Cheaper to Keep Her (part 1)

by Swinson presents Unique, Kiki

  “And as long as you’re good, I’ll keep giving you money,” Duke said, kissing me and placing the clean, crisp bills in my hand.

  I didn’t want to act too hype and count them in front of him. I just held them tightly. “Thank you for everything,” I said meaningfully.

  “Just stay sweet,” Duke said and then he headed out of the bedroom towards the door.

  “Will you call or come over tomorrow!” I called after him. I was feeling a little anxious that he was leaving.

  “Just be available whenever I do call,” Duke answered back.

  My shoulders slumped at that answer. When I was sure I was alone I ran over to the bed and spread the cash out. Duke had given me thirty one hundred dollar bills. “Three thousand dollars!” I screamed out loud happy as shit. I lifted the money and threw some in the air and then I laid in the rest and rolled around like a pig in slop. This was a lifestyle I could surely get used to. I had never had a man who came anywhere close to Duke.

  He was definitely a keeper!

  Cheaper to Keep Her Unique

  Chapter 10-Money Hungry

  It had been a few days since Duke had come to the condo and I was starting to get stir crazy.

  I called Diamond and we met up to spend some of Duke’s money. I should say my money. Diamond looked kind of skinny to me. I was sure it was the unneeded stress from her man, Brian. If I loved a fool like that I’m sure I would be stressed the hell out as well.

  We went to the Gucci store and I got her a bag. I figured there would be more money coming my way and Diamond was still struggling and shaking her ass at the club, so why not. After all, she was still my girl and I was sure she would do the same for me.

  Next, we went to lunch on me. It felt good being with her again. When we parted ways, we hugged. As I drove to the condo, I was secretly hoping Duke would be there.

  Sure enough, when I turned the key to the condo door I didn’t hear the alarm beep. I instantly got excited because that meant that Duke had punched in the code already. I began to call out to him but then I heard voices. I crinkled my eyebrows and listened for a minute. It was Duke and another man’s voice. It was coming from the den. I tiptoed near the den’s door and listened for a minute. I didn’t want to interrupt any important meetings. I peeked around the doorway a little bit. Duke and an older gentleman were standing by the big windows. They both had their backs to me, so I ducked back out of the door and listened.

  “Dr. Gavin, I’m trusting you to totally run this shit. I’ve sunken a lot of money into this,” Duke said.

  “Yes, yes, Mr. Carrington. Here are the photos of the girls I promised you,” the man called Dr. Gavin stated. He looked to be in his fifties, but I only saw him from behind. He handed Duke a stack of photos. I was real interested now that I’d heard him say girls.

  “Shit, they look good to be big and pregnant. I guess young chicks keep their bodies when they get pregnant,” Duke commented as he flipped through the photos.

  Pregnant! Young girls! I screamed inside of my head. What the fuck was Duke into? Now I had to listen. It was as if my feet were stuck. I quietly slipped my shoes off just to make sure they didn’t hear me.

  “Where’s the newest one you were telling me about?” Duke asked. “You know, the one you said looked mixed and may have a white looking baby.”

  “She’s right here,” Dr. Gavin said, pulling a picture from the stack and putting it on top. “This girl is eighteen years old and she’s homeless. She came to the Help Center to get shelter but she doesn’t want to give up her baby for adoption,” Dr. Gavin informed Duke.

  “Well then you know what to do with the bitch! I don’t want to hear no fucking excuses. I got a lot of money on the line and a lot of fucking people have paid me a lot of fucking money so if you don’t do the right thing, then I’m going to find someone else who will,” Duke snapped at the doctor.

  The old man looked frightened to death. “Yes, Mr. Carrington. I know what to do. They all trust me to deliver their babies, so it would be no problem for me to sedate them and make the babies disappear.”

  Oh Shit! I placed my hands over my lips. They sounded as if they were about to wrap up their meeting, so I started quickly tiptoeing back to the door. My heart was hammering from the shit I had just heard. It sounded as if Duke was into some black market baby snatching type of illegal adoption shit. He had actually hired a fucking doctor to snatch young girls’ babies.

  My legs were kind of weak as I tipped away. I was finally at the front door and I snuck back out. I stood outside the door for a few minutes with my chest rising and falling rapidly. “Pull it together, Lynise. His business has nothing to do with you,” I told myself. I decided to put what I had heard out of my mind. Why should I give up my lavish living to save young bitches? I reasoned.

  I put the key back in the door as if I had just made it home. I opened the door and called out. “Duke? Are you here?” I called out, faking like a muthfucka. “Baby? I’m home!” I sang out. I started towards the den. I got to the door just in time to see Duke scrambling to put the fucking pictures and paperwork in his brief case.

  “Oh, I didn’t know you had company,” I lied.

  “Wassup, Beautiful. Did you have a good day?” Duke said nervously. Then he looked over at the doctor.

  “Dr. Gavin, this is my new wifey, Lynise. Lynise, this is my business associate, Dr. Gavin,” Duke introduced us. I put on a real fake smile and extended my hand for a shake. However, instead of shaking my hand, the doctor grabbed it and planted a wet kiss on the top of my hand. That shit made me cringe. Especially since I knew what kind of fucking monster he was.

  “It is very nice to meet you,” the creepy doctor said.

  “Same here,” I lied.

  “Mr. Carrington, I will be in touch,” Dr. Gavin said and with that the creepy doctor departed the condo.

  Duke came over to me and as usual he wanted to place his long tongue down my throat. Any other day I had welcomed his deep, choking kisses. But after what I had heard I was kind of turned off. I kissed him back but not with the same fever as before.

  “You alright, Beautiful?” Duke asked me.

  “Oh, I’m fine. Can we hang out and get it on?” I faked a smile.

  “Naw, I gotta go again,” Duke said. “But I promise to see you either tomorrow or in a few days.” I felt a pang of disappointment. “But the good news is I have something for you.”

  I perked right up. That always worked. Duke dug in his pocket while I waited with baited breath. I assumed he would pull out some more cash, which would’ve been fine with me. Imagine my fucking surprise when Duke pulled out the keys to a brand new BMW X-6.

  “Beautiful, these are yours. You can’t live in this condo driving that piece of shit you got,” he announced. I started jumping up and down. Duke led me to the balcony in the bedroom, which had a view of the front of the building and the parking lot. “There she is, the candy apple red one,” Duke pointed out my new car.

  “Oh, thank you baby!” I screamed, hugging him around his neck as tight as I could.

  “No problem. Just always be good. I gotta go now.”

  I let him go. Hell, I was too excited about the car to be disappointed about him leaving. I guess living with what I knew about his business dealings with the doctor had just gotten a lot easier.

  Cheaper to Keep Her Unique

  Chapter 11—Money, Hoes & Clothes

  When Duke left I raced downstairs and got into my new whip.

  I really loved everything about it. I took it for a spin around the neighborhood and I tried to use the new car as a distraction to clear my mind from what I had heard earlier. It absolutely didn’t work. To think of my sweet man being involved in something that might hurt young girls or their babies left me feeling kind of sick. I wasn’t that trifling or shallow that a car or a million pairs of shoes could change how I felt.

  After playing Duke’s conversation with Dr. Gavin repeatedly in my mind, I started doubting myse
lf. I returned to the condo and tried to watch television. That shit didn’t work either. So I tried to play fashion show and tried on several of the clothes I had purchased over the past few weeks. Shit like that usually made me happy, but once again I struck out. I paced the condo before finally deciding to check out the den to see if Duke had left any evidence behind. Nothing.

  My mind raced with all kinds of thoughts. “Sounded like an illegal baby snatching ring,” I stated aloud as I stood in the middle of the living room with my hands on my hips. “Arrgghh!” I screamed in frustration.

  I had to stop driving myself crazy. Duke was nothing but a fucking gentleman and a businessman I told myself. I wanted to believe that I had not heard right. I needed somebody to take my mind off this shit. You guessed it, I called Diamond. After all, she was still my BFF.

  “Diamond!” I yelled into the phone. I sounded as if I would just bust out crying. Of course this alarmed her because we had just had a damn blast shopping. After she asked me what was wrong I went right into it.

  “Diamond, oh my God, you’re not going to believe this!” I said with urgency. She screamed in my ear telling me to get to the damn point. “I think Duke is into an illegal adoption and baby snatching ring!” I blurted out.

  Diamond got kind of quiet.

  “Did you hear me?!” I asked her. I was confused as to why she wasn’t asking me for details. So I just started telling her. “I crept in on him having a conversation with a man named Dr. Gavin. That old bastard was showing Duke pictures of young pregnant chicks and Duke told him if they didn’t want to give up their babies that the doctor should just take them because he had a lot of money out there riding on this.” I relayed verbatim what I’d heard. I wanted Diamond to feel the effect of what I had overheard.

  But Diamond was sullen and quiet until she told me she had something to tell me. Then she indeed dropped the bomb on my ass. She had already heard that Duke was in the illegal adoption business. Evidently Dr. Gavin was the front man who ran a homeless shelter in Chesapeake for pregnant women who were abused or raped. If the women didn’t want to give up their babies willingly, then Dr. Gavin would deliver the babies by C-section while the mother was knocked out. When the women awakened, Dr. Gavin would tell them their babies died at birth.

  I gripped my cell to my ear in disbelief at what I was hearing. I had never held a phone so tightly. “Diamond, why didn’t you tell me this shit before now!” I screamed at her. Tears were running down my face. I didn’t want to believe my knight in shining armor was really a fucking grim reaper.

  Diamond didn’t tell me because I was too caught up and so in love with Duke. She didn’t want me to accuse her of trying to break us up or hating on our relationship.

  Hell, she was right.

  Had I not heard it for myself and if Diamond had tried to tell me anything bad about Duke, I would’ve accused her of wanting him and being jealous that I had a good man.

  “What am I going to do now. If I move out he might be asking questions. I can’t let him know that I know anything,” I told her.

  Diamond told me to sit tight and just enjoy the money and gifts. She told me not to worry about his business. She also warned me to be very careful because she had also heard that Duke could be a very violent and dangerous man.

  That part didn’t sit right with me. Duke was definitely a businessman and maybe this whole baby shit was just a misunderstanding, but he was far from dangerous. “I don’t think he would hurt me Diamond. You have to see how good he treats me when we’re together. He has told me a billion times how much he loves my sex,” I reported to her.

  Diamond wasn’t trying to hear it. She wasn’t convinced Duke wouldn’t hurt me. She told me if his business or money was compromised he might just kill his own mother.

  I laughed and scoffed at Diamond’s paranoia. I kindly dismissed her warning and assured her again that Duke wouldn’t hurt me. “Girl, I got that man eating out the palm of my hands” I said.

  But no matter what I said, Diamond wasn’t convinced at all.

  Cheaper to Keep Her Unique

  Chapter 12—Is That Yo’ Bitch?

  Before Diamond and I ended our conversation I agreed to meet her at the Magic City for a drink and just to hang out.

  I hadn’t been to the club in days and I knew Neeko had probably fired me. I didn’t care. For now, that wasn’t my life anymore. I had a lot on my mind and I needed a drink and I also needed a hug from my BFF.

  I drove my new whip to the club. When I pulled into the parking lot, Diamond was standing outside puffing on a cigarette and talking to the club’s DJ. She turned around for a minute but didn’t realize it was me driving the car. She took a drag off her cigarette and went back to her conversation. That is, until she saw me stepping out of the BMW. I saw the DJ motion towards me and Diamond turned back around. Her eyes grew as wide as dinner plates, she flicked her cigarette to the ground and started screaming.

  “Ahhhh! Oh no he didn’t, bitch! Oh my God! Nini! He bought that ass a fucking X6!

  Her excited ass raced over to me and snatched the keys out of my hand. “Bitch, you know I gotta test drive this shit!” her face lighting up like a kid at Christmas.

  I was laughing. She had already taken my mind off the issue with Duke.

  “Come the fuck on! I might never get another chance to drive a fucking beamer!” Diamond urged as she pulled my arm.

  We jumped back in my new car and Diamond peeled out of the club’s parking lot. “Slow down bitch, I just got it!” I said jokingly.

  “Oh my God, this fucking whip is so hot! I am so feeling it, Lynise!” Diamond complimented. I felt really good that she approved. We drove around while she continued screaming and acted overly excited. “Lynise, you better not leave that nigga over no fucking baby snatching bullshit. Look, them bitches’ babies are probably better off wherever he is selling them at.”

  I couldn’t believe the shit out of Diamond’s mouth as she whipped my ride down the highway. “Oh my goodness, Diamond, I cannot believe you’re saying this shit because he bought me a car!” I yelled at her. “You was just telling me to be careful this and careful that . . . the nigga is dangerous, you said! Now you changing your damn tune?” I made my point as I smiled at how quickly a luxury whip had persuaded her that Duke was now a good guy.

  “Um . . . bitch! He bought you a car, gave you a condo and fucking enough cash for you to take me shopping with you!” she stated. “Ok, I’m thinking your ass need to be the fuck quiet and just ride! As long as you stay quiet and play your position my warnings won’t be needed.”

  I shook my head at my girl. I was just amazed at the excitement in her voice. I actually think she had forgotten that fast the shit she was telling me about Duke.

  “I’m not going to say anything to him right now, but I still want you to remember that you were the one telling me the nigga might kill me or some shit,” I informed her.

  “Girl, fuck all that,” Diamond said with a hint of laughter in her voice. “Get what you can and make sure you stash in the process. Shit, if it was me I would have a nigga so sewn up that he wouldn’t know what to do and if that muthafucka ever tried to play me, I promise to show his ass that that old fucking saying, it’s cheaper to keep her . . . is the truth.”

  Even with the laughter, I knew her ass was dead serious though.

  We pulled back into the club’s parking lot. After hanging and cruising with Diamond for those few minutes I was already feeling better. I started having second thoughts about going into the club now. I mean, I did just up and walk out on my damn job.

  “C’mon girl. I’ma make sure I tell Neeko about your new ride. Let that greasy, jheri curl wearing asshole know you don’t need to be slanging no damn drinks for his grungy ass customers,” Diamond said.

  Although I had plans to return to the condo after our short cruise, hearing her level of excitement made me want to stick around longer. So I decided to go inside and have a quick drink with Diamond. Besi
des, I knew Duke probably wouldn’t be coming back to the condo tonight. He hardly ever stayed the entire night with me.

  Once inside, I noticed the club was already packed. The second thing I noticed was the clientele had changed. I saw less of the higher paying patrons and more of the losers that came in there to try to get cheap sex. I noticed some of the broke niggas I knew by name peppered throughout the smoky club. Both Diamond and I climbed up on barstools. It felt funny being on the other side of the bar.

  Diamond tapped on the bar top and the girl I usually competed with for tips, Raven, came over to take our drink orders. She looked surprised to see me and twisted up her lips. I rolled my eyes and placed my newly purchased Gucci bag on top of the bar in Raven’s face. She took our orders and stomped away. I just laughed.

  “Girl, you better go get dressed for your set,” I told Diamond.

  “Fuck Neeko. When I’m ready I will get ready. Besides, I’m having a drink with my new rich friend!” Diamond said jokingly, slapping my thigh.

  “That is not funny girl,” I replied. “I am very far from rich. Let’s get it right. I don’t have shit . . . he has all the money.”

  Raven slammed our drinks down in front of us. I had ordered a Pink Lady and Diamond ordered a Mojito. “What the fuck is wrong with that ugly bitch?” Diamond asked in response to Raven’s very apparent attitude.

  “I guess she didn’t ever expect me to be buying a drink instead of serving one.”

  As we bullshitted at the bar and talked about everybody in the club, a dude approached and stood between us. That shit was rude to begin with. I looked at him with my face curled into a frown. He was a very dark skinned, short, big bellied, troll in my eyes. Diamond lifted her drink and rolled her eyes as if she knew who he was. I had never seen him before. I started talking over him. I wasn’t going to acknowledge his rude ass at all.

  “I’m saying can I get with you?” the little, charcoal colored stranger said to me. I turned around to look behind me to see if he was speaking to someone else and then looked back at him as if he was crazy. I just knew he couldn’t be talking to me.