The Dopeman's Wife: Part I of the Dopeman Trilogy by JaQuavis Coleman Page B

car, but she didn’t know if he knew about the caper, so she held her cards.
    “Come on into the palace.” Silk stepped out of the car and hurried around to open the door for Nautica. He was still awed by her beauty. She was by far the most beautiful girl he ever had on his roster. This bitch gon’ make me rich . He closed the door and then smacked Nautica on the ass.
    As he led her up to his front door, his cell phone began to ring. He placed the phone in between his shoulder and ear, so that he could have free hands to open the door. “Speak,” he said.
    Nautica tried to listen close, wondering if it was Sweetie on the other end.
    Silk opened the door and let Nautica in. He flicked on the light and displayed his living room. The red carpet resembled a showroom floor at the MGM Grand Casino, and the lava lamps and red furniture only added insult to injury.
    Silk smiled proudly as he listened closely to the person on the other end of the phone. He smacked Nautica once again on her behind. He held up one finger to signal that he would be off the phone shortly.
    Nautica slowly walked in and sat on the couch.
    Silk faded into the back of the house. He shouted into the phone, “Bitch, you ain’t checked in in twenty-four hours! Sweetie, you betta bring that ass home!” He held the phone close to his mouth as if it was a walkie-talkie.
    Nautica’s eyes lit up at the sound of Sweetie’s name. She stood up and walked by the hallway that led to the room where Silk had gone. She wanted to hear what he was saying.
    “Look, bitch, I don’t care what lick you came up on. You betta have yo’ ass home in thirty minutes, or I’ma beat yo’ ass when I catch you! Try me!”
    Nautica heard the click from him flipping down his cell phone and quickly returned to her seat. Silk appeared just as she sat down.
    “Sorry about that, but you know how the game go. Bitches ain’t got no ‘act-right’ these days, feel me?” He sat on the couch next to Nautica.
    Nautica inched away from him when she smelled his cheap cologne. “It’s cool. You have other workers?” She wanted to find out more about Sweetie.
    “Well, I just have one bitch right now, but with you on the team, the sky is the limit, feel me?”
    Nautica realized where Sweetie got the habit of saying, “Feel me,” after every statement.
    Silk grabbed both of Nautica’s hands and looked into her eyes. She couldn’t stand the look in his eyes. His eyes partially stuck out of his eye sockets, making him almost resemble a Simpson.
    “Look, Butter, you are in safe hands now, and any and everything you know about the ho business, you need to forget. I’ma teach you how to work a john out until he is completely bone-dry. See, my girls send their johns home back to the wife broke and full of hope, hoping that their wife can do what one of my girls had just done to them. See, most chicks look at the bulge in the middle of a man’s pants to see what they’re packing. But, see, my girls are taught to look in the bulge on the side of their pants, their money bulge, feel me? That’s how you got to think. Every man is a potential cash cow and victim. Are you catching all of this?”
    Nautica nodded her head. She was just waiting for Sweetie to show up. This dude is a clown. I know this isn’t what he called game. He needs to find another profession, straight up. Where is this bitch at?
    “I see you a quiet one, huh?” Silk looked at Nautica’s body with the bedroom eyes. He threw his arm around her and slowly stroked her shoulder. He was hot and ready to try out his own product before putting it out on the street.
    Nautica knew she had to hold him off until Sweetie got there. I know this greasy-ass nigga better take his hands off of me. Sweetie need to bring her ass on, so I can pistol whip that thieving ass . He can get it too if he tries to jump in. She put on a fake smile and ran her fingers through her hair.
    Silk slid his hand down to her breasts, and she despised