by Zi'ere
“Ok, before we get off task we can’t go too hard on the decisions Laini has made in the past. You have to know that somebody, somewhere in the universe is taking a risk right now in the name of love. The only thing my sister has ever been guilty of is taking risks with her heart repeatedly. But we have all done it so we can’t be too judgmental. She doesn’t deserve or need that from her sisters.” My neck had gotten hot.
I didn’t appreciate Emani’s words the more I thought about them.
Emani raised one eyebrow at me before she spoke.
“The truth is the truth. Pay attention because this is my second time saying that the truth is that Laini has made one dumb decision after the other. I wish she would get it through her head full of one hundred percent human hair that the decisions she makes and those so called risks she takes where her heart is concerned affects our companies. The industry is going to label her as unsteady, reckless, and a fool. We all will suffer the consequences of her actions. And frankly I have had it with her selfishness! My empire will not fall at the feet of Laini’s stupid bullshit!”
“If anything Laini has helped bring your so called empire even more recognition. Even though no one but us knows how the business end is broken down, she is at every function the agency is a part of. You know that wherever she goes, the cameras follow her.” I would not tolerate her dissing my sister.
Who knew this was how she really felt against her best friend. The one who had been there from the start was now not good enough to hold her position?
“If you think Laini carries the agency in her back pocket you are more delusional than she is! Say what you please right now. The only point I need you to carry back to whence you have come from is that I will not hesitate to cut the cord on the professional end. Barton Modeling Agency affairs will not be affiliated with the likes of bird brains.”
“This conversation has taken a hard turn to the left and it is sitting in the middle of the crazy field! Laini is still a grown woman as you have pointed out several times! And like I just said none of us are perfect, even you! Since you cannot summon an ounce of compassion for my sister or her situation, I have a solution for you…stay away from her. And when I say her, I mean the both of us! That should be real easy to do since you are so sick of our affairs being broadcasted!” I took care to set the glass of sweet tea I was holding softly onto the table top.
She looked up at me in shock that I had the nerve to bite her back.
“This time Mrs. Emani Barton- Haywood, I am prepared to sever all ties between all of us right now. Or as you put it, cut the cord on the professional end. I never knew you felt so negatively about the Jefferies name. I don’t know who you think you are! But everything is all good because I am about to show you better than I could ever tell you that you can’t run around talking crazy to and about folk, and expect everything to remain all good. I can’t believe you could be so disrespectful to my face. You didn’t even have the common sense to keep it to yourself. You won’t be able to back track out of this situation you have created. When I fill Laini in I am more than sure she will feel the same way I do. There is no doubt in my mind that she will clip and burn the ends of the cord that connects Purple Label to the Barton Modeling Agency. I pray that God gives you the strength to handle all that is about to happen to you on account of your ignorant mouth!”
“You can’t make the decision to separate our businesses by yourself! That is taking things too far. I only meant that there needs to be a separation of the two brands in the media.” She began to look around the restaurant. I knew she didn’t want any witnesses to overhear her trying to back paddle.
“Oh, so that outdated ass bob on your head is affecting your hearing now? What I said was, when I fill Laini in. I know you didn’t think you could run my name into the dirt in front of my face? Weren’t you the one demanding that your empire not fall because of Laini’s decisions? Let’s see how quick your empire falls without Laini carrying it!”
I grabbed my purse and left the table but not before I locked eyes with her giving a mean menacing look. Every fiber in my body wanted to do bodily harm to Emani but I knew that my mother did not raise me to be such a woman. I would hit Emani where it would surely matter most, in her bank account. I sent my driver a text to pick me up while I wasted time shopping in a small boutique across the street from the restaurant. Once safely inside the store I realized it was a children’s clothing store. I began to browse to see if there was anything cute enough to gift to my five god-babies. Mad or not, I still had an obligation to them to fulfill. Looking at the soft clothing that was surely pricey enough to grace the Haywood children’s body, I began to fantasize about doing this kind of shopping for myself or Laini. We were both close to our god-babies but when the two of us had our own children, we would be in hog heaven.
My mind went back to the events of the day. Before either of us could think about babies we needed to secure husbands first. Laini and I had promised our parents that we would be married when we ended up in the family way. At last discussion, we both were still intent on keeping that vow. I for one could not wait to develop a bond with my blood niece or nephew. Emani wasn’t sympathetic about what it was Laini truly desired and deserved. Laini was a good person at the end of each day. She gave freely and didn’t second guess herself at all. I couldn’t fathom why Emani was thinking all of Laini’s decisions were so dumb when she had named her as the twin’s god mother. It seemed to me that Laini had been doing something right with her affairs after all.
Emani was always all about image. She sometimes forgot that Laini and I were not paid models anymore. We did not shoot commercials representing mega corporations and we certainly were not paid by sponsors of those mega products. The only brand Laini and I had protect was Purple Label and despite what Emani thought, we were doing a damn good job at it. If anything Laini’s escapades had given our company more recognition, she traveled the globe frequently. Whenever she was photographed she was directly promoting our lines. Laini and I were simply silent partners in Barton Modeling Agency. No one knew that unless one of us made them aware. Emani had no reason to go so hard on my sister and I did not appreciate it. My sister was merely a fool for love, calling her decisions dumb was totally unnecessary. The entire purpose of talking to Emani in the first place was to get support in joining forces to get Laini to meet a real man. Instead all I got was misplaced anger shot at the person I loved most in the world. For the first time ever, I was beyond upset with Emani. My only best friend who shared the same DNA as me was also hiding from me, what a day.
7
Laini
There was no way I could look my sister in the face and tell her about the bold move I was planning to make. She would never understand and she would surely try to talk me out of it. Laini was in charge of her own affairs, bottom line and end of story. I had my assistant, Yvette cancel the standing lunch date I had with Zoey every Thursday afternoon. I even had her go out to get me lunch while I continued to work secluded in my office. I had no desire to run into Zoey, Emani, or Amina. I stayed out of Zoey’s way for the remainder of the work day, putting all my energy into the upcoming Purple Label fall line that would be unveiled in a month.
Five o’clock could not come fast enough for me. Even though I still had to make nice with my sister and besties throughout a fashion show tonight, I was ready to get out of the office. Grateful for the distraction, I went into the full bathroom Zoey and I shared. Our offices were connected by the spacious room. After I had locked her out of possible entry while I was using the space, I began to make myself even more glamorous for the night life. Of course Bug and I had tiffs between us from time to time. You couldn’t see the same person for thirty four years straight and not dry hump their nerves every now and then. I couldn’t ever remember a time where I stayed away from her on purpose. I began to question if my life with Que was worth possibly damaging my relationship with my sister. I said a silent prayer that I would never have to find out how
my life could be without either of them.
After a quick shower, I flat ironed the virgin silky human hair weave that was sewn into my head. Zoey rocked a short jazzy hair cut with funky spikes that was frequently dyed many colors throughout the year. I was addicted to the comfort and security of having at least sixteen inches of long natural looking hair that I could wear many different ways. I had worn a weave for so long, it was never questioned that I was not my real hair. It was safe to say that I was one of those women not afraid to admit all my glitches. I was an open book but there were certain things you were not going to get Laini Jefferies to do. Wearing my own natural hair was one of those things. Wearing another designer’s apparel was another thing. Another glitch I had was that I had to be in heels in public unless I was running. The only time I ran was when I was being chased. I had a bodyguard, so I had never been involved in a chase. The prissy stamp my mother gave me was still valid. The fact that I tripped over my own feet whenever I wore flats or tennis shoes was more solid proof that I was made for heels.
In one of my moves to hide out during the day, I had selected a transitional piece to debut at the fashion show. It was a strapless halter romper jump suit fresh off the samples rack from the design room. A thin braided belt with tassels on the ends was designed for only one purpose, to accentuate the waist. I completed my look with gold toned open toed strappy heels that were the same color as the jumper. My perfect size ten filled out the material and allowed my own personal statements to be heard. First statement being that I was a brown girl with grapefruit for breasts, real hips, and a nice sized onion butt; there was nothing runway model thin about me. I was a real woman and I made clothing for other real women who enjoyed eating just like I did.
I knew that my sisters were particular about what they ate. I simply didn’t have the patience for it, I was a true foodie. I had favorite restaurants and favorite dishes to eat in every country in the world. Thanks to Liam I never had to dine alone and he never judged me on how much I could eat. Since he was by my side splurging sometimes, he worked over time to keep his physique up to par. Emani and Amina ate like birds in front of each other and the sight of the general public, but when they were alone or with Zoey and I it was a different story. Each of us used the same personal trainer even though my time was paid for but barely ever used. I had no desire to be paper thin like the models. I loved my curves but I loved sweets even more. Liam walked me up and down the hills in my subdivision whenever I needed to unwind. To me, that was good enough. I made clothes to fit my body; never would I make my body fit already made clothes.
Snatching the khaki toned gold tinted halter romper was not an easy task. Once my sketched pieces had been successfully completed by the manufactured seamstress hundreds of outfits were free for the taking by top Purple Label employees. You would think my employees would give me special treatment just because I was the boss. That totally wasn’t the way we ran things at Purple Label. The only practice I could be found guilty of was specially ordering a certain color of a piece that wasn’t available to the public. Samples were made in a variety of sizes and all women knew certain sizes seemed to disappear into thin air in the stores, the same rule applied to the samples. The women in the office made it their business to enjoy the perks of being a Purple Label employee which meant all the free merchandise you could get your hands on.
First come, first served was our motto. I enjoyed the fact of knowing that women from a size zero to a twenty could find signature high fashion pieces. Also our pieces were priced in a way that no matter what your income was, there was something available to you. There were label apparel, shoes, and accessories in stores that ranged from Target to Bergdorf Goodman. Everything I did lifted Purple Label another notch above the rest so, the only drawback to receiving the label’s merchandise was that the ladies had to be photographed wearing each outfit. We splurged on a lot of things within the company and there was no need to spend millions on advertising when I could have the job done for free. I had to laugh at myself because I was sure I sounded just like Emani when I said that. But unlike Emani, I understood it took a team to fulfill the job descriptions of my employees. I was even prouder to say that our employees had the higher end salaries in comparison to other apparel lines.
8
Laini
I heard a light tap on the bathroom door. It didn’t take me long to realize the knock was coming from inside my office.
“Yes? I’m here, what’s wrong?” I said a silent prayer that it wasn’t Emani on the other side of the door.
“Hey sweetheart, are you ready for me to do your make up?” It was my other sweet angel Amina.
I made my way to the door to let her in. We greeted each other the same way no matter how long it had been since we had last seen each other, with tight hugs.
“I’m ready for you to make me glamorous. You know you don’t have to ask if I’m ready!”
I sat in the high stool as she spread out all the MAC products she would potentially need to use on the marble counter top.
“What colors are you wearing tonight sugarfoot?” I pointed out the outfit hanging on the hook behind the door.
“Ok, that’s good. I have a new technique I wanted to use on your slanted eyes anyway.”
I gave her a neck roll and rolled my eyes for her calling them slanted. She knew I hated when people told me that. We continued to make conversation about her beautiful babies and even more handsome husband. I was an eyelash away from telling her about my plans for me and Que’s future. I knew it wouldn’t be long before another twin would be more interested in the wrong I was doing more than the right. I couldn’t handle having another one of my backbones mad at me.
“Amina, I have a question I have to ask you. I know that you were swept off your feet pretty quick by Carlos. You went to lunch at his mom’s house one day and the next you were caught up in a committed relationship by the time the sun rose the next morning. How did you know it was okay to put all of your energy into a man you didn’t even know?”
She took a deep breath and rolled her shoulders back, stiffening her posture.
“Laini the way things happened with Emani and I are not usually the way things go. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Let’s be sensible about the situation. It was more of a one in a million chance. It happened to both of us, so it is safe to say we will never see such an occurrence again in our lifetime.”
My eyes began to mist. No one believed what I shared with Que was real.
“Before you ruin this beautiful job I am doing hear me out first okay?”
I blinked away the near tears before I gave her a shaky voiced, “I’m listening.”
“I think the most important factor to the whole idea was that Mrs. Anna knew us and she knew her boys. Let’s not forget that the Haywood men had been borderline noncompliant Casanovas before us. The one thing that was important was that his mother and sister were solid foundations in the success of our relationships.”
I nodded. It was all I could offer. I had never laid a finger on Que and I certainly had not ever met nor talked to his mom. My heart dropped to my ankles.
“Laini I know it has been long enough but please be patient in the process it takes to develop love. It may seem as though you don’t have the support of your sisters and that is the most absurd thing you can think. We support and love you so much, that we don’t want you to get hurt. I’m sorry but I have to tell you how I honestly feel. You are setting yourself up for this man to put a serious hurting on your heart.”
“If I am happy why can’t you guys be happy for me and just keep your mouths shut? If it turns out it’s not right, I won’t even need to ask you not to say I told you so. In my heart and head, the potential gain is worth any pain. Respect my decision just like I respected yours!”
“Am I mistaken or did you not bring up this conversation topic?”
“Once again, the potential gain of ya’ll staying out of my personal affairs is worth the pain of going
through the rest of my life best friendless.”
“So you’re telling me that Quese outranks the three of us?”
“I am telling you to not make me have to choose.”
She looked me in the eyes. She thinned her lips in what I knew was a move to prevent her from speaking another word. Three minutes later she was packing up her make up supplies. She still hadn’t said another word.
9
Laini
I was seated in the back seat of my black on black BMW sedan driven by Liam. My twin sister sat beside me and in between us were two big designer bags that equaled a year’s salary to the average person. The silence in the car was unbearable so in addition to busying myself with modern technology, I thought about our life compared to other people in the world. Losing our parents had been an unexpected disaster in our lives. It seemed neither one of us had gotten over the shock even though it had been years ago. I remembered being told that I was the oldest by five minutes, just enough to give our parents the surprise of their lives. The late Michael and Deborah Jefferies had spent the entire nine months preparing for one little girl, not two bundles of joy. They adjusted quickly and gave both of us a life others only dreamed of.
Thinking of our parents put me in a somber mood so I decided to change my thoughts. I didn’t need to be in a bad head space during a fellow designer’s show. My attention shifted to the things going on around me. I was focused on my iPad, Facebook inbox messaging Que. Zoey was probably doing the same thing with her recently made fiancé, Mekhi on the personal cell phone she held in her hands. For the first time in our adult life both of us were in two equally fulfilling relationships and that made me smile. I just wished everyone else could smile for me right now as well. Cupid had a lot of explaining to do for all of the mess he had put me through in the past. Now I felt that he had righted all of the wrongs of the past for giving me such a bright future with Que. My past is what made the process totally worth it. I shuddered at the thought of the heartache I had overcome with each hurdle that was pegged each time a publicly embarrassing headline that had been run about me being hurt by a love interest. Zoey had been the successful one in love from the beginning. She and Mekhi had been together since high school. According to her there was no need or desire for her to date another man.