Lisa was growing increasingly impatient as she headed from the white room down the long hallway toward Frank’s office. Her mood was completely blown. No nookie for Franklin.
“Franklin! Fran—” Fright gripped her heart as she neared the open door. This couldn’t be . . . She had to be mistaken. “Oh my God, Frank!” Lisa could see Frank’s body stretched across the wood floor behind his desk. She ran to his side and fell to her knees. Shaking him and crying uncontrollably she continued screaming his name. “Frank, wake up, Frank! Please.” The room swirled around her. Panic-stricken, Lisa grabbed the office phone and dialed 911. “Help me, please, my husband. . . He’s not moving! Oh my God . . . I don’t know if he’s breathing. He’s so cold . . . please . . .”
Lisa was hysterical. Heartbroken. Confused. She dropped the phone and cradled Frank’s face in her lap, sobbing aloud. She was not thinking. She was feeling. Feeling guilty about lying to her husband, stealing from him. She did not hear the ambulance pull up. Did not hear the EMTs enter the home, nor register that they had entered the room to assist.
“I feel a faint pulse,” one of them said, but Lisa did not hear him.
Her mind flashed back to metal poles and stage lights. Just sixteen years old, naked, alone, and afraid. The air stank of lust and liquor. Hands all over her body, on her breasts, her thighs, between her legs. Her eyes burned from the smoke in the air. Inside, she was screaming, terrified, but her body rebelled against her trepidation. Survival outweighed her instinct to run. She was dancing. Trying not to die. Trying to live. One second from locating the nerve to find the Reaper and offer her soul. Death presented itself as a favorable alternative, by far, and it was at that precise moment Lewis drifted into her biography. The specific day was lost to her, but the tactile sentiment dredged within her person the instant his Kodak smile seemed to reach into the abyss and pull her out and into him; it was something she would never forget.
Vividly, she recalled how rapidly her heart beat within her chest the first time he entered her, the first time he made love to her. Lewis had filled her womb so completely; their bodies fit together so perfectly, she was convinced they were designed for each other. She felt their souls connect, and she dreamed of forever. For months, Lisa lived under the haze of love, completely immersed in the little world she and Lewis fashioned.
Inside the chaos that fueled their lifestyle filled with broken dreams, empty bottles, and fast cash, she found a small but immensely viable measure of peace with him. Lewis had her heart, and she would have done anything for him . . . until she realized that she was only one ride in his amusement park—a hard brush with a reality that permanently snatched the stars out of her eyes. From that point on, she looked out for herself. Lisa wanted out, and Frank had been her hero draped in dollar signs. Her door marked “exit.” Her way out of the amusement park. He had saved her, and she loved him for it.
“Ma’am . . . ma’am . . . We need to get him to the hospital now. Are you coming?”
The EMT interrupted her thoughts. Brought her back to the present. Back to Frank. She nodded, got up to follow them, and hoped with all her heart that she hadn’t lost Frank forever.
Chapter 9
Lewis pulled into the hospital parking structure and picked a spot as isolated as possible. He wanted privacy. He sent a text to let her know he had made it and reclined the seat in his E-Class to relax and wait. Things had been rocky between them lately, but it didn’t bother him much. He simply wanted his money every month. The garage was dimly lit and devoid of people. He cracked the driver-side window and decided to light one. The sweet scent of his Black & Mild filled the car. He closed his eyes and let his mind wander. Pretty soon, he heard a light knock on the passenger-side window. He looked over to find Lisa motioning for him to unlock the door. He hit the switch and sat up to speak with her.
Lisa slid uneasily into the passenger seat. The Mercedes was her choice, her flavor, and everything in it from the custom seats with LL stitched into the leather, the sunroof, limo-tinted windows, and the state-of-the-art BOSE stereo system was her design. The memory brought a faint smile to her face, relishing how inseparable they were back then. Time had certainly changed things.
“Lewis.”
“Lisa.”
“Still a beautiful car.” Lisa looked intently in Lewis’s direction as she spoke but allowed her gaze to rest on the column outside the driver’s-side window behind him.
Lewis was surprised to find that her beauty still captivated him. He wanted to keep it business, but his eyes betrayed him. His gaze was heavy with the lust of his loins. He could tell her he loved her, but he’d be lying. The truth was, he loved what she could do for him. He looked at her with a challenge in his eyes. Could she resist him? Lisa returned his stare and answered his challenge; she certainly could. Time froze as they ran into their past. Desire rapidly replaced the dissipating smoke, leaving the air wet with moisture from the heat emitting from their bodies. The carnality of their relationship was rearing its impious head.
Lisa felt her heartbeat steadily increasing, and her breaths grew shallow. Lewis took his finger and traced the outline of her arm. She shuddered as her body responded to the feel of his finger against her skin. Even that small contact was nearly too much. She felt herself falling under his spell, and her body grew ripe with want. She missed his touch. Lewis, trying to seize the moment, leaned in for a kiss, but the movement snapped Lisa out of her trance. She pushed him back into his seat, pulling them back into the present.
Lewis was disappointed but not surprised. Their studio sessions came to a grinding halt at her insistence. That was her idea, not his. He complied after she insinuated that, at the time, her fiancé was growing suspicious and felt it might jeopardize their money. As far as he was concerned, however, Lisa would always belong to him.
“Reminds me of you.” Lewis recently parted company with a woman and wasn’t pressed for the goods, but if Lisa was willing, he would rise to the occasion.
“Frank is upstairs, lying in a hospital bed.”
She didn’t want to hear it. Things were different now, and there was no sense in going down memory lane. She still loved him, but she was in a different space. Her husband was upstairs fighting for his life, and she didn’t have time for this. Lewis was no longer of any use to her; he was a nuisance.
“Sleek. Sophisticated. Black and gorgeous.”
Lisa rolled her eyes. “I really should get back to him.”
“We were good together.”
Lisa didn’t know what had him feeling so sentimental all of a sudden. He had not spoken to her like this in years. Attraction was never the issue.
“It was business. The minute I tried to cut it off, you flipped.”
Lewis scoffed. “Tried to cut what off? My money? Damn right.”
Lisa cut her eyes at him. “Why did you call me down here?”
“Payday.”
Lisa should have known it was about money. It was always about the money. She wondered if he cared about anything else.
“I still have two weeks.”
“Not anymore.”
Lisa groaned in frustration. She needed more time to figure things out. “Well, I don’t have it now.”
“You got jokes?”
“No, I’m serious. I don’t have it.”
Lewis sighed. Lisa was tripping. He didn’t like her fucking with his mind—or his paper.
“That’s not cool.”
“I don’t know what else to tell you.”
“Tell me you’ll have my money.” Lewis was losing patience. He knew she had the money. Lisa would not do that to herself. She always had a backup in place.
“I just don’t have it. I’m tapped out. I’m not working. What did you think would happen? All this money going out and nothing coming in?”
“Fuckin lyin’. Cut the bullshit. I know you, or did you forget?”
Lisa sucked her teeth. She had a stash, true enough, but she had no intentions of sharing tha
t with him.
“Lewis, I need more time. Either you give it to me, or your ass’s out.”
Without flinching, Lewis reached across the seat and grabbed Lisa around her neck. He squeezed until her deep honey-colored skin changed to a blistering red.
“Don’t fuck with me, Lisa. I want my money. Now.” He squeezed harder. “I don’t want to have to do this.”
Lisa scratched at his hands trying to loosen his grip, but he wouldn’t budge.
“Just stop. There’s no use, baby.”
Lisa stopped clawing and stared at him with fire in her eyes. She was petrified but refused to let him see it. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cower.
Lewis smiled at her fight. He loved that about her. “That’s better.” He released his grip and spoke to her calmly. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will. Get me my money. I don’t care what you do, but get it. One week.”
Lewis’s tone was tender, light. If it wasn’t for the sinister intent, his words could have been mistaken for sweet nothings. Goose bumps traveled the length of her body. She didn’t know if it was the threat or the slight hint of pain she heard in his voice that made her nervous as she grew increasingly uncomfortable.
“You’d kill me?” Her voice was calm, but she feared the answer.
“What do you think?” His cryptic answer did nothing to soothe her apprehension.
She knew the answer. Money was a nonnegotiable with him. She had not known him to kill anyone, but she didn’t think it was that he wasn’t capable. He had simply never been put in a position to do so. Lisa rubbed her neck and settled her pulse, slowed her breathing and looked back at Lewis. She wanted to scratch his eyes out. She couldn’t believe he put his hands on her. He had done that to other women before but never to her. She grabbed the door handle and pulled it to open the door, but Lewis stopped her. She refused to look at him and kept her back to him. Whatever he needed to say he could say it to the back of her head. She was done with him.
“The love was real.”
“I don’t even know who you are anymore.” Lisa was serious, and her words were heartfelt. She was on the verge of tears, pissed that she had ever loved him. “Those days are long behind us.”
“They don’t have to be. We can go somewhere and start over.”
Lewis was wrong. Lisa would never feel safe with him again. Her scars were fresh. Lewis had crossed the line, and as far as she was concerned, they were over for good.
“And your wife, Lewis? Are you now willing to leave her?”
“She’ll be fine. She never needed me. You did. Besides, you know I was only there for my daughter, Lisa. There was no way I could let her grow up without her dad.”
“Staying for the kid said every man who has ever cheated anywhere.” She turned to look back at him. “You left your daughter a long time ago. The only person you have ever truly been loyal to is yourself.”
“Lisa . . . Don’t talk about my daughter, and you know how I feel about you, wife or not.”
Lisa shook her head. “Lewis, I may have needed you before, but I don’t need you anymore.”
Those words cut him. He hated that. He was married, but he felt that he and Lisa had a connection. He understood her. They were from the same world, and his bond with her had been different from what he had with any other woman. Though he would never admit it, he resented her for leaving him and playing house with that lame ass, Frank. Her relationship with Frank was supposed to be business, but she made it personal. He couldn’t compare to Lewis, and she knew it. She was too much like him . . . Money over everything.
“Fine. Get the fuck out. One week.”
Lisa opened the door and closed it behind her. Lewis nearly hit her as he powered the car, revved the engine, and sped out of the parking structure.
* * *
Lewis had been driving around since his visit with Lisa trying to calm down. He didn’t want to take his anger and disappointment into his home with Sophie. She would ask questions, and he did not feel like talking. He had been attempting to reach Charlie for the last few hours and had come up empty. He did not like being ignored. Charlie’s absence was a huge snag, especially since Lisa said she didn’t have any money. That was information Charlie should have provided to him. He had better hear something soon. Otherwise, things would not bode well for her.
“Started from the bottom, now we’re here . . . started from the bottom . . . now my whole team fucking here.”
Lewis pressed the button on his steering wheel to answer his phone.
A soft, sultry voice echoed through the car speakers. “Lewis, I got your messages. I was—”
“Where are you?” he questioned. He was not in a talking mood.
“Omni Hotel. Room 1520.” Lewis considered going home where his wife, Sophie, was probably waiting and decided to make her wait longer.
“I’m on my way.”
He disconnected the call. He’d deal with that when he got there. The forty-minute ride from the Agg town to the Omni would give him time to order his thoughts. He felt mildly remorseful about making Sophie wait. Mildly. He loved Sophie, mainly because she gave him Michelle. Michelle was his baby girl. Everything he did was to protect her, even if she couldn’t understand him enough to appreciate it. It is true that he had been away from his family more often than he liked, but he was trying to provide the life they deserved. The financial liberties they enjoyed came with a price, and he didn’t mind if they hated him for it.
Lewis was a hustler. He sold anything and everything profitable, from clothes to DVDs, tickets to games, concerts, whatever he could flip. Over the last several years, he refrained from the small-time money and focused his energy on one score. It was the biggest of his life, and it had served him well. Lisa had been his greatest investment to date. He was not a stranger to the local hot spots around town, but Onyx was his spot. He had his pick of the women wherever he went. People often mistook him for Morris Chestnut. Lewis gladly bedded the women but scoffed at the comparison. He had at least four inches and roughly 100 pounds on “Ricky,” from the movie Boyz in the Hood, and if asked, way more heart.
It was never a question of whether he could have Lisa, but what he would do with her once he had her. She never offered resistance, although her reluctance was evident. Lewis chuckled, thinking about how frigid she was their first night together. Granted, there wasn’t much space in the back of his Rover, but he put in some of his best work that night. After a few shopping sprees and a few studio sessions, Lewis had his way with her. She needed him, and he knew it. Lisa looked young, but he never inquired about her age. He put her up in a loft downtown and paid for all her weekly pampering. He watched her slowly shed her naiveté and embrace her femininity, her power.
Lisa was stunning, and Lewis wanted her to understand and accept that truth. He had learned from his time at Onyx that fantasy paid. The bigger the fantasy, the higher the profit. He had watched men shell out thousands of dollars for a mere hour of a woman’s time. It wasn’t long before he learned how to capitalize on the give-and-take. He schooled Lisa on the finer points of providing the fantasy: tease, seduce by suggestion. He drilled her the same as he had done with other women before her, but Lisa’s mental capacity separated her from the rest. The arrangement was simple: Lisa would give him a percentage of whatever she earned dancing, or otherwise, in exchange for his protection. Lewis was driven. He loved anything that made him money, and Lisa kept him laced. She brought in $2,000 on a slow week.
For months, things rolled smoothly between them. It was a beautiful situation for him. As with all things, though, the good times didn’t last forever. As time went on, Lisa became more and more vocal about her desire to quit. Lewis wasn’t having it. There was no way he was going to let her disposition stop his cash flow, but he didn’t want her unhappy, either. He wasn’t overly concerned with her feelings, but a happy woman was a more productive woman. Period.
There had been whispers about a young guy
trolling the bars, throwing his paper around, and he needed to get Lisa in on the inside track to who this dude was. He sent out feelers to get more information so he could plan out his next hustle.
It didn’t take him long to learn the young man’s name: Frank Mason. According to his sources, Frank was in the area finalizing plans to claim the remainder of his inheritance, reportedly some $20 million. Part of that plan required a paramour, as it were, to close the deal. Lewis was not one to pass on money, and regardless of the other gold diggers plotting to secure the ultimate payday, he had the perfect woman for Frank. Lisa wanted out of the stripper life, and Frank could give her a new one, so Lewis simply needed to convince Lisa that Frank was her ticket out. If he could pull this off, the Lisa/Frank combo was going to make him millions.
Surprisingly, all Lewis needed to say was yes.
One night, after a late night studio session, as they lay entwined across Lisa’s sleigh bed, breathless and wet with love, it was Lisa who made her move, and with a plan of her own. She began by letting him know that she would no longer dance, privately or otherwise. Before Lewis could respond, he felt her tongue lightly graze the tip of his manhood. His objection wedged in his throat; he was no longer possessing the ability to think or speak. With the skill that came with being an impromptu “working girl,” she worked her way down his hardness until his ten inches were no longer visible. His body tensed. Lisa had never behaved this way before, and she wouldn’t stop, despite his pleas. Lisa’s head game was masterful. She learned the dance all too well. Lewis was outmatched. For what seemed like an eternity, she licked, sucked, and swallowed every part of him, leaving him twisting, turning, and throbbing with need. He needed to release, but she wouldn’t allow it, taking him to the edge of bliss before yanking him back without mercy.
Virtuous Deception Page 5