The caller laughed then hung up. My phone rang again and again. I didn’t answer. I hurried to check the Internet. Many of the pictures were posted on popular social media Web sites. They were blurred, but I was so sure that many were not. I was numb as hell. There was no way in hell I could go to work with all of this going on. More so, I couldn’t even go into a courtroom today and try to defend any of my clients. This was a big mess that I didn’t see coming. I was mad at myself. Mad at Jaylin for inviting me. and mad at whoever the hell was responsible for leaking those pictures. I called Jaylin to see if he was aware of what was going on. He answered on the first ring.
“I was just getting ready to call you. This is not good, but it’s not bad either,” he said. “My suggestion: call Olivia Pope, not me.”
I didn’t see a damn thing funny. “Man, you should have warned me. I had no idea women like that ran in your circle. You can’t tell me that you didn’t know they would do something like this.”
“John-John, calm down. Yes, there are people out there who will do anything for money. Those people run in my circle and yours too. What you need to do right now is turn your negative situation into a positive one. Don’t hide from it, face it. Embrace your new celebrity status and use it to your advantage. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, we’ll find out who was behind this and sue the shit out of them. You gotta know how to play the game, and not let it play you. You feel me?”
“Hell, yeah, I do and it’s something that I tell my clients all the time, but I never thought I’d be on this side of the fence. Just do me a favor and find out who is behind this. I’ll go from there.”
I ended the call to answer one that I saw from Britney coming in. I couldn’t get out one word before she spoke up. “Daddy, is that really you? Please tell me it isn’t.”
I guessed if I could own up to it to my daughter and explain my situation, I could do so with anyone. That included Sylvia, who was at my door around noon, asking for answers. A gang of reporters were outside of my home, trying to get answers too. I was mad as hell about the chaotic scenery, so I hurried Sylvia inside then slammed the door behind her. She came in, side-eying me as if she had a knife in her purse to cut me.
“Really, Jonathan. Since when did you become a male whore?”
“I’m going to release a statement soon. Until then, I really don’t have anything to say.”
Sylvia’s face twisted. She snapped at me. “To hell with your statement. Don’t you feel as if you owe me an explanation now?”
“To be honest with you, I don’t. I don’t have time to stand here and argue with you either. My reputation is on the line. I don’t want my business to suffer because of it. That’s what’s on my mind right now. That’s what’s important.”
She threw her hands up in the air. “Fine then. Save your business and save yourself. I’m done, Jonathan. I am once and for all done with this.”
She swung the door open and ran straight into a reporter who asked if she was one of the women in the pictures and videos. Sylvia didn’t answer. She hurried to her car to leave. As another reporter rushed to my door, I shoved him back then slammed the door in his face. I went to my office to write a brief statement that was my defense. Hopefully, it would provide a little damage control. By midday, I released a statement that read:
Life brings about many challenges, obstacles, and experiences. During a very difficult time in my life, I resorted to things that I thought would help to put me at ease and cope with a recent, tragic loss in my family. I am deeply saddened that some took advantage of me throughout my darkest days, and I am equally appalled that their actions were done to obtain money. Those individuals will face charges, but in the meantime, I apologize to my staff, as well as to my clients, who have always seen me as a respectable, upstanding attorney. I will continue to offer professional legal services to individuals in need, and I thank everyone for their understanding during this unfortunate time.
CHAPTER 24
SYLVIA
I didn’t even know Jonathan had gone to Detroit. When I discovered he was with Jaylin, that explained everything. I couldn’t believe what my eyes had witnessed on TV, as well as on the Internet. Jonathan had put himself in a bad light. Many people respected him for assisting to put those dirty cops behind bars, and everybody in need was trying to obtain his services. I wasn’t sure if that would be the case now.
As far as I could see it, he had fucked up. The comments online were not in his favor, until he released his statement. The tide started to turn, just a little, as people wondered exactly what had happened. The video and pictures were ugly. Nasty, trifling, and ugly. It looked as if some Fifty Shades shit was going on, and I had never known Jonathan to play around with toys. That’s why I figured it was probably a setup. But the way he spoke to me this morning, I wasn’t having it. Enough was enough. The least he could have said was sorry, and yet again, there I was feeling dissed by him. I felt jealous as hell, and it seemed so out of character for him to put himself in a predicament like that with two women. Lord knows what else happened that day, and he could’ve made this much easier for me, had he been willing to tell me what the hell had really happened. It hurt that he didn’t even think I deserved to know. That spoke volumes about where things really stood between us.
I tried to get some work done, but everybody was gossiping. I was saddened by all of the negative comments, and stupid me wanted to defend his ass. I kept my mouth shut, only because I knew that Jonathan would some way or somehow handle the mess he’d gotten himself into. He was always at his best when under pressure, and he was known as one of the best lawyers in St. Louis because handling crises was his specialty. With that being said, he still had a lot of haters around here. Crissy’s mouth was the loudest. She couldn’t stop talking about his actions, and the name calling was ridiculous. Deep down, I was mad at her for speaking so ill about him.
“Stupid fuck,” she said, standing near my desk. “He’s an idiot, and a freaking whore. How are you handling all of this? Did you know he was screwing around with other women?”
I shrugged as if I really didn’t care. I certainly didn’t want anyone to know, not even Crissy, how damaged behind this I really was. “I mean, what do you want me to say, Crissy? I don’t like to see him carrying on like that, but I believe he was taken advantage of, to some extent. I know Jonathan very well. That stuff seems out of character for him, but if you’re asking me if I’m mad about it, hell yes, I am. But what can I do about it? I’m not his wife, nor am I considered his girlfriend.”
Crissy pursed her lips. “Yeah, and for you not to have any status when it comes to him is such a shame. He has you soooo snowed. That statement he released was a bunch of lies. He hasn’t experienced a family loss, and when did the dark days come about? Now, I do believe that those chicks saw an opportunity and took it, but Jonathan put himself in that situation, and you can’t deny that.”
I wanted to slap Crissy across her face for elaborating on the issue with my “status,” but I let her slide. Her words stung because there was much truth to them. It was a shame, and I couldn’t be completely mad at her for telling it like it was.
“Yes, he did put himself in that situation, but you know what? Who cares? Everybody is around here talking about this like Jonathan is the President of the United States. He’s only the president of this company. I doubt that will change.”
Crissy winked at me. “It may change. We have to see how this will play out. If our business starts to suffer because of it, you’d better believe he will be asked to step down.”
Crissy flung her hair to the side then told me she was leaving. I was glad to hear that. All I wanted was peace right now, but I didn’t get it. The phones were ringing off the hook, and somebody from the media had the nerve to call and ask me if I would give an interview to discuss my relationship with the tongue-turning attorney. That’s the name she’d given Jonathan, after watching the video.
“Hell, no,” I shouted into the phone. “A
nd don’t call me again.”
I slammed the phone down then started to type again. After completing a letter, I saw a text message flash across my phone. It was from Dana, and it simply said: call me.
I wasn’t in the mood to speak to her, but this wasn’t the first time she had called. I figured she must have heard or seen what was going on too, so I put aside my bitterness and called her.
“Yes, Dana. What do you want?”
“We need to talk like now. It’s urgent. I’ve been trying to reach you for a while.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve been busy. I don’t have time to be getting slapped or to slap people myself.”
“It doesn’t have to be like that, but you make it that way. All I want to do is clear my name. I’m tired of you and Jonathan accusing me of doing things that I didn’t do. Y’all need to know what’s really going on.”
Dana had my attention. “Where can we meet?”
“How about Forest Park? Near the art museum, after you get off work.”
“That’s fine.”
We ended the call. I got back to work, wondering what Dana had in her possession that would clear her from what we had expected. It was strange that the harassment had stopped. I figured it was because Lesa and Jonathan had parted ways.
I spotted Dana sitting in a parked car at the art museum. She was looking in the rearview mirror while spreading red lipstick across her lips. She always thought she was some kind of beauty queen. I will never forget the negative and ugly things she said about me when Jonathan chose me over her. According to her, I wasn’t pretty enough. I was too brown, too fat, and too uneducated. That’s how she’d felt about me all along. I don’t know why I ever considered her a real friend. To me, she was a green-eyed devil.
I got out of my car then tapped on the widow so Dana could see me. She was so into herself that she didn’t even notice I was standing there. She unlocked her doors then told me to get in on the passenger’s side.
“Hello,” she said as I sat down. “You look nice.”
“I didn’t come here to get any compliments from you, Dana. What’s going on?”
She cocked her head back. “You know what? I don’t understand why you’re always so snippy with me. You’re the one who stole my husband, but you act as if it was the other way around.”
“You sound like a broken record. Every time I see you, you say the same thing. For the last time, I didn’t steal him. You lost him, and I took him.”
“Yeah, and now he’s on TV with his dick in other women, and their pussies locked on his mouth. What in the hell do you have to say about that?”
“Not much. He’s not my man anymore, so he can do whatever he darn well pleases.”
“He may not be your man, but he’s still fucking you. You can’t deny that, because I have proof that he is.”
Dana was starting to irritate me more. I wasn’t sure why she asked me to come here. “Can you speed things along? I have other stuff to do.”
“I’m sure it’s not to go see Jonathan, because he kicked you out this morning, didn’t he? I saw that devilish look in your eyes on television, and I could tell the conversation didn’t go well.”
I opened the car door to leave. “I’m out, Dana. Gripe to Jonathan about your feelings, because—”
She grabbed my arm. “Okay, I’ll stop. Close the door and allow me to get to the real reason why I asked you to meet me.”
I hesitated but then slammed the door shut. “You got five minutes. After that, I’m leaving.”
She rolled her eyes but calmed her voice. “Jonathan is a snake, and all I ever wanted from you was a sincere apology. You’ve never given me one, and it has left me so bitter and angry about all that happened. Over the years, I’ve wished nothing but the worst for the both of you, but then I realized that hating the two of you was doing me no good. After all, since my divorce, I’ve been blessed with a wonderful husband, I can purchase anything I want, and I am happier in this marriage than I have ever been before.”
“That’s great, Dana. Real nice, and you’ve never offered a sincere apology to me either.”
“I never felt as if I owed you one, but here’s what’s up. When you and Jonathan started bugging me about trashing your apartment, scratching cars, leaving notes, and all of that other crap, I talked to my husband about it. He decided to look into it. We found out some interesting things that you may need to know.”
“Thanks for wanting to share, but I already found out some interesting things too. Crissy hired a private investigator to follow Lesa. We know that she was involved with several men whom she probably paid to do that stuff for her. He saw her getting an abortion, and after her performance in Vegas, we also know that she is wacko. I thought you were the one behind this, and I apologize for getting it wrong, but considering all that we’d been through, I had to include you as a possible person responsible.”
“You were wrong then and you’re wrong now. Answer these questions for me: Did you ever speak to or meet this so-called private investigator that Crissy hired? Ever see him? Did she ever show you any work that he had done for her? Any pictures of Lesa and those numerous lovers? What about when she was at the abortion clinic? Did you see the pictures for yourself?”
I thought back to all that Crissy had presented to me, which was nothing. The only thing she showed me on one occasion was a blurred picture of two people in the back seat of a car. I really couldn’t make out the picture, but she said it was Lesa. She said everything, and not once had the private investigator talked to me. This was alarming to me, but why would Crissy lie?
A sheen of sweat started to form on my forehead. I didn’t like this feeling I had, and my stomach was starting to hurt.
“I haven’t seen much evidence, but I trusted that Crissy wouldn’t lie about anything like this. She has been nothing but a good friend. She gave me a place to stay, found a job for me in Atlanta, paid my attorney fees, gave me a job . . . everything. I couldn’t ask for more from a friend.”
“Friends do betray you, Sylvia. Trust me, I know, especially when it comes to men like Jonathan. Crissy has always been in love with him. She found that job for you in Atlanta so that she could get you out of the way. After you moved, she and Jonathan started a brief relationship that went nowhere. She was bitter . . . angry at him for moving on with Lesa. The only person she figured who could stop Jonathan from marrying Lesa was you. So she moved you back here, set you up in a lavish apartment, gave you a good-paying job, and waited for this thing to play out between you and him. She created just enough chaos to get you and him stirred up. Then she threw in a private investigator who didn’t exist, and made you believe that Lesa had betrayed him. The truth is Jonathan betrayed her. Lesa hadn’t cheated on him, until you came into the picture. She was devastated, and she did allow a model to perform oral sex on her. I spoke to her about all of this. Even though she does seem a little off, there was no abortion. Crissy lied. She used you to feed Jonathan false information about Lesa.”
The whole time Dana spoke, I could barely move. I didn’t blink, and couldn’t even tell if I was breathing. I was in major shock. So much so that Dana waved her hand in my face to knock me out of my trance.
“I . . . I can’t believe any of this. Why . . . How are you so sure? Do you have evidence?”
“I figured you would ask.”
Dana opened an envelope that showed clear pictures of Jonathan and Crissy displaying intimacy. They were in a car kissing, and one picture showed his hand down her blouse.
“Those pictures were taken a few years ago. I had Jonathan watched because I didn’t know how our divorce was going to turn out. If he was going to use my fling, Lewis, against me, I had to get something on him. I never suspected that my sources would come back with pictures of him and Crissy.”
Dana pulled out several more pictures, one of Crissy posing with a pit bull, another with her in disguise while at the movie theater. She was next to my car, and when she walked away, the scratch was
visible.
“My guy didn’t get everything, but he got enough. He helped me put two and two together, and, at this point, what I told you is what we suspect. If you confront her, I don’t know if she will be honest about it. But do me a favor: don’t call me. I’m not testifying. I’m not acknowledging anything. As far as I’m concerned, we never had this conversation. I want to get on with my life and be done with all of this. Even though I’ve made plenty of mistakes, I don’t regret where I am today.”
I felt like one big fool! I should have known something was up with Crissy. The way she stayed in my business and how she reacted to Jonathan said it all. I was damn near speechless. You reap what you sow, kept popping up in my head. Karma was there, too, but this came back on me in a major way. I could barely look at Dana after this. I didn’t know what to say to her. An apology didn’t seem good enough, but I went there anyway.
I squeezed my aching forehead then shifted my head to look at her. “I’m so sorry for what I did. I should have let you and Jonathan work through whatever y’all were going through. It was wrong for me to act on my feelings. In doing so, look at where I am today. Girl, this shit is no picnic, and I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do. I could strangle the both of them, but I also have to take responsibility for telling Jonathan that crap about Lesa. If I hadn’t said a word, they’d probably be married.”
“Maybe so, but between us, it wouldn’t have lasted. Lesa got issues. She was talking about cutting his throat and chopping his dick off. I believe Jonathan did the right thing by not marrying her, but he may be upset with you for passing on a lie.”
“I don’t care about him being mad, and even though you want to be done with this, I may need you to back me up. Can you do that for me?”
“Hell, no. This is your battle. Like I said, if anybody calls me, I don’t know shit.”
Dana stuck to her words. I thanked her for sharing this information. After she drove off, I sat in my car hoping that she now knew my apology was sincere. It was.
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