Too Far Gone (Urban)

51| Next in Line

The boss called Chenelle in the following day.

When she arrived, she noticed Johnny Gat's car was also parked outside. She pulled in besides him, shut her engine off, and headed inside. The elevator was finally in service. It's been months since she stepped foot inside the HQ. Gat informed her that their renovations were nearly finished, but she had yet to see it for herself.

The elevator doors slid open and she saw the walls were trimmed with white and lined with light purple wallpaper. Upon closer inspection, she noticed faint shapes of the gang's symbol, a fleur-de-lis. The wooden floors were polished and new, and a deep purple runner rug was placed down in the middle of the hallway. Heading towards the boss's office, she peered into his room and noticed that his room followed the same theme. Boxes were scattered around the room, but besides that, it was empty.

The wall pattern continued towards the main hall, but her tour had to end at his office. Inside, Gat hovered over the boss's shoulder as he scribbled away at a notebook. His eyes were glued to whatever he was currently writing, his demeanor only changing temporarily to that of learning when Gat stopped him to point at something on the paper. The boss erased what was pointed out for him and wrote whatever Gat was telling him instead. She tapped lightly on the glass door, alerting them that she was there. They looked up simultaneously, and for a moment, stared at her before Gat came around the desk and towards the door. The boss closed the notebook and dropped it into one of his desk drawers.

"Sorry for interrupting your English lesson," she spoke as Gat opened the door. Gat huffed and shook his head at her, stepping aside to let her in.

"We were waiting for you," he responded, locking the door. As she walked over, the boss leaned back into his swivel chair and crossed his ankle over his knee, his hands folded neatly in the center of his lap. He sported a light grey hoodie with dark washed denim jeans complimented with a fresh pair of black Timberland boots. She wore something similar, opting to wear a thin track jacket with black leggings instead due to the warmer weather. She indicated his outfit and asked,

"You ain't hot in that?"

He shrugged. "I turned the A/C on in here."

Chenelle took a seat stationed in front of his desk. "Fair enough, what's up?"

"To cut it short, I brought you in to tell you I've decided to make you my second in command, so if anything happens to me, you'll be the one in charge."

Chenelle scoffed. A short laugh escaped her throat. "You're joking, right?" When he didn't reply, she glanced at Gat nervously. "What about him? Why not him? I'm not the leader type. I mean, a female leader is unheard of when it comes to this type of...business."

"Gat's been in this gang longer than I have; if he wanted to be in charge, he would've been in charge. Besides, Gat's a hot head."

Gat smirked and nodded his head. Chenelle rolled her eyes.

"You're a hot head too y'know."

"Yeah, I am, I'll admit that, but when you're leading a large group of individuals, you can't lose your cool out in the streets. We can't have someone aimlessly running around killing anyone and everyone that oppresses them, we need someone with reason, which is why I chose you."

Chenelle's foot tapped wildly on the floor. "So I'm going from being a lieutenant, to being 'fired', to being commander in chief, or at least second level to that? I don't think that's how it's supposed to work."

"Well, the Pope's chosen at random, isn't he?"

"Not exactly. What happens is--"

"I don't care," he interrupted. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the wooden desk, his hands clasped in front of his mouth. He laced together his fingers and rested his chin atop of it. "You're second in command after this, that's my final decision. In the meantime, Johnny will get back to your combat training, so when the time does come for you to take over, you'll..."