by La Jill Hunt
Devyn sat up and took her phone out of her purse. There was a text from an unknown number. At first, she thought it might have been from Ben, whose number she had yet to save. She opened it, smiling as she read the message, then called the number.
“Did you really send me a Groupon for an eye exam?” she laughed.
“Hey, I’m just checking on my prize student, that’s all,” Nigel told her. “I thought about it and wasn’t sure if you were gonna be able to see the numbers clearly on the card. I got your number from the sign-in form. I hope that’s okay.”
“I’m glad you checked on me, but for the record, I can see just fine,” Devyn told him.
“If I recall, you said you bumped into me because you couldn’t see,” Nigel reminded her.
Devyn cackled at his statement as she lay back on her bed. For the next five hours, they talked on the phone: chatting the entire time he and his team cleaned up the studio, making sure everything was put away, and then locked up the building. Their discussion continued as he drove thirty minutes to his home. She got up and finally ate her dessert while they discussed favorite movies and TV shows. As she put on her pajamas, he listened while she told him about being afraid of the dark until she was well into her teens and still was sometimes. He shared how he was bullied as a kid for being overweight. The conversation between them was natural, easy, and flowed without any awkwardness or dead spots. Nigel was comical, very intelligent, and knowledgeable. Devyn recognized that he was multifaceted. There was more to him than being a chef. Before she knew it, they’d both fallen asleep on the phone. She didn’t get to say good night. But she was pleased that when she woke up, he’d sent a cute message and asked her to meet him for brunch. Without hesitation, she accepted. With less than an hour to get to the restaurant, she rushed to get ready.
Cute, comfy, and casual in her joggers, T-shirt, and favorite Nike Air Max, Devyn tossed a baseball cap on her head, grabbed another pair of her fashion frames, and slipped them on her face. Instead of the Prius, she decided to drive the convertible Benz that she hardly used. The light, airy ride would match her mood perfectly. She was backing out of the garage when someone pulled into the driveway and parked behind the Prius. Devyn put the Benz in park and opened the door.
“What the—? Chastity, what are you doing here?” Devyn hopped out, surprised to see her godsister who she’d spoken to less than twenty-four hours earlier. She hadn’t mentioned anything about visiting.
“Surprise. I came to see you.” Chase walked over and gave her a big hug. “You look cute. Where are you going?”
“A brunch date that I’m gonna be late for if I don’t hurry,” Devyn told her.
“With Ben? I guess your date went better than you thought. See, you like him.” Chastity clapped.
“No, it’s not with Ben. It’s with someone else. Nigel. I gotta go. I’ll tell you about it when I get back.” Devyn started backing toward the car. “Go through the garage to get into the house.”
“Dev, wait,” Chase yelled.
“What is it?” Devyn frowned. She glanced over to see Asha pulling up. “What in the world?”
“Devyn, before you leave, we need to tell you something.” Chase walked over.
Devyn’s eyebrows furrowed, and she became anxious. Chase and Asha showing up unannounced at the same time couldn’t have been a coincidence.
“What’s going on?” Devyn turned and asked Chase. When she didn’t answer, Devyn directed the question to Asha. “Asha, what’s wrong?”
“Dev, let’s go inside and talk,” Asha replied.
“No, just tell me now. You’re scaring me. Did someone die? Is someone sick?” Devyn’s heart raced, and her breath became shorter.
“Calm down, Dev. It’s nothing like that. Everyone is fine. Jeez.” Chase shook her head. “You’re about to give yourself a panic attack.”
The half smile Chase gave her made Devyn feel slightly better, but she was still uneasy. “Well, whatever it is, can it wait until after I get back?”
“No, it can’t,” Asha replied.
“Well, it probably can,” Chase told her, then after Asha gave her a threatening look, she added, “but maybe we should just spill it.”
Devyn looked at Asha. “What up?”
Asha took a deep breath. “Okay, we got a lot of hits on the Pivot website all of a sudden.”
“I thought you said the website wasn’t up yet. It was still under construction until we decided it was time.” Devyn frowned.
“It is, well, it’s just a landing page, that’s all. But we didn’t do anything to promote it yet,” Chase explained. “Which is why we were wondering why it was getting so much traffic.”
“Well, what the hell is on the page? My name and picture aren’t on there, right?” Devyn gasped.
“No, It’s just the name, logo, and services offered. That’s it,” Chase said.
“Good.” Devyn exhaled. “For a second, I thought y’all were about to say people knew I was coaching.”
The sudden look Asha and Chase gave each other didn’t go unnoticed. Devyn instinctively knew that whatever they were about to tell her, she wouldn’t want to hear.
“Dev,” Asha’s voice softened, “the traffic to the website was because Pivot Coaching was tagged in a video posted on IG, a video of you.”
Devyn closed her eyes, and her mind flashed back to Journi, holding her phone. “Fuck. I told Journi to delete it.”
“I’m sorry, Dev. She didn’t.” Asha touched her shoulder.
“People don’t know that it’s me, though, right? The girls don’t know that . . . who . . . I . . . We never told them,” Devyn stammered.
Chase moved so that they now faced each other. Devyn was almost a foot taller than she was and had to look down.
“People recognized you, Dev, and the video went viral,” Chase said.
The video went viral. Viral. Viral. The words echoed in Devyn’s head as she jumped into the car and peeled out of the driveway. Life as she knew it was about to change. She wanted to get the hell away from her girls, her house—everything.
Chapter 14
Asha
Asha watched as Devyn pulled off so fast, the tires of the car burned rubber, leaving a cloud of black smoke. Her friend’s reaction had been mild compared to what she expected. Asha had prepared herself to be cursed out, insulted, and possibly having something thrown in her direction. The conversation being held outside probably helped the latter not happen.
“That went well,” Chase sighed.
“You think?”
“Yeah, she still left the door open for me to get inside and didn’t tell me to leave.” Chase nodded. “She has been known to kick me out.”
“Yes, she has.” Asha thought about the times in the past that Devyn and Chase had gotten into a fight that resulted in Chase getting put out until Devyn calmed down a day or so later. Even she’d been on the receiving end of her hot-tempered friend’s tirades too many times to count, but she’d never been in a position for Devyn to kick her out. She knew better.
“Where the hell is she going? Should we go after her?” Asha turned around and asked.
“I think we should give her a little time. She might still be headed to her brunch date.” Chase shrugged, then walked over to the car that was parked behind Devyn’s. After opening the trunk, she took out a large suitcase and another bag.
“Brunch date? With whom?” Asha frowned.
“Don’t know exactly, but it’s not with Ben. I did ask that.” Chase closed the trunk. Asha grabbed one of the bags and followed her inside Devyn’s lavish home, compliments of Uncle Julian. The place looked like something out of a design magazine with its spacious layout and natural lighting. If he ever wanted to sell it, undoubtedly, he could get at least a million for it, if not more. It was definitely a dream home, and Devyn was lucky to be able to enjoy living there rent-free.
While Chase took her bags upstairs to the guest room, Asha found her favorite spot in the Moroccan-th
emed family room: Uncle Julian’s recliner. Because of his six-foot, seven-inch height, he searched high and low until he found one that wouldn’t make him feel like a grasshopper with his knees to his ears when he sat in it. Asha instantly fell in love with the oversized chair that was more like a mini–love seat.
“Now, what do we do?” Chase asked as she came into the room.
“I don’t know,” Asha told her. “I mean, we just have to wait and see what Dev wants to do. I thought about telling Journi to take the video down, but that would be pointless, huh?”
“Yep, it actually made The Shade Room this morning.” Chase took out her phone and pulled up the popular gossip site for Asha to see. In addition to Devyn’s recent video walking, there was an older one of her in a swimsuit show in Miami Fashion Week. Her friend looked phenomenal in both videos, and Asha almost got excited until she saw two other pictures in the brief article. One that captured Devyn and Tremell at the altar in the exact moment that everything happened and another more recent photo of him in the VIP section of some club, surrounded by groupies.
“Shit,” Asha sighed. “Dev’s gonna flip when she sees this.”
“I know. I wish she would stop acting like she did something wrong and has to hide when that’s not the case. She’s not the bad guy here,” Chase pointed out. “The difference between Devyn and Tremell is that he used that moment in the spotlight to his advantage and embraced it. She ran from it.”
“She didn’t run from it. A whole lot of shit happened at once,” Asha said, but in a way, she knew Chase was right. Her friend would never have done to him what he’d done to her.
While Devyn had been hospitalized right after the wedding, Tremell had done interviews with every single media outlet he could find. He made Devyn out to be some erratic, unstable monster who couldn’t handle the fact that he wasn’t ready to settle down. His newfound fame landed him a deal with a major label, and while Devyn was grieving from the loss of her mom, he released not only a song, but also a video reenacting their wedding, using a model who looked just like Devyn. On top of that, Scorpio, Devyn’s mentor and friend, made a cameo appearance in the video. Devyn became a joke. She decided the only way to escape was to retire the professional pseudonym she used as she rose to stardom, and instead, use her legal first name along with her mother’s maiden name. This gave her a fresh start and a new life.
“We’re gonna figure this out,” Chase reassured her.
“How long are you staying?” Asha asked.
“As long as it takes.” Chase shrugged. “I probably should’ve never left.”
While Devyn was recovering from her illness, grief, and depression, Chase put her life and education on hold. When Asha couldn’t be there, Chase was. They were committed to Devyn and tag teamed to do whatever they needed to do to help her: doctors’ appointments, household chores, packing up her things from her old apartment she shared with Tremell. They made sure it was all done, and her life was as stress-free as possible. Slowly, Devyn began getting better. When Uncle Julian, who’d also been a great support, announced he was moving out of the country, they assured him Devyn would be in great hands. After he left, Asha was nervous that Devyn would regress, but she didn’t. Soon, she was stable and strong enough to be on her own. That’s when Chase went back to finish up her degree. Her showing up for the latest crisis at the drop of a dime came as no surprise.
“Well, I guess we need to get started.” Asha pushed down on the chair and stood.
“I guess so,” Chase agreed. “We’re gonna need some extra guidance ASAP.”
They entered the kitchen. Chase went to the cabinet and took out the canister that held Devyn’s special brew bags while Asha put water into the kettle and found two mugs. Minutes later, teacups in hand, they went to the deck and settled down into the chairs.
“Aren’t we supposed to have music for this?” Asha asked.
“Oh, I forgot about that.” Chase reached into her back pocket and took out her phone. “What do we listen to?”
“Something peaceful,” Asha suggested. “I know . . . Maxwell.”
Chase hit the button, and “Pretty Wings” began playing. Asha felt it was a fitting song. After taking a long sip of tea, she sat back and listened with her eyes closed, then told herself to . . . Stop, Inhale, Process repeatedly in her head the way she’d learned from Devyn’s mom when she was little. She was supposed to be focusing on Devyn and her situation, but for some reason, Asha couldn’t stop thinking about her own. She’d expected a phone call or at least a text from Sully apologizing for the night before, but she hadn’t heard from him at all. He hadn’t even reached out to see if she made it home after leaving his place. Certainly, he couldn’t have been expecting her to call him after he had been the one in the wrong. This had been the first time since meeting a year ago that they hadn’t at least spoken to each other daily. He probably didn’t have time before leaving for church this morning. It’s First Sunday, and you know he has to serve communion at both services. He’ll call later. Stop tripping.
“You think she still went on her date?”
“Huh?” Asha snapped back to reality, wondering why she was the only one meditating when they were supposed to be doing it together.
“Devyn. Do you think she went to brunch?” Chase asked.
“I doubt it. She’s probably driving around, that’s all,” Asha answered. “I have her location. Let me check it.”
She went inside and grabbed her phone. Curiosity got the best of her, and she checked to make sure Sully hadn’t left a voicemail. After seeing that there were no missed calls, she checked to see where Devyn was located.
“Find her?” Chase asked when Asha stepped back out onto the deck.
“I did,” Asha said, still surprised at what she discovered. “She’s at Sage.”
“The restaurant?”
The look on Chase’s face let Asha know that she was just as shocked that their friend was at one of the most exclusive restaurants in the city where brunch reservations had to be made months in advance. The only time Asha had ever gone was when one of her clients, who owned one of the largest tax preparer agencies in the country, hosted an anniversary party there.
“Yep.” Asha nodded.
“Dressed in sweats? She can’t be. Stop lying.” Chase reached for the phone and stared at it. “Nah, ain’t no way.”
“You see it for yourself.” Asha sat back down and drank her tea. Her phone rang, and she looked down. Instead of seeing Devyn or Sully’s name, she saw Ben’s. She glanced over at Chase. “It’s Ben. I thought you said she wasn’t with him.”
“She’s not,” Chase said.
“Then why is he calling?”
“Answer and see,” Chase told her.
Asha paused before saying, “Hey, Ben.”
“Hey, Asha, how are you?” His voice was smooth and pleasant.
“I’m great. What about you?” she asked.
“Same here. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“Not at all.” She motioned for Chase to turn down the volume so that Maxwell, who was now singing “Fortunate,” was no longer blasting in the background. He’s probably thinking I’m laid up with a man.
“Well, I was calling for two reasons. One, to let you know how great of a time I had with Devyn last night. It was a lot of fun. Thank you for the introduction,” he said.
“I’m so glad,” Asha said, wondering if he was about to mention that they were together at the moment.
Instead, he said, “And the second thing is I gave your information to a friend of mine who’s planning a vintage car show in a few months. I told him you were the go-to person to get things done.”
“Yes, I am,” Asha told him. “I appreciate the referral, Ben.”
“Speak to you later this week. Enjoy the rest of your weekend,” Ben told her before he hung up.
“I take it they weren’t together,” Chase smirked. “And isn’t it weird that he’s calling you?”
�
�No, they weren’t,” Asha said. “Not really. He was giving me a heads-up on a referral he sent my way. He was also probably using that as a reason to call to see if Devyn said anything to me about their date, which she hasn’t because she’s out with someone else at Sage.”
“Lucky, Dev. Well, anyway, so that you know, I just checked the emails and messages for Pivot, and there are quite a few. Requests for interviews, people asking how to sign up for coaching, or if Pivot will be offering workshops, and, of course, the sleazy requests for nudes and sexual favors. This sudden popularity doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”
“Yeah, but that’s the thing . . . People aren’t associating Pivot with Devyn. They’re associating it with who she used to be,” Asha said, nervously twisting her locs.
“You do know they’re the same person, right? It’s not like Devyn had sexual reassignment or something.”
“I know that. But we both know she’s gonna want to shut it down. There’s no way we’re gonna convince her otherwise,” Asha said. “People are always gonna connect her to Tremell.”
“Maybe not anymore,” Chase murmured and stared at her phone. “I believe he’s officially connected to someone else.”
“Oh God, please don’t tell me that bastard got married,” Asha pleaded. The last thing Devyn needed to hear after what they’d told her was that Tremell had a new wife.
“No, not married.”
“Thank God,” Asha exhaled.
“It’s worse than that.” Chase passed her cell phone, and as Asha stared at the screen, she realized that Chase was right.
Chapter 15
Devyn
“So, your best friend and li’l cousin are at your house waiting for you, and you’re here with me. I feel kind of special.” Nigel pretended to pop his collar.
Devyn shook her head. “Best friend and godsister, but, yeah. They’re probably debating whether to call the cops right now because I left so fast while they were standing in the driveway.”