Authors: Brenda Jackson
Montego Bay, Jamaica
“So, you two,” Victor Junior murmured as he joined Taye and Michael on the hotel’s patio as they enjoyed tropical drinks. “When you want to stir up things, y’all go all the way. There hasn’t been this much excitement in the Bennett family since everyone found out Cuzin Louis was gay.”
“Umm, you’re probably right,” Taye murmured, looking up at him. “I hear the family is split down the middle. What’re your feelings?”
Victor Junior sat back in his chair. “Hey, I don’t have a problem with it. Like you said, it’s not like the two of you are blood relations, so if you get pregnant we don’t have to worry about your having a water-head baby or anything like that.”
He then leaned in closer. “You might as well know that Daddy didn’t have a problem with it, either, until he started listening to Valerie. So watch out for her. The witch has her broom and is riding pretty high on it.”
Michael met his cousin’s gaze. “Taye and I aren’t worried about Valerie or anyone else, for that matter.”
Victor Junior took a sip of his drink before saying, “What about the grandfathers? You should be worried about them. Word’s out that Poppa Ethan and Cuzin Henry are calling an emergency family meeting at Poppa Ethan’s house as soon as you two return home.”
Michael nodded as he looked down into his drink. In the past, he had always gotten his grandfather’s support on anything he’d ever done. He wondered if his Grampa Henry would support him on this. “If there’s a meeting, Taye and I will be there. We don’t like the rift it’s caused between the family and want it resolved.” He reached out and captured Taye’s hand in his and lovingly met her gaze. “But there’s no way, whether we get their blessings or not, we will sacrifice what we feel for each other.”
Victor Junior shook his head, chuckling. “Damn, man, you two got it bad.”
Michael returned the chuckle. “Has anyone seen Rae’jean lately?”
Victor Junior shrugged his shoulders. “Not lately. I understand she’s around here somewhere babying Alexia. Word’s out that Alexia’s boyfriend dumped her. She hasn’t taken those shades off her eyes since she’s gotten here. Can you imagine Alexia actually crying over anything? Especially over a man? I thought she was a lot tougher than that. I heard Valerie tell Dad she hopes Alexia’s puffy eyes clear up before she has to sing at the wedding.”
Taye shook her head. “Valerie is all heart, isn’t she?”
“Yeah,” Victor Junior said, smiling. “If you like the frozen kind.” His smile widened. “And of course she had something to say about the white man dumping Rae’jean.”
Taye started to say something about Victor Junior’s comment but happened to see Brandy rush across the patio. She appeared to be upset about something. “Excuse me for a minute,” Taye said to Michael and Victor Junior. “I need to see Brandy about something.”
Getting up from the table, Taye followed the same route Brandy had taken a few minutes earlier, which led her to a storage room. She started to knock on the door, but when she heard Brandy crying inside she opened the door and went in.
Brandy was sitting across the room on a huge plastic can with her back to Taye, weeping miserably. Taye quietly closed the door behind her and wondered if Brandy was going through what most people referred to as bridal jitters.
“Brandy, are you all right?”
Brandy turned on her fuming. “What are you doing here? I came in here to be alone, Taye. May I have some privacy please?”
Taye immediately went on the defensive. “Hey, that’s fine with me. I thought you were upset about something and decided to come check on you. Forgive me for caring.”
Taye had turned to leave when she heard Brandy say in a heart-wrenching, sobbing voice. “I’m sorry, Taye.”
Taye turned back around. Surprised. Shocked. She’d never heard Brandy apologize for anything, especially for having been rude.
“I’m just feeling so confused about everything right now,” Brandy continued.
Taye lifted a brow. “Are you starting to have doubts about whether or not you really love Lorenzo?”
Brandy shook her head. “No, I love him, but…”
“But what?”
Brandy lifted her head to meet Taye’s gaze. Her eyes were filled with tears. She hesitated a few moments before saying, “He—he’s having an affair.”
“What!”
Brandy nodded as fresh tears flooded her eyes. “Yes. I just found out.”
This news was a little bit much. Taye leaned against the closed door. “What do you mean you just found out?”
Brandy swiped at her eyes a few times before answering. “You know that at the wedding reception we planned to show videotapes taken during our courtship of places we visited together?”
Taye nodded. “Yes, I heard something about it.”
“Well, before leaving the States to come here I went by Lorenzo’s apartment and collected them all. Most of them were easy to find, but some I had to really look hard for, since his apartment is so cluttered. Well, I found one that didn’t have a label on it on the top shelf in his closet. I assumed it was one he forgot to mark, so I put it in the bag with the rest and brought it along.”
Taye shook her head. “Go on.”
“Well, a few minutes ago, while alone in my hotel room, I took the time to watch them, thinking the unmarked one was the tape he made when we went hiking in the North Carolina mountains earlier this year.”
Brandy swiped at her eyes again when more tears appeared. “But that wasn’t it. It was a videotape of Lorenzo and another woman making love.”
Taye’s eyes widened. “You actually saw Lorenzo having sex with another woman on a video?”
“Yes. And the tape was dated last month.”
Taye shook her head. What a blow for a woman the day before her wedding. “Did you recognize the woman with him in the video, Brandy?” she asked quietly, curiously.
Brandy nodded again. The tears in her eyes got fuller. “Yes. That’s what hurts so bad, Taye. The other woman was Jolene.”
“Jolene! Your best friend, Jolene?”
“Yes!” she wailed. “Can you believe that!”
That news angered Taye beyond logical thinking, and she went off on a tangent. “Oh, that’s real deep. That’s really cheap. The low-life sneak.” Taye couldn’t help but remember all the attention the woman had given Michael at the family reunion. “Jolene is supposed to be your best friend and she is caught on video making out with your fiancé? I can’t believe it!”
“Neither can I,” Brandy said, as she started to sob all over again. “How could she do this to me? How could he have done this to me? There’s no way I can marry him now. All of you came here for nothing.”
Taye quickly walked over to Brandy when she began sobbing and wailing unmercifully, letting it all out. To say Brandy was in complete agony was putting it mildly. Taye leaned down and placed her arms around Brandy’s shoulders. “It’s OK, Brandy. At least you found out what a dog he is before the wedding,” she said, handing her some paper towels from out of a case stored nearby.
Brandy nodded as she continued sobbing. “Momma’s gonna have a cow. If I call off the wedding she’ll be totally embarrassed. She invited a lot of her friends to come here.”
Taye nodded. Knowing Valerie, she definitely would be embarrassed. She’d been walking around with her chest poked out gloating that her daughter was marrying into money. “Don’t worry about your momma having a cow. She’ll be in good company. My momma has had two cows already, and just a few days ago she gave birth to a third.”
Brandy chuckled through her tears. “Oh, Taye, what am I going to do?”
Taye took a deep breath. She wasn’t good at handing out advice, but there was one thing she knew for certain that she could tell Brandy. “The first thing you’re going to do is stop crying. Lorenzo isn’t worth your tears. Then we’ll decide what’s the best way to go about calling off the wedding. But for right now you should come to my room until you can pull yourself together.”
Brandy nodded and swiped at her eyes some more. “OK. I don’t want anyone to see me like this.”
“Come on then. We’ll take the back elevator up to my floor.”
“Shhh, Rae’jean, please try and keep your voice down. Brandy is in the other room trying to rest. Poor thing cried herself to sleep.”
Rae’jean glared. “I’m too mad to keep my voice down,” she said, lowering it anyway. “I can’t believe the nerve of some men.”
“Or of some women,” Alexia added as she leisurely took a sip of coffee. “Let’s not forget Jolene’s part in all of this.” Alexia had finally taken off her shades, but her eyes were still slightly swollen. She’d told herself not to cry any longer. She had gotten herself in this mess with Quinn and she was determined to get herself out of it somehow by doing whatever it took to convince him that she really did love him. She had sent something to him earlier that day and wondered if he had gotten it yet.
“The two-bit hussy,” Rae’jean said, her tone sharp. “I can’t believe Jolene would do this to someone who is supposed to be her best friend.”
Alexia stood and walked over to the coffee maker to refill her cup. “Well, if you ask me, Brandy got just what she deserved.”
Taye and Rae’jean glared at Alexia. “That’s a cruel thing to say, Alexia. No woman deserves finding out her man is cheating on her,” Rae’jean said.
Alexia glared back. “If the two of you want sympathy from me for Brandy, forget it. And why are you trippin’ over this for her benefit? She’s never been nice to us.”
Rae’jean was fuming. “No matter how nasty Brandy has acted in the past, Alexia, you’ve forgotten one very important thing.”
“What?” Alexia snapped.
“She’s family.”
Taye nodded. “I agree, and the first thing we need to do is help Brandy come up with a way to call off the wedding.”
Alexia came and sat back down. As much as she hated admitting it, Taye and Rae’jean were right. No matter what, Brandy was family. “Why call off the wedding?” she asked smartly.
Rae’jean raised her eyes to the ceiling. “Lex, be for real. What woman in her right mind would go ahead and marry a man whom she caught on videotape screwing her best friend?”
A mischievous smile tilted Alexia’s lips. “A pretty smart one if she plays her cards right.”
Taye lifted a brow. “What are you talking about?”
Alexia leaned back in her chair. “Look around you. Lorenzo and his family are loaded. If I were Brandy, I’d get him right where it would hurt—in his bank account. I’d go ahead with the wedding, and before the ink dried on the marriage license I’d be filing for a divorce and demanding that I got half of everything he owns.”
Rae’jean laughed. “Hey, that’s rich, no pun intended.”
Taye shook her head. “It won’t work in this case.”
Alexia’s smile vanished. “Why not?”
“Because Brandy mentioned that she signed a prenuptial agreement yesterday.”
Alexia’s smile returned. “It still might work. I remember Quinn sharing something with me regarding the legality of a prenuptial agreement. He said that in certain situations they could be overturned. I would think that this would be one of those situations.” She sat up straighter in her chair, smiling. “But to cover our bases, I have another great idea.”
“Oh, no,” Taye said miserably. “The last time you got that look on your face, we were fourteen and got into big trouble for sneaking onto the Parkers’ place and stealing one of his prized watermelons because you’d developed a craving for fresh fruit.”
Alexia frowned. “It wasn’t stealing, Taye. It was feeding the hungry. Now hush; let me think this through.” After a few minutes she said, “I assume Brandy signed the prenuptial agreement with the Ballentines’ family attorney, Mr. Gleason.”
Taye nodded. “Yes. He’s the same man who tried talking you up to his hotel room last night. Can you believe he’s married? I understand his wife won’t be flying in until the day of the wedding.”
Alexia nodded. “If he hasn’t left the hotel since those papers were signed, chances are he still has them somewhere in his room.”
“Probably,” Rae’jean said. She raised a brow at her cousin. “I hope you’re not suggesting we break into the man’s hotel room and steal those papers.”
“No. I plan to let you into his room.”
Taye crossed her arms over her chest. “And how will you manage to do that?”
“Tonight I’ll let Mr. Gleason think he’s talked me into going up to his room for a drink.” Alexia’s smile curved her lips. “Well, actually, I’m going to let him think I’m going up to his room for something else. I’ll leave his hotel room unlocked, and at a specified time, while I have him somewhat occupied, the two of you will sneak into his room and find the papers.”
“We won’t have time to find any papers because we won’t know where to look,” Taye said, not liking Alexia’s plan. “Besides, there’s bound to be other copies out there. I’m sure Lorenzo has his own copy.”
“More than likely Gleason’s copy is still in his briefcase. And as far as Lorenzo’s copy is concerned, it should be easy enough for Brandy to secretly confiscate that one. Once we get all the copies we can destroy them.”
“It will never work,” Taye said, shaking her head.
“Yes, it will,” Alexia countered.
“No, it won’t. We’ll get caught and go to jail. Besides, Michael won’t let me do it.”
“Then don’t tell him. For Pete’s sake, Taye, you don’t have to tell him everything. Just make up a reason for wanting to spend time with Rae’jean and me tonight.”
Rae’jean studied Alexia. “Thanks to me, you’re already in hot water with Quinn. Don’t make matters worse. Just how far do you plan to go to keep Mr. Gleason occupied?”
“Relax, Rae’jean. I’m not going
that
far. My body belongs to Quinn, no one else.” Alexia sighed. She hadn’t thought she would ever openly admit that any part of her belonged to a man. “It will probably be easy for me to get Gleason tipsy, since he seems to enjoy hitting the bottle anyway,” she said. “So what do you ladies think?”
“I’m still not sure about this,” Taye said.
“I think it might be fun,” Rae’jean added. “We haven’t gotten into some big-time trouble in a long time.”
Alexia looked at her two cousins for a few minutes. She knew that although Taye had misgivings, she would go along with the final decision. “We need to wake up Brandy and run things by her to make sure she’s cool with them.”