Now that the time was right, Victor knew that he had to come forward.
He marched his way over to Headmaster Duffy’s office without a second thought. This information couldn’t fly under the radar. Nobody else knew the information Victor was about to share; in fact, Victor had been unhappy about this particular secret for a long time. It had been weighing on him for months… What was the ethical thing to do?
Victor puffed his chest out and knocked on Stan Duffy’s door.
“Come in,” Stan Duffy heaved, letting out a raucous smoker’s cough after his invitation.
Victor opened the door. He looked solemnly at his boss. Was this a good idea or would he lose his job on the spot for daring to be insubordinate?
“Oh Good afternoon Mister Del Toro,” Headmaster Duffy huffed. He wiped away some crust from his right eye.
“Good afternoon Senor. May I have a moment?” Victor asked.
Stan Duffy let out a hacking cough and turned as red as a sunset before a storm.
“Absolutely,” He gestured to the chair opposite his own. Victor pushed his hair out of his face and sat down. How the hell was he going to do this? How the hell was he going to get these words out of his mouth?
“Mister Duffy… I’m here on some unfortunate business,” Victor began. He looked Stan Duffy directly in the eye. He was bringing a serious threat to Stan Duffy and he couldn’t back down.
“Oh yes?” Stan Duffy said, clearly unfocused.
“Mister Duffy. I am fully aware of a particular indiscretion that is occurring here at Willowcrest Prep,” Victor began. He was already breaking out into a sweat.
“Oh yeah?” Stan Duffy said. His ears perked up.
“Yes… I am aware of a certain married woman, Stephanie, who is committing the great sin of adultery with a certain Headmaster of a prestigious, private and Christian preparatory school,” Victor finished. He stared Stan Duffy dead in the eye.
The headmaster’s pupils dilated and his face turned bright red again.
Stan Duffy realized that Victor Del Toro had come into his office with a serious piece of blackmail. Stan Duffy was almost certain that the fact he was sleeping with his currently married former student who was more than twenty years his junior was a secret. He had gone to great lengths to keep his clandestine relationship with Stephanie under wraps. Stan Duffy was taken off guard; he had no idea how to respond to Victor’s accusations.
“Why the hell are you bringing this to me?” Stan Duffy asked. His kindly pretense was gone. Victor could tell he’d shaken the man to his core. His brow was dripping with sweat and there were visible pit stains through his white button down shirt.
Victor pushed his hair out of his face and stood up. “I suggest you talk to your lover. She has been making threats around town and I assure you, I can make threats of my own. I wouldn’t want you to lose this career you have built headmaster. No hard feelings, I have people to protect… just like you do” Victor said.
Without waiting for a reply, Victor left the headmaster’s office. As he walked to his car, he felt a wave of confidence wash over him. He was certain that his threat would work to keep his secret relationship with Tammy quiet… For now.
***
It didn’t take long for Stan Duffy to arrange a meeting with his mistress. They met at their usual spot. A motel, ten miles out of town. The owner went “way back” with Stan Duffy and let him use the rooms for free. As Stan waited for his mistress to arrive he wondered if this agitation would ever relax. Now that his secret was almost out, what did this mean for him and Stephanie? She was just such a sexy catch…
Finally, Stephanie arrived at the motel. Stan could recognize her stride in her tall black heels. She was such a little minx. Stan chuckled to himself when he heard her irritated rap at the door. Everything about Stephanie was so endearing to him. She was young enough to be his daughter but she was an animal in the sack so Stan didn’t mind their startling age difference.
Stephanie used her key to get into the motel room.
“Stan,” She whined.
Stan understood. Stephanie had so much to lose if this got out. When she had heard that someone found out, Stephanie had rushed over for a meeting as quickly as possible. Stan got up from the bed and pulled Stephanie close. They embraced passionately. The youthful soccer mom had never been more attracted to anyone the way she was attracted to her much older former teacher Stan Duffy.
Her sensual, modelesque army husband just didn’t do it for her the way Stan did. Stephanie kissed Stan on the lips and ran her hands over his chubby stomach. Oh God… If they didn’t have business to attend to, Stephanie would have dropped to her knees and pleasured him right there.
“Stephanie darling… We’re in some deep shit,” Stan huffed.
“Deep shit? You think? What the hell are we going to do Stan?!” Stephanie shrilled.
Stan cleared his throat, “Well I don’t know sweetheart, what do you want to do?”
Stephanie pouted. “Stan! Take this seriously! You’re married with children. My husband is in the army. We have big things to worry about here!” She yelled.
Stan didn’t like when Stephanie got loud with him. It reminded him of his fat, older wife. He didn’t want to think of Stephanie as a nagging shrew like her…
“Well I guess we’ll figure things out princess. I just wanted you to know… Cool off on whatever agenda you’ve got. You really pissed that guy off,” Stan said chuckling.
He pulled Stephanie close for another kiss. Stephanie reluctantly submitted to him. Perhaps she should cool off. That bitch Tammy Powers had pulled something out of her hat that Stephanie hadn’t seen coming. Stephanie knew she would have to regroup but she didn’t want to do it now. There wasn’t much time before she would be expected at home and she didn’t want her bratty kids snooping around and asking questions. Stephanie pressed her hand against Stan’s cock. She knew exactly what would distract from this unpleasantness.
By the time Stephanie came up for air, she had a plan in mind. Her nights with Stan always left her feeling inspired. Once she arrived home she plotted Tammy’s demise. Stephanie didn’t want anyone coming between her and her throne. This little town was all Stephanie had… Her kids were tucked into bed and as the night ticked on she became more and more furious.
Did this bitch Tammy really think she wouldn’t strike back? Why did this girl always think she could upset the hierarchy without getting burned. Stephanie had everything she wanted in life and Tammy’s little stunt threatened all of that.
Stephanie struck where it would hurt most. Stephanie called up Victor Del Toro.
“Uh… Hello?” Victor began.
“Hello Victor. It’s Stephanie” Stephanie began.
“Ah. Good evening Stephanie, how may I help you,” Victor said. He realized that he sounded far too smug. This woman still had the power to destroy him; this wasn’t something to be taken lightly.
Stephanie snapped into action, “I hear you’ve been quite a busy man around town these days. See I don’t blame you Victor, you’re a man in love. Surely, as a woman in love I can empathize. Really, I’m not upset about your stunt with Stan. But I do have something to share with you. Before you put your life on the line to protect Tammy, there’s something you should know about her. She’s not faithful to you hun. Tammy and I used to be friends in high school and we had a falling out when I found out her true character. She might bitch and lie about that ‘baby daddy’ of hers, but they’re still together. Be careful.”
Stephanie didn’t wait for a response before hanging up. She’d planted the seed of doubt in Victor’s mind and that was all she needed to do on that end of things. Once Stephanie had spoken to Victor, she called someone else… Randall Combs. Since Randall was technically a Willowcrest parent, it wasn’t hard for her to fish the information out to make the call.
“Hello? That you babygirl?” Randall answered.
Stephanie put on her best soccer mom voice. “Um… Hi! It’s Stephani
e, head of the PTA. You must be Jabari’s father!” She began.
“Uh… Yeah. I’m his dad. What do you want pretty lady?” Randall replied. Once he heard that this sweet talker on the other end of the line was a soccer mom he was immediately intrigued.
Stephanie giggled and replied, “Well this may be a bit uncomfortable but it concerns your son and his safety. His mother, bless her lost heart, appears to be going through something difficult that’s leading her to extreme sexual promiscuity. I don’t want to appear malicious, but the women of the PTA are concerned that these unsavory actions are reflecting poorly on your son as well as our association.”
Randall breathed heavily for a few moments before responding, “Huh? So Tammy is turning out like the town slut again?”
“I’m afraid so,” Stephanie said. She could tell Randall wasn’t the brightest bulb.
“So what do you recommend pretty lady?” Randall asked.
Stephanie asked, “Have you considered filing for custody of Jabari? After all, you have a right to protect your son from whatever Tammy might be up to.”
“I could really do that?” Randall asked. The thought hadn’t occurred to him, but now that he heard the idea, he couldn’t think of a better way to get back at Tammy.
“Why absolutely Mister Combs!” Stephanie responded. Huh. Randall had never considered filing for custody before. But now it seemed like a good idea. Perhaps he could even get the jump on that bitch and start collecting child support checks.
“Well you know pretty lady I might just do that. You have a good night now,” Randall said before hanging up.
Once Stephanie was done wreaking havoc, she planned to enjoy the rest of her evening. She popped a couple Adderall she’d bought from Jackie and drank three full glasses of wine.
Why is my life so freaking stressful? Stephanie thought to herself. She got dressed in a sexy bit of lingerie and went upstairs to her room to talk to video chat with her husband. She couldn’t wait for him to get back. She was sick of all this drama.
Chapter 12
Tammy woke up with a sick feeling in her stomach. It had been five days since she’d heard from Victor. Fall was slipping away into winter. New England no longer felt so beautiful; everything around her was dying. Tammy was forced to face the harsh reality that everything was temporary.
In the winter, she always felt like a shadow of herself and Tammy felt like this winter would be no different. At least it was the weekend and she was getting plenty of time with her son. Jabari was really excelling at Willowcrest but his excellence came at the expense of some of their time together. Tammy knew it was important for her son to make new friends and all of that but a part of her missed having her little boy around all the time.
Tammy’s day was about to get worse. As she was sitting down to a gourmet oatmeal breakfast with her son, Randall called her.
“I’m sitting down to breakfast Randall, what do you want?” Tammy snapped.
Randall replied smugly, “You might want to watch your tone Tammy. I’m filing for custody of Jabari. I’ve received word that you’re floundering and I know I could raise my son right.”
“You ain’t shit Randall!” Tammy screamed into the phone. Even Tammy was surprised by her outburst.This time she didn’t care if Jabari heard. She was tired of Randall’s bullshit. Tammy was tired of taking everyone’s shit lying down. This was a start of a necessary change. Jabari looked up from his bowl of oatmeal terrified. He’d never seen his mother this angry before.
Tammy wasn’t through with Randall.
“I know you think that you’re hot shit Randall but if you take me to court I swear to God I will take you for every penny you’re worth! I can’t raise my son right? Nigga! At least I raised him! You haven’t done shit except hang out with him like he’s your little buddy and not your flesh and blood. You don’t give a SHIT about your son if you think you can use him like a pawn. Just try me Randall Combs. I swear to fucking God you have another thing coming!” Tammy screeched.
She hung up her phone immediately after. If Randall thought she would stand there and listen to his bullshit, he was crazy.
The stress of the phone call washed over Tammy all at once. She felt faint at first and then nauseous. Tammy slammed her phone on the table and ran to the bathroom to throw up.
“Mom are you okay?” Jabari yelled as he followed her.
This was shaping up to be a very unusual day for Jabari. He’d never seen his mother angry like that and he’d never seen her terribly ill like this either.
As she emptied her guts into the toilet, a horrible thought came over Tammy. It wasn’t possible; it couldn’t be… But Tammy had only felt nausea like this at one other point in her life. It was the type of nausea you couldn’t control and the type of nausea that you didn’t forget.
“Mom are you okay?” Jabari asked as he peered into their downstairs bathroom.
Tammy raised her head and lied, “Yes, everything’s fine Jabari. I’m just a little stressed. Let me get cleaned up so we can finish breakfast.”
Tammy brushed her teeth and cleaned her bathroom before resuming her meal with her son. With an empty stomach, her oatmeal seemed to taste just a little bit better. That warmed Tammy up just a little bit. If what she thought was true, she was in big trouble. Tammy spent the rest of the morning helping Jabari with a math project and chatting with her son about school and his soccer team.
Although it was a weekend, Victor was in his office. He hadn’t been in touch with Tammy since he received that phone call from Stephanie. He didn’t want to believe that it was true, but what if it was? Was Victor putting everything on the line for a woman he hardly knew? Most of his ideas about Tammy came from when he knew her as a student.
Did he have everything wrong? If Tammy really was an unfaithful woman, why had he only detected honesty during their nights together. Victor needed to think of his next move. Whether or not what Stephanie said was true, one thing was certain: she was ready to fight. Victor decided to put it out of his mind. This was clearly a bitter woman trying to cause trouble. I trust Tammy.
Victor was lost in thought when Stan Duffy entered his office without knocking.
Stan Duffy smiled -- his smile was wide and fake.
“Victor! Hello young man. I just came to let you know… I’m no longer having an affair with a certain head of the PTA. Your strong words made me realize… I don’t want anyone in this town knowing a damn thing that can be used against me,” Stan began.
He let out a hacking cough before he continued, “And I don’t like the idea of you trying to blackmail me much either. I’ll figure out what to do about that soon enough. I just wanted to let you know… You’ve got nothing.”
Victor didn’t say a word. He kept his eyes fixated on Stan Duffy as he spoke. His mind was racing. If Stan had dumped Stephanie, a number of things could happen. Stephanie could go public with her knowledge about his relationship.
This could cost Jabari his position at Willowcrest and it could cost Victor his job. Victor knew he had a lot more to worry about than he realized. He should call Tammy. He knew that he should. But he couldn’t bring himself to hear her voice considering what she had possibly done. Plus, if it was all a lie, how could he accuse her of this.
Victor’s mother had always told him he was too proud a man… Orgulloso.
Perhaps it was time to set that pride aside and pursue the truth.
Now that Randall was planning to file for custody, Tammy needed to do something she hadn’t done in years. The idea made her more nauseous than her phone call with Randall. Tammy took something for her anxiety a full hour before making the call.
She needed something to calm her down and prepare her for what she was about to do. Tammy hadn’t needed to do something like this in a long time; she’d made her way on her own for years. But if the law was brought into things… Tammy needed to put her pride aside.
Jabari was outside practicing his shooting for soccer when Tammy made her te
rrifying phone call. Beep. Beep. Beep. The phone rang and for a moment Tammy thought no one would pick up.
When she heard the familiar raspy alto on the other end, Tammy felt like she was going to faint.
“Hello? Hello? Who is this?”
“Hello mom, it’s Tammy,” Tammy said. She could feel hot tears filling her eyes. She hadn’t spoken to her mother since her family disowned her. Around the time of her father’s death, Tammy had promised herself she would never forgive her mother for what she’d done.
She had ignored her mother’s calls for years. Now, Tammy knew she needed to put the past behind her. There was so much at stake now and her pride wouldn’t help things get better.
“Tammy? Is this some kind of sick joke?” Tammy’s mother replied.
Prepped For Love: BWWM Pregnancy Romance Novel Page 10
