by Rhonda Bowen
He smirked. “Sometimes I used to think that it was all her baby, and I was just the front man she needed to make it happen. But even with all her business smarts, she never doubted my ideas.
“If we were at an event, and I heard someone singing, and I said, I want to produce that artist, she would say, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’ She never said, ‘ ‘Dre, we don’t have a studio,’ or ‘ ‘Dre, we don’t have the money,’ or ‘ ‘Dre, we’ve never done this before.’ She always just … made it happen.”
Jules leaned back on her elbows and watched the pure admiration flow over ‘Dre’s face as he talked about Tanya. It was almost as if he had forgotten Jules was there. She smiled. Maxine was right. They were perfect for each other.
“You have a crush on her, don’t you,” Jules said when ‘Dre had stopped talking.
“On who? Tanya? What—No,” ‘Dre said, looking all flustered. He began pulling random discs from the pile and tossing them into the garbage bag without looking at them.
Jules smirked. He had a crush all right. A big one.
“‘Dre, please,” Jules said, rolling her eyes. “Listen to yourself. You talk about her like she’s a gift from God, and you know you couldn’t go two days without seeing her.”
“That’s ‘cause she’s part owner of my business,” ‘Dre replied. “A business that is the sole representation of my entire financial worth. You bet I’m gonna keep an eye on her.”
“That’s not what I mean ‘Dre, and you know it,” Jules said, sitting up. “I bet half the time you and Tanya are together, you’re not even talking about Triad.”
‘Dre shifted uncomfortably and refused to meet Jules’s eye. “Maybe.”
“And she’s the only girl who has the passwords to your BlackBerry, right?”
“That’s just in case of emergency …”
“And when you signed your first artist to a major recording label, who did you buy a custom-made Tudor watch, inset with white diamonds? Who, ‘Dre?”
“She was a big part of making the deal happen. She deserved it,” ‘Dre said defensively.
Jules cocked her head to the side and looked at her friend. “You do have a little bit of a thing for her, don’t you,” Jules said coaxingly. ‘Dre tried to keep his face neutral, but couldn’t stop the smile that curved his lips.
“I knew it! I knew it!” Jules exclaimed, falling back on the ground.
“Jules, you can’t say anything, please,” ‘Dre said seriously.
“But why? You guys would be great together,” Jules said, propping her head up on one arm so she could look at ‘Dre.
“Come on, Jules, have you seen Tanya? She’s beautiful, and smart and funny, and she has this personality that just lights up a room. What would she want with me?”
Jules was amazed. The way ‘Dre talked, you would think he was a hunchback. But ‘Dre was no slouch. He was a good height at six feet, with even, caramel-toned skin, and finely chiseled features that easily went from pretty boy cute in one moment to business sharp in the next.
In addition, all that running around, setting up venues and lifting speakers, seemed to have done wonders for his physique. In fact, if Jules had been into light-skinned guys, she probably would have been interested in him herself. But he wasn’t her type. And it was a good thing too, for even though he didn’t know it yet, ‘Dre’s heart already belonged to Tanya.
“She’ll want the same thing that every other girl wants with you,” Jules said knowingly. “Plus, you’re honest, trustworthy, and a good, God-fearing brother. And in case no one told you, those are pretty hard qualities to find.”
“I hear you, Jules, but I’m not too sure about that,” he said. “Just promise me you won’t say anything to her about it.”
Jules looked up to the ceiling. Enough with the promises.
“Okay, I promise,” she said. “But you’ve got to promise me that if the opportunity comes, you’ll go for it.”
“I don’t know, Jules….”
“Promise! Or I’ll leave you alone down here to die in this dungeon of bad music and dust.”
‘Dre laughed. “Okay, I promise. Now can we get back to work?”
“No, I think it’s time for a pizza break. And since I’m doing all this for you, you can pay.”
‘Dre shook his head as he followed Jules up the stairs to the kitchen.
As soon as they got to the top of the stairs, the phone rang. While ‘Dre went to get it, Jules went in search of the phone book.
“Yeah, I’m near one…. Okay, I’m turning it on now.”
Jules shuffled back to the living room when she heard ‘Dre turn on the television.
“What channel did you say?”
‘Dre flipped the station to channel eight, to the nine o’clock news. The sound was down, but the images showed a raging fire taking place downtown. As Jules peered closer and recognized the location, her heart stopped.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered, as she watched the Sound Lounge burn.
She took the remote from ‘Dre and turned up the sound.
“… This popular lounge near Dundas Street and Parliament Street downtown was the scene of a violent confrontation between drug dealers and the police. Despite the damage, no one was hurt. However, the police did arrest several men on charges related to drug trafficking. The arrests were part of an ongoing investigation by the police to crack down on major drug dealers in this area of the city….”
Jules’s blood ran cold through her veins, and she reached for the couch to steady herself.
“Jules, that was Truuth,” ‘Dre said, returning to the room, with his and Jules’s jackets in hand. “We’ve got to go.”
“Where are we going?”
“To the police station.”
Jules tapped her fingers on the armrest, as ‘Dre weaved his way through the evening traffic to the police station on Dundas Street.
“You okay?” he asked, glancing at her.
“I’m fine,” Jules said, with more edge than she intended.
She didn’t want to admit to herself that Truuth wasn’t the only person she was worried about. She kept replaying her conversation with Davis’s friend, Detective Hansen, in her mind. She had told him everything Germaine had told her, and he had said he would have some officers look into it. He was supposed to give her a call in a couple days to let her know if their digging had turned up anything useful. He hadn’t called, and she had hoped that had meant he hadn’t found anything. So much for that.
A few moments later they pulled into the station yard. They found Maxine leaning against Truuth’s car, waiting for them
“What happened, Max? Where’s Truuth?” ‘Dre asked.
“He’s inside,” Maxine said. “He said I should wait out here—didn’t want me in there, with all that was going on.”
“I’m going in,” ‘Dre said, already moving toward the door. “Both of you wait out here.”
“Hey, you can’t tell me what to—”
“Jules, please, just wait out here. I’ll be back in a minute.”
Before she could offer any further protest, he was gone. Jules was about to ignore his orders and follow him inside when Maxine grabbed her arm.
“Hold up, there’s something you should know before you charge in there.”
Jules stopped and turned to look at Maxine.
Maxine looked around the parking lot before meeting Jules’s eyes. “Germaine is in there.”
Jules shrugged. “I figured he might be. Did they arrest him?”
Maxine nodded.
Jules sighed and joined Maxine in leaning against Truuth’s car. “What happened?”
Maxine frowned. “I’m not exactly sure. Truuth called me, said something went down at the Sound Lounge, and I should come pick him up at the police station.
“When I got here he came out and told me they busted some drug dealers at the store. I’m not sure how the fire got started, but they caught them anyway. I don’t know what Germaine has to do with i
t, but he’s in there.”
Maxine looked like she was about to cry. “I know I told you to talk to him, but … I’m sorry. You could have been in there. You could have been hurt….”
“It’s okay, Max,” Jules said, hugging her friend as she began to cry. Jules knew Maxine was thinking that Truuth could have been hurt too, and that was what was probably upsetting her most. “The report on the news said nobody got hurt, so there’s nothing to be upset about. Truuth’s fine; I’m fine; we’re all okay, thank God.”
Maxine sniffled and wiped her eyes as she nodded in agreement. “I wish the guys would just get back so we can get out of here. I just want all of this to be over.”
Jules watched Maxine wring her hands over and over and then nervously rub her stomach.
“Have you told him yet?” Jules asked.
Maxine looked up at Jules and then down at her stomach and sighed. “No.”
“Maxine, you’re more than a month along!”
“I know! But …” She sighed and looked helpless. “I haven’t found the right time yet.”
“Have you at least told your parents?”
Being the youngest, Maxine was the only one of them who still lived at home. And unlike most of them, she had both of her parents still around.
Instead of answering Jules, Maxine looked off in the direction of the station and said nothing, her hand still rubbing her tummy absently.
Jules sighed. “Oh, Max.”
She put her arm around her friend’s shoulder but said nothing more. She couldn’t make Maxine do anything she didn’t want to do. She would tell Truuth and her parents whenever she thought the time was right and not a moment before. And even though Jules might disagree with her timing, she would support her friend nonetheless.
It was more than half an hour later before Truuth and ‘Dre came walking out the doors of the police station. Right behind them was Germaine, with what looked like a senior policeman. While Truuth and ‘Dre continued toward the parking lot, Germaine remained near the doors talking to the officer.
“Boo, I was so worried about you,” Maxine said, wrapping her arms around Truuth as soon as he got near enough. You would never believe she had just seen him an hour before.
“I’m fine,” Truuth said. Even though he was talking to Maxine, his eyes were staring coldly at Jules. Jules braced herself.
“What’s she doing here?”
Even though several weeks had passed since the blowup at the office, and since Truuth’s launch, Truuth still refused to talk to Jules. It wasn’t really difficult, because Jules was doing her best to avoid him as well.
“She was with me,” ‘Dre said. “Go easy, Truuth.”
But Truuth ignored him.
“So you thought my cuz was mixed up in some drug mess, didn’t you,” he said accusingly. “Why he got to be dirty? Just because we from the ghetto? And we didn’t grow up in some high society neighborhood like you?”
Jules narrowed her eyes and glared at him “You need to check yourself, Truuth,” she said coldly. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“You didn’t know nothing about G either, but you were ready to call him a criminal.”
“Well, judging from everything that just went down, looks like I was right.”
“No, you ain’t right,” Truuth said angrily. “You ain’t never been right.”
“Jules, Germaine was working with the police to bust those dealers,” ‘Dre said quietly from beside her. “That’s why they were always at his store. It was a setup.”
Jules’s mouth fell open. “That’s not what he told me,” she said.
“Yeah, well, I guess he figured out early who he could and couldn’t trust,” Truuth said.
She looked from Truuth to ‘Dre back to Truuth, who Maxine was trying to calm down. Then she looked up at the steps where Germaine was laughing with the officer. They shook hands. Then the officer went inside, and Germaine came down the steps toward them. Toward her.
Jules’s head began to spin with all the new information. She was trying to figure out everything, but it was too much for her. As soon as she came to some sort of decision about Germaine, the ground would shift under her, and she’d find herself looking at a totally different person. Her mind couldn’t take it.
“Yo, man, I had no idea. Sorry about everything, bro,” ‘Dre said to Germaine apologetically.
“It’s no big deal,” Germaine said, brushing it off. “I’m just sorry I couldn’t have told you guys. I just realized today how much danger you could have been in. But I was under orders.”
“We understand,” ‘Dre said.
Jules watched the three of them fuss over Germaine, but she didn’t move. He looked tired. Really tired, but relieved.
She was sure there was something she should say, but she was too busy trying to figure out how she should feel. Should she apologize? But why? He was the one who lied to her. But he lied to protect her. How much of it was a lie?
“Anyway, we’re gonna jet,” Truuth said, reaching for the car door.
“It’s about time,” Maxine said. “This place makes my skin crawl.”
“We’ll catch up with you guys later,” Truuth said. He shot Jules one last nasty look before getting into the car, with Maxine and Germaine in tow.
Jules was about to turn to leave when Germaine’s eyes caught hers. His expression was unreadable, and that alone sent a cold chill through her. Without a word, he stepped into the car, closing the door behind him.
Jules watched the car disappear out of the parking lot. Then she turned around to look at ‘Dre. “What the hell just happened?”
Chapter 20
Bam, bam, bam.
Jules’s knuckles hurt from the force she used to knock on the door. When it finally flew open, she didn’t wait for a greeting. “So I’ve thought about it, and I’ve decided that I have a right to be mad as hell right now.”
“I was wondering how long it would take you to show up,” Germaine said. “Two days? Not bad.”
“You lied to me.”
Instead of answering, Germaine walked away from the open door into the living room. Jules shoved the door closed before following him.
She had never been in his apartment before. And if she had been in a better mood, she would have appreciated the masculine feel of it, from the tan walls, to the hardwood floors, to the chocolate-colored sofa. Everything was all shades of brown, with subtle hints of yellow and gold. It was all Germaine, and on another day she would have noticed it. But today, she didn’t even see the thick area rug until she almost tripped over it in her stilettos. She hadn’t had time to change after church.
“Okay, Jules,” he said when she finally rounded the corner. He was sitting back in the armchair, one ankle resting on the opposite knee. “I know you like to talk, so let’s have it.”
“Don’t mock me,” Jules snapped from the middle of the living room. “You had me looking like an idiot.”
“You wouldn’t have looked like an idiot if you had done the one thing I asked you to,” Germaine said. “But I’m glad to see that the way you looked is actually what’s upsetting you the most. I guess I am the only one concerned about the lack of trust in our relationship.”
“What relationship?” Jules asked with a cynical laugh. “You can’t build a relationship on lies, and you were lying to me the whole time!”
“I never lied about how I felt.”
“No, just everything else,” Jules said. “But I guess because you were honest about your feelings, that makes it all okay.”
“Now who’s mocking who?”
“Don’t make this about me, Germaine. You could have told me what was going on from the get-go, when I first suspected something was off. But you didn’t. You kept the game going till the end. You even let me …”
Jules’s voice caught in her throat, and she chided herself for crying even though she had promised herself she wouldn’t. “You let me walk away.”
She impatiently
swatted away the tears that were rolling down her cheeks and looked away at the wall, unable to meet Germaine’s eyes, unwilling to let him see just how much he had hurt her.
“I never wanted that to happen,” Germaine said quietly, after a long moment. “I just wish you could have trusted me from the beginning when I told you I was straight.”
“I wanted to trust you,” Jules said. “But I was just scared, for me, for Truuth, for you.”
“Truuth was never in danger. Neither were you, Jules.”
“How can you be so sure of that?”
“Because I was taking care of it,” he said. “I told you that I was handling it.”
“Yeah. I’ve heard that before.”
“Geez, Jules, what is it with you?” Germaine asked, raking his hand through his hair.
“I was just trying to help!”
“No, you were trying to fix, like you always do. Like you always have to.”
“So what’s so wrong with that?”
“Everything, Jules,” he said, getting up and walking across the room. “Not everyone needs you to solve his or her problems. Can’t you see that?”
“I thought you were in trouble, Germaine. What was I supposed to do?”
“Exactly what I asked you to.”
Jules said, folding her arms stubbornly. “Why is it such a big deal anyway? If you were working with the police, wouldn’t they already know what you were up to?”
Germaine shook his head. “Some of the guys we were trying to bust were in the force.”
“Oh,” Jules said, her hands falling from their folded position.
“We wanted to take down everyone, the dirty cops, the guys in Montreal, and everyone else who was working with them. Everything would have wrapped up in a couple days.”
“Which is why you asked me to give you a couple weeks,” Jules said, sinking into the couch.
Germaine nodded.
Jules shifted uncomfortably as she felt his eyes on her. “Did I mess things up?”
Germaine was silent, and Jules felt her stomach drop.
“No,” he finally said. “But you made it a lot more complicated. There was never supposed to be any sort of confrontation, no risk of anyone getting hurt. Your friend, Detective Hansen, didn’t know about the operation. He talked to the wrong people about it, and one of them tipped off the guys. They knew police were coming before they even got there. Fortunately we still got them, but a couple officers were injured.”