One in a Million

by Kimberla Lawson Roby

  Aunt Lucy put her foot down. “Now, Rose, this is none of our business, so don’t you even think about saying one thing to that man. This is something he and Kennedi have to work out.”

  Aunt Rose averted her eyes, clearly in disagreement, but didn’t say anything. Kennedi could tell Patrice wanted to scream with laughter, and she was glad Aunt Lucy had cooled Aunt Rose down a notch.

  “Here’s that little sorry mackerel now,” Aunt Rose mumbled under her breath when she saw Blake striding toward them.

  But all he said to Kennedi in passing was, “You thought you were being clever, but I’ll see you in court. I’ll see you in court sooner than you think.”

  Kennedi watched him get inside his vehicle and wondered if he really had a chance at collecting fifteen million dollars from her. Half. One half of the entire check she would be receiving in four to six weeks.

  The whole idea of it was enough to make her sick.

  Literally.

  Chapter 10

  Well, if it isn’t Miss Moneybags herself,” Carson, Kennedi’s supervisor, raved.

  “I don’t know about all that,” she replied unpretentiously. “Well, I do. You’ve got more money than everyone in this building put together, and there’re easily five hundred people who work here.”

  Mary, Kennedi’s administrative assistant, concurred. “Isn’t that the truth.”

  “I guess I will be pretty comfortable,” Kennedi admitted.

  Carson grinned. “To say the least. And now I know why you took those days off last week. You had a lot to think about and a lot to get in order.”

  “I really did. And thank you so much for understanding.”

  “Actually, I’ll understand even better as long as I’m included as one of those friends and family members you talked about during the press conference,” Carson joked.

  Kennedi and Mary laughed, and then five other human resources employees walked in. Roger, the benefits manager, reached his arms toward Kennedi and embraced her. “Congratulations, Mrs. Mason.”

  Kennedi cringed, because she’d never liked the way Roger approached any of the women in the company, including her. He had always been just a little too touchy-feely, and Kennedi, on many occasions, had thought he’d crossed the line and entered sexual harassment territory. But he was good about not crossing the line far enough for anyone to make any legitimate accusations. “Thank you.”

  “Well, I guess it goes without saying,” Carson stated. “I’m about to lose my top HR specialist.”

  Kennedi smiled. “Unfortunately, yes.”

  “Two weeks?”

  “Yes, and I’m sorry for giving such short notice.”

  “That’s all the lead time we require, so you’re not doing anything against policy. And to be honest, I’m not sure most people would stay around even that long.”

  “Kennedi,” Greta, the mailroom supervisor, said, entering the area. “I heard the great news. But it’s really too bad about you and your husband. I saw what happened during the press conference.”

  If Carson and the others hadn’t been standing there, Kennedi would have told Greta exactly where she could go. Greta was the most negative person Kennedi knew, and the woman criticized every single coworker she came in contact with. Which was interesting, considering the fact that she was sorely unattractive, needed to have her teeth fixed, and clearly didn’t have the best personal hygiene. Yet she always talked as if she was the best thing going.

  Kennedi turned a half smile but didn’t answer, and Carson intervened. “Why don’t we go have a sit-down?”

  “Sounds good.”

  Kennedi and Carson started toward Carson’s office, but then Roger said, “If you need someone to help you choose the perfect floor plan for that new mansion that I know you’re getting ready to build, I’m available.”

  “Really? Is your wife available, too? Because I think the three of us together could come up with some amazing ideas, don’t you? Actually, the more I think about it, maybe I should just give her a call to let her know you offered both your services and then see if we can set up a time.”

  Mary snickered and walked away. Some of the others did the same. Roger stood there in silence, and Kennedi could tell he hadn’t expected her to respond in the manner she had. To be honest, before learning about Blake’s affair, she probably would have continued ignoring Roger’s constant flirting, but not anymore. Not after painfully realizing that no woman deserved to be disrespected, in her face or behind her back.

  In Carson’s office, Kennedi took a seat.

  “You won’t believe this,” he began. “But remember when I told you not too long ago that you were going to be my next manager for salaried employees?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, Richard is moving to our facility in Madison, Wisconsin, and he’s leaving at the end of this month. Which means I was just getting ready to promote you.”

  “What timing, huh?”

  “Bad timing, to be exact, and I’m just sorry I hadn’t been able to offer you the position before this week. You’ve always done over and above what’s expected of you, and you were the perfect choice.”

  “Thank you for saying that.”

  “It’s true. But I will admit that the most I would have been able to pay you would have been around fifty-five to start. I know that’s a major increase compared to the forty thousand you’re earning now, but it’s still mere crumbs compared to what you just won.”

  “Still, I’m honored that you felt I was ready for management and that you were going to up my salary by nearly thirty percent. It means a whole lot, and I won’t ever forget it. I won’t ever forget how well you’ve treated me since I first started working for you or the way you encouraged me to learn everything I could.”

  “I knew you had a lot of potential, and that’s why even though I had the other two specialists reporting to managers, I wanted you reporting directly to me. It was always my plan to groom you and steer you as far up the ladder as I could.”

  “You’re a good man, Carson, and I’m really going to miss you.”

  “We’ll all miss you, too, but I hope you won’t be a stranger.”

  Kennedi swallowed a lump in her throat. “I’ll certainly try not to.”

  As usual, Wal-Mart was busier than ever. It was well after six p.m., so the checkout lanes were filled with nine-to-fivers as well as people who probably had no schedule to keep at all. Now Kennedi wished she’d either waited until later this evening to pick up the few household items she needed or possibly gotten up early enough to stop by Wal-Mart on her way to work in the morning.

  But since she was already inside, she pushed her cart down the cleaning products aisle and stopped when she rolled in front of her favorite orange-scented, antibacterial dish detergent. It smelled heavenly, and it was one of the few things she made sure she didn’t run out of. Blake had never understood why she chose to hand-wash their dishes when they had a dishwasher, but Kennedi had always enjoyed doing them this way since she was a child. She enjoyed dipping her hands in piping-hot suds, and she loved how spotless everything turned out when she was finished. She did use the dishwasher on occasion, but never more than once a week.

  “Hey!” some lady screamed while stopping abruptly. “It’s you! Hey, everybody, it’s her. The woman who won all that money. Oh my God. I saw you on television yesterday.”

  Kennedi couldn’t remember ever feeling so embarrassed, and she wondered if she would have to live like this from now on. She wondered if the idea of having any privacy would be no more.

  “This is so exciting,” the woman exclaimed. “Do you mind if I take your picture with my cell phone?”

  Kennedi opened her mouth to say yes, she did mind, but before she could, at least six other people gathered around, and Ms. Photographer snapped the camera button immediately.

  “How does it feel?” a gentleman with salt-and-pepper hair asked.

  “I’ll bet it feels wonderful,” a younger gentleman added.r />
  “Can I talk to you?” a young woman with two small children inquired.

  Kennedi couldn’t imagine why, but said, “About?”

  “My boyfriend is in jail, and my landlord said that if I don’t pay the rent by tomorrow, he gon’ evict us. So if you can somehow find it in your heart to loan me fifteen hundred dollars, my children and I won’t have to end up on the street.”

  Kennedi was flabbergasted, but for the sake of curiosity she asked, “You live here in Covington Park and your rent is fifteen hundred dollars?”

  “No, it’s seven fifty, but just in case Neeko don’t get out of jail by next month, I’m gon’ have to pay that rent, too.”

  Kennedi shook her head in disbelief and forced her cart through the crowd of customers.

  “Oh, it’s like that, huh?” the young woman spat. “You comin’ into all that loot but now you got the big head and don’t wanna help other folks out. But that’s okay, and that’s why I hope your husband take you for everything you got.”

  Kennedi left her cart at the end of the aisle and rushed out of Wal-Mart as fast as she could. She heard someone calling out to her, but she never looked back. She didn’t stop until she reached her car and took cover.

  What?” Kennedi declared when she drove into the driveway and spotted Blake’s SUV. “This man must be out of his everlasting mind!” she complained, and then turned off the ignition and exited her Cadillac CTS. Then she stormed inside, ready for World War III.

  Blake was leaning against the kitchen counter. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because I’m not obligated to tell you anything. You moved out, remember? And we’re getting a divorce.”

  “But still, Kennedi, you could have told me.”

  Was he trying to sound like the reasonable and decent man she’d once believed him to be? Because right now, his tone was pleasant and didn’t sound at all like the way it had over the last few days.

  Blake sat down at the island. “I’m not here to argue with you. I just want to talk.”

  Kennedi dropped her leather tote on one of the chairs, her demeanor sarcastic. “Oh, so now you want to talk?”

  “Yes. Is that too much to ask?”

  “As a matter of fact, it is, because when I wanted to talk, you basically had nothing to say.”

  “You’re right, and I’m sorry.”

  “Are you really, now? And why is that?”

  “Because I was wrong. Wrong for showing up today and confronting you the way I did.”

  “Well, it’s pretty much too late for apologies, Blake, because the damage has already been done. National damage, at that.”

  “I know, but if you’d just told me, none of this would have happened. I know you’re upset and that maybe I didn’t deserve to hear the news from you, but you still should have informed me.”

  “So who told you, anyway?”

  “I have no idea. I received a message at work, but I couldn’t make out the voice. I didn’t recognize it.”

  “Was it a woman?”

  “I think so, although as high-pitched as the person sounded, it could have been a man disguising his voice. Either way, someone thought I had the right to know about that press conference.”

  “What I want to know is why you’re here. You moved out and filed for divorce, and if memory serves me correctly, you told me not to bother you again. Am I right?”

  “That was only because you made me so angry, and sometimes we say things we don’t mean when we’re upset.”

  “Hmmph. You’re too much.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Exactly what I said.”

  “Why are you being so cold?”

  “Look, Blake, let’s stop playing this ridiculous game of charades. I asked you a few minutes ago, and now I’m asking you again. Why are you here?”

  “I know I’ve hurt you and that I’m probably the last person you want to reason with, but Kennedi, the situation is what it is.”

  “Meaning?”

  “That I’m entitled to fifty percent of those lottery winnings. I checked, and Illinois law says that one half of that money is rightfully mine. It’s marital property, and I just want to make sure you realize that.”

  Kennedi stood up. “Get out.”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “Get your sorry little behind up from that chair and get it out of here. Now.”

  “Have you forgotten that my name is on the title of this house just like yours is?”

  “I don’t care if Donald Trump’s name is on it. I still want you out of here.”

  “Fine,” he relented. “But when that check comes, I’ll be expecting my part of it within twenty-four hours.”

  “In your dreams, maybe.”

  “Look, Kennedi, I’ve been trying my best to be civil, but don’t make me sue you. Because if you force me to take this into court, I’m going after every red cent.”

  “If you don’t get out, I’m calling the police.”

  “For what? To ask them to escort me away from my own property?”

  Kennedi picked up the phone.

  Blake slid his chair away from the island. “You’re crazy, and while I thought you were pretty intelligent, I can see now that you don’t have a clue when it comes to legal matters.”

  “You just don’t plan on leaving, do you?” she said, pressing the on button and preparing to dial 911.

  He headed toward the door leading to the garage and opened it. “Just so you know, I’m leaving because I’m finished saying what I need to say and not because you’re instructing me to.”

  Kennedi fixed her eyes on him, and it was all she could do not to hurl the cordless phone against the back of his head.

  “I’ll be in touch,” he announced as if they didn’t have a problem in the world with each other, and then closed the door. He acted as though they hadn’t just argued like two enemies and that there was no animosity between them whatsoever.

  But Kennedi would make sure he knew differently. She’d make sure he knew she wasn’t someone to be played with and that she would fight for months and years before she’d let that tramp Serena get her hands on one dime of that lottery money.

  She would do whatever she had to, making sure Blake and his whore ended up with nothing.

  Chapter 11

  After arguing with Blake, ignoring a plethora of phone calls from the media, and then pricking her finger and squeezing blood onto a small sheet of paper, Kennedi was surprised at how well she’d been able to sleep. Eight and a half hours, to be precise. But she guessed it was because she’d finally gotten to a point where she was completely wiped out and her body had forcibly garnered the kind of rest it had needed. Now, though, she slipped on a pair of tan-colored pants and was preparing to head off to work. That is, until the phone rang and she glanced at the caller I.D. screen.

  She shook her head but picked it up. “Hello?”

  “Ms. Kennedi Mason?” a man on the other end inquired.

  “Who’s calling?”

  “Is this she?”

  “It depends on the nature of your call.”

  “I’ll just take that as a yes,” the man stated, and Kennedi couldn’t believe the nerve of some of these people.

  “My name is Jason Cruise with the Shaw-Winston Group, and I’d like to schedule some time to go over your investment plan.”

  “Actually, I’ve already taken care of that. I already have someone in place, but nonetheless, I do appreciate your call.”

  “Well, I’m not boasting, but I’m the best money manager in the Chicagoland area, so I really think it would be to your benefit if you gave me at least an hour of your time. Especially since I’m positive I could do a better job than the person you’re working with currently.”

  “As I said before, I already have someone in place.”

  “Ms. Mason, with all due respect, I hear what you’re saying, but trust me, if you stick with this other money manager, you’ll be making a huge mistake.”
r />   “Why? Do you know her?”

  “No, but if the person you’ve hired isn’t me, then there’s no way you could possibly receive the best advice available. I’m not trying to discourage you, but what I’m telling you is simply a fact.”

  It was obvious that this man wasn’t taking no for an answer and wasn’t about to give up on trying to change her mind. “Look…what did you say your name was?”

  “Jason Cruise.”

  “Look, Mr. Cruise. For the last time, I’ve already made my decision in terms of who I want to manage my money, and if you must know, my accountant and my attorney believe she’s the best person for me. So, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get to work.”

  “Wait! That’s all well and good, but the bottom line is that I’m the best man for the job, so will one o’clock or two o’clock this afternoon work for you?”

  Kennedi hung up the phone. “My goodness,” she uttered as if someone was listening. “These people are crazy.”

  As she started away from the nightstand, though, the phone rang again, and she saw that it was the same number and company as before. Jason Cruise was a real piece of work and clearly wasn’t the kind of man who gave up very easily, but eventually, once he realized Kennedi would never answer his calls again, he would have no choice but to move on.

  Over the next twenty minutes, the phone rang five more times, and while Kennedi refused to answer it, she did listen to each of the six voice messages that were left. Needless to say, one was from Mr. Cruise, now practically begging her to meet with him; one was from a guy employed with a totally different investment firm; the next two were attorneys from two different law firms, offering the best representation in town; and the others were just hang-ups. Kennedi deleted every single one of them and then dialed her phone company. She couldn’t wait to have her number unlisted.