Her Kinsman-Redeemer Read online

  Hmmm, interesting she thought. “Okay.”

  “Angelina, it’s my nickname for you. If you aren’t comfortable with it, I won’t use it, okay?”

  “Zeke, it’s fine. I just…I just didn’t know why is all.”

  ***

  At the diner, he asked for a back booth so they would be away from folks, and when the waitress came over asking for their drink orders, he watched as she asked for water. He knew she wasn’t a coffee drinker, but from watching her he knew she liked her caffeine cold and asked the waitress for a Diet Coke for her and a coffee and orange juice for himself.

  “Cherub? You order what you want, yeah?”

  “Okay.”

  Looking over the menu, she saw they had several things she liked so she finally asked him, “What is good here?”

  “Everything.”

  “Can you narrow that down? I don’t think I can eat French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns!”

  “Why not? Eat what you can if that’s what you want,” he told her.

  As the waitress came back with their drinks, they went ahead and placed their orders and she went with the “giganormous” plate as she called it, much to his delight.

  He watched her reach into the tote she had carried in and took the folder she proffered. “Here are the notes I made on each of the businesses. I also have the notes on where the monies are at so you can give it to whoever you need to and hopefully recover it all.”

  She waited for him to look everything over before she continued. “Like I told you on Sunday, you definitely need separate business accounts for each business, and a main MC account to put the Brothers’ portions in so that you can see the money trails better. Also, it’ll be less of a headache at tax time to have them separated like this instead of lumped together. And, at a glance, I think the reason your old accountant could do what he did is because you carry such a high balance in the MC account. He could take a little here and a little there and it wouldn’t be missed. I didn’t see where anyone else but him was involved, which is a good thing to my way of thinking.”

  He continued looking through the pages she had printed off and grabbed a pen out of his pocket and started jotting notes alongside. He agreed with setting up separate business accounts and finally said, “When we’re finished here, before we start the business tour we’re going over to the bank to get the accounts set up, okay?”

  “I think that’s a good idea. I had another one that I forgot to write down.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You’ve got so much in the MC account, I would suggest setting up a few money market accounts that can be rolled over. They’ll earn interest and aren’t high risk, but it will keep you from having too much in the account at one time. If you want to take it to Church and figure out what a good balance would be, those won’t be hard to get set up.”

  Damn he thought. She definitely understood this life and was looking out for the MC and hadn’t been here a week yet. “I like that idea. Any others?”

  “I think the vendors need to be condensed some, except maybe the garage because I know you have to get parts and they aren’t always cheap. We can ask the managers who they use now and I can do some research to see who will give you the best bang for your buck.”

  “Okay, I agree with you there as well. If you think you have time to do it, please feel free to do so.”

  “Also, and this is definitely something we’ll need to talk about with the salon manager. I know from the women in South Georgia that there are different seminars offered that will give them the continuing education they need. I think that the business should cover those trips, maybe the cost of getting in and their hotel?”

  “I’ll have to take that one to Church but off the cuff, I don’t see an issue with it. I know they need it to keep their licenses, but since they are working for an MC business, we should cover it or maybe half of it.”

  The waitress interrupted them, bringing a tray with their food on it. “Need anything else? Jellies? Ketchup?”

  Angelina looked at the table and at Zeke, who shook his head no. “No, thank you, I think we’re good.”

  “Okay then, holler if you need anything, yeah?”

  Zeke, taking a chance and wondering what on earth he was doing, reached across the table for her hand. “I’d like to pray over our meal if that’s okay?”

  Her heart warmed. Laser had been a believer, but he didn’t pray over their meals and they didn’t do any kind of couple’s devotional. Stop comparing them she told herself. “I’d like that, Zeke,” she said softly.

  He prayed over their meal, holding her hand and when he was finished, gave it a gentle squeeze before he released it and began eating. Over breakfast, they continued to talk and he gently probed about her growing up years.

  She closed her eyes, it had been years since she had talked about “before” but for some reason, she needed Zeke to understand her. He already does she heard in her soul, loud enough that she looked around thinking it was audible to everyone. “Well, let’s see, my dad took off when my mom was pregnant with me. She did what she could to take care of me, but because she had no family support, she became homeless. That led to a drug and alcohol addiction and I was removed from her care when I was six. I was bounced around from house to house until I ended up with the Cook family. They were very religious and we were at their church every time the doors were open. They put up a good front out in public, but at home, it became a living hell. I never did anything right and they “knew” I was going to end up like my mom. I aged out at eighteen and had nowhere to go and ended up on the streets. With no job, I panhandled some but was, in essence, starving. The church wouldn’t help me, the shelters were full of men who were scary, so I stayed in the shadows and did what I could to stay clean and fed.”

  He looked at her and saw that the pain from her past was at the front of her eyes. “I’m sorry, Cherub, I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories for you.”

  Smiling at him, she replied, “It’s okay. My life changed for the better the day that Dex and Laser found me. They had come into the store where I was angling to shoplift and Laser saw me slip a sandwich in my pocket. I had enough change for a drink and was hoping it would hold me over for a day or so. Laser came up to me and put his hand on my shoulder and scared the hell out of me. He told me that they would buy me dinner, I wouldn’t look good in orange and he felt God had another plan for my life.”

  “How long before they took you in?”

  “Well, Dex took me home that day to Renda, who took one look at me and adopted me, even though she’s only about eight years older than I am. They gave me a room and got me clothes and made sure I ate. Most importantly though, they showed me the difference between religion and a relationship with God. I’ll be eternally grateful for that day.”

  “I’m glad they found you, Cherub. God definitely has a plan for your life.”

  “I hope so. It’s been a bit challenging these past few years. Without all the help from the folks at Heaven’s Sinners, I wouldn’t have been able to finish school and who knows what would have happened with the girls. So, I’m grateful despite being on my own.”

  He looked at her and said, “I know it’s challenging being a single parent. If you need help, please don’t hesitate to reach out, yeah?”

  “Okay. Thank you.”

  Deciding to change the subject, he said, “So on Saturday night, we’re having a party at the clubhouse for us grown-ups. Are you going to come out? We cater in the food and hang out and drink and dance.”

  “I’m not sure. I would need to find someone to sit with the girls.”

  “We can check with Eva. Her daughter, Tally, is always looking for babysitting jobs to fund her mall trips.”

  “Ah, a teenage girl who likes the mall? Should be a good fit then,” she said, laughing.

  “Are you ready? We’ll head over to the salon first so you can talk with Eva about Saturday night before we get down to business.”r />
  “Sure. Did you want to go to the bank first though?”

  “Yeah, we better do that so you have that information. And I need to stop by the attorney’s office and give him what you found so he can see about getting our monies back.”

  “Okay. Yes, I’m ready. Thank you for breakfast.”

  “My pleasure, Cherub.”

  ***

  Leaving the bank after a lengthy hour-long visit, his head was swimming and he was again grateful that the woman at his side was there. She knew her stuff and made sure that the accounts were set up properly and that there were alerts in place to prevent what had happened before from happening again. He made sure she was on all the signature cards even though she said that wasn’t necessary because sometimes, he wasn’t available to sign checks. When he told her that, she agreed.

  Now at the salon, they waited for Eva to finish with her client. He noticed that Angelina was jotting notes again and he leaned in and whispered, “What are you doing?”

  “I’m jotting down the products they sell for retail so I can do a search on potential vendors. I know next to nothing about this industry at all so will definitely be relying on Eva to steer me in the right direction.”

  Eva came out with her client and smiled as she came toward Angelina. “Hey girl! Glad to see you today. Let’s go to the back so we can talk, okay?”

  “Sounds good. I love the look of the place, Eva! Very open and spacious, yet soothing at the same time.”

  “Thank you. Several of the old ladies are also stylists and we wanted a place that represented ‘us’ but also allowed the general public to feel comfortable as well.”

  “I think you managed to achieve that quite well if the books are any indication.”

  Once back in the little office, Eva pulled out a file and handed it to Angelina, saying, “Here is a list of the products we use and sell. Zeke had mentioned you might have some ideas?”

  Angelina took the file and opened her own with her notes. “Ah yes, do you use a lot of different vendors? I was thinking that if you did, we could research and see if we could get a better deal using one vendor instead of several.”

  Eva glanced at Zeke and then said, “We usually order from wherever we get the best deal, but if we could find a vendor where we could get a good deal all the time, it would definitely save money. We found through trial and error that using quality products yielded better results.”

  “That makes sense to me. What about the retail end? Do you want me to search to see what kind of sets I can find? I know there’s usually a decent mark-up on those. And regarding the color line you use, how do you keep up with the inventory? Do you find yourself running out and having to place an order unexpectedly?”

  Eva sat back and thought. “Y’know, we have had to do that a few times and it ends up costing more in shipping and rush fees. Do you have any suggestions?”

  “Well, keep in mind I don’t know your industry, okay? What if we created a spreadsheet of the colors you do use, as well as any other chemicals like perms and such, and if you’re able to, y’all can go through your client lists and see who is coming up on needing a service. We can stock for your existing clients and have a margin of safety for new folks who come in who aren’t sure what they want. And I’m sure highlights are a constant, so getting good bleach and developer would be important, right?

  “Girl, for not knowing our industry, you sure know a lot!”

  “Thanks to my girl, Debbie. She owns the salon in South Georgia and I guess I picked up some stuff listening to her over the years. She’s going to be up here soon so I definitely want to introduce you two!”

  Zeke interrupted, saying, “I think they’re coming up with Dex and Renda for the weekend and will be at the clubhouse on Saturday.”

  “I had no clue! Guess I’ll definitely plan to be there Saturday night then. I know Dex and Renda will likely stay with me again, what about Pongo and Debbie?”

  “We’ve got rooms at the clubhouse, Cherub, so they can stay there. You don’t need to feel as though you have to host everyone who comes up, y’know.”

  “I don’t feel like I do, Zeke, but Dex and Renda? They’re family. Not that Debbie and Pongo aren’t, but they love the girls so I don’t mind them coming.”

  Eva, meanwhile, looked back and forth between the two of them. Cherub she thought. Hmm interesting. Wonder what Preacher will have to say about all of this? She decided she was going to be talking to her old man to see if what she was thinking was far-fetched or within the realm of possibility because she had never seen Zeke act like he was around Angelina.

  “Okay, Eva, I think we’ve gotten what we need. We’ve switched to a separate banking account for each of the businesses so for the time being, Angelina will be paying the vendor bills and invoices that come in for all of them until we get things turned around.”

  “What about payroll? I usually pay the girls on Friday for the week before. They, of course, deal with their cash customers, but the credit card customers pay the shop and I issue checks the following week once they’ve cleared the bank.”

  “If you can get me the information on Mondays, I’ll reconcile the charges against the bank account and can have the checks written out and ready for Zeke to sign either Tuesday or Wednesday and then drop them off to you.”

  “That will work. Generally, the shop is closed on Mondays for inventory and deep cleaning, so maybe you and I can meet for lunch and I’ll have all that together for you. We can tweak the inventory sheet. My goal is for the business to grow, obviously, so that we all make money while serving our community.”

  “Go ahead and get input from your stylists as well, they may have ideas we didn’t discuss and I am open to whatever will help streamline this for you and make it easier on you so you can do what you enjoy best, not paperwork.”

  Eva looked at Zeke before saying, “I really like her, Zeke! You know how much I don’t like paperwork and if her being here means it’s down to a minimum? I’m good with it one hundred percent.”

  Zeke started laughing. He knew how much of a headache the paperwork gave Eva because Preacher shared it often, especially on the nights when she was bent over the books instead of paying him attention. Thinking about Saturday had him saying, “Eva? Do you know if Tally already has a babysitting gig on Saturday night? With Dex and Pongo coming up especially, I’m sure Angelina would like a night out with grown-ups.”

  Eva thought for a second before she replied. “I don’t think she does but I’ll call her once school is out to check and if she doesn’t, I will bring her over this evening if that’s okay Angelina? That way, you two can meet and she can meet the girls.”

  “Thank you, Eva. I would definitely like to meet her because Zeke mentioned y’all do the grown-up parties at least once a month and I know I’d like to have the adult interaction!”

  “Then it’s a plan. Is that all you two need from me? My next client is due any minute now and I need to get ready.”

  “I think so, yes. If there’s anything else, I’ll jot it down and let you know this evening, okay?”

  “Sure thing, girl. I’ll text you later when we are on our way, okay?”

  “Okay, that works.”

  As she watched them leave, Zeke’s hand on the small of Angelina’s back, Eva sent up a quick prayer that whatever was happening was doing so according to His will. It was about time her old man’s long-time friend found his forever and she had a feeling it was in the shape of a petite, strawberry-blonde woman named Angelina.

  ***

  They went by the rest of the businesses with the same results and Angelina got a feel for the people she would be interacting with on a weekly basis. All of them were happy to have the bulk of the paperwork taken off their shoulders so they could focus on increasing profits and ensuring their customers and employees were happy. Since she liked numbers, she felt it was a win-win situation all the way around.

  Looking at the clock and seeing it was close to lunch, he look
ed over at her and saw her staring out the window, lost in thought.

  “Penny for your thoughts?”

  “Oh! I was just running everything through my brain that I’ve learned today. I can see I have much to learn about several of your businesses and hope you don’t grow tired of my questions until I get it all squared away in my brain. Numbers I know, but pizza dough? Not so much,” she answered.

  He laughed before saying, “Ask away anytime, Cherub. Except on Sundays. I don’t want you working yourself to the ground. We work to live in this MC, we don’t live to work, y’hear?”

  She had heard that philosophy for years now and knew they believed it fully. While every working member of the South Georgia chapter worked hard, they played just as hard and it was nothing for them to organize week-long family runs to the beach or even up to the mountains. She was getting the impression that the North Georgia chapter was the same. “I know, Zeke. And I promise I won’t work too hard, but initially, I know I’ll be putting in a lot of time until stuff gets turned back around.”

  Pulling into a restaurant so they could eat lunch, he parked and then turned to her, saying, “Look at me, Cherub.”

  Ah, the President tone again she thought as she turned her head.

  “I am serious. Take your evenings with your daughters. Meet some of our members. I know a lot of your friends are in South Georgia, but am hopeful that some of the old ladies here will become part of whatever you women call them these days-your girls? Posse? Whatever it is, you need to be able to relax.”

  “I understand, Zeke.”

  Over a late lunch, they went over everything and she took a few notes so she could make sure she had it all straight. “When do you want to get together to go over this again, Zeke?”

  “How about Friday? That will give you a chance to go through everything you’ve gotten today and maybe formulate some action plans.”

  “Okay, I think that will work.”

  “And don’t think you need to be tied to your desk from nine until five every day either. If you or the girls have appointments, take care of them, yeah? I know you’ll get the work done and I know once we get it all streamlined, it will give you a lot of extra time. Work to live.”