Diamond Revelation (13 page)

“I'd like to dedicate this last song to my husband. Germain, you're my superstar, baby,” Topaz said as she blew him a kiss. “I love you.”

It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop when she began a capella. “Long ago, and oh so faraway, I fell in love with you.”

As the instruments joined in, tears pressed their way out of Nina's eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Her cousin's voice was hauntingly beautiful—even longing and mournful. Nina managed to sneak in without anyone seeing her right before the show began, and she prayed that she would be able to keep it together and not come unglued in the middle of Topaz's performance.

“Loneliness is such a sad affair, and I can hardly wait to be with you again,” Topaz continued as she wept real tears.

Eric looked into Keisha's eyes and kissed her softly on the lips. Kyle took a sip of champagne and swallowed hard, trying to force the lump out of his throat. “I must be trying to get a sore throat or something from all this rain,” he said to himself. Niki, totally mesmerized, sat on Kyle's lap with her head resting on her father's chest. “Aunty sings so pretty,” she whispered softly.

“Don't you remember? You told me you loved me, baby.” Topaz's sultry vocals had the audience gripped in a vise as her voice tugged on their heartstrings and refused to let go.

Sean stood behind Jade, holding her as they both swayed gently to the beat. Chris was too proud of his mother. He was grinning ear to ear as he watched her. Baby Doll had a funny little smile on her face. There were tears in Germain's eyes when he blew her a kiss.

“I love you. I really do.” Topaz sang the last words as she continued to sing runs and improvise.

The room thundered with applause. People stamped, cheered, and tossed the roses from the centerpieces onto the stage as they secretly wiped tears from their eyes.

“Encore!” everyone yelled. “Encore!”

Topaz smiled through her tears. She hadn't even thought about an encore when she put the show together. She looked at her pianist, Greg Phillinganes, who was also her musical director. He played the vamp to “Superstar” again, and everyone immediately quieted down, because they all had to hear it again.

The next day, every popular morning radio show in Los Angeles was talking about her performance, and they couldn't stop talking—it was the topic of conversation the entire day. Somehow, Stevie Wonder's KJLH mysteriously received a copy, as did Big Boy at Power 106, Steve Harvey, and
The Michael Baisden Show
. There were even a few copies overnighted to stations in New York City and other major markets.

Because Jamil had produced her first two CDs, Revelation Music was inundated with calls. The phone lines were jammed. Topaz.com, her Web site, was literally shut down because it couldn't handle all the hits coming in at once. Viacom was already on the phone with Topaz's lawyers arranging to televise the concert on VH1.

There was a review on the front page of the
Hollywood Reporter
.

I
t was terribly hot and humid that morning, the aftermath of the late summer rain. Temperatures soared close to the one hundred degree mark. It was September, one of the hottest months of the year in southern California.

Topaz drifted in and out of a stressful sleep, dreaming. In the dream, Chris, Baby Doll, and Niki were at the beach playing in the surf as the tide rushed in and out. Topaz was relaxing on a chaise in a cabana while she watched the children. Suddenly the waves were huge, much too large for even an adult to play in. Chris and Baby Doll ran out of the water and into the cabana, but Niki disappeared. Topaz jumped out of her chair and ran into the water to look for her. She spotted the little girl inside of a wave trying to scream for help.

“Niki, baby, no, no,” Topaz screamed. She was just about to grab Niki's hand when the wave swept the child completely out of her reach. “No, baby, no.” Topaz's screams were bloodcurdling.

Germain, who was in the bathroom shaving, ran out with gel on his face.

“What's wrong, baby? What is it?” His wife's screams frightened him. His heart raced with fear.

“Germain, you have to help Niki. She's going to drown if you don't get her out of there.”

“T, baby, wake up. You're dreaming.” Germain shook her gently.

“Noooooo.” Topaz thrashed around in the bed all tangled in the sheets.

“Honey, wake up. You're dreaming again,” Germain said a little louder.

“Huh?” Topaz opened her eyes, surprised to see her husband standing over her, then realized she had been dreaming and wondered what she had said.

“That was some dream you were having. It was probably the worst one yet.” Germain went back into the bathroom to finish shaving. Topaz scooted past him so she could relieve herself.

She tried to stall as long as she could, thinking of some way to change the subject. “It's really hot, huh? I wonder if it's going to rain again.” Topaz washed her hands and went to look out the window. The walls in the master bath were completely made of glass, offering a view of the ocean.

“Don't try to change the subject, T.” Germain knew her too well. “You were dreaming about Niki.”

“I was?” Maybe she could play dumb.

“Yes. You wanted me to go help her. She wasn't getting sick again, was she?”

“No.”

“What was going on?”

“I don't remember, sweetie.” Topaz squeezed Crest onto her toothbrush.

Germain put his hands around Topaz's forehead and massaged her temples. “Sometimes I wish I could get inside your pretty little head so I could know what you're really thinking. You're not keeping anything from me, are you?”

“No, honey.” Topaz turned on the water in the shower.

“Are you sure? You know you can always tell me anything.”

“I'm sure.” Topaz knew he was watching her so she dropped her robe on the floor and stepped inside the steamy shower. He got in with her and didn't say another word…about Niki, anyway.

Topaz dropped the kids at school and drove to Beverly Hills later that afternoon, where she met Germain so they could meet with her attorneys. The law firm had received several offers that they couldn't wait to discuss with them.

The couple held hands as they walked into the law offices located on Wilshire Boulevard directly across from Neiman Marcus. Topaz and Germain were both anxious to know what sort of offer had been received that the attorney would not discuss on the telephone.

“I'll just get straight to the point.” Miller Davis was an extremely intelligent and charismatic brother. While the majority of the entertainment industry was run by Jewish and Italian men, it was wonderful to have African American representation that was equally powerful and connected. Germain had met Miller on the golf course and asked him to handle Topaz. She liked the idea of her man having a say in her business. She refused to make any decisions without Germain, because what she did affected the entire family.

“VMG is offering you a one hundred million dollar deal for five CDs,” Miller declared with a dazzling smile.

Topaz's mouth dropped open in surprise. She looked at Germain, who was also shocked.

One hundred million dollars
. The words echoed over and over in her head. It was enough money for her family to live very comfortably for the rest of their lives. She took a sip from her bottle of water.

Germain spoke first. “A hundred million dollars. That's a lot of money, Miller.”

“It most certainly is, and Topaz is worth every penny. She should have had a deal like this when she first came into the business. There are only a few singers who have ever been given this kind of money. Michael Jackson didn't even have a deal like this.”

“He didn't?” Topaz was at a loss for words.

“No. I also have a list of managers who have expressed interest in Topaz's career.” Miller pushed a sheet of paper across the table, and Topaz and Germain perused it quickly.

“Benny Medina?” Topaz had to drink more water. Everything Benny Medina touched turned into millions.

“Topaz, why are you so surprised by all of this? You should have always had a top-notch team managing your career.”

“I know. It's just that I put my career on hold for a few years to focus on my family. We have a son who's twelve and a daughter who's eight.”

“And…” Miller smiled.

“And I just never really thought about what it takes to get back out there. I take my kids to school and I pick them up. I run my household, supervise the staff, and when I have time, I write a few songs. I love my husband and I love my life. I'm not sure if I even want to be out there.”

She saw a little smile work its way back into her husband's eyes. He was looking pretty intense for a moment.

“What about the concert at The Diamond? What was that all about?”

Topaz laughed. “My girlfriends own the restaurant. They asked me to perform. So I did it to help them out.”

“And I decided to have it filmed for DVD. I read the entertainment section. I've seen the sales figures,” Germain added.

“It was a very wise decision, because she was fantastic,” Miller told them. “That concert by itself is worth millions.”

Germain smiled and squeezed Topaz's hand.

“Thank you. I had so much fun. I didn't realize how much I missed performing. I do love being on stage.”

“And the stage loves you.” Miller was silent as Topaz looked at the list again. She never imagined how much one concert in a restaurant in the Marina would impact her life.

“Well, you two certainly have a lot to think about. I'll put out some feelers for a distribution deal for Topaz's DVD. You might just want to include that in whatever deal we make with a record label, if you decide to make one.”

Miller shook hands with Germain, kissed Topaz, and the meeting was over.

“How about I take my handsome husband to lunch so we can discuss all of this?” Topaz looked up into Germain's eyes.

“As much as I would love to do that, I can't.” He pulled her into his arms and held her. “I've got to get back to the office. I'll call you from the car.”

They got into their cars and drove in separate directions.

“So honey, what did you think about that one-hundred-million-dollar offer? We could live extremely well forever. We can finally build a new house.” Topaz was excited.

“We can do all of that now. We've never had a shortage of money.”

“That's true.”

“I'm not really feeling this, baby. If you took that deal it would really change our lives. You'd be gone all the time. You wouldn't be around for the children or me.”

Topaz was silent momentarily. “So what are you saying, Germain?”

“I thought I already said it. You don't need to take this deal.”

“You want me to pass up a hundred million dollars?”

“Yes.”

“I don't think I can do that.”

“You're going to do what you want anyway, so why are you even asking me?”

“Because you're my husband and your opinion really matters to me.”

“Well, I gave you my opinion.”

“Germain, you're not being fair.” Topaz was already pouting.

“I don't like it. Final answer.” Germain pulled into his reserved parking spot. “I'm at the office now.”

“Germain, don't hang up.”

“I've got to go.”

Topaz called him again, but he didn't answer. “Ughhh.” Frustrated, she tossed the phone into the passenger seat.

It rang and she answered, not bothering to check the caller ID. “Germain…”

“Topaz, it's your sister-in-law, Rosalyn Lawrence.”

“How the hell did you get this number?”

“That's not important. You just need to listen to what I have to say.”

Topaz hung up and tossed the phone back into the seat. She allowed it to ring and go to voice mail several times before she finally picked it up and checked her messages.

Rosalyn had left one that said, “You really need to talk to me about your daughter Nicole and my niece, Turquoise.”

“My daughter Nicole? What the hell is this psycho bitch talking about now?” Topaz said out loud. She called the number that was in her phone. “What do you want now, Rosalyn?”

“My father's been sick. He's been asking about Turquoise. I think it would really be good for him if he could see her.”

“No way,” Topaz replied firmly.

“Nicole isn't Nina and Kyle's daughter. It would be biologically impossible for Nicole to be their daughter.”

“What?” Topaz paused to collect her thoughts. “Even if that were true, what has that got to do with me?”

“Were you aware that you have the trait?”

“What the hell are you talking about now?” Topaz demanded.

“You have the trait for sickle cell disease.”

“I never knew that.”

“Most people don't know they have the trait. That's what makes it so dangerous. Two people with the trait could hook up, start a family, and end up with a child who may have serious health challenges.”

“I still don't see what any of this has to do with me.”

“Were you aware that your husband has the trait too?”

“Of course I know my husband has the trait,” Topaz lied as she felt herself tensing up, not really sure where this line of questioning was going.

“Hmmm. That's the only part of this that makes no sense. I think Nicole is your daughter, only I can't figure out why you gave her away.”

“You are one crazy bitch,” Topaz replied coolly. She hoped her voice wasn't trembling the way her hands were.

“But I will figure it out, and when I do, I'm sure there are lots of newspapers and magazines that would pay royally for this kind of information. Inquiring minds do want to know.”

“You're not only a crazy bitch, but a sick one too. Nicole is not my daughter. I would never give one of my children away. If that were true, I would have given up Turquoise so I wouldn't have to be bothered with her crazy-ass family. But I can't blame my daughter because I made a mistake. I thank God every day that she looks like me.”

“So why did you give her away? Nicole's daddy didn't have money like my brother?”

“Money, is that all you ever think about? It always seems to be the motive behind everything you ever do or say.”

“I'll admit, I do think about money a lot. We could use it for our research in finding a cure for sickle cell disease. But I also think about how to get back at your gold-digging ass for what you did to my brother.”

“I didn't do anything to your brother but try to love him, but I guess your family needs someone to blame since Gunther didn't want to have anything to do with any of you.”

“That's because your stuck-up ass didn't want to be married to a brother from South Central, so you turned him against us.”

“What? That is not true.”

“That's what Gunther told my father.”

“Well, Gunther lied.”

“No, he didn't, but I will get you back for what you did to him.”

Topaz couldn't believe what she was hearing. Rosalyn wasn't making any sense.

“And don't you ever call Gunther a liar because you're the real liar, you lyin' ass, gold-diggin' skank ass ho.” Rosalyn's voice was filled with disdain.

“You know you really need help because you are one scary, crazy-ass, psychotic bitch,” Topaz screamed into the phone.

“Whatever, just be afraid, Topaz. Be very…”

Topaz hung up before Rosalyn could say anything further.

“Why did I even call her crazy ass back? I must be the one who's crazy.” Topaz was talking to herself again.

She drove home, pulled into her driveway, cut off the motor, and sat in her Range Rover holding her head in her hands. “What am I going to do now? What the hell am I going to do?” she asked herself and broke into tears.