Scandals (26 page)

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Authors: Sasha Campbell

BOOK: Scandals
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47
Robin
“There she is.”
Kyle rushed off my lap and ran to greet my sister as she was finally released from jail. Immediately, Deena scooped him into her arms and spun him around.
It had been a long few weeks. Halo had been arrested for the murder of Mannie, and Mercedes and several others were charged as accessories. When Monica told me about her involvement, I couldn't wait for them to cart her ass off in handcuffs. Monica's ex-husband had agreed to testify against all of them in court for a lesser sentence.
I stopped dancing at Scandalous. After Honey's funeral, I couldn't bring myself to return. It was just too sad, and I kept thinking about her dead body being lowered into the ground. That could have been me. Two weeks after her funeral, Jordan had been arrested for Honey's murder. I guess he finally followed through on his threat.
I decided I no longer needed that life and enrolled at J. Sargeant Reynolds in their pharmacy technician program. It wouldn't be the money I was used to making, but anything was better than swinging around a pole, waiting for the next Halo to step into my life.
Trey squeezed my hand as we watched Kyle and Deena. He was such a good man to me. Last week we'd moved in together. He said it was to keep me safe from Halo's boys, but I knew he was ready to take our relationship to the next level and I was okay with that. Men like him only came once in a girl's life, and I was no fool.
“That boy's gonna talk her to death.” He chuckled.
I couldn't resist a smile. “I know that's right.”
Deena walked over to me with tears in her eyes, and as soon as I rose, she wrapped her arms around me. My arms moved of their own free will and before I realized it, I was hugging her back. “Thank you so much, Robbie,” she said between sniffles.
“Dee ... that's what family is for.” And then I was crying as I held on to her. I had so much to be thankful for and even more to look forward to. Not only did I have my sister back, but now I had a family.
“Why are they crying?” I heard Kyle ask.
“Because that's what girls do,” Trey replied.
Deena and I released each other, looked over at them, and started laughing. I was certain that everything from that moment on was going to be all right.
48
Monica
“Monica Houston.”
I rose from my seat and strutted over to the professor, standing at the far end of the stage, grinning proudly at me.
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you,” I said as I shook his hand. I accepted my degree, pausing long enough for the photographer, then moved back to my seat. I was so proud. After a year of sacrificing, I had finally graduated.
I glanced into the audience at Robin who was sitting with Liese and Arissa. They were waving proudly at me. I was beaming from ear to ear because I had finally given my girls a reason to be proud of me.
The last few weeks had been crazy. The investigation had been all over the news. Richmond Investments had been laundering millions of dollars in drug money. Anthony's partner, Greg, denied knowing anything about Anthony's dealings with Halo and apparently several others, but the jury was still out on that verdict. All I knew was Anthony was in a lot of trouble and could possibly serve some jail time, although the prosecution seemed more interested in Anthony helping them put Halo away for the rest of this life. I wished him all the luck in the world, but I had my girls to worry about. Thank goodness they didn't seize his overseas assets—I now had over a million dollars in my savings account and no one was ever going to try and take my girls away from me again.
As the rest of my classmates went up to the podium one by one, I allowed my eyes to travel around the room, and who I saw sitting to the far left of the room made my heart leap to my throat.
Tremayne.
I had invited him to my graduation way back when we were still together, and I hadn't expected him to show up. But he had.
After the private detective discovered Anthony's involvement with Halo, Bernard revealed that Tremayne had been instrumental in discovering Anthony had been hiding assets. I had planned on thanking him when I got a chance. I guess I finally had the perfect opportunity.
As soon as the ceremony was over and all of us finished hugging and promising to keep in touch, I made my way off the stage. Liese and Arissa raced into my open arms.
“Mommy, you look so pretty!”
“Mommy, does this mean you're now a nurse?”
“Yes, it does.” It felt good. Nurse Monica Houston. I still had to pass my boards in two weeks, but I had already tentatively landed a job at Southside Medical Center. Robin had given me a pair of purple scrubs as a graduation present.
“Congratulations,” she said as we hugged. She had been such a good friend through all of this. It was still amazing how much we had both gone through in the last few months. However, we were proof all things prevail. She had enrolled in school, given up dancing, and I was so proud of her.
“Did you notice the sexy man in the third row, staring at you?” she whispered as she released me.
I nodded because I knew she had also noticed Tremayne. “Yes, I guess I better go over there and thank him.”
“Yes, I guess you better, and don't do anything I wouldn't do.” She gave me a saucy grin.
“That leaves my options wide open,” I said with a wink and headed down the aisle. As soon as Tremayne noticed me, he rose from his chair and walked down to the end, meeting me halfway.
“Congratulations,” he said.
“Thanks for coming.” I grinned.
Shaking his head, I watched him take in my cap and gown and black four-inch pumps. “There was no way I was missing your graduation.”
That meant a lot to me, considering we were no longer together. We stood there not saying anything. I could tell he wanted to say something, and I found it weird for a lawyer to be at a loss for words.
“Bernard told me you won your case.”
“I did, but it never would have happened without your help. Thank you. I don't know how I will ever be able to repay you.”
“How about letting me take you and the girls out to dinner to celebrate?”
My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe he wanted to spend time with me. “Why would you wanna do that?”
“Why not? Today's your big day. Besides ... I miss you.”
My heart was beating so hard it took me a few moments to pull it together. “I miss you too.” He appeared relieved by my response. “Listen ... you never gave me a chance to explain before, so I want to apologize for deceiving you. I should have been honest in the beginning.”
“I would be lying if I said I wasn't pissed off to find my woman stripping. But what pissed me off the most was not that you were dancing, but that you didn't trust me enough to tell me the truth. All that time I thought you loved me.”
“I did ... I do. I just didn't know how to tell you I was shaking my ass three nights a week.” Even now it was hard to admit.
Tremayne reached down and clasped his fingers with mine and stared in my eyes for a long time before lowering his lips and kissing me. “The only man I want you shaking your ass for is me. Can you do that?”
“Yes.” Was he saying what I thought he was saying? I didn't want to get ahead of myself.
He was staring at me, looking so serious. I couldn't have looked away if I had wanted to. And I didn't. “I love you, Monica. My feelings haven't changed.”
My heart was pounding so hard I don't know how I found the words to speak. “And I love you.” And then we were kissing like there was no tomorrow until I heard someone whistling. I guess we were making a scene.
Laughing, I finally released him. “Come on. Let's go and get the girls.” Tremayne took my hand, and together we went to join the others. I looked over at Robin and she winked. Yeah, everything was working itself out, and both our futures were starting to look even brighter.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1.
Put yourself in Monica's shoes. What would you do if you had no other means to support your family? Would you consider stripping? Did Monica really have no other option?
2.
Do you feel that Robin was a product of her environment? Was she stripping by choice or by chance? Since she was sleeping with men for money, would you consider her a whore, or are there exceptions to the rule?
3.
Was Reyna living vicariously through Monica? Was she needy or just a good friend?
4.
What would you do if Trey showed up on your doorstep with a little boy, claiming he was a nephew you knew nothing about? Would you take him in even though you didn't want anything to do with his mother? Was Robin wrong for hating her sister?
5.
Deena said she did everything she could to try to help Robin get away from Ms. Ernestine. Do you agree?
6.
Deena and Robin hadn't seen each other in years only to discover they had been hanging in the same circle all along. Robin left Halo and no longer wanted to be a part of that life. If you were Robin, would you have gotten involved with Halo again in order to help Deena clear her name?
7.
Do you feel that Anthony was mentally abusive to Monica during their marriage? After he found out she was stripping, do you feel that he had every right to try to take the girls? If they had gone to court, who do you think would have won?
8.
How would you feel if you found out your best friend was bisexual? Do you think Monica would have been more accepting if Reyna had just been honest about her feelings for her? How would you have handled that
awkward
situation?
9.
Trey was pissed that Robin starting seeing Halo again. Should she have been honest with him? Do you feel that she has trust issues when it comes to relationships?
10.
Monica believed she had no choice but to sleep with Greg. Do you agree? When it comes to men, does she come across as weak or a survivor?
11.
Was Tremayne wrong for ending the relationship when he discovered how Monica was really earning a living? If you were Monica, would you have just been honest in the first place?
If you enjoyed
Scandals
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Turn the page for an excerpt from
Taking Care of Business ...
1
All was quiet on the West Coast front. And all was cozy in Bianca Livingston's world as she lay cuddled up next to Xavier Marquis, her husband and the love of her life. Had it been only seventy-two hours ago when she thought she'd go crazy?
Just three short days before this moment, Bianca had stood in the center of TOSTS—her pride and joy—ready to pull the hair she'd decided to grow long again right back out of her head. The chic, quaint eatery on Los Angeles's west side, formally named Taste of Soul Tapas Style, was two days away from its one-year anniversary celebration. The place had been in chaos. The truffle, caviar, and special champagne shipments had all been backordered, the cleaners had destroyed the new waitstaff uniforms, and the chef had been called away due to a death in his immediate family. The stress had brought on the unexpected arrival of Miss Flo, Bianca's monthly, complete with bloating, cramps, and a pounding headache. What was a sistah to do?
Put on her big-girl panties and make it happen, that's what. What other choice was there?
Forty-eight hours ago, Bianca had huddled with her assistant and the sous-chef, who'd then called all over America until they found last-minute supplies of truffles, caviar, and bubbly. After reaming the cleaners a new a-hole, Marquis had called in a favor from a designer friend and had ten new uniforms whipped up posthaste. Finding a selfless bone in her weary body, Bianca had had flowers delivered to the funeral home that housed her chef 's brother and had quieted Miss Flo and Company with some prescription-strength pain pills.
Twenty-four hours ago, Bianca had finished her day at the second L. A. Livingston Corporation establishment, the increasingly popular soul food restaurant, Taste of Soul. She'd spent two hours on a conference call with her brother, Jefferson, and the finance department at corporate headquarters, overseen a fiftieth birthday luncheon for a party of twenty-five, and soothed the soul of a hapless vegetarian who'd been losing her mind because she'd eaten the cabbage and
then
realized that this particular selection was seasoned with smoked turkey legs. Bianca had found it convenient that sistah-girl had eaten the entire plate before making this observation, demanding her money back and threatening lawsuits. Not to mention that she'd somehow missed reading the ingredients to the Chaka Khan Cabbage side dish clearly listed on the menu. Bianca was furious but had too much work and too little time to argue. She'd given the emoting customer a gift certificate for two free dinners and a menu to take home so that she could study it before placing her next order. With a bright smile to hide her frustration, Bianca had asked Ms. I-Haven't-Eaten-Meat-In-Twenty-Years to pay particular attention to the items with a small
v
beside the name, identifying them as vegetarian dishes.
Eight hours ago, Bianca had linked arms with her husband and officially welcomed the guests to TOSTS' one-year anniversary. Tickets for the evening's event had been steep—two thousand dollars—but the price included an all-you-can-eat buffet, a champagne fountain (filled with the double-priced bubbly that had to be rush-ordered and FedEx'd to the event), and an intimate evening with the night's entertainment, Prince. As if pleasing the palate and the auditory senses weren't enough, the tickets were also tax deductible, with part of the proceeds benefiting a soup kitchen. Following in the footsteps that the Taste of Soul founders, Marcus and Marietta Livingston, had set, the establishments Bianca managed did their part in making the communities around them a better place.
An hour ago, Bianca had kicked four-inch-high stilettos off her aching feet, slid a Mychael Knight designer original off her shoulders, separated herself from a Victoria's Secret thong, and eased into the master suite's dual-head marble shower. Seconds later, Xavier had joined her.
“
Mon bien-aimé de chocolat
,” Xavier murmured as he eased up behind Bianca and wrapped her in his arms. “You are the chocolate on the menu for which my heart beat all night long.” He took the sponge from her hand and began soaping her slender body from head to toe.
“Mmm, that feels good,” Bianca said. She leaned back against her husband's wide, firm chest. Moments before, she'd been dog tired, but now her husband's ministrations were filling her with new, lusty energy. She wriggled her soapy body against his and was immediately rewarded with a long, thick soldier coming quickly to attention. They made quick work of the cleaning process before Xavier lifted Bianca against the cool marble wall and joined them together in the age-old dance of love. The contrast of the cool marble, hot water, and even hotter desire swirled into a symphony with a melody known by Xavier and Bianca alone. This was their first time together in almost seventy-two hours. Ecstasy came quickly, and then they climbed into bed for an encore.
Five minutes ago, Bianca had screamed in delight as her body shook with the intensity of a seismic climax. Xavier, the quieter of the two lovers, had shifted rhythms from second to third, before picking up speed and heading for his own orgasmic finale. He hissed, moaned, squeezed Bianca tightly, and went over the edge. Too spent to move, Bianca had kissed Xavier on the nose, turned herself to spoon up against him, and vowed to take a shower first thing in the morning. She smiled as Xavier kissed her on the neck.
That man knows how to rock my world,
she thought as she looked at the clock. It was early morning: 4:45.
At 4:50, a shadowy figure crouched along the buildings on Los Angeles's west side. He stopped, looked both ways, and walked purposefully toward a door on the other side of the alley. It was the back door to TOSTS—Taste of Soul Tapas Style. In less than one hour, Bianca Livingston's world would get rocked again.

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