40
Monica
“What are you doing at my house?” Although he was whispering, his voice was cold and serious.
“Why the hell you think!” I retorted. “How dare you tell Anthony? We had a deal.”
Nervously Greg closed the front door and stepped out onto the wide front porch. “Please lower your voice before my wife hears you.”
I didn't give a fuck about his wife. “We had a deal!”
“I didn't say anything, Monica. I swear,” he pleaded. His eyes kept darting over his shoulder. I didn't give a fuck who heard us. I had tried to do everything I could to keep Anthony from finding out I was stripping. I was too close to graduating for some fool to ruin everything.
“I don't believe you!” My finger was in his face, stabbing at his chest.
“Please, I swear on my mother's grave I didn't tell Anthony a thing.”
Something in his eyes said he might be telling the truth, but a man could lie through his teeth and I'd never know.
“Here, take some money ... just go!” he said, then reached inside his wallet and pulled out everything he had. He was handing me almost $200 when the door swung open.
“What is going on out here?” I glanced up at the woman with long brown hair and blue eyes who was standing at the door, a hand at her hip. She looked from her husband to me, then down at the money in his hands. “What's going on?”
He hesitated. “Nothing, my sweet.”
“Nothing.” She put a hand on his arm, drawing his attention. “It sure doesn't look like nothing. Why are you giving this woman money?”
I folded my arms defiantly against my chest, waiting to see what lie he'd come up with. He'd ruined my life, so I was going to ruin his.
“Listen, Monica ...” he said and dragged a frustrated hand across his face. “I haven't been at the firm in two weeks! You wanna know why? My youngest daughter has just been diagnosed with leukemia.”
“Leukemia?” I felt my face crack.
“My wife and I have been at the hospital with her waiting for them to find a bone marrow donor. So the last thing I'm worrying about is Anthony finding out his ex-wife's a stripper.”
I heard his wife gasp. “Stripper? How the hell do you know she's a stripper?” She pivoted on her heel with a hand still planted at her hip. She expected an answer right away and was pissed when she didn't get it. “Oh, okay ... I get it now. You've been hanging out at the strip clubs again, and she's here for payment.”
He didn't even bother to deny it.
“You bastard! Pack your shit and get out of my house!” she snapped, then stormed into the house, leaving him standing there.
“I'm so sorry.” And I meant it.
Greg stared at me silently for a few seconds before he replied in a chilly voice, “It's too late for sorries. You're gonna to regret coming to my house. I swear to you ... if you ruined my marriage, I'll ... I'll kill you.” He then walked back into the house, slamming the door in my face.
I left his house feeling that maybe I had made a mistake. I rode around for a while crying and feeling sorry for myself until I thought about one other person who might have wanted revenge. I pulled into the parking lot, then took the elevator up to the seventh floor and stormed down the hall and past his secretary.
“Wait, he has someone in his office!”
Ignoring her protests, I pushed the door open and stepped into the office. Everyone at the table looked up.
“Did you do it?” I demanded, looking him dead in the eyes.
Tremayne rose from the small conference table. “Monica,” he said and had the nerve to look surprised to see me.
“I need to know if you told Anthony.” I looked around and everyone at the table was staring up at me.
Instead of answering me, he turned to the other three sitting at the table across from him. “Will you excuse me?”
I put a hand to my hips and waited as he walked them to the door and closed it behind them before he turned around and faced me.
“I asked you a question,” I snapped, growing angrier by the second. “Did you tell Anthony what I did for a living?”
“I can't believe you would even ask me that question.”
Why not? He was a man. “After lying to you, I could see you trying to get back at me by telling him,” I said, folding my arms and staring angrily over at him.
“I'm sorry you think so little of me.”
“Just answer the question, dammit!” I ordered. I felt like I was about to lose my mind. Someone had told Anthony, and I was going to ask anyone who had reason to get back at me.
“No ... no Monica, I did not,” he finally replied, and I didn't miss the look of disappointment on his face. The second the words came out of his mouth I believed him.
I unfolded my arms and felt ashamed for even accusing him. But if he didn't do it, then who did?
I started crying because I didn't know where to go. I no longer had my best friend's shoulder to cry on I had even texted Reyna to see if she knew anything about Anthony finding out and she said of course not, but she was there if I wanted to talk. I just couldn't bring myself to talk to her on the phone, let alone see her again. My life was a mess. What in the word was I thinking, working at a strip club? I couldn't hold on to my emotions and I started bawling right there in the middle of his office. Tremayne came over and put a soothing arm around me, but when he held me it was nothing like the way he used to hold me in the past. “Why don't you have a seat and tell me what happened.”
I stepped away from his grasp and wiped the tears from my eyes but kept standing. “What happened is my husband found out I was stripping and now he's suing me for full custody of the girls.”
“I'm sorry, but I swear I didn't have anything to do with that,” he said with finality.
I nodded. There was really nothing else to do at that point except leave, go home, and figure out what to do next. As much as I needed the money, I didn't dare show my face at the club anymore. Which meant my girls and I would be struggling again.
Without a word I headed toward the door.
“Do you have a lawyer?”
I swung around look at Tremayne and shook my head. “No, I don't.”
“What about your divorce lawyer?”
“I never had a lawyer. Anthony's lawyer handled everything.”
He stood there and didn't say anything, but I could see it in his eyes and knew what he was thinking. Stupid. I mean, who in their right mind allowed their husband's lawyer to handle the terms of a divorce without hiring a lawyer of their own? Anthony had all the money. He controlled it. Before he even announced he wanted a divorce, he had already transferred almost all the money out of our joint account. So there was no way I could have afforded a lawyer of my own.
“One of my junior attorneys will handle the case for you,” Tremayne said with certainty.
I looked him in the face and said, “Why are you helping me?”
There was hesitation in his voice. “Because despite how you lied to me and didn't trust that my feelings for you were real, I care about those girls and I know it would tear their hearts if they were torn away from their mother. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll have my secretary contact you with an appointment.”
Nodding, I stepped out the door, then swung around. “Tremayne ... I'm sorry.”
“So am I,” he said as he closed his office door behind me.
41
Robin
It was an All White Party and Club Swag was packed with everyone in their cleanest gear, but I expected as much. Whenever Halo had a private party, everybody wanted to be a part of the excitement. Free liquor, DJ Phenomenon spinning the hottest hip-hop, and some of the baddest strippers working the crowd, what more could a nigga ask for?
Honey, me, and this dancer named Cherry had been working the club for almost two hours, and I was ready to take my ass home. Don't get me wrong, the money was damn good, but I was starting to think that I wasn't gonna find any evidence regarding Mannie's murder. I was tired of riding Halo's dick, trying to get information that he wasn't giving. At the same time I was trying to keep him from popping up at my house and finding out my nephew was living with me. All that shit I'd been feeding him about not being ready for him to spend the night was only gonna work for so long.
I sauntered over to Honey, who was standing at the bar in the far corner with an apple martini in her hand, swaying her hips to the beat of the music.
She stopped dancing when she spotted me coming her way. “Hey, girl. I'm making out like a bandit tonight. What about you?”
“No doubt.” I grinned and held up a clutch purse that was hanging from a strap around my wrist. I hadn't bothered to count my money but I was sure I had already made at least five hundred, and that didn't include the money Dollar was paying me.
“
Shit
, tomorrow I'm going to get my hair done, and then Jordan and I are driving to Virginia Beach for the rest of the weekend to do some shopping.”
“Shopping? Hold up ... I thought you were going to spend this money getting a decent place so Sophia could come home?”
She rolled her eyes. “Girl, I got plenty of time for that. I'm tryna do something for me for a change. Hell, it's hard out here for a pimp!” She started laughing at her own joke, but I didn't see shit funny. Like I said before, seeing is believing, and that chick had a long way to go before she'd finally got her shit together. By then Sophia would have forgotten about her ass. I reached inside my purse, pulled out a cigarette, and lit up. To get through this night I was probably going to smoke an entire pack.
I was getting ready to dip to the bathroom when the music stopped and we all whipped our heads around to see a large cake being pushed onto the center of the dance floor. Halo walked over holding a microphone in his hand and everyone got quiet. Despite the fact he was starting to wear my nerves, that man looked good in all white.
“Yo, I just wanna thank all y'all for coming out to celebrate my boy coming home. Everybody raise your glass for Lil D!”
I was standing in the corner taking a few puffs. Smoking was against the law in public places, so as soon as I filled my lungs, I dropped it to the ground and put it out with my foot before someone said something. Hell, everyone was doing it. I'd smelled weed floating around the room all night.
I listened to cheers, then the music started with that sexy new Beyoncé joint and then like a jack-in-the-box, someone jumped from inside the cake and the niggas went wild. My jaw dropped when I realized who it was. It was Mercedes dressed like
I Dream of Jeannie.
Honey and I exchanged looks. “Did you know she was coming?”
She shook her head.“I swear. I thought it was just the three of us.”
Frowning, I watched Mercedes wiggle out of the cake, then gyrate over to the man of the hour, who was sitting in a chair at the center of the dance floor wearing a big shit-eating grin.
“She's fucking Dollar now, so she probably begged him to be a part of the show,” Honey spat over the crowd.
I watched in disgust as Mercedes wiggled her skinny ass all up in Lil D's face. Most of the moves she was doing were mine. I rolled my eyes, headed over to the bar, and ordered a cosmopolitan.
“Yo, you having a good time?”
I almost jumped when Halo came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me against him. “Yeah, it's cool,” I said and forced a grin. It's hard to believe that at one time the mere touch of him made my panties wet. Now all I wanted to do was get away from his ass and throw up.
“You coming home with me tonight, right?” he cooed.
I nodded even though I had no intention of going with him. As soon as he wasn't looking, I planned to dip out the back door. “Of course,” I purred.
“That's whassup.” He was grinning like a damn fool as he ordered a bottle of beer. As soon as he had it, he took my hand. “C'mere, I wanna show you something.”
Reluctantly I followed him away from the crowd and down the hall. I'd been in there enough times to know we were heading to his office. Shit, at one time I was second in command in that bitch. I glanced down as he punched in the code to the door and noticed he hadn't changed it. It was still 919âhis birthday. He stepped in and I followed, and as soon as he turned on the light, I gasped.
“Wow!” One entire wall was a mural of him sitting at a table covered in piles of cocaine. The picture looked so real, a dope fiend would have picked up a straw, ready to take a hit. Only a cocky muthafucka would put on blast how he really made his money. That's because Halo had it in his head he would never get caught.
“You like it?”
“Hell yeah.” I said what he wanted to hear. He looked pleased by my answer, then put his beer down and pulled me into his arms and leaned me back against the desk. He started kissing my neck, lips, and cheeks while his fingers traveled down underneath my minidress to my clit, where he stroked. “You look sexy as a muthafucka in that dress. Remember when we used to sneak back here and fuck on the floor?”
I moaned while I tried to think of a way to get away from him. Speaking of floor, I turned my head and looked down and noticed the bear rug wasn't there. “What the fuck? You really did throw out my rug.” I pushed him away and dropped a hand to my waist.
“Yo, I told you some bitch threw up on it.”
“Whatever. See if I ever buy yo ass anything again.” I faked like I had attitude.
“A www , don't be like that. Come on and show Big Poppa some love.” He reached for the zipper of his pants, lowered it, then pulled out his dick. I tried to resist, but he wasn't having any part of it, and the last thing I needed was to make him mad. Besides, if I worked his ass now, there was no way he would trip when I dipped out later.
When he guided my head down, I dropped to my knees and was getting ready to put his dick in my mouth when something under his desk sparkled under the light, drawing my attention.
“Yo, Halo! I need to holla atcha.”
Thank goodness there was a knock at his door. Halo cussed, fixed his pants, then walked over to answer the door. I reached down and picked up the object from under his desk, and as soon as I took a closer look my pulse began to race.
It was Deena's butterfly charm.
“Babe, we gonna have to finish this later. I gotta make a quick run.”
All I could do was nod as I rose to my feet, clutching the charm in my hand so he wouldn't notice. I followed him out of his office and slipped into the bathroom, then moved into a stall and took a seat.
I lost it the night Mannie was killed.
I ain't gonna lie, my heart was beating so hard, I felt like I was going to collapse at any second. Deena and Mannie had to have been at Club Swag the night Mannie was killed. When Halo said she threw up on the rug, it never dawned on me that he was talking about the exact night Mannie had been murdered. No wonder Deena didn't know nothing about it. She was too drugged to remember.
I slipped off my bracelet and put her charm on next to mine. We were sisters, and these charms were all we had of our past. The rug was gone as wellâthe only proof I had that she had even been in his office. I wasn't ready to give up hope just yet.
I went back out onto the floor and found Honey sitting on some dude's lap. I sat down at the table with them. “Girl, you missed it. Mercedes was dancing and her wig fell off her head!”
Damn, I always missed the good shit. “I would love to see an instant replay of that shit.” I laughed and then suddenly I stopped and my breathing became shallow as I gazed over at the hidden camera in the corner. Halo taped
everything
. If Mannie was killed at Club Swag, it would be on a video in the panic room behind Halo's office. “Where's Halo?” I asked.
She pointed toward the door. “He and Jordan stepped out for a second.”
He had a run to make, which didn't leave me much time. “Honey, c'mere, I need to talk to you for a second.” I practically yanked her off his lap and into the ladies' room, where I locked the door.
“What?” Her brown eyes were large with anticipation.
I checked all the stalls and made sure the two of us were alone before I said, “I need you to do something for me.”
“Yeah girl, anything, whassup?”
I took a deep breath before finally saying, “I'm gonna sneak in Halo's office, but I need you to make sure he doesn't come back there until I'm finish.”
“Girl, what's going on? You know he'll kill you if he catches you.”
“I know, that's why I need your help. I'll tell you later when I have more time, but you gotta promise me you'll keep him away.”
She hesitated and looked nervous before she finally nodded. “You know I got your back.” She hugged me, then returned to the table. I stayed in there long enough to take a few puffs on another cigarette, then I opened the door, made sure no one was looking, and moved down to his office, punched in the code, and slipped inside. Back when we used to date, Halo had given me the code to his panic room. He said if the club was ever raided, he wanted me to have a place to hide while everything went down. I walked over, punched in the codeâthe day we metâand sighed when it opened.
Inside were cameras showing every corner of the club, including the parking lot, and to the right were rows of recorded video.
Shit.
I had to rack my brain and remember the date Mannie was killed, and as soon as I did, it only took me a minute to find the DVD. I slipped it inside my panties and just happened to glance over at the monitor and almost peed on myself when I spotted Honey giving Halo a lap dance.
He's back!
I hurried out of the panic room, shut the door, and tripped on my stiletto as I made my way across the room and out into the hall.
“Where's Halo?”
I jumped when I spotted Mercedes. She was standing outside the door, with her hand raised like she was just getting ready to knock.
“He's not in there,” I said, then pulled the door tight behind me.
“Then what are you doing in there?” she said with a mischievous smirk.
“I'm his girl, or have you forgotten?” I sucked my teeth and turned on my heels. “By the way ... your wig is crooked.”
I made it into the club and saw Honey pulling on Halo, trying to keep him distracted. The last thing I wanted was for him to see me. I weaved around the crowd and out the door of the club. As soon as I reached my Camaro, I texted Honey to let her know I was gone. I didn't know what was on that video, but I needed to find out fast before Halo realized what I had done.
I don't know why, except that I was afraid to go home, but I headed over to Trey's apartment. Kyle was with his sister, so that gave us a chance to be alone and hopefully talk. I rang the bell and started having second thoughts about just showing up. But as soon as he opened the door, my entire body began to tingle. He almost looked happy to see me.
“Hey, whassup?” I was shaking and he noticed. Trey took my hand and escorted me into his place.
“What's wrong?”
My teeth were chattering but I felt safe there with him. Ever since I had left Club Swag, I'd been watching over my shoulder, expecting Halo to pull up beside me at any second. “I think he killed him at the club.”
He gave me a strange look. “Who are ... What did you just say?”
I started babbling and knew I wasn't making any sense. I walked over to his entertainment center, stuck in the DVD, then lowered onto the couch and laced my fingers with his. Without saying a word, I hit Play. Together we sat there watching and waiting. My cell phone started vibrating and I was sure it was Halo wondering where the hell I had gone, but I didn't dare look. I was sure that by now he'd realized I had left, or even worse, Mercedes told him she saw me leaving his office.
“How you been?” Trey asked.
I glanced away from the screen. We stared at each other silently until I said, “I'm cool.”
“I wish I could say the same. I've missed you.” He leaned over and pressed his juicy wet lips to mine.
“So what are you saying?” I hoped it was what I thought he was saying, but I didn't want to get ahead of myself.