by Ancelli
“Who would’ve known that Shane could be so romantic?”
“He is romantic,” Larissa stood, looking out of her balcony doors. To the world Shane was this big bad wolf, but to her he was a gentle teddy bear. She loved him just the way he was, even with all his cussing. “I’m the happiest when I’m with him and his little boy.”
“Are you ready to be his step mom? I mean Shane’s baby mama is crazy.”
“I can handle that bitch,” She opened the glass sliding doors, and stepped out. Larissa was willing to sacrifice everything for Shane and Grayson, but she would never walk away from them. Shane became her heart’s hero; he made her believe in forever. She had a moment where she doubted they could make it, and thought her boys would be better off without her. But what woman in her place wouldn’t? Thank God Shane and Grayson made her come to her senses. “I warned her over and over not to mess with me.”
“She didn’t listen?”
“No she didn’t,” Larissa looked down at the pool in the back of the building. “And now she’s going to meet Ms. Edwards. I’m done being nice.”
“Is this the favor you’re trying to cash in?”
“Yes.” Larissa said, and balled her fist.
Chapter Ten
One week later.
Shane leaned back in his leather chair, talking on the phone. “Larissa…”
“Yes,” she chuckled.
“I need a date.”
“For?” she giggled.
“Woman, stop playing with me, I want to make you Mrs. Morgan as soon as possible.” He couldn’t wait to make her his wife, to finally have what he’d been seeking, for a family of his own. He often wondered what their baby would look like, a little girl. “I spoke to a judge this morning and he said he could marry us next Friday.”
“In a week? Are you sure you want to marry me?” She was being silly, he could hear the humor in her voice.
“I haven’t been more sure of anything in my fucking life,” his cellphone beeped he had another call coming through. He looked at the number, recognizing it, and that it was odd to be getting a call from it. “Babe, Grayson’s daycare is calling. I’ll call you right back. Love you.” He made sure to always say how he felt to the people he cared about, because you never know if you’ll ever see that person again.
“Love you back, and yes Mr. Morgan, I’ll marry you next Friday.”
“Yes,” Shane pumped his fist in the air. “I can’t wait to make you mine.”
“I am already yours.”
He couldn’t help the grin on his face, before switching over. “Hey.”
“Mr. Morgan, this is Patrice from Rainbow Daycare.”
“Yes, is something wrong with Grayson?” he asked concerned since the daycare never called him unless they couldn’t reach Liza.
“I’m not supposed to call you, but I think you should know,” she stated.
“What happened?” He demanded to know.
“We had to call Child Protective Services,” Patrice disclosed.
“Why?” Shane stood, and the other officers in the room looked at him. His happiness had officially faded away. There was only one reason why they would call CPS.
“Sir…”
“Stop fucking beating around the bush, and tell me what the fuck happened to my son!” Shane growled, he knew it wasn’t the lady’s fault, she was just doing her job.
“Grayson wasn’t himself this morning, he refused to use the bathroom.” Patrice paused. “He finally decided to go, but I could hear him crying so I went in, and Grayson’s butt and legs are covered in black and blue bruises. I lifted his t-shirt and he had welt marks across his back. Mr. Morgan they are really bad, and I knew you would want to know.”
Shane’s jaw clenched, this cycle would not repeat itself. “I’m on my way,” he said and placed his phone in his pocket. Spare the rod, spoil the child. He believed in spanking his son, but never to the point of abuse. As a law enforcement officer he knew the only spanking allowed was with an open hand on the butt. His parents had used him as a punching bag, and he vowed that his kids would never have to go through that.
“Shane, what’s up?” Lorenzo watched him.
“That fucking bitch beat my kid,” he picked up his car keys, and walked out of his office. “They called CPS. I’m not letting them take him away from me.”
“I’m coming with you,” Lorenzo followed behind him.
“No,” Shane turned around, glaring at his friend. “I’ll be fine. I promised him that I would always be there,” he cleared his throat. He prayed they were exaggerating, and that Grayson was okay.
“You’re not fine,” Lorenzo grabbed his jacket. “Remember what happened the other night with those fuckers?”
“I was making a point,” Shane ambled away. “Don’t follow me,” he opened the door, and walked out. Liza had fucking lost her mind.
~~~
Shane stormed into the daycare, knocking the door against the drywall. “Where’s my son?” He demanded to know.
Patrice rushed up to the front desk. “Mr. Morgan he’s speaking with someone from Child Protective Services,” she pointed at the office.
Grayson was being interviewed. Shane’s heart raced, and his nose started flaring. That meant there was enough evidence for him to possibly be removed from the home. What the fuck did Liza do? Shane marched to the room, and forcefully opened the door. “Who the fuck gave you permission to interview my son?”
“Daddy!” Grayson ran up to him, and wrapped his arms around his legs. “Daddy hurt… I hurt…” Shane picked him up. “Ouch… ouch…” he sat him back down on the ground.
Shane glared at the lady, and pulled out his badge showing her his credentials. “I’ll be doing the interview. Take all the fucking notes you need, because after this I’m taking my son home with me.”
“Sir,” the lady said, looking at Shane’s badge and uniform. He was wearing a red polo shirt with Federal Agent written across it, a pair of khaki pants, and boots. “This isn’t the first time something like this has happened.”
“What, when?” Shane was confused, when did this happen, he wondered. “No one called me, aren’t you supposed to call the other parent?” He counted to ten mentally, she fucking hurt his son more than once and he was none the wiser.
“Sir, we tried to get in contact with you, but his mother said you weren’t in the child’s life.” The lady stood. “The number she gave us didn’t work.”
“When?”
She searched through the file in her hands, and fingered a page, searching for the answer he requested. “A year and a half ago.”
That’s the period when she kept Grayson away from him. Every time he came by to see him, she was never home. They had shared custody at first until she got mad at him, and took him to court for full custody, and they denied her. Liza kept taking him to court until one day the judge was tired of her using Grayson to get what she wanted, and gave them shared custody, but she was the primary guardian. He didn’t want to keep his son away from his mother, but why didn’t he fight her?
“It didn’t fucking occur to you that she lied?” he looked down at his little man. He promised Larissa he would stop cussing, especially around Grayson, but when he was angry all promises went out the window. “What were you called for then?”
“She left him home alone a few times according to her neighbors, and your son had a black eye once, however there wasn’t any way to prove that she did it.” The lady placed the file on the desk, and grabbed a notepad and pen. “When we were about to take your son out of her custody, her mother stepped up. She stated that she would be moving in to help with your son.”
Shane combed his fingers through his hair in frustration. “That’s why she moved in,” he said to himself.
“Daddy.” Grayson stared through big eyes. “I want home with you,” he pointed at him. “Please… No Mommy.” He shook his head.
“Sir, I need-” She closed her mouth when Shane put up his hand, ig
noring her.
“Take notes.” He glared at her, and then looked at his son. “What happened, buddy?” Shane’s voice softened.
“Mommy hurt me,” he whispered. He’d taught his son to tell him everything without fear of punishment, if he told the truth.
“Why?” he brushed Grayson’s hair out of his face, and took a deep breath.
Grayson went and grabbed his book bag. He pulled out a ripped picture, and showed him.
Shane sat in the chair next to the door, and took the ripped construction paper from his son. Grayson had drawn a picture of four stick people. “Who is this?” Shane pointed at the sticks.
“Daddy,” he pointed at the biggest stick. “Mommy, me, and…” he didn’t continue.
“Buddy, who’s this?” Shane pointed at the brown stick. “I promise you won’t get in trouble.”
Grayson shook his head, and started crying. “I no hurt, Daddy,” his tears rolled down his cheeks. “No hurt… I sorry.”
The lady took notes.
Shane’s heart broke, staring at his son crying. Memories from his childhood resurfaced, when his parents used to take turns beating the hell out of him. If it wasn’t for those fucking monthly checks he used to steal from his father, he wouldn’t have been able to run away from home. “I promise, son,” he wiped his tears. “No one will hurt you again.” His voice cracked.
Grayson pointed at the picture. “Rissa.”
Shane took a deep breath, cracking his neck. “Your mommy hit you because of Rissa?”
Grayson nodded his head, “Mommy said I bad boy.” Grayson turned around, and lifted his shirt. Shane gasped, and clenched his jaw. His little boy had marks across his back, down to his butt and legs. Memories of his abuse came back in full force.
“Mommy did this?” Shane could feel the tears burning his eyes. If they assumed he was crazy the other night, they were going to think he was insane now. He had never put his hands on a woman before, but Liza might be the first.
“Yes,” Grayson turned, and bowed his head like he did something wrong. “I sorry, Daddy.”
“Buddy, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Shane tipped his chin. “I’m so sorry Mommy did this to you, buddy.” He folded the piece of paper. “I’m so proud of you for telling me.” He kissed his forehead, and then stood. “I have to take a few pictures of your back, butt, and legs.” Shane took pictures of all his marks with his cellphone, and then he grabbed all of Grayson’s things. He was feeling like shit. Why didn’t he try harder to get custody of his son, why wasn’t he there to protect his baby? His teeth hurt from clenching his jaw. Shane wanted to yell, and fucking hit something, but his son came first.
“Sir, you can’t take him. I haven’t finished.” The CPS worker stopped him.
“Watch me!” Shane pulled out his wallet and retrieved one of his business cards. “Lady you don’t want to fucking come between me and my son.” He handed her the card, “I will answer any questions you have later, right now I’m taking my son to the hospital. Since none of you idiots thought of that.” He took Grayson’s hand and walked out the office. “Patrice…” he glanced around looking for her.
“Yes Shane,” she came around the corner.
“Grayson will not be coming back,” Shane ambled out the daycare with his son right next to him. He took out his cellphone, swiped, and called Liza; it went straight to voicemail. “I’m fucking coming for you, and this time bitch you won’t be able to hide from me!”
Chapter Eleven
Larissa massaged the back of her neck, waiting to get out of her truck. Tiffany came through for her again. She parked in front of the credit union, and she stared at the employees filing in the side door. The branch was having Equal Employment Opportunity complaints. Larissa was hired to have sessions with the employees, getting down to the root of the problem.
Larissa tapped her finger on her steering wheel. She wondered why the daycare would call Shane and not Liza? She hoped Grayson was okay. Maybe his mother just forgot to pack his snacks again. Larissa waited for Shane to call her back. She glanced at the VP entering the building, and then she looked into the rearview mirror, fixing the strands of hair around her bun.
She called Shane, but he didn’t answer. Larissa grabbed her briefcase, and placed her cell into the side pocket. She stepped out of her car, smoothing out her black pants. She sashayed into the credit union.
“Good morning, Ms. Edwards,” Ben grinned from ear to ear, and walked over to her. He extended his hand, and she shook it. “Will you be conducting one by one interviews or group sessions?”
“Good morning,” Larissa glanced around the room. “I would like to interview your supervisors one by one. The surveys and accusations I’ve read were mainly complaints on your leadership.”
“I understand,” Ben sighed. “Our turnovers are over sixty-three percent.”
“That’s high for such a small branch,” The credit union only had fifteen employees. “Which office will I be using?”
“Follow me,” Ben led the way down the short hall, and he opened the last door. “Who will you be seeing first?”
Larissa walked into the small office and placed her things down. “I would like to start with Liza Hall.”
“She’s not here yet,” he glanced at his watch, “but I’ll send her in as soon as she arrives,” Ben replied.
“It’s best if they don’t know what I’m here for,” she powered on the office computer. “I’m also recording the sessions.” Larissa made sure she disclosed her recording his employees, getting permission. “Is that okay?”
He nodded his head, “If you need anything please let me know.”
“Thank you,” Larissa sat behind the desk, and pulled out her laptop. Ben closed the door behind him. “Bitch, you messed with me, now it’s time for me to mess with you.” She said to herself.
Larissa could hear Ben talking to a female. “I don’t understand why I have to talk to some stranger, what is this about?”
“Liza, just do as I tell you,” Ben calmly replied.
There was a knock on the door.
“Showtime,” she whispered, staring at the entrance. “Come in.”
Liza swung the door open with a forced smile on her face, but as soon as she saw Larissa her fake smile faded. “What are you doing here?”
“Good morning, Liza,” she pointed at the seat in front of her desk. “Have a seat.”
Liza slammed the door shut. “What the fuck are you doing here?” She repeated.
She smirked, and sat back in the leather seat. “You came after me first.”
“You bitch,” Liza spat, entering the room.
“I warned you,” Larissa glared at her, “stop calling her out to play, but you didn’t listen,” she pushed back in her seat, and picked up her briefcase. “You wanted to meet the bitch in me, then brace yourself.” She pushed a button on her recorder she had hidden in her briefcase, before standing, and then took a few steps forward.
Liza laughed. “Are you here looking for a job, because we do not hire people like you.”
“People like me?” Larissa narrowed her eyes at her. Strike one.
“Black,” Liza smirked.
“So, you won’t hire me?” Larissa pointed at herself. “An educated, professional woman because I’m African-American.”
“Please, educated, I bet you didn’t even graduate high school,” Liza crossed her arms over her chest. “You people don’t understand the concept of work. Maybe you should be looking for a job at a fast food restaurant.” Strike two.
“Really?” Larissa was amused listening to the ignorant shit coming out of Liza’s mouth. What the hell did Shane ever see in her?
“Shane’s so stupid, you’re using him.” She shook her head. “You’re dating a white man because your own race doesn’t want you. Hopefully you’re not with him for the money, because after I’m done he won’t have much left.”
“Actually I have a Masters in Human Resources, and I believe I make tr
iple as much as you do. I don’t need Shane’s money, unlike you. Child support is supposed to be used on and for the child,” Larissa leaned against the desk, and turned off the recording. How ignorant can one be? “That includes food, utilities, and the main necessities a child needs. Not name brands shoes and purses for you,” Larissa smirked, observing Liza’s pumps. “While your son is wearing shoes from the dollar store.”
“Keep away from my son,” Liza demanded. “He is mine and Shane’s. Nothing you do will ever change that. Stop brainwashing Grayson.”
“I’m not trying to take your place, I know he has a mother,” Larissa’s phone rang, she glanced at her bag, and continued. “We need to find a compromise when it comes to Grayson, because I’m not going anywhere. I love that little boy.”
“I will never share my son with you, he doesn’t need your type of love,” Liza took a step forward. “Shane will drop you if he wants to be in Grayson’s life.”
“Grayson needs all the love he can get. He is innocent in all of this. Your hatred hasn’t rubbed off on him yet, and as long as I’m around it won’t.” Larissa walked behind the desk, and grabbed her phone. “Why do you feel threatened by me?” She swiped the phone’s screen to view her missed calls. Shane had called her three times.
Liza chuckled. “Me threatened by you? Please.”
“You have to be, sending you brothers to do your dirty work. What were they supposed to do? Hurt me? Rough me up?” Larissa placed the phone on the desk.
“Those idiots.” Liza glared at her. “I wish I was there to see the fear in your eyes.”
“Fear, what fear?” Larissa gave her a sarcastic laugh. “I will never fear anyone with Shane by my side. He loves me.” She made sure to slowly say those last words. “Get it through your head, this isn’t temporary. Shane and I will be getting married.”
“I hate you.” Liza growled.
“Damn…” Larissa reared back. “Hate is such a strong word. All because I love a man you gave up.” She remained calm, this was going better than planned. “You had Shane, but you couldn’t keep your legs closed.” She dug in her purse, and pulled out a small mirror. “If you want to be mad at someone look at yourself in the mirror, honey.” She lifted it up, making Liza see her reflection in the mirror. “You were the one that fucked up on whatever you had with a great man, not me. I will never give up on Shane,” she placed the mirror back in her purse, and looked up. “You wanted me,” Larissa moved around the desk, and stood right in front of her. “I’m not afraid of you or your stupid brothers.”