by Hill, Shawna
In Between Lies S. Hill
In Between Lies
Shawna Hill
This book is a work of fiction. Characters and companies portrayed in the book are drawn completely from the author’s imagination. Any resemblance with real people, living or dead, companies, locations, or events is purely coincidental and unintentional.
Copyright © 2009 by Shawna Hill
All Rights Reserved. Outside of excerpts/brief quotes used in reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form without prior written consent from the author.
Titles also by Shawna Hill
Coming Soon
Dark Whispers
Why I Can’t Get Married
Black Housewives
First, I want to thank God and my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for blessing me, my life, family, and friends. Without Him, I am nothing. With Him, I’m strengthened by His will and glory, and through Him I am able to express love, humbleness, and compassion. Most of all, I’m able to use and enjoy the talent that He has given me to touch the lives of others in a positive way.
This book is dedicated to my great grandmother, who is no longer with me physically, but is with me in spirit everyday. Frances Parks, whom the family lovingly called Nanny, was the one who started and nurtured my thirst for reading and writing, as she was a huge literacy advocate to not only me, but to us all.
I also want to thank my family and friends that have encouraged me throughout the years. Thank you all because without your support or encouragement, writing may have still been just a dream and not a reality.
Thanks,
Shawna Hill
Prologue
Sade’s sultry, melodic voice in “Somebody Already Broke My Heart” filled the car as Savannah Summers sped down Chicago’s Dan Ryan expressway, once again late for work. With precise awareness she adjusted her rearview mirror to face her, carefully dabbing on her caramel tinted foundation. She thoroughly blended it into her already blemish free complexion. Settling back, and finally buckling her seatbelt in her sleek black BMW, she proceeded to outline her brown eyes.
“Girl why don’t you do that at home?” Jasmine, her best friend said, grasping the dashboard. “We are late. Do you suppose that maybe you could do something like get your lazy butt out of bed earlier?” She questioned and smirked. “And besides you, unlike others, don’t need to wear make up. Girl you can go au natural and still be on point. Seems like you would do something different….and cant we listen to something else? Like some Old School? Like Cameo or something a little more upbeat this morning?”
“Perhaps you’d like to find your own ride to work?” Savannah suggested. “Besides, I do go natural from time to time…it just won’t be today”. “Hum, well excuse me I was just making an observation and giving a possible solution that would help you out.” Jasmine rolled her eyes and sat back in the passenger seat.
“When I need your observations and solutions, I’ll let you know…otherwise sit back and enjoy the ride.” Satisfied with her eye makeup, she moved to her lips. “It’s Friday anyway. You know hardly anyone is at work today.” Savannah continued to apply her makeup and was adding the finishing touches as she switched lanes.
Being the Assistant to the VP of the Production Department at Exclusive Creative Solutions Inc. did have its advantages. The fact that she was late, on occasion was one fault that was overlooked by most of the department since she was the woman behind the V.P. of productions. She was the one person whose opinion counted the most. If Savannah said the sky was green, it was. Her finger stayed close to the pulse of things and her every word was gold. She’d earned her spot as Assistant Producer due to just having an eye for flair, a determined attitude and getting the job done quickly and flawlessly. Delving into work was her coping mechanism to deal with her painful split with her past fiancé. Focused, she climbed the ranks, proved herself, managed to get a degree in journalism along the way, while her personal life fell apart.
“I’ve been meaning to tell you, Missy that ever since you and Kevin went your separate ways you have really been off the hook. What’s up with that? Why don’t you just go ahead and admit you got turned out….it’s okay. You know the saying that the first step to recovery is admitting the problem,” Jasmine flicked her hands in the air as if Savannah had been dismissed.
“Whatever-” Savannah cut in. Heat rushed to her face at the mere sound of his name. Her thoughts traveled back a year earlier, before Kevin entered her life and centered on her then fiancé, Andre. Thoughts of Dre’s would be affair had they married flashed through her mind. Her whirlwind romance and fairytale wedding all but went up in smoke. Bringing herself from the past, she shook Dre off and continued. “Besides your mind need not be on me or Kevin, it needs to be figuring out what you are wearing to the banquet tonight.” She glared at Jasmine, letting her know that the subject of Kevin was over. “You’ll get to see all the hard work we put into the publicity for The Place pay off tonight. And you know your incognito, under the cover wanna be lover is gonna be there.”
“And who is that?” Jasmine asked, snapping her head around to face her.
“Thomas, girl. Don’t act like I don’t know what’s going on with you two. I can see and read between the lines. Who do you think you are fooling?”
“What!? C’mon we are just friends. However, I would like to test the equipment out… see what he is working with.” Jasmine wiggled in the seat and clapped her hands. “Give me some time, I’ll let you know.”
“You heard me.” Switching lanes again as she got off the expressway, she shot Jasmine an “I know what you did” look. “I see the way you two talk and laugh. I also see the way you look at him. I’m just waiting to hear the details from you. I’m supposed to be your best friend. I thought you would have told me a while ago.”
Jasmine continued, not responding to Savannah’s begging question. “I thought Richard was your best friend,” Jasmine commented. “He could be more than that but you keep him at arms length,” she slid in. Anyway, as I was saying, you were running around here listening to people who have nothing to do but gossip and spread lies and rumors. You let a good man like Kevin get away. Humph, let me get one like that ….see how far he gets.” Jasmine gathered her belongings and exited the car when it stopped. “I thought I taught you better than that.”
“Shut up Jazzy, I don’t want to hear about that man anymore today.” She slammed the car door shut and headed for the entrance with Jasmine following closely behind. “And as for Richard, he is my best male friend. Hell, we’ve been friends since way back. I can’t even remember how long its been. He’s like my brother.” She didn’t mention that thoughts of Richard crossed her mind from time to time. Since they were such good friends, she didn’t want to risk being intimate with him for fear of ruining their many years of companionship.
“At least give him the opportunity to talk. I mean you did break it off abruptly.”
“Anyway…don’t act like things just happened between us. He played a very big part…enough to make me call it quits before I really got hurt,” Savannah cut in, not wanting to entertain her friend with her true feelings of Kevin. I’ll talk to you at lunch. Same time, same place.”
Savannah plopped down, pen in hand and the phone in the other. Her voicemail messages ranged from inquiries to fees to questions of full blown out commercial ads. Then there it was. That same low voice she heard every night on the early evening news. Since their break up of their unofficial, unspoken but understood ‘togetherness agreement’ they had previously made, she’d never admit to still watching him every night, at least never to him. He sounded strong and way too seductive to be leaving messages on her phone, like liquid chocolate, as if they were intertwined in an intimate mome
nt. At the same time he sounded kind and loving. “Hi babe, I was just thinking about you and I know you don’t want to talk to me, but I just want you to listen.”
His voice was deep and smooth, flowing like a harmonious baritone, baring his soul, waiting for her to join him. Sending chills down her spine, thoughts of Kevin Styles danced through her mind for the second time this morning. Heartbroken and not wanting to listen to yet more explanations, she deleted the call as he spoke. Brushing off the remnants of his all too unforgettable touch, feel and smell, Savannah commenced to boot her computer.
Meeting behind meeting, Savannah found it hard to keep her mind from wondering if she had been too hasty to cut their relationship the way she did. Even knowing full well that she did the right thing, and even though she’d said she didn’t want to see him again, secretly she missed him but was too hurt to openly admit it. She felt her throat tighten and eyes threaten to sting every time his name was mentioned. Jasmine had hit a nerve by bringing him up knowing full well that her wounds were still wide open. Their split had only been just a few months ago but it seemed like yesterday.
“Excuse me, Ms. Summers but I have a delivery of a beautiful bouquet of flowers for you,” Lydia, her secretary advised her. At fifty-four, the air of elegance coupled with smooth agile strides, Lydia Thompson epitomized style. Curly braided tendrils framed her high cheekbones allowing her light brown eyes to capture the center of attention. She inquisitively eyed the card wanting to tear it open and see who the mysterious sender was. Her full frame sat in the recliner that faced the window overlooking a generous green turf golf course.
“May I do the honors and open the card?” Lydia asked. Her fingers smoothed over the corners of the small red envelope. “Looks like cupid shot his arrow your way today. Isn’t that special?”
Startled, Savannah shook her head and looked up to find a huge bouquet of fresh red roses in her face. “It looks like someone has a special admirer,” Lydia stated as she placed the impressive arrangement on Savannah’s desk.
“No, I’ll take it from here.” Savannah answered with a look of shock and uncertainty. The undeniable delicate scent danced at her nose as her mind raced in turmoil. Hesitant to open the card, Savannah excused herself and all but ran to the bathroom, hopeful of snatching a trace of privacy. Taking a deep breath, she steadied her trembling hands. I know this has to be from Kevin, she thought. He will not give up! Upon opening the card, a small folded piece of rose scented crepe paper fell to the floor, exposing a phone number, address, and a keycard. Inside the envelope remained a note that read: Babe, just meet me tonight.
A small tear escaped her eye. A hopeless romantic....what does this man want from me?…I know what he wants but can I give it to him after our jacked up breakup? Can I allow myself to really open up to this man; any man again? Steadying her heartbeat, she made her way to her purse on the counter and pulled out a small bottle of eye drops. In no way wanting anyone to know she had been crying because an emotional rug had been snatched from under her feet, she stayed in the bathroom until she was satisfied she looked normal again.
Wandering back to her seat, she reminisced their short but highly intense time together. Kevin filled her mind and there was no denying that she still had feelings for this man and probably always would.
Chapter 1
The sun had barely began to peek over the horizon as Savannah stepped from her car and headed for her usual starting point at the mouth of the trail that was the opening to the park track. Squatting and stretching her legs on the way to her starting point, she realized her early morning routine jogs had become her mantra. She felt her day would not be as productive if she did not jog. Orange, red and brown and semi-green fall foliage that dotted the mass of trees along with the crisp September air was a constant reminder of the winter weather that was just around the corner.
Every day counted since running in the dead winter weather was not an option. Pushing her bangs to the side, she adjusted the rest of her hair that was neatly gathered into a single French braid down her nape and placed her black knit headband around her head.
Jasmine, yet again found another excuse to not jog. She was always talking about staying in shape, but rarely did anything about it. Of course, seeing as though she already had a perfect hour- glass shape, there really was no need. Savannah on the other hand, had to work at keeping her shape. Her five foot eight inch, athletic frame was not easy for her to come by. Coming from a family that had a huge potential of being overweight in the worse way made her paranoid about the slightest weight gain. Especially since she was very well endowed as was every other female in the family with a plentiful rear end, running had become a religion to her.
Stretching, she glanced at the small sign at the beginning of the huge abnormal sized track that circled the park area. One time around equaled one half a mile. Her goal was to do at least two and a half miles easily and then head to the office to catch up on some work.
Swearing beneath her breath, Savannah saw the woman, yet again, coming her way and realized she’d acquired a new unwanted jogging partner. For the third day this week, the older woman had took it upon herself to join her, invading her privacy. Not feeling too threatened nor intimidated by the invasion; she decided to keep her somewhat rude thoughts to herself. The park is open to the public, so what could she do? Besides the obvious reasons for jogging and exercise, Savannah found that the fresh air helped clear her mind before her day began.
It also gave her the opportunity to continue her self-therapy. Dre had broken down her self esteem and self image and no one was there to help her pick up the pieces. She chided and scorned herself for ever giving him that much power over her. At that enlightened instant, she vowed that no man would dictate to her about what she should or should not be, and she made it a point to remember that. The love of her life, or so she thought, had taken her heart and twisted every ounce of love she had in it for him and spit it back in her face. However glad she was to find out about his “other woman” before she married him, the pain still cut her deep to know that he’d found comfort in another woman’s arms…on a regular basis. Knowing this fact at times made her feel she’d done something wrong. Her mother, Rosalyn, didn’t make it any better by telling her that she’d put her career first, which drove Dre away. Also the consolation of knowing that every other black woman had experienced her pain did not make the pain lessen any. She was yet another casualty in the constant seemingly uphill battle of love. She’d lost the final round and did not want to face it then nor now.
Recalling it all like it was yesterday, when in fact more than a couple of years had past, the festering wound still oozed through her from time to time, like a recurring wound that refused to heal. Depending on her mood, the sore seemed to open and close like a novel that was too good to resist.
“Hey there young lady,” the woman hissed between breaths. “Today is Saturday. Didn’t expect to see you here today. How many times are you going to run around the track today?” Her gray straggly hair peeked from beneath her multi-colored hand knitted hat. Her dark brown eyes smiled at Savannah making it hard for her, yet again, to run her away with long strings of curses.
Savannah sighed. Actually she admired the woman for trying to stay ahead of the fitness game. Even though the gray hair could be an indicator of her age, she had a hard time guessing what her age was.
The woman’s face was a rich cocoa brown in complexion and flawless. One gold- rimmed tooth sparkled, demanding attention when she smiled and her dark brown eyes danced with life. She seemed to be happy and had a lot of conversation all the time. Considering the fact that she was running side by side with Savannah and talking the whole time let her know that she was not just in shape, but that she was in excellent shape.
“Yeah, I know, but I needed to run this morning since I skipped a couple days this week.” She checked her wristwatch and continued her jog. “Do you live around here or something? I see you here all the time.” She couldn’
t resist the temptation to ask.
“You could say that.” She coughed but maintained her stride. “I really just like to come here to clear my head and jog before I go to work. I assume you like to do the same?” She questioned and smiled.
“Sure, you’re right,” Savannah replied and looked at her stopwatch. They had only been running for twenty -five minutes at a slow pace but she was short winded and thirsty already. Reaching for her water bottle, she then realized she had forgotten it. “Damn,” she threw her hands in the air. Her early morning two and a half mile jog had come to an abrupt stop one mile into it. “I forgot my water.”
“That’s okay, I have one we can split.” The old woman pulled a bottle of spring water from under her jacket. “What’s your name sweety?”
“Savannah. Yours?”
“Theresa,” the old woman replied. “Theresa Styles…but you can call me T. All my children and grandchildren do,” she added.
“Thanks for the offer but I can get some water on the way home. I think I am going to call it quits here.” She stopped, wiping the small beads of sweat that had formed on the bridge of her nose and upper lip. “Maybe I’ll see you around sometime later…Have a good one.” Savannah smiled and turned to walk back to the track entrance.
“I’ll walk back with you,” T said. “I only planned on running a short run this morning anyway.”
Kevin Styles watched T as she headed towards the car. It had become routine for him to drop her off and pick her up about an hour or so later at the same spot. T was one who liked to keep in shape. Her fifty five year old frame, however hard for one to detect, was in excellent shape. “Get a good workout in?” he yelled as she approached the passenger side. “Who was that woman you were talking to?” He reached over and opened the car door from the inside.