“Don’t you ever come in her house, her turf, her domain, and disrespect her this way.”
“Hiram, stop,” Marilyn pleaded while clutching one of his arms. “You’re going to make things worse.”
“By letting him control you? Intimidate you?” Hiram said through his teeth. “That’s not how any of this works.” He pressed harder, ignoring the choking sounds as Victor slid upward on the wall until his feet lifted several inches off the carpet. “If you ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, lay a hand on her again, I will mop this entire building with your punk ass.” Hiram didn’t take his eyes off Victor as he finally loosened his hold a little and asked, “Baby, you got my bail money?”
Marilyn winced, and also didn’t take her eyes away from her ex as she came back with, “Honey,you’ve got your own bail money. You’re rolling in it better than he ever has, any day of the week.”
That statement alone made Victor’s eyes pop wide and his bearded face darkened with jealousy. He glared at Hiram, who saw the effect those few words had on him and grinned. Marilyn knew exactly how to stick the knife in. The pockets.
Hiram also knew how to gouge an open wound, which prompted him to say, “My mother always said ‘if you’re going to jail, make sure it’s worth the trip. Don’t just take one hit and end up with a charge. Beat that whole ass, and while you’re soaking up three hots and a cot, you’ll be smiling and knowing it was worth the effort.’”
That truth lingered for a moment before Victor squeaked out, “I just wanted to speak to her about what happened with Wanda.”
“She doesn’t need you to come here, in her space, and threaten her like that.” Hiram released Victor and let him fall to the floor. “Be honest and say what this is really about. You weren’t a good husband to a great woman. You could at least be a decent father to your girls and stop using Marilyn. She doesn’t have to make excuses for you anymore.” He stepped in and Victor flinched. “You asked your daughter to seduce a total stranger to hurt your ex wife. You pimped her out that way because she was desperate. And it isn’t a stretch to believe that you might have done something to her before that time.”
Victor scrambled to his feet, brushed himself off as he glared at Marilyn, then turned his angry gaze on Hiram. He pulled his shoulders back and his beefy body trembled with anger. “So, this is why you couldn’t be happy with me? Wanted some of that young dick. We’re cradle-robbing now?”
“What?” Marilyn yelled as her skin flushed. “You overgrown Negro. You’d better—”
“Just think of yourself as the appetizer husband,” Hiram said, putting his arm around Marilyn’s shoulder to rein her in so she wouldn’t be the one needing bail money. “But for the record, I’m the main entrée and the dessert, too.” He kissed Marilyn and heard Victor’s grunt of disapproval.
“You’re going to marry this fool?” he said, his voice reaching two octaves higher.
Hiram held up the chain around his neck, allowing the diamond ring to shine in the muted glow of the lamp.
Marilyn gasped, clutched an imaginary set of pearls, and the act was followed by Victor’s growl of disbelief.
“Whenever she’s ready,” Hiram said, tucking the chain back under his shirt. “Just had to get you all the way out of her life—and out of her system. I think you accomplished that today. Same old asshole. Same old tricks. And she’s having none of that.”
Marilyn reached in, removed the chain from his neck, slid the ring off and held it in the palm of her hand.
Hiram slowly extracted it and placed that diamond directly on her finger.
She flexed her hand with pride, admiring the view.
Eyes narrowed to vicious slits, Victor fumed but wisely kept his mouth shut.
“You had a good woman,” Hiram said, holding Marilyn close. “A damn good woman. Now you’re pissed that the one you’re with isn’t half the woman this one was, so you’re trying to make her miserable because you are. Not happening on my watch.”
Victor drew himself to his full height, which was still inches less than Hiram, and brushed past the couple without uttering another word. He yanked the door handle on his way out, leaving Hiram with a satisfied grin in place. “If I may use a cliché, we just said good riddance to some bad rubbish.”
The door didn’t close all the way before Marilyn pushed Hiram onto the sofa, hiked up her skirt, snatched off the lace panties, straddled his thighs and kissed him like it was the last time she would be able to do so.
His erection did a happy lift in the right direction. “What the hell was that?”
“Foreplay,” she whispered. “That was foreplay.”
Hiram looked over her shoulder to find Victor watching from the sliver where the door should have met the jamb. “You can leave now. We don’t need an audience.”
Victor’s eyes widened to the size of Firestone tires and he turned to leave, but froze when Hiram gripped Marilyn’s buttocks, holding her firmly in place as he kept his focus on his adversary.
“Unless you want to learn how pleasing a woman is actually done …” Hiram stroked her lower back in small circles. She laid her head on his chest. “And from what I understand, you could use a few lessons and I’m a damn good teacher. Leave the key.”
The bewildered expression on Victor’s face was almost laughable. He hesitated, jammed his hand into his pants pocket, then tossed the key onto the floor and slammed the door.
“That was so mean,” Marilyn said, doubling over with laughter.
“Just a little payback for all the times he mistreated you,” Hiram said with a comedic lift of his eyebrows. “Nothing like hitting a man where it hurts—his ego and his pockets. Trust me, the image of you right here in my arms, all happy and e’rethang, is going to cause him to lose a lot of sleep tonight.”
“You think so?” Marilyn asked with a sultry smile.
“I know so. I saw his expression,” Hiram said, stroking her cheek with one finger. “He doesn’t know anything about this version of you.”
“And thanks to God for time, divorce lawyers, and a new lease on life, he never will.” She slid off him and unbuttoned her blouse, posing for Hiram to absorb her awesomeness.
“That’s some sexy shit right there,” he said, tracing the pattern of her red lace bra.
“You like?”
“No … I love.” He gripped her hips and pulled her toward his body. “Bring all of that over here.”
She paused and released a slight sigh. “Why is it that something that feels so right, sometimes feels so wrong?”
“I don’t want to answer that question right now,” he replied, nuzzling her neck.
“We have fifty-nine minutes before we have to meet with Jaidev,” he mumbled while kissing her breasts. “I want to make good use of them.”
* * *
Jaidev’s office had been decorated in rich tones of reds and creams, and was a combination of understated elegance and upscale simplicity. Abstract artwork and awards on the wall; a glass desk, leather executive chair, small round conference table, built-in bookshelves that held an array of holistic medicine, spiritual, and nutrition, books.
Hiram and Marilyn slid into chairs across from Jai exactly an hour and a half after their tryst.
On the table in front of Jai, Marilyn placed the pages of a game plan they’d come up with over the last few days.
Jai glanced at the documents but didn’t touch them. “What is this?”
“This is how you’re going to deal with Donald Amos,” Marilyn answered,
With his gaze fixed on her, Jai asked, “Why should I trust you?”
“Maybe you shouldn’t, but you trust Hiram and he trusts me to help undo the damage they’ve wreaked on your business. Unfairly, knowing that by the time the truth comes out, you’ll have a hell of a time recovering. And it will affect any future plans you have.”
Jai shook his head as he scanned through the pages, absorbing some of the suggestions that were put on the table. “We have to do everything ab
ove board.”
“A lot of good that will do when every one of you are on the unemployment line,” she snapped.
With a serene expression in place, Jai countered, “Playing dirty doesn’t solve anything.”
“See, here’s where you and Hiram differ,” she said, leaning forward on the leather chair facing him. “He fought for his life and lived to tell the story. He could’ve tried to simply walk away, but he wouldn’t be here right now having this conversation.”
Hiram placed a restraining hand on Marilyn’s arm but Jai leaned back, listening.
“From that vantage point, I think he’d rather spend eight years in prison than be planted in an early grave.”
Hiram flinched and tightened his hold on Marilyn’s hand.
“Jai, you have to get your hands a little bit dirty if you’re going to stay afloat,” Marilyn suggested. “They’re stomping you into the ground because they know you’re not going to do what it takes to beat them at their own game.”
Jai swiveled in the chair and crossed one slack-covered leg over the other. “A little dirty?”
“Just a little.” She positioned her index finger a few inches from her thumb.
“Or I could take that one mil Donald’s offering,” Hiram said.
Both Jai and Marilyn were shocked by this new piece of information.
“And he’ll wipe my record clean so I can get a passport and travel, too. But the most important thing is that it’ll mean that the center reopens immediately, my brothers get their jobs back and none of this is hanging over their heads any more. I can launch a tattoo shop on the North side in a few months, then come back to this line of work or something else.”
“Who is going to hire you for anything after that?” she queried, her expression foreboding and she paused to gather her composure. “Once that negative image of you is out there, it’ll be hard to walk that back,” Marilyn warned. “This is not a sacrifice you should be willing to make.”
“But if I don’t, you’ll need to leave the Bureau before you’re ready. A few more years before full benefit.” Hiram shook his head. “Leaving’s not worth it right now. The money he’s putting on the table will be a cushion until I get things up and going.”
“I don’t want you to do anything unethical,” Jai warned.
“And that right there is your problem.” Marilyn threw her hands up in frustration. “You’re playing a straight and narrow game and they are playing something totally different. You can’t win the game if you let them take you out of it.” She slapped her hand on the documents. “Right now, they’re winning. They don’t have ethics, they have power.”
“You could be fired for this.” Jai picked up the plan, scanned it, frowning with each page he turned. “I can’t use any of this.”
“None of this is proprietary info,” she countered. “All of it is available through the Freedom of Information Act. I wouldn’t give you anything considered confidential. Hiram told me enough about you for me to understand that. Have your assistant …” She glanced at Hiram. “Kelly?”
Hiram nodded. “Yes, she’s the left hand.”
“Left hand?”
“Hiram’s my right hand,” Jai explained with a smile. “Especially now that he’s taken the lead when it comes to handling the behind-the-scenes effort to get the new center opened on time.”
She looked at Hiram, the admiration evident as she said, “Have Kelly put in a request for the same information I’ve presented to you today.”
Jai narrowed his gaze at Hiram, who nodded.
“So, you have a lot at stake,” she said, placing her hand over Jai’s, drawing his attention back to her. “You must do what it takes to counter them. You can’t do that if you don’t know the levels of deception they’ve employed.” Marilyn tapped the tip of her finger on the documents she had given him. “Trust me. I do.”
CHAPTER 21
Jai held the door open so Big Red and Marilyn could walk into his office. They had taken the risk of coming without an appointment and Kelly had interrupted an important phone call with Temple to let him know the two women were in the outer office.
Big Red’s presence was never a good sign. But seeing Marilyn was disconcerting. Last he heard from the fantastic plan she and Hiram cooked up, she was going to resign from the Bureau and work for him. This invasion came as a surprise after that meeting in this very office two days ago.
Since the Bureau’s legal team had managed to strong-arm most of the families, some patients at Chetan would be shifted to state facilities. They had won that part of the battle. He couldn’t imagine why she was here.
“So, to what do I owe this impromptu visit,” he asked, not bothering to hide his sarcasm. “Not that you aren’t welcome any time, but …”
“Am I always the bearer of bad news?” Big Red teased.
The fact that she was trying to keep things light was worse than her unexpected appearance.
“Well, you said it, I didn’t.”
Big Red settled in a wingback chair across from his desk and Marilyn did the same. She tossed what looked to be a court order in front of him. “Mr. Maharaj, we need to discuss moving the patients back into your facility.”
Jai took a moment to process this new development, barely glancing at the caption on the legal document. “Why?”
“Five patients have died within the first two days of them being moved,” she confessed, her lips tight as though imparting that information was painful. And for her, it probably was. Admitting any level of defeat was a blow to her overinflated ego. “Eight more are now in critical condition, and a few others are declining. We have a sinking suspicion that the rest will suffer the same fate. At the rate they’re going, all the patients will die within a few months, if not weeks.”
Jai didn’t have a response for that because the implications were staggering.
“Several families have filed an injunction barring their family members from being transitioned to a state facility.”
Ah, the real issue. Lawsuits down the line. Lots of them. Shaz had said that would happen. “And that becomes my problem because …?”
“We’d like to bring in a team to learn how to care for them the way you have, and to care for the rest of the patients who haven’t been moved as of yet.”
Marilyn brought her hand up, gave a slight cough as she shook her head.
Message received. “Absolutely not.”
Big Red flinched, then shared a gaze with Marilyn; her expression was almost panicked—if he could put a name to it—but he could swear Marilyn was hiding a major smile. “But I thought—”
“You thought what?” he countered, intertwining his fingers as he sought out whatever calm he could manage. Five of his patients had died. Five! And correction—former patients because of their manipulation of a system that was already broken to begin with. “You thought I was going to save your ass, when you, especially, have been raking me and mine over the coals in the media and in political offices that haven’t had a peep to say in all this time. What kind of fool do you take me for? A brand new one?”
Hiram’s woman had to play off another cough to keep from laughing.
Hearing the number of fatalities was disheartening, but the confirmation that his methods were sound was the best news he’d had in a while.
“Are you coming down with something,” Big Red asked Marilyn who shook her head.
“How exactly did you think your request was going to work for me?” Jai asked, raising both eyebrows. “You trashed me, my process, my center, and the men and other employees who made this place work.”
“Mr. Maharaj,” she blustered. “All we know is—”
“You don’t know jack,” Jai snapped and didn’t bother to hide his disdain. “Your department was so hell-bent on exploiting the fact that my men don’t have degrees. You joined ranks with those who felt that infusing holistic practices into modern medicine is … hocus pocus.” He grinned. “Your words exactly. Channel Seven, Six o�
��clock news. I was watching—closely.”
Big Red heaved a weary sigh and Jai was almost certain he caught a small nod from Marilyn and she narrowed her gaze, tilted her head to the right twice in succession. All right, so the game plan had changed a little. Jai adjusted his aim accordingly.
“So, unless you’re also willing to make some concessions, as well as go on national television and clear my name, the center’s name, the men’s name—since, by even your own admission, only one of them could have committed the crime, then it’s no deal of any type.” His phone vibrated and he quickly silenced it. “I need you all to be just as public about cleaning up this mess as you were about slandering everything good about this place.”
King of Devon Page 13
