The Dirty Truth, Secret Obsessions Book 1

by Ashley Cole

  Checking the clock, she realized it was almost time for the students to make their way to recess and she could not wait. She loved her students but after acknowledging her attraction to Stephanie she’d been having a difficult time focusing on her agenda. Did she have to be right across the hall, she thought? Stephanie was 5’2 and majority of the staff teachers thought she looked just like Halle Berry. It was no wonder she couldn’t focus, but that was no excuse, she needed to get some work done.

  “Does anyone have anyone else have questions?”, she asked. Tyson raised his hand, “I do!” As Scarlett began to walking towards his desk, “Just kidding!”, he yelled. Her students were tickled. “Very funny young man. Alright everyone, settle down and start clearing your desks, it’s almost time for recess.” Opening her desk drawer, Scarlett grabbed her cellphone placing it into her jacket pocket. It was school policy that teachers weren’t allowed to use them inside the classroom except for emergencies, she stubbornly decided she’d put it away after texting Naomi about principal Hunter.

  “If your desk is in order, make a straight line for me at the door. Thank you, Lilly, for quietly putting your things away and following directions. You can be the line leader today.” Lilly was shy but very intelligent. She was also one of Scarlett’s favorite students. If she had a daughter one day she hoped she’d be something like Lilly. “I wanted to be the line leader today,” Jeremy pouted. “Since you’re following directions and being quiet you can lead tomorrow”, she replied giving him a wink. “Yes ma’am”, he said with a Colgate smile.

  The students’ voices began to carry as they prepared their belongings for recess. “Lower your voices,” she said sternly. Everyone quieted down getting into a straight line while awaiting her instructions. “Lilly, please lead the class out into the hallway, slowly, and no talking or you’ll lose ten minutes of recess as well as the gold star you received today.” Dramatically, they snapped to attention and closed their mouths.

  “Hi Ms. Rose.” “Hi Mr. Thompson how are you”, she asked. “Oh, I’m still truckin along”, he smiled. Scarlett smiled back genuinely. Mr. Thompson was the gym teacher and was a very nice man. She also noticed he was very patient with the students. They loved recess but they could be rascals at times. Mr. Thompson reminded Scarlett of her father, before being rich went to his head. He was also in very good shape for a 55 y/o man. As Devin made his way into the gym she closed the door behind him, she then made her way to the restroom to text Naomi before heading back to the classroom.

  Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, she began texting Naomi about principal Hunter’s shenanigans and how she’d regretted wearing the outfit she’d worn today. “Send me a selfie. I have to see why this man is drooling,” Naomi replied sending smiley emoticons. Scarlett stood in front of the bathroom mirror quickly posing for a selfie, which she sent right away. “OMG I’m drooling too. You look gorgeous and that dress brings out the color in that beautiful hair. I know you hate being a red head but I love it! As far as Hunter is concerned, good luck getting rid of him. You could become a nun and he’d probably ask you to turn away from God. The man is in love,” Naomi replied. As far as Scarlett was concerned he’d better fall out of love because it was not going to happen.

  Chapter 3

  Naomi made her way into her office pausing to enjoy the beautiful view. She was blessed and grateful. She could see all of Manhattan through her high ceiling windows and the weather was breathtaking, not one dark cloud in the sky. Inhaling through her nose and out through her mouth, she plumped herself into her chair and logged into the Sassy Couture website. Pushing the intercom button to call Tiana, she realized Tiana was already heading in her direction. “Ready ma’am?” she asked. Wow, this girl is a keeper. “Yes, let’s get started,” Naomi replied in disbelief.

  Tiana brought her laptop over to the larger table in Naomi’s office so they’d have extra room. Tiana pointed at the first drawing, “I absolutely love this one and I think Dominique would too.” “Hmmm, I do too, set it aside and let’s keep looking. I only want to send him the best of what we have,” Naomi replied, leaning in her direction.

  Only thirty minutes had passed when, Naomi received a text from Scarlett about principal Hunter. Smiling she quickly replied to her message. Apparently, Hunter was still checking her out but hey, what did she expect, she was gorgeous. She requested a selfie from Scarlett and received a photo seconds later. She was wearing a forest green dress that complimented her curves, with a sassy crop jean jacket. No wonder the man was losing his mind, she thought. After replying letting Scarlett know Hunter was obviously in love, she got back to work.

  Realizing it was now lunchtime, Naomi relieved Tiana. “Let’s take a break, go ahead and grab lunch and we’ll meet back in my office in an hour.” “Would you like me to bring anything back?”, she asked. “No thanks, but make arrangements, we’ll probably be here a little late tonight”, Naomi said warningly. “No problem”, Tiana replied as she headed out of the office. Naomi began thinking out loud, “I should probably ask Ethan to pick Mason up since I’ll be getting off a little late.” Naomi didn’t like leaving Mason at daycare past five pm. She felt eight hours was long enough for a child to be separated from his family each day.

  She decided to send Ethan a text. “Would you please pick Mason up today, I’m working on a huge project and you know how I feel about him being at daycare past five.” Sitting her phone back down she began to look over a few more samples while waiting on his response. Her phone a few minutes later, but before she could see the full message, her phone previewed part of Ethan’s text and judging by his first words, she could sense the sarcasm already.

  Unlocking her phone, she reluctantly opened his message to full view. “I wish you would have given better notice Naomi. Contrary to popular belief the world doesn’t revolve around you. I’ll pick Mason up, but I deserve at least a days’ notice from now on. You should be more considerate, I had plans.” Rolling her eyes Naomi took a deep breath to calm her nerves. He always gave her attitude if she asked him to do anything outside of his every other weekend schedule.

  Attempting to calm down before replying she text him back. “My apologies, I didn’t mean to inconvenience you. I’ll give a days’ notice in the future, if possible.” In all honesty, she wanted to say, “Really? You see your son every other weekend, the least you could do is help during the week. God forbid, I interrupt your date night.”

  Ethan hadn’t wasted any time getting back on the dating scene. As a matter of fact, that was an understatement. Word on the street, was Ethan hadn’t had a break from sleeping around since he signed their divorce papers a year ago, and apparently, he had become an overnight whore, sticking his male parts in any and everything. It made Naomi sick to her stomach and hurt her to her core but she refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much he’d hurt her. Although, she sometimes wondered if he’d cheated while they were married as well.

  “Oh well, no longer my problem, the next chic can have him along with all of his issues”, she said attempting to shut off her emotions. Hearing her stomach growl, she decided she may as well grab something to eat while Tiana was out. Grabbing her black Fendi, she powdered her nose heading towards the receptionist’s desk. “Alexander, please hold my calls. I should be back within an hour.” “Yes ma’am”, he said. As she began walking towards the exit, she didn’t realize Alex was staring at her ass. She’d caught him before and he was written up. She couldn’t allow others to believe his behavior was acceptable, but in secret, she was flattered.

  Alex was barely legal, she was not ready to date and if she ever was she refused to be labeled a cougar. Apparently, she was already labeled a MILF, according to Scarlett. Alex was tall dark and handsome with a rare set of blue eyes, and that baritone voice of his assuredly drove the ladies crazy. Admittedly, she sometimes had to remind herself he was only twenty-one. He’d let her know after he was hired, that he was from Atlanta and she wasn’t quite sure what brou
ght him to New York, but one thing was for sure. The boy could dress.

  After making it to her car she began thinking of what she might want to eat today. She tried not to get flustered, being that she was a very picky about what she ate. However, her stomach was screaming for attention and today was not the day to be hangry. Her attitude was a force to be reckoned with on an empty stomach. Typing restaurants into her GPS she decided on seafood. The Sea Fire Grill was less than fifteen minutes away and she heard their food was delicious.

  Pulling up the menu on her phone she called placing a to-go order. “Sea Fire Grill may I help you?”, the waiter asked. “I’d like to place a to-go order of your blackened tilapia and shrimp, with steamed broccoli and brown rice for my two sides.” Naomi had to be very conscientious of what she ate being that she was now in her mid-thirties. Thanks to her family genetics, if she was careless, she’d have high blood pressure, diabetes and she’d be overweight.

  She had plans to be around for a very long time, God willing and she was not going to shorten her time on earth. She wanted to be at Mason’s high school and college graduation, wedding and everything in between. Furthermore, she was very self-conscious, so being overweight was not an option, and would kill her self-esteem. “Your order should be ready in about fifteen minutes”, the waiter said. “Thank you”, Naomi said, disconnecting the call.

  She began driving to Sea Fire Grill and once she arrived it took an additional 10 minutes to find a parking spot, which wasn’t uncommon. Grabbing her purse and keys she headed towards the entrance. The rumors that this restaurant was popular were true, it was packed. She was glad she’d ordered her food to-go. She wasn’t too excited about being amongst the crowds lately, but she was normally a people person.

  Naomi paid for her food and hopped back into her car heading back towards the office, but figured she’d stop at Inwood Hill Park on the way back. It was so peaceful there, and she needed to unwind after her exchange with Ethan.

  Pulling into the closest parking spot she parked facing the lake watching the ducks swim. She wondered how her half-sister Chanel had been doing since they’d last spoken. She’d only recently found out she had a sister. Papa was obviously a rolling stone. Naomi had been thinking she was an only child, only to find out she had a 24-year-old sister that lived-in LA.

  If it hadn’t been for Naomi’s stepmom informing, Terrance would have continued to keep Chanel a secret. Sadly, he probably would have taken this secret to his grave which angered her on so many levels so one day after work, she called her father. They ended up arguing for hours and she hadn’t spoken to him since. Naomi had become very close to her step-mom Susan over the years. She’d known her dad had a hard time moving on after her mom’s death and she’d sympathized with him, but she now realized, per Chanel’s age, her father had been cheating on her mother. She was devastated and wondered if her mother had known all along.

  Chanel didn’t have the best relationship with their dad either. Apparently, after he’d gotten her mom Cindy pregnant he’d asked her to allow him pay for her abortion. When she refused to get the procedure, he abandoned them both, never looking back. She still couldn’t believe her father would treat anyone that way because she’d never seen that side of him.

  Chanel let Naomi know that when she turned eighteen she was livid with their father, and didn’t want Archer to be her last name. She felt that since he hadn’t been a part of her life she should change her name to her mom’s last name, which was Nguyen. Chanel’s mom was Vietnamese. Chanel was mixed, being that her father was African American, and judging by the pictures she’d sent to Naomi, she was very beautiful. Naomi noticed that she had Terrance’s nose and his smile.

  They had only spoken a few times over the phone but Naomi invited Chanel to Manhattan to visit this summer. She also offered to purchase her flight. She was very content knowing Mason had an auntie, even though her best friend considered his auntie as well. While chatting, Chanel let Naomi know she was a professional dancer and was in college so she’d let he know if she’d be able to visit soon. Finishing her food, Naomi placed her containers back inside of the to-go bag before clicking her seatbelt and heading back to the office.

  Chapter 4

  Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Chanel adjusted her blue wig while touching up her makeup. She wore a blue lace bikini top that left very little to the imagination, a silver metallic thong, and blue and silver platforms. The security guard, Noah, peaked inside the dressing room, “Deja, you’re up in five.” Deja-Vu was her stage name. She made sure never to use her real name. She could not have her college friends or any of these men figuring out who she was. Her mom would kill her if she ever discovered what she was really doing.

  Noah was very handsome and from what she’d heard he was a construction worker by day and a bouncer by night bringing in a little extra cash. He seemed to be the perfect gentleman, always respectful and reserved. She knew he’d never be interested in the person he probably assumed she was. Slouching in defeat, she rolled her eyes thinking one day she would finally become the individual she told everyone she was, which was a professional dancer. She did not want to end up stripping to pay the bills, she had goals and dreams, however, life was shoving her in the opposite direction.

  She thought back to when she’d taken dance lessons. She’d started at tender age of four and continued all the way through her senior year in high school. Her mom always encouraged her to pursue her dreams and she knew how passionate Chanel was about dancing. She loved how supportive her mother had been when she’d won almost every competition she competed in. Chanel idolized Misty Copeland and promised she’d be just as successful as she was.

  While attending Los Angeles Community College, Chanel’s mother struggled to pay her tuition fees. It killed her seeing her mother living that way. She felt her mother deserved a better life, so when she was given an opportunity, she accepted, not thinking of the consequences. After her College Algebra class, Lenny, her classmate invited her and her friend Kristina to a frat party.

  Once arriving, seeing the frat boys, she was in awe. The music was hype and the girls had gone wild. Snoop could have recorded a full episode of Girls Gone Wild that night with no problems. Chanel and her friend Kristina had gotten so drunk and high that she could barely see or remember how she’d gotten home.

  The last thing she remembered was Lenny asking if she would like to make a few extra dollars by doing him a favor. He’d said the adult entertainment for the party had cancelled at the last minute and his frat brothers were expecting a show. He also said he’d seen her practicing in the dorm courtyard recently asked if she’d interested in performing for him and his frat brothers.

  Chanel danced until she couldn’t dance anymore, ending up with $3,500.00 at the end of the night. She’d been dancing ever since. After performing for his friends, Lenny introduced her to Doug. He was the owner of the Taboo Gentleman’s Club. He told Chanel she was gorgeous and could make plenty of money working for him. He promised his club had a “No touch” policy so she would feel safe and to let him know when she was ready to start.

  Taking not one but two shots of Patron, Chanel tried hyping herself up, looking at her reflection in the mirror. “Okay, you can do this, let’s make this money. Cindy needs a new car, and these bills gotta get paid.” Exiting the dressing room with confidence, she walked past Noah, looking in his direction before quickly looking away. Did he know he gave her butterflies, she thought? Trying to stay focused, she made her way to the stage as the DJ made her presence known, “Get those dollar bills ready! Up next we have the always sexy, tantalizing Deja-Vu! You mustn’t touch or you will be removed. Let’s make it rain fellas!” Black Beatles began to play as she took her time, seductively sauntering up the stairs. Deja owned every man and woman’s attention in the room. Attempting to drown out the whistling, slurred compliments and lust in their eyes, she closed her own, allowing the music take her where she always went while on stage…Paradise.


  Slowly she slid up and down the pole, wrapping her legs around it, twisting bending gyrating, then spinning and landing into a split. If she’d opened her eyes she’d have been blinded by the sea of money falling around her. Several men and women tried grabbing her ass but before they could reach her Noah was pushing them towards the exit. This was a no touch gentleman’s club unless you had the dancer’s consent and Deja wasn’t consenting anything except this money. It’s the only reason she accepted Doug’s offer. She slowly opened her eyes twirling her hips, as she heard Black Beatles coming to an end. She noticed the assistants collecting her cash, placing it into a black bag.

  She began exiting the stage with one last glance at the crowd, as she walked towards the dressing room, but before she could make her way around the corner some guy yelled, “Hey sweet tits”, before smacking her ass and groping her breasts. Ready to retaliate she turned her body in his direction, but before she could react, Noah had already picked him up slamming him to the floor. “Asshole!”, she yelled. Noah looked up at her apologetically, pulling the guys arms behind his back. He then grabbed him by his arms dragging him to the exit. “You’re done!” he yelled as he threw him outside.

  Grabbing the black bag, she headed towards the dressing room trying to keep her composure but as soon as she closed the door behind her she fell apart. She felt so disrespected and she wanted to quit immediately, but what did she expect? She wasn’t exactly working at a library. Plus, if she quit, who would help her mom with all those bills? Her sorry excuse for a father sure wouldn’t, she thought. Placing her hands over her face she cried silently. She wanted to scream with frustration because all she could think about was her father abandoning her mom, refusing to take care of them. She made a silent vow to make it out of this hell hole and she would become the professional dancer everyone thought she was. She also vowed that one day she’d make her mother very proud.