Troy
What a day! It was only Tuesday, and we were slammed with customers. Normally, Tuesdays are our slowest days, but since the weather has been bipolar lately, customers really needed their cars washed.
I was drying off a customer’s car, who was a regular named Tracy, when I noticed she was staring at me. I smiled at her and continued to work.
“So, Troy, are you still single, or have you finally settled down?”
I looked up and stopped wiping down her car. “Why do you want to know?”
She smiled. “Just curious. I have been noticing you lately, and just wanted to see if you would like to go out sometime.”
I gave her the once-over and nodded. I have been noticing her around lately, but I never tried to talk to her. Now, I probably should have.
“So, you were just coming here to talk to me and not to wash your car?”
She giggled. “Do you really think that?”
“I don’t know; you tell me.”
She smiled. “I did need a car wash, but it was mainly to talk to you.”
I put down my towel and held out my hand. Tracy gave me a seductive look as she reached into her purse to pull out her phone. After I put in my number into her contacts, I dialed it so I could have her number. My phone vibrated as I pulled it out of my pocket. I nodded again and she smiled.
“You better call me. It definitely will be worth your while,”
“I’m sure it will be.”
I watched as she walked in front of me to get into her car. I stared at her ass as she bent down to reach for her sunglasses from the side door before getting inside. I looked over to not only see Reece near the exit with a disgusted look, but also my ex- girlfriend, Kari, coming to me. Kari had only worked for the company for a month, but we instantly clicked when she was here. We continued the relationship after she left, which only led to issues between us, mainly because she’s a female version of me.
We have been on and off for two years, and we’ll stay in touch when we have the urge to mess around, but there’s an issue that I have with her. She wants to play the field, but she also wants a relationship with me. I may play around, but I don’t get involved in relationships knowing I’ll still talk to other women. I can’t do that to someone, especially when I know there will be feelings involved.
Kari came over to me as I slowly rubbed the back of my neck. I really didn’t want to speak to her right now. It’s too busy for me to be talking to anyone.
“I see you’re busy.”
“Yeah, I am; so, what do you want?”
Kari smiled. “Is that the way to talk to your ex-girlfriend? Or should I say, your go-to sex buddy?”
“Kari, I really don’t have time to talk to you.”
“I’m sure, but you had time to talk to that random chick who you gave your number to. You will never change, Troy.”
“Maybe because she’s not looking for any type of shit, like you do, Kari.”
“Oh, so you think I only talk to you when I want something?”
“Ding, ding, ding, you answered correctly, Kari. Either you want my help with something, money, or my dick. Which one is it?”
Kari laughed. “You’re so funny, Troy. I was actually looking for a job. I just got laid off.”
“Again? That was the third job you’ve had in three months. Are you doing this shit on purpose?”
Kari rolled her eyes. “No, I’m not. It just wasn’t for me, that’s all.”
“So you’re expecting for me to hire you back? You remember the last time you worked here? You purposely put that woman’s car in neutral and it went out onto the street just because she was talking to me.”
“She also had an attitude with me.”
“We just finished paying off her car, Kari.”
“I know you were mad at me, but you still find a way to get into my bed, right?”
I stared at her as she took a deep breath. “Listen, I know I have done some stupid stuff, and I feel bad about it, but I’m trying to turn my life around. I really want to, and I was hoping it would start with you.”
“How is that?”
“I was hoping that we could give things another try.”
I shook my head. “I don’t have time for this,”
Kari grabbed my arm as she turned me to her. “Make time, Troy. I really need to get this off of my chest. I realized that I miss being around you and that maybe we should have tried to pursue something.”
“Pursued what? You wanted to be with me and every fucking guy in Houston! Hell, you fucked Antonio while you were with me!”
I looked over to see a few employees as well as customers looking at us. I even saw Reece shaking her head at me. I had to admit, this was pretty embarrassing. When Kari and I were together, she did end up sleeping with not just me, but also another manager. That affair was something I didn’t know about until Antonio confronted me in the detail area. After I kicked his ass, I told Enrique that Antonio couldn’t work there anymore and that’s how Jamarcus was hired on.
“Don’t get upset with me when you were doing the same thing! I knew you never wanted to be committed to anyone, that’s why I decided to do what I wanted to do. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t want something more between us. I always have; you just didn’t want to let go of your demons.”
“We’ll talk about this later, okay. I have a job to do.” I said and walked away from her.
Reece was still standing by the door with a curious look on her face as I entered.
“Aren’t you suppose to be working?”
“Nena is here; besides, Vanessa said I needed to know every aspect of the business, so that’s why I’m observing everything.”
“And why is that?” I asked. Why would she need to know anything outside? Her job is to be inside doing the legwork.
“Ask Vanessa.”
“Maybe I will. But, if you do, then I could show you what everyone does in each department.”
“You don’t have to right now. I can see you’re sort of upset.”
I took a deep breath. “I’m not upset; just a bit irritated.”
“With the girl you were talking to. She’s another one of your groupies?”
I scoffed. “What’s with the groupie shit?”
“Because you have a reputation for being a hoe. Just admit it.”
“I’m just living my life.”
“If you call sleeping around with multiple women without any remorse a great thing, then you need to get your priorities straight.”
“I don’t need to hear a lecture from you.”
“I’m not giving you one, but as the office manager, that’s not a good look that you’re giving your number to customers and arguing with your ex in front of your employees and other customers. Remember, you’re suppose to be setting an example as a leader. Act like it.”
I stared at Reece as she took a long-winded sigh. “I don’t know what you have gone through in your life, but just don’t bring it to work. You should leave all of that as soon as you walk through those double doors every morning. I’m sure employees will develop some respect for you if you do.”
“You’re saying they don’t?”
Reece tilted her head. “From what I’ve seen in the short time I’ve been here, not really. I have even seen two employees tonguing each other down in the back of the tunnel.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
She gave me a crazed look. “I’m sure you have done that a time or two.”
We stood side by side as we surveyed the area. I folded my arms across my chest feeling frustrated. “One of the things I tried not to do was to make my personal business public. I tried to keep everything separated, but shit got out of control. I don’t want this store or the company to be known for personal drama.”
She stared at me. “And it doesn’t have to be.”
“We have received complaints about some of our services and the added shit that customers have been seeing around here. But it hasn’t really impacted our business. I think it actually made sales double. I guess they come here for a great wash and a side of drama.”
“That’s why Nessa hired me to do damage control. Part of my degree is in public relations, so I know how to handle scandal.”
I looked at her and she smiled. “Let’s do a party. We can have different activities for kids, possibly free car washes for the first 50 customers, food, music, what have you.”
“I don’t know about the free washes,”
“We can do it if customers purchase other services. You’ll get your revenue back and possibly more.”
“You can do it if Vanessa and Mark agree to it.”
Reece smiled. “Of course they will. This will not only help the store reach out to the community, but it also can be a great way to gain exposure. It’s a win-win.”
“Let’s hope your idea works.”
She nodded. “Let’s hope. Oh and one more thing.”
I glanced at her as she came closer to me. She stared into my eyes as a shiver went through her.
“What’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “I just had a chill,”
“It’s 95 degrees outside,”
She shrugged. “Anyway, I need for you to promise me something.”
“Okay, what?”
“You can’t date anymore employees or even customers. If you want this place to turn around, then that’s one of the biggest areas that you need to work on.”
I glanced at her as if she had lost her mind. “But corporate said we can.”
“But no one is making their relationships public; you are with your hoeism.”
“Hoeism? Is that even a word?”
“I made that up, but it describes you perfectly. All I’m asking is to keep your personal business personal. Don’t display what you’re doing to give people a reason to talk. Let them talk about how great you are as a manager, not as some man who loves to date his employees.”
“What about any other employees that are dating?”
“They can still date, but no one has to know. I’m just doing what I can to help this location, that’s all.”
I nodded. “Okay,”
“I’m glad that you agree. In other words, you can’t be having disagreements in front of customers. So, your little ex can’t come here trying to start a fight. Let her get a wash, and that’s all. If she’s even attempting to start shit, tell her to go.”
“I’m fine with that. I never wanted to talk to her anyway.”
She shook her head again. “Wow, you really are something else,”
I stepped closer to her as she gave me a stern look. I stared at her lips as she took a deep breath.
“Do I make you nervous?”
“Why would you think that?”
“Because of the way you’re looking at me. You don’t know whether to back away from me or kiss me.”
Reece stepped closer to me and her lips were inches from mine. She looked into my eyes, giving me one of the sexiest looks I’ve ever seen from a woman.
“You want me to kiss you, do you?”
I gave her the once over as she smiled. “That’s not going to happen. It’s never going to happen, Troy, so get it out of your head, okay.” Reece lightly patted my chest as she turned around and went inside. I watched her walk off, wishing she hadn’t just do that. Now, I’m feeling some type of way.
Shaking my head, I remembered that I needed to get some work done.
***
After a long day at work, I received a text from Mark asking if I could come to Lucinda’s for an impromptu meeting. Going out really wasn’t on my agenda. All I wanted was to go home and take a shower and go to sleep; but he is my boss, so I didn’t have a choice.
I went home and quickly showered, threw on a light blue Polo and khaki shorts and headed out. Once I got to the restaurant, I noticed Jamarcus’ car, as well as Dominic from the Harrison store’s car parked at the front.
Upon entering the restaurant, the first thing that caught my attention was that the place was packed. I have to give it to Mark; he’s doing well for himself with two businesses. I wanted to talk to him to see if he would eventually sell the Richmond location because I would be interested in owning it. There was money saved in case Mark and Vanessa decide to sell. Being a business owner is something that I hadn’t thought about doing at first, but now that I’ve been in the business for a while , it seems like a great opportunity.
After talking to the hostess, she led me to a private room at the back of the restaurant where all three men were seated. I greeted everyone as I sat down beside Jamarcus.
“Hey, everyone. Thank you all for coming. Before we start, I did order everyone some asopao, and for the main dish, carne frita con cebolla.”
“Damn, you read my mind. I’ve been wanting some beefsteak.” I said as I rubbed my hands together. Although I’m Hispanic, I love to eat Puerto Rican food when I can. Since Mark owns a Puerto Rican restaurant, it’s pretty much a given that I can get any dish I want.
“That’s our dish for tonight. Hopefully you all enjoy.”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t we? The food is good.” Dominic said as he grabbed some tostones from the center of the table.
“I guess you all are wondering why I asked you here.”
“I definitely am. I was planning on going to sleep early.” Jamarcus said as he took his bowl of aspaso.
Mark smirked. “You always make my day, Jamarcus.”
“Glad to be of service.”
Mark chuckled as he looked at us. “Anyway, I called this meeting because Vanessa and I have been discussing the future of the company. We want to be able to become a franchise and have multiple locations throughout the state of Texas. That’s something my dad never wanted to do, but I see it as a bigger opportunity, not just to provide jobs, but also for other cities to see how awesome this company is.
“With that being said, we are moving forward with the new franchise in Dallas. We have closed the deal with the development company that will be building the location. This means that Vanessa and I will be going back and forth to Dallas to oversee the development starting next month. When we do travel, we’re going to need your help to keep the locations going. We might even need you to go to Dallas when we can’t to see how things are going.”
I stared at Mark, realizing what this meant. More than likely, he and Vanessa wont be able to handle all of these locations, and they could want to sell. Whether it’s the Richmond store or Dallas, I’d be willing to take whichever store so I could call it my own.
“Whatever you need, Mark, we will be all there to help you out. But what about Albert and David? Shouldn’t they be apart of this too?” I asked. Albert and David are the managers for the Overton and corporate locations.
“Honestly, I think you three are more than capable of helping out. I trust you three to get the job done, because you know everything about the business. David and Albert are still learning.”
“I agree with Troy. We’ll be there to help out. You have been more than wonderful with us, especially after you took over for your dad, so we’ll do our part to support you.” Dominic said.
“I agree,” Jamarcus said.
“Thank you, guys. I really appreciate it. Now that’s been discussed, let’s eat.” Mark said.
As we all started eating, Mark stared at me as I gave him a confused look. “What’s wrong?”
Mark put down his bottle of beer. “I’m not talking as your boss now, I’m talking as your friend. Are you trying to get with Reece?”
I put down my beer bottle to stare at Mark. “Why do you think I’m trying to get with Reece?”
“Because I know you. Every woman that has come through your store you have tried to get with.”
“Except for Nena. She wasn’t going for his tired lines.” Jamarcus said while laughing. I threw my napkin at him as he started laughing even louder.
“Listen, I know my cousin, Troy, so if you’re trying to get with her, just know your limits. You’re only looking for your next fling; she probably is too, but just know what you’re doing, okay.”
I leaned back in my seat while never removing my gaze from Mark. I don’t know why he’s giving me advice on Reece. She has made it clear that she doesn’t want anything to do with me, so I’m just going to leave it at that. Besides, I think I might give Tracy a call. I might as well put her number to use.
“What I want to know is why was crazy Kari at the store today?” Jamarcus asked.
“Kari? Wasn’t she fired?” Mark asked.
“She came to ask for her job back. I couldn’t give it to her. She was a problem at the store, so I can’t allow her to come back and cause more problems.”
“At least you know she was a problem.” Mark said.
“I know. Anyway, Reece wants to run an idea by you and Vanessa that could bring an improved reputation to the store,”
“Oh, the party idea. Yeah, she told Vanessa. It’s actually a good idea. I told her to do it. Whatever she needs we’ll provide it.”
“Thank you. I think this will be a great way to connect with the community. But you agreed with the washes?”
“After Reece gave her points, of course we agreed. Some customers that will only do washes, but there will be some that will want to do more since they’re saving a bit of money. I think we need to have a ticket system so there won’t be any chaos.”
“I completely agree.”
“I want for you to help out with the planning. Reece is going to need it.”
“Of course,” I mumbled.
“I also think this is a good idea. Your location needs it since there’s always some shit happening.” Dominic said.
“Do you remembered the events that were happening at your store, Dominic? Remember your wife and Cecila?” I asked with a smirk. Dominic wasn’t exactly the perfect manager as he has his brush with cheating with multiple employees. There was even an altercation with his wife and an employee, Cecila. The fight led Cecila to the hospital.
“Whatever, Troy.”
“Anyway, the event is mainly to show the community that we’re not some place that people can go to see the latest altercation. We need to show people that we are a professional establishment and we care about our customers.”
“Thank Reece for coming up with this. I think she’ll do a great job with it.” Mark said.
I nodded, figuring I had to agree with Mark, but I didn’t want to work with Reece on this. She’s the office manager, so she should be able to handle it.