Power, Seduction & Scandal

by Angela Winters

  “The most prestigious sloppy seconds a communications professional could ever want.”

  “But sloppy seconds still.” She listened to the sound of his heart beating against his chest, wishing she could just be happy with what she had and what could be coming to her soon.

  “I am who I am,” she said. “And Maurice isn’t just shit that happens. He deliberately and joyfully stole the fruits of my labor from me. He won’t get away with that.”

  “Which is why I won’t push.” Justin tightened his grip on her. “I know my girl and there’s no telling you what to do. Just be careful, Sherise. This level you’re at is as big as the game gets.”

  “I’ve been preparing for this level my entire career,” she said. “I won’t bow out and wait. I’m just not made of that.”

  Just then, Sherise’s phone, sitting on the floor next to unwrapped presents, rang. She slowly moved from the sofa to the ground and grabbed it after looking at the Caller I.D. and seeing it was Beth, her P.I.

  “It’s Beth,” she said.

  “Put her on speaker,” Justin requested.

  “Hey, Beth.” Sherise placed the phone between herself and Justin. “I’ve got you on speaker. Justin is here with me.”

  “Oh,” came across the other line. “Well, is . . .”

  “It’s okay, Beth.” Sherise had to laugh. “Justin knows what you’ve been doing for me.”

  This had to be new to Beth. Sherise had been using her as her P.I. for years without letting Justin know. She’d helped her find out about Justin’s affair a couple of years ago. She was unfamiliar with this newfound openness and honesty between Sherise and her husband.

  “Okay,” she responded in her usual, curt tone. “Hello, Justin.”

  “Hi, Beth,” Justin responded.

  “I was hoping to hear from you,” Sherise said.

  After she’d told Justin, the second person she told was Beth, and she had her see if there was any additional information she could get.

  “I might have found something,” Beth said. “I can’t say exactly what it means, but I can say what I think.”

  Sherise looked up at Justin with a sparkle in her eyes. “Go on.”

  “Remember what Stephen told you about meeting Blair at the D.C. jail on D Street?” she asked. “He came across him when he was still in cuffs, about to be put in a cell.”

  “Yes,” Sherise answered. “Maurice was there helping out a friend.”

  “That’s just it,” Beth said. “He couldn’t have been. You see, the jail process is pretty precise, and when prisoners are cuffed and about to be put in cells, they aren’t allowed near visitors, not even their lawyers. They aren’t allowed to meet up with whoever bailed them out until they get into the pickup area and collect their belongings.”

  “Wait a second.” Sherise realized what Beth was saying. “Maurice wasn’t helping anyone out. He was in trouble.”

  “Exactly,” Beth continued. “So I did a little checking. The guy has great connections, because he was never brought up on any charges, but I think he was so focused on Stephen, he didn’t bother to get his own arrest removed.”

  “What was he arrested for?” Justin asked.

  “Soliciting prostitution,” Beth answered. “I wish it was juicier than that, but I did find one thing. He has a long history of soliciting prostitutes. I just came from H Street, where he was arrested. I found the hooker that the cops caught getting into his car, Diamond.”

  Justin laughed. “Of course her name is Diamond.”

  Sherise smiled and slapped Justin on the thigh. “Go on, Beth.”

  “Well, he’s a regular around there. Has been for years. He picks them up and takes them to the District Hotel, room 204, every time. They do some drugs, usually coke or X and that’s it.”

  “Is he into anything weird or kinky that we could use against him?” Justin asked.

  Sherise looked at her husband, somewhat surprised by his question. Proud, but surprised.

  “Not really,” Beth answered. “I wish I had more, but I found it interesting at least. Do you think this would be enough to put something together?”

  “No.” Sherise was feeling all her switches lighting up. “But if we take it up a notch, it will.”

  “What do you mean?” Justin asked.

  “Beth, I need your help in doing something pretty off-the-charts insane,” Sherise said. “Are you up for it?”

  “How many laws will I have to break?” she asked.

  Sherise thought about it for a second. “Maybe one or two.”

  “I don’t know about this,” Justin interjected. “Sherise . . .”

  “I’m in,” Beth quickly offered over the phone.

  “Okay,” Sherise said. “None of this will get back to Jerry, but I’m still going to need his help.”

  The phone beeped to indicate another call was trying to get through. Sherise looked down at the phone and noticed it was Billie. She pressed the Ignore button.

  “Here’s what I want to do,” Sherise continued. “We get him to pick up a plant and take her to the District Hotel. Then . . .”

  She was interrupted by another call from Billie and realized that if she decided to call again instead of leave a message, it was likely urgent. She had to take this call.

  Stepping out onto the sidewalk in front of her apartment building in search of moving boxes, Erica heard her phone beep. She checked the text and saw it was from Sherise again. It was about Billie, and Erica felt a tug at her heart. It hurt her so much to hear that Michael had cheated on Billie. She wanted to be there for her, the way she’d been there for her when Porter broke her heart.

  But she couldn’t deal with the bullshit that was inevitable being around the girls. Things had changed permanently between all of them, and Erica couldn’t be bothered right now with trying to make it right. She was dealing with her own life right now.

  When they were ready to accept her as an equal, and not their little charity case, things could be good between them again. But as long as they insisted she was some child who needed scolding and couldn’t make a decision without their direction, she was going to stay away.

  She knew Billie wasn’t going to be alone in this. She had Sherise and she would help her deal with it for now. Besides, with Sherise’s anger over her quitting Justin’s firm, Erica knew that a face-to-face with her would only result in more fighting. She was sick of it. She was sick of all of it.

  Placing her phone back in her jeans pocket, Erica looked up to see a man, looking about in his thirties, with a little girl walking down the sidewalk. The little girl looked around five years old. He was laughing and looking down at her. She laughed back and stopped, throwing her hands up in the air.

  He responded by leaning down and picking her up in his arms. She grabbed his face with her tiny hands and pressed her nose against his. He kissed her and she giggled. He secured her in his arms and continued walking down the street. As they passed Erica, she could hear them singing a song together. It sounded like a gospel song Erica remembered learning in church with her mother.

  But not with her father and, as she watched the two of them continue down the street, Erica found herself feeling the opposite of what she should have felt. She was angry. She was angry at the look of pure joy and contentment in that little girl’s face. Her tiny soul exuded a sense of confidence, of being, of importance in her father’s arms.

  “Fucking Jonah,” she mumbled under her breath.

  “Hey, Erica!”

  Erica, still feeling anger, although trying to ignore it, turned to see her brother, Nate, rushing down the sidewalk toward her.

  “Where you going?” he asked breathlessly, when he reached her.

  “I’m going to the office supply place to pick up some moving boxes,” she answered. “What are you doing here?”

  “Damn, I almost missed you. I need to talk to you.”

  “You can always call ahead and—”

  “This is sort of a face-to-fa
ce thing.” He gestured toward her apartment. “Can we go inside?”

  “Come on, Nate. I’m on my way out. What is it?”

  He looked around as if he was concerned someone would hear him before taking a step closer to his sister. He looked at her apprehensively.

  “Um . . .” He lifted his shoulders in a humble gesture. “I sort of need some . . . you know, money.”

  “I just gave you a ton of money a few days ago,” she said. “Enough to pay off your landlord and a little extra for you. Did you lose the check?”

  “No.” He pressed his lips together, clearly reluctant to explain himself. “I sort of . . . well, I spent it.”

  “You spent it?” she asked. “You were supposed to give it to your landlord!”

  “That’s the thing.” He ran his hand over his head. “I sort of fucked up.”

  Erica gasped and from the look on her face, Nate seemed to know what she was thinking.

  “No,” he said, quickly. “It’s not drugs. I swear to God. It’s not that at all.”

  “Then what?” she asked, after a sigh. “How in the hell did you spend all that money?”

  “I intended to give it to the landlord with that letter to end the lease, but . . .” He shook his head as if even he was in disbelief over what he was about to say. “My buddy, Skip, came over and . . .”

  “Skip?” Erica knew what that meant. “That fucking gambling addict? Did you go gambling with him?”

  “We went down to the Maryland Live! Casino and, I swear, Erica, I don’t really know what happened.”

  “You know damn well what happened!” she snapped. “How could you do that? You lost it all? All of it?”

  He nodded, looking extremely ashamed of himself. “I’m so sorry, Erica. I . . .”

  “You were drinking, weren’t you?” she asked.

  He held up his hand defensively. “Hold on a second. I’m not an addict. I don’t do drugs anymore. I never had a problem with alcohol.”

  “It’s all the same,” she said.

  “No, it isn’t!” he insisted. “Look, the point is, my landlord is still waiting on that money. He doesn’t believe me and thinks I’m going to skip without paying him. He’s pissed.”

  She leaned back, placing her hands on her hips. “I don’t know what you’re looking at me for.”

  “Come on, Erica. Don’t fuck around. I need the money.”

  “I gave you the money,” she said. “This is how you show your appreciation, by gambling it off. That’s not my fault.”

  “I know,” he said. “I fucked up. Just give me some more so I can get this guy off my back.”

  “Do you think I’m a free money tree?” Erica was pissed at his attitude. “You act like you just know I’m going to give it to you. Like I owe it to you.”

  “You have the money,” he said. “You know you have it. It’s not a lot to you, so don’t be stingy.”

  “Stingy? How dare you? I gave you—”

  “I did this because of you,” he said. “I told my landlord I was moving out and paying off the lease because you promised me you would pay for it.”

  “And I did!” she yelled. “You fucked up. Not me.”

  “I know, but I need you help me out,” he said desperately. “Why are you being so selfish?”

  “I can’t believe you!” Erica garnered every bit of strength she had to not slap him in the face. “You spoiled brat. I didn’t have to give you anything!”

  “Are you serious?” he asked. “You’re really gonna leave me hanging like this? I’m screwed, Erica! I won’t be able to move in with Aubrey. You’re ruining everything!”

  “You just ruined everything for yourself!” She looked him up and down, showing her disgust. “You’re just another person I can’t trust anymore, you unappreciative leech. I can’t even stand to look at you!”

  “Erica!” he called after her as she turned and rushed away.

  “Go to hell!” she yelled without looking back. “Go to hell, Nate!”

  She rushed into her car and drove off just as Nate reached her, slamming his hand on her driver’s side door. She sped off down the street and reached the end of the block. Stopping at the stop sign, she looked back to see if Nate was following her.

  He wasn’t, but when she turned back, she watched as the father and daughter she had seen before crossed the street in front of her. She watched as he eyed her cautiously, very careful to make sure that his daughter was safely in his arms as he made his way through the crosswalk. The little girl, her head nestled in her father’s right shoulder, looked into Erica’s car as they passed by.

  She made eye contact with Erica and her head lifted a bit with concern. Erica imagined she must look as frazzled as she felt right now and the girl noticed it. Or maybe she was just curious. Erica could see her point in her direction and say something to her father, but her father didn’t turn. He just nodded and kissed the little girl on her forehead as they reached the sidewalk.

  Erica jumped in her seat as the car behind her honked loudly. After a second, she stepped on the gas and drove on, feeling angrier than ever. She felt at that moment as if she had no one at all. As if she had never had anyone.

  Sherise and Billie both sat at the end of the bed in Sherise’s bedroom. Sherise had her arms wrapped around Billie and Billie’s head lay on her chest. She wasn’t crying anymore. She didn’t have enough moisture left for any more tears, and she didn’t want to drink the tea Sherise had just made for her.

  “You have to drink something,” Sherise said. “At least some water.”

  Slowly, Billie leaned away and sat up. Her eyes red and swollen, her hair a mess, she looked at Sherise and nodded. “Water.”

  Sherise got up and reached for the water bottle she had brought earlier from off the dresser. She returned to the bed, handing it to Billie.

  “It’s hard enough to think straight as it is,” Sherise said. “If you let yourself get dehydrated, things will just get more confusing.”

  “They aren’t confusing at all.” Billie’s voice was hoarse from the crying and yelling.

  She’d come straight to Sherise’s house in Georgetown after leaving her apartment. Not knowing what else to do, she’d called Sherise, who offered to come get her. Instead, she took a cab. Billie did her best to hold herself together, as the cab driver was already concerned enough to ask if she wanted him to drive her to a hospital. She must have looked as much of a mess as she felt.

  When she finally reached Sherise’s, Billie allowed herself to fall apart. Justin stayed downstairs and Sherise and Billie went upstairs. Billie told her everything from the moment Porter exposed Darina’s plot to the second she ran out of the apartment after seeing Michael in bed with her.

  Sherise’s first instinct was to find that woman and beat her into the ground, but after Billie repeated the situation, after calming down, Sherise was more suspicious than anything else.

  “You know you can stay here,” Sherise said. “I’ll change the sheets in the guest bedroom. No one has been in there in a long time.”

  “Thank you,” Billie managed to say. “You don’t think the babies heard me? Was I too loud?”

  “No,” Sherise said, although they probably had heard her. “Justin took them out for a bite to eat. They won’t be back for a little while. Don’t worry about them.”

  “I’m sorry,” Billie said. “I’m so, so sorry.”

  “What are you apologizing for?”

  “For being a baby. For being a failure at everything!”

  “You’re being stupid now,” Sherise admonished. “This isn’t your fault. From everything you’re telling me, this woman planned and plotted all of it. She factored you into this.”

  “But I should have seen it coming,” Billie said.

  “You did,” Sherise told her. “Just not soon enough. You can’t possibly say that you have some blame here.”

  “How can I not?” Billie said. “That woman was a threat to my relationship with Michael from day
one and I just held my suspicions because I was too weak to stand up to . . .”

  “To a man meeting his son for the first time?” Sherise asked. “Your hands were tied, Billie. You knew that supporting Michael in this traumatic situation was the most important thing at the time. Besides, you did stand up. Michael didn’t listen.”

  “You’re right,” Billie agreed, slamming her fist on the bed. “I tried to tell him to be more cautious. He didn’t want to hear it. I get that.... I get that he was thrown for a loop, but he should have listened to me!”

  Sherise sat back down on the bed next to her. “If I tell Justin, he’ll go over there. He’ll go over there and handle this the way this kind of thing was handled where we grew up.”

  “No,” Billie said. “I want to kill him myself, but I don’t want anyone else getting involved.”

  “If you’re worried about Justin,” Sherise said, “Don’t let that law degree fool you. He can roll.”

  Billie knew Sherise was trying to make her laugh, but she couldn’t manage it. She could barely manage to speak. She was just aching inside and out.

  “I took too long,” Billie said. “I tried to be patient with him, let him figure out what she was up to. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  “You can never trust a man to figure out what a woman is doing in enough time. Their minds just don’t work that way.”

  “But Michael . . .” Billie threw her arms up before letting them fall flatly back to her sides. “But he was smarter than most men. I thought he was . . . I thought he was stronger.”

  “He did seem more principled than that,” Sherise added. “Getting high and cheating. But all men are just men.”

  “How could this happen to me again?” she asked. “It was behind my back the first time, but right in front of my face this time. How?”

  “Billie, it happens to all of us,” Sherise said. “We’re all . . .”

  Just then, Billie’s phone, which was sitting at the other edge of the bed, rang—again. It had been ringing nonstop. Sherise reached back to check, but she knew it was Michael again.

  “Just put it on silent,” Billie said. “He won’t stop.”