Inner Circle (25 page)

“Well, I couldn’t agree more because I still don’t see how we as an association can help her anyway,” Jackie said as she waved to someone across the room.

“Of course we can help. What are you talking about?”

“How?” Jai asked.

“Fuck ‘how’! ‘Why’ is the question you should be asking.” Jackie paused, then looked directly toward Eve. “Eve, please tell me you didn’t bring my ass down here to get involved in this shit with Callie?”

Eve took a sip of her wine and cleared her throat. She was disappointed that her ulterior motive had been so quickly exposed. “Let’s keep it one hundred. Callie’s going to need our help. I saw her recently, and although she didn’t admit it, I’m pretty sure she’s either directly or indirectly involved in the attack on Carmen.”

“What makes you so sure?” Jai asked.

“Well, I would appreciate it if we kept this among the three of us, but I’m pretty sure it was me that planted the idea in her head.”

“Reeeeeeally?” Jackie asked surprised. “How so?”

“A few days before the attack I had lunch with her and Amber, and she told us that she had proof that Drew was sleeping with Carmen Garza. She asked what I would do in her situation, and keeping it real, I said I’d beat the bitch’s ass.”

“That’s it?” Jai asked. “Please, how many times in conversation
has one of us suggested that a bitch needed her ass kicked? No one takes that shit literally.”

“I would normally agree with you,” Eve said. “But I also suggested that if she really wanted to get her point across, she should cut the bitch’s hair off. Now I’m no psychic, but if Callie had nothing to do with it, the fact that Carmen’s attacker cut her hair off has to be one hell of a coincidence.”

“No shit!” Jackie said.

“What do you think, Jackie?” Eve asked.

“It’s like I said. Professionally, I’m limited in the information I can discuss with you, and I’m not compromising on that. Now personally, I think if the bitch did do it, then hell, she’s gonna have be held accountable for her actions. It’s as simple as that.” Jackie raised an eyebrow.

“I can’t believe you’re saying that,” Eve said.

“Sorry, but that’s my honest opinion,” Jackie shrugged.

“Eve, exactly what were you expecting to accomplish with this meeting? It
is
a meeting, right?” Jai asked.

“I would prefer to call it a lunch where the topic of Callie and Carmen just happened to come up,” Eve said motioning for the waiter to bring another bottle of wine.

“Well, if this is a lunch, I would like to order something,” Jackie said picking up a menu. “But if it really is a meeting, then Eve, you’re paying.”

“Whatever, bitch,” Eve said rolling her eyes. “But if I’m paying, I need to get my money’s worth.”

“Meaning what?” Jai asked following suit and picking up a menu.

“I asked the two of you here for two reasons. One, to get a feeling for what you thought about the Callie and Carmen situation.”

“Hmmmmmmp,” Jackie huffed.

“And two, to see if you would consider joining me in bankrolling a legal fund.”

“Chile, pleeeeeeeeeze,” Jackie said shaking her head.

“As far as the situation,” Jai interrupted, “I’ve got to be honest. Until now, I didn’t even know there was a connection between Callie and the assault. And as far as bankrolling a legal fund, I guess my question would be how much are we talking about here?”

“Explain to me why we’re even considering this. I mean, if Callie, in fact, did beat a bitch down, why should I feel obligated to pay for her legal fees? That is why you’re suggesting a legal fund, right?” Jackie asked.

“Yeah, Eve, I agree with Jackie,” Jai added. “It’s one thing to protect ourselves from outside threats, but do we really want to get involved when a member of the association knowingly breaks the law?”

“Damn that, what’s your Plan B?” Jackie asked.

Eve was about to answer when the waiter appeared. She waited as Jackie ordered shrimp linguini and Jai, a Cobb salad. In her head she was trying to formulate her response to Jackie’s last question. The fact of the matter was she didn’t really have a Plan B.

Eve ordered a ginger avocado salad and poured herself another drink. She eyed Jackie and Jai as she took several sips. “You do realize,” Eve began, speaking deliberately, “that if Callie did attack Carmen and we do nothing, the association is going to look guilty of suggesting or condoning it. Either one is not good. It could be construed that that’s what our organization is about, and we can’t have that. It would undermine everything we are attempting to do. Instead of presenting an attractive package that will entice others to join, we’d be hard-pressed to even keep the inner circle intact.”

“Good point,” Jai said looking at Jackie for a reaction.

“So your Plan B is to lay a guilt trip on us. Really, Eve, I know you can do better than that.” Jackie leaned back to allow the waiter to place Jai’s plate on the table, then hers.

“Guilty? I was hoping you’d feel empathy,” Eve said accepting her salad.

“Well, if it means we can avoid jeopardizing the association, I’m not opposed to forking over some cash,” Jai said. “I assume that’s why
only Jackie and I are here. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that we are the three members in the inner circle with our own money.”

“Thanks, Jai,” Eve said glancing at Jackie who was now busy texting.

They ate in silence until Jackie placed her phone on the table. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Where were we?”

“I was hoping that we were in agreement,” Eve said noticeably irritated.

“I’m sorry, but I have a problem with putting good money after bad actions. If Callie is guilty, I see no sense in financing her defense. She has a husband who makes a grip, so let him pay. Hell, it’s his fault she’s in this predicament in the first place. If he’d kept his dick in his pants, his wife wouldn’t be sneaking into houses, beating up models, and cutting their fucking braid off. And as far as how the association will look, I say kick her ass out of the organization. There has to be something in all that paperwork we signed that can justify getting rid of her. That way, it will be obvious that we don’t condone what she did. That would actually make The Wives Association look pretty good. Bottom line, we solve our problem and we keep our money.” Jackie took a swig of her beer and peered over the rim of her glass, making eye contact with Eve.

“So we just leave her out there on her own? That’s pretty fuckedup, Jackie,” Eve said glaring at her.

“Maybe we should just wait until we know if she really did it,” Jai said hoping to ease the growing tension.

“I personally don’t care if she did it or not,” Jackie said returning Eve’s stare. “What’s more important—the welfare of the association or the welfare of its individual members?”

“Without its members there is no association,” Eve replied.

“All the more reason why we don’t need a criminal among our ranks,” Jackie shot back.

“You wouldn’t feel the same way if it were you,” Eve snapped. “For your sake, I hope you never find yourself in this situation.”

“What situation? We don’t even know if the bitch did it, and you’re already polling the jury. Whose ass are we really covering here, Eve? The way I see it, if Callie did beat that ass, the only other person that should be concerned is you. You said so yourself that you’re the one who told her to do it.”

“Fuck you, Jackie!” Eve retaliated. “You know damn well that’s not the issue. How will it look if we turn our backs on her? How can we expect the other members to feel secure?”

“No need to get hostile,” Jackie taunted.

“Who’s hostile? I’m just trying to get you to understand that our allegiance could be seriously tested depending on how we handle this whole thing.”

“Eve’s right, Jackie. It would be pretty fucked-up if we just ignored the situation.” Jai glanced at Eve hoping to show support.

“Read my lips,” Jackie said. “We-don’t-even-know-if-she-did-it.” She pushed her plate to the center of the table. “I’m done with my lunch. Are we finished with the meeting?” She looked from Eve to Jai for a response.

“I’m finished too,” Jai said. “I’ll do whatever is best for all involved, but maybe we should table this discussion until we have some concrete information. We may find that Callie had nothing to do with it. Maybe it really is a big, big, big coincidence.”

“Well, concrete information or not,” Jackie said standing and gathering her things, “count me out.” She looked at Eve and pointed to her empty plate. “You got this, right?”

“I’ll pay for mine,” Jai said opening her purse.

“No, Jai, I got it,” Eve said pouring herself another drink.

“Thanks,” Jackie said. “And don’t worry, what happened here stays here. You wouldn’t want word to get out that you’re the mastermind behind the Garza assault,” Jackie chuckled as she turned to leave.

Eve’s first thought was to snatch Jackie by her hair and slam her ass to the ground, but she quickly weighed the consequences of that action and decided against it. Instead, she bit her bottom lip, then took
a long sip from her drink and allowed Jackie to walk away unmolested. She knew that if there was any chance that she could change Jackie’s mind, it would all go out the window if she kicked her ass in Musso and Frank.

“Thanks, Eve,” Jai said sympathetically. “The next one’s on me,” she said sliding from the booth. “Get back to me once you definitely find out what’s really up with Callie.”

“I will,” Eve said. “You do understand where I’m coming from though, right?”

“Yes, and don’t mind Jackie. She’s hard-core, and she gets off on being difficult, but if Callie needs us to help her out, I’m sure Jackie will come through for her.” Jai bent and gave Eve a hug. “See you later,” she said and headed for the door.

Eve watched as Jai exited the restaurant. Looking around, she spotted Jackie who had not yet left, and was chatting with a group at a table across the room. She was pissed that she had let Jackie get to her. Eve thought back to the exchange they had just had. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but there was something going on there. There were a lot of facts and factors that Eve needed to consider regarding the Callie situation, but in the scheme of things, Jackie wasn’t one of them. In fact, as far as she was concerned right now, Jackie was a non fucking factor.

Maybe Jai’s right,
Eve thought. Maybe Jackie was just getting off on being difficult, but something in her gut told her it was more than that. Eve watched as Jackie finally made her way to the exit. Yes, the more she thought about it, the more she was sure that there was more to Jackie’s resistance than just a natural proclivity for being a bitch. Eve wasn’t sure what it was, but she definitely intended to find out.

23

Callie
sat in silence as she examined the prayer-inspired paintings that donned the walls of her meditation room. Her eyes were fixed on one in particular, that bared a pair of hands that were symbolic of the hands of the Lord, with a subtitle that read, “
RELEASE AND RECEIVE
.” Although she’d grown up in the Roman Catholic Church as a child, and practiced Catholicism throughout most of her adult life, Callie had converted to Christianity almost immediately after moving to the States and attended weekly services with her boys at Faithful Central Bible Church in Inglewood, California.

Callie had also become a fan of television pastor Creflo Dollar and made it a point to watch him on television every morning. For the life of her, she never understood how people in the United States could take their religion and ability to praise God so freely for granted. In her country, people were often shunned for blatantly displaying their religious beliefs, and oftentimes their relationship with God had to go under a veil of secrecy, never to be discussed with anyone other than the priest who heard their confessions. But here, Callie was free to have an open relationship with God, and viewed that freedom as a luxury that she vowed never to abandon.

She closed her eyes and tried to focus her attention on the Bible
confessions that played softly in the background. As Creflo Dollar spoke the confession aloud via CD Callie whispered along.

“I will fear no evil for thou art with me, Lord; your Word and your Spirit they comfort me . . .” Callie felt tears stream down her face. Although Creflo had moved on to another verse, she repeated that one over and over, hoping that it would cause the fear that resided in her heart to disappear. She opened her eyes to the darkness that lingered in the room. Rising from her knees, she turned on the nearby lamp, and stood frozen for a moment. Her thoughts were scattered as she tried to make sense of the argument she’d just had with Drew. If she’d heard him correctly, which she prayed she hadn’t, it almost sounded as if he was accusing her of attacking Carmen also. The gall of him to suggest that her finding out about the affair seemed like a solid motive for an attack, and that if the police suspected her enough to want to question her, then why shouldn’t he.

“I’m your wife, Drew. The mother of your children! Do you honestly think I’m capable of something like this?” Callie remembered asking Drew.