But now, that high was gone, and in its place was the blue Danielle had been wearing all day. She picked up the telephone and dialed her boyfriend’s number, but quickly hung up. “I’m not calling him!” She hissed the words at the silent phone in her hand. “Danielle Esperanza doesn’t chase men. Men chase me.”
Male attention was nothing new for her. In fact, if Danielle went somewhere and didn’t get hit on, then that would be news. “Every man wants me,” she reminded herself. “And old silly Troy is no different. He just has a little attitude because I cussed him out last night.”
Danielle dropped the cell phone onto the couch and flipped on the television. A reality show filled the screen, showing a woman with what looked like an artificially enhanced bust, whining to a man who then sloppily kissed her on the mouth. “What’s so special about these people?” Danielle lamented. “How is it that they can get a show and I can’t?”
She had tried to break into Hollywood, but couldn’t seem to get a toehold. She even went to Los Angeles one summer, expecting to be immediately signed up to star in a show, but found no work at all, save for one solitary role as an extra. Now that Shreveport was becoming a budding destination for Hollywood producers, she was hopeful she could finally get going on her television or movie career.
Danielle felt that acting had to be her destiny. Why else would Shreveport have landed several high-profile Hollywood productions following Hurricane Katrina, as producers moved their projects from New Orleans? It seemed to Danielle that fate was bringing the opportunity for fame right to her doorstep. Shreveport had even developed a nickname as “Hollywood South.” It was just a matter of time before some big-time producer spotted her walking through the mall or eating out somewhere.
“I know I could be a better star than these stupid people,” Danielle muttered, flicking off the television. She wasn’t in the mood to see someone else skyrocket to stardom while she wasted away as a nurse in a psychiatric clinic.
With the television off, her mind returned to Troy. She reached for her cell phone again.
“I know he’s there, waiting for me to call him,” she reasoned. “I’m going to call him, but I’m still going to make him beg me to take him back.”
Chapter 3
William’s rebuff silenced Nikki. He works hard to provide us a good life so I can stay here and take care of Psalm, Nikki chided herself. Many women would love to be in her position, she knew. “You’re just being greedy,” she muttered to herself.
“You say something, baby?” William asked.
“Oh. No,” Nikki assured with a quick smile. “I was just agreeing with what you said earlier. We have a really good life.” She craved a career, but she knew their plans couldn’t be changed. They had agreed that Nikki would give up her work and raise their daughter—William had always wanted a home life like that.
“Daddy, I met a new friend at the park today.” Psalm jumped into the conversation.
“Did you, now?” William glanced at Psalm with a wide smile.
“Yeah, we played on the swings,” the four-year-old said, then scrambled up from her food and raced across the floor to William.
“Look at the polish Mommy put on my nails.” Psalm showed off her pale pink manicure.
“Anything to keep from eating,” Nikki said of her daughter’s cunning escape from dinner.
William laughed. “Psalm, eat your salad,” he said, which made his daughter wrinkle her nose.
The telephone rang and Nikki hopped up to answer it. “Hello?” She listened for a moment, licking butter from her fingers.
“Oh. Hi, Danielle,” she said, holding up her index finger so William could see she wouldn’t be long. “How are you?”
There was a pause, as Nikki listened, then she interrupted. “Hey, chick, I just sat down to dinner with Will and Psalm, so can I call you back in a minute?”
There was another pause, then Nikki held up her free hand, as if to stop the flow of words coming through the phone. “Okay, okay,” Nikki said. “Let me call you back. Bye.” She hung up.
Nikki returned to the table. “Danielle,” she said by way of explanation, and William nodded.
“How is she doing?”
“Oh, fine, I’m sure,” Nikki said and took a sip of tea. “She was trying to tell me about some man drama, but I told her I’d call her back.”
“That Danielle always has a good story to tell,” William grinned.
“Yeah,” Nikki said. “One thing is for sure, it’s never boring with her around. So, how was your day?”
William sighed and raised his eyebrows, letting out a long breath. “Baby, it was rough,” he said. “The campaign is getting pretty heated and we had to fight off some crazy rumors.”
William spent long days working on the mayoral campaign of Oliver Chance, a candidate he believed in fiercely, though the polls weren’t too favorable to Chance at the moment. Chance was a pastor who had decided to run for office after becoming frustrated with the way many of his church members were too often treated by city government. This was his first political run and the incumbent, Lo Dark, had two terms behind him, money and a good support base.
William, who was a year older than Nikki, spent his first two years out of college building a computer services firm with a college buddy, but the company went under after a key investor pulled out following Hurricane Katrina. He now had another company and helped people with computer problems, though lately he was working less at his computer business and more at the campaign. Reverend Chance promised William a job in his administration if he should win. William liked the idea, because he wanted to hold public office himself one day.
Nikki had interned as a photographer for the local paper in Shreveport and had worked there briefly after fleeing New Orleans, but William did not want her working. He said she had her hands full taking care of their home, their daughter and finishing up her master’s degree in art. Nikki knew he told her not to work out of concern so she wouldn’t be unduly stressed, but she also knew this was a matter of pride for him. William felt more like a man when he could afford for his wife to stay home. Except now, bills were mounting and money was growing harder to come by.
Neither of their parents had wanted them to marry so young—her at twenty, him at twenty-one—after knowing each other for barely six weeks, but Nikki and William hadn’t cared. Now, seven years and one child later, they had weathered a lot—struggling through college, building a business, seeing a business fail, having no money.
“Well, you know the Bible tells us that the enemy will come at you from all sides when you are working for good,” Nikki said. “And the pastor is running for office so he can make some real changes in this city. So I’m sure there are a lot of unhappy people out there.”
“Yeah, it gets hard sometimes,” William said.
“But I’m sure it will all work out. The Word tells us that no weapon formed against us shall prosper. And that’s a promise. No weapon formed against us, you or Reverend Chance will prosper.”
“I wish I could be as sure as you are,” William sighed. “It’s rough out there.”
“Well, I’m certain you did an excellent job handling the situation.” Nikki beamed at her husband.
“I tried.” William rubbed his eyes. “Did I tell you Spencer Cason is working in the opposition’s camp?”
Nikki’s eyebrows shot up. “Spencer?”
“Yeah,” William said. “It seems like I can’t shake that dude. Every time I take one step, he takes two.”
Spencer and William started off as friends their freshman year in college, but that soon changed as it became evident to William that Spencer seemed to covet everything William had.
“Are you serious?” Nikki regained her composure. She wrinkled her nose and tore apart a buttery piece of garlic bread. “I thought he had moved or something. Don’t tell me he’s still hanging around, chasing you.”
“Well, I can’t say for certain that he’s still chasing me,” William
said, winking at Psalm, who picked at her salad with her hands.
“Well, didn’t you start working on the Chance campaign first?” Nikki asked. “I bet you Spencer found out you were there and then went to work on the other side. What’s that guy’s problem? Seems like he would just get a life.”
“My tummy hurts,” Psalm said, pushing away her plate.
Nikki raised a brow. “Really, sweetie? Come, let Mommy make it feel better,” she said, smiling knowingly at William. “Is it because you don’t want to eat the rest of your salad?”
Nikki hoisted the child onto her lap and rubbed her stomach for a moment, but before Psalm could even get settled, she caught sight of her favorite DVD and bounced out of her mother’s arms and raced to the TV stand. “Let’s watch!”
Nikki smiled. She knew she had a good life. Why should she want anything more? William was right, she tried to assure herself. She didn’t need a photography career.
But the longing remained.
Chapter 4
Danielle pressed the end button on her cell phone and slumped against the back of the black leather couch. Tears streaked down her cheeks and she bit down hard on her thumb to keep more from coming.
“I need to talk to Nikki!” she fumed. But she didn’t call her friend back. When Nikki had asked if she was all right, Danielle had said yes, in a shaky voice. “I know she could tell something was wrong. But she was too wrapped up in her own stuff.” Danielle forced herself not to feel let down by her friend’s hurry to get off the phone. Nikki had been her first real female friend ever since their meeting freshman year. Theirs had not been an instant friendship, however.
Danielle, a year older than Nikki, had been forced to attend a mandatory tutorial session after she failed yet another English test. Nikki had been her tutor, though they were both freshmen.
“How are you going to tell me what to do when we’re both starting out?” Danielle had groused, rolling her eyes.
Nikki shrugged. “Well, I’ve just always been really good in English, and I scored really high on my college entrance exams in that subject. I needed a job and this was what was available. I don’t know everything, but I’m here to help you as best I can.”
“Well, why don’t you just do my papers for me and we can let it go at that?” Danielle shot back.
“Because, that’s dishonest,” Nikki reasoned.
“So!” Danielle laughed. “Are you some goody-two-shoes or something?”
“No, I’m not a goody-two-shoes, but I know cheating on a paper is wrong and can get us both in a lot of trouble,” Nikki had told her. “So, let’s get to today’s assignment. Let me see what you’re working on in class. I know you can get this. I’m sure you’re pretty smart.”
Danielle had cut her eyes at Nikki before pulling out her notebook. “I don’t want to do this mess. I’m wasting valuable time fooling around with this junk. I have a date tonight that I need to get ready for.”
“Well, look, you have to master this first,” Nikki insisted.
“Whatever. I have to do my hair, find something to wear, get my nails done—”
“It won’t take you but a moment to get ready for your date,” Nikki said and smiled. “You’re beautiful.”
Danielle’s eyes narrowed. “What, are you trying to be funny? Are you trying to say something? I know you’re jealous of me. Go on and say it.”
“No, I’m just saying,” Nikki said, taking in Danielle’s long weave, carefully made up face and legs that seemed to go on forever, “it won’t take you long to get dressed. You could probably go like that and the guy would still be blown away by you.”
Danielle had stared at Nikki for a long moment, but realized Nikki was being sincere. Danielle’s demeanor instantly changed, as she knew Nikki meant her no harm.
“So, you really think I look good? Do you like my hair? I bought these jeans last week.”
Nikki had lavished attention on Danielle, and never seemed too busy for her—no matter what kind of crazy antics Danielle dreamed up. That’s how the friendship started, but now that Nikki was married and had a child, Danielle sometimes had to share the attention.
“You’d think she would be tired of being with William after seven years, but no, she’s still all up his behind,” Danielle griped.
She picked up her house phone and speed-dialed Troy’s number. Again, no answer. When the answering machine picked up, she spoke. “Hi, Troy, baby, it’s me. Pick up.”
Danielle waited for a moment, then hung up. Redialing, she paused for his outgoing message again and then said, “Hi, baby, I just wanted to talk. Give me a call.”
She hung up again, waited a minute, and not able to restrain herself, dialed again. “Troy, I know your stupid behind is there! You’d better answer this phone or I will come over there and bust your head!”
When she called back a few seconds later, her voice full of syrup. “Troy, baby, I’m sorry. Please give me a call at your earliest convenience. I really want to talk to you. Love you.”
Danielle slumped against the back of the couch, her chest heaving. “I have to talk to Nikki! And she’s being so rude. She knows I’m having problems with Troy, but she’s too busy with her own perfect life.” Danielle uttered the words aloud as if speaking to someone. She dialed Nikki’s number again, but it went to voice mail. Danielle hung up without leaving a message.
Thirty minutes later, her phone rang and she answered to Nikki’s voice. “Hey, baby, what’s going on? Sorry I couldn’t talk earlier, but Psalm was talking and then Will started telling me about his day.”
“Oh, I’m all right,” Danielle said, still fuming on the inside.
“Are you sure? It almost sounded like something was wrong earlier. That’s why I hurried up and called you back.”
Didn’t seem like you were in too big of a hurry to me. “No, it’s fine. Sorry to disturb you,” Danielle said, a bit coolly.
“Hey, look, if something is wrong, just spill it.”
“I said I’m fine,” Danielle snapped.
“Fine?” Danielle could hear the smile in Nikki’s voice, but Danielle did not respond. Nikki prompted, “You know what ‘fine’ means.” Still not getting a response, Nikki pressed. “Didn’t you tell me yourself that you psychology types say someone who says they are fine really means they are fouled up, insecure, narcissistic and—”
“I said I’m fine!” Danielle snapped again.
“Okay, okay,” Nikki backed off. “It was just a joke. Look, I’ll be over there in a few minutes.”
“You don’t need to come over here,” Danielle pouted.
“I said I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Nikki insisted. “Bye.”
Nikki hung up. Danielle held the phone a moment. A tiny smile lifted the corners of her mouth. She knew her friend would come see about her.
Chapter 5
Nikki turned to William. “Look, I need to run by Danielle’s for a sec. I think I hurt her feelings about something.”
“You pay more attention to her than you do your own sister,” William said.
“Well, she is my best friend—just like a sister,” Nikki said. She had been surprised when the much prettier woman wanted to be friends way back during their freshman year of college. But Nikki quickly realized that as outwardly put together as she was, Danielle needed a friend. And living in a strange city, Nikki had need for one as well. She had moved to New Orleans from Houston not knowing much about the city, except this school offered her a scholarship and a chance to shoot pictures.
“I’m just saying. Every time that girl calls, you go running,” William said. “She needs to realize you have a life and can’t go traipsing all across town all hours of the night. You need to be at home with your family.”
Nikki kissed William on the forehead. “I’ll be right back.”
“Okay, well, I’ll make Psalm get her bath and go to sleep.” A mischievous sparkle lit William’s eye. “So maybe when you get back, I’ll have something waiting for yo
u.”
“Hmm,” Nikki said, sidling up to her husband. “Will it be something . . . big?”
William smiled. “You just get ready. And don’t do too much while you’re out. You’re going to need all your energy when you get back.”
“Is that a promise?”
“You bet,” he said, bending to kiss her. She slapped him on the rear and grabbed the keys to the Mazda Protégé they shared.
Fifteen minutes later, Nikki was letting herself into Danielle’s spacious two-bedroom condo with the key Danielle had given her when she moved in two years ago. “Hey, Danny Boo, how are you?” Nikki employed the nickname she used when her friend was upset with her.
She found Danielle curled on the couch with the remote in her hand and a box of cookies on the floor. Danielle gave no indication that she heard her friend, so Nikki lifted the woman’s legs from the sofa and sat down, placing Danielle’s legs on her lap. “I’m sorry I couldn’t talk to you earlier,” she said.
“It’s okay,” Danielle pouted.
“You know if something is wrong with you, I want to know about it.”
“I know you have your perfect little family, and can’t be bothered with me and my little problems,” Danielle sulked.
“It’s not even like that, and you know it.”
“Remember how we used to talk? We both said we’d never be one of those women who kicked their friends to the curb for a man,” Danielle reminded Nikki.
“I didn’t kick you to the curb.”
“Right.” Danielle’s tone was dry.
“I didn’t. I just had to pay attention to my husband for a minute. He had a stressful day. I was going to call you back.”
“You didn’t know if I had an emergency or something,” Danielle said. “I’m always there for you. I would never just kick you off the phone if I knew something was wrong.”
“Come on, sis, I asked if you were okay,” Nikki reminded her friend. “You said you were all right.”
Scandalous Truth Page 2
