I’m like, ‘Damn, here’s my chance to get back on my feet.’ Plus, I figured I could help you out.”

“But I don’t need your help,” I interjected.