“You spoke to him? Kenneth Bianchi?”
“Yes,” Pierre said this as if it were obviously. “And I told him he’d be a fool to fire you because you took an unexpected leave. Especially since there would be othet companies calling him about helping to revamp their online presence. You really impressed everyone with that presentation.”
Bashfully, she smiled and said, “Yes, I won’t mind working with you Pierre.”
He thanked her and gave her a very professional handshake before leaving.
He didn’t bring up his father again, but he didn’t have to. She had talked about Philippe enough and thought about him more than enough, but had not pulled the rubber band once.
Her wrist was relieved by that, but after Pierre left, she was still reeling from all the emotions speaking about the society and Philippe had wrought inside of her.
Was this a feeling of acceptance? Of what she would have finally come to feel once she had been brought home by Philippe?
Pierre had only been gone a few minutes before there was another knock at her door. Without thinking about it, she opened it and gasped in shocked.
“How’d you find me?” she asked impudently.
Gerald was standing in the hallway looking insulted. “You aren’t going to invite me in, baby girl?” he questioned using his most deep and sexy voice.
The familiar name made goose bumps come on her arm in remembrance of the time she spent with Gerald. Yet, it wasn’t sexual arousal… far from it. Her body and mind was remembering a time when she was weak, vulnerable and just grateful any man paid attention to her.
Now she was different.
And it wasn’t because of just Philippe. The whole experience had shed a whole new light on her and how she wanted to be perceived and treated.
Certainly not how Gerald wanted to treat her.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea to come in,” she said folding her arms over her chest and leaning against the door to block his entrance.
“Why? Are you scared of what you might want to do to me?”
Gerald was still very handsome and as her eyes scanned down his body, she noticed he was still very married with his wedding ring on his finger.
She wasn’t about to get into word play with him and was very direct. “Again I ask how did you find me?”
“I saw you didn’t return home and that hotshot lawyer came by your place and got some things from there with your keys. I followed him here and I’ve been basically going to each floor watching and waiting to see which room you were in,” he answered.
“That’s stalking.”
“No it’s not Maxine. It’s dedication. It’s love. I love you.”
“You need me.”
“Baby girl-“
Cutting him off, Maxine determined she didn’t want to hear another word from this man. “Gerald, the answer is no. I won’t let you use me to get your clients back and I won’t let you use my body for your enjoyment and get nothing in return. There’s nothing you can say or do to change my mind, so why don’t you just go rot in a corner for all I care.”
She started to slam the door in his face, but he quickly put his foot in the way and this mad crazed look appeared in his eyes.
From her experience just days ago with Devon, Maxine could spot a man who was pushed over the edge and now Gerald was in that position. She tried to use all her weight to close the door, but he was stronger and knocked Maxine, back while he burst through the hoteldoor.
She scrambled toward the phone she’d stupidly left at the table where she had been sitting with Pierre, but Gerald grabbed her ankle and dragged her back to him.
“You’re mine, baby girl,” Gerald sneered and started to leap on top of her.
Suddenly a strange dark shadow appeared out of nowhere and flipped Gerald out of the room, upside down into the hallway.
Looking around, Maxine saw Onyx dressed as usual in a skin tight black leather outfit and a long black leather coat with four inch black boots, moving like lightning, jacking Gerald up.
Gerald groggily got to his feet and also looked at Onyx. “Who the fuck are you?”
“The bitch who’s going to get pleasure fucking you up,” Onyx retorted.
Gerald tried to swing back, but Onyx delivered bolts of jarring hits to his stomach and then his face.
His nose instantly started bleeding, but Gerald had the nerve to try to swing at Onyx and miss.
It was a no win fight even though Gerald was bigger, but Onyx was faster and more skilled at killing with her bare hands.
Maxine was memorized with the woman’s fighting skills and now knew why Onyx could walk around like she was ten feet tall. She fought like she was twenty feet tall.
“Don’t kill him!” Maxine cried as Onyx was delivering repeated punches to Gerald’s not so handsome face anymore even though the man was passed out.
“Fuck!” Onyx released him and came into the room. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Maxine said. “He was my old boss.”
“I know who the fucker is, Maxine. The question is why is he stalking you? Did he answer that shit?” Onyx grabbed the front of Gerald’s shirt and raised him, shaking him. “What the fuck do you want?”
Maxine knew Gerald must be at his wits end to even think about going so far as to force her to get what he wants. “He’s a desperate man, Onyx. He wanted me to work for him so he could steal my work.”
“And you don’t want me to finish kicking his ass?” Onyx questioned looking very disappointed.
Security stepped off the elevator and Onyx came inside the hotel room.
“I’ll stop into the security office before I leave the hotel,” Onyx promised flashing some badge she had on her, while the two large barrel chest guards picked Gerald up and dragged him back down the hall.
Closing the door, Onyx growled, “I hope they throw the fucker down the stairs.”
“You’re evil,” Maxine noted out loud.
Smiling proudly, Onyx said, “I’m a lot of other things, but one thing I’m not is stupid like you, Maxine.”
Pushing away the cruel remark, Maxine asked, “Did you come here to insult me? Make my life miserable? What?”
“I came here to ask a favor.”
“Ha! After what you just called me? Are you crazy?”
“Look Maxine, I’m not into asking favors and I get fucking irritated when I have to ask for one.”
“That’s not my problem, is it, Onyx?” She went over to get her phone not wanting it to be away from her ever again. Although Maxine didn’t doubt Onyx could knock it out her hand and kill her before she could get a button pushed.
“No, it’s not, but if you tell me what you want I could help you.”
Facing the woman who had made her life miserable ever since meeting her, Maxine just wanted to smack Onyx in the face, but fear of getting her arm ripped off kept her from releasing her anger.
“You’ve done nothing to help me before, Onyx. Why now?”
“Well, for one, I have to go undercover for a couple of months,” Onyx said grudgingly. “And I know I’m going to need your help whether I like it or not. I’ll pay you, but that’s not enough when you work with me. I know that a favor is in order to make this doable for you.”
“Why’d he do it?” Maxine blurted out. “Why’d he leave me?”
Onyx took a deep breath and relaxed. “The same day he rescued you, that night his mother was dying and made him swear he’d do anything to reconcile with his father and do whatever it took to help the family business succeed. The company was mostly his mother’s and she didn’t want her legacy to die because her husband was too stupid to run the company.”
“Is that your favorite word?”
“Calling people stupid is my favorite thing, recently. I call them like I see them.” Onyx smirked but more to herself. “His father said if he married to strengthen the family, he would take the responsibility of you, plus he made Philippe feel bad about having feelin
gs for a little black girl.”
“Feelings?”
“Yeah, Ewan made him feel it was wrong… nasty and you’d most likely put a curse on his ass like all us black women do.” Onyx chuckled to herself. “I could kill Ewan for you as a favor?’
Maxine rolled her eyes. “No, Onyx.” She wanted to get to the bottom of this. Since Onyx knew the answers and seemed to be in a mood to talk, Maxine took advantage of the opportunity. “So controlling Philippe in all aspects of his life was what Ewan wanted as a father.”
“Yes,” Onyx answered taking a small blade from inside her coat and started to clean her nails. “Philippe also thought leaving you in the custody of his father would be enough to suffice his promise he made to you and because he thought his attraction at such an early age to you was some type of perversion, he stayed away from you and anything that had to do with you and just allowed his father to handle your matters.”
“What matters?”
Onyx shrugged. “Well, your living matters. Philippe took a portion of his own personal money and extended a trust to you and your guardians. Didn’t you ever wonder how you were afforded at least a medium life instead of poverty and how your last foster parents were able to afford all your mistakes?”
Back then Maxine had been so wrapped up in her own world she hadn’t really cared how things were taken care of, they just were.
“I think Ewan was counting on your last foster parents to fuck you up more because the man was almost retarded and his wife was a recluse. They were unable to have kids.”
“He wasn’t retarded. He was slow.”
Shrugging again, Onyx said with emphasis, “Po-tay-to; Po-tah-to, it makes no damn difference to me. They must have been really glad to have a kid to put up with all the shit you did.”
“Wait a minute, are you for or against me?” Maxine asked. “You’re being really hard after what I’ve been through.”
“I’m neither,” Onyx answered. “I could care a figs ass and all these questions are pissing me off because I have to be nice to you.”
“This is your version of nice?”
Narrowing her black eyes, Onyx said, “This is the best you’re going to get.”
“You’re really a sick woman, Onyx Black.”
“Really? I feel just fine.”
Maxine huffed. “I admit I was a horrible teenager and I do regret all the trouble I put my foster parents through, but I learned.”
“No, you limited yourself,” Onyx corrected. “And now you’re learning.”
Maxine wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not, but she was afraid to question that statement Onyx made because she knew she’d only get sarcasm. “So your favor is for me to help you out while you’re undercover?”
“That and one more thing.”
“What?”
“That Pierre asshole of a son is starting the society up again and he’s going for a new Lisa.”
“What?” Maxine questioned confused trying to sound innocent.
“You do know what I’m talking about Maxine,” Onyx said.
“I know about the society being revamped.”
“And you know about the new Lisa.”
“The new Lisa?”
“Yes, that’s what they call the girl that recruits other women. Lisa. She’s given that identity to go into the clubs and neighborhoods and find the women who would be susceptible to the society’s situation. That’s why all the women had a reference to Lisa.”
“So it really wasn’t my Lisa.”
“No, that was just a fluke and it tells the membership coordinators who’s trying to sneak in and who isn’t. Yours was just a coincidence,” Onyx said.
“I don’t know any other Lisa,” Maxine said.
“Of course you wouldn’t, right now, but eventually if you work with Pierre on this you will.”
“I’m not working with-“ She stopped what she was saying because all of a sudden felt a cold chill in the room and Onyx was narrowing her eyes to slits as if she could visually shut Maxine up.
It was working because Maxine was really scared for her life.
“”What?” Maxine asked.
“You can’t possibly be about to tell me no, are you? He’s got more questions for you. Be good for me and be willing to help him out. I’ll even help you give him good suggestions.”
“No, you wouldn’t,” Maxine said in disbelief. “You want the society to fail. You hated the concept.”
“No, I hated that Philippe dragged you in that world. The women I spoke to had difference of opinions, but all of them agreed they didn’t mind the treatment by most of the masters. It was no better than a man and his mistress. I just think there should be some changes.”
“Like what?”
Onyx took out a sheet of paper. “These are detailed but don’t read it off word for word. Remember what’s on the paper and then say it. It’ll make the suggestion more natural.”
“Why are you doing this?’ Maxine asked suspiciously.
“Because I know Pierre’s going to use his Chicago contacts to find his new Lisa and that means they will want the best. Someone who knows the streets of Detroit and I have a feeling who it’s going to be. Someone I need to get close to and get some answers out of.”
“You sure it’s just answers because you look like you want to hurt them serious.”
“I might do a little of that if I don’t get what I want.” Onyx shrugged off the violence nonchalantly. “So you’ll contact me when you know he’s chosen his Lisa or meeting Lisa and we’ll go from there. Your debt with me will be paid.”
“My debt? What debt?”
“Don’t worry,” Onyx assured her with a secret smile on her face. “I’ve actually helped you more than you know, Maxine. I’ve given you the truth at little to no cost. Don’t tell me you’d have enjoyed being blinded by the fact Philip was your hero and he made a hard decision when he was young to leave you in the hands of his father’s care while he up and married for family.”
“Sometimes ignorance is bliss, Onyx.”
“Sometimes the truth hurts, Maxine, but how you handle it is all how it really matters right? Are you really going to hold the man in hatred for life just because he up held his dying wish to his mother and thought he was doing the right thing for you? I think the man has punished himself enough on his own without your help, trust me.”
“You’ve seen Philippe?”
“Of course.” Onyx took out the ring they had taken from Maxine at the hospital, Philippe had given her. “This is yours, right? They gave it to Philippe today when he was leaving the hospital. He tossed it to me and said since he probably would never see you again I could have it as part of my payment. I don’t want it. Do you?”
Maxine didn’t answer too proud to admit she wanted it out loud, but had no problem reaching for the prized possession that had been cleaned from all the blood.
Onyx snatched it back before Maxine could fully take it. “It is worth a lot of money.”
“Fine, Onyx,” Maxine said agreeing to their earlier conversation. “I’ll spy for you, dammit. Where did you see Philippe?”
“Last time was a few minutes ago on the second floor of this hotel drowning himself in a bottle. He’s staying here too in room two oh nine, but rest assured, he has no idea you’re here too.”
Maxine’s stomach lurched at the thought of Philippe being so close.
“Unless you want to see him.” Onyx produced a hotel room card. “My cousins who’ve been hired to watch the hotel and your floor can turn a blind eye in about an hour.”
“You just said he’s drunk.”
“He’ll think he’s dreaming.”
Maxine heard someone rattling the door hanger and she knew it must be Armando coming back. Snatching the key card, she turned her back to tuck it in her bra. “This doesn’t mean I’ll see him.”
“See who?” Armando asked.
Maxine turned around abruptly looking around for Onyx. She was nowhere to be se
en. How did that woman disappear like that?
Chapter 42
In an hour after a hot shower to calm her nerves, Maxine grabbed a white hotel robe to throw over the soft salmon nightgown and matching white terry cloth shoes. Picking up both hotel keys, she took the stairs down to the second floor. There was no one walking around, but it was late in the night and that was expected.
Standing outside of room 209, she pressed her ear against the door. Maxine couldn’t hear a thing, so she put the key into the slot.
The room was smaller than the one she was in, but still beautiful and expensively furnished. She didn’t have to go far to find Philippe. A small light in the corner of the front room, illuminated the couch nearby that showed his big body splayed out on it passed out with a half drunk bottle of Canadian Whiskey in his hand.
With his hair down and seemingly untouched, the look of haven’t been shaved in a long while and the roughness of his shirt and pants, he definitely looked wild and untamed at that moment.
He was sleep and she stood in the darkness just watching him wondering why the hell she was there.
Deep down she wanted to see him and the words of Onyx had bothered her. The man had sacrificed so much of himself to make everyone else happy while denying his own. For years, Philippe had been a faithful husband and obviously his children loved him very much so he had been a wonderful dad. The family business he had made a success had all been because he wanted to keep his words to his mother and in turn make his father proud.
Now, after sacrificing all he had he couldn’t have the one thing he had denied himself his whole adult life.
Her.
And she knew Philippe wanted her. Loved her. Staring at the ring since Onyx had given her, Maxine couldn’t deny Philippe desired her down to her very bones but had lost all hope of ever seeing her; Which was why he had given the ring to Onyx and was now drowning himself in alcohol.
Why had Pierre not said anything?
Because he was too embarrassed or was working with her a ploy to see if she was the real deal for his father and wonder what her father saw in her? Was that interview a façade to see into her as a person and get to know her better?
Dark Facade (Book Four) (Dark Facade Series) Page 11