Dangerous Consequences

by Lisa Renee Johnson

  “I guess it’s evident that I love my family. I just wish my girls would get to experience that bond more. Since I moved to California, they’ve only visited my parents twice. Stephanie isn’t real big on my family.”

  The server returned with the wine and fondue and they skirted around the nasty telephone conversation, but the glass of wine Sydney had promised herself she wouldn’t have before they’d come in was the liquid courage she needed to introduce the subject head-on.

  “So, tell me about Stephanie.” Sydney assumed he’d be as free with this information as he’d been with all her previous questions, but to her surprise, Miles got real quiet. A silence hung over them, and Sydney wondered if she should have mentioned Stephanie after all. “Miles, I’m sorry. That was an inappropriate question. Your ex-wife is none of my business, and asking about her was really out of place.”

  “Thank you for trying to be polite, but I’m a big boy and I’m not afraid of hard questions.”

  “Well, you did get kind of quiet there. Just making sure I didn’t overstep my bounds.”

  “The question was fine. I was quiet because I was trying to think of something nice to say,” he said, leaning back into the love seat. “Give me your feet.”

  “My feet?” It was as if he had read her mind. The wine had her on autopilot and the six miles she’d run earlier had her feet aching for a rub. She bit into a chocolate-dipped strawberry, removed her shoes, and placed her feet in his lap as requested.

  “Oooh.” His firm hands sent shockwaves through her body. She picked up the wineglass, took a sip, and swallowed a moan. His hands felt so good. For the next fifteen minutes Sydney closed her eyes and moaned as Miles caressed and kneaded. The voice of the waitress yanked her from her euphoric enjoyment.

  “Would you like another glass of wine?”

  Sydney quickly removed her feet from Miles’s lap, but not before they brushed against the bulge that pressed hard against his pants. She avoided eye contact with him. “No, I think I’ve had enough.”

  CHAPTER 15

  When Payton returned to her condo after her seven p.m. Fit Body workout, she showered, pulled on some shorts and a T-shirt, ate a bowl of pasta, and then checked her email for the first time in a few days. Her in-box was overflowing with messages from the PerfectChemistry.com dating service. The one that read Let the sparks fly 4 free stood out. Free her ass.

  “Ugh.” She shuddered at the memory of her last date. This little experience had been expensive. She only had a few more dates to go to get her refund, but she decided then and there the nuisance of going out with a bunch of losers wasn’t worth it. Besides, Tony was occupying a lot of her free time and their little arrangement was working out just fine.

  She fished her cell phone from her gym bag, wondering if he would call tonight, but her cheeks deflated when she saw that her battery was dead.

  “Shit.”

  As soon as she plugged it in, she noted multiple missed calls: three from Tony and one from Sydney, whom she hadn’t spoken to since the Copia event. It was almost midnight in Chicago, but she dialed anyway and was a little surprised when Sydney answered on the first ring.

  “Hey, girl,” Payton sang. “What’s got you up this late in the Windy City?”

  “I just got in from the game not long ago.”

  “So how was it?”

  “How was what?”

  “The Bulls game?” Payton was confused by the slight edge of defensiveness she detected in Sydney’s voice.

  “The game was great. Miles and the Day clan were the perfect hosts.”

  “Are the brothers as fine as Miles?”

  “Absolutely. They were all lovely.”

  “Lovely? Sydney, if the brothers look anything like Miles, the last word I’d use to describe them would be lovely. What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “Nothing is wrong with me.”

  Payton wasn’t convinced. “You know I’m not good at this type of stuff, but if you want to talk about it . . .” Payton hoped Sydney wouldn’t take her up on the offer. She really wasn’t in the mood to hear about whatever it was that was bothering Sydney and now wished she’d returned Tony’s call first.

  “Payton, you and I both know you don’t really want to hear me talk about my problems.”

  “Well, I know something is bothering you and you’d better take advantage of my offer to listen. Otherwise, you’ll probably need some Botox injections.”

  Sydney raised her hand to touch her forehead, her frown deepening more.

  “Going once. Going twice—”

  “Okay, okay, okay . . . I . . . um . . . Donathan and I aren’t getting along.”

  “What did Inspector Gadget do this time?” Payton referred to Donathan by the nickname she had given him because on so many occasions he was tinkering with something electronic and technical and had numerous remote controls to prove it.

  “He’s been acting strange since Sunday—”

  “I thought Brea told me he wasn’t feeling well?”

  “I thought that was the problem initially, but now I’m not so sure. He may just be acting out because I was called into the hospital and couldn’t attend a promotional event for the radio station with him last Saturday night.”

  “Well, has he said anything about your not going?”

  “No, he hasn’t said much of anything. First he sulked around the bedroom for two days and today he did a disappearing act on me.”

  “What do you mean, a disappearing act?”

  “He left the house today before I got up and he knew I was going out of town. He’s never done that before.”

  “Are you on your period or something, because nothing you’ve told me sounds all that strange?”

  “But that’s not all. He had the nerve to call me earlier today and tell me he missed me. But before I left, he was acting like I had the plague or something.” Sydney’s voice quivered as she swallowed her anger.

  Payton laughed out loud.

  “What the hell are you laughing at?”

  “I think I see what your problem is and I know exactly how you can fix it. Get up and walk over to your carry-on bag, grab your vibrator, do yourself, and take your ass to sleep.”

  “This isn’t about sex, Payton.”

  “Um, I beg to differ. It sounds like the inspector’s deprivation has left you fuckstrated. I hope your mood was better at the game.”

  The mention of the game caused Sydney to hesitate before she responded. “Fuckstrated? Is that even a word?”

  “You know exactly what I’m talking about. Sydney, don’t go making this more than it is. Look, just because you guys had a few off days sexually, stop being a bitch about it and call the man so y’all can kiss and make up. Now I have to run, but call me with an update tomorrow.”

  * * *

  Speechless, it took Sydney a few minutes to process the call that had just ended. She couldn’t believe Payton, of all people, was coming to Donathan’s defense. But the advice made sense. She fell back on the bed into the fluffy pillows and imagined how Donathan would react if her behavior had mirrored his. He would have a fit. She noticed it was almost eleven o’clock in El Cerrito, and no matter how she was feeling about his bad behavior, it didn’t warrant more bad behavior on her part.

  Sydney quickly dialed her home number. When the voice mail picked up, her anger resurfaced. She wanted so desperately to believe that the problem was nothing more than Donathan feeling a little under the weather, but she had been with this man for ten years and her gut instinct told her differently. Something was definitely going on with Donathan. She willed herself not to call his cell phone, but on impulse she texted him:

  Where the hell are you?

  Apparently, his ass wasn’t that sick or he would be at home in bed at this time of night. She closed her eyes and reached for calm. As she tossed her cell phone on the nightstand, she caught sight of her Bulls ticket stub and was flooded with a flashback of Miles rubbing her feet. Simply thinking about
him made her nipples pucker and she panicked as guilt washed over her. She couldn’t understand why she was all of a sudden so intrigued by this man.

  Switching gears, she picked the Eric Jerome Dickey novel up off the nightstand and immersed herself in the sexually charged tale. She might not have been having sex tonight, but thanks to the author, at least somebody was.

  CHAPTER 16

  When Donathan arrived at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, he was relieved to find Tony seated in the critical care waiting room. “What happened? Is she all right?”

  Donathan had been home only a few hours when he’d received Tony’s frantic telephone call. He was so worried, he’d rushed out the door without his cell phone.

  Tony looked up and sighed with resignation. “When I got home, she was having trouble breathing. And you know my mom . . . always trying to take care of someone else but not wanting people to take care of her. Man, she’s so stubborn she didn’t even want me to call nine-one-one.”

  “Is she all right?” Donathan repeated, praying not to hear any bad news. Shirley Barnes was a second mother to him.

  “Yeah, she’s resting comfortably now. Turns out she was having a reaction to the chemotherapy. The doctor told me to go home because she’s going to be out of it for the rest of the night, but you know I can’t do that. I . . . I just need to go get my wheels.”

  Donathan could see the struggle etched on Tony’s face. They sat in silence for a long moment. Like his friend, Donathan, too, was trying to accept the fact that Shirley Barnes was dying and there was nothing he could do or say to change that.

  “What about Najee?” Donathan asked. “Sydney will be back in a few days. Maybe she can come to stay with us for a while.”

  “My aunt Rosemary is at the house taking good care of her. I don’t know what I’d have done if she hadn’t come out here to help me through this.”

  At that moment Donathan realized he’d been a fucked-up friend. Every conversation he’d had with Tony over the past few days had been focused on himself. Donathan was so troubled by all the nonsense affecting his life that he’d forgotten that his best friend needed him. He knew he was dealing with his own shit, but he vowed to do better.

  “Wait right here. I’ll be back.”

  Donathan left the waiting room, headed toward the double doors at the end of the hallway, and picked up the wall phone. He announced himself to the nurse, and the loud click of the releasing lock prompted him to pull the heavy door open. The smell of sickness slapped him in the face. He entered Shirley Barnes’s room and found her resting as Tony had said she would be. He walked over to the bed and stared down at her for a long time before he touched her arm. She opened her eyes and stared up at him.

  “Donathan, is that you, baby?”

  “Yes, ma’am, it’s me,” he said softly.

  “Don’t look so pitiful, baby. I’m going to be just fine. But I need you to promise me you’ll look after Tony. Can you do that for me, baby?” she questioned. Her eyes fluttered as she teetered on the edge of peaceful slumber.

  Tears filled his eyes and slowly rolled down his cheeks. He wiped them away before he kissed her on the forehead.

  “Yes, ma’am. I can do that.”

  CHAPTER 17

  It was almost three o’clock in the afternoon and Joi sat at Tyrese’s desk in his home office, staring at the computer screen. She’d just called Holsey Investigations just as she had every day since their initial meeting and the detective still had no information for her. She decided it was time to take matters into her own hands. She typed cheating husband into the Google toolbar and waited for the list to populate the screen.

  Joi scanned the list of sites and clicked on the link to “How to trap your lying, cheating husband.” She removed the small moleskin journal from her purse and opened it to the pages where she had been keeping track of Tyrese’s suspicious activities and taking notes. The site suggested she track his car mileage, credit card statements, ATM withdrawals, and phone records, all things she never paid any attention to, especially those having to do with money because Tyrese paid all the bills. Joi sighed. How did she get into this situation?

  A flashing advertisement caught her attention. No Matter What or Who You Want to Track, We Have the Right Solution for Any Situation. She double-clicked on the link that took her to Ironclad Security. The page was filled with rows and rows of tiny GPS tracking devices in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Overwhelmed by so many to choose from, Joi clicked on the Livewire FastTrac, the internet special of the week.

  The device looked tiny, like it could fit into the palm of her hand. It had a battery life of up to ten days and provided real-time tracking with ten-second updates. She smiled briefly at the thought that this might be the answer to her prayers, but the smile quickly turned into a frown when she read the description and realized the device cost $399.95 plus $69.95 for activation and $39.95 for a one-month subscription.

  Uneasy, Joi removed her new credit card from her wallet and stared at it. She had never applied for a credit card in her name before and couldn’t believe how fast she had been approved. Now the plastic was burning a hole in her purse.

  Joi had grown up in the projects of North Richmond. When she and her twin brother, Justin, were fourteen, the success of multiple real estate transactions had catapulted their family to a new financial status. She and Justin were thrust into the good life and the best private schools the Bay Area had to offer. Then, during her freshman year of college at UC Berkeley, her father had been murdered. Some said a disgruntled employee had killed him; others maintained it was his shady business dealings had killed him. Either way, the father who’d worked hard to provide for his family was replaced with a single mother trying not to end up back in the projects. And Joi certainly didn’t want to end up back there. She and Tyrese lived in an upscale neighborhood in the type of home she had grown accustomed to for herself and her children. If she did divorce Tyrese, she had to make sure the payout would be worth it. Whatever happened with her marriage, she had to make sure her children wouldn’t suffer for the sins of their father. She looked at the price of the tracking device plus the extra shipping cost for overnight delivery and clicked the Buy Now button. No amount of money was too much to get to the bottom of this.

  Joi cleared the computer history and shut it down. She grabbed her purse off the desk and headed out to pick up her boys from playgroup. For the first time in weeks she felt like she was moving in the right direction. She had a feeling that being able to track Tyrese’s exact whereabouts twenty-four hours a day would definitely come in handy.

  * * *

  Donathan hesitated in the office doorway. He watched Tyrese’s long fingers dance across the computer keyboard, then stepped into the office, leaving the door slightly ajar. He stopped at the minirefrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water before taking a seat. When he looked up, a pair of piercing gray eyes were fixed on him.

  “I think I need to fire my secretary,” Tyrese said, peering over the top of his laptop docking station. “What are you doing in my neck of the woods?”

  “I was in the neighborhood,” Donathan answered nonchalantly. But he knew the Oracle Arena was not someplace you just happened by. Tyrese usually worked downtown at the Warrior corporate offices, but due to some special project, he’d been relocated to the coliseum for the past few months.

  Donathan was on that side of town because he had agreed to meet Holsey, the private investigator, at the strip mall on Hegenberger across the freeway and needed to pass a little time before his four o’clock meeting.

  “Man, that’s bullshit and you know it, especially because my office is in the middle of East Oakland.” Donathan waited for the usual smile that came after a playful jab like that, but it never came.

  “Did I catch you at a bad time?”

  Tyrese sighed. “Nope. I have a meeting in twenty minutes—”

  Donathan stood. “All right, man. I didn’t mean to barge in on you—”

&n
bsp; “Man, sit your ass down. You’re not barging in on me.”

  “Seriously, I’ll catch up with you later.”

  “Actually, you came at the right time because I need some logic to figure out this damn mess I’ve created.”

  Donathan sat back down in the leather chair and waited.

  “Well, it happened last week. I was working with one of our new temps after-hours, things got out of hand, and bodily fluids were exchanged. Ever since then, she keeps requesting—or shall I say almost threatening—that I meet her outside of work or she might have to tell somebody about our little physical encounter.”

  “Have you met with her outside of work yet?”

  “No. I mean, I’m not exactly sure of her angle, but I’m tired of her innuendos, so I scheduled a meeting with her at four o’clock today to feel her out. This could be disastrous.”

  For the first time Tyrese noticed the slight crack in the door and he jumped up to close it. He leaned his six-foot-seven frame against the corner of his desk and looked down at Donathan, who was devoid of any emotion.

  Donathan had met Tyrese at a barbershop over seven years before and they’d become fast friends, yet for some reason he hadn’t told Tyrese about his latest debauchery: Austyn.

  “I could lose my job behind this dumb shit and how would I explain that to Joi?”

  “What are you, retarded or something? Please tell me you used a condom.”

  “Of course I did. I may have faltered in judgment, but I’m not a damn fool.”

  “I’m not so sure about the last part, but at least she won’t show up at your door a few months from now, talking about she’s pregnant.”

  Tyrese rubbed his open palm across his bald head, another one of his attributes that drove women crazy. “Not unless swallowing my seed could knock her up.”

  “Okay, so what’s the worst thing she could say? From where I sit it sounds like you have the upper hand. It’s your word against hers. It’s not like you forced her or anything—”