Nina's Got a Secret (10 page)

“That nigga might have some book smarts, but he ain't got an ounce of game,” Val concluded.

“Why do you say that? You just said that you wouldn't sign a prenup, so apparently you don't agree with them anyway.”

“Oh, don't get it twisted; anyone with a lot to lose should have
a prenup drawn up to protect their money. If I had a lot of money I would get one, but that doesn't mean I would ever sign one if somebody gave it to me.”

“Now you understand why I have to play my cards right for the time being.”

Val rolled her eyes in disgust at Nina. She'd been hangin' out with Nina in California for a little more than two weeks, and was beginning to grow tired of Nina's constant bragging. Val knew that Nina was enjoying flaunting her good fortune.

Val and Nina were good friends, but there was always a competitive undercurrent between them. When they were both strippers Nina would get more aggressive on stage and during lap dances if she noticed that Val had earned more money. When local rappers asked Val to be in their videos, Nina deliberately showed up on the set looking sexier to steal the attention.

Trying to compete with Nina's bank account was futile so Val conceded this round of sparring, but she was determined to win the next.

Val took a glance at Precious and Chrissy in the backseat and then smirked before she commented, “You mean, what's his is yours and Chrissy's.”

Nina sat there, silent. She tried to pretend she didn't hear Val's comments, but the frown lines that streaked across her forehead like lightning across the sky were a clear giveaway that Val had struck a nerve.

“Yep, you know Larry's going to take care of baby girl back there in the backseat before he takes care of anyone,” Val replied and then looked over the headrest and waved at Chrissy.

Chrissy was totally oblivious to the innuendo that had spewed from Val's mouth and bounced around the car like a rubber ball, occasionally popping Nina upside the head.

“By the way, why is Chrissy with us? Why didn't you leave her with Maria? As a matter of fact, where is Maria? I haven't seen her around the house in a few days.”

“You haven't seen her because I sent her home for the weekend,” Nina barked.

“Why'd you send home?”

“I sent her home because I'm going to fire her ass next week.”

“I thought you liked Maria?”

“She's starting to get sloppy. We pay her good money to take care of Chrissy and she isn't doing enough to earn it.”

“What did Larry have to say?”

“He doesn't know.”

“Ouch. Don't you think you should tell him that you're going to fire the woman he handpicked to watch his handicapped daughter?”

“Val, I don't need you tell me how to run my household!”

“Excuse the hell out of me,” Val replied in a flippant tone. “I'm gonna make sure I got a lot of popcorn because I'm gonna get a kick out of watching you try to take care of that child until you hire a new nanny.”

Nina was silent for a few moments. She tried to focus as she crossed three lanes trying to get off Highway 17 and onto Highway 101 heading toward San Francisco. It didn't take long for Nina to learn that aggression can be an asset on the fast-paced California highways.

The skies turned dark and storm clouds swooped in from over the ocean as the ladies sped toward their destination. It didn't rain often in this part of California, but when it did rain, it usually came hard and swift.

“I haven't started looking for a new nanny yet.”

“Why not? You need to look for one or get prepared to have some long days ahead.”

“Actually, I'm kind of glad you brought that up. Do you remember our discussion when I first picked you up from the airport?”

“What discussion?”

“You and I talked about you coming here to be a nanny for us. You said you had experience with autistic children.”

“Nina, stop trippin'!”

“I'm not trippin'. I know you are tired of dancing in that sleazy ass strip club.”

“Oh, now it's sleazy? You weren't sayin' that shit when you were making your ass clap on that pole.”

“Whatever. All I'm saying is that you can live here with us for free, and we will pay you more money than you're earning now.”

Val pondered the proposition. The more she thought about it, the more intriguing the offer sounded. Nina could see she had Val's mental wheels turning so she decided to sweeten the pot to seal the deal.

“I doubt you'll be working for us very long.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Girl, with your looks and that body, you'll probably hook up with one of Larry's millionaire friends within the first two or three months. The next thing you know, you'll be giving parties and shit at your own mansion.”

The glossy look in Val's eyes told Nina all she needed to know; the thought of wealth had Val hooked.

“What about Larry?”

“What about him! Girl, he'll be home in two days; I'll make sure I give him a little coochie before I tell him. Trust me, after I whip it on him, he'll agree to do whatever I tell him to.”

“We'll see,” Val replied in a dry tone.

“Is it a deal?”

“More money than you're payin' Maria?”

“Yep!”

“Are you gonna help me land Mr. Sharrard Hogan?”

“I'll arrange another dinner party to get the two of you together again.”

“Then we've got a deal.”

“My girl!” Nina said with a huge conquering smile.

T
HE AUDITIONS WERE BEING HELD
in a slender three-story loft house nestled on the corner of Lombard and Van Ness in the heart of San Francisco. Nina had only been in that area of the city once so she was struggling to identify the landmarks.

The front of the loft looked like all of the other homes that seemed to fit together like Lego blocks along the steep San Francisco streets. If it weren't for the line that snaked from the entrance, down the street, and then around the corner, there would have been no way of knowing where the auditions were being held.

“Are there any black people in San Francisco?” Val asked sarcastically.

“What? Of course there are black folk here.”

“I'm serious. I haven't seen a black person yet. All I see around here are Asians and white folk walking these big-ass dogs.”

“Yeah, they do like their dogs out here in California. These people treat their dogs better than they treat other humans.”

“They all look dirty.”

“What?”

“These white folk, they all got this grunge look about 'em.”

“Girl, that's their style out here. That's one of the first things I noticed when we moved. Where we're from, black folk get dressed up to go to the corner store. But these white folk out here don't care about all that. All they do is walk their dogs, ride their bikes,
jog all over the damn place, drink Starbucks coffee, and spend the trust funds their parents left for them.”

“Shit, I'm lookin' in the wrong direction,” said Val. “I need to try to catch me one of these white boys with a trust fund. If he doesn't have a trust fund, he may at least have a six-figure income.”

“What would you do with a man with a six-figure income?”

“I'd cook for him every day and let him get some of this sweet ass whenever he wanted it. Girl, I can't even lie; at this point, I'll just take a man with a five-figure income.”

“What would you do with a man who had a seven-figure income?” Nina asked, her subtle way of bragging about her husband's income.

“Girl, please! If I had a man with a seven-figure income, I'd let him fuck me in the ear.”

“Yo ass is crazy!”

“Shiiiit! You can call me crazy all you want, but I'd keep a tube of KY Jelly next to my ear and be ready to use it if that nigga bringin' home seven figures.”

“What the . . .” Nina blurted out as they pulled up to the audition site and she saw the long line outside.

“Girl, it is two o'clock and you'd be lucky if Precious gets to audition before five.”

“Bullshit!” Nina said with much attitude.

She parked the car, grabbed her makeup kit, and snatched Precious out of the seat. Val hopped out of the car and closed the door.

“Do you have to slam my damn door like that?!” Nina shouted.

“My bad, Nina, damn!” Val replied as she rolled her eyes at Nina. “Wait a second. I'm tryin' to get Chrissy together.”

“Girl, I ain't got time to wait on you and Chrissy's slow asses. I gotta get my baby to the front of this long-ass line!”

Nina didn't bother to look in Val's direction as she spoke. She
gripped Precious' tiny hand and walked toward the front of the line with an angry expression plastered on her face. She looked as mad as a black woman who'd just found out her husband had left her for a white woman.

The looks she received from the other mothers were deadly, but they didn't deter Nina from marching to the front of the line and approaching a thin-framed Hispanic male.

“My name is Nina Dennison. My husband is Larry Dennison, the sports agent. Jeremy told my husband to bring our little girl here at two o'clock today. Well, it's two o'clock and I'm not about to stand out here for two or three hours. Where is Jeremy?”

“Actually, he has been waiting for you, Mrs. Dennison. Follow me.”

Nina smiled and gave a snooty look to the mother who stood at the front of the line. The woman was not shy about protesting Nina's bully tactic.

“Right over here, Mrs. Dennison. Jeremy, this is Larry Dennison's wife, Nina, and their daughter, Precious. They're here to audition for the lead part.”

“Hi, Nina,” Jeremy said. “Larry and I know many of the same people. Please forgive me for rushing, but as you can see, we have a lot of people to see today.”

“I understand. I'm just happy that . . .”

“Yes, yes. Young lady, I'm going to need you to take that child and stand over there,” he instructed Val in a rude tone.

Val grabbed Chrissy by the hand and stood off to the side.

“Now, Nina, I need you to stand here out of the way. My assistant is going to spend a few seconds giving . . . what's the child's name?”

“Precious.”

“Yes, Precious, interesting ethnic name.”

“No, he didn't!” Val shouted from across the room.

“Quiet on the set, please!” Jeremy shouted as he rolled his eyes at Val. “Now, Precious, I need you to stand over there next to the wall and look into the camera and say the lines. Do you know the lines?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Start saying your lines whenever you're ready.”

“Okay,” Precious replied, clearly nervous. “My mommy took me to . . .”

Precious was interrupted by a whining sound; it was Chrissy.

“Excuse me. Lady, could you please quiet that child?” Jeremy said to Val.

Val rolled her eyes at the obnoxious director and started whispering into Chrissy's ear. A few seconds later, Chrissy seemed to calm down.

“Thank you! Now, Precious, I want you to try again.”

“My mommy took me to Old . . .”

The whining sound started again. This time Nina marched over to Chrissy, grabbed her by the arm, and said, “Chrissy, calm down!”

“Nina, you ain't helpin' the situation by grabbing this child that way. You're only goin' to upset her.”

“Well, you're supposed to be the expert on handling autistic kids. Do your damn job, Nanny!”

“You gonna make me curse your ass out in here,” Val said in a low tone.

“Can we please get started?!” shouted Jeremy.

“I'm sorry, Jeremy. This is my stepdaughter and she's autistic. Sometimes she makes these sounds when she gets nervous.”

“Well, honey, I'm on a tight schedule, so I need you to figure out a way to keep her quiet, or I'm gonna move on to the next child.”

Nina turned to Val and mumbled, “Val, I don't care what you have to do to keep her quiet, but you need to figure out a way. Take her little retarded ass outside if you have to.”

The excitement of the moment must have rattled Chrissy because she started screaming uncontrollably.

“That's it!” Jeremy shouted. “Mrs. Dennison, I don't have time for this.”

“Wait, Jeremy; my friend is gonna take her outside.”

“It's too late, honey! Next child, please!”

Nina had mastered the wealthy, spoiled housewife routine. Although she'd only been married for a short time, she'd already grown accustomed to pouting and getting what she wanted. But she had no control of this situation. Jeremy had all of the control and to make matters worse, he was an even bigger diva than she was.

As Nina, Val, and the kids left the audition, the protesting mother whom she skipped earlier walked past with a smirk.

“Maybe next time,” the woman commented.