As his sister spoke, Justin’s thoughts drifted back to last night and the events as they had unfolded—
He had been livid when he arrived at Charles Cash’s home. It was obvious that Charles was surprised to see him—surprised because he knew what Justin’s presence at his home must mean. Davia had shared their secret. He was sure that Charles hadn’t expected that to happen. He probably figured that she would want to continue to hide her past from the aristocratic Miles family, but he had figured wrong. More than likely Charles had berated himself for having made that mistake.
Charles had played it cool. He showed no outward signs that Justin’s anger had fazed him. He feigned ignorance regarding the accusations that had been flung at him about his past under the name Money.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Justin,” he had said as he turned from him and poured a scotch and soda. Turning back to face him, he sipped slowly as he stared Justin down. Then he said, “You know something, Justin. You come here to my home, my castle, my place of solitude like some pampered prince, ranting and raving about things you know nothing about. You’re a boy playing a man’s game, and if you think that I’m going to let some harlot, who your mother hates anyway, discredit me, you have another think coming. I don’t know what your little girlfriend might have told you, but it’s that little slut’s word against mine.”
Incensed, Justin had gotten in his face. “You sick, filthy monster. You may have gotten away with molesting children in the past, but those days are over. If you put your filthy hands on my niece again, I swear to you I’ll kill you!”
Charles’s cool demeanor slipped for a fraction of a second. Justin knew that he had never expected Bianca to talk, and while Katherine might not have believed Davia, she certainly would believe her own granddaughter. Justin could see on the man’s face that he knew that any support that he expected to get from Katherine was over. Still, he tried to bluff.
Charles had sneered, “I don’t know where you get your information, but I’d suggest that you don’t repeat what you’ve said if you don’t want to be hit with a lawsuit for slander.”
Justin couldn’t contain himself any longer as he lunged for the much smaller man. He grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against a wall. The glass in Charles’s hand tumbled to the thick carpeting.
“You listen to me, you scumbag! My niece said that you molested her, and her word is all I need.” With a vicious push Justin had shoved Charles away from him. His hands felt soiled by the contact.
Charles had straightened the collar of his black silk robe with a shrug. “Then the kid’s a liar, too.”
Once again he turned his back to Justin and started back across the room toward the bar. It was then that Vanessa had appeared out of nowhere. She leaped on Charles’s back, beating him with her fist unmercifully and screaming like a banshee.
“My baby! My baby! You touched my baby.” She had been out of control.
Caught off guard, Charles had tried to shake her off. Turning toward Justin, Charles managed to dislodge Vanessa from his body, but as he backed away from her, he stumbled over a Persian rug and lost his footing. He tumbled backward.
Justin refocused his attention on his sister as she told her side of the story to Katherine and Davia. Vanessa’s voice harbored unshed tears.
“Charles hit his head on the coffee table. There was this sound, like a melon splitting open. I looked down and he was lying on his back, in a pool of blood. He was dead, and I wasn’t sorry.”
Davia sighed. And so the life of Charles “Money” Cash had come to an end. She doubted if there was anyone in this room who would shed a tear. However, she had to swallow the lump in her throat after witnessing Vanessa’s pain. She felt little triumph in having elicited her confession, but it had been necessary.
“And Justin told you not to worry, and he made you leave.” Davia had no doubt about that scenario. “He said that he would take care of everything, just like he always does.”
Vanessa looked up into the face of the brother whom she adored. “You know him well, but I didn’t know that he would take the blame. I can’t let that happen. I won’t let that happen.”
Katherine was devastated. Uncharacteristically, she started to cry. Her face was drenched with tears as she rose and went to her daughter.
“Oh, Vanessa, you didn’t mean to kill him. We can get you out of this.” With a shaky hand she started to caress her daughter’s cheek. Vanessa pulled away. Katherine let her hand drop to her side.
Davia found herself feeling sorry for the woman. Despite everything, she was still a mother who loved her children. Unfortunately, she loved one more than the other, and the consequences might be ones that Katherine might have to live with for quite some time.
Davia turned her attention to Justin. The look that he was giving her was scathing. His voice was like stone.
“You couldn’t leave it alone, could you? I asked one thing of you, but you couldn’t do it. It had to be your way. So all right, you got what you wanted. You won. Now you can get out! We’ll send someone for Bianca.”
If he had taken a knife and carved the words he spoke onto her heart it could not have hurt more. Davia looked at the three of them huddled together; despite everything, they presented a united front. There was no place in their lives for a girl from the ghetto who was born with the name Shanay Wells. Without a word Davia turned and left the Miles household. Justin didn’t try to stop her.
CHAPTER 23
It had been two months since the death of Charles Cash. His death had been ruled an accident. According to the official report, Justin Miles had been making an early-morning call on the man regarding some business when Cash tripped on an area rug, hit his head on a table and died.
No sympathy was wasted on the deceased, especially when it was discovered that he had swindled many of his investment clients out of money and worse. Reporters dug deeper and uncovered his sordid past. He was labeled for what he was—a pimp, a drug dealer and a thief. Rumors from his past hinted that he had been ejected from his prominent family after an argument with his father regarding some unidentified misdeed.
Katherine Miles was referred to briefly by the press, identifying her as Justin’s mother, but the names of her daughter and granddaughter were never mentioned. The story made headlines for a while, but soon faded to be replaced by something else.
Davia should have been relieved that everything had worked out well, but she had felt only pain since she and Justin had parted. She walked, talked, smiled, and even laughed as if life were normal. It was all too familiar, too much like the past.
At one time in her life she had been a fragile seedling, but she had blossomed. She had survived. That’s what she was, a survivor.
Sequestered in her Buckhead office, submerged in work, Davia didn’t get a chance to respond to the knock on her office door before CeCe barged in. Without a word of greeting, she walked across the room and flopped down in one of the chairs in front of her desk.
Since the day that Justin and she parted, Davia had tried to avoid her friend. She wanted to suffer in silence, but CeCe wouldn’t let her. Eventually, she had caught up with Davia and had been giving her hell about her standoff with Justin. Davia chose to ignore her tirades, but the woman was persistent.
While CeCe sat across the desk glaring at her, Davia continued typing on her computer. She could sit there all day if she wanted to; Davia wasn’t going to acknowledge her. All CeCe wanted was to force her to talk about Justin, and she refused to do that. What was there to say? He had rejected her, and that was that.
The silence in the room continued. One minute passed…two minutes, the longest length of time that CeCe had ever been quiet. But, as expected, it didn’t last.
“Clark said that Justin is miserable, impossible to get along with, and missing you like a man misses a limb.”
Davia kept typing.
“Doggone it, Davia, why do you have to be so stubborn? The man loves you to
death. What did he do that was so terrible? Stick by his family? So shoot him for being loyal, but don’t make him suffer like this. Call him.”
“He hasn’t called me.” Her eyes never left the monitor.
“Maybe he’s afraid to. Maybe he thinks that you’ll reject him. He knows that you were trying to help him and that he hurt you and that he was wrong.”
“Yes, he was.”
“So why can’t you forgive him?”
Sighing, she typed another line into her computer before giving CeCe her full attention. “I haven’t heard from Justin. He hasn’t called me. Did he send you here to talk to me?”
“No, he didn’t, but Clark and I love you both and we want to see you two happy again. So what will it take? Do you want Justin to get down on his knees and beg for your forgiveness? He’ll probably do it.”
“Justin has proved himself to be too much of a man to beg, and I wouldn’t want him to.” Davia massaged her temples in an attempt to relieve the building tension. “Listen, I know that you and Clark mean well, but I want you to leave this alone. I’ve been fighting battles all of my life and finally I’m at peace. Justin helped bring me that peace, and I’m not going through any more changes. He told me to go away, and I did.”
“So this is your revenge?”
“No, CeCe, this isn’t about revenge, this is about love. I did what I did for Justin because I love him and he sent me away. I won’t be caught up in the Miles whirlwind. I’m not going to battle his family for his love and loyalty. If he wants me, if he wants us to be together, then our relationship has to become a priority and on an equal footing. I won’t be dismissed because I won’t bow to his commands. So, if you’re playing the part of messenger, you can go back and tell him that.”
She turned back to the computer to finish her work.
* * *
In Justin’s office, Clark sat across the desk from his friend and watched him thoughtfully. He appeared to be concentrating on putting the finishing touches on a report, but Clark knew better. He knew for a fact that his man had not been in full control of his mental faculties since he sent Davia Maxwell away. The man hadn’t been functioning well at all.
Normally, Clark wouldn’t have interfered in his best friend’s love life. Neither of them had ever stepped over that line. But despite Justin’s denials, his pain was acute and Clark ached for his best friend.
Today’s visit to Justin’s office was an effort to help him rectify that pain. They were going out to dinner and follow that by a night out on the town, but Clark knew that this evening was only a temporary diversion. It would take much more than this to mend a broken heart.
With a frustrated sigh, Justin abandoned his attempt to complete the document in front of him. “That’s enough for tonight. I’m ready to get out of here.”
He placed the papers he had been working on in a manila folder and tossed it aside. Clark watched as Justin pushed the sleeves down on his once-crisp dress shirt and absently buttoned each cuff. He had carelessly discarded his tie earlier. Opening a desk drawer he retrieved it and placed the wrinkled bit of silk around his neck, making no attempt to knot it. He let it dangle without further thought.
Clark’s eyes narrowed at Justin’s disheveled appearance. Not only had he let himself go, but he had lost weight and there were bags under his eyes. He wasn’t eating or sleeping well, either, and both of them knew the reason why.
“Uh, I take it that you’re going home to change before we go out tonight,” Clark said pointedly, making no effort to disguise his displeasure at what he saw.
Justin looked down at his wrinkled clothing, then back up at Clark. He shrugged.
“No, I hadn’t planned to.” He got up and crossed the room to where he had tossed his suit jacket on the sofa when he arrived at his office that morning.
Clark snorted. “If you think you’re going anyplace with me, you’d better think twice. I’ve got a reputation to maintain.”
Justin glanced over his shoulder at his friend, resplendent in his tailored suit and handcrafted Italian shoes. Clark took pride in his personal appearance, just as Justin had before he stopped caring. For the past few months, nothing had mattered anymore.
Picking up the rumpled suit coat, he put it on and grunted, “Suit yourself. I don’t care if we go or not.” Justin headed toward the office door.
“Then it’s probably for the best that we don’t. We might run into Davia anyway.” Clark swung out of his chair easily, pretending not to notice Justin’s misstep at the mention of Davia’s name.
Justin frowned. When would it stop? When would his heart stop aching at the mention of her name? It was over. He had told her to get out of his life, and she was gone. But he couldn’t keep himself from asking, “What do you mean, ‘run into Davia?’ She doesn’t go out.”
Casually, Clark walked past Justin and opened the office door. “Hey, man, all I know is what CeCe tells me.”
Justin followed Clark out into his secretary’s empty office. It was after eight in the evening, late by most standards, but early for Justin. Lately, he had been working sixteen-hour days. He knew the reason why. It was the same one that made him ask Clark the next question.
“So she’s starting to go out, huh?”
“What do you expect? She’s a beautiful woman. Men love to be in her company.”
They were in the hallway at the elevators. At least Clark was; Justin had come to a dead stop.
“What do you mean? Is she dating someone already?” Justin hated the sound of desperation he heard in his voice, but he couldn’t help it. The thought of his baby with somebody else wasn’t sitting right with him. “Who?” he bellowed as his angry stride brought him face to face with Clark.
Clark hid a smile as he stepped into the elevator. Justin was right on his heels.
Clark pushed the button that sent them downward. “What do you care? You tossed her away like an old dishrag and haven’t spoken to her since.”
Justin flinched at the harsh assessment. “She could have called me,” he countered, knowing that his defense was weak.
Leaning against the wall, Clark looked at him and chuckled. “You sound like some junior high school kid. What’s that about? You were the one who told her to get out of your life…”
“Not my life man, just—” Justin fell back against the back wall of the elevator. Just what? He loved Davia Maxwell more than he loved his own life. Without her, he was a dead man walking.
Clark looked at Justin’s defeated stance and knew that his man’s begging time was near. “Man, go to the woman and tell her you’re sorry and that you were wrong.”
“I wasn’t wrong,” Justin huffed defensively. “There was nothing I wouldn’t do for Davia. Nothing! And I never asked one thing from her, except her loyalty. I just wanted her to help me protect Vanessa, not destroy what little relationship there was between my mother and sister. And what did Davia do? She…”
“Did what she had to do to save you.” A guilty silence met Clark’s words. “That sounds like a lot of loyalty to me. Don’t let foolish pride stand between you and the woman you love. Davia loves you! You fought this long and this hard to keep from being under your mother’s thumb. You wanted to live your life the way you wanted to live it, and with whom you wanted. Now here you are falling right into Katherine’s trap. You’re walking away from the best thing that ever happened to you, and she loves it because now she’s got you back again, all to herself. Man, you need to quit it.”
There was no denying his friend’s words. Katherine was beside herself with delight at the turn of events in his relationship with Davia. Meanwhile, he was miserable.
The elevator doors opened and the men stepped into the lobby, empty except for the two guards sitting at their station. The men nodded their greetings as Justin and Clark headed out the front door and into the crisp night air. Justin sighed as he came to an abrupt stop outside the building’s entrance.
“I love her so much, Clark. I can’t take
this.”
Clark placed a comforting hand on Justin’s shoulder. “So why are you telling me? I’m not the one who needs to hear it.”
The friends proceeded to their cars in silence. Clark’s point had been made.
* * *
It was ten o’clock that evening by the time Justin drove up to Davia’s house. He was dressed in a fresh suit, shirt and tie. Slipping out of his car, he marched toward the front door like a man on a mission. He rang the doorbell and prayed that her face would be the first one that he would see. His prayer was answered. Davia opened the door.
She had been expecting a package delivery and was shocked to see him. Her first thought was to close the door in his face, but Justin didn’t give her time to do so. He pleaded his case immediately.
“It’s been two months, three days, six hours and…” he glanced at his watch, “…fifty-one minutes since I asked you to leave my mother’s house. Right here, right now, I’m asking you to forgive me. I was an angry fool who made the mistake of his life.” Justin’s eyes and voice softened as he reveled in the feeling of being near her again. He reached out to run a finger down her cheek. She took a step back, avoiding his touch. His heart sank.
“Come in.” Davia’s directive was unemotional, but her heart was thumping wildly.
Justin’s hope was renewed. He followed her through the house and into the family room. She motioned for him to take a seat, then sat on the love seat opposite him. For a few seconds she said nothing as she drank in the sight of him.
“I missed you, Justin, and I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t glad to see you.”
“I’m happy to hear that, because I missed you, too.”
“But, there are issues that need to be settled between us.”
He gave a troubled sigh, “Yes, there are.”
“You hurt me, Justin. You hurt me badly, and after you promised me that your love would never hurt.”
The words that she flung back at him tore at his soul. Tears stung his eyes. “I know, baby. I know. All I can say is that I’m sorry, and I know that‘s not enough. But I want to be back in your life, and I swear to you that what I did to you will never happen again.”
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