Insatiable (23 page)

M
arquise was missing. He had promised Kai he’d be gone for only an hour, but six hours had passed and he hadn’t so much as picked up the phone to let Kai know he was all right. But, the hell with him, she decided suddenly as she switched mental gears; she needed to know her car was safe, that he hadn’t wrecked it. Why in the world did she trust an unlicensed driver with her most prized possession?

There were consequences for getting caught driving without a license in the City of Philadelphia. She couldn’t shake the distressing image of Marquise getting pulled over for running a stop sign, a red light or committing some type of traffic violation. When the police discovered he’d been driving without a license, her car would be impounded. The notion of her car being impounded made Kai grimace. Oh, the thought of the scratches, scrapes, and dents her Benz would incur during the brutal towing was pure agony. She’d have to sit through the shameful ordeal of traffic court, and then pay exorbitant fines to retrieve her car from the impoundment lot.

Kai considered calling the police to report her car missing, but thought better of the idea. Marquise had mentioned something about his recent release from prison.

Adding a car theft charge to a convicted felon’s record could mean a prison sentence. Moreover, did she really want her good dick locked up? Hell no!

Still…good dick or not, she was getting frustrated to the point of rage. She called his cell phone again and listened impatiently to his recorded message:
Yo, I peeped your digits and I ain’t got no rap…you know what to do…Hollah!

Ugh! He thought he sounded cool, but to Kai, he sounded immature, ignorant, and insulting. How dare he turn off the phone she’d so generously provided for the express purpose of instant communication whenever she felt the need? The sheer gall of that man!

The moment she parted her lips and inhaled in preparation of leaving Marquise a scathing message, her doorbell rang.

“I’m sorry I took so long,” Marquise said with a guilty smirk as he entered her condo.

“Where’s my car?” Kai demanded. “I was two seconds away from reporting it stolen.”

“You was gonna git me locked up?” He scowled in disbelief.

“You told me you’d be gone for an hour. Keeping my car without so much as a phone call is criminal behavior and criminals deserve to be in jail,” Kai said, unable to conceal her contempt.

“Damn, Shorty. That’s kinda harsh, don’t you think?”

“Fuck you, Marquise, and stop calling me Shorty! Give me my keys.” She shook curls from her face as she held out her hand and patted her foot in impatient agitation.

Marquise stared at her as if wanting her keys back was an unreasonable request. Reluctantly, he dug into his pockets and pulled out the key ring.

In a flash of temper, Kai snatched it from his grasp. “Why in the hell did it take so long for you to get back? You knew your phone was off and I couldn’t call you…so why didn’t you have the decency to call me?” She screamed at him. “Do you think I bought you that fucking cell phone to listen to your stupid voice mail every time I call? I bought it so I can stay in touch with you—particularly when you’re gallivanting around in my car.”

“Yo, I said I’m sorry. Why you makin’ a big deal outta nothin’.” He sighed. “Now, kill this shit!” he advised testily.

Kai ignored him. “And in case you didn’t know, allow me to inform you that I didn’t give you the keys to a fucking hooptie. No! I trusted you with an expensive foreign automobile that most people will never even get the opportunity to sit inside—let alone drive! I’m absolutely appalled that you’d mistake my kindness for weakness. I won’t tolerate this kind of treatment…it’s appalling…and totally unacceptable,” she said, backing away. She opened her mouth to tell him to leave, but before she could speak, Marquise was upon her, his lips pressed against her lips.

She felt herself melting in his arms and helplessly parted her lips.

Marquise broke the kiss. “I can’t even begin to tell you all the shit that went down while I was out…”

“Did something happen to my car?” she asked, alarmed.

“Naw, the ride is cool. I got a little carried away and lost track of the time.”

“But I thought you said you needed to borrow the car because your grandmother was sick.”

“Yeah, she was…but when I got there she decided not to go to the hospital. She talked to her doctor and he called in a prescription and I went and picked it up for her. Then, on my way back here…I ran into my man, Jocko. He’s a Jamaican brother who’s gonna put me down wit a side gig. Anyway, he wanted to slide through this new dip…a club that just opened down the way.”

“Down the way?”

“Yeah, Southwest—on Chester Avenue. So anyway, we went to the club and niggas we knew was up in that dip twenty-deep, so we hung out for a minute, you know…bustin’ it up with the fellas…and like I said, I lost all track of time.”

“That was completely irresponsible of you.”

“I know, baby. I fucked up and I’m so sorry. It won’t happen again.” He gave her a lingering look that went from her face to her red polished toenails.

Kai felt her anger dissipating. She focused on the bulge in his crotch. “Young man,” she said, faking a stern tone. “I hope you realize you’ve lost your driving privileges.”

Marquise dropped his head, pretending to be distraught. He raised his head and looked at her through narrowed eyes. “What will good behavior git me?” His top teeth scraped against his bottom lip seductively.

“Let’s find out.” Kai smiled sexily and unzipped his pants.

M
onday morning was far from being the blue Monday Kai typically experienced. She awakened feeling euphoric. She sang as she showered and washed her hair. With a huge grin plastered on her face, she got dressed for work. The only thing missing from her merry Monday morning was Marquise lying in bed beside her. But that would change soon enough.

She was in love and she wanted Marquise to know it—she wanted the whole world to know it. She snickered as she thought of how her parents would react when they were introduced to Marquise. Her mother would probably clutch her pearls the moment she caught sight of that doo-rag thing that seemed permanently attached to Marquise’s head. Her father would turn red as a beet when Kai revealed that the love of her life toiled as a janitor in the very nursing home he had insisted she work. Ha! The embarrassment would serve her father right for forcing her to work in that hellhole. Her punishment, she supposed, for being half-black. Having Kai work in the County Nursing Home was a slap in the face and another carefully devised method of dispelling any notion that she was his natural daughter. For surely, her father, the prominent doctor and respected citizen he was perceived to be, would never dream of placing his natural daughter in such a horrid and thoroughly degrading situation.

After meeting Marquise, her parents would voice concern that the class distinction between she and Marquise was bound to cause future problems. She’d have to bite her tongue to keep from reminding her father that he was apparently unconcerned about the class distinction between himself and her black biological mother. Whom did they expect her to bring home? A doctor? Well, she’d tried to live up to their expectations, but Dr. Harding had rejected her. And fuck him, too! It was his loss—the stupid fuck. She didn’t need his money or prestige. She’d serve her penitence at the fucking nursing home and emerge independently wealthy in two years.

Kai grabbed her briefcase and dashed to her car; she couldn’t wait to get to work to see the new love of her life: Marquise. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how he would respond when she shared with him her desire to get married. Kai wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised if Marquise decided to break up the news to his little girlfriend that very day—right there on the job. Hopefully, the unfortunate girl would bow out gracefully, seek employment elsewhere, and never force Kai to lay eyes upon her again.

Humming a love song, she swung open the door of her car, then remembering that she hadn’t driven since Marquise borrowed it; she decided to check for damages. She gave the inside of the Benz a cursory glance, closed the door and inspected the outside of the car. There wasn’t a scratch. Oh, how she loved her man! Completely satisfied, she tossed her briefcase on the floor of the back seat and drove to work.

Still humming happily, Kai turned into the parking lot of the nursing home, pulled into the spot designated for her father and cheerfully exited the car. Walking fast, she quickly reached the entrance to the building, and then suddenly remembered she’d left her briefcase inside the car. Instead of cursing the injustice of having to trek all the way back to the parking lot, she giggled uncharacteristically and jokingly chided herself for being so forgetful. Ah, the wonder of sweet love!

She trotted to the car. When she retrieved the briefcase, she noticed something pink lying beneath the floor mat. She squinted at the object in bewilderment, picked it up and gawked. It was a tiny pink barrette shaped like a butterfly as she held it between her thumb and index fingers. A child’s barrette. Now, how could such a thing find its way into the back seat of her car?

Clarity hit her like a ton of bricks: Marquise’s daughter had been in her car! And that meant his so-called fiancée had been in her car as well.

As if her fingers had been scorched, Kai dropped the barrette.

That bastard had used her car to take his funky family for a cruise through the ghetto! She could just imagine the three of them behaving as if they were the First Family of the ’hood, grinning and waving at their fellow hood rats and claiming her beautiful vehicle as their own.

She hated having to pick up the revolting and vile barrette, but she needed it for evidence. Kai looked at the inanimate butterfly and grimaced as if she were holding a dead mouse or…feces. Frowning, she tossed it inside her blue Italian leather Fendi bag.

In a rage, she stomped up the walkway leading to the entrance of the building, and then stormed into the lobby. Preoccupied with thoughts of murder, she didn’t bother to respond to the receptionist’s cheery “good morning.” She marched to the elevator and stepped in front of a slow-wheeling male resident who was trying to maneuver himself inside the elevator before the doors could close in his face. As the resident continued struggling to scoot his wheelchair into the elevator, Kai stepped forward and pushed the button marked
closed
and rolled her eyes at the man as she watched the doors shut in his defeated face.

With mounting fury, she swept past the nurses’ station. Walking briskly down the corridor, Kai nearly collided with a nursing assistant who was coming out of a resident’s room. The coffee-colored woman wore her thick long hair pulled back in a ponytail. There was an abundance of curly hair at her temples. Though her looks were downplayed—no makeup, not even a touch of lip-gloss on her thin lips, she was quite pretty. She had large luminous dark eyes with silky long lashes. The young woman was curiously familiar.

“Excuse me,” said the nursing assistant.

Kai said nothing, but managed to look offended as her eyes quickly darted to the woman’s name badge: Terelle Chambers, Certified Nursing Assistant. She glanced at the woman’s legs. Terelle’s nursing uniform, a green top and paler green skirt, revealed thick, shapely legs that were covered with hair. Kai bristled. This woman was Marquise’s so-called fiancée! Furthermore, she still hadn’t shaved those awful hairy legs. Yuck! Kai glared at her in passing, but Terelle didn’t seem to notice as she resumed walking in the opposite direction of the corridor.

After hanging up her coat in her office, Kai paced back and forth vigorously as she debated whether she should call the Housekeeping Department and summon Marquise to her office. His girlfriend’s presence on the floor posed a problem, however. The fourth floor was apparently short of nursing staff and Terelle had been pulled from her own unit to Kai’s floor. Kai surmised that Terelle’s hovering presence would alarm Marquise and prevent him from speaking candidly.

Kai called his cell phone. Expecting to get his voice mail, she was prepared to leave a scathing message. Amazingly, Marquise picked up.

“I need to see you,” Kai said in a frosty tone.

“What’s wrong? You aiight?”

“No, I’m not all right.”

“Whassup?”

“Where are you? I need to speak to you face-to-face.”

“Home.”

“You’re at home! Why aren’t you here—at work?”

“Whatchu wanna know for? You interrogating me like you the cops or somebody,” he said, laughing.

Kai sighed in disgust.

“Damn, Mommy, where’s your sense of humor. Aiight, check this—I’m off probation at work, so it’s cool to call out sick. I’m home chillin’. You gotta problem wit dat, um…Detective Montgomery.” Marquise chuckled.

Marquise’s jolly mood heightened Kai’s anger. Desiring to slap the smile out of his voice, she asked in a calm tone, “Who was in my car Saturday?”

There was silence on the other end of the line. Clearing his throat before he spoke, Marquise finally responded. “Wasn’t nobody in your car; just me.” He paused. “Oh, yeah…I forgot…my man, Jocko, was wit me Saturday. Don’t you remember? I told you we hung out for a minute.”

“Did this Jocko person bring his child along?”

“What?”

“You heard me…did Jocko bring his daughter along?”

A deafening silence followed Kai’s question.

“Marquise?”

“Yeah?”

“Say something.”

“I’m trying…but you’re fuckin’ wit’ my head. I’m tryin’ to figure out where you comin’ from.”

“Well, let me assist you in figuring this thing out. This morning—the very morning I planned to propose to you…” Kai paused, allowing the significance of her words to sink in.

“Propose?” he asked, sounding troubled.

“Yes, I was planning to bring up the subject. I think we should get married.”

Marquise listened, but was dead silent.

“We’re good together and I can offer you a better lifestyle than you’re currently leading. As you’ve probably assumed, I’m wealthy. My paternal grandmother left me an inheritance that’s been put in a trust fund. I can’t touch that money until I’m twenty-five years old. I have to remain gainfully employed if I expect to collect the full amount, which is in the millions.” She heard Marquise gulp at the word
millions
. She chuckled as she imagined him sweating bullets wondering where this conversation was leading and how it could benefit him—the greedy bastard!

“I was recently rewarded a large sum from a lawsuit. I live off that money as well as the money my parents provide. My lifestyle, as you’ve gathered, is quite comfortable and will improve drastically. In two years, I’ll be a multimillionaire…Now, if there’s to be even a modicum of trust between us, I need to know who was in my car.”

“Slow your role, Shorty. I never said I was tryin’ to get married to you. I told you I’m already engaged.”

“Who was in my car, dammit?”

“My man,” Marquise said, his voice filled with defiance.

“Does your
man
wear pink barrettes?”

“Yo, whatchu tryin’ to say?”

“I found a pink barrette on the floor in my car. So I’m asking again…who the hell was in my car?”

The expected silence followed Kai’s question.

“Oh!” Marquise finally blurted. “My little cousin was in the car. I gave my little cousin a ride to the store just before I picked up Jocko. She must have lost one of her barrettes.”

“So you took it upon yourself to provide the entire ghetto community with a joyride at my expense?”

“Naw, it wasn’t like that. Why you comin’ at me like this? Tighten up, Kai.”

“You’re such a liar. You know what I think? I think you were running family errands in my car. I think the dire emergency you had to attend to had nothing to do with your grandmother. You’ve never mentioned a grandmother and I doubt if you even have one. You had the audacity to use my car to benefit your fucking family?”

“Yo, I don’t know whatchu talking ’bout but I’m gonna have to call you back. My battery’s dyin’.” Marquise abruptly hung up.

With her mouth wide open, Kai stared at the phone she held in her hand. How dare he hang up on her? She replaced the receiver, vowing to make Marquise’s life a living hell.

Kai promptly called Verizon Wireless and terminated Marquise’s account. Ha! She would give anything to see his expression when he tried to make calls on a dead cell phone.

Did he actually believe she’d invest her precious time and money into him and then allow him to go traipsing off to that hairy whore at home? Oh, hell no!

It was a good thing she’d taken that photo of him on Saturday night. After hours of hot sex, he’d collapsed into a deep sleep and Kai couldn’t resist snapping a nude shot of him as he slept like a baby.

And after rummaging through his pockets, she’d found his Pennsylvania State ID, which listed his current home address. Thank God she’d had the foresight to copy it. His address, printed on a small piece of paper, was tucked in a secret compartment inside her wallet.

Kai gave a wicked chortle and thought,
Let the games begin, you bastard!