He sniffed her nape. “Thanks. Nice dress.”
“Darius, why didn’t you tell me you had a fiancée? Why did I have to find out at your party?” Ginger walked over to Maxine’s photo and picked it up.
“Ginger. It’s not serious. It just looks good in my position.” Darius knew sistahs weren’t rational when it came to matters of the heart. If he didn’t get Maxine’s photo away from Ginger, there was no telling what she’d do.
“Well, how about this position?” Ginger dropped Maxine’s picture in the trash and brushed her hands together. Then she resumed her seat next to him.
“Let’s discuss your sponsors. How many and how much?” Darius walked over and retrieved Maxine’s photo. Thankfully, the frame wasn’t broken. He wiped it off with his handkerchief and returned it to its place.
“Ten and two,” Ginger replied.
“Not bad. You only need another half million.” Darius nodded. “You know I’ve had a lot of pressure on me since my grandmother’s death. I promise when the time is right, I’ll break off my engagement to Maxine. But until then, I have to play the roll, and we have to keep our relationship private. My mother would never approve of me marrying someone who works for our company, and you know that. So you’ll have to quit this job eventually and find another one.”
“Whatever, Darius Jones,” Ginger said.
Darius smiled. “How about dinner tonight after work?”
“Only if you pick me up and spend the night.” Ginger straightened his collar.
“I’ll see you at seven.” Darius escorted Ginger to the door. He knew he wasn’t spending the night. He’d have just enough time to hit it and leave.
Chapter 21
J
ada walked into the bedroom with Lawrence trailing behind. “Lawrence, I don’t have to explain my actions.”
“But, honey, do you have to find solace in Wellington?”
Jada sat on the edge of their king-size bed and untied her jogging shoes. Sweat was still streaming from her forehead from her early morning jog. “You know you’ve been at the office. And that’s okay. I’m not complaining. But I don’t need any added pressure. Darius is doing a great job at my company. So Wellington is just helping me out. That’s all.” The white jogging tennis shoes with blue and yellow stripes around the base dropped by the foot of the bed one at a time.
Lawrence stood in the middle of the floor and said, “The Madison trial should be over by Friday. I can take off next week.”
Time with Lawrence wasn’t what Jada wanted or needed. No one understood how she felt. Not even Wellington. At least he had Jazzmyne for a sister. Jada had no one. No aunts. Uncles. Generations of only children were destined for extinction. The heaviness inside her chest weighed like cement. “I don’t know how much longer I can hold on. I’m losing my grip. I’m trying to stay strong while falling apart. It’s driving me insane.” Jada stared at Lawrence. Why was he so damn reasonable about everything? “We leave for Oakland in the morning. I’ll see you when you get there.” If her husband would give her some space, she could think clearer.
Lawrence sat on the bed beside Jada and held her hand. Hugging her, he said, “I’ll be on the first plane as soon as we wrap up the details. Honey, I wish I could bear all of your pain and hurt.”
No, he didn’t. Those were only words that supposedly made her feel better. Jada stood and removed her T-shirt. Sports bra. Jogging tights. Underwear. They all lay alongside her tennis shoes. “You can come with Darius. I’m leaving with Jazzmyne and Wellington.”
“Maybe I should wait here until you return. I don’t want to make you upset. But I cannot stand by and watch another man confiscate my wife. I’m probably not explaining myself clearly but—” Lawrence hesitated. “Baby, it just doesn’t seem like I’m needed. The night your mother died, you turned to him right in front of my face like I wasn’t there.”
“Morning. My mother died Saturday morning. Lawrence, don’t be ridiculous. Of course I need you.” Jada walked over to Lawrence and wrapped her arms around him. “I love you.” Why was she baby-sitting a grown man?
“I’m sorry for acting so immature. Where are you staying?”
“At my mother’s, of course. Jazzmyne and Candice may stay with me. After the funeral, I’ll be at my mother’s house until I feel like coming home, and I’ve decided not to sell the house. I can’t.” Jada walked toward the bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower and lie down for a while.”
“I’ll be in my study if you need me.” Lawrence turned and walked away. Jada felt even worse. How could something so wrong feel so right, and how could something so right—like her marriage—be so right, but yet feel the opposite.
Lawrence had done nothing wrong. The only mistake he’d made was falling in love with a woman who was undeniably in love with someone else. She’d played it safe for the past ten very good years. Fifteen years if she counted from the day they met. Jada decided it was time for her to begin living her life on her terms. She’d lied to Darius. She’d lied to Wellington. He wasn’t the father, and she’d known from the day Darius was born. Jada even lied to herself. She wanted Wellington in the worst way. Her heart said yes, but her head protested defiantly.
Jada turned the hot water up as much as she could stand the heat. Tears streamed from her eyes uncontrollably. She couldn’t run far enough to forget her mother was really gone. She couldn’t cry hard enough to eliminate the pain. She’d hoped her mother would live forever, but her mother had to die. And one day she would, too. There went her head trying to rationalize life and death. The water had started to turn warm. Her fingers had begun to wrinkle. How many more years for her? She certainly didn’t want the grim reaper coming for her. If the Lord didn’t hear her prayer twenty years ago, surely her next plea for forgiveness would fall upon deaf ears if she didn’t do her part.
Wellington had stood by her side through the toughest times. Would telling the truth destroy their friendship? What friendship was based on lies anyway? How did she get to this point in her life? Miss Perfect was a pretender. Fake. Phony. Imposter. And no one knew. Why rock the boat now? God might forgive her. But would anyone else?
Jada reflected on the day when Darius was born. Wellington spent every night in her hospital room at Alta Bates. He took them home. Waited on them hand and foot. At first she couldn’t trust him; now she was the one in question. Jada had decided that after the funeral, she would tell Darius, Wellington, and Darryl the truth. Jada hadn’t seen Darryl since Darius’s AAU game, but she knew exactly how to get in touch with him, through Terrell.
Cold water now flowed from the showerhead. Jada turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. She wrapped the oversized burgundy towel around her body, then picked up the strawberry-scented shea butter. Jada slumped at the edge of the bed.
“Oh, shit! You scared the hell out of me!” Jada hadn’t noticed Lawrence was under the covers. “What time is it? How long was I in the shower?”
“Let’s just say you won’t have to shower in the morning.” Lawrence removed the shea butter from Jada’s hands. “Lie down.” He massaged her feet, legs, and back. “Honey, why am I getting bad vibes?”
“Like what?” She couldn’t believe she’d been in the shower for over an hour. Numbness overwhelmed her wrinkled flesh. Her torso became heavy as Lawrence’s fingers traveled up her spine repeatedly. As Jada dozed off, she mumbled, “I’m so sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to lie.”
Chapter 22
D
arius shut his office door and called Ashlee. “Hey, girl.
What’s up?”
“What’s up with you? Still getting your bread buttered on both sides in the same place?” Ashlee remarked.
“Look, I’m about to shake things up big time,” Darius bragged. “I’m going to make Zen, Miranda, Heather, and Ginger reapply for their jobs. Then I’m going to fire two of them right after the conference.”
“Darius! Jada worked too damn hard to build
her
company. What the hell are you doing?”
“They’ve gotten too comfortable. They’re lazy. They’re not hungry for new acquisitions.” Darius curled his fingers tight. “It’s eleven weeks before the conference, and we haven’t even met our goal. We should have exceeded it by now.”
“You know why your mother’s been successful all these years?”
“What’s your take?” Darius turned his nameplate around and smiled.
“Because she’s not greedy. Nor is she a control freak. Darius, she’s entrusted a lot of power in you. Don’t abuse it.”
“You see, that’s just it. I’m not. I’m using it to make
our
company better. We need to set the pace for this millennium. I’ve got a meeting in five minutes. I’ll update you after the funeral. Later.” Darius hung up the phone. Ashlee would share his vision once he gave her all the details.
The problem with women was they couldn’t separate business from pleasure. Each one of his directors had come on to him first. He was pretty damn irresistible, so he couldn’t blame them. Smooth just like his old man. The time had arrived for young, good-looking brothers to launch Black Diamonds into the future.
Picking up the phone, Darius answered, “Yes, Shannon.”
“Mr. Jones, Maxine is on the phone.”
“Tell her I’ll call her back after my meeting.”
“She—”
The phone banged against the receiver. He walked out of his office and entered the boardroom, where all of his honeys were looking fine. Darius pranced around the table, looking over their shoulders as he passed.
“Okay. Since each of you already know the budget is short, we’ll start with accommodations. The Asian community has requested more visibility. Special street banners with the dates and times of their events, so I want everyone else to follow suit. The Latino partners requested an outdoor salsa dance contest with four guest speakers. Their speakers will educate the attendees on national programs during the competition. So, Miranda, you need to contact your project manager and make that happen.”
“When is Jada returning?” Ginger inquired.
“Let’s not worry about that. My mother is still recuperating. Just know that I’ll be back on Monday morning, but I want e-mails Thursday and Friday from everyone.”
“I’m not sending a report until after I’ve spoken with Jada,” Heather commented.
“That brings us to the next agenda item.” Scanning their faces, he knew two of them had to go. Which two was the question? “Black Diamonds is hiring two new executive directors.”
“It’s about time,” Ginger commented. Her brown pantsuit matched her lipstick.
Leaning in his direction, Zen asked, “So what are the new division titles?”
“Oh, there are no new division titles.” Darius smiled.
“Then, what are you saying?” Miranda asked, moving in closer.
“We’ll discuss the details after the festival. I suggest you ladies do your best. Meeting is adjourned.” Darius stood. Although he didn’t have his mother’s approval on this move, Darius proceeded anyway. Why be in charge if he couldn’t make decisions?
“We need to discuss this now,” Heather emphatically stated.
Annoyed with Heather, Darius responded, “Right after I suggested you do your best, I said, ‘Meeting is adjourned.’ ” Imitating Ann on the game show
The Weakest Link,
Darius placed his hands behind his back and said, “Goodbye.”
Ginger didn’t look so happy, but he had them right where he wanted. She’d showed him a great time the other night. Hopefully, she wasn’t having regrets. She could save that until after the conference. Surely, they would all be at his mercy.
By the time Darius made it to his office, each of them was penciled on his calendar. The pressure from Ginger was suffocating and causing him major discomfort. Marriage was all she hinted about. But every time he saw her, he had to concentrate too damn hard for his big head to control the little one. Pressing the intercom button, Darius said, “Shannon, cancel all four appointments.”
He couldn’t wait to tell Ashlee, so he hit redial. “Hey, guess what? I did it!”
“Did what?” Ashlee asked.
“By the time I got back to my office, every one of them wanted me.” Darius clicked his shoes on the wheels of his chair.
Sarcastically, Ashlee said, “How?”
Darius whispered, “In the worst way. Let’s just say if women had balls, that’s how I’d have them. Damn, I’m good!” Shannon interrupted him again. “Hold on, Sis, I’ll be back in a sec.”
“Mr. Jones, Maxine is on the phone.”
“I told her I’d call her back.”
“She—”
Darius switched over to Ashlee. “Where were we?”
“You’re good, remember,” Ashlee said.
“That’s right. Thanks. I can hook my male friends up with high-paying jobs. What you think?”
Ashlee sounded annoyed. “I’ll tell you exactly what’s on my mind as soon as I see you. I’ll talk to you later. I’ve heard enough.”
“Cool. Later.” Darius hung up the phone and “Crip Walked” to his restroom.
He could use a nice blowjob, but that probably wasn’t a smart idea, considering how upset he’d made everyone. What did Maxine want? She knew he was running things, and yet she kept on calling. If she didn’t watch her steps, she was going to get fired, too.