Deceit, Lies, & Alibi's Trilogy Books 1-3 Page 2
Many businesses in urban areas such as North Philly, were ran down and un-kept. She felt poor people deserved decent, clean businesses in their neighborhood just like anyone else. So far, the hard work had paid off and their laundromats were extremely successful, bringing them in a net profit of around $40 thousand per month before expenses.
She hoped to soon convince Noah to open up additional locations in Baltimore. The goal was to capitalize off the urban market by expanding in the inner city. She wanted to be like George and Weezie.
With Shaleea proving her business skills and intelligence, Noah no longer hesitated to hand her his bank card or give her a blank check. In time, she no longer needed his cash to grow; she had her own, along with joint credit cards, and bank accounts.
Shaleea was the brains in the relationship. She had a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and was on her way to obtaining an MBA from Temple University. Noah was the muscle and the money, not necessarily earning his small fortune, but taking it through brute force through a small team he and Hakim founded called Torch Boyz.
In the past, Noah didn’t discriminate. He started off robbing people as well as small establishments. He eventually moved on to more lucrative capers such as check cashing places, and ultimately bank ATM’s. Noah liked to describe himself as peaceful during his dirty deeds. However, in the event that anyone decided to be a tough guy, he would quickly show them he was in charge. He did his best to avoid hurting innocent people, however, that was sometimes inevitable, especially if there was any threat posed against him or his well-being.
Noah and Hakim robbed for many years. As time went on they focused on the quality and not the quantity, targeting ATM’s in various cities throughout the country that were known to hold up to a hundred thousand dollars at once. Over time, several ATM’s in a night quickly put the pair where they wanted to be financially.
Those days however, were in the past. No longer wild and reckless, Noah was now a businessman who hoped to grow his businesses and expand his portfolio to soon include real estate. He was extremely stable financially and had a decent amount of “old” money he wanted to invest. He was in love with Shaleea and ready to fully settle down and make her his wife. He also longed for a family and hoped he would eventually achieve that with Shaleea and Heaven.
Noah had lost his mother and father to the streets when he was seven years old. His dad Boogie had been a well-known jack boy in the city. He was known to do whatever necessary to take care of his baby boy and baby-mama. He also had a reputation as being merciless and deadly. However, after years of providing for his family by taking from others, he eventually found himself on the opposite end of the gun.
Boogie and his girl Pam, Noah’s mother, were brutally gunned down in their home late one cold, December night. Police never made any arrests. However, word on the street was someone killed him out of revenge.
After Noah lost his parents he found himself in and out of foster homes longing for a stable family. He sincerely appreciated Shaleea and Heaven because of the stability they gave him. He felt God gave them to him so he could be whole again; and he did indeed feel whole.
<><><>
Shaleea had met Noah seven years back in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. She had just purchased a seafood platter from the Velvet Lounge, and was walking back to her car on Chelten Avenue. Her deep Hershey colored skin, along with her shapely figure is what caught Noah’s eye as she walked to her small Honda civic parked up the street.
Shaleea had hips that literally stuck out on her voluptuous frame and complemented her heart shaped bottom. Noah was in awe since he’d always been a sucker for a nice body. When he approached her she seemed a bit hesitant to converse with the handsome stranger who stood before her, however his charm eventually put her at ease.
At 6 foot 1, Noah towered over Shaleea’s 5 foot 4 curvy stature. He was boy next door handsome with big round eyes that were mysterious and hinted at a dark past. He wore a sharp, low cut Caesar hairstyle, and a full beard around a mouth that revealed a row of shiny white teeth. He had a caramel complexion and a boyish grin that mesmerized and captivated her. She was intrigued by the stranger.
After introducing themselves to one another the two immediately hit it off, standing on the sidewalk talking for almost an hour. They eventually exchanged numbers, with her watching him walk off.
She noticed he was walking as she drove off so she assumed he didn’t have a car and used public transportation. In actuality, his car was parked several blocks away and he was simply walking to reach it. Although she didn’t know this, she was never bothered by the fact of him using public transportation. She was far from superficial and shallow, having been taught as a child that materials didn’t define the man.
Her father was a hardworking man who didn’t have a lot of money. However, he had a lot of love in his heart and he was a provider. Shaleea felt that if she could find a good man with a good heart, that’s all she would need in this world. Her mother had taught her that behind every good man is a good woman; security and stability would come along with it if they worked together as a team. She didn’t mind working and doing her part.
Her mother had worked in nursing as long as Shaleea could remember. She was a strong woman who never received welfare. She stood on her own, and made sure she instilled those values in her four girls. “No man wants a lazy dumb woman,” her mother would tell them. “A beautiful hard working woman is valuable to a man.”
Unfortunately Shaleea’s father Tate didn’t realize that in the beginning. While he was a good provider, he was a dog who liked to often stray away from home. When Shaleea’s mom Gina found out, she left him. She stood on her own since then, never asking him for anything except to take care of his daughters. Luckily for Gina, she was still young and later found a good man named Chris who drove trucks for a living and earned a respectable salary.
To Shaleea, Gina and Chris embodied the American dream of love and success. They weren’t rich but they were stable and financially secure; that’s the only thing Shaleea wanted.
FOUR
Eve
Eve stepped out of the shower and wrapped a dark blue towel around her wet, freshly scrubbed skin. She entered the living room and found her best friend Bianca still sleeping on the flower patterned couch.
“Bianca! Beatch, get up. We need to be there early if we wanna get in. This shit gon be dumb live, and ya ass still sleep. Ugh! Gettt uppp,” Eve exclaimed, in her still prevalent Haitian accent.
Walking off into Bianca’s small bedroom, she became frustrated with her. She was always late to everything, sometimes causing them to be unable to get into major events. One thing for sure, if that bitch don’t get up, she gon get left, Eve thought. This party was gon be poppin.
It was Hakim’s birthday party. They had grown up together as children on the same block in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. He later moved away with his mom to Philly but still came back often to visit. It was his home.
Although Hakim had been gone for years, rumor was he was getting money in Philly. Nobody knew how he got his money, they just knew he got it. Probably through the drug game of course, she thought. These dummies don’t know any other way.
It was sure to be some heavy hitters in the party tonight, and Eve wasn’t going to miss out on this event, even if it meant attending solo and leaving Bianca’s black ass home. Nobody was going to ruin her chances of possibly taking home a baller.
An hour passed and Bianca had finally gotten up and was getting dressed. Eve sat on the edge of the couch fuming.
“Ugh,” she sighed loudly. “Would you hurry up? It’s already 11:15. It takes 20 minutes to get there depending on traffic, and we still haven’t called a cab.”
“Girl, stop bitchin. We gon get in,” Bianca responded, nonchalantly. “Don’t nobody wanna be up in there early anyway. It just started at 11. People prolly just getting out there. Go ahead and call the cab now. I’m done. I just gotta put on some lip gloss.”
“Good,” Eve grumbled.
She hopped off the couch and went back into Bianca’s messy room to get her phone to dial the taxi. After making the call, she opened the jam packed closet and stood in front of the full length mirror that was attached to the door and admired her look.
Her makeup lay flawless on her ebony skin, and her white, round neck Calvin Klein dress suffocated her curves. She added a little more black eyeliner on her small cat-like eyes, being careful not to get any residue on her dress. She had gone all out for this party, abandoning her normal revealing hooker-like attire.
Eve wore a lot of makeup to soften up her sometimes hard look. Although her face wore the exhaustion of a hard life, her body showed the opposite. Eve stood at 5’6, 155 pounds. She had a tight curvy body and a full set of luscious lips. She wasn’t ugly, but she wasn’t exactly gorgeous either. Her slanted eyes housed dark circles around them, however, one could never tell because of the expensive MAC concealer she carefully applied underneath them. And although she sometimes appeared masculine, she still had an exotic look about her because of her voluptuous body, Haitian heritage, and of course her careful application of makeup.
The cab came quickly and the ladies arrived at the party in 25 minutes flat. The party was being thrown at an up and coming club called Spazums. Spazums was nestled on an unsuspecting block in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. Hakim and his friend Niko, who was hosting the party, wanted to keep it hood and support the community business in his old neighborhood. It wasn’t a good area so security would be tight. Besides, there was no telling how many killers would be in the building.
Not surprisingly the line was incredibly long, which caused Eve to shoot Bianca a dirty look. Bianca responded by giving her a look of reassurance that everything would be fine and they would surely get in. After waiting in line for 15 minutes, the burly, black as tar bouncer who was manning the door, announced that the club was at capacity and no one else would be allowed in. Eve immediately became angry, hurling obscenities at Bianca.
While Eve was her friend, Bianca was from the streets and she wouldn’t stand for Eve talking to her in a derogatory manner, especially in public. She made a mental note to thoroughly check her when they got back to her apartment.
“Hold the fuck up Eve!” Bianca growled, after Eve’s ranting began to push her buttons. “If you lower ya fuckin voice and stop screaming I could tell you I have a plan.” Eve was really pushing her.
“What fuckin plan bitch! We out here in the cold, and I just spent over $300 on my hair and nails to look fly for this fuckin party. Are you gon give me my fuckin money back?” Eve asked sarcastically, while rolling her eyes.
“First of all bitch, I ain’t giving you shit!” Bianca replied, matching her tone.
“Calm the fuck down and lower ya tone when you talkin to me. I fucks wit you but I won’t tolerate that disrespectful shit from neither friend nor foe. Shit happens, but I have a way to get in.”
Unbeknownst to Eve, Bianca had been fuckin Hakim on-and-off for a couple months when he came to New York for business. It wasn’t anything serious, but she was sure if she could get him on the phone he would make sure they got in the club. After all, it was his party and he was the man of the hour.
FIVE
Noah
Noah struggled his way through the crowded first floor of Club Spazums. Everywhere he turned there were half naked women thirsty for his attention. He was a new face in Brownsville that all the hood-rats and gold-diggers wanted to know more about. Noah’s presence exuded masculinity and street. It also didn’t hurt that he looked like brand new money when he pulled up to the crowded club in a rented 2014 Mercedes Benz GL550, so that Hakim could make his grand entrance.
Noah didn’t like a lot of attention so he stayed in the car while Hakim made his way up to the door. He watched as old friends greeted him and females hugged him, wishing him a happy birthday. Noah wasn’t a flamboyant type like his friend Hakim. They actually were complete opposites. Hakim was more of a loud, cocky, “in ya face” type who always talked about what he had. He was flashy like most niggas from New York.
Noah however, was more reserved and laid back. He didn’t like to brag because he didn’t want niggas to know about shit he had. Give a nigga too much information and he’ll use that to his advantage to try to run up and take what you have; there was no way a nigga was takin shit of his, so he kept his mouth shut and moved cautiously.
Hakim was already roasted off multiple blunts and bottles of Moet, when Noah stepped off from his side to make his way to the clubs’ entrance. Noah didn’t know the chicks he was going to meet, he just knew the club was at capacity and they were having trouble entering. So that Hakim could continue enjoying the rest of the party, Noah offered to go downstairs and get them in. Continuing to ignore the hungry stares of the female vultures in the club, he made his way to the front door.
After greeting the bouncer, Noah had him summons the two girls into the club. He wasn’t impressed but introduced himself anyway. Hakim’s lady friend Bianca was the prettier one, with pecan colored skin, big bright eyes, and shoulder length hair. She had a small pouty mouth that was covered with shiny pink lip gloss. She reminded him of a baby doll, however, he wasn’t fooled by the look of innocence. She had sack-chaser written all over her. He also wasn’t impressed by her frame either. She was too slim for his taste, with large tits and no ass. She was well put together though, and he could see why Hakim fucked with her.
Hakim was extremely shallow. If you weren’t a real pretty bitch he wouldn’t fuck with you. Noah however, was more into body and brains. A bitch could be average looking but if she had a body he was the man for her. Well, the man that would fuck her anyway. It took brains for him to wife a chick.
Bianca’s friend Eve on the other hand, was a brick-house. She wasn’t gorgeous but she had sex appeal. He loved her chocolate complexion and she had an ass you could sit a cup on.
He noticed Eve staring at him so he smiled at her. How convenient, he thought to himself. He could tell she would happily comply if he came at her; and he planned to later. Now wasn’t the right time. He told himself that after the club she would be the one he took back to his hotel room for the night.
The party lasted until around five a.m. The night had been drama free and went well, with everyone dancing and drinks flowing. The four had laughed and partied hard together, with Noah and Eve making chit chat in the VIP section for a little while. Eve had become extremely attracted to Noah as they spoke. He looked good and smelled like money. He also seemed caring, and appeared attentive. He didn’t brag and asked questions about her, seeming genuinely interested.
She told him she danced to make ends meet but couldn’t see herself doing it much longer, explaining how she wanted to one day open some type of business. He smiled and listened, although he didn’t believe a word she said.
Naturally, Noah was cautious when it came to anyone he met. He felt that most females, especially ones like her, had ulterior motives. He had just met her, so naturally he had judged her based on her appearance and conversation. He knew she was probably a gold-digging whore, but he didn’t care; he just wanted to fuck. She seemed too eager; almost thirsty. Even though he knew she wasn’t genuine, he still wasn’t rude; that wasn’t his character. He was still kind to her, and still treated her with the respect he knew she probably didn’t deserve.
<><><>
Noah and Hakim were staying at The Plaza Hotel in the Central Park section of Manhattan. Pussy was on the minds of the two men as they pulled up to the $1,000 a night suite. It was five-thirty, and they were faded. When they walked into the spacious, luxurious suite Noah and Hakim had booked, Noah noticed the subtle, but wide eyed look Bianca and Eve gave one another. Noah almost laughed out loud. They knew what time it was, and so did he.
Hakim always fucked with sack-chasing hood-rats. Eve had tried to spit game like she wasn’t that type of chick when they were conversing in the club, however h
e knew the game, and could see right through her while she lied through her pretty little teeth. He didn’t care though. He was fucking tonight, and it wasn’t like the popcorn hoe was going to become a permanent fixture in his life.
Yolo, he thought, before he plopped down on the plush couch and pulled his pre-rolled blunt from a cigar case he kept in his pocket. Noah wasn’t worried about a thing. He had the rest of the night figured out. He was going to bless his lungs, Eve was going to bless his dick, and then he would rest up in the king size bed so he would have enough energy in the afternoon to get back home to his girl. It couldn’t get any better than that.
SIX
Eve
The guys had told Eve and Bianca to make themselves comfortable in the large two bedroom suite, so they excused themselves to freshen up. When the ladies went in the bathroom, Eve immediately bombarded Bianca with questions.
“Bitch you didn’t tell me that you fucked with Hakim, and you damn sure didn’t tell me he had a fine ass, paid ass friend. Who the fuck is that nigga and what’s up with him?” she blurted out, without taking a breath.
Bianca laughed since she knew Eve was about the almighty dollar. “Girl slow down. That’s Noah and he from Philly.”
“Yeah I know that much Bianca,” Eve replied annoyed. She wanted Bianca to cut to the chase and tell her what type of cash the nigga was working with.
“What the fuck does he do?” Eve asked, cutting Bianca off before she could utter another word.
Bianca rolled her eyes, and continued, “Hakim say he own a couple of laundromat’s and used to get money doin some other shit. He wouldn’t tell me what, but I know the nigga paid. He wifed up with some bitch tho; college bitch that got degrees and runnin his businesses. Hakim said he really love her and they been together for a long time. They engaged,” she added. She didn’t want her friend becoming head over heels for a nigga who was practically married. If she did, she would be doomed from the start.