Shaking his head, Nehemiah ascended.
“I’m only leaving because I have to work.” Popping his collar, he added, “I’m the director for this shit.”
“You are?” I finally gave him my attention. Suddenly, he was even cuter. I thought he was just a new bum ass homeboy like Cornell.
“Damn right. And like you, if I do well, I may be directing all the shoots for Make A Killing.”
“Excuse me.”
“So after the shoot, maybe we can chill, go get some food.”
“No—” I stopped myself. “Give me your phone.”
Nehemiah’s lids lowered, but he then reached into his pocket to hand me his iPhone after unlocking it. I stored my number, with a heart next to it, and then handed it back over.
“So is that a yes?”
“Text me once it’s over and the details of where we’re going to eat.” I half smiled.
I was gonna deny his offer, but I was too intrigued. I had no plans to cheat on Vernon, but I found myself still interested in what was out there. Also, I enjoyed flirting with guys who liked me a lot; I’d always been like that.
I could tell Nehemiah was super into me, and it’d be fun to fuck with him, play with his head a little. I was married, though, and couldn’t do too much, so this would be a little entertainment for me.
“Aight, fasho.” He was grinning from ear to ear, so I turned my back to him, giving him a nice view of my backside.
“Bye, nigga!” I spat when I caught him still standing there, watching me like I knew he would be.
Shaking his head and laughing, he walked out of the trailer. Just twenty minutes later and three outfits down, I heard a little bit of clamoring, before a gay man walked in, a black girl, and then Nala. They all spoke to me, before the man and girl began setting up; I realized they were the hair and makeup people.
“Let me get some water.” Nala went to the fridge, which was by me. “Looks good, Jilly.”
“Thanks! I promise you’re gonna be looking so bomb!” I responded excitedly.
“As long as Houston likes it.”
“Houston?” I jerked my neck back. “You calling him Houston?”
“Yeah, what’s wrong with that? I’m supposed to call him Mr. Terranova?”
“No, but only people that call him Houston are ones close to him like me, Camarih… you know, people like that.” I put emphasis on wifey’s name.
The makeup artist and hairstylist were too busy blabbering and setting up to hear us; plus, one of them had turned on some music via their iPhone, to play lowly in the background.
“Oh, I see. He and I are close though.” She shrugged. “We work together a lot and have a past.”
“Of course.” I turned away to continue working.
I wasn’t trying to start anything and piss my brother off by being unprofessional.
“Can I ask you something and you be honest with me?” Nala slipped around and sat down so that she could peer up into my eyes.
“Sure, why not?” I paid her no mind as far as eye contact.
“Why did Houston not like Joy? Like what did she do? And is Camarih nice?”
Picking my head up from sifting through the jewelry, I stared down into this hoe’s eyes for a little bit. All I saw was desperation.
“I don’t get the question,” I lied.
“Like, was Joy too clingy? Too aggressive? Too docile? And I don’t really know Camarih, so I’m just curious to know what she’s like?”
“Joy was just weak, I guess. I don’t really know why he didn’t like her, Nala, but that’s what I’ve gathered. Every time I saw her, she was whining about something he’d done, even though she knew there was no relationship.
And Camarih is just Camarih. You’ll have to get to know her on your own.”
“Oh… okay, thank you.”
Grabbing her wrist before she got all the way up and walked off, I said, “Let it go, girl, before you lose your record contract and career over a man you’ll never have. Use Joy as an example; she got pregnant, and he still didn’t want her.”
Nala looked slightly sad, but then again, she always did. I think that was just her face.
While she got her makeup and hair done, I finished the job then called my brother like Alejandra told me to. Tony, along with Alejandra, came to look it over, before Nala was told to try each one on so we could decide. Nala was staring my brother down the whole time, holding on to his every word to be sure he was pleased. I rolled my eyes on the low so many times I was surprised they didn’t get stuck.
The video shoot started about an hour later, and Nala did really good. In between every single take, she was watching Alejandra talk to Tony like a hawk, making it obvious to me that she didn’t like her.
Nehemiah did a good job, which surprised me. He seemed like a fuck up, but he was actually professional and very well versed on even the technical stuff.
By the time the shoot was over, it was 7 p.m. in the evening, and I was dead tired.
“Aye, wait.” Nehemiah caught up to me.
I acted as if he was bothering me, and like always, he smiled.
“What?”
“I’m thinking we can go on a date later on; give me some time to plan some dope shit.”
I was impressed.
“So you’re standing me up tonight?”
“Nah, not even. I just wanna come correct.”
I couldn’t help the grin on my face, so I looked off momentarily.
“Okay, fine. But if it doesn’t happen soon, don’t think of hitting me up, okay, nigga?”
“Aight, man.” He shook his head then opened my car door for me so I could get in.
He watched me drive off, and a bitch was excited the whole way back to my apartment. It was an even better feeling when I got a text from my brother.
Bro: Good job little girl. I’m gon’ drop a check off in the morning.
Me: Yay! For how much?
Bro: Enough. I may have some other jobs for you soon.
Me: Okay, I love you, Houston!
Bro: You straight too.
I chuckled at his reply. He rarely said those three little words, but I knew he loved me.
That was also how I knew what he had with Camarih was real, when he publicly said he loved her on his social media and how she was a stimulus for his everyday life. That nigga was in deep, and I liked seeing his rough ass having googly eyes for someone.
Happily, I went up to my beautiful apartment, to see Vernon on the couch playing video games. I’d let him bring his system over here when he planned to spend the night.
“Damn, you been working all day?” He paused it.
“I have.” Oddly, my mood had altered, and I didn’t know why. I had a pep in my step moments ago, but now something was wrong, yet I didn’t know what exactly. I just had an invisible nagging feeling. “Hey, you have to go home tonight.” I removed my boots.
I was tired and kind of happy Nehemiah canceled our initial outing. I was too exhausted to put my Jilly moves on him like I wanted.
“What? We agreed I was gon’ stay all week.”
“I know, but Tony is dropping off my check in the morning.”
“I can leave before he gets here. What time he coming?”
“You know how he is; he didn’t say. And that nigga wakes up early, so he’ll probably come through here around 7 a.m. He has a key, Vernon.”
“Man, I’m tired of this bullshit. You need to just fuck yo’ brother instead of me.” He tossed the controller and hopped off the couch to storm to my bedroom.
Following him, I replied, “Stop fucking saying that! Would you rather be here to greet him and he beat your ass!”
“Come to think of it, ain’t you say he was willing to talk to me? So why can’t I be here when he come by? Sounds like perfect timing to me.”
Fuck… I’d forgotten all about my lie.
“Well, because he doesn’t know that you’re staying here! Only thing he said was that he’d talk to
you, not that you could be laid up in quarters that he pays for.”
“Tell him you’ll get the check later this week, Jilly.”
“Are you stupid? Hell no! I want my damn money!”
“Cool.” Vernon finished shoving his clothes messily into his duffel bag.
“Baby, you can come back after he leaves. I will call you.” I put my hand on his abdomen when he tried to walk by me.
“You promise?”
“I do.”
Vernon leaned down to kiss me, looked into my eyes for a couple more seconds, and then left my bedroom before my apartment altogether.
This brother versus husband feud was tiresome, and I was afraid it would only worsen once Tony found out the true nature of Vernon’s and my relationship.
Shanece
I’d been throwing myself into my work because it kept my mind off a lot. And even though I was only working so much to make myself feel better and to keep sane, it’d paid off in other ways.
I’d been doing so well with securing artists for shoots and coming up with different ideas to get us online views, that my boss had offered me a promotion, a huge one at that.
I would no longer just be the girl running behind artists to make sure they showed up on time and were comfortable. I would be the head of the content department. That meant someone else would be doing all that bullshit I used to, while I got to sit in my office and come up with fresh new ideas to attract new readers. It was crazy how essentially, I would be doing less legwork, but my salary had damn near doubled. That was life, I guess.
I was so excited about this, but I felt bad about being happy because I should’ve still been mourning. I was sad though, just not as much. I could get through the day without crying now.
Anyhow, once I told Camarih about this career feat, she insisted we go out to lunch to celebrate and that she wanted me to meet her friend Rubie.
I wasn’t too interested in meeting new people, but she swore to me that Rubie was nice, not easily offended, nor violent. She’d come to know me so well. I had my reservations about new women because personalities were so different. You made a joke, and now they were defensive or ready to fight you.
Once I’d dropped my keys down into my purse, I drove straight to the hospital that Paul had died in over in Torrance. I had about an hour before I had to be at the restaurant, so it was gonna be fine. Plus, I planned for this trip to be somewhat quick.
“Oh, hello, Mrs. Porter. How can I help you?” the nurse at the front desk quizzed, slightly skeptically.
I’d come here so much with Paul that almost every nurse knew me. There were a few I didn’t recognize and vice versa, because they probably tended to him while I worked.
“I was looking for Dr. Laura or her boss.”
I wasn’t familiar with how the chain of command worked in hospitals. Hell, did doctors even have bosses? I didn’t know, but I had a complaint, and it needed to be heard by someone who could make some moves and quickly.
“I see. Can I get a little more of an explanation so I know who to contact?”
“Absolutely not. Just call Dr. Laura or give me a pass and the directions to her office.” I adjusted my purse.
“Sure.”
The young nurse, Pam, wrote down where I needed to go, before giving me a sticker badge. I switched right to the elevator, pressed the correct floor, and waited impatiently as I rode up. I followed the signs to her office and knocked roughly on purpose.
“Just a moment!” I heard Dr. Laura call out. “Mrs. Porter, hi.” She opened the door, looking shocked to see me.
“Hi, do you have a moment?” I waltzed in and sat down, not waiting for her to say anything.
The room smelled like food, so she must’ve been on lunch or something.
“Sure.” She shut the door then came to sit down adjacent to me. “Is everything okay? Did you take up the counseling I suggested?”
“I don’t need it.”
“I know you think you don’t, but we recommend widows under the age of fifty to seek it out, especially ones as young as you.”
“I’m fine, Laura.” I let out an exasperated sigh. “I came to talk to you because I want to file a complaint on Keira and have her fired.”
“I wish I could help, honey, but Keira has already been put on unpaid leave for the moment. Most likely it will result in her being let go.”
“She has? For what?” I stared at Dr. Laura intently.
“Well, this may or may not be what you came to complain about, but we found out that she had sexual intercourse with a patient.”
“Oh?”
I didn’t want to say anything, because if it was someone else other than Paul, I wanted her to spill that tea.
“Yes… with… I think maybe—”
“Was it Paul? Because if so, I already know, and yes, that’s what I want to complain about.”
“Yes, it was with Paul.”
“She admitted it?”
“Not at first. She had a colleague run a paternity test, and the colleague reported to the higher ups that Keira was pregnant by a former patient, Paul Porter.”
My heart sank, getting confirmation that it was his.
“I see.” I blinked back tears. “So why is she just on leave and not fired?”
“She’s pretty much fired, but they put you on unpaid leave while they get all their duckies in a row, then fire you. She has to go through a hearing in order for them to take her medical license.”
“So now everyone knows he cheated on me, huh?” I laughed to keep from sobbing like a pathetic wife in front of Dr. Laura.
“Honey.” Dr. Laura came to sit by me, taking my hands in hers. “He did, but he made a mistake, and he knew that.”
“How do you know? What if he loved her?”
“He didn’t, and I know so. Keira already told us that the sexual encounter was once, and how he’d denied her advances every time before. So like I said, he made a mistake, and I’m sure you did too, both out of bad judgment, but you loved one another.”
When she mentioned me making a mistake, the way she looked at me was like she knew about Rahim.
“I just can’t believe he did that with her. It was because I worked too much. I know it.” I sniffled.
Rubbing my passion twists just like only a white woman would, Dr. Laura replied, “No, she told him that she overheard you arguing with a man about having slept together. She said after she let him know what you’d done, they… you know, but he would never engage in it again.”
My tears seemed to freeze once those words left Dr. Laura’s lips. Paul did know, and it was because that bitch told him. I felt sick.
I was also embarrassed that Dr. Laura knew what I had been up to. As stated prior, she was like a mother to me, and I knew she was disappointed in my actions.
“I see.”
“Mrs. Porter, I am only giving you this information because I like you, and if I were in your shoes, I would want to know how my husband’s nurse ended up with his child in her womb.”
“Thank you.”
I stayed in Dr. Laura’s office until my red face had turned back to its natural color, and I felt okay enough to drive.
I got to The Rooftop by JG at the Waldorf Astoria just in time, giving Camarih’s name to the hostess so she could take me to the right table.
“Hi!” Camarih got right up to hug me.
“Hey, beautiful.” I grinned.
“This is Rubie. Rubie, this is Shanece.”
Rubie got up cheesing, before she shook my hand. She was a very pretty girl with a mocha complexion, tiny nose, and big lips.
“Nice to meet you, Rubie.”
“Likewise.”
We sat down, and I feasted my eyes right on Camarih’s son. He was the cutest little thing, giving me major baby fever. A picture of him in a blue rag onesie and shades was Tony’s profile picture, which I thought was too funny.
“So what do you do for a living?” I asked Rubie, and her face shifted to an un
comfortable expression, making me feel bad. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to answer.”
“No, it’s okay. I used to work for Mark Vegas, the music manager.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of him.”
“Why did you make that face?” Camarih giggled.
“No reason.”
“It’s fine. I don’t work for him anymore.” Rubie nodded, taking a sip of her cocktail.
“Well, he’s a pervert, that’s all. It’s a known fact that if you sign with him, the only way to prosper is to have sex with him.”
“Yep, very true. He fired me for not engaging in sex, so now I’m hoping to get a new job.”
“That new job being for Make A Killing,” Camarih added.
“Wow, doing what exactly?”
“Public Relations. I don’t have much experience because I only did small tasks under Mark. I thought he would have me doing more like he promised when I was hired, but that never happened.” Shrugging, she continued. “So I’m hoping Camarih will help me get on.”
The three of us chuckled.
“You won’t need me.”
“I hope not. What do you do, Shanece?”
“I work for Scene Magazine. It’s the—”
“I know what that is! Wow! Do they pay a lot?”
“Yeah, they pay well, and even better now that I got promoted to head of my department.” I couldn’t stop smiling as I thought about it. “It’s nice to have some good news in the midst of tragedy.”
“Oh, your husband. Camarih told me. I couldn’t imagine.”
“Yeah, I’m still in disbelief, but I’m glad my work life has improved.”
“Excuse me, but are you stalking me?” a man asked, and when I looked, I saw the guy Wade who’d intercepted the ass whooping still due to Keira.
He was dressed in a suit this time, looking sharper than a pin needle.
“Negro, please.” I waved him off.
“Ladies, do you mind?” he inquired.
“Yes!”
“No!” We all spoke at the same time, with me being the only person saying ‘yes’.
“Wow, is she always so mean?” Wade asked Rubie and Camarih.
“Shanece? Mean? No.” Camarih shook her head.
“Well she and I just met, but so far, no, she’s not mean.”
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