Inner Circle
Authors: Evelyn Lozada
A
gainst her mother’s wishes and her own reservations, Eve Inez marries Los Angeles Leopard’s superstar wide receiver, Chase Landon, and finds herself in a close-knit circle of friends who are also married to elite athletes.
E
ach of the wives soon discover their lives aren’t all glitz and glam, and that with wealth and fame there’s always a price to pay. It’s a regular battle of the sexes and Eve quickly realizes her circle needs protection against the everyday drama that keeps coming their way – prenups, baby mamas, scandals, cheating and worst of all, gossip.
I
n answer, Eve encourages the wives to band together to form The Wives Association. No athlete, no matter how rich, pampered or devious, is going to get one over on her girls – that is, until she herself is confronted with one terrible truth that strikes much closer to home than she could ever have imagined.
I
nner Circle
is a jaw-dropping peek into the lives of a group of women married to professional athletes. This gripping page-turner will make it impossible for readers to determine where real life ends and fiction begins and is sure to have every reader salivating for more.
EVELYN LOZADA
is one of the most sought after reality personalities to date. Star of VH1’s #1 hit reality show
Basketball Wives
, Evelyn’s popularity has made
Basketball Wives
the most social primetime program and franchise and is considered social media “royalty” according to the
Hollywood Reporter
. When not filming, Evelyn occupies her time with her various businesses: E by Evelyn Cosmetics, Evelyn’s Closets (online store) and E-Jewelry collection. Evelyn takes great pride in being a devoted mother and businesswoman. Evelyn lives in Miami.
Inner Circle
is her first novel.
COURTNEY PARKER
is a celebrity collaborator, novelist, and children’s book author whose titles include:
T.O’s Finding Fitness, Runnin’ Game
and
He Was My Man First
. Courtney was also a writer on the Emmy award-winning television show
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
and is the Founder/Creator of
The Baller Boyz
teen series for boys featuring several of today’s hottest NFL & NBA and celebrities. Courtney lives in Los Angeles.
COVER DESIGN BY MICHAEL NAGIN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY STIAN ROENNING
MAKE UP BY SHERYL LAWRENCE / ARTISANS AGENCY
STYLING BY ASHLEY ILORET / ARTISANS AGENCY
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COPYRIGHT © 2012 EVELYN LOZADA
INNER CIRCLE
Copyright © 2012 by Evelyn Lozada
www.SimonandSchuster.com
Cash Money Content™ and all associated logos are trademarks of Cash Money Content LLC.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.
Any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
First Hardcover Edition
Book Layout: Peng Olaguera/ISPN
Cover Design: Michael Nagin
Photography: Stian Roenning
Make Up: Sheryl Lawrence / Artisans Agency
Styling: Ashley Lloret / Artisans Agency
For further information log onto
www.CashMoneyContent.com
Library of Congress Control Number: 2011943462
ISBN: 978-1-936399-27-7 hc
ISBN: 978-1-936399-28-4 ebook
Contents
Prologue: First Comes Love . . .
Chapter 1: After “I Do”—Five Years Later!
Chapter 2: You Ain’t About This Life!
Chapter 9: You Forgot About Dinner . . . Again!
Chapter 10: I’m All About the Exclusive!
Chapter 11: We Interrupt This Story
Chapter 12: The Party Must Go On!
Chapter 13: A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words
Chapter 14: All’s Well That Ends . . . Awful!
Chapter 17: Don’t Make Me Come Over There!
Chapter 19: What Does the Bitch Want?
Chapter 21: Come the F@*! Home!
Chapter 24: Reality Is a Bitch!
Chapter 26: Sudden Change of Heart
Chapter 27: What Happens in the Dark . . .
Chapter 29: Now Run Tell That Bitch!
Chapter 31: After the Beep . . .
Chapter 32: Outta the Mutha’ F’N Circle
Chapter 33: Destination Unknown!
INNER CIRCLE
“Where
the fuck are you?” Eve spoke her text message into her iPhone while she waited impatiently at the arrival curb of LAX airport for her boyfriend of six months, Los Angeles Leopards superstar wide receiver, Chase Landon. She rolled her eyes under her vintage Chanel sunglasses when she spotted what appeared to be two nosy bitches whispering to her left, trying to confirm who she really was.
“And what the fuck are you they looking at!” she whispered aloud when spotting the two women pointing and snickering in her direction. Even though Eve wasn’t a celebrity, dating Chase made her just as vulnerable to the public attention that he experienced on a daily basis. Although the limelight could be exciting at times, there were moments when she dreaded the attention and just wanted to be left alone.
Within the six months they had been together, Eve had managed to come out to Los Angeles dozens of times from Miami. The crosscountry trips were beginning to wear on her and had also been the topic of her and Chase’s last argument. Chase almost never made it to Miami because of his hectic schedule, yet he insisted with each visit that Eve not return to her life in Miami.
“Are you crazy? I’m not giving up my condo or career for you.
I’ve worked too hard to get to where I am to just throw it all away. My mother sacrificed everything to send me to school. I promised her and I promised myself that I would always maintain my independence. Besides, what happens if this doesn’t work? Then what? I’m stuck having to start all over again from scratch. No, I don’t think so.”
“What about a proposal? I love you, and I want you here with me every day in every way.”
“A proposal for what?” Eve quizzed.
“Marriage,” Chase replied.
“Please, you know you’re not ready,” Eve had said as she folded her clothes into her suitcase.
“Do you love me?” Chase questioned.
Eve turned toward him. Her heart pounded as she searched his face for any signs of doubt. “You’re serious?” She almost hoped he wasn’t.
From the beginning of their relationship, Eve had strong opinions and hard fast rules about a lot of things, but none harder than her position on never becoming emotionally involved with a professional athlete. In her line of work, she’d seen enough cases of athletes and their drama with women, finances, women, babies, women, and more women, to be a bit leery. With Chase being just twenty-four and her being twenty-five, in Eve’s opinion, the lifestyle of a professional athlete was in no way conducive to marriage and family.