Try Me

12.

-all in a day's work

Preparations for the store's opening were in full swing, we all worked day in and day out to get everything where it needed to be; even Darian had been spending countless hours of his personal time on completing the mural. It was around nine at night and we were still working, we hadn't spoken much as we worked.

Jasmine's phone pinged and she quickly got our attention. "Okay y'all, on a scale of possible to impossible, how likely is it that we can have the store up and running by Friday next week?" She asked as she typed on her phone.

"It's possible." Lea replied, "The biggest obstacle is going to be the painting, the clothes are already here, the construction workers are starting work on the changing rooms tomorrow and Mike assured me that it would take a week at most to complete."

"This is good! If we can get it ready by next week, then Vashtie can DJ, she's booked up after that. I've been going back and forth with her manager all day." Jasmine said. "Plus, her rates aren't terrible, and she already buys clothing from us, it's a win-win situation."

I sighed in relief and gave Jazzy a quick hug, "You're amazing Jazzy! Great work." I kissed her on the cheek.

"Jasmine you're magic baby." Lea said as she joined our hug. "I think that today has been pretty productive, it's definitely time to go home though. Excuse me while I attempt to convince D to stop for the day and take him to get something to eat."

"Look at you! Going all mama bear for ArtBae." Jazzy nudged Lea's shoulder as my phone started to ring. "Look at her face Le, ugh I want a boo too." She pouted, I rolled my eyes and stepped away to answer the call.

"Hey Jay, I didn't forget you. I'm still at work." I said as soon as I answered.

"You ladies are very dedicated, how was your day?" He asked, the sound of honking horns and wind let me know that he was probably driving.

I looked around at the store, pleased with our progress. "It was good, got a lot of work done. What about you, boss man?"

"Same here, I'm opening a new restaurant, so I've been handling that." Jason stated casually.

He impressed me every time that I spoke to him. "That's amazing! Is it another Gianni's?"

"Not at all, it's gonna be a soul food spot; I'm naming it after my mom." Jason said, I could hear the excitement in his voice. "I'll tell you more about it when I pick you up."

"So, the real reason you gave us the free food was to get the address of the store, huh?" I teased as I gathered my things.

Jason chuckled. "I'm not that crafty, but it was a lucky bonus, see you in five KP."

"Bye Jay." I giggled as I hung up.

I rejoined the girls at the front of the store where Darian had finally stopped for the night, he made a lot of progress today thought it was clear we would have to remember to make him take breaks.

"This looks great Darian, you're extremely talented." I commented as I examined what he did so far.

He rubbed the back of his neck and let out a light chuckle. "Thank you, I appreciate it, but this is just the base and the outline. If it weren't for boss lady I wouldn't have stopped." Darian joked as he pulled Lea closer to him and kissed her on the cheek.

"Shit man, if this is just the base then you need to write down the quotation because I will feel like we robbed you. You're putting a lot into this and we're not the type to mooch off of anyone. Especially not you ArtBae." Jasmine said, Lea and I nodded in agreement.

"I know, Le already made it clear and I'm not about to argue with three independent women, I can't knock it as a business owner myself, but I'll give y'all the family discount." He side eyed Lea.

Not long after Darian spoke, there was a knock at the door. I smiled as I saw Jason standing outside.

"There's Jay." I said as I went to unlock the door, he was standing there looking as edible as ever. "Hey Jay, you want a tour?"

"Yeah I would love one; you look beautiful by the way." He complimented me as I let him in.

I hid my face in my hair and smiled, I didn't feel cute after working for twelve hours straight. "Thank you, not looking too bad yourself. Welcome to Lavish. You already know everyone here." I chuckled.

Jason dapped him up. "Hey bro, is this why you've been ignoring everyone's calls all day?" He asked as he took in the mural.

"Yeah, I still have a lot to do though." Darian hugged his brother. "What do you think?"

"It looks great already, bet you're doing it for free." Jason chuckled as they shared a look and then Darian shook his head with a chuckle.

"I tried to, but they weren't having it. We're actually on our way out but I'll hit you up later tonight, do you need a ride Jasmine?" Darian asked as he held Lea's hand.

"Yes please. Good night you two." Jasmine and Lea waved a goodbye to us as they left the store.

After that I gave Jason a tour of the building, I was filled with a mixture of anxiety and pride as I showed him around; the store was my baby and I wanted him to like it.

"This is great KP, I can already tell that it's gonna be amazing when you open. I think you need to give me your real estate plug because this is was a good find." Jason put his arm around me as we went towards the front door.

"Thanks Jay, it means a lot coming from a big boss like you and I'll definitely give you Tasha's number, she's the one who found my condo too." I told him, leaning into his side.

He opened my door for me, "I might have to call her when I'm ready to open my next spot. We're going to my place by the way, it's closer and I want a chance to chill with you."

I smiled at him. "You're the boss Jason. To be honest, with how hungry I am I'll go anywhere that has food."

"That's not a problem Kira. Anything you want." He smirked and placed one hand on my thigh while he steered with the other.

I wasn't aware that I'd dozed off until I felt a hand gently rocking me awake.

"We're here." Jason said as he held my door open for me. I got out and checked the time on my phone, it was already ten o'clock.

Am I staying over?