Art of Loyalty

by Monique Orgeron

  “Will you be able to get yourself to your car?”

  “Yes, I’ll call a cab. Should I wait for my friends?”

  “No, they won’t be free to leave yet. I have business to tend to without Steve and Terry. Do you have a card or something, so I can call you another night?”

  I open my purse and hand him my card. He walks me down to the lobby, kisses me again then leaves me standing there.

  After calling a cab, I walk outside to wait. I’m standing there patiently when I hear the screech of tires pulling into an aggressive stop. I watch, shocked as Vin gets out the car looking pissed. I automatically start backing up, but he comes around fast; grabbing me by my arm, holding tight, pushing me towards his car.

  “Vin, what the hell are you doing?!”

  He doesn’t say anything, just continues to drag me to the car. He opens the door and tells me to get in. When I don’t comply, his grip on my arm becomes painful.

  “Get in the fucking car!”

  “Why?!”

  He leans down, getting in my face. “Brittany, don’t make me put you in the car!”

  I heed the warning, sending me practically tripping to get in the car. He slams the door and rushes to his side of the car.

  He gets in, slamming his foot on the accelerator. “Vin, slow down!”

  “Vin!”

  He doesn’t answer me, just continues to speed through traffic. “Vin, I don’t know what’s wrong, but you need to slow down and talk to me!”

  He looks at me then back at the road. I brace myself when he takes a turn. “Vincent please, you’re scaring me.”

  He looks back at me and starts slowing down. I take a deep breath and ask, “Now are you going to talk to me?”

  “What do you think you were doing?!”

  “Doing?”

  He yells, “Yes! What the fuck do you think you were doing?!”

  Now I get pissed. “I was on a date!”

  “Did you fuck him?!”

  “That’s none of your business!”

  He speeds back up. “You better answer me, Brittany!”

  Shit! “No, no I didn’t! We didn’t have a chance.”

  He doesn’t seem to like that answer so he speeds up even more. “Vincent damn it, slow down! I didn’t fuck him, I didn’t!”

  “But you would have?!”

  He slows down and pulls into a parking lot. The tires screech to a stop again and my body jerks in reaction.

  He yells, “But you would have!”

  I whisper, “Yes, I would have.”

  “Do you know who he is?!”

  I could lie but I chose not to. “I didn’t at first, but it didn’t take me long to figure it out. He asked about you and your brothers. He even introduced himself to Murphy. He mentioned he and his friends were in Iraq together and were starting a business here. I began to put the pieces together but it’s when he referred to you as Vincent, I knew for sure.”

  He looks back up at me and asks, “Then what were you doing?”

  I yell back at him. “My job Vincent, my fucking job!”

  He jumps so fast and grabs me behind my neck. “I don’t want you seeing him again, you hear me?!”

  Anyone else would be scared and I probably should be too, but right now I’m pissed. “You can’t tell me what to do!”

  “You will listen to me, Brittany! I don’t want to ever hear of you being anywhere near him again.”

  That’s when it dawns on me, “Teddy! Teddy called you, why?”

  “Because he’s watching them for me. He saw you and knew I’d want to know.”

  He starts to calm and tells me. “I need you to listen to me, baby. Those guys are dangerous.”

  “Not to me, they don’t even know that I know you. I played it off like I’ve heard of your family but never met any of you.”

  He lets go of me and settles back in his seat. “Brittany, I don’t want you around any of them again.”

  “I told you, you have no right to order me around. He is a client, that’s all.”

  He stares at me for a second and then throws the car into drive. We drive to my car in silence. As soon as he parks, I get out of the car. But before I can get to my car, he comes around, grabbing and turning me, throwing my back into the side of my vehicle. He grabs my face and kisses me hard. People are around yelling for him to get a room. When he breaks the kiss, he still holds my face, staring at me with those beautiful eyes that are looking more amber than brown.

  “Vincent, people are watching.”

  “I don’t give a fuck!” He kisses me again softer, making me want more. I open fully and kiss him back. When he breaks the kiss, he tells me, “You will not see him again, and if you think you don’t have to listen to me, you’re wrong.”

  Releasing his hold on me, he walks back to his car, leaving me there on shaky legs. Damn him!

  31

  Vin

  When Teddy called me telling me that Brittany was with Troy I blew up. I was way across the city, but I was speeding as fast as I could to get to her. I swore to God that if he touched her, I was going to kill him right there and screw the rest. But by the time I was about a mile away, Teddy called back and told me he was leaving, and it looked like Brittany was waiting for a cab. He told me he was going to follow Troy. At that minute, I didn’t care where he was going, all I cared about was getting to her to make sure he hadn’t touched her.

  I never felt so possessive in my life. Then she tried to defy me, telling me it was none of my business. I guess in a way she’s right, but not anymore. I’m about to make fucking sure everything she does is my business. No one will ever touch her again. She will belong to me.

  It takes me just a couple of hours to figure out how to guarantee it. I look over my copy of the contract she had me sign to find out who her attorney is.

  Then Teddy calls me back, telling me that Troy met with a delivery at his warehouse. Seems he has a new shipment of weapons. There’s no longer a question that Troy is not heading this operation. The old men were right, there was no way he could’ve got his hands on what he already had, now he has more. Someone else is running this, I just need to find out who.

  First thing in the morning I pull up to Brittany's attorney’s office. I open the door to the building and bypass his secretary. She starts yelling, telling me I am not allowed in the back without an appointment. I never stop or even look at her. I keep going until I find his office. Opening the door, his secretary is on my heels, apologizing to him for not being able to stop me. He stands and tells her to leave us.

  “Mr. Robichaux, do you know who I am?”

  “Yes Mr. Stern. Would you like to have a seat? How can I help you?”

  Closing his door, I walk in, unbutton my suit jacket and take a seat. I watch him for a second, trying to get a read on how difficult he might be. He appears nervous, but I’m a little impressed. He’s holding it together, not letting his nerves get the better of him.

  “Now Mr. Stern, what can I do for you?”

  “I’m here to buy some contracts from you.”

  “Contracts, I don’t understand?”

  “You have a client, Brittany Duplantis.”

  “I’m sorry Mr. Stern, I am not allowed to talk to you about any of my clients.”

  “Then don’t talk, just listen and do what I tell you to do.”

  He clears his throat and tells me, “I will try to help you any way I can, but I cannot betray a client.”

  “You will do what I tell you to! Your client Ms. Duplanits has contracts filed by you. I want to buy them.”

  “Again Mr. Stern I cannot…”

  “I’m not asking. I know you have all the contracts filed. I want to buy them all out, now! And don’t play dumb with me. You filed my contract, so you know exactly what I am talking about.”

  “Yes, well Mr. Stern even if I do, I cannot sell those contracts. The owners of them would have to legally release them to you.”

  “Then what are you waiting
for? Call them and offer to buy them out on my behalf.”

  “Some will not be willing to sell, they have been clients of Ms. Duplantis’s for a long time.”

  “You’re the attorney. Be persuasive, so I don’t have to be. Let them know who is buying them out and if they do not agree, tell them they will have to explain it to me.”

  I see the shake in his hand when reaches out for the phone. “That should work Mr. Stern. I will get on that right away. I will have my secretary get in touch with you once I know more.”

  I lean back in the chair and straighten my tie. I kick my feet up on top of his desk, crossing them at my ankles. “No need Mr. Robichaux. I’m willing to wait.”

  He calls his secretary to bring him all the files and starts working. I stay right where I am as he makes call after call. Some were willing, and some were not happy about it until they were notified that I was in the room waiting for their responses. Once everyone was contacted and money was exchanged, I throw my legs down to inform Mr. Robichaux of the rest of my request.

  “Now that I have gone through all the trouble of buying out all her contracts, I hope you know that I do not expect any new contracts to be drawn up and pushed through.”

  “I’m afraid I cannot stop that.”

  I lean forward to look him in the eyes. “Oh, but you will. If any new contracts come through your office, I’ll be paying you a home visit. We both know you don’t want that. You can tell Ms. Duplantis that if she’s not happy with this arrangement, she can come directly to me.”

  I stand, buttoning my suit and walk out with all my paperwork. Done, she’s mine and as mine, she’ll not be seeing any other clients. I can’t wait to tell her, but first I want to tell Willy, to put his mind at ease. It’s easy to tell how worried and nervous he is about her. Hell, he even had a stroke worrying about her. Well, now he should be happy to learn she will not be working for anyone else but me from now on.

  I find Willy in his room this time. “Vin my man, what you doing here? It’s not Wednesday.”

  Wednesday is the day that I agreed to come and speak with Willy and his friends. They want me to join their group for an informal therapy sessions. After meeting them and feeling comfortable, I agreed but told them I didn’t know how much I was willing to share. They told me as long as I’m here that was fine. They said whenever I felt comfortable enough to share, they would be here to listen and that anything said would never be shared with outsiders. I believe I can trust them so I’m open to the idea, what can it hurt?

  “Yeah Willy, I know but I wanted to come tell you some news that I think you’ll like.”

  “Alright boy, spill.”

  I throw the file on his bed and then lean against his dresser. “Open it.”

  He grabs his reading glasses and starts reading the file but then looks back up to me and says,

  “Boy, you know I’m not a smart man, what the hell is all this?”

  “I bought Brittany’s contracts.”

  “Her what?”

  “I bought out all of her clients. You don’t have to worry anymore. She won’t be seeing any of them again.”

  He puts the papers back into the file, laughing. “Does she know?”

  “No, not yet.”

  “She will be pissed.”

  “She’ll learn to live with it. I’ll make sure that she doesn’t work anymore. I will be supplying her income from now on. She’s mine exclusively.”

  He stops laughing and removes his glasses with his head down he says, “You thought this would make me happy?”

  I can tell he’s not, but I can’t understand why. I stand straight and tell him. “Yes, I thought this would make you happy. I will take care of her from now on. She doesn’t have to be anybody’s prostitute anymore.”

  “Just yours! She will be your prostitute! I might not have to worry about her being out there with Lord knows who, but I’m not happy, Vin.”

  He takes a deep breath. “All you did was buy my granddaughter. You guaranteed she won’t open her legs for anyone else but you! You know, in my day when we wanted to guarantee something like that, we married our women. We made her ours, vowing to always love and honor her above all the rest. We didn’t throw money at them.”

  “I..I don’t…” he has me so flustered I don’t know what to say.

  “You what, Vin? You don’t love my granddaughter? You don’t know if she can be your wife?”

  He slowly stands up on his own, grabbing his walker. “You’re fooling yourself, boy! You love her, you only feel that possessive of someone when you love them. But you’re being an idiot. You’re either scared to let anyone in or you’re ashamed of her. So, which is it? Are you ashamed? Is she not good enough for you?”

  “No, it’s not that!”

  He starts walking off, with his back facing me he yells out, “Then I expect you to be here on Wednesday, no excuses or I never want to see you again.”

  He walks out the room leaving me standing there, baffled. I thought this would make him happy, but it seems all it did was piss him off. But yet, he still wants me here Wednesday. I start walking off with my file in my hand, he’s full of shit! I don’t love Brittany. I don’t fall in love. I’m just not wired that way, but I will keep her safe any way I can. He has to understand that.

  32

  Catherine

  Brittany called me early this morning, asking for a meeting. It surprised me, but I would never tell her no, so I told her to come around three o’clock, the house will be cleared by then. Later, Brittany’s attorney calls me with some interesting news. Things are starting to make sense, finally. Now I have to figure out how I feel about the situation.

  The doorbell rings right on time. The one thing I always loved about Brittany is her punctuality. I stay in my office, knowing Jeffery will bring her to me. He announces her as she walks in looking nervous. I stand and go around my desk to give her a kiss on the cheek that she returns. “It’s good to see you Brittany, come have a seat. What is it that you wanted to discuss?”

  She sits as I go back around my desk. I wait for her to speak but I see how nervous she remains.

  I tell her. “Brittany, whatever it is, you can tell me.”

  She nods her head and then starts, “Alexa and Meghan asked me to fill you in on a date with three men last night.”

  I stop her right there. I expected to hear the reason she’s here is to discuss Vin, but she has me thrown off.

  “So, you’re here to talk about your date from last night?”

  “Yes, but there’s more. The date started not feeling right. They told us all about why they were here and then my date took notice to Murphy walking into the restaurant. He gave the other men a nod to pay attention as well. He even introduced himself to her, but when she left, he started asking us questions about the rest of you. He was shocked when we said we didn’t personally know any of you but that, of course, that we knew of y’all. It just seemed odd, but then he asked about Vincent. He called him by his full name. No one does that, Catherine.”

  “No, they don’t. What else?”

  “He mentioned that he and his friends were in Iraq together. Isn’t that where Vin was?”

  I’ve had enough of this game, so I tell her, “Yes, but you already know that. Don’t you?”

  Her head bows and she starts fidgeting with her fingers like she’s always done.

  “Brittany, look at me. It’s time for you to tell me everything. I already know.”

  She seems shocked for just a second. “I’m sorry Catherine, I never wanted to go behind your back, but Vin asked me not to tell you about our arrangement. I told him I wouldn’t as long as you never asked.”

  “Well, I am asking now Brittany. What is the arrangement you have with my son?”

  “There isn’t one anymore.” She starts explaining how they met and how it began. As I listen, I realize she’s the woman he had slept out with. She’s the reason he didn’t come home those nights. She also tells me how they ended
or at least how she thinks they ended. I watch her as she talks, and I see that her wall is up. Brittany and some of the other girls have a wall they put up to hide their true feelings or reactions. I sit there listening, knowing she is trying to hide something from me.

  Before I ask about what she’s hiding, I need to know what her feelings are about these men.

  “We will get back to you and my son in a minute, but first, why do you think these men wanted to know about us?”

  “I’m not sure, but I overheard him on the phone with someone. He mentioned Vin’s dreams.”

  “What about Vincent’s dreams?”

  I sit up, paying extra attention.

  “I know about them too. And if he does, I think he plans on using them to hurt Vin.”

  “What do you think you know?”

  “All of it Catherine. But I told Vin I would never use them to hurt him, and I never will. But I’m worried this is why Vincent was in the hotel, held up. Vin knows this man knows all of it, too. I asked him to come to you, but he said he wasn’t going to get you involved. He said you helped him enough getting him out of all his shit. He doesn’t want to put you through anymore when he feels like he can handle it. I’m worried though Catherine, he’s too close to this. He’s not thinking straight, he can’t be.”

  I fall back against my chair, Vincent, my poor boy. This is his biggest fear. He has been punishing himself all these years. I let a tear run down my face then I wipe it. This has to be what Richard was warning me about. I can’t let my emotions take over, I need answers. But in order to get them, I need Brittany. Vin won’t come to me and that is what I knew all along. He’s going to try to handle it himself. Brittany’s right though, he is too close to this to think straight. He needs me whether he wants to admit it or not. We’re in this together, we always have been. I just need to make sure exactly what Brittany knows and why she is so scared for Vin. I can’t betray Vincent if she doesn’t truly know it all.

  “I’m not going to discuss my son’s dreams or whatever else, unless I know exactly what he has revealed so far.”