“You’re really suggesting that I stay at a company that will never promote me to partner even though I deserve it?” I chuckle “I’ll be in my office. Have a good rest of the day” I say and walk away.
****
Back in my office, I start taking down all of my pictures and awards and as I’m storing them in a cardboard box I hear Pam’s voice blaring from the intercom on the business phone. “Ms. Mooreland you have a collect call from Malik on line four.” She tells me.
“Thanks Pam” I say back.
I press the button to line four and I hear.
“To accept this call press one. To decline this call press zero.”
I press the number one and wait.
“Stacy” I hear Malik say.
“Why on earth are you calling me collect?”
“Stacy I’m in trouble. I need your help. I’m in jail”
“How am I supposed to help you?”
“I need for you to be my attorney”
“Malik” I sigh.
“I really need your help”
“What have you gotten yourself into?”
“I’ve been falsely accused of sexual conduct and obstruction of justice in connection with an alleged relationship with an underage girl”
“What!” Okay that was probably ghetto, but I’m shocked.
“It’s this young lady in one of my classes. She’s lying. You know I’d never do something like this. You know me?”
He’s right. I know that he’s telling me the truth he’d never sleep with a teenager, maybe her mother but definitely not her. Still I really need to think about this. If I take the case I’d be spending a lot of time with Malik. Can I really do this? Can I really work so closely with this man after how bad he’s hurt me in the past?
I’m thinking hard
“Stacy, please you’re the only person that I can count on. Please do me this one b-i-g-ggg favor. My reputation is ruined. I’m sure I have to resign. You’re the only one that can fix this.”
“Damnet Malik you’re going to owe me big time. I’ll catch a flight out tonight. Where is Mackenzie?”
“She’s staying with a friend of mine”
“Okay I’ll be there as soon as I touch down”
I hear him exhale. “Thank you” He says.
****
Later that night I arrive in Florida. I get a rental car and head to The Hilton Inn. I’m tired and I end up falling asleep in my clothes. The crazy thing is I don’t realize it until my alarm goes off. If there is one thing I hate it’s seven o’clock in the morning. I move across the room and walk into the bathroom like I’m in a race with turtles. I shower and afterwards I get dressed.
What in the hell am I doing here? I keep asking myself. I can’t believe I’ve let him convince me into defending him. He has me right in the palm of his hands just like he did in high school. This time I promise that things are going to stay strictly professional.
When I walk into the jailhouse the staff treats me like I’m an inmate until they find out that I’m an attorney.
After about an hour Malik is released and we head over to his house. He looks like he has a million things on his mind.
****
Around nine o’clock that night
“So I just want to be clear, you haven’t done anything inappropriate with this girl?” I ask Malik, were both sitting on the sofa in his living room preparing for the case, it’s definitely a tough one.
“I’ve hardly ever said two words to her. I mean she makes inappropriate comments all the time towards me in class but I’ve never acted on them. I’ve always just ignored it”
“Are you sure?”
“Stacy you know I’m not that type of man. I don’t have a reason to mess with little girls.”
I catch my glasses from falling off the bridge of my nose and continue writing everything that Malik is telling me in my notepad “I have to ask these kind of questions. I wonder what her motive is?”
“I have no idea. Thank you for believing in me Stacy” he says.
Out of nowhere he changes the subject before I’m able to respond.
“Stacy” He says and I hate that I still love the way he says my name.
“Yeah” I answer, continuing to write and refusing to look at him.
“Have you forgiven me?”
“Malik I’m not here to talk about that. I’m here as your attorney, nothing else”
“I understand but I still want to know have you forgiven me.”
“Why” I say taking off my glasses and finally looking at him? Why can’t you just forget about the past? I have”
“Because my mind will always remember what my heart can’t forget.” He’s gazing at me and I feel chills running through my body again. “I still love you Stacy” slowly rolls off of his tongue.
“You don’t know anything about love” I retort back.
“Trust me when I say that I’m in love with you and I’ve never stopped being in love with you.”
“Well why did you do it? Why did you cheat on me with Jennifer and run off and marry her? What was it about her?”
“Honestly, Stace…” He hesitates. “It was her availability. You were always studying are crammed up in your dorm room. And you never had time for me. Jennifer did”
“Excuse me for trying to work hard so that we could have a decent life. Jennifer had time for you alright’! Time enough to offer you what she had between her legs.” I feel warm tears sliding down my face. I didn’t want him to see me crying.
“Obviously this subject still hurts you. Look Stace, I’m sorry for hurting you and if I could take back what I did all of those years ago I would do it in a heartbeat”
“But you can’t. It was years ago and we can’t change it so let’s just leave it alone okay”
Right now, I feel like I’m going to break down any second so I get to my feet.
“Give me a few minutes” I say and head for the bathroom.
I get myself together and when I open the door Malik is standing in the hallway holding a shoebox.
“I want you to have these”
“What are these?”
“Open it and see”
I open the box and it’s filled with numerous handwritten letters. I scan through the first one that catches my eye. I end up getting so emotional that I feel my knees buckle. “I think that we’ve gone over enough information for today” I say and attempt to walk away.
“Stace” He whispers, grabbing my hand.
His touch warms me all over and I can’t look into his eyes right now. I don’t turn around and face him. I just can’t do it. “I’m not going to let you hurt me again Malik”
He’s still holding my hand. “That’s the last thing that I want to do. We can’t keep avoiding the fact that we still have feelings for each other.”
“I don’t want to feel this way about you” I say, still looking away.
“Your heart belongs to me Stace. Always has. Always will.”
“So what just because we have some feelings for one another you think that we can just pick up where we left off?”
“I know that it’s not that simple. I’m sure that us living in different states doesn’t make it any easier but what I do know is I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get you back in my life. If you can turn around and look me in my face and tell me that you haven’t missed me just as much as I’ve missed you I’ll let you walk out that door right now and I’ll never bother you again.”
I turn around with the anticipation of proving him wrong but I can’t do it. I can’t say it. “Malik let’s drop this please” I say with tears pooling behind my eyelids.
“You can’t do it, can you?”
I don’t answer.
“We’re meant to be Stace. Tell me what your heart is saying right now without denying exactly what you feel at this very moment”
“My heart is saying that I should let you back in my life but I can’t because my mind won’t let me
do it. My mind is telling me that we’re not meant to be and you’re only going to hurt me all over again. Malik I’m so confused because I can’t stand here and honestly say that I haven’t missed you, that I haven’t dreamed of you over the years.”
I can no longer compose myself and I end up breaking down.
“I love you Stace and I’ve missed you. All these years I’ve been lost without you”
“How can you say that and you’ve been married?”
“I wasn’t in love with Jennifer. I did what I thought was the right thing to do. The only good thing that came out of my marriage was Mackenzie. I love you Stacy Mooreland.”
“I love you too” I hear myself mumble. Malik looks like he’s shocked. Hell I don’t blame him. I can’t believe I let the words come out of my mouth either.
Malik wipes my tears away and kisses me on the lips. I don’t resist. I kiss him back and we get carried away before I know it. “Malik wait” I say backing away. “Your kisses makes me weak even when I know that I’m not ready to go there yet”
“Okay” He says, looking at me like he wants to have me right here on the kitchen table. “I can respect that.”
He grabs my hand and we walk back into the living room. He turns on some music. This Woman’s Work by Maxwell is crooning.
“It’s getting late. I’m going to head to my hotel”
He holds out his hands “Dance with me”
“Malik I should get going”
He pulls me in his arms and I lay my head on his chest and close my eyes as we move to the rhythm of the music.
This feels like we’re honeymooning.
When the music stops he says, “You know that you don’t have to leave. You can sleep in my bedroom. I’ll sleep in Mackenzie’s room.”
“I’m afraid of what might happen if I stay the night with you.”
“Nothing is going to happen, trust me I’m not going to push you to have sex with me.”
****
Over the next few days Malik I just talk, and laugh, cuddle, have pillow fights, watch movies and just have an incredible time.
I’ve missed this.
****
The morning I was set to fly back to Chicago Malik waltzes into the room bright and early.
“Rising shine” He says setting a breakfast tray on the bed
“Fried bologna sandwiches” I giggle
“Yeah”
“I haven’t had these since college.”
“You’re kidding me right?”
“Don’t you remember? I could never get my bologna to crisp like yours so I gave up”
“Oh yeah that’s right. Yours would always come out too burnt to eat or not burnt enough.” He laughed.
“So you have jokes?”
“I’m just saying”
The doorbells rings.
“I’ll be right back, it’s probably Mackenzie” Malik says and races to the door.
I get up and head into the bathroom to shower.
There isn’t any soap.
Heading towards the living room I hear a woman sobbing.“ “You were right” She says. “I should have listened to you. She was telling the truth. I found child pornography on his computer”
I’m shocked when I reach the living room and I see Jennifer buried inside Malik’s arms, crying.
“What’s she doing here?” She hisses.
I glance at Malik, wanting him to say that I’m here because he wants me to be here. Instead he’s standing here looking like he’s torn between us and says nothing. I feel my heart twisting and turning all over again. I swear it feels like it’s going to quit working. This feels like our history repeating itself all over again.
“Don’t worry I was just about to leave” I say and go get my belongings. I feel like a fool.
Malik runs after me. “Stace it’s not what you think.”
I say, “It looks like you two were having a little love connection to me.”
I angrily collect everything that I brought with my and stuff it into my suitcase.
“As soon as I opened the door she just rushed into my arms” He pleads.
“You couldn’t even answer the damn question when she asked you what I was doing here?”
“You didn’t give me time”
“Whatever Malik. Find another attorney. I’m not going to let you use me.”
“Stacy that’s not what I’m doing”
“Save it Malik”
I’m storming back to the front door now. I’m done with Malik for good this time. I open the thick wood door and I almost pee on myself, there’s a woman standing on the porch holding a shot gun that’s as long as the front door. A diaper bag is thrown across her shoulder. She’s pregnant.
“Leaving so soon” She says, jabbing the gun in my stomach. “I don’t think so.” She laughs wickedly.
Jennifer screams
I freeze up
“How did you get out?” Malik asks.
“You’d be surprised how far this pretty face can get me” She says.
“Regina, please don’t hurt her.” Malik begs
My voice trembles. “Malik what’s going on?”
“Regina she doesn’t have anything to do with this. Please put the gun down”
“What is it about her Malik? What’s she got I ain’ got?” She pokes the tip of the rifle further in my stomach. “Go”
I take backward steps. “I have money if that’s what you want”
“Sweetie it’s not your money that I want. I want your life”
Jennifer cries. “Please don’t hurt us”
Regina closes the door with her foot.
“Please Regina it’s me that you want?” Malik says.
“Wrong! There was a time that I wanted you but all you wanted was anybody but me”
“It’s you that I want” Malik says, and even I can tell that he’s lying “You and I, we…we can raise our baby together, Just let Stace and Jennifer go”
“You don’t want me. You’ve had all the time in the world to be with me.” All of you sit down on the sofa and don’t move and if one of you tries to call the police by the time the police get here neither one of you will be able to tell them what happened because you’ll be dead”
We all walk over to sofa and sit down.
“Regina you should think about the baby. If you kill me, you’re going to go to jail who’s going to raise the baby?”
“There is no baby” She says and snatches off the prosthetic baby bump “Ah that feels better.”
She sits down on the small loveseat across from where the three of us are sitting and pulls out a pack of cigarettes.
She lights it. “I really didn’t want for it to come to this Malik but I’ve worked too hard to make you fall in love with me. First I had to persuade Jennifer to leave you. Hell, that wasn’t too hard she was cheating on you anyway. And then I had to accidently bump into you at the convenience store although it wasn’t what I’d call accidental; I’d planned it perfectly. I’d studied your daily ritual for months. My plan was moving along just as I’d hoped until you had to fuck it up.” She takes a long drag of the cigarette and continues, “For some reason you just wouldn’t love me the way that I loved you. That’s why I had to do something that I knew would hurt you, I knew how much you loved teaching and coaching those boys and I wanted to take that away from you. Convincing my niece Karina to falsely accuse you of engaging in a sexual relationship with her was easy. The things a teenager will do for a few outfits and an expensive pair of shoes.”
She laughs.
“Why me?” Malik asks her.
“Because I’m sick of men hurting me. It started with my father. He’d come in my room every night, touching on me, and making me put my mouth on places I was too young to even know about.” She takes another drag from the cigarette and it looks like she’s drifting off into another world. “Come on and be a good girl for daddy, he’d say. It started when I was five and it lasted until I was fourteen. I was pr
egnant by then and they made me get an abortion. I killed him in his sleep. He got what he deserved.”
“So what are you going to do now, kill me?”
“Well that was the plan until I got here and noticed you have company. Now I’m going to make it look like Jennifer killed you and your little girlfriend Stacy when she walked in and caught you cheating on her”
“Please just let me go. I don’t have anything to do with this” I beg.
“Like people are really going to believe that Jennifer came home with a loaded shotgun.” Malik points out.
“I didn’t say she was going to use this silly. She’s going to stab you to death and I’m going to watch. Don’t worry Jennifer I’ve been to prison it’s not so bad”
“I can’t do it” Jennifer cries. “Please don’t make me do something like this”
“Shh, shhh, shhh” Regina insists as if she hears something. “I hear you sweetie, mama’s coming.”
I don’t hear anything and I think that this lady is mentally unstable.
“You…get up” She tells Malik, “Push this sofa up against the front door”
She grabs the rifle, gets up from the sofa and watches Malik push it against the front door.
Once he sits back down she says, “If I hear that chair move I’m going to shoot each one of you in the leg and watch you suffer” She threatens and heads to the back. “Mama’s coming sweetie”
“Who in the hell is she talking to Malik? and what in the hell have you gotten us in?” I snap.
He whispers. “I didn’t know she was crazy until after I’d already screwed her.”
“That figures” I say.
Malik says to Jennifer “When she gives you the knife I need for you to try to attack her.”
“You know I’m not the fighting type” She argues.
“Do you want to die?” He whispers.
“Use this” I say tossing her the small bottle of mace that’s attached to my keychain.
She slides it into her pocket.
The psycho bitch walks back in. She’s holding an imaginary baby and singing hush little baby.
She puts the imaginative baby on the loveseat that’s blocking the door.
“How old is your baby?” I ask.
Unfaithful Ties Page 38