Authors: Vera Roberts
“No. She can’t know, either.” Scott’s tone was a cross between stating a fact and begging. “I don’t want her to get caught up with this.”
“She really loved you, man,” Jerome said.
“I love your sister very much, and I’m going to get her back.” Scott felt time was running out. “I just need some time to sort things out.” He picked up his cup of coffee and took a sip of it.
“Is there anything you want me to tell her?”
“No,” Scott shook his head, “she can’t know that we even saw each other.”
“All right,” Jerome slightly shrugged, “I’ll see you around then.”
“See you later, ’Rome.”
“Hey, Scott!” Jerome called out to him. “She still loves you, man. She still loves you.”
Scott smiled. “I hope so.”
****
“Do you have any plans for tonight, Lollipop?” Linda asked Mariana. “We’re going out to dinner if you want to join us?”
“Actually, I do,” Mariana smiled, “I have a date!”
“With who?” Oliver asked from the other room.
“With someone you haven’t met yet!” Mariana yelled back.
Linda walked closer to Mariana and whispered to her. “Lollipop, do you think it’s wise for you to go on a date so soon? You and Scott just broke up.”
“We broke up almost two months ago,” Mariana justified. “I think that’s plenty of time to get over him.”
“Have you heard from him at all?”
Mariana shook her head. She hoped Scott would call after the first week or at least within the first month. No such luck. He seemingly disappeared from the face of the earth; it was as if she had never existed. But if Scott treated her as if she was non-existent, it was only fair that she do the same. Mariana changed her phone number. He didn’t have her new address and he certainly didn’t need her old phone number. “No.”
Linda sighed and shook her head. “Well, maybe that was for the best. He was too old for you, Mari.”
“You know, Daddy’s about fifteen years older than you,” Mariana mentioned. “And you’re giving me advice?”
“I knew what I wanted back then.” Linda replied. “You don’t.”
Mariana wasn’t amused by her mother’s sass. “I know what I want, Mother.”
“If you do, why aren’t you with him?”
“I’m about to be,” Mariana checked her watch, “in a few hours.”
Jerome’s friends entered the home and were greeted by Linda. “Jerome’s on his way, Mrs. Harlow,” Brian commented, “He got stuck talking with some dude about something.”
“Stuck?” Mariana asked. “Stuck talking to who?”
“Talking to some White dude about you.” Tommy shrugged. “Jerome will explain when he gets in.”
“About me?” Mariana whispered to no one in particular. “What guy would be talking about me?”
Linda waited for the guys to be out of earshot before she spoke to her daughter again. “I’m assuming that White dude was Scott.”
T
HIRTEEN
“Did you have a nice lunch, Boss?” Elissa asked Scott.
Scott thought about the laughable confrontation he had with Jerome. He smiled because it reminded him of how he was with Christine’s dates when he was younger. “It was an unforgettable one, yes.”
“Good.” Elissa slid a report to him. “The IT guys finally came back with their report on activity on Mariana’s computer.”
“Did you take a look at it?”
Elissa didn’t have to. She already knew what was in it. “It has some information you might be interested in.”
“Like what?” Scott asked.
Elissa flipped open the report. “Mariana didn’t mess up the spreadsheet.”
Scott read the report and read the summary. It had a listing of the sites she visited on a daily basis. It also had a listing of her documents, but the only one that Scott cared about the infamous spreadsheet.
When he got to that section of the report, Scott’s eyes narrowed as he put the pieces together. He noticed each time Mariana saved the spreadsheet document. It always in the same folder she used and any changes she made, she labeled as different versions. The last change, however, was unusual. The spreadsheet was modified at two-thirty
PM,
but she didn’t send out the e-mail until almost three
PM
. The spreadsheet was also saved in a different location.
Scott looked on his calendar and tried to figure out what Mariana could’ve been doing during that time. He then realized she was with him, in his office. He particularly remembered that day because he was on a conference call with Coca-Cola, and Mariana was blowing him underneath his desk. The conference call started at two-thirty. Mariana arrived in Scott’s office about ten minutes before.
“The interns and other employees reported they saw Caprina at Mariana’s work station during that time,” Elissa added. “They are willing to back up their claims.”
Scott felt his body become stiff with anger and hatred. He was tired of Caprina’s games. She had played both him and Mariana, and he fell for it again. His nostrils flared in anger, and if it hadn’t been for Elissa being in the office, he would’ve tossed his desk over. “Fine,” was all he could say.
“Is there anything you want me to do, Boss?”
“Where is Ms. Waters?”
“She’s currently at the Guess photo shoot in Hollywood.”
“Print me directions, I’m going to talk to her there.”
“Anything else?”
“Get me on the phone with the Guess CEO. Call Rich and Mike for an emergency meeting tomorrow morning. Invite Chris and the other interns in.” Scott took out a pair of Ben-Wa balls and rolled them in his hands. He then turned to face the skyscrapers behind him. “I’m about to destroy this bitch.”
****
Scott walked into the photo shoot and saw Caprina at her natural best. She was lying on a bed with satin sheets. She was wearing a bra and thong panties with pink high heels, modeling the latest jewelry from Guess. Despite his disdain for the woman, Scott could at least admit Caprina was a great model and knew how to work the camera. At other photo shoots he had been to, the model would take forever just find a good angle. With Caprina, it was natural. She was born to be a model.
The only good thing about that bitch.
When Caprina saw Scott enter the shoot, she became more relaxed. She forgot others were in the room and she purposely did seductive poses just for Scott’s attention. Whatever she was doing, it worked: Scott’s eyes never left hers.
The photographer called for a break, and Scott was on his way out the door when Caprina stopped him. “Scotty!” Caprina waved to him. She ran over to him and gave him a hug. “I’m so glad you made it!”
“I just wanted to see how everything was coming,” Scott didn’t hug back, “are there any problems?”
“Nope! None at all!” Caprina beamed. She grabbed him by the hand and led him to the set. “I want you to meet some people. I have new assistants now.”
“Lovely,” Scott deadpanned. He looked around and admired the set. It was set in a bedroom. Caprina didn’t bother to cover up her body when the shoot stopped momentarily. She was a walking sex advertisement. “Ms. Waters, I really need to talk to you about something.”
“Just a second, Scotty. Girls? Oh, girls?” Caprina called out to Dove and Aileen. “Come here, I want you to meet someone.”
“Ms. Waters, I really don’t have time to meet anyone,” Scott mentioned. He looked around and studied the lighting and other interesting things on the set. “I need to discuss business matters with you.”
“This won’t take long!” Caprina smiled as the girls walked over to them. “Scotty, these are my new assistants. Girls, introduce yourselves.”
“I’m Dove, Sir,” the blonde spoke up first.
“I’m Aileen,” the brunette spoke. “Pleasure to meet you, Sir.”
Scott’s head moved slowly back to the ladies before him. It didn’t take him long to figure out what was going on. He noticed Aileen was wearing a very familiar device: her collar.
Look at me as your guardian angel. I’ll always be around.
“Aren’t they so polite?” Caprina smiled. “Now did you want to discuss with me?”
Scott locked eyes with Dove and Aileen. “It can wait,” he spoke to Caprina.
“Well, it’s time for me to go shoot!” She kissed Scott’s cheek. “I’ll talk to you later, Scotty.” She hurried back to the set.
“Yeah, see you later,” Scott waited for Caprina to be out of earshot before he addressed the girls. He chose his next words very carefully. “Is everything being taken care of?”
“Yes, Master.” Dove answered. “Everything is being handled.”
Scott had one last question. “Is there anything I need to do?”
“No,” Aileen smiled. A gleam of light hit the locket and Scott’s initials shined in the light. “Not at all, Master.”
F
OURTEEN
Jerome entered his parents’ house and went to straight to the kitchen. He took out a pitcher of Kool-Aid and poured himself a glass. He quickly downed it before he poured himself another. His confrontation with Scott worked up a thirst inside him and he was parched.
Motherfucker’s like Hercules or some shit.
“Hey, ’Rome,” Mariana approached him.
“Hey, Mari,” Jerome knocked back his second glass. “What’s up?”
“Nothing much. Your friends are in the den,” she mentioned.
“Okay, cool.” Jerome nodded as he wiped his brow. “Thanks.”
“No problem,” Mariana leaned over the kitchen counter. “So I heard you ran into someone I know?”
Jerome shook his head. “No, I didn’t.”
“Jerome…” Mariana warned.
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.” Jerome replied. “Now excuse me, I’m about to meet up with my friends.” He began to leave.
Mariana grabbed Jerome by his left arm and twisted it. “The fuck, man!” Jerome winced in pain. “Just my fucking luck!”
Mariana twisted Jerome’s arm. “Say Uncle!”
“Uncle!”
Mariana let go of her brother’s arm and stood in front of him. “I want you to tell me
everything!
”
“I saw him earlier,” Jerome mentioned as he massaged his other arm. “He was walking out of the coffee shop and walking to his car. I told him what he did to you was fucked up.”
“And?”
“And he said he didn’t want to do it but he had to,” Jerome confessed, “He said he had to do it to protect you.”
Mariana walked over to the breakfast nook and sat down. What on earth was going on? Her mind was racing a mile a minute and she had to sit down in hopes to reconcile her thoughts. “To protect me? Protect me from what?”
“He wouldn’t say. He just said he didn’t want you to get involved with what was going on, and it was best you were out of the picture for now.” Jerome sat beside his sister. “He said he still loves you and wants you back.”
Mariana didn’t know how to take that news. She was sad, but her heart was filled with anger. Why couldn’t Scott tell her this before? Why did he have to act so coldly to her? All she wanted was to be his wife and have his children. What was going on that he had to break up with her? Mariana had a strong suspicion Caprina was involved in more ways than one. “Is there anything else?”
“You’re not supposed to know I saw him,” Jerome added, “what I just said, you don’t even know about.”
“All right,” she spoke softly, “thanks for letting me know, ’Rome.”
“Hey, you’re my sister, I got your back.” Jerome put his arm around her. “But tonight, you need to get ready for your date.”
“Yeah,” Mariana no longer had a desire to go out with B., “my date.”
F
IFTEEN
Caprina got comfortable in her bubble bath. She lit candles everywhere and put on some soft music to soak her worries away. She had fired Dove and Aileen a few days ago, now that she no longer wanted or required their services. She saw how friendly the two of them were when they met Scott. They were
too friendly
for Caprina’s taste. She didn’t want Scott to be distracted.
In just a few days, she was going to star in one of the biggest campaigns of her career. Shortly after that, she was going to become the girlfriend of one of the wealthiest men in California. Another wedding was imminent, she could feel it. She’d actually show up to that one.
Getting rid of Mariana had been easier than she expected. She didn’t have to plot too much, and the little girl seemed to give up without a fight. Caprina could not have been happier with the outcome. Everything was going as planned.
Now all she needed was Scott in her grasp. He was single, but wouldn’t be for very long. She would leave him alone for a short while so he could entertain his bed with various flings and forgettable women. But when Scott became bored of that, Caprina would make her move.
She had her show, her new ad, and now, the love of her life. Life could not get any better.
If only that damn telephone will stop ringing.
Caprina was about to toss her cell phone into the water but picked it up when she noticed it was Gina calling her. “Yes?”
“Caprina! I have been trying to reach you for the past hour! Where were you?” Gina asked.
“Oh, I’ve been busy.” Caprina stated. The truth was she spent the past hour fantasizing about Scott and masturbating.
“Have you been online at all today?”
“You know I don’t pay attention to that,” Caprina bent over and did a line.
“You need to,” Gina huffed. “You’re all over the internet now.”
“For what? Some paparazzo caught me with no panties again? I had a bad hair day?” Caprina laughed.
“There are pictures of you doing cocaine, your closet shrine filled with pictures of your old relationship, and some guy just sold his story about how he was your prostitute for hire and you only called him by your ex-fiancée’s name,” Gina calmly replied. “I think you need to get online.”
S
IXTEEN
Sanora stepped out on the balcony of Her mansion. It was already nighttime and She could see the stars appearing in the sky. There was a slight breeze and Her auburn hair softly blew while the moon shined on her face. For several years, She meticulously planned for this moment. She had gone to great lengths and spent quite a bit of money to make sure everything would turn out as planned.
It was a monumental task—destroying Caprina Waters. There were times Sanora wanted to give up and just hire someone to do the job but She kept on. She couldn’t give up after going so far. There was too much at stake and she was in too deep now. Her father would have never given up. Her mother definitely wouldn’t have given up. Destroying Caprina would finally bring closure for Her. It was closure everyone needed.