“Kevin, I’m not in the mood.” She said as she readjusted the towel.
“But you will be.” He said as he got up and went over to her. He kneeled in front of her and began kissing her knee, then her leg, then her thigh.
“Kevin, stop,” she said as she rolled her eyes to the top of her head.
“Let me make it up to you,” he said while he continued kissing her.
She pushed his shoulders away and stepped back.
“You need to leave.”
“What?” he said as he wiped his mouth and stood in front of her.
“You heard me. Leave.”
“Rebecca. What are you talking about?”
“Kevin, you heard me.
“You’re joking, right?”
“Do I look like I’m fucking joking? I told you that I am not Cheryl and you will not put your goddamn hands on me.”
“Look, I’m sorry. I was mad.” He said as he reached for her.
“I don’t give a….”
“Look, calm down. It aint that serious.”
She laughed out the words “are you serious?”
“Yes I am serious. It is not a big deal.”
“Get out!” she yelled while walking quickly to the front door.
He walked over and snatched her hand away from the door before she could open it.
“Bitch, you better lower your fucking voice. I’m tired and I am not going anywhere.” He said as he walked away from the door, started removing his clothes and walked upstairs.
Chapter 14
Matthew got to his office and Bo, his friend for years, was already there.
“Look, I need to know who the fuck is calling my lady. If it’s that ex-husband of hers, I swear to god I will slit his throat and feed him to the dogs.”
“Damn, I haven’t seen you like this in quite some time.”
“Man, I told her I would always protect her and I meant every word of it. She has been through years of shit and she is not going to go through that again.”
“Nigga, I’m straight. The real question is does Terry know about this part of your past?”
“Nope and he never will,” he said as he sat down beside his friend. “First I need to find out where this call came from.” He showed Bo the number he had gotten from Cheryl’s phone. “Can you call your contact at the phone company?”
“Just give me a few minutes,” Bo said as he motioned for him to get up. Matthew paced around his office until Bo yelled ‘got it’ and turned the computer screen for Matthew to see it. Matthew let out a stream of curse words and grabbed his keys from the desk.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to deal with it,” he said and stormed out.
“Open this fucking door!” Matthew yelled while pounding on the red door.
“What in the hell do you want?” Sherrie asked while pulling the door open.
He grabbed her and shoved her into the wall of the foyer.
“I’m only going to ask you one fucking time, and you better tell me the fucking truth. Why are you calling and harassing Cheryl…did you actually believe I wouldn’t find out it was you?”
“Get your fucking hands off of me!” Sherrie said while pushing around him, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Don’t fucking lie to me!” He said as he grabbed her and spun her around.
Her eyes grew large. “I’m not! I swear.”
He released her arms, “Look, somebody has been calling me and Cheryl and it is freaking her out.”
“Well, that’s what you get for getting involved with someone that has a crazy ass ex-husband. No telling what that nigga would do.”
Donell opened the door and let Matthew in. He was immediately hit with questions.
“Care to tell me what in the hell is going on?” Donnell said.
“I am not sure myself. Where is Cheryl?” Matthew said walking past Donnell.
“What does that mean, you’re not sure?”
“Donnell, trust me when I tell you, I am going to find out who it is, and when I do…How’s your mom?”
“She is finally calm, if that is what you mean.”
“Is she ok?”
“Yeah, she finally fell asleep, but wanted me to wake her up when you got here.”
Matthew told him not to do that as Donnell headed for the stairs. “You two should get some rest.”
Donnell came back down the two steps and stood in front of Matthew.
“Thanks for loving my mom and showing her that she is actually worth it,” Donnell said before grabbing his girlfriend’s hand and walking upstairs.
Matthew walked into Cheryl’s room and saw her curled in a ball, He lay down beside her and she opened her eyes and tried sitting up.
“Lie back down and sleep. I’m here now.” he said and wrapped his arms around her. He drifted to sleep after a while. Her snores pulled him awake and he pulled his gun from his leg and placed it on the nightstand. As he fell into a half sleep, he thought, better safe than sorry.
Chapter 15
“Morning beautiful.” Kevin said when he walked in and saw Rebecca standing in his office with a black long skirt and form fitting jacket. She had diamond earrings in her ears but a little too much makeup for his taste.
“A little too much makeup this morning.” He commented while walking behind his desk and putting his briefcase down.
Rebecca moved closer to him, “Are you serious? You are going to act like you don’t…”
Kevin interrupted her, “What is on the agenda today?” He said without looking up.
Rebecca drew in a breath and mumbled.
“Got something else to say?” Kevin said as he looked up at her.
“Well, Toni starts today and we have that meeting with the Alpine Spa and Hotel again. You know they signed with M & T Limos and now they are looking for a public relations company to promote the new management. At noon we have that lunch meeting with Greg from the bank and we have the three o’clock meeting with Corey and the partners in New York.”
“So when do we get alone time?”
“Not today.”
“What is wrong with you?”
“Did you forget what happened on Saturday?”
He blew out a breath of air, “ I thought we had talked about that already. What’s the matter now?” he said as he walked towards his mini bar and poured himself some grapefruit juice. She walked towards him and crossed her arms in front of herself. He brushed by her and sat behind his desk.
“The problem is, I am not Cheryl and you will not…let me repeat that. You will not put your fucking hands on me. Do you understand me?”
She pulled a slip of paper from her pocket and threw it on his desk.
“His name is Detective Brown. I called him on Sunday and asked him the procedures for filing a police report for domestic violence. He told me what I would need to do. So if you ever think about putting your hands on me again, remember this, you will sit your black ass in jail! Do I make myself clear?”
She righted herself, pulled her jacket down and walked out of his office just as his desk phone rang.
He ended the call just as Ashley came in with four pages of information on M & T Limo Company. The original owner had gotten into some hot water with the IRS and had taken on another partner about five years ago. There wasn’t much information on the M part of the M & T Limo, so he would need to dig a little deeper. He made more calls, but the conversation with Rebecca played in the back of his mind. It didn’t help his mood that Corey was late for their meeting.
“Hey nigga. What’s up?” Corey said as he pushed open the oak door and walked into Kevin’s office.
“You were supposed to be here over an hour ago. I told you to make sure you were here by eleven. It is after twelve and you waltz in here, acting like you in the club.”
“What the hell is the problem? I’m here, aren’t I? Anyway I told you last night that I would be late. Did you forget you had me out
at the club half the night?”
As he sat down, Kevin walked up on him “Don’t fucking get cute. I’m not in the mood,”
“What the fuck is your problem?” Corey said while standing to his full six foot height.
“The problem is you don’t know when to be on fucking time,” Kevin said while pointing his finger in Corey’s face.
“What the fuck is this shit?” he said while slapping his hand away.
Kevin’s words tumbled from his mouth, “I’m tired of your lazy attitude. I told you to be here at a certain time and you act like I said it for the fun of it.”
“Nigga it ain’t that serious,” he said while stepping back.
“Nigga you better slow your roll,” Kevin said as he stepped further into Corey’s personal space.
“Look I’m here, besides I don’t see ‘ole girl here.” He said looking around.
“We aren’t talking about Rebecca.”
“Why not? If I’m supposed to be on time, so is she,” he said, raising his voice.
“What the fuck did you just say to me?”
“Nigga, you better back the fuck down, I know you aint running up on me.”
“You want to go there?” Kevin said, spit landing on Corey’s face.
“Nigga, you better remember who the fuck you are dealing with, I aint Cheryl, so you better back the fuck up.”
A knock and the door opening, interrupted the words about to come out of Kevin’s mouth. Ashley had the habit of knocking and walking before being invited in.
Ashley waited until Corey left the office.
“Rough morning, huh?” she said.
“What do you want?”
“I have the information you wanted.”
“Are you going to tell me or not.” He half yelled.
“Dang, you don’t have to bite my head off. Well, after digging a little deeper, I was able to find that M and T Limo is actually owned by Mr. Matthew Perry and…”
“Shit!” he said as he pushed all of the contents from his desk onto the floor.
Ashley stared at him before he yelled at her to get out of his office.
As Cheryl walked towards her living room she heard a heated discussion between Donnell and Danielle.
“I said I would tell her, now stop bugging me about it. Shit!”
“Stop stalling and tell her. We are not getting married until you do. Do you want her hearing it from someone else?’’
“Hell no, but you aren’t going to pressure me into doing it either,” Donnell said as he walked away from her.
“I am not pressuring you. Your father knows and hasn’t said shit to you ever since. Your mother seems cool and you are keeping it from her. That ain’t right, Donnell. You said you would tell her and now you are backing out. If you want us to be together than you better tell her.”
Donnell poured juice in his glass as he spoke, “Again, I will tell her when I am ready to tell her, not when you tell me.”
“Seriously, you need to get a grip and stop giving orders, like your father.”
Donnell grabbed Danielle. “Don’t you ever say that to me! Do you hear me? Don’t you ever compare me to that son of a bitch! I am nothing like him, nothing!” He let Danielle go and she ran out of the kitchen.
Cheryl walked over to her son. “What did you do to her?
“Nothing.”
“She didn’t run out of her for nothing son.”
“We had a little disagreement that’s all mom, I’m sorry.”
“I’m not the one you should be saying that to. Whatever you need to tell me can wait, Danielle can’t.”
Chapter 16
Corey, Rebecca and Kevin arrived at the restaurant around one fifteen. Rebecca had suggested that Toni come along, Kevin vetoed that as soon as it left her mouth.
“Good afternoon. Have you been waiting long?” Kevin addressed Scott and Santana, his business partners, sitting at the table.
Suddenly Kevin’s jaw clenched.
“What is wrong with you?” She asked.
“You will see in a few minutes.” He said as he pulled her chair out for her.
When the waiter arrived, Kevin ordered a double cognac.
“What do you think you are doing?” Corey asked.
“Mind your fucking business.” Kevin whispered as he sat back.
Terry and Matthew walked in and were led to the table by the waitress.
The older gentleman began the introductions. “Kevin Goldman, let me introduce you to…”
“I already know Mr. Perry…let’s get this meeting underway, shall we? I don’t have all day.” Kevin said as he swallowed the last of his drink.
After two hours of non-stop talk, Kevin spoke up, “So let me get this straight. You want us to not only represent you but also this limo company, for one flat rate? It seems to me that if the limo service wanted representation, they would pay for it themselves.”
Matthew spoke up “Had we known of the intentions of Scott and Santana, we might have thought about it, but hey, we know a deal when we see one.”
Kevin’s jaw got tight. “Oh, I see. It’s about being cheap. It figures someone like you would want something for nothing.”
Terry interrupted, “It’s not just a limo service. We have certified drivers and we also offer other amenities with our car service.”
“Like what? Driving home women and taking advantage of them?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Matthew answered Kevin.
Santana spoke up, “Gentleman, seems like we have gotten off track. Is there a problem we should know about?”
Corey spoke up quickly while shooting a side eye at Kevin, “No. There is not a problem that can’t be solved. Let’s look at the numbers again, and then we can give you our answer.”
“Good. I don’t have all day to spend on this, and trust me, we can find another PR firm if necessary.” Scott said.
Rebecca and Corey both shot Kevin a look.
Kevin finally said. “Shall we toast? I think we will have a great partnership,” he said as he raised his glass and not waiting for anyone, gulped down the amber liquid, sitting his empty glass down. They parted company as Cheryl walked towards the table.
She walked confidently into the restaurant and was led to the table with her ex-husband, her current beau and friends she hadn’t seen in a while. Instantly her confidence was gone.
She spoke first. “Good afternoon Santana and Scott, how are you doing today?” she said as she made her way to them and they rose and each gave her a hug.
“Matthew didn’t tell me you were joining us.” Santana said.
Kevin spoke up quickly. “Why would she need to be here? After all, this is a business meeting.”
“The same reason Rebecca is here.” Matthew spoke behind her.
“Hello, handsome, ready for lunch?” Cheryl said.
“You didn’t get my message?” Matthew said as he stood.
“I’m sor…I mean, no I didn’t, I was saying good bye to Donnell and Danielle. They decided to go to the mountains. Actually I gave them our room for a couple of days. Scott, I hope that was ok,” she said, turning to speak to Scott.
“Sure, that’s fine. I’ll call ahead and make sure they are taken care of.” Scott excused himself while Corey and Santana finished talking. Kevin sat as still as an eagle watching his prey.
“I’m a little hungry, I haven’t had a chance to eat all day,” she said as Matthew continued to stand.
“Where’s Kayla?” Kevin said.
“At the house,” she said.
“Alone?”
“Yes, alone. She is not a baby, Kevin. She had some homework and a project to do.”
“I didn’t ask you that” he said while standing.
“Hold on partna. I would suggest you watch the way you talk to my lady.”
“Look nigga, this is none of your business. I am talking to her about my child.”
Cheryl spoke up, “Correction, our child. Look K
evin, first of all, there was a half day of school today. I picked her up and then we had a girl’s day. Now she has work to do and coming out for a late lunch wasn’t an option for her.”
“Again, I didn’t ask you that,” Kevin shot back. “I was just telling you.” she said back.
“I suggest you sit down, Mr. Goldman,” Matthew emphasized his name. “I would hate to ruin my suit fucking with you.” He said as he started to pull his jacket off.
Kevin threw the napkin he was holding on the table. “I will talk to you later,” he said at her while walking away.
“Matthew, was that necessary?” Cheryl said.
“Yes, it was.” Matthew said as he pulled his jacket back up onto his shoulders. “You have no idea what this fucking day has been like. We have been here listening to his bullshit all afternoon. I didn’t even know this was the PR firm that Scott was talking about, but they wanted to do business with them and lucky enough, Kevin has some kind of sense because they are now representing Alpine and us.”
“I am sure Kevin is not happy about that,” she said as she sat down.
Matthew sat down beside her and kissed her hand. “Are you really hungry…for food?” He asked her seductively.
“Yes, I am. Now get your mind out of the gutter.” She laughed as the pulled her hand from his and picked up the menu.
Chapter 17
Cheryl got home and helped Kayla finish her project for her history class. Afterwards Cheryl needed to talk to her dad, the one person that always made her feel calm and at peace.
“So now you call?” Cheryl’s mother asked her.
“Mom, what is that supposed to mean?”
“Now that you need me, you want to call.”
“Mom what are you talking about?” She asked while throwing her head back with her eyes closed.
“Now that Kevin is dragging you back in court, I guess you want me to testify for you,” she said.
“Wait, I talk to you every day and you haven’t mentioned word of this to me and now you are telling me that you knew this all along. I swear, if I didn’t know better I would think YOU were his damn wife.” Cheryl screamed as the tears started to stream down her face. She slammed the phone down and called her lawyer.
Let Me Say This, Again Page 7