window-
shopping, I was ready to go to the malls and buy everything I deserved.
The day Phaedra called my phone and told me the check had cleared
was like sweet music to my ears. It seemed I had waited for her to call all my life. I knew how to handle my business. Straight up! I put on a navy blue business suit and broke out my sophisticated wig. Then I met her at her office within forty -five minutes.
I had already told my baby’s father, Slim, and my first cousin, Scott,
exactly what was going on. I loved Slim, and told him about the business just to keep my end covered. My father always told me that there was no honor amongst thieves. People could be real shady when it was time to deal with a
lot of money. I needed to make sure I had my end covered, just in case.
Scott was brought in because he was connected to the streets. Al-
though, I trusted Phaedra, it was Apollo who I had a hard time trusting. I just wanted to make sure I got my chips at the end of the day. Those two were from the streets, and they did not trust Phaedra or Apollo. As a matter of fact,
they didn’t trust any one.
Slim parked across the street from Phaedra’s office, and waited. Then he followed our every move, oblivious to Phaedra and Apollo. Phae stayed in her office while Apollo and I went on the move. He drove to the first stop. It was the Bank of America l ocated on Windy Hill in Marietta, Georgia. Apollo parked the car and, I walked inside the bank to make a withdrawal.
Now I’m going to keep it real, and let you all know that this time I
was genuinely shaken. I was soo nervous, my knees were shaking, waiting for something to go wrong. It was going uneasily for me because I didn’t want to go to jail, lawyered-up or not. Although I had an attorney, I didn’t want to use her. I had been in the bank for about an hour. Apollo was calling on one line and Slim was calling on the other. I was trying not only to assure myself that everything was good, but I was also busy assuring them as well.
Then all of a sudden, the branch office manager asked to see me
in her office. Now I was afraid. I was about seven months pregnant, and there was no way my fat-butt could outrun any of these folks. I was sh**ting
bricks, thinking about what I was going to do next.
I knew that I had to maintain my composure. I kept it all the way
cool walking closer to the manager’s office. I was scoping out the layout of the branch and possible escape routes. The security guard was pretty much preoccupied. He didn’t look at all concerned with my activities. Maybe the Branch Manager merely wanted to ask a few questions in private.
My heartbea t was getting louder with each step, but I cautiously fol-
lowed the neatly dressed woman into her office. The moment we were inside, she politely gestured for me to have a seat. Then she closed the door. I was just about to scream bloody murder and act li ke I was about to go into labor, when she pulled out a brown paper bag. Whew! I thought. Thank you sweet Heavenly Father Jesus! I quickly and efficiently counted the money. It was
exactly twenty-thousand dollars in cash. All big faces too!
It was the first time I had ever held that much money in my hands. I quickly placed the money inside my briefcase, thanked the bank manager, and quickly exited the bank. Apollo was waiting and I hopped into his BMW. Within seconds, we were out of there, putting distance between us and the bank. Apollo was smashing southbound on Interstate 75, doing about a hundred miles per hour.
This was one of the best feelings I had ever experienced in my life,
getting away while carrying twenty-thousand dollars cash money. There was still seven-thousand dollars remaining in the account. I started wondering,
what would become of it?
Apollo called Phae to inform her that we had scored a touchdown
for the home team. I smiled when I overheard Phae bragging about me. He told Phae we had another stop, and after that we would link up with
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