by Nikki Turner
Trey paused as his emotions started to get the best of him. “Then in the fourth I could see if I didn’t do something either Slim wouldn’t cover the spread or we’d actually win and that’s when I did a couple things here and there to make sure we’d lose.”
The light went on in Susan’s head. “The foul with a minute left.”
“Yeah, that and a few others. I played off Wilson when he hit the three and I made sure I didn’t get the inbounds pass when we were down three.”
“Do you know if you get caught, you’ll be banned from the league? There goes your career and any front office or coaching position. Basketball is over!”
“I don’t even care about all that, Susan. I mean I do but that’s not what’s bothering me. What bothers me the most is something I’ve worked my entire career for was finally right there within my grasp. I mean, after we lost in the finals last year, I was determined to never experience that feeling again. To be so close, and not win, it almost devastated me. And here I’m afforded another opportunity to seize the moment and I throw it.”
Tears started to well up in Trey’s eyes. Even though Susan was extremely disappointed in him, she knew what he needed most from her was her support. She could see the pain this was causing him. He needed to know someone was on his side and everything was going to be all right. She went over and hugged him.
“Look, everything is going to be okay. I know you can play better than you did last night and so do you. You had an off night, threw the game, and yet y’all still almost pulled it out and got the victory. I’m not worried and you shouldn’t be, either. You’ve learned your lesson from this. So Tuesday night, Dallas just needs to be prepared to find a good vacation spot for the summer because you are going to play your ass off and bring that trophy back to D.C. where it belongs. They won’t even know what hit them.”
Trey couldn’t help but smile. Susan was right. He needed to put that game behind him and take all his frustrations out on Dallas Tuesday night.
“You are right! You are absolutely right.”
“I know I am,” Susan replied.
Trey kissed her on her cheek and then her lips. Susan missed the softness of his lips. She started to kiss him back and they were soon locked in to their passion.
“No! Stop! Stop! We can’t do this,” Susan said, stopping herself from going too far.
“Susan, please! I miss you so much,” Trey pleaded.
“No, I can’t. I’ll always be your friend, but I can’t and won’t put myself back into a position to allow myself to get hurt. I can’t and I won’t.”
“Susan, please just trust me. Trust the fact that I’ll never hurt you again. I promise. I just need you in my life.”
“I’ll always be your friend and a part of your life, but I can’t do it, Trey. I’m sorry. I just can’t!”
“You know faith and trust go a long way. I can’t change the past and I wouldn’t want to except to remove the hurt that I caused you, but the past made me a better man. And for that, I’m so grateful. I just want you to allow me to show you the man I’ve become, so you can forget the man I was. I’m not even asking you to commit to me right now, just give me the opportunity to show you. I just want you to look and watch my actions. Allow them to show you what I’m about and how serious I am.”
“I don’t know, Trey,” Susan replied.
“Please, just give me that. Just give me that little bit of hope and I know Christ will do the rest.”
“You sure sound awfully confident.”
“That is because I am. It helps when you know the outcome.”
“Is that right? Well at least you are starting to sound like the Trey I know. I’ll tell you what, you promise me you’ll go out there and win the championship on Tuesday, and stop taking those pain meds, and I’ll think about it. I’m not promising we’ll get back together, but I’ll at least think about it. But if you hurt me or lie to me …”
Trey put his finger over Susan’s mouth, hushing her.
“Say no more. Just leave it at that.”
“Okay, do we have a deal?” Susan asked.
Trey grabbed Susan and pulled her in close. He just wanted to hold her.
“You damn right we do.”
Chapter 8
Slim hadn’t heard anything from Candi. She should have been back by now. It was now Monday. Slim had been past her house twice on Sunday and twice early that day. There was no sign of her. Every time he called her cellphone it would go straight to voice mail. That surely wasn’t helping the situation. At first, Slim thought something happened to her. Maybe they were robbed. Even with that, someone would have been picking up that phone to let him know something. His thoughts then shifted to possibly being double-crossed. He didn’t want to believe it, though, so he made every excuse imaginable to kill that notion. Maybe they decided to spend an extra day in Vegas and they were on the plane heading back now. Maybe she didn’t have her charger and since they stayed the extra day she didn’t have a way to call him. He thought of any and every possible thing, but he couldn’t shake the idea that it was likely she was in the wind with his money.
Slim trusted Candi, but even still, in the back of his mind, he left room for the possibility that she would double-cross him. In his line of business, you couldn’t trust anyone and the ones you did, only to a certain extent. Everyone was capable of anything when their backs were against the wall. Slim knew Candi could find seventeen million ways to change the script of their plan and just walk away with all the money. Especially if she actually counted the money to find out that Slim had lied to her about how much they really won.
Sitting around waiting to hear from Candi was driving Slim crazy, so he headed to the club. She’d know to come there once she got into town and he was just going to have to trust that. At least at the club there was always something to do and something to keep him occupied. Usually, talking to Trey would help calm things. Trey was always the other point of view Slim needed to balance himself out. He was the point of reason. But they hadn’t spoken since Trey agreed to throw the game. Slim wanted to call him but his pride wouldn’t let him. He finally decided to swallow it.
As Slim picked up the phone to dial Trey’s number, Ricky and Larry rushed into his office.
“Slim, we’ve got a fucking problem,” Ricky said.
“What’s up?” Slim asked.
“I don’t know how but somehow the entire shipment is in the fucking storage room.”
“What do you mean the shipment is in the storage room? Why would it even be in the club?”
“Slim, how the hell would I know? I just found out my damn self.”
“Okay, okay, we need to think this shit out. Who found it?”
“Larry did.”
“Yeah, I went back there to get shit ready for tonight and I saw the duffel bags. I’m thinking what the fuck? It can’t be. I must be lunchin, so I check and all the powder was in there. I’m talking every fucking key right there in the bags,” Larry said.
“Okay, where is the shit now?”
“It’s still in the storage room,” Larry said.
“Why the fuck is it still in there? We are running a fucking legit business. I’m trying to leave that street shit alone. All I need is my cut of it, that’s it. I’ve hooked y’all up with the connect and y’all were suppose to go from there. Why the fuck is that shit in my fucking club?” Slim asked as he pushed all the stuff on his desk to the floor.
“Slim, you know we would never disrespect you like that. I’m telling you, I don’t know what the fuck is going on. The last shipment we got was on Thursday, you can ask Candi.”
“Why would I ask her? What does she have to do with anything?”
“Candi went with us. She can vouch. I’m telling you I don’t know how the shit got here but please believe when I find out, I’m going to handle it. That you don’t have to worry about.”
“Fuck all that right now, we need to get that shit out of here,” Slim demanded.
/> “EVERYBODY GET DOWN ON THE GROUND! DON’T NO ONE MOVE!” someone yelled outside the door.
“Shit, this isn’t happening. Shit!” Slim yelled.
As he was trying to go out the back door of his office, the police walked in with guns blazing.
“Don’t fucking move!” one of the officers yelled.
Slim threw his hands up, showing he didn’t have any weapons.
“Officers, if you wanted a good table, all you had to do is ask,” Slim said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood.
The officer approached Slim and then punched him in his stomach, causing him to drop to his knees.
“We’ve finally got your smart ass and there is nothing that high-priced fancy lawyer can do about it.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Slim said as he was trying to catch his breath.
As the officer started to laugh, his partner walked in with a duffel bag. The police knew exactly where it was. Slim knew this wasn’t boding well for him.
“Is that right?” the officer asked. “Then what is this?” he asked as he opened the bag.
“That shit isn’t mine. I run a respectable business now, I’m no longer in the drug game. I swear! That shit isn’t mine! I’m being fucking set up.”
“Come on, Slim, you can do better than that. Set up, huh? Okay explain it to me, who is setting you up? You are a respectable business man, why would anyone want to set you up?”
“Fuck if I know and I don’t care.”
“Exactly, and fuck if I care, too, because even if this isn’t yours, it makes up for all the times when it was.” The officer turned to his counterpart. “Someone please slap the cuffs on this piece of shit and get him out of here.”
The officers cuffed Slim and took him away.
Chapter 9
The minute Trey took the court in Dallas, the fire burning in his eyes was proof this night’s outcome would be a lot different than the last. He was determined to fix the wrong he committed. This was the only way he’d be at peace with himself and with what he did. No matter what Dallas tried to do, they couldn’t stop him. Every time they would make a run to get in the game, Trey would take matters into his own hands and give his team a cushion. At the end of it all, Trey went off for forty-seven points, sixteen assists, and twelve rebounds, and captured the championship he’d been chasing his entire career. The triple-double was just the icing on the cake and made the victory all the more sweet. Trey was on top of the world.
As his teammates were in the locker room showering themselves with champagne, the reporters all tried to talk to the newly crowned MVP.
“Trey, Trey, how does it feel?” one of the reporters asked.
“Oh my God! I can’t even explain it. We did it!” Trey said as he started shaking the champagne bottle; it exploded out. Trey broke away from the reporters and searched for Susan. She was the only one who believed in him. She was the one who he wanted to share this moment with the most.
The locker room was a madhouse. Every time Trey tried to make his way through, someone would either stop him to celebrate with them or a reporter would try to stop him to get an interview. All he wanted was Susan. This was their moment to share together. Without her, he couldn’t have done it. She was his inspiration and motivation. Trey continued to make his way through the locker room until finally he saw her colleague at The Washington Post.
“Hey, have you seen Susan?” Trey asked.
“She is on vacation. She had something urgent that came up and had to leave. I’m here in her place. Do you mind if I get an interview with you?” the reporter replied.
“Sure, but not right now, though. Let me just enjoy this moment for a while,” Trey said with a smile, but now concern filled him.
The reporter agreed. Trey needed his phone. He made his way to his locker and got his phone, then went into the coach’s office. Before he could call Susan, his phone rang.
“Hello.”
“Yo, I know I’m probably the last person you want to talk to right now but I really need you.”
“Slim?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Look, I can’t even be mad at you. At the end of the day, I made the choice to do it. If there was anyone I needed to be mad at, it was myself. Consider everything water under the bridge. We are cool. We’ve been through too much to end our friendship over this.”
“You don’t know how happy I am to hear you say that because I need you right now,” Slim said.
Trey misheard him. “Yeah, I wish you were here to celebrate with me, too. I finally fucking did it!”
“Huh, what are you talking about?” Slim asked.
“I finally got my ring. I finally did it. I got the ring,” Trey said.
“Oh shit!”
“What?” Trey questioned.
“Trey, I’m in jail. I think that bitch Candi set me up.”
“What!”
“Yes, that is why I need your help. I need you to get me out of here.”
“What happened?” Trey asked.
“You know how I turned all that street shit over to Ricky and Larry? Well they had a shipment that came in last week. Anyway, long story short, the shit somehow ended up in my damn club.”
“And you think Candi had something to do with that?”
“She went with them when they went to pick up the shipment and drop it off at the stash house. She knew the whole operation and had access to put this thing in motion. It had to be her. I know it was.”
“Okay, but even so, it’s still not making any sense. Why would she want to set you up?”
Slim started to chuckle. “The money.”
“What are you talking about?”
“She has the money. Her ass is in the wind with all the money. I didn’t want anything coming back to you, so I had her get one of her girlfriends to place the bet and bring the cash back. Candi went with her girlfriend Karen to Vegas. They never came back, now this bitch cellphone is disconnected and she’s in the wind.”
“Okay, okay, just sit tight. I’ll get on the phone with my lawyer and see what he can do. I’m coming home tonight so I’ll come see you then and we will get to the bottom of it.”
“All right, what choice do I have?”
“I have to know, how much did she get away with?” Trey asked.
“A little over seventeen million.”
“What!”
“Please don’t rub it in,” Slim replied.
“My bad, my bad! I didn’t mean to but damn, seventeen million is a lot. Can you blame her?”
“Trey!”
“Shit, I did it again, huh? My bad. Look I’ll be home tonight. Let me go before they start looking for me.”
They both hung up the phone. Trey then dialed Susan’s number.
“Hello,” she answered.
“Baby, I fucking did it. I did.”
“I know, I heard. Congratulations! I heard. I’m so proud of you.”
“Why aren’t you here with me? This doesn’t seem right. What happened? It’s not like you to miss work and you never miss one of my games. For you to miss this one out of all games, it must have been something important.”
“I just needed to get away,” she replied.
Trey could detect something was troubling Susan. “Is something wrong?”
“Nothing, I’m fine,” Susan replied.
“Susan, come on. I know you better than that. What is going on?”
“‘I just want you to look and watch my actions. Allow them to show you what I’m about and how serious I am.’ Do you remember saying that to me?”
“Yes and I meant every word of it.”
Susan started to laugh. “You can’t be serious.”
“Susan, what is going on? What are you getting at?”
“Does the name Candi ring a bell? I’m a fucking reporter! Did you think I wouldn’t find out? It’s obvious you did because you damn sure left out the part about how you fucked her. Instead, you tell me some bullshit-ass story about
Slim, knowing I’d be pissed, but also knowing it was small enough for me to forgive you, and you wiggle your way out of it.”
Trey was speechless. He knew he was caught.
“What, you don’t have anything to say? You don’t want to defend yourself? No, instead all I hear now is fucking crickets, crickets. You can hear a damn pen drop, your ass is so quiet. ‘I just want you to look and watch my actions. Allow them to show you what I’m about and how serious I am.’ Yeah, I see exactly how serious you are. Your ass hasn’t changed. You are still the same selfish bastard who only thinks about himself, only difference is I knew it. I knew you would be, so this time, I’m not the one hurt.”
“Susan, please can we just talk about this?”
“What is there to talk about? I don’t have shit to say to you, Trey. I’m glad you finally got your championship. I’m glad you finally got your ring because that is the only thing that ever mattered to you.”
“How can you say that? You know how much you mean to me.”
“Is that right? You were willing to lose your career and tarnish your name by point shaving all to avoid getting suspended for the play-offs chasing that ring. But yet, you couldn’t even come clean and be honest with me. Again; and you say, ‘I just want you to look and watch my actions. Allow them to show you what I’m about and how serious I am.’ Well guess what, I watched and they showed me. It’s cool though, no hard feelings. You got what you wanted and so did I.”
“And what is that?” Trey asked.
“I got the proof I needed to get you out of my life and you fell for it. At least this time I got paid doing it.”
Everything started to make sense to Trey now.
“It was you. You set this whole thing up. You set up Slim and me in the process.”
“I damn sure did and just like the asses you are, the both of you fell for it. I knew Slim wouldn’t be able to resist a quick score. So I had Candi plant the seed in his head. He would sell his mother for enough money. And you, I knew the minute she threw the pussy your way you’d jump. Both of you did exactly as I predicted.”