Inner Circle (7 page)

“I think we should stay out of it, babe, seriously.” Chase placed his hand on her thigh. “Give them an opportunity to work it out. Besides, isn’t Sean’s big birthday party next week? Knowing your friend, she’s not going to let Sean’s affair ruin the event she’s been planning for months.”

“For someone who doesn’t care much for Amber, you’ve sure paid
attention to her party planning. Does this mean you’re going with me?” Her playful suspicion turned into sheer excitement.

“As if I had a choice . . .” Chase patted Eve’s ass before rising from the table. “I’m going to practice. You headed into the office today?” He placed his saucer into the sink and grabbed the duffle bag that was lying in the corner of the kitchen.

“No, I’m supposed to have lunch with Amber and Callie. Geeeez, I don’t know what it is about that woman, but for some reason, I can’t stand her.” Eve went right behind Chase moving the dish he’d placed in the sink into the dishwasher.

“She seems all right to me, and besides, all those free box seats to Drew’s soccer games are like Christmas, baby. You know soccer is my second love. Don’t ruin that. I mean, finally you have a friendship that’s actually beneficial to me.” He grabbed his keys and headed for the door.

“You’re too much!” Eve followed closely behind him. “Have a good practice.”

“Love you.” Chase kissed her on the cheek.

“Love you too,” Eve said, closing the door as Chase made it to his car. She thought about his words regarding Callie and realized that perhaps she hadn’t really given the woman a fair chance. Up until last night, she’d always pegged Callie as the “Little Miss Perfect” type. Perfect house, perfect husband, perfect kids . . . she couldn’t stand it. As sad as it was, she was almost relieved to discover that Callie was having issues in her marriage. Even though she wasn’t ready to be a mom, Eve had a rule when it came to the female friends in her inner circle: By no means could their situation look or be better than her own. As queen bee of The Wives Association, she absolutely
had
to be the Alpha, with all the other bitches serving as Betas to the organization she’d created.

Eve
had lounged too long, and it was almost eleven o’clock. If she was going to make it to lunch with Callie and Amber at the marina by
noon, she would have to leave soon. She rinsed the remaining dishes in the sink and placed them in the dishwasher for Dana.

Back upstairs, Eve turned on the shower while she selected something to wear. Her walk-in closet was enormous, nearly the size of a small bedroom. At first glance, it appeared to be an empty room with oak walls. A closer look, however, revealed twelve recessed panels that, when pressed, opened to expose her extensive wardrobe, shoe, jewelry, purses, and accessory collections. It was an awe-inspiring testimony to her shopping skills.

Eve showered and took extra time to smooth her hair into a perfect ponytail. She applied her E by Evelyn Lozada makeup and finished with a generous coat of burnt-orange lip gloss. It was a perfect match to the oversized, off-the-shoulder slouch top she was wearing over her stretch jeggings. Gold butterfly earrings hung to her shoulders and on her right wrist she stacked eight coordinating Honesty bracelets. The only jewelry on her left hand was the huge platinum wedding ring Chase had given her when he proposed. A matching Louboutin bag and six-inch pumps rounded out the outfit. She looked in the mirror and liked what she saw.

Although it was a casual lunch, Eve knew the restaurant would be crawling with name brands, designer bags, red-bottomed shoes, and lots of bling. Fine with her: she loved to dress to impress.

She tried calling Amber, but once again it went straight to voice mail. Since Amber was the one to initiate the lunch, Eve was even more puzzled when she still wasn’t picking up. Eve looked at her phone before placing it into her purse. Why wasn’t she answering?

Eve slid into her Bentley and started the engine. She loved the way it purred. She scrolled through the music selection and decided on Drake’s new CD with special attention to his song “Headlines.” She had decided to cruise, but once on the 405 Freeway, she couldn’t help herself. She turned up the music, applied pressure to the gas pedal, and headed south toward the 90-East. She loved her car, her husband, and her life, which were all reflections of prayers that God had truly answered!

It was a relatively light traffic day for a Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles, and Eve enjoyed a carefree drive to Marina Del Rey, arriving at the Cheesecake Factory in record time. She looked around the parking lot for Amber’s car but didn’t see it. She tried her on her cell again.

“Amber, I’m here at the Cheesecake Factory. Where are you? I’ve been blowing up your phone all day, and I’m getting worried . . . Call me.”

Eve pulled her car into a nearby space opting not to valet. Any other time she’d welcome the attention of the paparazzi that was posted right outside the front door, yet with everything going on with Amber, she thought it best to keep as low of a profile as she could. She had Jackie keeping her eyes and ears open for any breaking news, with Jackie promising to try to calm the waters if the story of Sean’s secret love child got out. She was also making sure she’d be the one to get and give the exclusive in order to maintain The Wives Association’s positive perspective. When it was all said and done, Eve already had a plan, and if things went her way, Amber would certainly come out on top.

5

As
Eve approached the front doors she spotted Amber seated on the outside patio. She made her way to the table, wondering why Amber wasn’t answering her phone.

“Amber?” Eve called out to her, obviously breaking her daze.

Eve gave her friend a quick once-over, wondering why her oversized Gucci sunglasses rested on the table instead of masking her blotchy makeup-less face and bloodshot eyes. Amber’s otherwise naturally tamed curls were wild and scattered loosely about. Surprisingly, Amber had managed a relatively cute ensemble pairing an oversized black tee with a pair of cute-fitted leopard-printed skinny jeans. “I’ve been calling you. Girl, you okay?” Eve leaned down to give Amber a hug when she noticed Amber’s raggedy flip-flops. That was the bullshit she was talking about.

“Sean took away my iPhone. He shut down my credit card access too. Left me a note along with this Visa, saying a five-thousand-dollar-a-month limit is what my life would look like if I decided to leave him.”

“Fuck him. He’s just trying to scare you. Where’s Olivia?”

“He dropped her off at school this morning on his way to his workout.”

“Are you comfortable with that?”

“Sean would never do anything to Olivia. She’s his whole life. Frankly, I think she’s the only reason we’re still married. That’s why I’ve been so determined to have another child. His family believes in building a legacy. I told you, if I hadn’t gotten pregnant in college, I don’t know if Sean would’ve married me. His mother wasn’t a fan. She felt her son could do better. When we told them I was pregnant, she had the audacity to imply that I’d gotten pregnant
on purpose.
‘Golddigging groupie bitch’ was the mild sentiment.”

Eve tried to mask her concern. Secretly, she’d always wondered how Amber could allow herself to get pregnant without being married too but promised herself she’d never ask. As her best friend, it wasn’t her place to judge, at least not her life choices. Her wardrobe choices were another subject though.

“You’d think after eight years of marriage your mother-in-law would be in a different place with you by now.” As she sat down, Eve glanced at the table. Empty wrappers confirmed her suspicions. Amber was practically addicted to Smarties candies and was notorious for leaving the clear wrappers laying everywhere. It was obvious she was depressed, because at least twenty wrappers covered her side of the table.

“Well, she isn’t. She hates me!” Amber said, popping a handful of Smarties into her mouth.

“You should just start smoking instead of this candy bullshit. It’s so annoying.”

“It’s my thing, and besides, you know I hate cigarettes and smoke of any kind. Why do these bother you so much? I never understood that, even when we were kids. It’s only candy. What’s the big deal?”

“I don’t know. I think I just hate the fact that it’s a candy without substance. I could see if it was chocolate or some shit. And look at all those fucking wrappers. You leave them everywhere. That’s the annoying part. Eat a cookie, some ice cream, or take a fucking shot like a real bitch, but Smarties . . . I’m just saying,” Eve jabbed.

“A drink sounds perfect right about now, but not without you! The last thing I need to be is drunk, depressed, without a phone or money, and alone. Besides, with a five-thousand-dollar limit on my only credit card, I can’t afford to fucking drink,” Amber snapped back.

Eve beckoned the waiter to the table. “A bottle of Ty Ku Liqueur, please.”

Amber looked at her, raising a curious eyebrow. “A whole
bottle
?”

“Hell, yeah. You’re in a fucked-up position, and sorry to say, but you look like shit. From where I’m sitting, drunk is the only place you need to be right now.”

Eve loved that she managed to put a small smile on Amber’s face. She hated the fact that Amber was going through such a mess. Eve wanted nothing more than to write her a check and have her come and stay with her and Chase, but she knew that couldn’t happen because she had to respect her own husband’s wishes.

“I just want you to know, anything you need, Amber, I’m here.”

“I know, and thank you. You’d think I was the one who cheated the way Sean is making me feel. It’s so messed up how you dedicate your whole life to a man, and he puts you in a position that makes you feel helpless. And what’s worse is that instead of trying to determine if I still want to be with him, all I can think about is whether he still wants to be with me.”

“No one said being an athlete’s wife was going to be easy. You know my mom’s philosophy on it. Weren’t you dating someone else at USC? You know, the mystery guy you were messing with when you and Sean were on that so-called ‘break’?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Amber responded shortly.

“Sure you do! The guy you claimed knocked your fuckin’ socks off in bed. Remember the fine glass of chocolate you said you drank dry?” Eve laughed. “Hell, if I can recall, you said he fucked you every which way for hours on end, and since he was the only other man you’d been with besides Sean, you let him. Girl, you may need to look his ass up.
What did he do again? As long as he isn’t an athlete you may be in business. Hell, right about now, maybe we should pray mystery man studied law.”

The waiter returned with the bottle of Ty Ku and menus.

“I’m starving; let’s eat,” Amber insisted, quickly changing the subject.

“Good idea. Why don’t we start with spinach and artichoke dip for the table, plus I need a Caprese salad. Should we order something for Callie? Where is she, by the way? Wasn’t the whole point of this lunch to help her ass as well? The least she could do is be on fucking time.”

“Give her a break! She has three kids and a husband that’s cheating. I’m dealing with the same shit with only one kid, and I barely made it . . .”

Eve watched as Amber ran her hands through her long, thick, naturally curly hair. Her dark mocha skin was the feature Eve loved the most about her, a true gift she’d inherited from her Cuban and black father. Although her Latin roots weren’t as strong as Eve’s, Amber’s appearance and personality definitely displayed a variety of cultures.

Eve glanced at her watch. “All I know is she’s late.”

As if on cue, Eve spotted Callie Peteers sashaying through the door. Cheating husband and all, Callie managed to make miserable look fabulous. She wore a bright orange floor-length Maxi dress with her long brown hair pulled back into a neat ponytail. Her skin looked as if she had stepped straight out of her esthetician’s chair by way of the Mac counter. Her flawless olive complexion gave Eve the impression that the sun was her best friend and that everything society said about women from Brazil was true. Callie had an ass that put J. Lo’s to shame, and her teeny-tiny waist damn sure didn’t seem like it belonged to a mother of three.

“Finally!” Eve said, making Amber aware of Callie’s arrival. “I gotta hand it to her, she makes depressed look good. You should really take some pointers from your friend. The bitch is fierce!”

Eve made eye contact with Callie, and in return, Callie gave Eve
a wave of acknowledgment. Callie’s exclusive Hanae Mori perfume greeted them first while her air kisses followed.

“Ladies, I’m so sorry I’m late. My meeting with Drew Jr.’s Little League soccer coach ran over and the nanny was late getting to the house. Have you ordered?”

“Just appetizers,” Amber answered. “We were just getting started on our cocktails. Care for a glass?” Amber lifted the bottle of Ty Ku.

“No, none for me, thank you. It’s way too early for alcohol, at least for me. For some reason, I can’t drink until after 7
P.M
. Besides, I have a doctor’s appointment next Tuesday to determine if I’m expecting, remember?” Callie patted her perfectly flat abs.