Full Figured 10 (22 page)

“Come again!” Lance said, standing from the chair on the other side of my desk.

“I've decided to bring Lynn aboard to handle our accounting and management. You will now be her assistant and in charge of ordering and budgeting our contracts. You will still do the estimates and keep our budgets on target, so we don't go over, but Lynn will be in charge of payroll, accounts payable and receivable, and expenses.”

“Why? I mean, am I not doing a great job? I mean, this company is excelling because of my ability to keep things running like clockwork. And we are partners!” Lance yelled.

“I know, Lance, but Lynn is my wife and now also a partner in this company. It's my company, Lance, and I'm not taking away your title. I'm just rearranging your responsibilities.”

Lance's jaw tightened. “What's this about? Huh? Will, I've been loyal to you all these years, and now your little wife controls our company?” Veins were popping out everywhere on Lance, and I knew he was furious about the news.

“Now hold on, Lance. I didn't fire you, nor did I remove you as a partner. That hasn't change. I just want to restructure some things, man. It's nothing personal. Yes, I know you think my wife had something to do with the change, but she didn't. I asked her to come on board because I want her here. Since she is now my wife, she has to learn this business too. This is my company, and after the legal papers are complete, it will be hers as well. All I am doing is shifting responsibilities. I'm not cutting your pay, and you will still have a partnership in this. But since it's my company to begin with, I and my family will always come first.”

Lance stood. “I get it, boss,” he said with anger and then vacated the room.

“That didn't go too well,” I said. I sat on the sofa near the window and tried my best to not say a word. I wanted to jump in with my two cents, but I was happy I allowed Will to handle it.

“I know, but it's better than a full-blown investigation, with me possibly finding out the worst and not only firing him but also sending him to prison,” Will said. “You don't have the slightest idea of what prison is like, Lynn. He'll get over this. He'll be okay.”

I stood and walked into my husband's arms. “Are you sure?”

“I'm sure.”

I smiled. “Well, can you show me to my new office?”

“Yes. Follow me.” We walked down the hall to an office that had Will's name on the nameplate.

“But, baby, this is your office,” I said.

“An office I've used only maybe five times since I started. My office is always in the trailer at a job site, so now this is your office. There is nothing in the drawers. If so, I haven't used it in years, so you can trash it. And I need you to call in a tech from the software company we use to help you with the important things, because I know Lance isn't going to be happy to train you. I'm sure a tech can tell you what is what. There should be a roster in that pile right there on the desk with every number you need. I have to get to the site. Can you manage everything from here? I mean, if you need help, Sarah, my assistant, is out front. She can help you out. She's worked here longer than me and Lance.”

“I think I can handle things, but I'm going to need the company card, because I needs some plants, an iPod dock, a splash of color. I mean, you've seen my office at the bakery.”

“Yes,” he said, digging into his back pocket to retrieve his wallet. “Listen, if you see the paint you like, don't get it. We have a corporate account for paint. Just get the swatch, and my guys will have the paint done in no time for you.” He handed me the card.

I kissed him. “Thank you, baby, and you're making the right decision. You have a heart, and with that you allowed him to stay without even checking up on him, so if he's on some BS, he will eventually be grateful.”

“I hope so,” he said and pulled me close.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“We have to do it now!” Lance yelled into the phone.

I was at the salon, getting my weekly regimen, and I didn't want to hear any more plots about poisoning Will and sending Lynn to jail. I had never had a set of honest friends in my life; most were backbiting bitches or disrespectful men who didn't care that my friend was their girlfriend or spouse. Lynn was kind to me, and Will had never treated me like a whore. He had always had respect for me and had never crossed any lines.

“Calm down, Lance, and stop yelling in my ear. I'm at the salon, and folks can hear you,” I warned.

He lowered his voice. “We have to do something now, like, right now. He gave Lynn my position.”

I was shocked. “He fired you? Lance, he has to know what's been going on. To fire you out of the blue—”

“He didn't fire me. I still have my position.”

“Then I'm confused.”

“He gave the accounting and the books to Lynn.”

“What? Why would he do that? I told you that you were too flashy, Lance. He has to know,” I said, hurrying outside to have some privacy. I had a hair full of rollers, but I didn't care.

“I don't think he's onto me, Yvonne, because not only would Will have fired me, but he also would have stepped to me with fists. We grew up together. Will would take our issue to the streets.”

“Okay. Then why do you think he did it?”

“He went on and on about family and how, now that they're married, Lynn's part owner of the company. Since he is legally the primary owner, he is processing paperwork to add her name to the company, something we've never legally gotten around to. But I know if he was dead and she went to prison, everything would come to me. They have no children.”

“So what's our next move?”

“The poison. You have to arrange another cooking lesson with Lynn. Offer to take Will his plate, and hit him with a dose. I mean, a deadly dose, Yvonne. If they get into my records and dig, they are going to find something, and I can't let that happen.”

“Lance, I really don't want to do this. Please don't make me do this.”

“We have no other choice. If they find out about all the thousands of dollars I took, Yvonne, I will go to jail, and the lifestyle you're living will be gone. We can't live like we want to live unless they are out of the picture. This construction business is a gold mine. So many are renovating and upgrading their homes, we are making money hand over fist, and I want it all!”

I said nothing. I wanted it all too, but the idea of killing Will haunted me. Taking a life for money had sounded good in the beginning, but now that it was actually going to happen, I was terrified.

“Yvonne, you want this, don't you?”

I tried to speak. “I do, but . . . I . . .”

“No buts, Yvonne. You can't back out now. There is no turning back.”

I hesitated. “Okay. I'll call Lynn.”

“That's my girl. I'm going to head back to the office and try to cover my tracks. See if I can put my transactions on my pen drive so I can cover my ass.”

“Yes, you do that.”

“Yvonne?”

I was quiet.

“Yvonne. You can do this, baby. We are going to live well once this is over. I love you.”

“I love you too.” I hung up.

I slowly dialed Lynn's number.

“Yvonne, hi,” she sang.

“Hey, Lynn. How are you?”

“Good. Just picking out some accessories for my new office.”

“Yes. Congrats. Lance told me.”

“I bet, and I'm sorry. I know he was angry.”

“Yes, he was, but I talked to him. He's okay.”

“I hope.... I know he and Will have been friends since forever, so I know he thinks that my coming on board was my idea, but it was Will's.”

“I already explained to him that that is how business goes. I told him that Will has every right to put his wife wherever he chooses, and after we talked, he understood. That brings me to the reason I'm calling. I mean, I want to cheer him up and make the air clear between us, so I was hoping we could come over one night this week. You and I can cook up something good, and we can all have a few drinks and talk about it, to let Lance know that he's still a part of the business and that he still has a future there, even though you and Will have decided to make changes.”

“That would be a great idea, because we don't want things to get awkward. I mean, we are sorta like family,” Lynn said.

I agreed. “We are, so let's cook our men up a feast and drink and have a good time,” I added.

“Friday night will be good for me.”

“Awesome,” I said and then tried to get an update on work. “So how is your first day?”

“Well, just made a few phone calls. I have to have a tech come in and teach me the software, because I know Lance is a little sore about it, but the tech won't be in until Friday, so I'm just out shopping for office stuff, you know, to give my office that cozy feminine touch. It's so stark and cold.”

“Well, I'm just about done at the salon. How about I meet you? I mean, I can't cook, but I have a good eye for decorating.”

“Sure. I'm headed to IKEA. Just give me a buzz when you're done.”

“Will do.”

I hung up and went back inside the salon and was so grateful it was time to sit in the chair and finish up. Afterward, I called Lance when I got in the car and told him that it would be a couple of days before the tech showed, but he informed me that his passwords had been locked and he couldn't unlock them until Friday, and so he urged me to move the dinner up to Thursday. I said I'd try, but I didn't want to make Lynn suspicious.

Half an hour later I met up with Lynn at IKEA. After a day of shopping and taking some of the things to the office, I said, “Oh, shoot. Lynn. I forgot, Friday is our girls' night out, and I'm the host this month. Is it possible to move our dinner up? Thursday would work better.”

“Of course. No problem. I mean, I didn't want to drink and stay up late on a work night, but Thursday will be fine,” she agreed.

“Thursday it is, then” I said and clinked my glass against hers.

I had insisted that a mini fridge and wine cooler were musts for her office, and it had taken no convincing for her to agree, so we had grabbed a few bottles before heading back to her office and unloading the stuff. We had cracked open a bottle and had poured two glasses before we began placing the trinkets and plants around the office, all the while listening to Pandora on the wireless speaker I had talked her into getting.

“You know, iPod docks are history,” I had said and laughed when we were in the store. “More sound comes out of these babies right here.” I'd pointed to the wireless speaker. “Connect with Bluetooth, and jam to your playlist, Spotify, or Pandora all day long.”

She had agreed and had added the wireless speaker to her cart.

We drank the wine, laughed, and decorated, and by the time we called it quits, all the room needed was a coat of paint.

“All this work and we are going to have to move everything for the painters,” Lynn said.

“Oh, no, baby. They use airbrushes nowadays. I've seen it done on the sites. They will move everything to the center of the room, cover it all, spray, and within hours your office will be right back to normal.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

She smirked. “Sounds good to me.”

We said our good-byes.

I headed home, and as soon as I walked through the door, Lance went into full “Kill Will” mode.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
How was I going to get out of this?

“Dinner was delicious,” Will said. His plate was clean.

“Well, we must applaud Yvonne, because all I did was supervise,” Lynn said.

“Baby, you did this?” Lance asked.

“Yes. I followed the recipe that Lynn wrote out for me, and she just watched and only helped a little.” I was proud. I had cooked a roast, homemade mac and cheese, cabbage, sweet potatoes, and homemade corn bread.

“Baby, you did well. Can you refill our glasses?” Lance asked.

I stood and took his and Will's glass. My smile faded, because I didn't want to give Will another dose, but Lance made me. I went into the kitchen trembling, looking over my shoulder every second, hoping no one would walk in on me. I made them both another vodka, cran, and orange juice and added a pinch of the powder to Will's drink. This was round two, and I was so nervous, my hands shook when I picked up the glasses to return back to the living room.

“Are you okay?” Lynn's voice frightened me. I was so glad that I had slipped the vile back into my front pocket before she entered.

“I'm fine.” I turned to her, swirling both glasses in my hands, as if I was trying to mix the contents.

“Are you sure? You seem uneasy. I mean, dinner was great, so you can relax now.”

I let out a sigh, like that was really the problem. “Thank God. I was so nervous, Lynn. I mean, this cooking thing is hard.”

“I know, but once you grow to love it, it will come so easy.”

“I hope so. And I noticed you didn't drink with me tonight. I mean, I've been killing the Riesling alone.”

She smiled. “Let's take the guys their drinks, and I'll tell you why,” she said.

I followed behind her. I was sure to give the drink in my right hand to Will and the one in my left hand to Lance. I sat, but Lynn remained standing.

“Okay, guys. I have an announcement,” she said.

All eyes landed on her.

“I have news,” she went on.

“You're not coming on board as a partner and taking my position,” Lance joked.

I swatted his arm, but we all laughed.

“No. I am going to be a part of my husband's company, and I'm also going to be my husband's baby's mother.”

The room went silent.

Will looked at her. “Say it again,” he said.

“I'm going to be your child's mother, Will. We are pregnant,” she said.

He leaped from his chair and embraced her so tightly. My eyes welled up as I watched them hold each other, exchange love and emotions. I then looked at Will's drink and wanted to tell him what I had done, but the look I got from Lance said, “You better not say a word.” I stood and ran over to hug the couple. I was excited for Lynn. She had the life I wanted. A moment ago money and things were all that mattered to me, but I instantly wanted what she and Will had.

“This is cause for champagne, not vodka,” I said and snatched up Will's glass and went over to Lance's. I could read his body language and facial expression. He did not want me to abort the plan. “I know you have champagne in this house!” I yelled, heading toward the kitchen. Will and Lynn continued to embrace, but Lance stormed into the kitchen as I poured their drinks down the drain.

“What in the hell are you doing?” he whispered angrily.

“Not tonight,” I whispered back. “She's pregnant, Lance. Pregnant. I can't do this to them. It's not right. We live comfortably. I'm not feeling it anymore. I can't do it.”

“You better,” he was about to say, but just then Will walked in.

“Check the liquor cabinet for champagne, Yvonne,” Will said. He went to a cabinet and took out four champagne glasses, and before I could get the champagne, Lynn walked into the kitchen.

“Baby, no, I can't drink,” she told him.

“We are celebrating. One glass, one toast will not hurt our baby, I promise you.” He kissed her softly. I gazed at them, and then my eyes landed on an infuriated Lance, so I turned and went for the champagne.

“Put the bottle in the wine cooler. In fifteen minutes we will toast. For now I just want to dance with my wife,” Will said and then pulled Lynn into the family room.

I stood there awkwardly and avoided eye contact with my lover. There was no denying he was pissed.

Will turned on the music, and Jill Scott and Anthony Hamilton's “So in Love” blared from the speakers. Will and Lynn danced, with bright smiles, and I grabbed Lance's hand.

He was resistant, and then I whispered, “If you act this way, they are going to know something's up.”

He nodded, smiled, and we went to dance with the happy soon-to-be parents. After three or maybe four fun up-tempo jams, we moved back into the kitchen, where we popped the cork on the champagne bottle and had a toast to celebrate Will and Lynn's baby news.