Page 5 of Beautiful Noise
Jazzy B: I need to know the inspiration for “You Make Me Feel”. Girl that man had you turned inside out. Your words are so dope. I’m glad I found you.
I grinned, remembering the man that was nothing I needed but everything I wanted. A broken heart could make you reckless and sometimes being reckless was the best medicine for a broken heart. My recklessness had happened during the summer after my senior year. A lot of sex and no regrets.
I scrolled a few more reviews and decided it was time to get to work. I swiped out of the app on my iPad, shoved it into my backpack, and refocused my mind on the reason for being here. Twenty minutes later, dressed in a tank top and boy cut panties, I moved down the hallway dancing, pushing a microfiber mop which I occasionally used as a makeshift microphone while belting out lyrics to the songs blasting in my AirPods while I cleaned.
Currently in rotation was Waka Flocka’s “Round Of Applause” which I performed while rapping the lyrics. I had one of the best nights of rest I could recall in months because I’d slept on a very new, Sleep Number bed in one of the six guest rooms I was supposed to be cleaning for a client. A client whose house I was squatting in for the weekend and not feeling any remorse about whatsoever.
I pushed the mop left and right, winding my hips while the slightly damp microfiber padding glided across the imported bamboo floors. Once I made two complete passes, I yanked the plastic handle into my chest, dancing around it with my eyes closed while rapping along to one of my favorite parts.
“Round of applause, baby make that ass clap
Drop it to the floor, make that ass clap
Let me see you, bust it, bust it, bust it, bust it, bust it, bust it
Baby drop it to the floor and
Bust it, bust it, bust it, bust it, bu-bust it, bust it”
The second round of “bust it”was highlighted with me dropping it low until the last one then I was upright again and spinning on the balls of my feet where I got the surprise of my life.
I had company and the surprise guest caused a screech to belt from my lips while I stumbled back, slipped on the slick flooring, and landed right on my ass.
The woman standing a few feet away arched her brow as I dislodged my AirPods one by one, closing them into my fist while I attempted to recover from the crash landing I’d just experienced.
“And you are?” the woman quizzed, taking in me from head to toe. It wasn’t until that very moment that I remembered I wasn’t fully dressed.
Shit.
“Kori, I’m with Elite Cleaners. We were hired to do a deep cleaning…”
“And not scheduled to be here until Monday according to the email I received. Today is Saturday. I would bet my ass that your current attire is not an approved uniform.”
“Well no, it’s not but I…”
“You were expecting my son and not me but let me be clear…”
She paused and out of pure nerves I belted out my name, which she repeated snidely.
“Kori, dancing around my son’s house half-naked while cleaning won’t get you any brownie points with him and most certainly not with me. You can pack up and be on your way and I’ll be reaching out to Ms. Dior about this little stunt.”
Shit, she thinks I’m trying to entice her son. Whoever the hell her son is.
“Wait, please,” I yelled, scrambling to my feet. The woman turned on her heels, lowering her chin as she peered at me the way a teacher would a misbehaving student. I swallowed hard after managing to stand to my full height.
“You’ve got the wrong idea…”
“I’m not sure I do, dear.” My arms instinctively crossed over my chest when I noticed the woman’s eyes moving across my body with scrutiny. “You’re prancing around here in your underclothes cleaning my son’s house.”
“I am but not because I want anything from him…” I threw my arms in the air. “I don’t even know who your son is. They don’t give us your personal information…”
“So you’re saying they don’t provide you with names of the clients you’re scheduled to clean for?”
“I mean yeah they do but there was no name attached to this one. Just a company. One I don’t recognize. So I swear I have no idea who your son is.”
My emotions got the best of me and I began fidgeting uncontrollably in an attempt to keep the tears at bay. With the weight of everything I had been dealing with over the past six months lingering like a heavy storm cloud, I was inching closer and closer to my breaking point.
Why the hell did I think this was a good idea?