by Kiki Leach
Sheila snarled. “I’ll be sure to do that.”
“GOOD.”
“Great.”
“Fanfuckingtastic!”
“OKAY,” Vanessa snapped. “Alright, let’s just back it off.”
“It’s backed.” Sheila breathed in the warm air as the crowd continued gathering at the door.
Vanessa looked up at Maurice and rolled her eyes. He moved in close and slipped his hand around her waist. He bent down to kiss the top of her head. She lifted her arm a little and he slid his hand around to the front of her stomach, his fingers grazing the thin fabric of her dress. Nathan observed the closeness between them and got a queasy feeling in his stomach.
“Listen,” Vanessa started, grabbing her head in aggravation, “why don’t you two go on inside with the rest and save us some seats by the bar, okay?”
“You’re joining us for a drink tonight, V?” Nathan asked.
“Hell no, I was just trying to be polite. I don’t want to be seen with either one of you any more than what I have already. But you can still go on inside, nonetheless.”
Maurice chortled, looking away from them as he pulled Vanessa closer. Nathan felt like ripping his head off and yanked at Sheila’s hand. “Let’s go.” He kept an eye on Vanessa the entire time as she continued to avoid his gaze.
“Thanks for the invite, Vaness--!” Sheila hollered back.
She lifted her arm and waved her hand. “Yeah – yeah.” She looked toward the sky and groaned. “Well, that was super fun, as always. We should meet up like this every week from now on.”
Maurice watched Nathan and Sheila pose for pictures on the carpet then turned back to Vanessa. “Is that you two trying to be friendly?”
“Stop acting like you didn’t enjoy every minute of that conversation.”
“I enjoyed every second of that conversation, V,” he said. “And then some. I’m just waiting for round two.”
“That’s all she’s going to get from me,” said Nikki. “And it was more than enough.”
Vanessa slinked up beside her and slipped her arm inside of hers. “Well, now that you’ve successfully slayed the She-Devil and my life with those responses, which, props by the way because I haven’t seen you get down with her like that since high school, where is your date for tonight? You deserve everything and more for that stellar performance in verbally beheading a bitch.”
“She just gets me so angry after what she did to you. She has no right to throw stones at anybody, ever. Perra egoísta. As for my date…” Nikki lifted their arms in unison and stared down at the time on Vanessa’s watch. “He’s supposed to be here by now.” She released her arm and moved to the edge of the sidewalk, searching down either side of the street.
“Maybe he got lost.”
“I don’t think he’s lost, he told me where the restaurant was.”
“Well, what does he drive?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you remember his last name?”
“It’s still someplace in my purse, Vanessa.”
“Well my God, Nik, you’re not giving me much to work with here. What do you know about the man aside from the fact that he said he would meet you here at 7:30, or so we think? Is he at least good looking?”
“I think so. And like I told you before, I know that he’s not married.”
“He gets two points added to his virtual coin bank, but at this rate, it’s not looking too much like it matters.”
“Why are you suddenly getting snippy when you were so excited before?”
“I’m still excited, I just want to make sure this person is real. And that he’s not… you know--”
“He’s real, and he’ll be here. I can just wait out here for him by myself,” she said.
Vanessa leaned back and tilted her head, arching her brow. “Wait out here alone so that your ass can end up on 48 Hours in case this man is a complete lunatic? Oh, I don’t fucking think so. Whoever he is, he can meet us out here just as easily as he can meet you alone. We’re waiting.”
Minutes passed as more people got out of their limos and cabs and town cars and headed inside. Vanessa became grouchy and looked down at her watch again, then glanced up at Maurice who was becoming uncertain about the entire thing himself.
“If you have his number,” said Vanessa, “maybe you can call him and see where he is.”
“He’ll be here.”
“I wish to God I lived on faith like that, my life would be a hell of a lot easier if I did.” As they continued waiting, Samantha approached Vanessa from behind and tapped her shoulder. “What’s going on? Why are you out here?”
“Your mother wants to see you about something.”
“Already -- what the fuck?” she muttered. “I just got here and have literally done nothing in two days. What could she possibly want to see me about now?”
“I’m not entirely sure to be perfectly honest,” Samantha replied. “But she seemed really, really angry about it. She sent me all over the place looking for you and was having a drink at the bar.”
“Great. She must really be pissed about something or flipped out of her mind if she’s drinking something other than champagne in public.” She dropped her head back and grumbled. “Either way, I should probably go inside and see about her before she embarrasses us both.” She tugged Maurice’s sleeve and nodded toward Nikki. “You can stay out here with her, right?”
“Sure. We’ll find you inside when her date finally shows up.”
“Thanks.” She put her arm around Samantha as they bypassed the photogs and moved toward the door. “I should probably start including hazard pay from now on.”
Maurice watched her curves bouncing against the fabric of her dress and ran his hand down his face to the center of his throat, lightly tapping his fingers against it as he thought of peeling the fabric from her bit by bit. He recalled them almost making love in the kitchen a few nights ago and licked his lips before focusing ahead. He felt Nikki staring up at him from the corner of his eye but refused to look in her direction.
“What?” he asked, stuffing his hands down inside his pockets.
“I’m just sorry that I called you crazy in la cabeza when it turns out that you weren’t.”
“You gonna put that in writing?”
“Nope. Because even though I was wrong in some ways last week, tonight just proves that I wasn’t in others. You still haven’t got what you always wanted, and what I said despite trying to help you later still remains fact.”
“I don’t even remember what else you said after calling me crazy, Nik.”
“That’s because you were being too beligerante to remember, but let me refresh your memory: V will always be in love with Nathan,” she said. “Remember now? No hubo mentiras esa noche and after what I saw you do with V after he walked up with Sheila, it doesn’t take an el genio to see that you know it too. You put your hand around her like you were marking her as your territory.”
He shrugged. “She didn’t seem to mind that.”
“I don’t think she knew what you were doing either, or why.”
“But you did?” He glared at her. “She wasn’t thinking about Nathan.”
“But you did that because you thought that she might have because you know that she’s still deeply in love with him no matter what she says.”
He shook his head and swallowed hard. “I know that she’s never gonna get him out of her system. We talked about it a few nights ago and…” He took in a breath and exhaled. “I might not have a choice but to accept it if I want to be with her for the long haul. But at the same time, I don’t wanna feel like I’ve been wasting my feelings for all these years.”
“I honestly hate to say this because it’s not like I’m really rooting for you two as an actual couple, but I don’t think you have. The only thing you might have wasted is your time in hoping that she’s going to just get over Nathan like that. She cares about you, but you need to give her some space so that she can completely
reassess everything she’s ever known.”
“Have you two talked about this?”
“Not in depth. But I can tell when you two are together how she feels about you. And after the shit she’s had to deal with, I think she more than deserves to be happy. But you still need to back off a little bit.”
“I never tried pushing her into this.”
“You keep providing ultimatums, which is just as bad or worse. She doesn’t have to tell me that because I know how you operate when it comes to her versus any other woman you’ve ever been with. I still have the money to prove it. You want all or nothing with her, but you can’t expect her to come to you without carrying at least three feet of baggage behind her just because you’ve made afirmaciones in the hope that she forgets a large part of her past and now her present life. Like it or not, Nathan is going to be a remaining piece of your puzzle with her. And she’s allowed to grieve for however long she needs to about that before jumping into anything with you.”
“I have given her time and space, Nicole,” he said.
“How much time? How much space? Because as far as I can tell, you’re not giving her much of anything except maybe a headache and a few estipulaciones on what you expect this relationship to be like before it’s even started. Come back to reality for a few moments and remember that it’s not been weeks or months or years since the reunion but just a few days, and you already want her to move into your bedroom and carve your names in a tree. You may have tried to slow things down physically and I applaud you for that since I know that someone like you is probably ready to explode in not having her. But still, you are so desperate for her to be on your level of emotions that you’re essentially forgetting everything she’s been through just to get her to where she is today.”
“I haven’t forgotten anything.” He waved her off and turned his eyes back toward the street. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Nik.”
“I know that she is scared and confused and still trying to figure things out. I know that you’ve been in love with her for fifteen years and never wavered. But you still need to understand that she has spent most of that time loving someone that isn’t you. Someone she thought was going to love her just as much if not more than you always have. And transitioning those feelings of what she felt for him onto you and maybe even making them greater than what they were is not going to be easy for her. You have had time, she never has. When she’s ready, she will come to you in the way you’ve always wanted. But until then, you just need to give her some space and let her sort out her life. If it’s meant to be, it will.”
She had said it as much for herself as she had for Vanessa. Maurice took her words into consideration, but would never admit aloud how much they had taken effect.
When they heard a car door slam across the street, Nikki peeked over the heads of people walking past and saw William jumping out and paying a taxi. He raced across the street, holding his hand up as he did his best to avoid the oncoming traffic.
“I made it!” he said with enthusiasm, though out of breath when he finally reached her.
She leaned back and beamed. “You did!”
“I hope you didn’t think I would ever stand you up.”
“I didn’t think it, but I was starting to get a little worried when you didn’t call or show up on time. What happened?”
“I got pretty held up at work, so much so that I didn’t have time to go home and change into something more comfortable. But I’m here now and I’m glad to be with you.”
“So am I.” They grinned at each other.
He saw Maurice standing beside her and put out his hand to appear nonthreatening. “William Grant.”
“Maurice Livingston.” He shook his hand with a firm grip.
“I saw you with Nikki at the bank. And here you are again with her now.” He laughed.
“His date’s inside,” she said, leaning in. “Which is where we should be heading.” William showed her his hand and she walked ahead of them, making her way to the carpet to pose for a few solo pictures, as well as a few with William. She moved aside as the photographers continued snapping photos of him alone as they seemed to know him by name without being told. When he made his way over to her in front of the door, she admired what he potentially had to offer, not only personally but professionally as well. “You must be somebody of importance.”
“I just keep good company,” he said. “Shall we?” He opened the door for her as they headed inside.
Part Twenty-Eight
The restaurant was jam packed from floor length windows to speckled walls. Nikki thought it looked more like a Vegas nightclub rather than a place where you could order quick BBQ on the grill to go. Music blared from a DJ at back while food was passed around from tray to tray via well-toned waiters, and drinks flowed as bartenders filled glasses with everything from Dom Perignon to Jose Cuervo.
Maurice made his way inside after taking a few pictures on the carpet with some of Attitude’s new leading female models, and found Vanessa near the back of the bar arguing with her mother. Hands waved, fingers snapped, necks rolled. He took precaution in the form of a stiff drink before moving forward and getting himself involved.
“And that’s why I don’t even wanna deal with this shit right now!” Vanessa hollered.
“You watch that MOUTH, Miss Thing!”
“Ladies,” he said, interrupting and resting his hands at Vanessa’s waist. She leaned back against him the moment she heard his voice and clamped her mouth shut to keep from responding. “What’s going on over here?”
Alexis leaned on the bar and pursed her lips. “It seems my daughter decided to invite two very unwelcome guests in here tonight when I SPECIFICALLY ASKED HER for no problems!”
“What in the hell did you expect me to do?!”
“What I expected was for you to take care of this on your OWN time and not MINE!”
“Mother, this is my time too, okay? You’re the one who forced me to come, thus making it my time as well as yours, so let’s not. They are here now. I sure as hell can’t go kicking them out after all the effort I made into making sure that we weren’t going to cause yet another public scene. You wanted me to make this right and I told you that I was trying to make amends, so just deal with it. I told her to stay away from me, and so far, she’s obliging.”
“Can the same be said for Nathan?” she asked in a staunch tone. Vanessa didn’t respond. “That’s what I was afraid of, that’s EXACTLY what I was afraid of.”
“Mother! Chill. Out, alright?! Nothing has happened and won’t, so just stop.”
“Girl, you betta watch ya’self and how you speak to me tonight, you hear? Do you hear me?!”
“Yes,” she hissed through her teeth.
Alexis tossed her hair behind her and pat down her dress before strolling off in the other direction. She waved to a friend across the restaurant, feigning happiness, as Vanessa reached out her hands and began choking the air.
She ran her hands down the sides of her face to keep from smearing her makeup and spun around in Maurice’s arms. “Oh my GOD, I can’t win with her. I can’t fucking win.” She noticed the drink sitting next to him, 90% gin, 10% club soda, and snatched it up from the counter, swallowing back every drop.
He noticed how it hardly affected her and made a face. “You think that was a good idea when you haven’t had much to eat yet?”
“I think it was the best idea I’ve had all night.” She slammed the glass back down and eyed the room. “Where’s Nikki?”
“Her date finally showed up.” He pointed across from them.
“Where? I can’t see.”
Maurice moved her in front of him and bent down to her eye level, pointing again. “She’s over there near the DJ.”
As the crowd between them parted and Vanessa got a better look of who Nikki was with, she squint and sunk down, then bugged her eyes and quickly stood up straight. “That’s William H. Grant,” she said. “She’s here with Will
iam Grant, that’s her date tonight?”
“Why are you saying it like that -- do you know him?”
“He’s a silent partner in nearly every successful black owned business, restaurant or otherwise this side of the tristate area. When did they meet again?”
“At the bank. Do you know him as more than a silent partner?”
“Sort of. Do you remember coming up to visit me when I was working at the magazine in high school to pay for the car repairs after my accident? There was a man always in her office talking to her about various issues of the magazine.”
He shook his head. “I remember coming to see you, but I don’t remember the guy in her office.”
“Well anyway, that man was Alexis’ first publisher. He was William’s older brother, and William was my mother’s first co-editor, but he was never credited by choice. After his brother sold seventy-five percent of his publishing company to Randall Clark and Co, I didn’t see William around as often, but I knew that he was still in the picture because he had grown close to Alexander.”
“How old is this guy?”
“I don’t know, sixty?” she said. Maurice knit his brows. “Close to forty or something, I think. Too old to be seen with her.” She pressed her hands against her cheeks and then moved them around to her mouth, making sure not to smudge her lipstick. “This is going to be so fucking awkward.” When she saw Nikki moving away from him, she quickly ordered another drink for herself and downed a large gulp. “We’re going over there. Come on.” She took Maurice by the hand and purged her way through the crowd to make it over to William as he stood alone.
“What do you plan on saying to him once we get there?” Maurice hollered from behind her.
“I don’t know, I’m kind of hoping it’ll come to me on the way over!”
William slightly turned while sipping a drink and admiring the size of the crowd. As soon as he saw Vanessa’s face, he stood back in surprise and grinned.
“Well if it isn’t Vanessa Rae Brown.” He laughed, looking her over.
