“The camera was on top of the armoire, sticking out of my toiletry bag,” Cortez bragged. “She never even questioned it.”
Bill asked, “So, what’s up with her?”
“She’s supposed to call me in the morning,” Cortez said, and continued in a growl, “Let me get some more of that man pussy.”
“Take your pants completely off this time,” Bill instructed. “That was too much work.”
With the removal of his pants, he must’ve realized that his phone was on. “I hate this damn touch phone”, Cortez said. “It was trying to call out.” That was the last thing I heard, and that was all I needed to hear.
I couldn’t believe my ears. He recorded us having sex so that he could force me to cooperate, or blackmail me, or whatever the hell he was planning to do, but this whole thing wasn’t as simple as me saying I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t know what to do, but I didn’t call him and I ignored all of his calls. Early Monday morning, I called work to say that I would not be coming in. Immediately after, I called the home office and spoke to the CEO’s secretary. I told her that there were people trying to steal from the company and had asked me to help. I was too surprised when Mr. Faison’s personal assistant returned my call, and asked if I could fly out to Jacksonville the next morning. It was an all expense–paid trip and I loved it! That was, until all of the corporate bigwigs and two FBI agents later met with me in a private conference room.
I told them everything, including the dick-on-dick listening session I attended. I even brought the hush money with me so that I was completely vindicated of this ordeal. They didn’t want to just fire Cortez and Bill, they wanted to arrest them. Cortez was already under surveillance in a money-laundering investigation, and would’ve eventually been caught and we all would’ve gone down.
They had me call Cortez and agree to change the numbers. He was overjoyed. The information they wanted to know, Cortez happily and unknowingly provided them with, even details about me sexually as I cringed. Over a three-week period, Cortez had me change the numbers eight times. Altogether, $17,804 was taken, $3,000 of which was promised to me. The day we were all meeting at a restaurant to receive the cash is when it went down, zip-zam-zoom. Cortez, Bill, and two others from my company were all arrested. I was then off from work with pay until the new location opened in Joliet in six months, where I was promised a managerial position.
Five months later, it was close to summer and almost time for me to return to work. I had relocated forty miles southwest of Chicago to Joliet two months prior. I got up at 8:00 A.M. five mornings a week and went to the gym, which included three aerobics classes a week. When I got home, I’d wash up, run some errands, shop, and get some me time in. I stopped eating so many fried foods, cut meat out of my diet for a week every month, and, during the other weeks, I tried to have no more than seven ounces a meat a day. To date, I was down forty-two pounds and I was feeling great.
Stacy was four months pregnant, and I loved hearing her talk about the baby and the various childbirth milestones she was approaching. I longed to have that experience someday. I was helping two other nurses from her job plan a surprise baby shower for her.
In the evenings, I was basically on the couch or in bed, curled up with my laptop, playing Second Life. Stunna76 and I finally exchanged real-life pictures via e-mail. He was a very large man, and when I say large, from the looks of it, the fire department might have to break down a wall or two to get him out. I was floored because his avatar looked like a chocolate Adonis. I didn’t trip though, because I didn’t look like the girl on the screen either, even with the weight I lost.
Stunna 76’s voice had me fooled though, because Lord knows I beat my pussy up with a dildo many times as his character chained me to a dungeon wall and forced me to perform sexual acts. Well, I can’t lie. Once I knew what he looked like, our sex life was over and done with, but we were still a couple . . . until one of my sorority sisters copied me on her chat log with Stunna76. Smoke and mirrors again, ladies and gentlemen. Stunna76 was a pussy-hunting dog, and I paid the thirty-two dollars in game fees and divorced him, freeing my profile of his name and mine from his.
I was sitting at home in an Alpha Phi Kappa meeting on Second Life when my cell phone went off with a number I didn’t recognize. I didn’t answer, but the person called right back. I informed my sisters I would be off the microphone for a few minutes.
“Hello?” I said in the mouthpiece.
“Hi, Garcelle?” the gentleman asked cautiously.
I got nervous, because Cortez had called and threatened me from prison shortly after he received his eight-year sentence. “Who is this?”
“This is Jason,” he said. “Is this still Garcelle’s number?”
“Yeah.” I relaxed. “Hi, Jason.”
“Well, damn, secret service agent,” he joked. “How you doing?”
I laughed. “I’m doing all right.” I was genuinely happy to hear from him. “How are you?”
“I’m doing good, real good.” I heard joy in his voice. “As you know, I’m no longer with Blare.”
“No, I didn’t know,” I said. “I’m not at that office anymore either.” I was eager to know what he was doing. “What are you up to now?”
“Well, a few things lined up for me when I started temping at an architectural firm,” Jason said. “One day, I brought in some of my designs from college–”
“College?” I said, instead of just thinking it as I intended.
“Yeah, college,” he answered. “I never finished though.”
“Sorry.” I frowned, wishing I hadn’t let it slip.
“They were so impressed that while I’m working for them in the office, they’re paying to develop my skills by sending me to a technical school to get the proper licenses to start me on my way as an architect.” I could sense Jason smiling. “Things couldn’t be better. I got a nice apartment, a phone, as you can tell, I was able to get a car, too, nothing fancy, but it gets me to and fro, ya know?”
“I’m so happy for you, Jason,” I said. “Wow, I truly hope that this is exactly what you need.”
“Man, I’m so excited about finally having the chance to be an architect,” he said. “My dream.”
“I know your mom must be proud,” I said.
“Oh, yeah,” he said. “But she didn’t like that I had to move so far.”
“Where are you?” I asked.
“In Joliet, but she acts like I’m in California somewhere.” He laughed.
“Wait.” I had to confirm. “You’re in Joliet?” I asked.
“Yep,” he replied. “The school is up here.”
“Wow.” I giggled. “I’m in Joliet too.”
“Get the hell outta here,” he said. “Are you serious?”
I was in disbelief as I answered, “Yes. I moved up here to work at the new Blare location they built.”
“Wow.” He paused. “You know what this means, right?”
“No. What?” I asked.
“It means that you’ll have to let me make that awful night up to you.” He continued, correcting himself, “No, it means that I will make that awful night up to you.”
“You don’t owe me anything, Jason. I had a great time that night,” I said.
“If you say so, but I think I was an asshole.” He said it, I didn’t. “I was going through a lot of drama back then, but there was something that kept drawing me to you, and I wanted to be around you even if I didn’t have shit to offer you.”
“Oh, you showed me what you had to offer,” I joked.
“Ah, man.” He laughed. “I was hoping you didn’t remember that.”
“How could I ever forget that thing?” I said loudly. “I guess you showed half the office. I see a few ladies got the same flowers I did.”
“Huh?” he asked. “Who?”
“Lesley and Denise.” Why was I questioning this man’s dealings? “I mean, you don’t owe me an explanation or anything.”
“Lesley is
my daughter’s grand-aunt. The flowers are for her to take to my baby girl. And Denise, c’mon, man, I know you couldn’t think anything about Denise!” He laughed. “I gave Denise flowers because she asked me to bring some for her after she saw me with yours. She wanted to plant them at home.”
“Oh,” I said. “Well, I thought if you took it out for me, you had taken it out for everyone.”
“Well, honestly and unfortunately, back then, that was the only thing I had to offer you.” Jason spoke from the heart. “I have so much more to offer you,” he hinted. “But I don’t know if you’d let me.”
“Let you what?” I asked.
“Take you out.” He pushed the envelope. “What are you doing this evening?”
“Are you serious?” I answered.
“Yeah,” he said. “Are you free?”
“Yes,” I said.
Jason said, “Well, not anymore.”
“Just like that?” I asked.
“Yep, just like that,” he said.
That evening, we met at the Texas Roadhouse on Tonti Drive. It wasn’t five-star dining, but it was what he was willing to offer me, which was more than he had before. Jason looked like a new man. He even had a different swag about him, very dapper and un-thuggish, smelling like a man I could hold for days. He even spoke differently. I guess he was really seizing the moment. I was happy for him, and hoped that I would be close to watch him go far.
Jason commented on my weight loss and seemed transfixed on me the entire night. While it was great to feel wanted again, this time, I wasn’t desperate for attention anymore. It didn’t matter what people thought about me, it was what I felt about me that mattered. Self-love is the soil and love from another is a seed. If my soil isn’t in optimum condition, then nothing that is planted there will flourish. My new attitude had nothing to do with me being thinner. I had started living for me, and not for the opinion of others. I now walked out on stage naked, leaving behind the smoke and mirrors.
Urban Books, LLC
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Back Side of Soul Copyright © 2010 Alexis Nicole
Smoke & Mirrors Copyright© 2010 Trista Russell
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ISBN: 978-1-6016-2231-0
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