Interviews and Apologies

"You still not talking to me?"

My question is answered by a middle finger being waved around in my face.

'Why does everybody do that to me?'

"Aw c'mon! I said I was sorry! I don't understand why you're making this into such a big deal."

"You can't be fucking serious right now."

He cocks his head and gives me the, 'You're such a fucking moron' look.

"You act like she doesn't matter to you and talk about her like she's not even a person. I have no idea why she lets you treat her that way...She still comes around when you need her and tries to help us out, so the least you can do is apologize."

"Look, I know that what I said the other day was way outta pocket-"

"Damn straight!"

"...But you've gotta understand that sleeping with her was a mistake! I was so sad and lonely for so long and she came in and I just...I just couldn't hold back anymore."

I sit down on one of the bar stools and rest my head on the counter. "I'm not saying that I don't care about her, I do..."

"But?"

I sigh, "But I'm just not right for her. We're business partners and trying to pursue her wouldn't be a logical thing to do, not to mention her brother is still on my ass about having her stay here for so long."

He takes a seat beside me, "But you're more than willing to fuck some chick you just met today?"

"I don't wanna 'fuck her'. It's different when I'm with her..."

"Different how? How is sleeping with Yoyo's friend, who's also a business partner, any different than what you're doing her Lina?!"

"Because she's not a partner!"

There's an awkward silence between us.

"Whadda mean?"

"Look, Lina is smart. She knows shit that I don't and if we keep up whatever this is, I'll be sure to lose her and all kinds of valuable information on Kaz."

He squints his eyes and stares at me for a long while, "Hm, I don't believe you for a second but if that's the only excuse you can think of right now..."

"It's not an excuse, and besides, I've got somewhere to be."

"Huh? Where you going?"

"To pick up Dee."

"Get Dee? For what?"

"I want her as my new IT tech. I mentioned it to you earlier but you were too busy shoving your long ass finger in my face to listen."

"Hey! My fingers aren't long."

I shrug on my jacket and grab my phone then head for the door while Nando follows behind me.

"I thought it wasn't logical to sleep with business partners!"

"It's not! But I never said anything about my employees!"

***

'I'm outside'

'K I'll be down in a sec ; )'

About three minutes pass until Dee comes down the steps of her apartment. She has on a tight pair of blue jean shorts and a top that shows even more of her tattoos, ones I didn't even notice before.

"You done staring, man bun or can we go?"

"Heh, yeah, lets go."

I open the car door for her and she carefully slides inside.

"Wow, she's even prettier on the inside."

She runs her hand against the dashboard and examines my ride.

"You did that yesterday too..."

"Did what?"

"Touch all my things and stare at them like a little kid."

"Mhm, if I see something I like I either touch it or fuck it. Sometimes both."

I chuckle, "You just say whatever you're thinking huh?"

"Yup. So where ya taking me?"

"Nowhere special."

***

"Whoa! You said we were going nowhere special! I thought you meant like a food truck or something."

I chuckle at her excitement, "I own this chain of restaurants so I do a lot of business here."

I open the door for her and she slowly walks inside while I get a nice view of her from behind.

'Hot damn, I'd like that on my face...'

"Good evening Mr. Martinez. Please follow me to your seats."

Dee and I follow behind the waiter until he seats us at a table for two near giant glass windows. The way the sun hits her makes it seem as if her skin were golden.

'So beautiful...'

"My name is Lucas and I'll be your waiter for today. What can I get you two to drink?"

"Two gins. Cambridge Distillery Watenshi."

"Can I get a water with that?"

"Right away."

He hurries off to get our drinks.

"Wow, I'm surprised this place is so empty."

"Well yeah, I rented out the whole place."

She smiles at me and it makes me blush.

"So Dee, what did you do before this?"

"I worked for Yosef."

"Oh? Doing what?"

"Simple things like coding, hacking, running plates, cleaning criminal records, phone taps, pretty much everything you can possibly think of."

"Sounds to me like you're overqualified for a basic IT job."

"Yeah well you pay well and I like you."

Lucas walks back in the room with our drinks hands us menus, "I'll give you some time to look over them, but before I go, would you like to hear today's specials?"

"No thank you."

He nods them takes his leave.

"So you really wanna work for me?"

"Hell yeah. Doing what I'm good at and getting paid top dollar to do it. Sounds like a win-win to me."

She takes a sip of her water and a drop clings to her lower lip and shimmers in the light. She just might be the most stunning woman I've ever seen in my life.

"Well you know working for me has a down side, right?"

"Oh?"

"My rivals become yours, you'd automatically be targeted, shot at, possibly kidnapped, and maybe even killed."

She licks away the water on her lip, "Sounds fun. Where do I sign?"

'Fun? I've had fully trained grown men turn this offer down because they were afraid of what would happen once they agreed.'

"Uh-huh, it's not that simple, chica. I still need to ask you a few more questions."

"Shoot."

"For starters, I need your full name."

"Da'Neasha Butterfly Williams."

"Butterfly?"

"My mama loved butterflies. She was outta her damn mind, but she always did love em'."

Her eyes glaze over as she stares at the table cloth. Was she remembering her mother?

"I think it's lovely name."

"Thanks."

"No problem. How old are ya Butterfly?"

"I'm 22. My birthday's May 31st."

My heart skips a beat after hearing her say that.

'She has the same birthday as me...'

"Carlos?"

"Oh, sorry. Have you ever been locked up?"

"A few times."

"What for?"

"Grand theft auto, possession of marijuana, armed robbery, credit card fraud, and having a gun without a license...Oh! I also punched a cop one time but I can't really remember what else but I'm pretty sure you get the gist."

"Damn Dee, how many times exactly?"

"Ion know, maybe 5 or 6 times."

'Damn woman, that's more than me.'

"I take it you have a bit of a wild streak?"

She takes a slow sip of her gin but she strangely sicks her tongue straight into the cup and swishes around the ice cubes inside.

"Eh, some would say that but I like to think of myself as an artist."

'Such a weirdo.'

I find myself grinning like a dumb-ass again but snap back to reality when I glance at her again.

"An artist? Elaborate."

She taps the glass, "I've been told that I create chaos. To me, that's the most beautiful thing a person can make."

"Chaos? Do you think that the number of people who feel the consequences of your art make you a good artist?"

"I make Da Vinci look like shit."

"Interesting...You ever kill someone?"

"Maybe...This part of the interview or are you interested?"

"Can't it be a little of both?"

"Well no, I've never killed anyone."

"You're lying."

"No I'm not."

"Yeah you are, you always tap your index finder up against your glass when you lie."

She giggles, "I had no idea how close you've been watching me, Carlos. But to clarify, no, I've honestly never killed anyone..."

'Just what are you hiding beautiful?'

She picks up the menu to avoid eye contact with me. I put my finger on the brim of it and lower the menu down to eye level so that I can look at her face, "You really are a strange woman..."

"Better than being some boring basic bitch."

I reach for her hand and rub it with my thumb, "You make my head spin, mi mariposa."

She blushes, "Mi mariposa?"

"It means 'my butterfly'."

She slowly pulls her hand away and lies her menu down, "Listen Carlos, I-"

"Are you ready to order?"

Lucas walks back in and interrupts just as she was going to speak.

"Uh yeah, can I just get the house salad?"

"Great choice, and for you Mr. Martinez?"

"Just another gin."

"I'll get right on it, sir."

He collects the menus and when he's out of ear shot, I draw my attention back to her. "You wanna finish what you were telling me?"

"Tch, no point now."

"Well since you've answered all of my questions, I'll do the same for you."

"Okay um, you didn't mention my living arrangements. I would like the details on that."

"Ah, of course. All my employees live on my property. You would have the choice to pick where you'd want to stay. Either one of my guest houses, the hotel, the penthouse, or any one of the duplexes."

"Wow, you own a lot of shit...But what if I don't want to leave where I'm at now?"

"I'm afraid that's nonnegotiable. I need to keep tabs on all my workers and this makes it a lot easier to do so."

"So you're a control freak? Huh, I can live with that. You also mentioned so sorta training?"

"Right. You would have to endure a few months of intense physical training until you prove to me that you can handle yourself in hand-to-hand combat and I'm sure you know how to handle a gun. Right?"

"Yeah...I do."

"So were those the only questions you had?"

"Uh yup. Actually no, are you single?"

I choke on my gin and look up at her.

"I'm not sure that's relevant..."

"Okay, let's make a deal. If I answer one of your questions that's off topic, you have to answer mine."

"I'm gonna regret this later but fine. You have a deal. So to answer your question, yes. I am single."

She nods her head, "Hm, thanks for telling me."

"Now it's your turn."

She clacks her nails against the table, "Lay it on me."

I grab her right hand and interlock my fingers with her's, "What does the brand on this hand mean?"