“But where would she get an idea to make up something as crazy as Niki being your daughter? It’s not true, is it?”
Nina didn’t realize she was squeezing the life out of Kyle’s fingers.
Topaz sat up and looked Germain in the eyes. “Baby, why on earth would I give away my child? Tell me, when did I even have a baby? You’ve been with me these last six years.”
Germain looked thoughtful. “That is true.”
Nina relaxed somewhat.
The limo pulled up at The Diamond. “Shall we go inside and continue this party? We’re not going to let that psychotic bitch ruin the biggest night in our careers, are we?” Topaz smiled at Nina and Kyle.
“No way,” Nina agreed. “Let’s do this.”
They all ignored the paparazzi as they got out of the car and walked into The Diamond as couples. Big-screen monitors were mounted throughout the club where the party was at a high. Mimi’s event planner had redecorated the club, bringing in special furniture, statues, and fabrics…it looked like an Egyptian palace. Sean met his brother and led them over to a special VIP section to a reserved table.
“How’s everyone doing?” Sean spoke softly.
“We’re all good, man.” Kyle gave his brother a hug. “The ladies are ready to party so here we are.”
Jade brought out a magnum of champagne and joined them at the table. “Can I get you guys anything?”
“Babe, just send over a waitress. I know my brother’s gonna want something from the bar,” Sean whispered in his wife’s ear.
Eric and Keisha appeared. Keisha took a seat by Topaz. She looked Topaz directly in her eyes and Topaz looked away. Keisha always seemed to be able to read her innermost thoughts and she couldn’t handle it.
“What’s up, girlfriend?”
“I’m good.” Topaz locked her fingers with Germain’s.
“Can y’all believe what they did to my juke joint now?” Eric was always good for a laugh.
“Honey, how many times have I asked you not to call the restaurant a juke joint? People might get the wrong idea.” Keisha looked at Eric and shook her head. “I’m kinda feeling this décor though.”
Topaz’s beautiful face continually lit up the screen on the monitors. She had recorded a great dance track, and people were on the dance floor. “Come on, baby. Let’s go dance.” Topaz popped out of her chair and pulled Germain behind her.
Nina watched them as they danced. They really seemed to be having a good time. Keisha was also watching them. She picked at the food on her plate and had very little to say to anyone. Topaz and Germain returned to the table laughing.
“What’s up, cuz?” Topaz smiled at Nina as she took a seat next to her. It was obvious that she had consumed a great deal of champagne.
“Can we get out of here for a minute?” Nina’s eyes were intense.
“Sure, I need to go to the powder room anyway.” Topaz spoke briefly to Germain before she followed Nina out of the club.
“Let’s use the bathroom in here.” Nina led Topaz to the office Jade shared with Keisha, opened the door, and then quickly closed and locked it behind them. “You deserve an Oscar for your performance.” She spoke so only Topaz could hear.
Topaz made no comment but went into the restroom and returned several minutes later. “I’m ready.”
Nina looked at her like she was crazy. “Ready for what?”
“Ready to go back to my party with my husband.”
There was a knock at the door and Keisha walked in. “How are we doing?”
Topaz rolled her eyes. “Not now, Keisha. I’m on my way back out to the party.”
“I’m sure you won’t be missed for a minute. Sean and Eric took the guys up to their new billiard room. Germain will survive without you for a few minutes.” Keisha opened her refrigerator and took out a Coke. “You guys really need to come out with the truth about everything before things really get out of hand.”
“Topaz, what did you tell her?” Nina exploded.
“I didn’t tell her anything, but you and your big-ass mouth just did.” Topaz’s eyes were stormy.
“Don’t fall apart now, you two. No one told me anything. I figured it out after you returned from Europe with Niki,” Keisha calmly explained.
“What?” Topaz and Nina chorused.
Keisha simply nodded.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Nina demanded.
Keisha took a long swig of her Coke. “For several reasons. First, I prayed and hoped to God I was wrong. I didn’t want to be right. For you guys to go to that length to keep a secret, I’m sure you thought you had a very good reason.”
Neither Topaz nor Nina said a word. They just sat there looking very tired and very defeated.
“How did you know?” Topaz managed to whisper.
“Despite the obvious things?”
Nina looked like she was going to be sick. “What obvious things?”
Keisha drank the last of her soft drink. “Niki’s beautiful golden eyes…I’ve never seen anyone with those eyes but you, Topaz. Even though your mom and Nina’s mom are sisters, those eyes did not come from your mother’s side of the family, they’re from your father. When we were little girls I remember you telling me I got my golden eyes from my daddy.”
Topaz looked like a wilted flower. “Go on,” she mumbled.
“Niki can sing like you. She looks nothing like Nina or Kyle. Nina, you never looked the least bit pregnant. I’ve heard of people not showing, but girlfriend, I was never convinced,” Keisha finished.
No one made eye contact as the ladies all sat there in an uncomfortable silence.
“Kyle’s in on this too, isn’t he?” Keisha broke their awkward silence with yet another probing question.
“Yes,” Nina whispered.
“Damn.” Keisha hit the desk with her fist. Topaz and Nina practically jumped out of their chairs. “Why do you always do this to Germain? He’s a good man. He doesn’t deserve all of your lies and deceit.”
A huge tear pressed itself out of Topaz’s eye and rolled down her cheek. “No matter what you or anyone else thinks, I love my husband very, very much.”
“Then tell him the truth!” Keisha shouted.
“We kept everything a secret to protect Jade.” Nina’s voice trembled as she spoke.
“Jade?” Keisha repeated. “What does she have to do with this?”
Nina looked at Topaz, who was dabbing at the corner of an eye with her finger. “Sean is Niki’s father.”
“Are you sure?” Keisha was whispering now.
“Yes, I’m sure. I ought to know who I slept with,” Topaz yelled.
“Girl, would you be quiet?” Nina looked at Topaz like she was crazy. “You remember when Jade and Sean were having problems?” Nina said to Keisha. “We didn’t want to see them get a divorce over one night that was a huge mistake.”
“You guys are so considerate,” Keisha replied sarcastically.
“Look, whatever was wrong in Jade’s marriage was wrong before Sean and I slept together,” Topaz said defensively.
Keisha made no comment. She simply shook her head. “Y’all are too messy. This is a mess…a huge mess.”
“If Jade knew Topaz had a baby by Sean, she would have him in divorce court so quick he would still be trying to figure out what happened,” Nina offered.
“And if she finds out she still might divorce his ass,” Topaz added.
The office door opened and Jade appeared in the doorway. “What’s going on in here, you guys?”
Everyone was so shocked by her abrupt entrance, no one said anything.
“Are you guys keeping secrets from me?” Jade giggled.
Topaz stood up and smiled. “No, sweetie, we’re not keeping anything from you. I just got a headache and came in here to get away from all the noise. I’m feeling better now, so I’m going to find Germain.” Topaz made a quick exit as Jade took her seat.
“I guess she would have a headache after all that drama at
the press party. Can you believe that reporter actually accused Topaz of having a baby and giving it away? She’s better than me, because I would have cursed her out.”
“That’s why she’s a superstar. The girl is a professional,” Keisha smiled. “Are the guys still upstairs, Jade?”
“Yes, they were talking about playing poker and ordering hot wings.” Jade laughed.
“Is anyone still at the party?” Keisha questioned.
“Oh yes,” Jade laughed. “As long as there’s free food and drink, no one’s going home.”
Keisha went back into the club where things were still in full swing. Topaz was dancing with Usher. When the song was over, Keisha went and dragged her off the floor. “You need to get Germain and get out of here.”
“He’s playing poker with the guys, Keisha.” Topaz was irritated.
“So get him out of that card game and take him home so you guys can talk.”
“We talked in the limo on the way over here.”
“Did you guys tell him Niki really is your daughter?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s fine with things the way they are. I told him all about Rosalyn.”
“As in my father’s top researcher Dr. Rosalyn Lawrence?”
“Yes.”
“What does she have to do with this?” Keisha demanded.
“She called me and told me if I didn’t allow Baby Doll to spend time with her father, I would be sorry.”
“She threatened you?”
“She’s a psychotic hatin’ bitch.”
“So you didn’t let her see Baby Doll?”
“You were with me at my attorney’s office when I set up the stipulations of the agreement that her family signed.”
The ladies were seated back in VIP at Topaz’s abandoned table.
“Oh, this is too crazy. What made her think Niki was your daughter?”
“She said something about me and Germain both having the trait, and Nina and Kyle not having the trait, so Niki couldn’t be their daughter.”
“Oh my God…T…the blood drive for the Chocolate Affair. She knows all of our blood types.”
“She sure does.” Topaz paused to speak to Shemar Moore, who had stopped by her table.
“Topaz, Germain has the trait?” Keisha’s eyes were about to pop out of her head.
“She said he did.”
“Oh my God…that means Niki could be Germain’s…”
Topaz put her hand over Keisha’s mouth before the rest of her words could escape. “She’s not, so don’t even think it. We weren’t together then.” Topaz couldn’t handle hearing the question that had stayed on her mind ever since Rosalyn’s crazy-ass phone call.
“Wait…now I remember. The first time Niki had a crisis Jade came up to the hospital and she mentioned that Sean had the trait because she saw it in some paperwork she had to fill out for their insurance policies.”
“Niki is Sean’s baby.”
“I don’t think Niki looks like Sean either.”
“Keisha, leave it alone, okay?” Topaz let out a long sigh.
Germain came back into the club and joined them at the table. “Those Negroes already took all my money.”
Topaz and Keisha laughed because Germain was practically pouting and he looked just like Chris.
A smile brightened Germain’s fallen countenance. “What are you guys laughing at?”
Topaz kissed him on the cheek. “You, baby, because you are too cute when you pout.”
“I wasn’t pouting.”
“I know, baby. Come on. Let’s go home now so Mama can take good care of Daddy.” Topaz smiled at him and Keisha.
“Sounds like a plan to me. I do have surgery in the morning.” Germain stood up and extended a hand to his wife. “Shall we?”
Topaz took his hand and stood up. “We shall.”
“All right, you two, good night.” Keisha kissed and hugged Germain and then Topaz.
“I don’t have a good feeling about this, girl. Tell him the truth. All of it. Tonight,” Keisha whispered in Topaz’s ear.
The rest of the friends returned, and the guys were teasing Germain about losing all of his money.
“Let sleeping dogs lie, Key,” Topaz whispered back. “Isn’t that how that old saying goes?”
“Yeah, that’s how it goes, only your dogs aren’t asleep. They’re awake and starting to bark all over the place.”
Chapter 23
As the sun crept into an eastern sky, it gently warmed the Pacific, casting a soft glow over the Malibu coastline. It was morning and the tide was out, extending the beach on the oceanfront property. Nina lay in Kyle’s arms as she had all night, neither of them sleeping or talking.
“Babe, you awake?” Nina shifted her position and rested her head on her husband’s chest.
“Yeah, you?”
“Of course I am, silly.” A smile found its way onto Nina’s face.
Kyle rubbed her hair and gently eased himself out of the bed. “Gotta take a leak.” She watched him walk on his toes as he headed into the bathroom and watched him as he came back out. He was pigeon-toed and she felt it added character to his handsome physique. He climbed back into bed and they resumed their positions.
Nina ran her fingers gently across the hair that was beginning to grow again on his chest. Kyle was a metrosexual who took great pride in his grooming. He would have made a great underwear model. “Babe, you love me?”
“No.”
“Kyle.”
“Ask a silly question, get a silly answer.”
“I was just thinking about Topaz and Germain.”
“I haven’t been able to think about anything else.”
Nina let out a long sigh. “I still can’t believe how she told him all those lies.”
“They weren’t all lies. Actually, she told him the truth according to the conversation you told me you had with Dr. Lawrence when you were in Hawaii.”
“She told him everything except that she is Niki’s biological mother.”
They lay in silence as the hard truth of Nina’s words sank in.
“Now that part of the truth came out, I can’t keep lying to Germain. When we agreed to adopt Niki I didn’t know Germain. Now he’s family. He’s the brother I never had.” Nina wiped a tear from her eye before it could land on her husband’s chest.
“I feel exactly the same way. He’s my best friend now. We’re boys.”
They were both quiet until Nina’s BlackBerry became an absolute pest. “Guess we better get to the office.” She got out of bed and Kyle watched her as she walked into the bathroom. He was immediately aroused and joined her in the bathroom, where Nina was turning on the shower. She dropped her robe and stepped into the warm pulsating water as it massaged her well-toned body. There wasn’t an ounce of fat anywhere. Would she lose her figure and get cellulite if she had a baby? She looked at Kyle as he stepped inside the shower.
“I knew you’d bring your bighead in here. You know you got to be where I be.”
“Get over here, woman.” He pulled her toward him and kissed her until she was burning with desire. “You don’t need to be so sassy. You’re not off punishment yet.”
“Punishment?” She smiled and kissed him again before she began to scrub her body with a pink puff.
“What’s up, girl?” Kyle’s eyes were pleading.
“We’ve got meetings. We don’t have time to go there right now.”
“We are the bosses.”
“That’s true, but we don’t want to be too late. I’ll give you a quickie.”
Forty-five minutes later they were in Kyle’s Escalade heading through the canyon to Burbank. They both returned phone calls during the drive into the city.
Mimi was waiting for them in the conference room when they arrived. “Good morning, you two.”
“Hey, girl.” Nina kissed her on the cheek.
“Good morning, Ms. Bluest Eye.” Kyle gave Mimi a Denzel Washing
ton smile.
“I may not be able to keep the tabloids off the Topaz baby story.”
“Oh no.” The smile on Nina’s face disappeared.
“Publicity like this definitely won’t hurt. It’ll blow over eventually. Meanwhile we book shows and sell millions of CDs.”
“It’s all about the Benjamins. My kind of woman.” Kyle was such a flirt.
Nina smiled at her husband. With Kyle around she could get through anything.
Mimi smiled at Kyle, too. “Speaking of shows, I’ve got Topaz booked for a performance on the Grammys. She received five nominations for Superstar, too.”
“Praise the Lord! This is wonderful.” Nina was ecstatic.
“Isn’t it? I’m so excited,” Mimi said.
“Me too,” Nina replied. “It is such a blessing to be a part of this. I passed on her project, and God gave it back to me.”
“What do you mean God gave it back to you?” Mimi fixed her baby blues on Nina.
“Topaz brought me her music and I passed. I was tripping, and God brought this wonderful project back to me.”
“That’s because you were chosen by the Almighty, darlin’. You too, blue eyes.” Kyle smiled at Mimi, who beamed every time Kyle spoke to her.
“That’s a very interesting perspective,” Mimi said. “But you are definitely some kind of lucky.”
Nina simply smiled.
“The press can’t write enough good things about the CD. People love her singing with that guitar. That was ingenious,” Mimi said.
“That was all Topaz,” Kyle added.
“She was amazing,” Nina added.
“Wasn’t she? And the concert at The Diamond…oh my God. I actually cried,” Mimi confessed.
“She was phenomenal,” Kyle commented.
“I cried too,” Nina said quietly.
“Sherwin is doing something wonderful for her as a signing bonus. It’s a secret, so don’t bother asking,” Mimi declared.
Diamond Revelation Page 17