Healing Inc.

by Tarbox, Deneice

  “I’m sorry, Anita. I tried to call Evy but she didn’t answer her home phone,” Shelly offered apologetically. The older woman hugged herself, trying to keep the potential panic that she felt from surfacing. “You’re the only one with her cell phone number.”

  “It’s okay,” Nita stated pulling out her phone to call Evy. She was in the process of losing her mind as she tried to control her current state of being, not wanting to take it out on the already fragile Shelly. She pushed the preset number for Evy, managing to maintain control for the few moments that the call took to go through.

  “Hello.” Evy’s voice came from the other end, chipper as ever.

  “Where – the- hell - are you?” Nita bit out through clenched teeth, no longer able to control herself. Her Puerto Rican accent was undeniable.

  “I’m just pulling out of the school parking lot. Why?” She immediately went on guard because her dear friend only became like this when something extreme was on the horizon.

  “You need to get over to the shop. Now!”

  “On my way.”

  Hanging up and pulling onto the road, Evy raced to the shop as quickly as traffic would allow her. Pulling into the parking lot, she stopped short and leapt from her car. She had to exit the vehicle quickly to take a closer look because she could not believe what she was seeing. There were flowers of every kind everywhere. They were lined up outside the door in rows, taking over a good portion of the small lot. To make matters worse, a delivery truck sat idling in front of the building undoubtedly dropping off more. She ran into the shop to find Nita going off on the poor kid.

  “Who the fuck keeps sending all these goddamn flowers?” Nita demanded.

  “Ma, ma, ma’am, the name is on the ca, ca, cards. I’m sorry but me and the other drivers are just doing our job. I swear!” The poor kid threw his hands up in surrender. The unfortunate delivery man was still young enough to be battling acne. He was probably just trying to work his way through college and here Nita was scaring the crap out of him.

  “Read the cards!” Nita shouted. “How many fucking cards can a person write, adios mio? You take those freaking flowers back with you! We aren’t accepting anymore!”

  “Ma’am I….”

  “You call me ma’am one more time chico, and those flowers are going to find a new dark spot to rest in!” Nita stepped toward the young man with balled fists. He instinctively backed away from her, fearing that she might attack at any moment.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Anita, please calm down!” Evy said, putting her surrender hands up and coming to stand between Nita and the young man. “Just try to stay calm and let me figure out what’s going on, okay.”

  Nita’s hostility subsided. She unclenched her fists and backed up against the counter with her arms crossed over her chest. She leaned there, still eyeing the delivery boy.

  Turning to face the delivery boy, Evy took the batch of flowers from him. “Thank you,” she told him, dismissing him from the hostile environment. He was out the door as fast as his skinny long legs could carry him.

  “They’ve been coming every hour on the hour since the shop opened this morning,” Shelly informed her. As Evy removed the card from the small envelope Shelly continued. “We haven’t been able to wait on customers because we have to keep stopping to sign for these and then find a place to put them.”

  “What does it say, mama?” Nita asked curiously, her anger subsiding.

  Evy began to read out loud:

  Dear Ms. Evy,

  I can only hope that you forgot about our date for last night and didn’t intentionally stand me up. Therefore, I am forced to send you a bouquet of flowers every hour possible until you remember to call and reschedule our date, (it went on to list his contact information). Being blind as to which flowers are your favorites I have asked that a variety of them be brought to you in hopes that your favorites will be included. The deliveries won’t stop until I hear from you.

  Yours truly,

  Tyler Moriatti

  Evy looked up to find two pairs of wide, shocked eyes staring back at her. She could only mirror their gaze. Slowly, her features started to relax and a sinister smile spread across her face.

  ***

  The Following Friday…

  Tyler rolled over to turn off the blaring alarm of his clock. It was a little after eight am. On occasion, he allotted himself the luxury of sleeping in on Fridays. One was entitled to such things when you were the boss. Thoughts of Evy played yet again in his head, granting his penis the power to act of its own accord. After he had spent time with her, the idea of her being a lesbian had vanished completely. He had felt her checking him out a time or two when she thought he was distracted.

  He couldn’t get over the fact that she had stood him up Tuesday night. In all his years of dating he had never had a woman do that to him. Even his ex-wife had never stood him up, she had simply left. A sly smile came to his lips as he acknowledged something; her actions told him that he was dealing with no ordinary woman.

  He pondered the possibility that something could have come up and she may not have been able to reach him to postpone the date. He hadn’t really given her a means to contact him in case she couldn’t make it, and he felt even more foolish that he hadn’t taken the time to get her full name or any of her contact information. He wasn’t even sure if Evy was actually her first name or not. He was slightly miffed at himself for allowing his arrogance to get in the way of retrieving this vital info. In any case, he had not gone to that shop last Sunday with the intention of falling in…. “Like… That’s what it is…like,” he tried to convince himself out loud as he completed his morning workout.

  He hopped in the shower, wondering how long it would take the media to find out about this and make him sound like a loser in the game of love. To the world he would make sure that he came off as angry over the incident of being stood up. News of such nonsense traveled fast for a man in his position. What he was unwilling to admit to anyone was that he was far from mad. This was a major disappointment for him.

  After his divorce was finalized he had tried dating. The few that he had given the privilege to be seen on his arm showed how shallow they were within the first few minutes of being with them. Eventually, the desire to date took its place on the backburner, mostly due to his daughter. By putting all his energy into raising her and building his business, he now owned five 5 star hotels at various locations around the world and continued to profit from buying and selling high valued properties wherever the opportunity permitted. Oklahoma City was hot right now allowing him to spend more time at home, which he enjoyed immensely. The energy spent on his daughter had given him the best prize of all; the pride of his life.

  Compounding the dating issue was his attraction to black women. He loved the fact that they came in a variety of shades and colors. Their ability to wear their hair in so many ways fascinated him. He loved to feel it and touched it every chance he got, even when those that he had dated protested against having his hands in their hair.

  He had dated a variety of women during his short period between childhood and his marriage to Abby. Abby was black but on the light side because of her blond haired, blue eyed mother. He didn’t want to admit his past fears of approaching those with darker skin, even though he did find many of them rather attractive. His fears weren’t founded on any facts or data. He just had it in his head that they would be more likely to reject his advances, be more inclined to want to be with a “brotha”, not taking him seriously. Sunday night those fears had fled from him. He had mustered up the nerve to ask the chocolate beauty out only to have his fears come to fruition.

  However, he wasn’t about to give up on her. Maybe she didn’t want to admit to it but there was definitely something special between them that could not, should not be ignored. That’s okay. She’ll get tired of all those flowers soon enough, he speculated. On the surface he marveled at his ingenious plan but in the back of his mind he had started to wonder why it w
as taking so long for her to concede to his demands. It had been almost two full days of flower deliveries during every hour that Chanelle’s Consignment Shop was open. He dismissed these concerns, figuring deliveries might have fallen behind, or maybe she actually liked having so many of them.

  Walking around the kitchen in just his lounging pants, he grabbed the protein smoothie that his cook had prepared for him off the kitchen counter. He sat on one of the bar stools to read the morning news.

  As he scrolled through the pages something in the advertisement section caught his eye. He stopped scrolling, as he usually bypassed the small ads quickly, usually not finding an iota of interest in them. He slowly scrolled back to the ad that had gotten his attention. Closing his eyes and shaking his head to clear it, he opened them to read the brief advertisement located on the second page of the local news page once more. The words of the ad were plain as day but they initially refused to have meaning to him. When they finally did, he responded with speed. Springing from the chair, he picked up his phone to alert his driver that they needed to move, and move now.

  ***

  Thirty minutes later, Tyler’s driver pulled into the parking lot of the brick building housing Chanelle’s night club and consignment shop. Both lots belonging to the building, front and back, were full to the hilt. Cars were still trying to get in, with some waiting for parking spots vacated by those who had just completed their shopping.

  He ordered the driver to let him out where he was, assuming it would be quicker to walk around the building to the shop. As he made his way toward the building, he noticed that those who had completed their shopping were indeed walking back to their cars with flowers in hand. Rounding the corner, the reason for his urgent detour there was confirmed. There in the window, as big as day was a sign that read:

  Free Flowers

  With Every Purchase

  Details Inside

  He was stunned. The sound of the little bell over the door as more customers came out of the shop snapped him out of his dumbfounded paralysis. He grabbed the door, briefly stepping back and holding it for more patrons to exit, then went inside. The place was packed. The murmuring of the predominately female crowd gave heed that no matter what the rationalization for this was, he needed to keep his temper in check. Recognizing one of the employees by the smock that she wore, he carefully made his way over to her.

  “Hi, uh...could I speak to the manager please?” he asked stepping up to the young blond girl with braces.

  “Most certainly,” she replied, a telling smile lighting up her face.

  Tyler watched as the young girl disappeared through the back door that connected the two businesses on a mission to find her boss. She had been instructed to do so if an expensively dressed man should happen to show up at the shop. Within a few minutes he spotted her returning with an older, round Native American woman in tow. The older woman said something to the girl, who then nodded and walked off in another direction while the older woman continued to walk toward him. As she drew nearer, he noticed that she appeared to be a little nervous.

  “Hi, I’m Shelly, the manager of Chanelle’s,” she introduced, offering her hand. “You must be Mr. Moriatti.” He was now positive that she had been expecting him. After giving the room a once over, she continued speaking. “Let’s head over to my office.”

  Once again, Tyler found himself seated in the office that Nita had taken him to several months earlier. “Pardon me for stating the obvious but my visit doesn’t seem unexpected,” he challenged with a lifted eyebrow. “What rights have you to offer anything that I purchased to promote your sales?” he asked getting straight to the point, knowing he had an edge over this timid woman.

  Shelly licked her lips as she looked down at her lap, then up again before answering him. “Evy gave them to me… I gave them to the customers. I..I don’t really see the problem,” she stuttered. The man oozed power and his good looks didn’t help her maintain her cool around him.

  “The problem, Shelly,” he said, emphasizing her name, “is that those flowers were a gift, intended for Ms. Evy, and Ms. Evy only.”

  Tyler noticed that the woman was becoming less comfortable by the minute. It was only a matter of time before she shut down on him or began to cry. It occurred to him that he shouldn’t be taking this out on her; the poor woman was just doing her job.

  “Shelly,” he began again in a much more gentle tone, “please understand that I’m not angry with you for your part in this. I’m just a little frustrated with Evy right now.” It was time to turn on the charm. “I really like her but she won’t give an honest fella like me a chance to get to know her better. My only crime here is in wanting to take a beautiful woman out to dinner. I promise I won’t hurt her. I’m sure a good looking woman such as you can understand where I’m coming from.” He gave her his most amiable look. His eyes were mesmerizing. It didn’t take long for them to have the effect on her that he wanted. She visibly melted before him.

  “If you could just give me her phone number or just her full name, I’ll be on my way.” He flashed her one of his deal sealing smiles that he usually reserved for his female clients.

  “Mr. Moriatti…” she paused allowing a small giggle to escape. “I honestly believe you tried to do a good thing for Evy but you should know she’s a modest woman. I personally, sir, am in your corner one hundred percent. I love that girl. Nothing would make me happier than to see her doing something else with her time besides helping everyone else out and going to school. I really want to help you, I really do. But I know Anita would wring my neck if I were to give you any of Evy’s personal information.” Her look was sincere.

  He sat for a moment, digesting her words. Then those eyes of his lit up with an idea. Whipping out his cell phone he called his assistant. “Cancel the flower deliveries, please,” he politely ordered before placing it back in the pocket of his long dress coat. Turning his attention back to Shelly, he flashed her a coy grin. “I just need one piece of information from you.”

  Chapter 4

  A cool Monday welcomed the month of October in Oklahoma City. Evy made her way to her usual seat for her humanities class. She did so with a lot on her mind. Anita had called the night before to inform her that some detective back in Chicago was asking questions about her. He had come to Miguel’s branch of Healing Inc. using her stage name during the inquiry. As soon as Miguel found out, he had told him to get lost. According to Nita, he didn’t waste time alerting his sister down in Oklahoma City of what had taken place.

  For once, Evy was glad that she had used a different name back when she used to perform. Most people knew her as Mindy Johnson, a name given to her by David. He had thought her real name too blasé for the stage. Giving her his last name also fooled others into believing they were married. It was his way of saying ‘hands off’ if anyone should get any ideas. After she had relocated to Oklahoma, she dropped her birth name of Rachel Evelyn Stoneland and now went by Evelyn Stone. Robert Kimble, who had prosecuted Raheem Jones, had suggested she do so since Raheem’s accomplices had not been found.

  She still found it odd that she had never seen the other three men until that night. Just as fast as they had come into her life to aid Raheem in destroying it they were gone without a trace. What she found most disturbing was the sudden change in Raheem that night. They had never liked each other but for the sake of David they had tolerated one another. He and David had been tight, getting high, picking up woman together and what not. Raheem had labeled her as snotty and often asked David right in front of her why he put up with her arrogance. But, he had always respected David when he had told him to shut up and leave her alone.

  It was usually David who footed the bill for the sordid lifestyle that the two men shared. The police investigator had told her that Raheem was acting on behalf of a drug dealer that David had offended by considering breaking into the drug business and muscling in on the established drug dealer’s territory.

  Evy actually felt mor
e frustration than fear. She loved her current life and any threat to it was very much unwelcomed. Cashing in David’s insurance policy and selling all of his properties in Chicago had given her ample funds to start over again in Oklahoma City. She had used some of the funds to buy her first apartment building, giving her and Nita a place to live as well as income while they worked on their degrees. She used her knowledge to invest another large portion of her inheritance in the stock market, resulting in a significant increase in her net worth.

  As soon as she had finished her MBA she founded Healing Inc., which presently consisted of ten high end condominiums (two in Chicago and eight in Manhattan), two local condos and Chanelle’s Boutique, Consignment Shop and Night Club. She also held onto the first apartment building, in which she still resided. Evy was able to lay low as she handled the business and financial aspects of the organization, while Nita was the face of the business and took care of all the legal facets. Her brothers, Miguel and Enrique, oversaw the branches in Chicago and New York respectively. They all took part in the philanthropic projects.