Jaded

by Rhonda Sheree

  “She doesn’t know that anything’s down here,” Maria said with more than a hint of pride in her voice. “She figured her last assistant must have been using this drawer, but no.”

  “Why are you using the drawer?” asked Syeesha.

  “I’m not using it.”

  “Still lost here.”

  “Rodney is,” Maria said.

  “He has an office of his own. That doesn’t make sense. Then again,” Syeesha said more to herself than to Maria, “when have these people ever made any sense?”

  Syeesha shook her head. This mysterious big reveal was doing nothing but wasting her time. She turned and noticed the eyes of Joy Sinclair, the dead pop star, in the picture on the wall. If felt like she was staring at her. Was that pity in her eyes?

  Syeesha ran a hand over her forehead. “I suppose the mystery lies within the envelopes.”

  Maria picked up a large manila envelope and tossed it at her.

  Syeesha caught it. The envelope wasn’t sealed. She opened the metal clasp and looked inside.

  “Oh my . . .” Syeesha said.

  Maria chuckled. “Oh my, indeed.”

  Syeesha put her hand in the envelope and withdrew a stack of money. She held it to her nose and inhaled deeply.

  “Nice, huh?” Maria winked.

  “One stack could probably change my life.”

  “That’s ten grand you’re holding.”

  “Ten grand,” Syeesha repeated. She breathed in again. A steady current of electricity buzzed through her. She could get a decent apartment with this and not have to worry about rent for at least three months. By then, she’d be working again, even if it was just in the administrative capacity. A few advertising dollars had started to trickle in through her blog. If she focused on content, drove more traffic to her site, she’d generate even more advertising dollars. In a year or so she might even score a book deal. This money, ten thousand dollars, could be just the start she needed.

  “There’s more,” Maria said.

  Syeesha opened her eyes. She’d almost forgotten Maria was in the room. Maria nodded to the envelope that was in Syeesha’s hand.

  “How much is here?”

  “A hundred thou,” Maria replied. “And there’s another one in here.”

  “Two hundred total?”

  Maria nodded.

  Syeesha whistled. “Why is he hiding—“ The answer came to her before she could form the question. “He’s really divorcing her?”

  Maria smiled, nodded. “This week. I heard him talking to his lawyer. And that isn’t all.”

  How could it possibly be worse for Jade than getting served with divorce papers?

  “Go on,” Syeesha urged.

  “He’s broke.” Maria nodded her head in such a way as to say that explained why her pay was late so often. “He’s filing bankruptcy first. Then he’s serving her with papers.”

  Syeesha couldn’t believe it. “Broke?”

  “He doesn’t make movie star money anymore,” Maria said. “And the pay he gets from the government isn’t enough to pay for this place.”

  “So he’s putting a little away for himself. Jade is going to go ballistic when she finds out.”

  “How about we take it?” Maria watched Syeesha carefully. “One for you, one for me. For our troubles.”

  Syeesha looked at the money in her hand, then at the bag in her other hand. It was tempting. Rodney wouldn’t miss a little bit gone . . . The stack was smaller than a novel. It would fit easily in her purse.

  “Not all of it,” Syeesha said. “It’s too obvious.”

  “Then a little, what do you say?”

  “And when Rodney finds out some of his money is gone?”

  “So he tries to come after us. He’ll have to explain all this money.”

  “Explain it to the IRS.”

  “Worse,” Maria said. “To Jade.”

  Syeesha was still confused about one point. “I don’t get why the money’s here in Jade’s office.”

  “All I can figure is that he wanted to keep it out of the banks and put it in a place where Jade would never look.”

  “Her own office.” Syeesha followed Maria’s thinking. “And you’re sure it’s his and not hers?”

  “Positive. She’s never had the key for this drawer and neither did her assistant. Once, though, I was in here. He didn’t see me and he moved real slow, like he was up to something, you know?” Syeesha nodded. “So I hid behind a curtain and watched him go into the drawer. I didn’t know what was in there but I was curious.”

  “How’d you get a key?”

  “He left it in his pants pocket. I took them to the cleaners, made a copy of the key.”

  “That was sloppy of him,” Syeesha said.

  “The rich can afford to be sloppy. We could split one bag evenly,” said Maria. “Fifty each.”

  “Fifty thousand dollars,” Syeesha repeated. It was a good deal of money, although still less than Jade had originally offered her. Syeesha didn’t go through with the plan, but wasn’t she owed something for the emotional abuse she’d endured?

  “No one would know for certain it was us.” Maria conjoled in a soothing tone. The idea was irresistible.

  “Why are you telling me this, Maria? Why not just take the money yourself and leave?”

  “You know how they say misery loves company?” Syeesha nodded. “So does guilt. I’ve wanted to ask you for some time now. You’ve been here long enough to have suffered at the hands of Jade. You know what she’s like. We deserve our little break, and if the roles were reversed, I bet she’d take the money and she’d pretend she never even knew it was there. Just like we’re going to do.”

  Maria had apparently settled in her mind that Syeesha was going to go along with the plan. It wasn’t a matter of if anymore, but of how much? Syeesha opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, she was startled by the unmistakable voice of Jade coming from behind her.

  “What the hell are you two doing in here?”

  ***

  Chapter 39

  Syeesha slipped the stack back into the envelope before turning around.

  “Jade.” Syeesha barely recognized the woman standing before her. Jade had ditched the glamorous wig for a short, youthful haircut dyed in various shades of golds and browns. Syeesha would never give her the satisfaction of knowing just how well the look suited her. “Did you get my messages?”

  “What messages? My cell died.”

  The envelope scorched Syeesha’s hands.

  “Rodney’s in the hospital,” she said. “You need to get there quickly.”

  Or . . . maybe not that quickly since the worst of it is over . . .

  “What?” Jade said, panicked. “Come with me.”

  Jade hurried from the doorway. Syeesha’s presence in her office with Maria already a memory to Jade.

  Syeesha tossed the money to Maria and started after Jade.

  “Don’t touch a dime,” she warned from the doorway. Maria turned up her chin and looked the other way. Syeesha went back and grabbed the envelope out of her hand. “On second thought,” she said, “you do what you think is best.”

  “Where are you going with that money?” Maria asked. “Are you taking it?”

  “Right now, I’m going to put this in my purse.” Syeesha folded the envelope with the ten stacks inside. “After that, I’m not sure what I’m going to do. But whatever I decide, you can best believe that tonight I’m going to sleep like a baby knowing I’ll never have to set foot in this place ever again.”

  ***

  Chapter 40

  “What if he dies?” Jade asked.

  Jade thought that she would remember the smell of the taxi cab forever. It reminded her of death. A rancid odor that couldn’t be evaporated even with the flow of a midday breeze streaming through the windows.

  “That’s a possibility,” Syeesha said.

  Jade turned to her. “How could you be so insensitive?”

  “I told
you, Jade. He had surgery for appendicitis. He’s fine now.”

  “He could have complications. He could die and I would be a widow. Young and rich, but still a widow.”

  “That would be awful for you, I’m sure.”

  “And I had just had such a good couple of days.” Jade looked out the window. She had been impressed with how much Lydia loved her solidly middle-class life. Lydia found pleasures in the simplest things in life. Why couldn’t she be so easily appeased? Maybe I can, Jade thought. Maybe now it’s time to try something new. This emergency might just be the wake-up call we need.

  “You and Rodney will have lots of good days ahead of you,” Syeesha said. “They might be spent separately, but they could still be good.”

  “What do you mean separately?”

  Jade thought Syeesha was doing a terrible job of suppressing an upbeat disposition.

  “You two work so much,” Syeesha said. “That’s all I meant, Jade.”

  The girl was up to something. Jade felt uneasiness inside herself. Like when she was a kid being teased at school. That feeling was back. There was no time to dwell on it, though. Her thoughts were on Rodney and their future.

  “By chance was this time alone . . . productive?” Jade asked.

  “I got some writing done.”

  “You know what I mean, Syeesha.”

  “It didn’t happen.”

  “Look at me.” Jade studied Syeesha’s face. She seemed to be telling the truth. Was it possible that her husband could be alone with a woman like Syeesha and not make the moves on her? Had she miscalculated Rodney all this time? Despite her constant snooping, Jade had never been able to find any evidence to suggest he had been carrying on an affair. It was his cocky swagger alone that made her suspect. Surely, after all these years, he wasn’t embarrassed by the vitiligo that had discolored his torso to the extent of monogamy. Jade chuckled at the thought.

  “See there,” Syeesha said. “You’re feeling better already. This might be a good time to break the news to you.”

  “What news?”

  “I’m leaving, Jade. As soon as I leave the hospital, I’m not coming back. And you can keep all the clothes. I’ll just keep these.”

  Syeesha twirled her foot in the red stilettos.

  So that’s what took her so long to get downstairs while I waited on her. She was rescuing the shoes.

  “You’ll stay until I decide otherwise and I don’t want to hear another word about it right now. You should be thinking of Rodney right now, not yourself.”

  Jade was annoyed by Syeesha’s mood. She seemed damned near happy.

  “You can’t tell me what to do anymore, Jade.”

  “You don’t quit. I fire you. And I’ll fire you after I’ve seen about my husband.”

  The taxi pulled up to the hospital. While Jade peeled off a couple of bills, Syeesha opened the door of the cab and stepped out. She ducked her head back inside the taxi.

  “Jade?”

  “What?”

  “When Rodney was lying on the floor, writhing in pain, thinking he was about to die, I thought it was so touching to hear him call out for the person he most wanted there by his side.”

  “Yeah?” Jade said. “And who was that?”

  Syeesha laughed. “You will never know.”

  ***

  Chapter 41

  Being mean was wrong. Syeesha knew that. Her comment to Jade had been petty and spiteful and juvenile. But damn it felt good! And didn’t she deserve a little retribution for all the zingers Jade liberally threw at her?

  If Syeesha couldn’t handle dishing out a little quip like that one without feeling a heaping of guilt, how was she ever going to get through these next few minutes?

  What was her plan for the next few minutes, anyway?

  She hadn’t thought that far ahead. All she knew for sure was that the money in her purse was making her anxious. Maria’s voice chorused with Trina’s and together they sang a melody of money and revenge. What was her own voice telling her?

  Syeesha was already in the hospital when Jade caught up with her.

  “I never imagined you could be so cruel.” Jade was saying when she got inside.

  Syeesha hit the call button for the elevator. “You should broaden your imagination, Jade, because in about five minutes you’re going to learn a lot of things that you could never imagine.”

  “Like what? What are you hinting at Syeesha?” Jade put her hands on her hips.

  Was it possible that they’d spread a bit in the past few days? Her jeans looked especially tight.

  Syeesha kept quiet, though. Jade would know her fate soon enough.

  “Does this have something to do with you and Maria snooping in my office? What were you up to anyway?”

  They stepped onto the elevator.

  “I was not snooping. Let’s be clear about that.”

  “I hope you didn’t let her poke her nose in my affairs. Her job is to clean in there and that’s it.”

  Syeesha shrugged. “I don’t care anymore, Jade. I’m not the protector of your things. I’m your former employee.”

  Jade put her hand to heart. She fanned herself.

  “You okay?” Syeesha asked with passing interest. “You look distressed.”

  “I hate these places. Hospitals. But what do you care?”

  Syeesha shrugged.

  “If you think I’m giving you a dime more than your pay up until today, you’re wrong,” Jade said.

  Syeesha recalled the feel of the money. The bills were so new and crisp and smelled like they had just rolled off the presses. Like steam wafting from a fresh-baked chocolate chip cookie. Syeesha’s mouth watered. One hundred thousand dollars was in her purse right now. The bell sounded on their floor, bringing her back to the unknown task at hand.

  “Which way?” Jade demanded.

  Syeesha led the way. Two uniformed police officers stood outside his door. Good, Syeesha thought. When Jade was done with him they could pry her off of him and place her directly into custody.

  “Sweetie!” Jade said and rushed to Rodney.

  “Careful,” said Rodney. “Careful.”

  She sprawled out over his chest and dropped kisses on his face.

  “Where were you?” he asked.

  Syeesha stood by the door and let the couple have a happy moment. She doubted there would be any left after today.

  “I was staying at a hotel across town. My cell phone died and I didn’t know. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, yeah,” he said. “I’ll be going home tomorrow. Not a big deal.”

  Jade walked to the other side of the bed and poured him a cup of water from the carafe on his nightstand. He refused it.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” said Jade.

  Syeesha marveled at the look on her face. It was as close to sincerity as Jade could muster.

  “Did you call for me while I was away?” Jade asked in an offhand manner.

  Apparently, Syeesha’s little zinger gnawed at Jade. She almost felt sorry for her.

  “No,” Rodney said. “I figured you’d show up eventually.”

  And just like that, the sincerity was gone from Jade’s eyes. Syeesha decided to speak up now. The sooner she got this dirty business over with, the sooner she could get on with her life.

  “Look kids. It’s been fun.”

  “Syeesha,” Rodney said. “Thanks for everything.”

  Jade looked from one to the other. “She told you she was leaving?”

  “In so many words,” Rodney said.

  “I was hoping I could get a little severance pay.”

  Jade cackled before Syeesha could continue.

  “Severance pay?” Jade looked appalled. “You’re quitting, remember? You don’t get severance pay for quitting.”

  Rodney leaned up in bed and fumbled around for the remote. He clicked off the television. Syeesha heard the room go as silent as Rodney.

  “Rodney?” Syeesha asked.

  “You’re
Jade’s employee, not mine. Besides, I don’t think we can really afford to pay someone who no longer works for us.”

  “Of course we can afford it,” Jade said. She looked at Syeesha. “I’m just not going to pay you.”

  “All righty then,” Syeesha said. “Good luck to you both.” She turned to leave. Syeesha pushed the door open, then closed it again, snapping her fingers in the air as though she’d forgotten something. She turned back around and directed her attention to Rodney. “I think I might know where you could get the money from.”

  “Syeesha,” Jade said. “The money is not the problem.”

  “I think money is the problem,” Syeesha said. “A big problem. Right Rodney?”

  “What is she talking about, Rodney? She’s been dropping stupid hints all the way over here.”

  “What do you know?” he asked.

  “Everything,” Syeesha replied.

  “What is everything?” Rodney asked. He looked pale. Far worse than he did before they came in. Syeesha had to make this quick. Her nerves pulsated so hard she thought she was going to need to sit down and catch her breath. Extortion was tougher than the folks on TV made it look.

  “Yeah,” Jade said. “What is everything?”

  Syeesha started to speak. Her mouth was dry. She knew this feeling. The second she began to talk, the quivering in her voice would begin. Jade and Rodney would eat her up like a wolf feasting on a rabbit.

  So instead of talking, she reached into her purse and withdrew the manila envelope. Carefully, she removed one stack from the bag and placed it on the bed sheet that covered Rodney’s body. The first stack she placed near his ankle. The second stack she placed on his shin. Jade stared at the money, her mouth ajar. Rodney’s face was losing blood fast. By the time she had the last stack in her hand, Rodney looked like he was about to faint. His entire leg was lined with stacks of one hundred dollar bills. She placed the last stack on his uppermost thigh.

  “Should we talk about this?” she asked him.

  Jade’s voice was as strong as Rodney’s was weak. “What is this?”

  “You found this?” he asked Syeesha. Rodney ignored Jade.

  “Maria found it.”