The Replacement Wife

by Tiffany L. Warren

  Quentin could hear the panic in Montana’s voice. It sounded sincere. But was she panicking because she was telling the truth or because she’d been caught, and now he knew the woman she truly was?

  “Why would anyone want to do that to you?”

  “Come on, Quentin. I know at least one person who’d want to do that to me.”

  Quentin burst into laughter. “Who, Chloe? This isn’t even her style! She’s not a tech guru.”

  Montana looked back down at the picture. “Quentin, you can tell this is picture is old. Look at my hair. I’ve only been wearing my curly style for two years. Look at how short my hair is in the picture compared to now.”

  Quentin snatched the phone. He looked at the picture again. Admittedly, he hadn’t paid too much attention to her hairstyle. There were too many other details in the picture to distract him.

  He must’ve gazed at the picture for too long, because Montana snatched the phone away from him.

  “So you think that Chloe did this?” Quentin asked. “What about Rio?”

  Montana gripped the phone in her fist. “I don’t think he would want another man to see me like this.”

  “And I don’t think that Chloe would fight that dirty.”

  Montana gazed at Quentin with tears in her eyes. “Do you . . . do you believe me?”

  “I want to, but honestly, I’m not sure what I believe.”

  “Wow. So do you still want a relationship with me?”

  Quentin paused for a long and pregnant moment before he replied. “Even if the picture is old . . . I didn’t think you were this type of girl. I guess I have a different view of you now.”

  “I’m not proud of who I used to be, Quentin. I was this girl. I didn’t know God at the time. I was lost. I wish that when you walk up and give your life to Christ, everything you did before would just disappear. But it doesn’t. Sometimes it lingers, and apparently can come back to bite you.”

  “I understand. We all have a past.”

  “We do, but I want you to know that this is my past. Not my present. No matter what you believe, I didn’t send you this text.”

  Quentin couldn’t ignore the tears in Montana’s eyes as she spoke. He wanted to believe her, but even if he did, her image was still tarnished in his eyes.

  “I believe you, and we’re still . . . friends. But let’s get to Alex, okay? We can talk more about it later.”

  Montana swallowed and nodded. “Quentin, why did you keep the text?”

  “Are you kidding? Do you see yourself in that picture? I am still a man, Montana.”

  Montana pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. Then she made a big production out of deleting the text message.

  “Now it’s gone. You won’t be able to lust after me anymore.”

  Quentin laughed. “It’s gone from the phone, but it’s always gonna be right here.”

  Quentin tapped the side of his head and laughed at his joke, although Montana didn’t join him.

  But now Quentin was curious. He’d said he didn’t think Chloe would play that dirty. But would she? Quentin still wasn’t sure he believed Chloe had anything to do with the picture getting to his phone. But if she did, then that meant she was still intent on getting him back. And if she was still trying to get him back, then what other tricks did she have planned?

  CHAPTER 37

  Nurse Charlene was standing on the porch when Quentin and Montana pulled up to Transitions. The anxious look on her face let Quentin know that things with Alex were bad and that the doctor’s prediction probably would come to pass.

  Montana whispered under her breath, and Quentin guessed that she was praying. From the look on Charlene’s face, the prayers were needed.

  “How is she?” Quentin asked, as they walked up the front steps.

  “Almost there. Her family is with her now saying good-bye.”

  Quentin nodded and motioned for Montana to follow him inside. In silence, they ascended the stairs to Alex’s room.

  Slowly, they entered the room, which was filled with family and friends of Alex. She’d already written her last wishes. She didn’t want a funeral. The friends who’d loved her had celebrated her while she was alive. She simply wanted to be buried next to her mother, who had also succumbed to cancer many years before.

  Alex’s eyes were closed, and her breathing was slow and labored. She appeared to be sleeping. Her lips were dry and chapped, and one of the nurses periodically wet them with a dropper filled with water. Alex was past the point of being thirsty, hungry, or afraid. She was ready to transition.

  Quentin whispered, “Will you please pray?”

  “Dear God, we thank you for Alex’s life. Lord, we thank you for the love she has shown and the gifts she has shared. As you open your loving arms to receive her spirit, we pray for peace in accepting her transition, oh God. Show us that this life on earth is only preparation for our true place with you. Grant us serenity, and let our hearts not be too heavy. Lord, we know that Alex is going to a place where pain, crying, medicines, and cancer do not exist. Her body is going to eternal rest, but her spirit is transitioning to its next phase in eternal life. Lord, wrap us in your arms too, and give us peace that surpasses understanding. Make us to know that there is no sorrow that your love cannot heal. We ask these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.”

  When Montana started to pray out loud, Quentin was shocked. He’d thought she would whisper a prayer to Alex, as she’d done before. Then he understood exactly what she was doing. The ones who needed the prayer were in the room. Alex was ready to leave this world for the next, and her family and friends who would be left behind needed more prayer than she did.

  There wasn’t a dry eye in the room when Montana finished the prayer. Alex stirred a bit and started to moan and speak in a low, scratchy voice. No one could make out the words.

  “What is she saying?” asked a young lady sitting next to the bed. Quentin knew her. She was Alex’s niece.

  “I’m not sure, but my wife did the same thing,” Quentin shared.

  Montana touched his arm. “We’re not supposed to understand this. She’s talking to God now.”

  Everyone was silent as Alex’s voice rose and the sounds became a little bit more excited. Quentin hoped she wasn’t in pain, but she didn’t seem to be. There was a faint smile on her face in between the words and sounds.

  Finally, the sounds stopped, and one last quiet breath came from Alex’s body. After experiencing many transitions since his wife had died, Quentin was familiar with the eerie feeling that hung in the room for a brief moment after death. It was how he always knew the deceased was truly gone without the doctor saying anything.

  Quentin glanced over at the clock. It was eleven minutes after eleven. Someone had told him once that 1111 was the number of angels. Now, for Quentin, it would be a time to remember his friend.

  There were a few quiet sobs from Alex’s aunt, and everyone had tears trickling down their faces. It was over. Alex had transitioned to her heavenly home.

  Quentin and Montana stepped out of the room to allow the family quiet time with Alex’s body. In a few moments, the crew that Quentin had on standby would come and remove her and take her to a local funeral home to prepare her for burial.

  Then the whole process would start over with a new Transitions resident.

  Montana followed Quentin downstairs and outside. They leaned on his car and didn’t speak for a while. Quentin cried a little and then composed himself. Montana held one of his hands in both of hers and gently rubbed it. It was a small gesture, but Quentin felt his insides warm at her touch.

  “When I first heard about your foundation,” Montana said, breaking the silence, “I wanted to know more about you. I wanted to understand why a man who had lost so much would surround himself with death and dying.”

  “I ask myself that all the time, and I can’t figure it out. Let me know what you come up with.”

  Montana said, “Thank you for inviting me to come here. Not just
tonight. I mean, period.”

  “You know, I’ve never brought Chloe down here. Never even thought about it.”

  “Why not?”

  “Honestly, I didn’t think she’d know how to act. I thought she might embarrass me.”

  Montana didn’t respond to this. Quentin knew it sounded crazy, but it was the truth. Chloe would never understand this place, and would probably be uneasy around the residents. She could stay in Atlanta counting his money and thinking of ways to spend it.

  “Thank you for being here,” Quentin said. “I’m sorry about the text message. God definitely used you tonight. I wish there had been someone like you around when Chandra died. I could’ve used a prayer warrior like you.”

  “I-I’m not perfect, Quentin. I am a prayer warrior, but I’ve got some battle wounds. That text message came from the part of my life that’s stitched up and scarred over. It’s not pretty.”

  Quentin stroked the side of Montana’s face as tears fell from her eyes. Now it was his turn to comfort her.

  “You’re perfect enough for me.”

  Quentin leaned down and planted a soft kiss on Montana’s lips. He felt her arms wrap around his neck, and he lifted her from the ground just a little. She tasted exactly as he’d imagined. Sweet, like honey.

  When they separated, Montana stared into his eyes as if she was trying to see through him to the depths of his heart. He didn’t know what she’d see if it was exposed, but he wanted her to look for it anyway. If he had any heart left, then it was hers.

  CHAPTER 38

  Montana stomped angrily around the living room of Emoni’s apartment while she told the story of the text message. Emoni sat with rapt attention and shook her head angrily. Montana couldn’t remember ever being this furious.

  The only thing that was keeping her from going totally ballistic was Quentin’s kiss. He’d kissed her and held her as though she belonged to him. But what if it was only because he was sad about losing Alex?

  “And you think Chloe did it?” Emoni asked, when Montana finally sat down on the sofa next to her.

  “Yes, although I have no idea how she did.”

  Emoni shrugged. “So it’s settled. She did it. Let’s move on. Did Quentin like the picture?”

  “Of course he liked the picture! I’m hot! Why wouldn’t he like the picture? The problem is that this heffa made it seem like I was sending it to Rio but put in Quentin’s number by mistake.”

  “Yeah, like their names are anything alike,” Emoni said. “Quentin believed that?”

  “He doesn’t know what to believe. But he was thinking I was some kind of Mary Poppins or somebody. I think he believes me, but I don’t want that hanging over my head. He used to think I was Mary Poppins, now he thinks I’m a freak.”

  “I don’t know any men that want to marry Mary Poppins.”

  “Emoni!”

  “Just saying.”

  Montana shook her head sadly. “This is a nightmare. I was one step away from the romance of my life, and now he thinks I’m some video vixen.”

  “Again, that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”

  “I have to convince him that Chloe did this.”

  Emoni bit her bottom lip. “He broke up with Chloe already. He knows she’s a villain. I think when he really ponders it, he’ll let it go. But if he doesn’t, will Rio tell the truth?”

  “Are you kidding? Rio wants me back! He’s definitely not going to help me fix things with my rich boss that I’m totally falling for. And he kissed me, Emoni. It was the best first kiss ever.”

  “Wait, he kissed you? Oh wow. So he really is feeling you?”

  “Yes, I think so. But what if everything sinks in and he decides I’m not the type of woman he wants as an example for his children. I mean who wants a woman who sends freak pictures to be their daughters’ stepmother?”

  “You do have a dilemma.”

  Montana sucked her teeth. “Thank you, Captain Obvious.”

  Emoni burst into laughter. “You have been hanging around those teenagers for too long.”

  “I know. I love those kids, girl! I didn’t think I would be so attached to them so quickly, but I can’t imagine life now without them.”

  “Awww. . . look at God!”

  “Shut up!”

  “Well, let me know what you need me to do. You need me to go with you to jump Chloe? You know she can’t fight.”

  Now Montana laughed. “Um, I don’t know. I think she got a little bit of street in her.”

  “Well, there are two of us, and one of her old-man-looking self.”

  Montana dropped her jaw. “See, you are wrong for that. You need to repent.”

  “Tell me you didn’t think it the first time you saw her.”

  “She just has strong features. Mrs. Chambers said she has a strong jawline.”

  Emoni clutched her stomach laughing. “A man’s jawline.”

  “Stop it! God is going to get you.”

  “You are always warning me about getting a smite from the Lord. He knows I like to laugh.”

  Montana shook her head. “Well, I need you to stop laughing and start praying. I don’t want to lose this relationship with Quentin. He is so incredible. You should see him with those terminally ill cancer patients. I have never seen a man look so sexy when he cries.”

  “Oh, yeah, you are totally far gone. I guess we need to fix this thing in a hurry, huh?”

  Montana nodded. “I just can’t see myself going on a date with Trent after this.”

  “Why you gotta play Trent out? So he’s not rich, and he’s a bit vertically challenged.”

  “He’s small, Emoni.”

  “He’s smallish. And he has a huge spirit. You ain’t about to talk trash about my friend.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. Trent’s a sweetheart, but he’s not Quentin.”

  “Okay, Operation Catch Chloe is in full effect, and it’s on the prayer list. Let me know if you want me to drive the getaway car.”

  Emoni squeezed Montana’s hand and continued. “It’s gonna work out. Trust me. When I saw Quentin in church, I knew that you were meant to be in his life. Mrs. Chambers probably hired you for just that reason.”

  “You think so?”

  “That is a smart woman, okay. She can’t stand Chloe, just like we can’t!”

  Montana considered Mrs. Chambers a potential ally. It would be wonderful if she already was one. Most women thought the best way to a man’s heart was through his stomach, but Montana knew the truth. The best way to win a man like Quentin’s heart was through his mama.

  CHAPTER 39

  Whenever Tippen, Quentin’s attorney, came to his office early in the morning, there was something amiss. Tippen was young and successful, so he entertained to the wee hours of the morning with whomever was his flavor of the week. Early mornings weren’t his thing.

  But this morning he sat in front of Quentin’s desk, with red eyes, probably from the previous night’s exploits, and puffy bags under his eyes. His hair was a little mushed on the side, but Quentin tried to ignore it. Tippen was usually dressed impeccably. When Quentin took him around the sistas, they said, “He could get it,” even though he was white.

  So Quentin knew there was a problem.

  “What’s going on, Tip?”

  “She’s suing you, man.”

  Quentin cocked his head to one side. “Who’s suing me?”

  “Chloe. She filed a civil lawsuit against you for promissory estoppel. She’s asking for twenty million dollars.”

  “What?”

  Tippen sighed and reached into his briefcase. He pulled out a stack of pages. “See for yourself.”

  As Quentin scanned the pages, he felt himself get more and more furious with every word. In the lawsuit, Chloe was alleging that he had made promises of gainful employment to her as a director at Transitions, and that he took the position and gave it to Ms. Levy. She also said that the credit card he’d given her for expenses and shopping was proof th
at he was becoming financially responsible for her in preparation for marriage. He really felt his blood start to simmer when he read how Montana had manipulated him to make him fire Chloe from the foundation. A flat-out lie.

  Quentin spoke three words. “Can she win?”

  “She could,” Tippen said, as he cracked his neck in one direction and then the other. I’ve seen cases like this, but most of the couples were engaged with wedding dates and rings purchased. Basically she has proof that you were her sugar daddy.”

  “I wasn’t her sugar daddy. We were in a relationship. It didn’t work out. I shouldn’t have to pay her.”

  “I agree. That’s why I’m your lawyer. But the fact that she mentioned Montana in her lawsuit bothers me. What does she have to do with it?”

  “She needs to leave Montana out of it. Montana just happened to show up right at the end of a very long relationship that was never going anywhere.”

  “Well, you could settle with her. I bet she’d disappear for a few million, and you could make her sign a confidentiality agreement. Then she wouldn’t be able to say anything else about you and Montana.”

  Quentin pounded a fist on his desk. “If I let her win, women all over Atlanta will be trying to sue their sponsors.”

  “Not really,” Tippen said. “Most of their sponsors know enough to send them packing with a hefty amount of cash. Apparently, you left Chloe high and dry. In the allegations, she said that you canceled her credit cards the same day you broke up. That’s kind of cold, man.”

  “She wasn’t my wife! We weren’t committed on that level. Since when do boyfriends have to pay alimony?”

  “When the boyfriend is worth almost a billion dollars a payday is always part of the equation.”

  “I won’t do it. I’m not paying her anything.”

  “Whatever you decide, I’m here for you, man. Let me know how you want to proceed.”

  Quentin’s chest rose and fell with deep, angry breaths. He never thought Chloe would go to these lengths to keep from having to take a job. In his mind, she was the lowest of the low. And he wouldn’t give her a penny.