Inner Circle (15 page)

She waited impatiently as there was no answer after three rings on Amber’s phone. Finally, after the fourth ring, Eve remembered Amber didn’t have her phone. She hung up and quickly dialed the number to her secret BlackBerry.

“Hey, Evie. What’s up?”

“Am, where are you?”

“On my way home. I’ve been shopping all day for Sean’s party. I think I’m finally finished getting supplies.”

“I can’t believe that muthafucka’ still hasn’t given you your phone back. What the hell is he waiting for?”

“I don’t know, and honestly, I really don’t care. I’m just glad we’re on speaking terms again.”

“I’ve gotta give it to Sean. The way he’s managed to turn his
bullshit cheating around on you is beyond me.
He’s
the one who cheated, and
you’re
the one who’s groveling. Go figure!”

“Um, excuse me. Did you purposely call to hurt my feelings and make me feel like shit, or was there something else you needed?”

Eve shook her head realizing her own words. “Amber, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for that to come out so harsh. I just hate the fact that you’re going through this. You deserve better. I was completely insensitive, though, and I’m sorry.”

“I know. And you’ve been great to me and Olivia. It’s just that even with you working hard to get me insurance through the association, Sean is my husband, and although he’s hurt me by cheating, he is and has been my life for all these years. My whole identity is wrapped up in him and our lifestyle. And to be honest, I don’t know that I’m ready to give it all up.”

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment until Amber spoke again. “Eve, you still there? Clearly you didn’t call to listen to me go on about Sean?”

“Right! And no, obviously you haven’t heard the news.” Eve turned her attention back to the television screen.

“Girl, you know my car radio is always set to Radio Disney. What’s the news?”

“It’s about Callie. Have you talked to her?”

“No. Why? What’s going on?”

“I think . . .”

Eve heard Chase coming down the hallway.

“Am, I gotta go, but get to a television or Google Carmen Garza on the phone as soon as you can. I’ll call you back in a minute.” Eve hung up quickly, making sure she turned the television off before Chase entered the room. The last thing she needed was for Chase to suspect that something else might have her attention or serve as a distraction to their relationship.

Chase stood in the doorway. “Hey, babe, whatcha doing?”

Eve forced a smile as Chase made his way to her. “Just wrapping
up my morning calls,” she said, returning a kiss to Chase’s lips. “You taste good.”

“You taste like Chai,” he joked.

“Sorry, babe,” Eve blushed. “You off to practice?”

“Yeah, Coach is making us all come in a lot earlier and stay a lot later ever since we made the playoffs, but I promise to be home by dinner, okay?”

“Okay! Who knows, maybe I’ll even make us something special.”

“If by ‘making’ you mean ordering takeout, then I guess I’ll consider that special.” Chase popped a bagel into the toaster.

“You knew I couldn’t cook when you married me,” Eve said playfully. “I’ll order the sea bass from Daily Grill that you like so much. That’s pretty special, don’t you think?” Eve took the strawberry-flavored cream cheese from the refrigerator along with the protein shake she had made for Chase before he came downstairs. Like clockwork, she grabbed the bagel and creamed it, then handed it to him.

“I love you,” Chase declared as he took the shake and bagel from her hand.

“I know.” Eve wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning her head against his chest.

Their embrace lasted only a moment before it was interrupted by the ringing of Eve’s phone. She sighed as she glanced at her phone. It was Amber. She knew what it was about.

“Don’t worry, take your call. I know you’ve got to do your thing, especially since you’re going to be with me all weekend.”

“All weekend? What are you talking about? The game is on Sunday, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but we’re playing in Dallas, remember?”

Eve chewed her bottom lip. She’d forgotten. In addition, she’d promised her boss that she would come in on Saturday to meet with the new recruits. “Baby, I already told George I would work this weekend,” she whined.

“Eve, what part of the playoffs don’t you understand? It’s win or go home! I need you there, Ev.”

“And I’ll be there. Just on Sunday.”

“Ev . . .” Chase protested.

“Babe, it’s not like I can stay with you anyway. I’ll go to work on Saturday and fly out the first thing smoking Sunday morning. I’ll be there for kickoff, I promise.”

She could tell that her argument wasn’t as convincing as she needed it to be. And it didn’t help that her cell phone kept ringing.

“I’ll see you tonight,” Chase said dryly as he headed for the front door.

Eve thought of following him, but feared anything else she said would only make things worse. “Love you!” she shouted, hoping Chase could feel the sincerity of her words.

She listened as the front door closed, then waited, making sure he had left. She’d hoped he would’ve responded to her last words but figured now her actions would have to make up for what her words could not. She reached for her phone and before she could dial the first number Amber was calling her again. Without hesitation, she answered.

“What the hell?!” Amber yelled into the phone.

Eve laughed out loud. “I’m so sorry,” she apologized. “I had to see Chase off—”

“Girl! Oh my gosh! Do you think Callie could have done that to that poor girl?”

“I don’t know, but . . . wait! Did you say that poor girl?” Eve quizzed.

“Did you see her? Fucking Drew or not, that girl didn’t deserve a beat down like that.”

“That’s debatable. But I hear you. Has anyone heard from Callie?”

“I haven’t. But then again, I don’t have my phone, remember?”

“The news reports of Carmen’s attack looks exactly like the conversation we had with her last week at lunch. Surely, she couldn’t have
taken us that seriously, could she?” Eve leaned back in her chair and thought back to the discussion she had had with Callie. Either Callie had taken her seriously, or this was the biggest damn coincidence since the murder of Robert Blake’s wife.

“Well, without my phone, I don’t have her number.”

“Never mind, I’ll call her. Listen, until I get to the bottom of this, I’m gonna need you to keep our little lunch discussion with Callie a secret, okay?”

“You don’t have to worry about me. I’ve got too much of my own shit going on to be worrying about someone else’s drama,” Amber replied. “I can count on you to come early tomorrow for Sean’s party, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there. However, you do know that with Chase and Ray needing to leave early on Saturday to head for Dallas, we may not be able to stay late.”

“That’s fine. I just know I couldn’t get through the night without you.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got your back,” Eve responded as she turned off the television. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Eve.”

“Talk to you later.” Eve hung up the phone and placed it on the counter. She realized again just how important it was to have each other’s backs. With Amber’s marriage on the rocks, and now her own marriage hanging in the balance, in addition to Callie being a potential fugitive, Eve knew the ladies had to stick together more than ever. And if that was going to happen, Eve knew that she’d have to do what only she could: work to put all the pieces back together.

12

Amber
made her way around the house, checking to make sure that everything was in order. As much as she dreaded continuing with Sean’s birthday party, she had invested far too much time, energy, and money not to go through with it now. In addition to the invitations that had gone out over a month ago, Amber had invited her in-laws, who were driving up from the Bay Area just for the occasion, and there was no way she was going to let on to Sean’s parents that there was trouble in paradise.

Tami Jackson, Sean’s mother, had never been a fan of Amber’s and had questioned her intentions with Sean from the beginning. From the moment they started dating, Tami watched Amber like a hawk. Although Sean wasn’t an only child, he was Tami’s only son, and she had invested a lot in him. Tami made sure Sean went to the best schools her husband’s money could provide. Having come from money herself by way of her parents, Tami was no stranger to wealth. Both Tami’s parents were Stanford graduates, and although her mother was a housewife, she made sure that her Stanford business degree went to full use by running their family like a multimillion-dollar corporation.

Tami followed in her mother’s footsteps as she too graduated
from Stanford. To her mother’s dismay, Tami met and married Sean’s father, Sean Sr., directly out of college. But, like her mother, she ran the household with an iron fist, making sure that Sean and his two sisters, Shaniece and Shauna, abided by her rules.

When Amber came on the scene, it was just after Sean’s breakup with his mother-approved girlfriend, Courtney Collins. To Tami, Courtney was the epitome of a perfect girlfriend, and she made sure that Amber knew it. Amber
also
knew that her mother-in-law held her responsible for Courtney and Sean’s breakup, a fact that was partly true. Amber also knew that Sean was suspected to have had a girlfriend when the two of them hooked up back in college, but it was never confirmed, especially by Sean.

It wasn’t until Sean’s parents showed up for one of his football games with Courtney in tow that she discovered the truth. Once confronted, Courtney completely rescinded. She didn’t even put up a fight for Sean, stating that if he thought so little of her that he could cheat on her with the likes of Amber, he deserved her.

As Amber made her way from the foyer, through the living room, and down the long hallway to the family room where the party would take place, she looked over the years of memories that rested in the frames that were scattered about the house. Although Amber was certain she was never considered the favorite for Sean, she knew that after more than ten years together, she wasn’t ready to give up on their marriage.

She paused as she took in the décor of the family room. “Wow!” she said aloud as she looked at the black-and-gold-clad room. Amber had put a lot of work into the planning of the party, and it was evident in every aspect of the room. From the flowers to the chairs, from the lighting to the candy fountain, nothing was left undone. She smiled to herself as she smelled the fresh cut floral arrangements that were strategically placed throughout the room.

Amber checked in on the servers who were preparing the hors d’oeuvres and pastry trays for serving nearly two hundred guests. The
buffet meal offered seven varieties of delicious Cajun-style entrées, including Sean’s favorite rosemary jerked chicken—only this time Sa’Myra would not be preparing it, or anything else, for that matter. Amber smiled. Even with the issue of Sa’Myra hanging over her head, she felt good about the work she had put into Sean’s party. And if she continued at the rate she was going, a true reconciliation was sure to be right around the corner.

Amber looked at the clock. It was 7:30
P.M
., and with her party starting promptly in an hour, she knew she needed to hurry and put the final touches on her outfit before her guests arrived. She knew Sean would be upstairs getting ready and wanted to give him as much space as he needed to avoid a confrontation. The past few weeks had been strange as they barely spoke to each other. And although Amber tried her best to keep the peace, the mere fact that Sean walked around as if his indiscretion didn’t matter at all while stripping her of her cell phone and limiting her credit-card usage was starting to wear her down.

It wasn’t until she let on that she was throwing Sean a big thirtieth birthday bash that he started treating her worth a damn. Although his conversations were short, his attempts at sex with her grew more and more persistent each day. Some nights it was as if her objections didn’t matter to him, because he’d climb into bed butt-ass naked, lift up her nightgown, and place himself inside of her. Only because they were married, and only because it wasn’t forceful, did she not claim that it was rape, but it sure as hell wasn’t love. Most nights, she’d just lay there and let him shift her from one position to the next until he was satisfied. When he was done, she would pull her gown back down and force herself to fall asleep. Amber rationalized her submission by telling herself that his acts of passion must mean that he was sorry, and that by wanting to have sex with her, he was showing her that he still cared. Either way, she prayed that this storm would quickly pass so that life as she once knew it could start again.

Amber made her way up the stairs and into the bedroom she shared with Sean. She saw his reflection in the full-length mirror that
rested in the corner of their room. The moment he noticed that she was in the room, he slowly approached her. Amber held her breath as he drew near.

“That what you wearing?” he asked while circling her.