Over the Hedge: Part 2- The Finale (Lucky in Love)

by Minerva Vesta

  “Why do you pretend like what I’m asking you to do is such an arduous task?” Greg inquired. He took a sip of his drink, eyes cutting toward me with a suspicious glint.

  “I’ve pretended for you enough for one night.” I replied, aggravated with his demands. The fun weekend together quickly gravitated into something else once Greg realized that I could get information for him. Somewhere along the line I lost the upper hand, and he became the master in our relationship.

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing,” he sneered.

  “Greg, you are in love with a woman that’s not your wife. You come up with these elaborate games where I pretend to be Juliet Barnes just so you can live out your fantasy. You want to fuck your enemy’s wife so bad that you call me her name while you’re having sex with me.” I took a long sip, my patience gone, and filter no longer intact. “I’ve pretended with you long enough for one night.”

  “You could never be anything close to Juliet.” Greg scoffed.

  He side-eyed me, most likely waiting for an outcry of rage. But I’d dealt with enough dominant men that I knew the best way to handle them was never to let them see you at your weakest. He was correct, Juliet Barnes was truly a special woman. Neither I nor any other woman could easily live up to her. She lived the life my mother always encouraged me to live. An educated woman, yet her years in college led her to the ultimate accomplishment—a MRS Degree. The beautiful coed bagged the most promising scientist on campus and hasn’t worked a day in her life since. That was truly something to admire.

  Growing up, my mother told me repeatedly how important it was to keep my figure. Maintain a good rapport with all the boys, not just the cute ones. Because smart, nerdy boys had the most promising career paths. She always said, ‘if you could find a cute, rich one you’d be lucky. But, prepare yourself to spend the rest of your life sleeping with a troll.’ She’d been fortunate when she met my father. He was handsome, wealthy, and aspired to be a lawyer.

  Just like Sean. The man was beautiful with his sexy appearance. He was a natural dominant; nothing forced like most men. Career-wise he was established but had plenty of room to make even more money, with my guidance of course.

  “And, you could never have her,” I countered, unwilling to hold my tongue.

  “Never say never, Jenny,” Greg warned with a shake of his head.

  “Your wife might not agree to your train of thought, Dr. Moore.”

  “My wife knows her place. Like you, she understands her role in my life and has done well to serve her purpose. I warned her long ago that if she brings me displeasure at any point, I would get rid of her.” His eyes roamed from my exposed legs to my face. “Just like how you got rid of Todd.”

  I sucked in a sharp breath, feeling the muscle in the side of my face twitch with irritation. Todd was always a sensitive subject. He did more for me than any man has ever done. And, he did it with love.

  “What makes you think those two situations would be anything alike?” I asked, suddenly having a great yearning for the bit of coke left behind from last night.

  “You drugged him to the point of an overdose,” Greg said with a flippant shrug. “At least I’m only planning on divorcing Maggie and leaving her penniless.”

  I slammed my fist against the soft surface of the couch. “You don’t know shit about it!”

  Greg leaned forward in the chair, pressing his elbows against his knees. “You gave a man enough fentanyl to kill a horse. You claim it was because of the pain he was going through. I’ve listened to you complain about the strain of taking care of him. How horrible it was missing spa days to take him to his appointments. The boredom you experienced waiting at the hospital while he received treatment. Don’t try to fool me, bitch. I’ll bring proof to Todd’s daughter and the police, so you can suffer for killing him.”

  The room suddenly became, hot. My clothes were too tight. And my fear was real of this man sitting before me.

  I’d never planned on telling Greg about Todd. The months after I’d done the unthinkable, I never spoke Todd’s name. I was scared I’d accidentally reveal the truth of his death to someone. According to Todd’s suicide note, he took his life because he couldn’t bear fighting a battle he wouldn’t win. Years later I slipped up. A night of too much liquor and too many drugs with a man I’d only known a few days.

  It was after my slip-up that Greg asked me to investigate the people I worked with at H&G.

  It started small. I’d attend staff meetings or new research seminars to learn about what upcoming projects the company was working on. Then it turned into me looking specifically into Dr. Barnes. That’s how my relationship with Lashawnda came to be. We’d seen each other around the office plenty of times. Our conversations were always cordial. I’d even stopped by her desk a few times to chat about nothing. Once or twice we had lunch. But, when Greg needed information on Dr. Barnes, I got closer to Lashawnda.

  Listening to the fat cow moan and groan about being single was the best part of my day. Her pathetic dating life reminded me of how much of a prize I was. Every guy that looked my way, I told her about it. Every date I went on, I gave her all the juicy details. It was glorious watching her crumble with envy. I was everything Lashawnda wished she could be.

  Now, Greg was asking me to do more. As much as I hated working at H&G it was my only source of income. I’d yet to find a new sponsor. The money I got from Greg was pennies to what I needed to live sufficiently.

  “What do you want me to do?” I gritted out.

  “I’m going to give you a thumb drive. It contains a file you’ll download onto your computer. I’ll need you to do it this Monday,” Greg explained.

  “You make it sound so easy. I’m assuming this file contains some sort of spy software. I could lose my job if they trace it back to me,” I argued.

  “Then don’t get caught.”

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “But it is,” Greg stated. He sat back in the chair and rolled his glass between his palms. “I guess I have to teach you the finer details of espionage. Don’t use your computer. That girl you’re always complaining about—the one that works with Dr. Barnes, use her computer.”

  The thought of getting back at Lashawnda for poaching Sean sounded like a brilliant idea. If anyone were to be blamed for the spyware, it should be her. Sean would get to see she couldn’t be trusted. The farce of a relationship they had would end. And, I’d be by his side to pick up the pieces.

  Present day

  “I promise that is the whole truth,” I said against the door. “So, you see, none of this was to hurt you. We never really had a chance to talk and get to know each other.”

  Sean didn’t reply. He hadn’t said a single sound since I spoke. Maybe the sedative had finally done its job.

  I leaned back against the door with the velvet box in my hand. Sean’s cellphone sat against the floor next to me. The screen illuminated for what seemed like the hundredth time since we got in the room.

  Lashawnda again.

  Between her, and the number belonging to Brent, it was like a repeated cycle of calls, back to back. It was clear people had noticed he was missing. Pretty soon they’d come and find him. They’d find me. If only I’d had enough time. I would have shown him I could be sweet and caring, like her. I slapped my face hard enough to feel the sting. I should have responded to her text messages. Maybe tell her I had to leave for an emergency—or break up with her via text.

  I popped open the lid of the box. The white powder shone like a beacon in the dimly lit room. If they came for me, I’d get arrested this time. I stole an experimental drug from my former employer and gave it to a man to incapacitate him. Would this be considered kidnapping? Reckless endangerment? Hell, I should have paid attention to my father’s advice years ago.

  “Oh, Daddy, look what your daughter has become, now,” I said aloud.

  Dipping my finger in the metal case, I scooped up a bit of powder on my fingernail. Ready for that fir
st hit of bliss.

  CHAPTER 37

  LASHAWNDA

  The glare from the shiny desktop caught my attention and held me transfixed. The myriad of memories running through my head put me in a trance. I wasn’t one of those people that buckled in high-stress situations. I was always action-oriented, a problem solver. For the first time in my life, I felt helpless and lost. I had to put my trust in the hands of people who knew better than me how to handle situations like this. It was an uncomfortable feeling, one I would never get used to.

  I watched the bodies moving through the tight hallway, and I felt anger rise in the pit of my stomach. Time was wasted with me arguing with the hotel staff. It took the presence of Dr. Barnes for them to finally stop brushing me off and listen that my boyfriend was missing and possibly in danger. Even in this day and age, as a woman of color, my thoughts and opinions weren’t as valid as a white man’s. I took a long, shaky breath, mentally coaching myself that this train of thought wasn’t going to help the situation.

  On reflex, my hand went to my phone as I checked for any missed calls or text. There were none, at least none from him. I scrolled through my call log again, mentally calculating the hours that had passed since I last spoke to Sean. The phone shook in my hands, and I placed it on the desk, so I wouldn’t accidentally drop it.

  I was losing it.

  How could this be happening? How could the last ten months of my life, which have been nothing short of spectacular, turn into a nightmare? I never thought something like this would happen. We were building a life together. We had our house; our families were one. I was ready to take that next step with him.

  I ran a nervous hand over my droopy curls. The beautifully coiffed roller-set that once adorned my head was non-existent. I’d been nervously fussing with my hair for the last two hours, and I could only imagine how I looked. I pulled out my compact from my purse. A haggard face and strained eyes reflected my inner turmoil.

  The dark red tube at the bottom of my clutch caught my attention. I pulled out my matte red lipstick. It was Sean’s favorite color on me. The last time I wore this color was on one of our most memorable dates so far. Thoughts of that night with Sean caused a smile to form on my lips. We had another adventure together. One of many, that allowed me to know what living was all about.

  “Excuse me, ma’am?”

  The sound of a male voice pulled me from my daydream. I blinked a few times and shook my head. A stocky hotel security guard stood in the entryway of the office. His protruding rotund stomach and steely demeanor reminded me of the cartoon police captain from The Simpsons.

  “Your phone is ringing.” He pointed at the device on the desk.

  “Oh.” My phone buzzed again, with shaky fingers, I picked it up, sliding the green bar across the display to answer it.

  “Hello,” I answered.

  “Hey, it’s Brent. Have you heard anything, yet?” he asked.

  “No. We’re still waiting with the security from the hotel. The police have been notified and are here now.” My voice was firm, not shaky like it had been just a few minutes ago.

  This pendulum of emotions would send me to an early grave.

  “Okay. That’s good right?” Brent’s attempt at reassuring me fell on deaf ears. Nothing but seeing the love of my life would cause this erratic beat of my heart to ease.

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  “Don’t worry, Lashawnda. Once they get a hold of the footage, they’ll be able to figure out where he disappeared to.”

  “I know.” I smiled nervously at the female police officer who was standing at the front of the open door. She was one of the few who had shown me an ounce of respect since this whole fiasco started. “I just wished someone would have listened to me two hours ago when I said something was wrong. Instead, they were acting like I was a crazy, jealous girlfriend.”

  The policeman passing by had the decency to look away upon hearing my words.

  Tonight, was supposed to be simple. Never had I dreamed coming to H&G’s annual end of the year’s celebration, would turn into one of my greatest nightmares. This man was the love of my life. I was giddy with excitement over the life we were building together. I spent hours on the phone with my sister and best friend giggling about the way he expresses his love for me. We were at the pivotal point in our relationship; where we were ready to move to the next step. I couldn’t lose him now. I wouldn’t—not like this.

  “Lashawnda, I know this is crazy right now, but trust me, everything is going to work out. Sean would never let anything happen to himself. He loves you too much,” Brent spoke with so much conviction, I could do nothing but believe every word he said.

  I sighed, resigned to keep calm until I heard something; positive or negative, I would keep a level head. Sean had gone missing about four hours ago, according to the timeline I’d put together from various people at the event. Finding him was taking longer than usual because the room wasn’t booked under Jenny’s name. I kept thinking if I were just a little less accident prone none of this would have happened.

  “My emotions are all over the place right now, Brent. My heart is still beating, so I know he’s okay. We’ll find him. I know we will,” I replied mimicking Brent’s convincing tone.

  “Call me as soon as you hear anything.”

  “I will,” I said before hanging up.

  I exhaled the pent-up anxiety from my body remembering Sean’s words as we woke this morning. His warm body curled around me was something I didn’t know I needed until the fear of losing it was evident. I could still feel the warmth of his breath against my face as he whispered against my skin, ‘You are everything to me.’

  And, he was everything to me. I would have him back no matter what.

  Two hours ago, the bathroom attendant and I went to the front desk requesting to speak to the hotel manager. It took over fifteen minutes for the middle-aged, balding white man to see me. It was a busy night, with not only the company event taking place but also a retirement party, a high school reunion, and a wedding reception. I understood things were hectic, but his caustic demeanor toward me was uncalled for.

  I did my best to explain the events leading up to that moment. I detailed Jenny’s recent arrest, the firing from the company, even the suspicion that she’d been stalking Sean and me. But he refused to look into the matter, preaching about guest privacy. I could tell he thought I was trying to catch my boyfriend in the act of cheating. It wasn’t until Dr. Barnes came and confirmed my story about Jenny that they finally became helpful.

  “Price, I’m sure he’s fine,” Dr. Barnes said, stepping into the small office where I was waiting. “I just got off the phone with one of the officers who we dealt with last week. Ms. Reed was just released this morning from jail. With her crime being non-violent, they could only keep her overnight.”

  “I know this sounds far-fetched, but I think she’s done something to Sean.” I looked between Dr. Barnes and his wife, hoping they could understand how I was feeling. “I mean…I can’t imagine him wanting to be with her, right?”

  For the second time that night Dr. Barnes showed some real human emotion, at least real enough for him. He awkwardly patted me on the shoulder.

  “Price, I know that young man is crazy about you. We’ll get to the bottom of this.” He placed an arm around my shoulder and pulled me in for a side hug.

  As awkward as this moment was, I desperately needed the moral support. Brent was the only friend that knew what was going on. I didn’t want to get my family involved until I had more information. I especially didn’t want to get Mrs. Colcord worried. She may be a kind, sweet woman, but Sean held her soul. If anything happened to him, then there would be hell to pay.

  Now, almost two hours later, I was imagining the worst possible scenario.

  A knock sounded at the door of the office where I was sitting. The female police officer and the hotel manager were standing there with relieved expressions.

  “What is it?” I asked,
standing to my feet.

  “We found them. We’ve got footage of a woman getting off the elevator on the fourth floor with a man that looks like your boyfriend. She’s practically dragging him, until another person comes to help,” the officer explained.

  I let out an audible sigh, however I wouldn’t allow myself to completely relax until I could see Sean with my own two eyes and knew he was okay.

  “Is this other person involved somehow?” I inquired.

  “No, it seems like he was just helping since she told him her boyfriend got drunk. We spoke to the gentleman, and he’s offered to come down to answer some questions,” the female officer added. “We wanted to get as much information as possible before running in there. These situations can get tricky if an armed assailant blindsides us.”

  My eyes bulged at her statement.

  “I’m not saying that’s the case. I just want you to understand why we took the extra time to reach out to the other hotel patron,” she said, putting her hand up to stop the outburst on the tip of my tongue.

  “The officers will be going up to the room. I can have someone bring you something to drink while you wait,” he offered.

  I rolled my eyes at his attempt to be cordial. I wasted time arguing with him. Now, he realized he’d messed up, he was trying to suck up to me. In the words of Stacy when she’d had enough, ‘Nah, bitch’. You had a chance to do the right thing, and you lost it.

  “You must be crazy if you think I’m going to sit on my hands down here while my boyfriend could be in trouble.” I brushed passed the manager and went to the elevator door, forcefully pressing the button until the door opened. “Let’s go.”

  Everyone involved could tell I wasn’t asking permission. They all followed without further argument, including Dr. Barnes.