“Be careful what you ask for. I’m on my way. I got a call from my friend, Anissa, and . . .”
“Repeat the name?”
“Anissa.”
“Your friend?”
“My friend that I was in the swimming pool with . . . and I’m not talking about my wife . . .”
“I met a woman the other night, and her name was Anissa.”
“Bingo.”
“I’ll see you in fifteen minutes.”
• • •
Toni Gillette paced the floor waiting for the evening news. She’d received confirmation that her story was already circulating on the online publications that she sold her story to, which meant the local media would possibly be feeding off of it any minute. It was amazing how the viral network could balloon so quickly from the small seed she planted, and it was even more amazing how that seed, when watered, could make or break someone’s career in a twinkling of an eye. It wouldn’t take but a second for Toni to confirm that her story was in circulation, but she wanted to hear it with her own ears as the newscaster blasted the daily gloom and doom report live across her television screen.
ABC Television now aired news at four o’clock in the afternoon, and Toni clasped her hands over her face when a press photo of Malik Mason flashed on the screen. It gave her a rush when they said Malik’s name, as she anticipated the rest of the story.
The newscaster began with the news of Ivy Myles’ suicide attempt and the loss of her baby. There was speculation that the discovery that Malik was the father of one of his wife’s mother’s twins had started the sudden windstorm, and when Ivy overheard her husband professing his love for her mother, it was the event that sent her over the edge. The bizarre part of the story was that Margo Myles, Ivy’s mother, had given birth to twins, and that her soon-to-be ex-husband, Jefferson Myles, was the father of one and Malik Mason, her son-in-law, was the father of the other. If anything could dismantle public trust, this story definitely would take first place.
Toni smiled broadly, proud of her prowess in getting paid for a story the world was going to hear anyway. She could almost bet that Malik’s story would land on national news. She hadn’t counted on the extra bit about his wife’s suicide attempt but was elated because it only helped to confirm everything she’d already stated in her piece. Toni’s only thought now was that Jefferson couldn’t find out that she leaked this story. However, if he did, she hadn’t made any pretenses about who she was and what she did. She was a journalist whose goal was to make a name for herself, unfortunately at another’s expense. However, this victory was sweet because it meant that her cousin, Sterling Garrison, would undoubtedly win the state senate seat for his district out in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Toni was pleased.
Sixty-Five
Malik hit the roof when Perry dropped the bomb—that his business was all over the Internet and wherever the grapevine travelled. People were tweeting about it, serving up commentary on blogs and radio talk shows—the great black hope was tainted before his name could be printed on the election ballot. Malik’s phone was blowing up, but he refused to answer, leaving the dirty work to Perry.
Suddenly the atmosphere in IHOP wasn’t conducive to Malik’s attitude. He was in a foul mood, and he wanted to make someone pay for the mistakes he made. For a brief moment he thought about Ivy and her threat about making him pay for his sins, and it appeared she had won, at least this battle.
“You’re going to have to give some kind of comment,” Perry said, after fielding a call.
“I’m not available for any calls. You handle it, Perry. I’m going home. I have a headache.”
“You didn’t ask me who leaked it to the press.”
“What’s there to ask? There were so many reporters at the hospital this morning, they could’ve gotten the story from any one of Ivy’s family members. I’m sure it was Jefferson; he’s had it in for me ever since he found out I made love to his wife.”
“And that you’re the father of one of her twins.”
Malik let go of a smile. “Yeah, I did that, but I love her, Perry. I really do love Margo.”
“So why in the hell did you marry her daughter?”
“Good question, Perry. I believe Ivy has always had a schoolgirl crush on me. When I ran into her that day in Atlanta, looking so much like her mother, I flipped. Truth is, Ivy came on to me, and I rather enjoyed the cat and mouse play. And when I kissed her that first time and felt her pulse as she opened up to me, I had to have her. Why not? If I couldn’t have the real thing, there was nothing wrong with having a good replica. Ivy and I could’ve made it, though, if the baby thing hadn’t materialized.”
“Well, dawg, you’ve done it now . . . made a big ole mess. Neither Margo nor Ivy want your ass. Shoot, you aren’t even going to make political history because it’s over.”
“Go on and kick me further into the ground. It seems like you’ve been itching to do that all along. Anyway, if not Jefferson, who do you think leaked the story to the media?”
“Hold on a moment; it’s Anissa again.” Perry listened intently, uttering the words “what” and “you’ve got to be kidding” over and over. His eyes roamed around in his head and occasionally he would look over at Malik. Then he hung up.
“What did she say?” Malik asked, bracing for the news.
“Remember that woman I told you about who was starting a political news magazine to air candidates’ dirty laundry?”
Malik sat up straight in his seat. “Yeah, I remember.”
“Her name is Toni Gillette, and guess what I just found out?”
“My mind is blank.”
“Her cousin is Sterling Garrison.”
“So that’s what this is all about. He couldn’t play ball at Carolina, so he figured he would play hardball with me. Well, he’s got a fight on his hands, and if I’m going down, guess who else is going down?”
“I’m afraid to ask. Look, Malik, don’t go and do something stupid. You may still have a monkey’s chance to correct this thing. We’ve got to keep the door open. Anyway, you have a company to operate, and if you want to continue to pay your mortgage as opposed to living in a sleeping bag underneath the bridge downtown, you need to steer away from trouble. Payback is a dog.”
“So what are you going to do, Perry?”
“Who said I was going to do anything?”
Sixty-Six
Sleep had been the best answer to the stress and pain Ivy was feeling about losing her baby and the man she called her husband. All of Winter’s grilling had taxed her to the max, and she was happy for the reprieve when sleep decided to creep upon her.
She scratched her head as she lay awake in her mother’s bed, wandering what Malik was doing and what her mother would think if she knew she was lying in her bed. Stretching her neck, Ivy sat up on her forearms and took the liberty to roam around the room with her eyes. There were individual pictures of Winter, Winston, J.R., and herself across the length of the dresser. There was a picture of the entire Myles family that they’d taken at the studio when Ivy was eighteen. There was also a recent photograph of the twins and tucked at the back on the dresser was a framed picture in oil of her mother and father that they’d taken years ago. In her heart of hearts, Ivy believed that her mother still loved her father, regardless of her actions.
Ivy jumped, startled by Winter staring at her in the doorway. “Are you spying on me?”
“No, sis. I came to check on you, but you were so peaceful and I didn’t want to disturb the quiet. What were you thinking about?”
“Do you really want to know?”
“Come on, Ivy. I care about you, sis. I know you’re hurting and I’m here for you.”
Ivy smiled. “Thanks, sis. That’s the kindest thing you’ve said to me in a long time.”
“That’s not true. Well, I know I’ve been a little rough on you.”
“I was thinking about my baby. I killed my baby, Winter. What if they cart me off to jail and lock me up for murd
er? Do you think they’ll do that?”
“You were under duress and not thinking straight. It was certainly not intentional.”
“How are the twins?”
“Ivy, I know all of this is hard, especially with Malik being Ian’s father.”
“Please don’t mention Malik’s name around me. I’ll have to deal with him at some time, but I’d rather be free of him for the moment.”
“No problem.”
“Look, why don’t I help you get the house ready for Momma’s homecoming and Angelica’s arrival? This I’ve got to see.”
“Why don’t you just rest? I’ll do it. The twins are sleep, and I’ve already started washing the linens.”
“Don’t treat me like an invalid, Winter. I had a setback, but I’m not going to dwell on it, and I’m sure as hell not going to waddle in self-pity. Sometime this week, I want you to help me get things in order so I can have my fake marriage annulled.”
“Are you sure you want to do that, sis?”
“I can’t believe you of all people are asking me that stupid question. I know you hate Malik’s guts. Wow, I said his name. Yuck. Saying it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”
“I’ll help you take care of it. J.R.’s girlfriend, Elaine, is taking some time off to help me with the babies and Mom.”
“She’s seems to like J.R. a lot.”
“Sis, they are in love. Can you believe that? And they go to church together. J.R. has changed for the better. He and Dad get along so well together.”
“That’s great. You know what, Winter?”
“What, sis?”
“Wouldn’t it be nice if our family was back together again?”
Winter walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. She took a good look at her sister. “I’ve been praying for Mom and Dad to get back together for a long time. They are both so stubborn, but they love each other. Dad might be seeing someone he just met, according to Winston, but if Mom would say the word, Daddy would come running like lightning had struck him. You should’ve seen how they looked at each when I brought him over here to meet the twins. They were eyeing each other like they were seeing each other for the first time. And I’ll tell you this, Ivy; there was lust in those eyes.”
The sisters laughed together. Winter fell back on the bed next to Ivy. “Remember how we used to get up in Mom and Dad’s bed and lay there until they’d kick us out?”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Ivy admitted. “I want our family to be whole.”
Winter’s cell phone interrupted their good thoughts. She glanced down at the caller ID. “It’s Dad,” Winter said, before pressing the TALK button. “Dad, what’s up?”
“How’s Ivy doing?” Jefferson asked.
Winter gave Ivy a wink. “She’s progressing. She had a good nap and we’ve been yapping our lips about old times . . . when we were all a family.”
“That’s nice, but I need you to listen. Whatever you do, don’t turn on the television. Ivy’s suicide attempt is headline news along with the bit about your mother giving birth to twins who have different fathers.”
“How . . .”
“Just listen. I don’t want Ivy to be exposed to all of this nonsense right now. She’ll have to address it sooner or later, but not now. How you handle our phone call once you get off the phone is up to you, but right now we’ve got to protect Ivy from the elements.”
“Okay, Dad,” Winter finally said. “What time are you bringing Mom home?”
“Around noon. Winston is going to the airport to pick up Angelica instead of me. Her flight arrives early afternoon. Okay, I’ve got to run. I have an important errand I need to make.”
“Okay. Love you, Dad. Oh, Ivy is throwing you a kiss.”
“Tell her I caught it, and I love her, too. If I’m not too late running my errand, I may stop by later on. I’m out.”
“Bye bye.” Winter ended the call and looked away from Ivy.
“What was that call all about?” Ivy asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Honey, I know when you are talking in code.”
“Daddy was being overprotective of you. He told me to be on the watch in the event Malik tries to show up here.”
“Daddy worries too much. Malik is too self-absorbed to even give chase to my whereabouts. He claims that his BMW drinks gas like a cat drinks milk, so he’s not going to waste any gas to come up here.”
“He came up here looking for Mom after we saw you at the restaurant, but I sent his ass packing. Mom was at the hospital with Evan. He had an ear infection. Mom was so pissed off when I told her he’d stopped by. I even threatened to tell you.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“We weren’t on speaking terms then.”
“But my baby would still be here, if I had known that back then.”
“Even though we weren’t speaking, Ivy, I was still your little sister in protect mode. I somehow knew that Malik’s sins would find him out, but I had no earthly idea it would play out as it did. I hope you won’t hold it against me.”
Ivy sighed. “Not this time.”
Sixty-Seven
Jefferson was fuming. He couldn’t believe that his family was being dragged through the media slaughterhouse again. He had finally faded from the limelight after all the backlash with his ties to organized crime and subsequent prison time, so much so he was able to launch a successful business. And now after he’d been so careful to do things right and on the up and up, the media was having another field day at his expense and that of his family.
He understood how the news media was able to report on Ivy’s attempted suicide. As soon as they landed at Cape Fear Hospital and they realized that Ivy was the wife of Malik who was running for a state senate seat, the media came running from near and far, camping out at Ivy’s hospital door in order to be the first to air the story on the local news. But how in the hell did they find out about Margo and the twins and that the babies had two different fathers? This puzzled Jefferson.
Sitting back in his chair, Jefferson turned on the small, portable flat-screen television he kept in his office. All the local stations were airing their story, and he listened intently until it suddenly dawned on him. He took his fist and banged it on his desk.
He grabbed his keys from off his desk, put on his black leather jacket, and peeped in on Winston and J.R. “Look, fellows, I’ve got to make an important run. I hope to be back in an hour or so. If not, I’ll see you both tomorrow. I’m picking your mother up around noon.”
“Pops, don’t forget you need to touch base with Dr. Wright,” J.R. said.
“I know. Maybe you should call him, J.R. I hope all of this negative media blitz won’t hurt our relationship.”
“It shouldn’t,” Winston piped in. “Mom and Ivy are the main topics of discussion, although you are part of that love triangle they keep talking about.”
“Whatever. If you need me, call me on my cell. If you don’t get me right away, leave a message.”
“This wouldn’t have anything to do with the lovely Ms. Gillette, would it?” Winston asked, faking a laugh. “I know what a man looks like when he’s in heat.”
“You’re wrong . . . way off base, Winston,” Jefferson lied. “Tomorrow, you need to get in touch with her to finalize the design of that website she’s placed a down payment on.”
“Don’t try to throw me off the trail, Dad. Even J.R. is over here laughing because game recognizes game.”
“Whatever it is you think you recognize, it has nothing to do with Toni Gillette. I’ll see y’all tomorrow.” Jefferson walked out of their office, turned around, and stuck his head back in. “You got it right. I changed my mind; I’m leaving for the day.” Jefferson turned around to walk away but not before he heard J.R. and Winston howling with laughter. But Jefferson wasn’t amused.
• • •
Jefferson jumped in his Mercedes and barreled down the street. Gripping the steering wheel tight in both hands, he went over and o
ver in his mind the last conversation he had with Toni. Then the bell rang in his head; the moment was crystal clear in his mind. He’d been a damn fool to go jacking off at the mouth about his family’s business to a woman who was a . . . who was a gossip columnist.
“Damn, double damn,” Jefferson shouted out loud, hitting the steering wheel with his hand. He shouted to the Bluetooth to get Toni’s number. He had an important call to make.
“Jefferson.”
Toni’s voice was cold and seemed to tremble a bit. Self-control, Jefferson kept thinking as he dismissed Toni’s obvious annoyance. Do not let her hear in your voice how pissed you are. “Hey, Toni, what are you up to? Do you feel like some company?”
“No . . . ah, I’m not really up to it. Actually, I was on my way out to meet a friend, but if you can come by now, I can spare a few minutes.”
“I wasn’t looking for a quickie. I want to spend some quality time with you. In fact, I want to mix a little business with pleasure since the boys and I are delinquent in getting your project underway.”
“Jefferson, this is not a good time. If the website can be put up sometime this week, that would be great. There’s no urgent need.”
“Is that because you’ve already written your story and sold it to the media? I trusted you, Toni. I even had the nerve to feel something for you. I shared things with you because I was hurt and needed someone to talk to. But you betrayed my trust the moment I turned my head.”
“You knew that I was a journalist. I didn’t bite my tongue or sugar coat what my intent was for the website. You should’ve been a smarter businessman. You’re the one who told me you couldn’t mix business with pleasure.”
“So it’s like that. You betray me with a kiss.”
“If it’ll make you feel any better, I enjoyed being with you. In fact, I’d hope that we’d be able to make this a long-term relationship after the dust settled.”
In My Rearview Mirror Page 26