What Simon Didn't Say by Joy Copeland

Author:Joy Copeland [Copeland, Joy]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Lunar Tower Press
Published: 2018-03-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 33

Close Like Family

Zoie lost her cool at the Shelter. She didn’t meltdown often, but under the circumstances she had a right to be angry. She needed to calm down. Her encounter with the dreadful woman with the head wrap had drained her. There’d been enough venom in the woman’s glance to bring down an elephant. And then there was Tarik—Jahi’s protégé was certainly no help. She found his demeanor to be both arrogant and patronizing. He had set her off. Now her gut told her that Tarik knew more. He knew where Jahi was but wasn’t letting on. What did Jahi see in the little bastard, entrusting him with the Shelter’s business? Yes, Tarik was capable, all right. The question was, capable of what?

Thank God, she thought as cool air from the taxi’s air conditioning finally made its way to the back seat. Her eyes met Muwakkil’s deep black eyes in the rearview mirror. They’d been sitting there for quite a while in silence as she collected herself.

“Where to now, lady?” he asked again, his tone not irritated or pushy like some New York cabbies. This driver was in no hurry. One way or the other, he knew he’d get paid.

The cost of what she was doing crossed her mind. On a per-trip basis with waiting time, she was running up quite a tab. Perhaps it would be cheaper to pay this guy’s daily rate, as he suggested. Muwakkil was an African businessman, but she knew how to bargain as well.

“Not quite sure,” she answered, mentioning nothing of price negotiations. She was waiting for him to bring up the subject of the daily rate.

“Lady, you going to want me to wait again?”

“Probably,” she responded with a sigh.

“You going to have more stops after that?

“Perhaps.”

“Then I think you should go with my day-rate proposal. You would be better off.”

“We could do that…if the price is right,” she answered.

Still parked around the corner from the Shelter, they haggled to arrive at a fair daily rate. In setting his initial price, Muwakkil mentioned the high cost of raising three kids, city fees, and how expensive gas had become, of course. When she balked at his price, he responded in his best pleading voice, claiming that she was taking advantage of a poor immigrant. Zoie fired back using her lawyer tactics. After all, she was a guaranteed ride. And he wasn’t considering the generous tip she’d add or that she could pay in cash—once she stopped at an ATM. After a few minutes, the deal was struck. They settled on a rate half the price of his original proposal. He’d be her driver until 6:00 p.m.

“Lady, you drive a hard bargain.”

Zoie squelched a satisfied smile and shrugged. Haggling had been invigorating. It had given her a much-needed shot of adrenalin, lifting the depressing fog clouding her brain. Someone had stolen her stuff and threatened her. Someone was out to silence her. She wouldn’t let fear paralyze her. If she was ever to feel safe again, she needed to find Jahi and get some answers.

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