by J A Fielding
“No, it’s just that I was really psyched about it and now after seeing Melina, I think it’s all gone. That woman is evil,” Tami said in a dramatic whisper. Julie and Meg laughed.
“Evil is an understatement. That girl is the devil’s advocate, I swear,” Meg said. Julie frowned.
“Aren’t you guys being a little too judgmental?” she asked. Immediately she said that she knew she had said made a mistake judging by the way Meg and Tami were looking at her.
“Are you actually pleading her case? She doesn’t deserve that,” Meg argued. Julie joined them at the table.
“Okay, fine I admit, I don’t like her either,” she said.
“Don’t like her? You freaking hate her,” Meg exclaimed.
“Yeah, I was wondering what happened between now and the last time I saw you because the verdict was we all hate her. It’s actually a great thing she has never thought of coming down to Georgia. She would be ripped apart,” Tami said with a smile. “I would actually love to see that happen,” she continued and then looked at the other two. “Does that make me a bad person?”
“Come on, we would all love to see that,” Meg admitted, looking at Julie who was now nodding.
“True that,” she agreed. “So, last time I checked she was dating…married to that guy in the Chinese basketball team. I don’t remember his name…Dwight?” she asked looking at Tami.
“Doug Henderson,” Tami corrected. “Actually, that’s old news. The marriage got annulled. A few months ago, she was engaged to Pete Stiles, he is a pro football player,” she said.
“Pete Stiles? That guy is hot,” Meg swooned, fanning her face with her hand. Julie smiled and then laughed. “Too bad he had to end up with a skunk like Melina. Seriously, what do men see in her?” she asked.
“Have you seen the Kardashian ass?” Julie asked.
“Yes but it’s clearly fake, as is the case with her boobs,” Meg said.
“Her boobs? She has implants?” Tami asked looking surprised.
“Oh come on, you cannot tell me you thought those were God given, did you?” Julie screeched.
“Well, she swears by everything she has that she has never had any enhancement surgery done. Of course I knew her ass wasn’t all real, but her breasts?” Tami asked. Julie and Meg looked at each other and laughed.
“Okay, one you are so naïve it hurts and two, how did you explain her going two cups larger in two months?” Meg asked as Julie walked over to where her bag was and got her tablet.
“I have the before and after pics right here,” she told them as she googled Melina. “And here she is with her first husband…and here she is now,” she said as she handed the tablet to Tami.
“That cannot be natural,” Meg gasped as she tried looking at the screen. “It’s a bit too obvious really,” she added before she took another bite of her eggs. “So, anyway, what’s on your plate today?” she asked Julie, who took a long deep breath.
“Five A-list clients,” she grimaced.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Tami said as she put the tablet down on the table.
“It is…brutal,” Julie said as she took the last bite of her eggs.
“I fail to understand how working with people who roll in the same circles as Brad Pitt,” she paused and smiled.
“You still have a crush on that guy?”
“No one is hotter than Brad freaking Pitt,” Tami said almost sharply.
“Sometimes I think you are just a bit white. Black people have a thing for black men,” Julie said.
“Yeah, you know Denzel, Taye Diggs, Adrian Lester,” Meg said. Julie looked at her and smiled.
“Hm, Adrian Lester. Now I would love to have me some of that,” she laughed wiggling her eyebrows.
“Hey, stop that, you got a man,” Tami said smiling.
“Yeah, so do you. But here you are lusting after some white guy,” Julie said. Tami and Meg looked at each other and laughed. “What?” Julie asked, looking at them.
“Well, hello kettle. I’m pot,” Tami said.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Julie asked.
“I think sweetie, she means that she has a black man and she has a thing for Brad Pitt while you have a white man and you have a thing for Adrian Lester,” Meg giggled.
“Well that doesn’t apply to me,” Julie said before taking a sip of her juice to hide the obviously flushed cheeks.
“Of course it doesn’t,” Meg said, still laughing.
“So anyway, you were telling me what was so bad about dealing with A-list clients?” Tami asked.
“Oh yeah…think about it like this, it’s like dealing with five Melinas,” Julie explained as she climbed off the chair to take her dishes to the sink. Tami frowned.
“That is brutal,” she agreed.
“Tell me about it,” Julie said. “So, we are all hooking up for dinner later, right? Meg, you want to come?” she asked as she looked at her best friend who was frowning.
“Hell no, it’s a double date. You have Steven and she has…what’s his name anyway?” Meg asked looking at Tami.
“Keith,” Tami said with a smile.
“Yeah, you have Keith. I will literally be the fifth wheel,” Meg said. Julie smiled.
“I thought you were seeing some guy…” she started before Meg held her hand up.
“Yeah, that went down the drain about four weeks ago,” she said.
“Maybe we should set you up,” Julie said. Tami’s eyes lit up.
“I know just the guy,” she said as Meg gave them a disapproving look.
“No!” Meg shouted.
“Yes,” Julie and Tami said in unison just as the doorbell rang.
“You have been pretty popular in the last few days,” Meg said as Julie walked to the front door. When she opened the door, Julie wanted to scream. Standing at her doorstep was her worst nightmare.
“This is not happening,” she thought as she looked at Melina.
“Hi, you are a hard person to find,” she snarled as she walked in. Julie opened her mouth to talk, but she was dumbfounded. She wasn’t sure whether to smile or curse.
“How did you find this place?” Julie asked as she looked at her.
“I called your office,” Melina said casually.
“Of course you did,” Julie muttered under her breath as she closed the door.
“Oh the whole gang’s here. Did my invitation get lost in the mail?” Melina asked sarcastically as she walked into the kitchen.
“No, we just didn’t think we needed anyone else here,” Meg said. Tami rolled her eyes at Meg.
“It’s too early for this,” she whispered. Melina smiled and then put her Louis Vuitton bag on the counter. Julie could not tell whether she was being a show off or simply putting the bag down because she was tired. You could never really tell with this one.
“So, Melina. What can I do for you?” Julie said as she walked over to the table.
“Nothing really. I just came to check out the new digs. Your father told me you moved out,” Melina said as she sat down. “And you never mentioned it. Aren’t you excited about having your very own place?” she asked as she flipped her hair over her shoulder.
“Oh, I am. I just didn’t want you to know,” Julie wanted to say. “It just happened. I’m still getting used to the idea,” she managed to say.
“You know, unlike some people, Julie is a private person,” Meg said before sipping on her juice.
“Megan!” Julie snapped looking at her best friend. A morning brawl between these two was not what she was looking for.
“It’s okay Julz. But Meg you can’t really blame me for being proud of my house, now, can you?” Melina asked.
“There is pride and then there is what you do. Most of us know it as bragging,” Tami argued. Julie ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. This was totally out of her hands.
“I wouldn’t expect you to understand Tami. But when you have lived the life I lived and then rise from the ash
es to where I am now, you would learn to appreciate the finer things in life,” Melina bragged with a cynical smile.
“Rise from the ashes? You lived in the suburbs all your life,” Tami said, surprised at Melina’s statement.
“Yeah, your parents run a private practice clinic. A pretty well to do clinic at that,” Meg said. Melina gave them a dismissive wave with her hand.
“Well, I don’t know why we are talking about me, while I am really here for Julie. Care to give me a tour, Julz?” she asked. Julie shrugged and then shook her head.
“Some other time maybe,” she said as she walked over to the table and put her tablet in her bag.
“What’s the hurry? It’s barely nine,” Melina replied.
“Well, unlike you, most of us actually work for a living,” Tami snarled. Julie smiled as she packed up her bag. She turned around and looked at Melina.
“I really have to go,” she said.
“We can go together,” Melina offered.
“Help!” Julie thought as she looked at Melina in horror. “Excuse me?” she asked.
“Yeah, I heard you are the top realtor here and I have kind of had it with Calabasas,” Melina explained. Julie took a long, deep breath and then put her bag down.
“Okay, I kind of have my hands full at the moment, but I could hand you over to one of the guys at work. They’ll take really good care of you,” she promised. Melina shook her head.
“You know, I would much rather work with you. You know, family ties and all,” she said.
“That is exactly why I don’t want to work with you,” Julie thought. “Well, I have five clients right now. If you must work with me, you’d have to give me…three weeks maybe?” she said as Melina frowned.
“Life at the Four Seasons isn’t as great. Me and Pete are not in a very good place right now…” “…of course you are not,” Meg said cutting her short. Melina shot her a cold look and Tami smiled.
“Well, like I was saying Pete and I are kind of in a…bad place right now. And he can always find me at the Four Seasons. I would rather be at a place he wouldn’t look,” Melina said.
“I know, how about a motel?” Meg asked. By this time, Tami was struggling not to burst out in fits of laughter.
“You know there is a major problem when they replace the ‘h’ in hotel with an ‘m’,” Melina snapped.
“Come on, not all motels are bad. I mean, if you are avoiding Pete, how about a Motel 6?” Julie asked. Melina raised an eyebrow.
“People get murdered in motels,” she said.
“I wish you could get murdered in one,” Meg said under her breath making Tami laugh.
“What did you say?” Melina asked looking at Meg.
“Nothing. She was just saying that people get murdered in hotels too,” Julie assured Melina as she gave Meg a dirty look.
“Well, she’s right on that one,” Tami said. Melina looked at them and shrugged.
“Well, I have very specific needs,” she said.
“Oh, don’t we know it,” Tami retorted in a whisper. Meg looked at her and smiled.
“Like my clothes, I’d hate for them to hand wash my silk, or tumble dry my Chanel cashmere sweater,” Melina responded.
“Wow, you are still as bourgeoisie as ever aren’t you?” Meg asked.
“How is me being careful of how my laundry is handles bourgeoisie?” Melina asked.
“You know the fact that you don’t even realize how bourgeoisie that statement is proves you are bourgeoisie,” Tami said as the resounding ding dong of the doorbell filled the house again. “Someone sure is popular today,” Tami added, as Julie walked to the door, praying that it was someone she could actually stomach.
“Oh, thank God,” she said when she opened the door to find Steven standing there. She took a step forward and threw her arms around him.
“Okay, nice to see you too,” Steven teased as he held her. He pulled away and looked at her briefly before she leaned forward and gave him a long, deep kiss. “Whatever I did remind me to do it more and more,” he said when she pulled away. She smiled and shook her head.
“Let’s just say that family reunions are not my thing,” she admitted. Steven looked at her and smiled.
“In that case, you’ll be happy I am here,” he said as he closed the door and then pulled her to him.
“Steven…what are you…” she started to say before he silenced her with a kiss. He turned her around and pinned her against the door as he caressed her wildly.
“I guess you can tell why I’m here,” he said when he pulled away. She smiled and nodded.
“But the family reunion I was talking about earlier, is on right now,” she said in a whisper. Steven frowned as he released her.
“Okay that’s not good,” he said.
“Meeting my family? Yeah, trust me this one is nothing like my Dad.”
“No, not that. This,” he whispered as he pointed to his crotch. Julie giggled when she noticed that he already had a semi hard on going on.
“Oh,” she said, smiling. “Okay, you just come in and meet her. It will be gone in seconds,” she promised as she pulled him, leading him into the kitchen. Steven was thankful that he was in jeans rather than official pants because he wouldn’t have been able to hide what was happening otherwise.
“This must be Steven,” Melina said. Julie looked at her surprised.
“How do you know his name?” she asked.
“People talk, in the family I mean,” Melina stammered. Julie looked at her and then at Meg.
“You must have a more interesting family than I do,” Steven said looking at Julie who forced a smile.
“This is Melina, my cousin and Tami, my other cousin,” Julie introduced smiling.
“Nice to meet you both. I’ve not heard much about you, Melina but Tami, Julie has mentioned a few things about you,” Steven grinned.
“It’s nice to finally meet you too,” Tami agreed..
“We are actually supposed to be having dinner today? Remember, I had mentioned it?” Julie asked.
“We are?” Melina asked excitedly.
“Actually, you aren’t. It’s between Steven, Julie, Tami and her man,” Meg snapped.
“And you, we made a deal,” Julie said.
“Oh, no one told me about dinner plans,” Melina grumbled.
“Like she said, it’s because you were not invited,” Tami said in a high pitched tone.
“By the way, I’ve seen you somewhere. I’m not sure where,” Melina said ignoring Tami.
“I’m sorry, you don’t look familiar to me,” Steven responded.
“No, I’m sure I have seen you somewhere…wait. Is your last name Davenport?” Melina questioned.
“Yes, why?” Julie answered.
“Stalker much?” Meg muttered under her breath. Tami looked at her and smiled.
“Oh my God, you are Steve Davenport. Realtor to the stars. I have seen you on MediaTakeOut, TMZ and stuff,” Melina marveled.
“Surprise, surprise,” Tami feigned shock as she looked at Meg.
“Does anyone else feel like this is scripted?” Meg asked.
“So, you know my boyfriend?” Julie asked.
“If you had told me you were dating Steve Davenport, I would have known immediately who you were talking about,” Melina gushed. “I think we’re friends on Facebook. You got my ex-husband a property in South Beach,” she added. Julie faked a smile and nodded before she turned to look at Steven.
“I think it’s time we talked about you and your social media accounts,” she whispered.
“If you’d do me,” he whispered back.
“If you delete her, we can have a nooner,” she whispered back. Steven smiled and slipped an arm around her waist.
“Well, it was nice to meet you both. But I think I need to get to a computer…I mean the office,” he declared before giving Julie a quick kiss.
Chapter 4
Julie had thought that by offloading some of her clients to h
er workmates that she would have an easier time but clearly she was wrong. The last two days had been torture. Getting to please all five clients was harder than she initially thought and she was right. It was like dealing with five Melinas’. She barely made it to dinner the previous day. What she didn’t like was the fact that Melina had met Steven. That was one thing she had always wanted to avoid…like the plague. It was not that she was worried that she could get to her man, it was the fact that she could get to her that she was afraid of. To make things even harder for her, Melina had shown up at her office and insisted that Julie get her a property as soon as possible.
“Like I said, I need some time before I can focus on you. You could work with someone else in the company you know. There are other realtors here,” Julie had tried telling Melina.
“I know, but I still prefer working with you…just you,” Melina insisted.
Melina was impossible. Actually by the time Julie was done with work, she had considered turning her phone off just so she could avoid her annoying cousin, but then again she didn’t want to close herself out to her friends and family. When she got to her place, she found Steven waiting for her. Judging by the aroma in the house, he had been there for a while. She kicked off her shoes and walked to the kitchen where he was.
“You keep doing this for me and you’ll spoil me,” she said. She walked up to where he was and hugged him from behind. “What are you making?”
“Stir fry,” Steven said as he turned around. “Do you know how much leftover rice you have?”
“A lot of Chinese food is ordered when three girls sit and watch chick flicks,” Julie said.
“Go get washed up. I’ll be serving in a few minutes,” he said. Julie looked at him and gave him a quick kiss.
“You sound like my Dad when you say that,” she laughed as she walked away. After she had changed, she came back to the kitchen and sat down. “Everything looks so good,” she admitted.
“It’s just a stir fry,” Steven said smiling.
“Well, before you, I was fine with pizza and five dollar footlongs,” she beamed.
“Your diet was terrible,” he teased as he poured two glasses of wine.
