"When I am king..." Riley hummed the lullaby to her now-sleeping granddaughter, whom she considered to be her daughter. Khalifa, her granddaughter, was her only child's biological daughter. However, Riley considered herself to be her parent, as she was Khalifa's primary caretaker and her daughter, Kaori, was always absent.
Riley, who was now thirty-eight years old, didn't look a day over 20. The woman kept herself in check, and her youthful glow remained. Her skin color was as rich as the soil our ancestors walked on, and her serpentine body carried many tattoos.
Leaving her bedroom door slightly ajar, she shut off the main light and turned on the lamp. Khalifa was a heavy sleeper, so she had no worry in her mind about being too loud. Pouring herself a glass of moscato, she allowed the melodic voice of SZA to be played through her kitchen speakers.
Turning down the volume to a moderate level, she sat on the island stool and opened her MacBook. She would have mountains of work stacked up if she didn't get to it now. Riley is a real estate agent, and if she were being honest, she completely despised it.
The woman hated working; she wanted to be one of those rich stay-at-home moms, but the cards did not fall in her favor. From the time Riley recognized she was pregnant, all those years ago, she knew she had to work. Despite her apparent dislike for working, she did not let it hinder her from doing her job.
Looking through her work email, she saw that she had two house showings and a new client meeting at four. Sighing loudly, she moved over to her business email, where she was much more elated to view.
Boutique 101 is the name of her store. On this online website, she sold upcycled thrifted clothes and crochets. Her online store was her happy place. Behind a sewing machine was her happy place. "Mama" Riley's brows furrowed upon hearing her little baby's voice.
Getting off of the stool quickly, she jogged towards the living room, where she heard the voice coming from. Upon entry, she saw Khalifa trying to climb on the couch. Khalifa, hearing the footsteps, turned towards her mama and outstretched her hands in need.
𝖵 𝖨 𝖲 𝖠 𝖦 𝖤
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Riley's outfits were always over the top, but it was what she was comfortable in. She had been on this earth too many years to care about unimportant people's opinions. At thirty-eight, many things had ceased to bother her anymore.
While she fixed her coffee table, she waited patiently for her newest client. They were five minutes late, but she did not let that bother her as she was used to other people's tardiness. Laying her binders in the order of the rainbow, she moved the jar of lemonade a few inches away from it.
As if on cue, she heard a loud knock on the office door. Without an answer, a young boy who looked around the same age as her eldest daughter, invited himself in. She assumed it to be her four oclock, Sincere Dumas.
She wasn't expecting her newest client to be so young and attractive, but she kept those unprofessional thoughts in the back of her mind. "Hello Mr.Dumas." Riley greeted him with her overused work smile plastered on her chubby face.
"Hi." Sincere kept it short; he wanted to be in and out of this meeting. "Uhm," Riley motioned for him to sit in one of her chairs as she took a place on the sofa, "I'm Riley. As you know, I'll be your agent, and I hope I can help you find your desired home." She recited it as if it were a ritual.
"Today won't be long." She said as she caught him peeping at the Rolex on his wrist. "You can just describe what type of home you're looking for, and I'll ask a few detailed questions to find the perfect one for you."
As he licked his lips, Riley noticed his diamond grills. "I want something big that can fit my fo' kids. I want a pool and some kind of extra rooms for guests."
Riley jotted his desires on a little notepad and nodded as he spoke to show that she was listening attentively. "So about seven or eight rooms, a large back yard, somewhere secluded?" She suggested trying to envision a house that might suit him.
He hummed, "I want a room for office space and a six-car garage." It was Riley's turn to hum; she hoped he knew that all this would most definitely put a dent in his pocket.
"In order to accommodate all your wants, we're starting at at least 5 million." Riley knew money wasn't an issue for the much younger man; she saw his annual income and it was only growing, but she knew the job that he claimed to have was not the only one.
"You're beautiful as hell." He sincerely complimented the darker-skinned woman before him. Smiling broadly at his words, Riley mumbled something along the lines of thank you.
"It ain't no-" Sincere was cut off by the ringing of his phone. Answering his phone, Riley took this as a signal to stand and go to her bookshelf. Trying to give Mr.Dumas a sense of privacy as he spoke.
Sincere's eyes didn't leave the woman as he listened to his right-hand man, Proof, tell him about one of his hoes popping up at the trap. Squinting his eyes, Sincere tried to read the markings on her back; however, with her being so far away, they were indistinguishable.
"RED," Proof yelled finally grasping his attention. "What ta do with ha?"
Thinking for a moment, he answered. "Leave her in da basement." For some reason, that statement sent a chill down Riley's spine. Without another word, Sincere hung up the phone. "I'm done now." His voice came off less menacing than it did a minute ago when he spoke to Proof.
"If you aren't busy on Friday, we can start looking." Riley informed without turning around.
Sincere hummed, which he seemed to do all too often, and stood to his feet. "You not gonna come shake my hand?" He teased, Riley could imagine him smirking at the back of her head.
Now facing his direction, she approached him slowly. Her 4" heels making loud noises against her tiled floor. With a tight-lipped smile, she extended her arm towards the extremely tall man, returning her gesture. Sincere shook her hand, being careful not to be poked by her long, almond-shaped acrylics.
"I'a see you Friday gang." Sincere finalized, before detaching his hand and leaving out the warm office. Riley remained unmoving in her spot, replaying the situation in her mind.
She wouldn't lie; she found the young boy extremely attractive; however, there were two issues. He was only twenty-one years old—two years younger than her daughter—and secondly, he killed people for a living.
