Player Haters

by Carl Weber

  My eyes finally adjusted to the light and I could see Michelle and Indigo tousling on the floor like two WWE wrestling superstars. Indigo was on top and she was definitely getting the best of Michelle. I jumped outta bed and separated them, trying my best to keep Indigo off Michelle.

  “How could you, Trent? How could you do this to me and Marcus? I thought you loved us.” Michelle wasn’t trying to fight anymore; she was crying hysterically.

  “Michelle, I’m sorry…” I didn’t know what else to say. On top of that, I was still trying to keep Indigo at bay.

  “Save it, Trent, all right? Just save it.” She sniffled. “I don’t need you and neither does Marcus. From this day forward the only family he’s got is me and my momma. So keep yours away or they might get their feelings hurt.”

  “Michelle, don’t…” I stopped myself in mid sentence. What do you say to a woman you’re engaged to, who just heard you tell another woman you’re engaged to, that you don’t give a shit about her or her child? Well, I guess it really doesn’t matter ’cause even if I had thought of something, Michelle didn’t seem to wanna hear it. She turned around and walked out the door. I wanted to run after her, but like both Melanie and Big Mike had said, I had to make a decision. Was it going to be love or was it going to be money? I wanted it to be love, but what the hell was love without money? Besides, the chances of talking my way back into Michelle’s heart after this one were almost none. So I retreated to the safety of money and placed my arm around Indigo.

  “Fuck her, Trent. You shoulda let me whoop that bitch’s ass,” Indigo told me.

  I should whoop your ass for bringing her here, I thought.

  28

  Mimi

  The end of the month had come much quicker than I would have liked, and I was saddened because it was my last day as Wil’s secretary. I was gonna try to spend as much time as I could with him tonight. The sales department was giving an end-of-the-busy-season party at Antun’s, a little catering hall in Queens Village. I was hoping that afterward I’d be able to talk him into stopping by my apartment for a nightcap. We didn’t spend as much time together as we used to, but we were still close, and he took me out to lunch at least once a week, which was nice. The only problem was, we always seemed to have a third wheel around like someone from the sales department or that pain in the ass, Jeanie Brown from upstairs. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining. I understood what was going on. Wil was trapped in a marriage he didn’t wanna be in and it was my responsibility, not his, to free him if I wanted us to be together. The only problem was, it wasn’t that easy coming up with an accident that everyone was going to believe. It took a lot of planning and a lot of thought.

  Wil walked out of his office carrying his briefcase. He smiled. “You still here? I thought you left for the party an hour ago.”

  “I’m about to. I just have to take care of a few things with human resources before I leave on Monday.”

  “You want me to wait for you?” he tempted.

  If you do, we might not make it to that party, I thought.

  “No, I’ll be along shortly. I wanna make a grand entrance. It is my last day in sales.”

  “Yeah, it is, isn’t it.” He sighed sadly. “Mimi, I hope you’re not gonna be a stranger around here, ’cause I’m gonna miss you.”

  “I’m gonna miss you too, Wil. But I promise, in the long run you’re gonna see a lot more of me than you’d ever expect.”

  “I hope so,” he replied, giving me that smile that always made me feel like I was melting. “Well, don’t take too long. I’m expecting a dance.”

  “Only if it’s a slow one.” I smiled, thinking of how nice it would be to wrap my arms around him and dance the night away. He was mine tonight. I dare a bitch to get on the dance floor with him.

  “I’ll see you at the party,” he told me, walking away.

  I watched him walk down the corridor, then stood up to retrieve my coat and bag from the closet behind my desk. I folded my coat over my arm, then opened my bottom desk drawer to remove the nine-inch box I’d hidden there this morning. I placed the box on my desk and opened it, staring at the contents with a satisfied grin. Covering up the box, I tucked it under my coat, then pushed in my chair and walked over to the window to see if the red convertible was still parked in the executive parking lot. It was, and I smiled as I walked to the elevator and pushed the “up” button.

  “You going to the party, Mimi?” John, a nerdy sales intern, asked.

  “Yep, I sure am.”

  “You wanna catch a cab?”

  “No, I have to drop off some paperwork upstairs first. I’ll meet you over there, okay?”

  The elevator bell rang and the arrow indicated it was headed down. I watched John disappear into that elevator, then waited for an another one heading up. When it arrived, I stepped in and pushed four, for the executive floor. When the elevator door opened on the fourth floor, it was like a ghost town. All the secretaries and the receptionist had left for the weekend. I made my way down the hall unannounced until I was in front of Jeanie Brown’s office. I tried to steady my racing heart, then knocked on the door.

  “Come in.”

  I opened the door and walked in. Jeanie was sitting behind a glass desk, pecking away at a computer. “Maxine? What are you doing here? I thought sales was having a party tonight.” I couldn’t read her expression, but she definitely didn’t seem overjoyed to see me. Not that it mattered to me. Her attitude toward me was not gonna be a problem much longer.

  “They are, Ms. Brown, but I wanted to talk to you before I went over there.”

  “I’m kind of busy right now but have a seat.”

  I sat down in one of the two leather chairs in front of her desk.

  “What’s on your mind, Maxine?”

  “Well, there are a few things. First, I wanna say thank you. I know I acted a little unappreciative about the promotion you gave me, so I wanted to give you this.” I handed her the box I’d been hiding under my coat. She got a huge grin on her face when she opened it.

  “Oh, Maxine, thank you. You really know how to get on a person’s good side, don’t you?” She was all smiles.

  “You always seemed to be fond of my sister’s brownies, so I had her whip up a batch just for you.”

  She reached in the box and pulled out a brownie square, closing her eyes as she bit into it. “Mmm, would you like one?” She offered the box to me.

  I smiled. “You know, I don’t mind if I do.”

  I took out a square and bit into it. Jeanie was already on her second square. She was grinning from ear to ear like she’d had the ultimate orgasm.

  “Oh, my God, these are so good. Tell your sister I want the recipe.”

  “Oh, I can give you the recipe.”

  “You can?”

  “Sure.” I took a pen out my purse as I watched Jeanie pick up another brownie square and shove it in her mouth. “It’s really pretty basic. You know, just a couple’a eggs, some flour, oil, baking soda and chocolate. She uses both cooking chocolate and those little Hershey Kisses. But this batch has a secret ingredient. I think you’ll like it.”

  “Oh, yeah? What’s that?” she asked in a suddenly raspy voice.

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

  “Sure I would. What is it?” Her voice had gotten raspier and now she was holding her throat.

  “Sesame seed oil.” I smirked at her as I said, “I had her replace the cooking oil with sesame seed oil.”

  “Sesame seed oil? Oh, God! I’m allergic to sesame seeds.” Jeanie’s panic was written all over her face. She pushed the box of brownies across her desk like it was poisonous. Actually, I guess it was to her.

  “Oh, damn. That’s right. You did tell me you were allergic to sesame seeds, didn’t you? I must have forgot. Are you okay?” I watched her face go pale and her eyes start to water as she struggled to get her desk drawer open. She pulled out something that looked like a white tube, the size of a pen. She
tried to stick it in her arm but I snatched it out of her hand.

  “Uh-uh-uhhh.” I shook my head and waved my finger at her. “What’s this, one of those EpiPens?”

  “Give it to me.” She coughed, lunging at me as she struggled for air.

  “Oh, that’s right. You need this to stop the swelling in your throat so you can breathe, don’t you?” She nodded her head. “Well, why didn’t you say so? Here.” I extended my hand, dropping the pen on my side of her desk. “Oooops.” I laughed.

  “Nooooooo,” she struggled to get out. “What are you trying to do, kill me?”

  I stood up straight and smirked. “You know, you’re a lot smarter than you look. I didn’t think you’d catch that for at least another couple of minutes.”

  “What are you, crazy? You’re not gonna get away with this, Maxine.” Her lips were turning blue and she was knocking shit all over her desk just trying to breathe.

  “Really? Why not?” I hesitated as if I was waiting for her to give me an answer. “If the cops ask me if I gave you the brownies, I’m not gonna deny it. Everyone in the building knows you love my sister’s brownies. And how could I know you’re allergic to sesame seeds? Besides, why would I hurt you? You just gave me a promotion. The cops are gonna look at this like it was just one unfortunate accident.”

  “You are crazy,” she managed to murmur.

  “That’s what the doctors say but I am not crazy! But one thing’s for sure, Jeanie. Your ass is dead.” She fell on the floor, kicking, then suddenly stopped. I bent down and picked up her EpiPen, wiping it clean of my fingerprints before tossing it near her body. “It was nice knowing you, Jeanie. I’ll send a wedding invitation with your friend Diane. She’ll be coming to see you real soon.”

  29

  Melanie

  Oh, no. This can’t be right, I told myself as I stared down at the small white object in my hand. This can’t be happening to me. I walked out of the bathroom and into my bedroom. The phone started to ring but I ignored it as I sat down on my bed and stared blankly at the object I was still holding. I knew who was calling on the first ring. It was Prince. Since we’d broken up, he’d made a habit of calling at least five times a day, starting about seven o’clock in the morning. Now it was only a few minutes past seven, so I was pretty confident it was him. I contemplated answering the phone, then decided against it. Most of the time I wouldn’t even think about picking up the phone. I’d just listen to him plead on the answering machine. When I did pick up, I usually ended up hanging up on him or cursing him out because he’d start calling Desiree a liar.

  Ring, ring, ring, ring, beeeep!

  “Hey, Mel, it’s Prince.” He chuckled. “Like you don’t know my voice by now, right? Look, I don’t know if you left for work already or if you’re just screening your calls, but I just wanted to tell you that I love you.” There was a sigh and a pause before he said, “I miss you, Mel. I don’t know how things got to this point or why that bitch Desiree is lying on me. But what I do know is that I can’t sleep, I don’t eat, and without you, baby, I’m not complete. I love you, boo. Please give me a call.”

  Damn, why couldn’t he just get it through his thick-ass skull? It wasn’t gonna happen. He’d fucked up and we were over. Even if I did miss him, too.

  Knock, knock.

  Desiree stuck her head in my door before I could reply.

  “Was that him?” She walked in wearing her waitress uniform and carrying her journal.

  “Yeah, that was him. I just let the answering machine get it.”

  “Did he leave a message?” she asked. I don’t know why but it seemed like Desiree was more concerned about what Prince was doing than I was.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “What’d he say?”

  “The usual.” I said it like I was bored by Prince’s constant attempts to win me back. “He wanted me to know how much he loved me and that he missed me. Oh, and how much of a liar you are.”

  “Fuck that nigga,” Desiree snapped.

  I wish I could, I thought.

  “Well, I’m outta here. I’ll see you tonight. You still down to go to The Shadow?”

  “I guess. It depends on how I feel.” Desiree had been trying to get me to go out and meet someone else ever since Prince and I broke up. I hadn’t gone to the clubs with her yet, because no matter how mad I was at Prince, I still missed him, and I wasn’t interested in getting with anyone else. I’d been making up excuses why I couldn’t go out with her, but as I rubbed my stomach and told her I wasn’t sure about tonight, I wasn’t lying.

  “You still got that stomach virus? I heard you throwing up in there this morning.”

  “Worse.” I handed her what I’d been holding.

  “Oh, shit! Is this what I think it is?” She glanced at me, then down at the white plastic stick she was holding. “Is this a…Oh, my God, it’s got a plus sign. You’re not? You’re not pregnant, are you?” She gave me a bug-eyed stare.

  “According to that EPT you’re holding, I am. Not to mention the fact that I’m about three weeks late.”

  “Damn. What you gonna do? You’re not gonna keep it, are you?” Desiree looked more scared than I was.

  “I don’t know. I just found out. I haven’t given it much thought,” I lied. Of course I’d been thinking about it. That’s why I went out and bought the EPT in the first place. I also knew what I was gonna do. I just wasn’t sure if I could go through with it again.

  She sat on the bed next to me. “Is it Prince’s?”

  “Ain’t no one else’s it could be.”

  “You gonna tell him?”

  “I guess I have to at some point.”

  She turned to me. “No you don’t. Melanie, you don’t need no baby and you don’t need no man pressuring you into keeping it. If I were you, I wouldn’t tell him shit. I’d just go down to the clinic and take care of my business.”

  “That’s not right, Dez.”

  “Neither is Prince for grabbing my ass every chance he had. But that didn’t stop him.”

  “This is not a conversation I wanna have right now. The last thing I wanna hear about is what Prince was trying to do to you,” I stated.

  “I’m sorry.” She gave me a quick hug. “You want me to stay home? We can do the girlfriend thing. Just sit around, eat chocolate and watch soaps.”

  “Thanks, Dez, but I’ve got a lot of thinking to do. I’d prefer to do it alone, if you don’t mind.”

  “Okay, but we’re gonna talk about this tonight when I get home.” She hugged me again, then got up and walked to the door. “Hit me on the cell if you need me, all right?”

  I nodded and she walked out. I opened my nightstand and pulled out a yellow piece of paper, dialing the number on it.

  “Choices Women’s Clinic. Nadine speaking.”

  “Hi, my name is Melanie Duncan. I have an appointment tomorrow morning at nine o’clock. I just wanted to confirm.”

  “Yes, Melanie, we have you for nine o’clock. Please don’t eat anything after midnight and you have to be accompanied by another adult or the doctor won’t perform the procedure.”

  I hung up the phone, then picked it up again, dialing Trent’s number.

  “Yeah, hello,” he grumbled. It sounded like he’d just woken up.

  I started to get emotional the second I heard my brother’s voice. There was something about talking to him or Wil when I was in trouble that just made me feel like I was a little girl again. I guess it had something to do with the fact that my father died when I was young and they were the only two male role models I’d ever had.

  “Trent.” I sniffled.

  “Melanie? What’s d’matter? Are you all right?” Before I could answer he blurted out, “What happened? Did Michelle call you?” He sounded like he had his own problems. I was tempted to hang up.

  “No,” I whined like a little girl as I burst into tears. “I’m pregnant.”

  “Pregnant? Oh, shit.” I could hear him struggling to sit up in the bed. “Did
you tell Prince yet?”

  “No.” I shook my head like he could see me.

  “Well, you need to talk to him. I know you’re supposed to be mad at him, but if you’re gonna have a baby, you and him need to talk.”

  “I’m not having the baby, Trent. I made an appointment at Choices. I just need you to go with me.” There was a long silence on the line. The only thing I could hear was his breathing. “Trent? Trent, you there?”

  “You sure about this, Mel? We went down this road before, and you didn’t like it.”

  I didn’t reply right away because he was right. When I was seventeen, I became pregnant by this guy named Rodney. To this day, I haven’t even told my mom about that. The only person I told was Trent, and he took me down to Choices to have an abortion. Believe it or not, he didn’t try to force me to have an abortion. He let me make my own decision. A decision I’ve regretted ever since and he knows it.

  “I know I didn’t like it, Trent, but I can’t have a baby. Not without a father,” I told him adamantly.

  “Wait a minute. Isn’t Prince the father?”

  “Yeah, and? What’s that mean? That don’t mean he’s gonna be a daddy to his baby. Look at you.”

  He got quiet again. I didn’t mean for it to come out that way but Trent knew I was pissed off at him because of what he did to Michelle. She was so upset she wouldn’t let any of us see Marcus now.

  “He’s not like me, Mel. He’s gonna be there for his kid. Prince is a good man. He wants to marry you.”

  “Well, I don’t wanna marry him.” I ran my hand through my locks. “Look, Trent, this is hard enough as it is. Please don’t give me a hard time, okay? Now are you gonna take me or not?”

  “Yeah, I’ll take you,” he answered unhappily. “What time?”

  “I gotta be there at nine tomorrow morning. Why don’t you pick me up around eight?”

  30