Love, Lies & Consequences

by Frazier, Natasha D.

  “That’s the plan. I can’t just stop seeing Rico because of Caleb’s story. It’s been so long, I don’t think it’s worth holding on to, even if the story is true. I can’t lie and say that I’m not happy about hearing that he wasn’t cheating and I honestly feel a little silly about never hearing what he had to say. But that was ten years ago; it’s time to move on,” she said, talking more to herself than to Michelle. She didn’t know who she was trying to convince more.

  “All right, I’m going to remember this conversation. I just hope you remember it too,” Michelle said, wagging her finger at Raegan.

  “No need,” Raegan said holding her hand in the air. “Have you forgotten that Rico may be the one?”

  “Have you forgotten that Caleb was the one?” Michelle challenged her.

  “Don’t you have work to do?” Raegan said in an attempt to get Michelle out of her office.

  “Nope. Don’t try to kick me out of your office because you don’t want to hear the truth. You know that in the near future, you will have to make some choices about this whole relationship thing. I won’t push you though. Let’s just see how this all plays out. In fact, I’m interested in seeing what happens, probably more than you are. I need popcorn for this movie,” Michelle said teasingly.

  “I’m so sure of it.” Raegan leaned back in her chair, arms folded.

  “But hey, I know when I’m not wanted,” Michelle said, standing and walking towards the door. “I’m going to pack up and get out of here early. I will work late tomorrow to make up for today.”

  “Thanks for the chat but I actually do have a few things that I need to get done before I leave for the day. I will give you a call later.”

  “See you.”

  Michelle was starting to sound a lot like Raegan’s conscience. She knew that she would have decisions to make and the decisions would probably be a lot easier if she had not broken her celibacy and given herself to Rico. She had been such a fool but she was hoping that her silliness would somehow pay off and that maybe he was the one for her. But now Caleb was back and she wasn’t so sure if she wanted Rico to be the one anymore. She was confident God would lead her so she’d let it go for now.

  CHAPTER 24

  ∞

  After getting ready for the basketball game and having a pep talk with Raegan, Tammy left her hotel room to wait in the lobby for the car to pick her up. Time passes so quickly, especially when you’re nervous, she thought. The car would be there any minute.

  As soon as she arrived downstairs and walked towards the front of the hotel, through the glass doors she saw the car pulling up.

  “It’s showtime,” she said, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves.

  She rode in the backseat of the car in silence, trying to rehearse what she would say to Josh when she finally saw him. As she was muddling through her thoughts, the car pulled up in front of the basketball stadium.

  “Ma’am, we’ve arrived at your destination,” the driver said, glancing at her through the rearview mirror.

  “Whoa, that was quick,” she said, reaching in her purse to hand him a tip. He walked around to her door to open it for her. He reached for her hand to help her out of the car and she handed the bill to him, but he refused.

  “Oh, no ma’am, everything has already been taken care of by Mr. Gary’s company.”

  “But I insist,” she said, placing the bill in his jacket and walked away.

  “Thanks ma’am. Please have Mr. Gary give me a call when you’re ready to leave.”

  “Will do,” she said as she walked up to the stadium. She noticed Gary standing off to the side, waiting for her. He was dressed in a green polo shirt, in an effort to show his support for the home team, and black slacks. It looked as if he’d just had a haircut. When she approached him, she got a whiff of his Armani cologne. He smelled great, she thought.

  “Hello,” Tammy said, reaching into her purse. “Here are the tickets. Are you ready for some fun?”

  “Certainly,” he said, holding out his arm to escort her to their seats.

  They arrived about one hour before the game started, so they had time to grab a snack, settle into their seats and watch the players warm up. She ordered a hotdog, nachos, beer and water. She didn’t drink beer but decided to order one to make the client feel comfortable. She didn’t drink it; she just nursed the bottle throughout the game while sipping on her water. As they were sitting in their seats, discussing everything from work to basketball to family, she could feel someone’s eyes on her. Before even meeting those eyes with her own, she already knew who they belonged to. Her skin grew warm as she glanced up to meet Josh’s gaze.

  Josh couldn’t believe that Tammy was there to watch his game. She had only been to one of his games before their separation, so he had to make sure that he was on top of his game tonight.

  She waved at him and mouthed, “Hey.”

  The client didn’t miss the exchange and asked, “Do you know Joshua Archer?”

  “Yes, I know him,” she said without explanation and took another sip of water. She didn’t think it was necessary to mention that they were legally separated.

  “That’s amazing! You have to introduce me to him after the game!” Gary said. He could tell by her tone and lack of eye contact that she didn’t want to discuss how she knew Josh so he left it alone. However, he didn’t plan to let that stop him from meeting him. Gary commented, “There is no way we can leave this stadium without me getting a personal introduction and an autograph!” He was even more excited about the game now.

  She started making some weird hand symbols while trying to mouth, “Come see us after the game.” Joshua didn’t understand anything she was trying to do. She was starting to look like she was losing her mind. He had no idea what kind of gang signs she was throwing up. Luckily for her, the buzzer sounded as it was time for them to return to the locker room to get ready for game time. Oh his way to the locker room, he stopped by their seats to say hello. He was briefly caught off guard by seeing her with another man, because technically, she was still his wife. However, before he could finish the suspicious thought, she told him that she was there for business and she was entertaining a client, Gary. She asked him to meet them after the game because Gary was a huge fan and wanted to meet him and get his autograph. He agreed and shuffled into the locker room to meet the rest of the team.

  “This is so awesome! Tammy, we’re going to have to be business partners forever after this,” Gary said with a light chuckle.

  Great! she thought. This would certainly go over well with the partners. It was starting to work out for her after all.

  Moments later, the announcer came over the loud speaker to ask the crowd to stand as someone came out to sing the national anthem. As soon as that was over, the announcer began calling out the names of the starting players for each team. She had to admit that she felt a tinge of excitement as he called out Joshua’s name. She was happy that he was able to follow his dreams but a little down that they couldn’t work out anything to where she could share in it with him. She just felt like there wasn’t enough room in his life for basketball and her.

  “So, Tammy, how often do you get a chance to attend Celtics games since you know Josh Archer?”

  “Actually, not often. I haven’t been to one of these games in years. Work and other commitments usually keep me busy,” she lied. There was no need for Gary to know that she was still technically married to the guy. In fact, that was one little thing about herself that she preferred for others not to know. She felt like that was one of her biggest failures and she surely didn’t want to highlight it.

  Throughout the game, they cheered and chatted about everything. Gary was actually a pretty swell guy and she was glad that her company had him as a client. It was good to work with an honest, hard-working person. She couldn’t say the same thing about a lot of their clients. Many of them were greedy businessmen who only cared about the money and not about the value of their people.

&nb
sp; At half-time, Tammy excused herself to go to the restroom and send a quick text to Raegan, just to give her an update.

  “Things are going well. He spotted us before the game started. He came over to speak. Will see him after the game to introduce him to client,” she texted.

  Immediately, Raegan responded, “Good deal. Keep me posted. I can’t wait to hear the juice! Have fun!”

  That was fast; I guess she really was hugging that phone. She smiled and thought to herself. She was happy that she could have someone to confide in and support her. Raegan was such a great friend. After using the restroom and heading back to her seat, she noticed that she had a few more minutes and went to grab more snacks and another beer for Gary.

  Heading back to her seat, she was greeted by Gary’s bright smile and wide eyes. He was enjoying the game as well as her company. She was such a beautiful woman with a great attitude, he thought.

  “Hey, I figured I would bring more snacks and another beer for you,” She said, handing over the items.

  “Great! Thank you. I was just about to stop the guy over there to grab another beer. That was thoughtful and much appreciated.”

  “You’re welcome.” She was amazed at how much alcohol many of her clients could drink. They had such a high tolerance; it was almost shameful. She was happy that Gary seemed to have control and was not over doing it. He was on his third beer and she was hoping it would be the last. She didn’t want things to become inappropriate, especially since he was a valued client.

  “You’re just in time; half-time is almost over,” Gary said, popping the top off the bottle of beer. He took a swig and smiled at her.

  “Oh good. This is such a great game tonight. Don’t you think so?” Tammy asked. She was doing her best to focus on the client and not worry about how things would transpire between her and Joshua later.

  “Of course! And it doesn’t hurt one bit that our team is winning! These are such great seats. Thank your management team for me,” he said with a slight wink.

  “No, thank you for agreeing to come along. It’s our pleasure to see to it that our clients are taken care of,” she said. Not only was Gary being taken care of tonight; she hoped to take care of a little business of her own.

  They cheered and chatted through the second half of the game. Her heart raced each time Joshua had the ball, dribbling up and down the court or taking a shot. She was excited and nervous for him. He was great at basketball and was one of the best shooters for his team. When the game ended, she and Gary remained seated and continued to talk until the players went to freshen up and return to the arena. A rush of anxiety came over her when she noticed Josh approaching their seats. He stopped right in front of her and stretched his arms wide so that he could embrace her. She slowly stood and walked into his embrace. That was one of the best hugs she had in a long time, although sweaty. It felt good to have Josh close again. After what seemed like an eternity, she backed away and found Gary standing and waiting to be introduced. Gary went on about how he was a big fan of the Celtics and Josh. He had followed his career since he started in the NBA right out of college. The guys talked about basketball for a bit until Tammy interrupted them.

  “Josh, it was great seeing you. Gary, we’ll be in touch. I am going to head on back to my hotel room now,” she said, grabbing her purse from the seat. She wondered if Josh would try to stop her.

  “Tammy, you’re invited to party with us. We always celebrate after winning a game,” Josh said, never taking his eyes off of her. Gary watched the exchange.

  “Thanks, but I’m pretty tired. I have a car waiting for me outside, I think. Gary, did you call your driver?” she asked, turning to him. She hoped Joshua would take the hint that she didn’t want Gary involved in her business.

  “I sure did,” Gary said, reassuring her that the arrangements were taken care of. “He should be here now.” Gary glanced at his watch noting how much time had passed since he placed the call.

  “Can I please have one last hug?” Joshua asked, sensing that she wanted to remain professional. Tammy obliged and embraced him again before leaving. Gary shook Josh’s hand once more and asked for his autograph. Both pleased that the night turned out well, Tammy and Gary joined what was left of the crowd and exited the arena. Gary walked her to the car, though she would have preferred Josh; she wanted to play it cool because she didn’t want the client in her business like that.

  CHAPTER 25

  ∞

  Thoughts of how she would handle things with Caleb and Rico consumed Raegan’s thoughts. She wished that the answer would just fall into her lap but she knew that she had to live through this, use wisdom and make these tough choices to the best of her ability.

  To give herself time to think, she decided to relax in a tub of water as warm as she could stand it, filled with bubbles. Just as she was running her bubble bath, her phone rang again. It was Caleb. A smile instantly spread across her face. She should not have been so excited for another guy to be calling her, but she was. It was late, so she spent a few seconds debating whether or not she should answer the phone. What could he want at this hour anyway? She was curious and she really wanted to hear his voice, so she answered, telling herself she would only talk for a few minutes. That couldn’t hurt anything.

  “Hello,” Raegan said. She held her breath waiting for him to speak.

  “Raegan Camille, how are you?” Caleb’s voice caressed her ears through the phone.

  “I’m great,” she said, smiling as she slowly released the pent up breath. Raegan tried hard not to let her smile become evident in her voice.

  “What are you up to?” Caleb asked. He was relieved that she answered his call. He knew it was a little late and didn’t want to give her the wrong impression. However, he thought it was worth the risk just to hear her voice before going to bed. A voice that he missed for the last ten years.

  “About to take a bath, getting ready for bed. I do have to work in the morning, you know?” Raegan said, testing the warm water with her foot.

  “Do you need to go then?” he asked, hoping she would stay on the phone.

  “No, not yet. What’s up?” she asked as she slipped into the warm water. She masked her pleasure at the silky feel of the water against her skin. She didn’t want Caleb to get any ideas.

  “I had a late night at the office. I’m heading home now. You were on my mind so I thought I would give you a call.” He had missed her every moment since he returned to Georgia.

  “I appreciate that,” she said as she rested her head on the tub pillow and relaxed in the warm bubbly water. “So why were you thinking about me? What’s on your mind?”

  “Because...I hope to get to see you when I come your way again in a couple of weeks,” He said. He listened closely for her response.

  “Oh, why will you be out here?” she asked. Her heart began to race at the possibilities. He obviously didn’t realize that she was still in a relationship with Rico . . . or maybe it was her that didn’t realize it.

  “I’ll be looking for a place,” he said, dropping the news on her bit by bit.

  Raegan quickly sat up in the tub. “What do you mean?” she asked, becoming confused.

  “Remember when I discussed wanting new opportunities over dessert?”

  “Yeah…”

  “Well, I have one. The company is starting a new unit out there and they want me to lead it. So it looks like we’ll be in the same city.” There. He said it.

  Her eyes widened as her mouth dropped open. She didn’t know what to say. All she could think about was that she was going to somehow have to tell Rico something about this whole situation because it was not going away now. What did all of this mean? She was getting ahead of herself so she decided to let it go and live in the moment of the conversation that she was having with him. The word “congratulations” slipped out of her mouth. She wasn’t sure if she meant it or not.

  “Thanks! I’m pretty excited about it. I hope this means that I will somehow get
a chance to see more of you,” Caleb said hopefully.

  “I am still dating Rico,” Raegan said to convince both Caleb and herself.

  “Oh, yeah. That’s right. I’ll be around when that’s over,” he said laughing.

  “Whatever. What kind of friend are you? Encouraging my relationship to end.”

  “I’m probably the best friend you have. I know that there is something, well someone, out there much better for you, but you need to see that for yourself. I will be waiting when you do,” said Caleb.

  “Yeah, right. Sure. If you’re not a better friend you won’t be around,” she said, scooping bubbles and blowing them off her hand.

  “What are you doing for Thanksgiving?” Caleb asked, changing the subject.

  “I’m going to Florida to visit my family. What about you?”

  “I’m going to Florida to visit my family, too. It’s been a while since I’ve been home to see them. I’ve been working quite a bit lately, especially with taking on this new project.”

  “I can certainly understand that. I have something similar going on myself.”

  “Wow. Really?” he asked, genuinely excited for her. He knew how much she enjoyed her work and wanted the best for her both professionally and in her personal life.

  “Yes! It’s not quite official yet but I’m getting promoted to manager!”

  “You and I both know that you’re great at what you do, and if they mentioned anything to you, it is as official as the grass is green,” he said, showering her with compliments about her work. He knew that she worked hard and was committed to moving up in her career.

  “Ha. I guess so. The promotion is mine as soon as my performance review is official.”

  “That’s awesome! I’m going to take you out to celebrate when I return.”

  “I don’t know how much Rico will like that.”