Chapter 23
“What in the fuck did you get me into?”
I was thinking about asking Jamar to take me to the hospital once we were back in the nurse’s office but I didn’t want to miss the “Big Bang”. I popped another two pills and lay back down as Jamar and I made small talk. Neither of us brought up what we just did in fear that someone would over hear us. I secretly prayed that no cameras caught Jamar sneaking into the ladies lock room. And although I played calm, cool, and collected, my heart was racing a mile a minute.
“Fuck them bitches, they shouldn’t of been talking shit,” DeeDee said as she stormed into the room with Mr. Cappello hot on her heels.
“You can’t do this every time someone says something you don’t like. This is my place of business, Deanna.”
Both Jamar and I looked at each other at the same time. Neither of us needed to say anything because we knew what the other was thinking. Deanna? We both knew then where the nickname DeeDee came from. It’s funny how weird it always seemed once you found out a porn actor’s real name, as if their film characters were who they are in real life. I knew better than that, but it still seemed surreal.
“Yeah, I know, but they both were laughing as if what Tanya did was funny, reenacting that shit as if Jazzy wasn’t really hurt. They saw me walk by; that’s why they got louder with that shit.”
Mr. Cappello walked over to his chick on the side and put his hand on her shoulder to calm her down.
“I get what you’re saying, DeeDee, but this has got to stop. There can’t be any more fights. Hell, if you were anyone else, I would have fired your ass a long time ago. Keeping you around after you done put your foot in half the girls’ asses just isn’t fair. Just promise me that you’ll try to calm your temper. That’s all I’m asking.”
Wow, Mr. Cappello sure as hell wasn’t Breeze. He seemed to treat DeeDee with such respect, as if he knew she wouldn’t accept anything else. There was tenderness in his heart for her and it showed in the way he spoke to her and treated her.
She seemed to calm down with each word that came out of his mouth. She smiled at him and understood his point. Everyone knew that she was his side piece. We knew that she was somewhat the queen of the warehouse and at times, she did make him look bad. It was almost as if he allowed her to run amuck, like a dog without a leash.
“Okay, Bobby, I’ll try, but please, warn them hoes to stay the fuck away from me and to watch what they say ‘cause I am only human.”
Mr. Cappello laughed and bent down and kissed her lips.
“Let me run up and get my things out of the office; be ready to leave in 10.”
I watched him leave the room and gave Jamar that “Oh, shit” look. It would be a matter of minutes before it hit him, as the pills took effect, I waited.
*****
The sirens went off as if the warehouse was on fire.
“Attention everyone, this is a lock down, please head to the main set, attention, this is a lock down, do not attempt to leave, the doors are all locked.”
The voice said over and over again on the speaker system. DeeDee looked at me, I looked at Jamar, and he looked at her, DeeDee being the only one amongst the three of us who didn’t know what was going on. They both stood up and waited for me to move my now very high ass off the cot. It seemed like the pills I swallowed all night although slowly taking the pain away, had now clouded my system all at once. I was dazed, my body was loose, and I was really relaxed. The worry I had before seemed to slip away as euphoria stepped in its place. We walked to the main set with everyone else and waited to hear what was going on. First Mr. Cappello walked in followed by his son and four security men. He was as red as an apple, I guess he never thought that anyone would have the nerve to steal from him, but come one, who walks away from a stack of money on their desk? I don’t care what is going on, you make sure that you put it away, let alone letting anyone see you put in the safe combination.
“LISTEN UP, I DON’T KNOW WHO THE FUCK WOULD BE CRAZY ENOUGH TO GO INTO MY OFFICE AND TAKE MONEY OUT OF THERE BUT IF YOU’RE STILL HERE THEN THAT MEANS THE MONEY IS HERE TOO. AND I WILL TEAR THIS PLACE APART BEFORE I LET ANY OF YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS.”
One of the security men stepped in and patted Mr. Cappello on his back to try and calm him down. As he yelled, his body shook with anger and his voice trembled with vengeance.
“So this is what we’re gonna go,” Breeze said as he continued where his dad left off.
“Women on this side, guys on the other, step behind the tables and empty your purse and pockets. After that the men will be taken to the locker rooms followed by the ladies. You will stand in front of your locker without opening them. Wait for someone to come up to you and then and only then, you will be told to open the locker, understood?”
Everyone answered yes and went to the designated sides of the room. I looked over at Jamar and he looked as though his heart was in his mouth threatening to scream “I did it, I did it”. I looked at him until we locked eyes and mouthed (relax).
“Damn Jazzy, look at Bobby, my baby looks like his about to lose his shit, huh? Who would be dumb enough to do that shit, don’t they know that everything is taped around here?”
“They are?” I asked.
“Girl, yes, Bobby’s not that dumb. Don’t you see those things that look like fire alarms? Well, they are also cameras. They’re everywhere, hallways, locker rooms, and even the bathroom, not the stalls but where the sinks are,” she said as she pointed to one of the fire alarms. FUCK, I messed up now. What am I gonna say when they go over the tapes? Jamar, they’ll see him putting the money in Tanya’s locker. Shit, shit, shit.
“Girl, are you okay, you just turned ghost white?”
I grabbed onto the table and help it for support.”
“Yeah, these pills got my dizzy is all, is there a chair around that I could sit on?”
I looked over at Jamar and he looked as if he could hear DeeDee and my conversation from where he stood.
After checking the content on the men’s side, I watched as they disappeared. Jamar gave me one last look as he turned the corner and out of my view. I sat and waited for my purse content to be looked over as I watched Breeze and two of the security guard went down the table.
“Where’s your purse, Tanya, why don’t you have anything down in front of you?”
Breeze asked only to seem fair, I’m sure.
“This is fucking ridiculous, I was with you the whole time, plus, I put it in my locker.”
I watched as a bead of sweat broke on Tanya’s forehead. After all, she did take a stack of bills off of the desk. Her heart must have been beating just as fast as mine by that point.
I watched as Breeze looked at her. He probably wanted to just let her slide thinking that any woman who dated him had no reason to steal from his father, but then he remembered what his father said, “Leave no fucking stone unturned”.
“We’ll check hers once we hit the locker rooms,” he said to the bodyguard before moving to the next person. Now I don’t know where she put the stack she took off the desk once she left the office but judging by her face, it must have still been in her purse. I wanted to laugh as I sat there visualizing her reaction when the contents of the safe are also found in her locker. Once he got to DeeDee, she let it be known how she felt about having to stand in line with the would-be thief.
“Now you know I didn’t take anything from Bobby. I was up here kickin’ ass,” she said, with her hand on her hip.
“As if you haven’t taken enough from him,” Breeze said with disgust hanging off of his words. She sucked her teeth and said, “FUCK YOU” loud enough for all of us to hear. He just kept it moving.
“And where are all of your things?” Breeze asked me as he picked my keys and the pack of gum that were in my pocket.
“That’s all I have on me, the rest is in my locker.”
I wasn’t going to even mention my bag that was left in the nurse’s office; it had the damn tape
in it. He told the guard he spoke to before to put me on the same list as Tanya. I cringed when her and my name was spoken in the same sentence, damn I hated her.
“Okay, just have a seat, you all can go once the girl’s locker room and the rest of the warehouse has been search,” Mr. Cappello said as the men walked back out. Now everyone else knew what Jamar and I knew all the while, the money would not be found in the men’s locker room.
“Okay, ladies. Follow me.”
We all got up and followed Mr. Cappello, Breeze, and two of the bodyguards in a single file line. Once in the locker room, we all stood by our lockers and were reminded not to even touch them until someone was standing with us. I watched as each locker was opened with Breeze and his dad there to oversee the content inside of them. It seemed with each empty locker, Mr. Cappello’s anger rose. It was as if he wanted to find the money just to put his nerves at ease, almost wishing that it would be found in one the countless of lockers they looked into. I stood by my own almost about to burst. Although I knew that my revenge may be short lived due to the cameras, I still couldn’t wait for them to hit Tanya’s locker. I stood there, with them at locker number ten and braced myself for what was about to happen. Just as I suspected, Tanya’s guilt for taking the money off of Mr. Cappello’s deck made her speak too soon.
“I have money in my purse but I went to the bank before I came into work. I’m sure I have the withdrawal slip somewhere in there.”
I watched Mr. Cappello’s eyebrow rise. He turned to Breeze and stared him down.
“Didn’t you two come in together this morning?” he asked, daring his son to lie to him with just the curl of his lip and killer like stare.
“Yeah, we came in together,” Breeze answered.
“What bank did you stop at?”
Breeze couldn’t answer his dad’s question because there was no bank stop this morning. His heart was racing just as fast as Tanya’s and mine. It couldn’t be! Why would Tanya lie? Would she have the guts to steal from his dad? The questions burned through his mind and set his nerves on fire. I watched as he wiped the sweat that was now forming on his brow.
“Open the fucking locker,” Breeze told Tanya between clinched lips. She picked up the lock and turned to the first number…06, then around passing the next only to come back to it…01, then she stopped. We all waited to see or hear what she was going to come up with next but she just stood there.
“What the fuck are you waiting for?” Breeze asked. He knew Tanya and something was up. She was always bold, yet now she was hesitant. Her hands shook uncontrollably as the seconds ticked by.
“You got one more fucking second before I yank your ass away from the locker and pop the lock, OPEN THE GOD-DAMN THING!”
Breeze’s frustration was at an all-time high. All of the conversations, all of the warnings that were given to him by not only his dad but by other workers at Fantasy Pictures all fell on deaf ears, and now here he stood, with the one person he always took up for, about to be publicly disgraced right along with her. Revenge couldn’t taste any sweeter. She started all over, first the 06, then the 01, and finally the 08. POP, it was open. She removed the lock and swung the door open slowly.
“Give me your purse.”
She did as Breeze asked and handed him her purse. It seemed like everyone in the room was on the edge as we heard the zipper open. He stuck his hand in and brought it back out, with the 10K stack that she took from Mr. Cappello’s desk. Everyone gasped, including me. I wish I had a camera to record Tanya’s reaction. Breeze looked like he wanted to die while his father looked like he had murder on his mind.
“Okay, wait, let me explain---,” Tanya pleaded, but Mr. Cappello didn’t give a shit about what she had to say. He pushed her aside and shut her up with the wave of his hand. He went through her locker like a hurricane. We all watched as he emptied the bottom half of the locker with rage. The closer he got to the top half of her locker, the more out of control my breathing and heartbeat become. My legs trembled and I felt as if I was on the brink of yelling, “THE TOP; IT’S ALL ON THE TOP HALF OF THE LOCKER.” But, I just waited like everyone else. On the top shelf were a few shirts, neatly folded. I knew that was Jamar’s doing because Tanya’s locker was always a mess. Nothing was ever folded in there. I watched Mr. Cappello pick up the shirts and throw them behind him. Then, he stopped. He didn’t move or say a word. His body covered the locker, so we all waited for him to move aside. However, he just stood there for a short while.
“Is it empty? Did you find anything else?” Breeze asked, almost out of breath.
When Mr. Cappello stepped aside, the room went crazy. There the money was, in neat stacks on the top shelf.
“That bitch is fucking crazy,” DeeDee yelled to me. I looked at her and shook my head in what she thought was disbelief. I looked at Tanya who was being held by one of the guards and she looked just as shattered as she did confused.
“That shit is not mine. I swear, I didn’t put it there, oh, my God, please baby, you’ve got to believe me.”
Tears were running down her face and ruined her always perfect porn make-up. Her snow white skin was as red as a beet as she cried and gasped for air.
“You fucking bitch, how fucking dare you?” Mr. Cappello asked. Meanwhile, Breeze was just stoic and that was scary. I don’t know if it was because he was still trying to process what was going on or if it just didn’t hit him yet but he just stood there staring into space.
“You’re not listening to me; I didn’t take that money,” Tanya said, while trying to shake the guard’s grip. Mr. Cappello held that bundle of cash that she took of his desk and put his glasses on.
“You’re not a very good liar, Tanya. See here, I always put my initials on the band that is around every stack of money I keep in the safe. There it is, right there,” he said, as he first showed Tanya his writing then holding out for everyone else to see. That’s when the tears really started to come down. And what do you know? They were just as real looking as the fake ones she had not too long ago in Mr. Cappello’s office. See? That’s what she gets, if you cry wolf long enough, your cries will get no reaction when you’re really being eaten, case in point.
“Okay, okay, I did take money off your desk, but I didn’t take the rest of it.”
Breeze, who had been standing there like a statue, pushed his hair out of his face, walked over to Tanya, looked at her, and slapped the shit out of her. No one moved or said anything. We watched as the guard let her go and Breeze pulled her by the back of her head and brought her close to him. She was so close to his face that, as he spoke, the spit that flew out of his mouth landed directly in her face.
“I fucking took you from a nobody to a star. I gave you everything that you’ve ever wanted. I moved you into my house and turned my back on my own father’s warnings for you. I treated Jazzy second rate because of you and put you in that number one spot…and this is what you do?”
Again, he slapped her and was about to do it again before his father stepped in.
“Enough, son, let her go…let her go.”
He repeated it twice before Breeze finally took heed. He pushed her back into the hand of the guard and straightened his suit. Tanya fell to the floor, almost groveling at Breeze’s feet.
“Please, baby, you have to believe me. Yes, I did take that money from your father, but it was just one stack, I didn’t take the rest, I swear, Breeze, please.”
She was now holding on to his leg as he tried to shake her loose, but she had a death grip.
“Someone is setting me up, just think about it, why would I steal all of that money and put it in my locker?”
There was a desperation in her voice that none of us had ever heard before. The gratification I felt crept up my spine and made its way to my lips. At first it was a smile, but the more I watched, the more it would grow.
“Why would you steal ten thousand dollars and put it in your purse? Hell, none of your bullshit makes sense to me. You’re a liar, a
cheat, a bitch, and now we know that you’re a thief. If you’re spiting more lies for me, don’t bother, I ain’t buying what you’re selling. Now my son may have been pussy whipped by you but I’m in the clear, baby. I wouldn’t fuck you with a ten foot pipe so save the bullshit. Here’s what’s going to happen, you’re going to get up, clear your locker, and get the fuck out of my place of business. I don’t want you to ever dream about this place let alone step foot in it, you got that?”
He waited for her to answer but none came. He lowered himself so that he was kneeling beside her on the floor. He lifted her head with his hand and looked her straight in the eyes.
“You better fucking answer me before I lose my temper you fucking cunt.”
She didn’t answer with words but she shook her head up and down.
PORN STARS... More Than Just Moans Page 36
