Lauren looked over the woman’s shoulder at her Shemar Moore–fine occasional lover. A former running back with the Carolina Panthers, he’d been cut his first year and was now playing semipro ball. Normally, Lauren wouldn’t have given someone like him the time of day—but she was blinded by his fineness.
Craig stood behind his wife, terrified at what she would say.
“What’s your name?” Lauren asked.
She folded her arms, glared at Lauren, then reluctantly said, “Dana.”
Lauren gently put a hand on Dana’s arm. “Sister, I’ve been where you are. I understand the frustration, the not knowing if your man is doing right. But you’ve got a good one there. Yes, I’ve met your husband several times, but I am not sleeping with him. He never did anything inappropriate and, in fact, he spent his time raving about you.”
That gave Dana pause. She glanced back at her husband, her eyes a mixture of tears and apprehension, like she really wanted to believe Lauren but was unsure. Relief filled Craig’s face and he said, “See, babe. I told you. You’re up here acting a fool for nothing.”
“I get it,” Lauren continued as Dana turned back to face her. “I dated a dog. They can make you come out of character in a minute. But Craig isn’t a dog. You have a very handsome man, but he’s yours, all yours.”
Dana was growing confused. “B-But I saw his text about meeting you here tonight. Then I heard him telling a friend about how he dreamed of all the freaky things he was going to do to you.”
“I told him all the freaky things I wanted to do to Lauren. But I was talking about Lauren London, the actress!” Craig proclaimed. “I was just messing around. It’s not like I even know Lauren London!”
It took everything for Lauren not to burst out laughing. Really? Men were so simple when it came to cheating. Why would he be having that conversation with anyone while his wife was in the house? And more important, why would he have her name in his phone? He was supposed to have her listed as Charles, or Mike, or something. That was Player Rule #2.
Dana paused again. Then, suddenly, shame filled her face.
“I-I’m sorry. It’s just that we’ve had problems lately and . . .”
“It’s okay. I understand.” Lauren looked over at Craig. “Did you do the stuff we talked about?” When he also looked confused, she added, “The spa?” Lauren looked back at Dana. “I make custom jewelry and relaxation products. I gave him information on this amazing spa in High Point that carries some of my products. He wanted to do something nice for you because he said you work so hard with the kids.”
Craig seemed momentarily flustered, but then he rolled with it. “Oh, yeah. I did. But she was trippin’ so hard, I didn’t give it to her.” He had the nerve to act irritated.
Dana’s mouth dropped open. “Oh. My. God. I’ve been wanting to go to that place forever. I’ve heard so many great things about it.”
“Well, Craig bought you a weekend getaway,” Lauren replied.
“B-But that place is so expensive,” Dana stammered.
Craig’s eyes bucked. Lauren knew his cheap behind was going to hyperventilate when he saw the prices.
“He said you were worth splurging for,” Lauren replied with a smile. “He even had me design a custom bracelet for you.” She looked at Craig. “Speaking of which, I’m gonna need that final payment.”
Craig kept his face straight, but she could tell he wanted to curse her out. That wasn’t going to happen, though. Shoot, he’d better be glad Lauren didn’t throw in a necklace and earrings, too.
“You had me a bracelet custom made, too?” Dana asked.
And just like that, the tables had been turned.
An apologetic expression swept over Dana’s face. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right, I forgive you.” Craig took her into his arms and hugged her tightly. Over his shoulder, he mouthed, “You rock,” to Lauren.
He needed to tell her something she didn’t know.
“Come on, baby, let’s go home,” Craig said.
Dana turned back to face Lauren. “I’m s—”
Lauren cut her off. “Don’t even worry about it. I told you, I understand.”
The two of them walked off hugging like newlyweds.
As soon as they left, Vivian turned to Lauren. “You need an Oscar.”
Lauren smiled as she sat back down on the bar stool, then motioned for the bartender to bring her another chocolate martini.
“Hey, just doing my part to keep homes happy.”
Vivian stared at her friend. Since she’d been over at Lauren’s condo last week when Craig had shown up, Vivian knew that whole scene had just been an act.
“Like seriously, you don’t feel the least bit guilty, though?” Vivian asked once they both had new drinks.
“Guilty about what?” Lauren asked.
“Ah . . . you and Craig are messing around.”
Lauren shrugged as she sipped her drink. “And your point would be?”
“And my point is that you just stood here and convinced his wife that you weren’t.”
Lauren set her drink down. “Look, I didn’t make vows to her. He did. She’s young, but they have two kids. She’s not going anywhere. So why give her more pain? If anything, I’m doing her a service. I’m sparing her the pain of acting like she’s leaving when she knows she’s not. I’m letting her live in her idealistic world.”
Vivian shook her head. “Okay, but I’m telling you, one of these days you’re going to run up on the wrong woman.”
Lauren let out a small laugh. “You don’t worry about me. If it’s one thing my daddy taught me, it was how to be a perfect mistress.”
Vivian would never understand. The lessons from Vernon Robinson had led to Lauren’s good life. And she had learned to make the best of being second.
“Well, more power to you,” Vivian said. “I just want more out of life than to be somebody’s mistress.”
Lauren didn’t know why, but those words cut deeper than she would’ve ever imagined. She’d been doing this mistress thing since she graduated from college. At one point she thought that it was her destiny, but as she was accosted by more and more Danas, Lauren was really starting to rethink that.
Today had been the day from hell. After she had worked all week to complete a jewelry order, the customer’s credit card had been declined and the woman was unable to pay the balance on her custom pieces. Turns out, her baller baby-daddy had cut off her credit card, and Lauren had been stuck with the bill. Granted, Lauren would get to the keep the deposit, but she’d been counting on that money to pay her next month’s rent. Now she would have to resort to her backup plan—getting the money from one of her men.
Today Thomas Brooks would get that honor. Lauren knew she should probably feel bad about using these men, but it didn’t bother her because she didn’t allow herself to care enough for it to have any impact.
Lauren met Thomas the first Saturday of every month for dinner at an exclusive Italian restaurant, so the timing of this month’s date was spot-on. She looked forward to those dinners because Thomas was good conversation. She didn’t have to pretend like she did with all the others. She really did enjoy talking with him. Plus, Thomas wasn’t just after sex. He enjoyed her company as well. He’d married some beauty queen whose only goal in life was to stay beautiful. So while he did love the sex, he really enjoyed the challenge of conversation that Lauren brought to the table.
That was one of the things that she noticed about most of the men she dated. They all came to her for something they were missing at home. She usually felt them out, determined what they were missing, and then made it her business to give that to them. So far she had been pretty good at it: giving one married man after another everything they couldn’t get at home, whether it was kinky sex, conversation, or what most of them wanted—their ego stroked. Lauren had made a living at being the perfect mistress. Just like her daddy had taught her.
Lauren arrived at the restaurant ten min
utes past seven. She liked to arrive just a tad late to make the anticipation build. She looked around and noticed that Thomas hadn’t arrived.
“Would you like to go ahead and be seated?” the maître d’ asked.
“Yes. I can have a glass of wine before my date arrives,” she replied.
Fifteen minutes later, Lauren was on the brink of irritation when her phone rang.
“Hello?” she said.
“Hey, Lauren.” It was Thomas.
“Hi. Are you on your way? I’m at the restaurant.”
He paused. “I am so sorry, babe. Major drama at the house. The wife is tripping about me going out. Trying to see why she can’t come, and the fact that I was adamant about her not coming only made her want to come that much more.”
“I told you about that,” Lauren sighed. “You have to play it cool.”
That was one of the biggest problems she had with the men she dated. It’s like they didn’t know the rules of the game. They would send her inappropriate texts and pictures and then want her to send them the same thing in return. That’s the one thing that she didn’t do because she learned the hard way that men don’t like to delete the pictures. And after she had one furious wife call her going off, Lauren let go of the sexting, instead having the men hold on and wait for the real thing. She tried to stay as low-key as possible. The only reason Lauren was even on social media was that she needed it for her business, Avante Designs, and that page was all about her business, not her.
“It’s okay, Thomas,” Lauren said, making sure to keep her tone cool. The one thing she never did was get upset. It’s one of the main reasons they kept coming back. “You need to stay there because the more you push to leave, the harder it’s going to be.”
He sighed. “Why did I know you would be the voice of reason?”
“Because that’s what I do, boo.” She released a small laugh. “Look, you handle home. Calm your wife down, put her at ease, and then I’ll be waiting for you. You can come see me tomorrow, or the next day, or just wait for our regular time next month.” She didn’t bother telling him that tomorrow she had another date, and on the next day she would be resting.
“You are unbelievable,” he said.
“Thank you. I probably wouldn’t be good company anyway. One of my clients wrote me a bad check and now I’m not going to be able to pay my rent.” She let just the right amount of quavering into her voice.
“What?” he replied. “I told you to stop taking checks from folks.”
“I know, baby. You were so right. I should’ve listened. But I’ll figure something out.”
He blew a frustrated breath, but then quickly said, “Well, you know I got you.”
“Thomas, I don’t . . .”
“You’re not going to fight me on this. That’s what I’m here for—to take care of my woman.”
She smirked at that. His woman was his wife, but whatever he needed to tell himself . . .
“How much is it?”
“Five thousand.”
“What?”
“I owe for last month, too. But if you just cover one month, I’ll be eternally grateful.”
“I’ll transfer six thousand dollars to your account tonight, all right?”
“Thomas, I don’t know what I would do without you.”
She permitted herself a small smile. Her rent was only $2,500, so she’d pay next month, too, and have a little extra to shop with.
“Well, hopefully, you never have to find out. I gotta go.”
“All right, babe. See you soon. I have some tricks I want to show you.”
She could hear the huskiness in his voice as he replied, “Damn. Okay. Talk to you later.”
Lauren hung up the phone and prepared to enjoy her romantic Italian meal—all alone. It was one of the drawbacks to the life she lived—but since she would soon be six thousand dollars richer and didn’t even have to sit through dinner to get it, Lauren guessed she couldn’t complain.
Lauren thought back to her father’s women. She wondered how much money he spent on them over the years. He didn’t have crazy money like Thomas, but the way those women went crazy, he had to be sliding them a little something.
“Are you ready to order?”
The sound of the waiter’s voice snapped Lauren out of her thoughts.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “Yes. I’ll take the lobster linguini.”
The waiter motioned toward the seat across from her. “Will your guest still be joining you?”
Lauren smiled. “No, it looks like I’ll be dining alone.”
Suddenly a strong, commanding voice said, “Now, that’s a shame a beautiful woman like you would be dining alone.”
Lauren turned and prepared herself for the brush-off that she usually gave men with these lame lines, but when she saw who it was, her eyes lit up.
“Matthew King!” she said, jumping from her seat. “Oh my God, it’s been forever!” She threw her arms around his neck. His touch was still invigorating. His cologne still gave her goose bumps.
“Look at you,” he said, pulling back and examining her.
She swirled to give him a full body view. Her white Valentino sheer blouse hugged in all the right places. It dipped in the front, showing just enough cleavage to be sexy, but not too much to be trashy. Her sleek black trousers accented her Pilates-toned behind.
“Dang, just as fine as always,” Matthew said, nodding his approval.
“You, too. Wow, it’s been what? Fifteen years?”
“Yeah, something like that.” He reached in and hugged her tightly.
The waiter stood like he was trying to figure out what to do. “Should I take the other place setting?”
“As a matter of fact, I just wrapped up drinks with a colleague and I am quite hungry. Do you mind if I join you?” Matthew asked.
And just as quickly as her excitement came, it was gone as she remembered why they went their separate ways.
“Umm, hello,” Matthew said when she didn’t answer. “Can I join you?”
“Ah, yeah,” she said, forcing a smile. “I mean, sure I guess.”
Matthew seemed confused by her reaction. She had been excited to see him, but dinner meant talking, talking led to feelings, feelings led to lies, and before Lauren knew it, she would be caught up with him again.
Lauren returned to her seat, trying to process the conflicting feelings racing through her body.
Matthew was an ex-boyfriend she’d first met her sophomore year at Carolina State University and was the first real love of her life. But he had been focused completely on school, and then going on to pursue his PhD. He’d left college when Lauren was a sophomore, and had moved across the country to UCLA to get his master’s and doctorate. They tried to make it work, but he was always so preoccupied with school, and then there were the excuses.
“I didn’t get your message.”
“I’ve been working late.”
“I fell asleep over at a friend’s.”
All the same excuses her father used to give. Once those started, Lauren knew it was time for her to bail.
“I’ll get you a menu,” the waiter said, not wanting to be privy to their reunion.
“No need. I’m going to have the lobster and scalloped potatoes.” Matthew slid into the seat across from Lauren.
He flashed a smile, but Lauren couldn’t make herself return it. It was obvious she still cared about him, based on her initial reaction of seeing him after all this time. But she hadn’t forgotten about how much he’d hurt her, moving on without a second thought. She’d done everything she could to erase him from her mind. And she never again let herself get in a position where she loved someone more than they loved her. So far she’d done a good job.
“So, what’s going on?” Matthew asked. “How have you been?”
Lauren made herself relax. “Just doing what I do.” She filled him in on her jewelry business and some surface things going on in her life. Talking to him did relax her, and
just as the waiter brought their meals, she skillfully deflected attention away from herself. “So, tell me about yourself.” As long as the conversation stayed cheerful and harmless, Lauren figured she would be okay. “What’s been going on? How’s life? I didn’t know you were back in Raleigh.”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “I’ve been back about a year. I’m the vice president at Carolina State University. Keeping my fingers crossed because I’m up for the main job—president.”
“What?” she said. “Are you kidding me?”
“Nope.” He smiled proudly.
Lauren felt a bit strange over the fact that he’d been here but hadn’t bothered to reach out to her. If the situation were reversed, there’s no way she would have been in town this long and not made contact. But then, that was indicative of what went wrong in their relationship. She loved him more than he’d loved her, and that was a definite no-no. “Wow on the fact that you’ve been here for a year and the fact that your career is soaring like that.”
She didn’t know if her face gave her away or what, but he quickly put in, “I tried to find you on Facebook . . .” He shrugged. “But I know we didn’t end well, and since I had a hard time finding you, I left it alone.”
Didn’t end well? That was the understatement of the century. She’d cussed him out when she’d called and a female voice answered his phone. He tried to tell her it was just a friend, but as far as Lauren was concerned, friends don’t let friends answer their phones. Matthew had already been pulling away, giving her all of those Vernon-type excuses, and that was just the final nail.
“It’s cool,” she said, even though it wasn’t. She hated that he was just able to walk away, and she’d cursed herself for opening up her heart to him to be hurt.
He chuckled. “Figured it was. Everything was always ‘cool’ with you.”
Lauren didn’t know what that was supposed to mean, but she wasn’t going to give Matthew the satisfaction of letting him know if anything he said bothered her.
“Well, congrats on the job,” Lauren said with a genuine smile.
The Perfect Mistress Page 9