Street Fame by K. Elliott

ridiculous,” Twin said.
JoJo stood. He avoided eye contact with Tommy.
“So what do you think we should do?” Twin asked.
“Let’s call Manny’s brother and see what he knows about this shit.”
Tommy called Hector.
Hector answered on the first ring. “Tommy, I’m glad you called. I lost my cell phone and I didn’t have your number. Are you still in Miami?”
“No, I left yesterday.”
“Sorry, man, for all the confusion.”
“Yeah. I met a guy named Juan. He said he was Manny’s cousin.”
“Stay away from that guy. He’s no good.”
“It’s too late. We’ve already dealt with him. He sold us sheetrock.”
“Oh no. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah, me too. We lost a hundred and sixty big ones in the deal.”
“Come see me, Tommy. We’ll make it up.”
“I damn sure need it.”
“Hey, listen, man. My brother told me to take care of you, and that’s what I’m going to do. We will talk further when you get down here.”
Tommy terminated the call.
“So what is Hector saying?” JoJo asked.
“He said that Juan is no good, and he is going to make it up to us.”
“Cool. I feel a little better now.”
Twin looked at Tommy. “So, basically, that guy Juan beat us out of our money, right?”
“That’s what it seems like,” Tommy said.
Silence. For a minute, Tommy thought about the hundred thousand dollars he’d lost. He thought about what he could have done with the money. He could have bought a house with the money, property that he would have had for years to come. Instead, he’d gambled the money away. “We’re going to make it through this,” he finally said.
“That’s easy for you to say,” JoJo said. “You still got plenty of money in your stash. I’m low, man.”
Tommy extended his hand to JoJo. “What’s mine is yours.”
JoJo shook his hand, thinking of Nia. “And what’s mine is yours.”
*****
    Jennifer showed up at Mark’s office at 8:00 a.m. She looked very tired and exhausted. She had a black eye as if she’d been in a fight.
Mark smiled when he saw her.
She frowned and asked for some coffee.
“Decaff or caffeine, sweetie?”
“Give me the strong stuff … two sugars, no cream.”
He left the office, made it to the lounge area, and made two cups of coffee.
When he returned, Jennifer had her head between her legs, crying.
“What’s wrong?”
“Twin beat me last night.”
“I was going to ask about your eye, but I didn’t want to seem too nosey. So what did he hit your for?” He handed her the coffee.
“I don’t know. He told me he’d lost thirty thousand dollars in some drug deal in Miami, and he just was kind of acting funny for the rest of the evening.”
“And he hit you for that?”
Jennifer looked away. She stirred her coffee, only glancing at Mark every once in a while.
Mark walked over and put his hand on her face. She looked up at him. She looked like a little girl, helpless and innocent. He no longer saw that rough exterior that came from her street experience. “Jennifer, why didn’t you call the police?”
“I couldn’t call the cops on him. He would kick me out, and I wouldn’t have anywhere to go.”
“You make your own money; you can get your own place.”
She turned away. “You just don’t understand.”
“You love him, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
Mark walked to the other side of the office. He opened the blinds and looked outside, contemplating.
Jennifer stood and said, “I have to be going.” She headed toward the door.
“Wait,” Mark said.
She turned and faced him.
He looked at the bruises on her neck and face. He couldn’t believe what had happened to Jennifer.
“So what are you going to do when Twin goes to jail? You know he’s going. It’s just a matter of time before we build a case strong enough to indict him.”
Jennifer started crying. Her mascara ran, and she no longer looked like the glamorous beauty queen that kept all the men mesmerized.
Mark grabbed her face again. “Don’t cry. Please don’t cry. I hate to see