Secret Indiscretions (7 page)

Shartell reached into her station drawer, pulled out an orange smock, and put it on over her hot-pink shirt and bright purple pants. “Donetta, you really need to watch how you talk to me. You're lucky that I'm not the type who gets easily offended, otherwise there would be some consequences and repercussions goin' on up in here.”

Just then Councilwoman Charlene Harris walked into the salon with a bright smile on her face. She'd started coming to Geneva a few months ago after her long-time stylist had moved away, and had quickly become one of Geneva's favorite clients. She kept a standing biweekly appointment that she never missed. She was never late, she always tipped generously, and she always had encouraging, uplifting words for everyone. She was kind, smart, loyal, and hardworking, which was the reason why she'd won a seat on the city council one year ago.

Geneva, along with everyone else in the salon, admired Councilwoman Harris. And although Geneva's style was different from her client's, Geneva loved the way the woman carried herself. She was the picture of classic sophistication in her St. John business suits and sensible pumps, accompanied by expensive but understated jewelry, usually consisting of genuine pearls. For a woman who was approaching her late fifties, she looked several years younger than she really was. She was old school, in a classic kind of way, and no matter how much Geneva tried to get the councilwoman to change up her hairstyle, she wouldn't budge. “I know what I like and I'm not interested in changing,” she'd always say with a smile. She only wore one of two styles. If her slightly longer than shoulder-length hair wasn't hanging down in layers, it was pinned up in a sophisticated chignon, as it was today. Other than those styles, the councilwoman wasn't having it.

“Good morning, Geneva,” Councilwoman Harris said. “And good morning to you, too, ladies.” She smiled, offering a polite nod to Donetta and Shartell.

Geneva nodded. “Good morning.” She formed her lips into a smile that forced her personal problems to the background of her mind, relegating a vacant space for it to be dealt with at another time. She was a professional, and right now she had to conduct business. “You want the usual or are you in the mood for something different?” This was Geneva's standard question, even though she knew what the answer would be.

“I'm going to switch it up,” Councilwoman Harris said.

Geneva, Donetta, and Shartell each took a collective pause as their eyes widened with surprise.

“I want this cut.” The councilwoman reached into her bone-colored Chanel handbag and pulled out a picture that looked as if it had been cut from a magazine. She handed it to Geneva and smiled. “What do you think about this? I fell in love with this style when I saw it in my
Essence
magazine last night. Do you think it will look good on me?”

Geneva examined the picture of a woman sporting an asymmetrical bob that was short at the nape and hung down below the chin on one side. The style screamed funky sophistication and could go from classic to glam depending upon what kind of mood one was in. Geneva instantly knew the style would look perfect on the councilwoman. This time the smile that formed at Geneva's lips was genuine. “I love it!” she said enthusiastically. “What do you think about trying a little color? I think some light brown highlights will really make this cut stand out and frame your face nicely.”

The councilwoman smiled. “All right, let's go for it.”

“Fantastic! You're going to love your new look.”

“I have no doubt that I will.” She took a deep breath. “Change is good.”

“Yes, it is,” Shartell said, inserting herself into the conversation. “The only thing that's certain in life is change.”

As much as Geneva didn't want to hear Shartell's mouth, she had to agree that Ms. CIA was right. “Okay, let's get started on this new do.”

The councilwoman clasped her handbag shut and placed it back on her shoulder. “I'm sorry, but I need to run back out because I just realized I left my cell phone in my car. I'll be right back.”

“Okay, take your time,” Geneva said as she donned her black smock, kicked off her sexy red heels, and stepped into her comfortable black Crocs.

Once Councilwoman Harris was out of earshot, the gossip began.

Donetta sat in her seat and crossed her long legs. “Something's up with your client, Geneva. There's only a handful of things that will make a woman chop off all her hair and go rogue, and man trouble is one of them.”

“She and her husband are getting a divorce,” Shartell said. “She put him out the house yesterday morning and he checked into the Roosevelt Hotel down on Bellview Street last night.”

“Oh, no,” Geneva said. “That's awful. She and Mr. Harris have been married forever. I can't believe it.”

Shartell pursed her fuchsia-colored lips. “Thirty-one years, to be exact.”

“Damn!” Donetta said. “Okay, I know you have all the ugly details about what happened, so give it to us.”

“No, don't say a word,” Geneva said, shaking her head. “Councilwoman Harris is probably torn up about this. If they've been married thirty-one years, that means she's spent more than half of her life with that man, and it's got to hurt like hell for this to happen. Plus, because of who she is, the whole town will be gossiping about her soon enough. Lord knows she doesn't need us doing it. The poor woman.”

Donetta laughed. “Poor woman? Puh-leeze! Did you see that big Kool-Aid, I-just-won-the-lotto looking smile she had on her face when she walked through the door? I don't know her circumstances, but I do know body language and human behavior. If you ask me, that woman's happy as hell.”

“Donetta's right,” Shartell said. “Quiet as it's kept, she and her husband been havin' problems for quite some time.”

Despite initially not wanting to hear the rumors, Geneva found herself listening with rapt attention as Shartell quickly told them about the details that had led to the demise of Councilwoman Harris's marriage.

Charlene and Reginald Harris appeared to have the picture-perfect marriage, but once the last of their three children went away to college, the trouble began. Reginald, a handsome lawyer with a tongue as slick as his smile, started cheating on Charlene. She forgave him the first time, which provided him cushion for the second, which eventually turned into a third. What Charlene had initially thought was a midlife crisis that her husband was suddenly going through was actually a long-standing situation that she eventually discovered the hard way.

Shartell shook her head. “That man has taken her through some changes. I guess he thought he could continue to do anything he wanted, but she proved to him that he can't, at least not with her . . . anymore.”

“She got tired of his bullshit,” Donetta said. “Good for her. At some point a woman has to face reality and make some hard decisions.”

Geneva saw the look that her friend discreetly threw her way. She knew Donetta was right, but she couldn't bring herself to offer up much. “I'm sorry to hear that,” she said quietly.

“Oh, but here's the clincher,” Shartell said, this time with a solemn face. “Their youngest daughter, Lauren, who's a student at Tuskegee, well, she started dating this guy who's in one of her premed classes—smart, good looking guy from what I understand. Come to find out, the boy is her half-brother.”

Donetta's eyes got big. “Shut the front door!”

“What?” Geneva said.

“Yep,” Shartell continued. “The boy is Mr. Harris's son that he had with another woman. Lauren and that boy are only a month apart in age, too. Turns out he been steppin' out for years, but Mrs. Harris didn't know. That's how quiet he kept his shit.”

“Leave it to a man who knows the ins and outs of the law to duck and dive,” Donetta said. “That kind of mess really pisses me off.”

Shartell nodded. “But every dog has his day, and this one is having his. When Lauren told her mama and daddy that she had a new boyfriend, and that she was serious about him, quite naturally they wanted to meet him. That's when the truth came out.”

“Lord have mercy,” Geneva said.

“Uh-huh, and quiet as it's kept, that's why Mr. Harris's arm is in a cast and his eye looks like he stepped into the ring with Mayweather.”

Donetta craned her neck. “What do you mean?”

“He didn't slip and fall off their deck a few days ago. She beat the shit outa him.”

“Noooooo,”
Geneva said, covering her mouth in shock. “Not Councilwoman Harris!”

“Yes, sugar. Turns out Ms. Thang has a mean right hook. After she clocked him dead in his eye, she took out a baseball bat and broke the man's arm. He was pretty banged up and bruised, too.”

“How the hell do you know all this stuff?” Donetta asked in amazement. “Did you have hidden cameras planted at their house or something?”

Shartell smiled and winked. “I have my sources.”

They all stopped talking when Councilwoman Harris walked back in. “One benefit of coming here that I didn't have at my other salon is that I get a light workout on those steps,” she joked.

“You got your phone?” Geneva asked, hoping she didn't look as guilty as she felt.

“Yes, and I hope my temporary absence gave you ladies enough time to talk about my situation with my soon to be ex-husband.”

Geneva smiled nervously. She felt bad for the woman. “I . . . um.”

Councilwoman Harris nodded. “It's quite all right. I know how things work. The worse the news, the faster it spreads,” she said, looking directly at Shartell. “I'd rather you talk now before the salon fills up with people.” She paused, and then smiled at Geneva. “I'm ready to go back to the shampoo bowl now.”

Two hours later Geneva watched Charlene Harris walk out the door with a new hairstyle and what appeared to be a new attitude. The spring in her step was noticeable, and Geneva had never seen her client look so good. The councilwoman was always well pulled together and attractive. But today she glowed with a polished patina, and that was because she looked happy, just as Donetta had said earlier.

“You know that could be you,” Donetta said just loud enough for Geneva to hear as she walked over to borrow some spritz. “What you just saw right there was happiness walking out that door. But that woman had to get pushed into making that leap. I hope you don't let that asshole you're married to tip you over the edge. Let Ms. Harris be an example to you. Don't waste the best parts of your youth, because you've got too much livin' to do.”

Geneva knew that Donetta was right, but she didn't have time to think about her troubled marriage. Right now she had to focus on the ten other clients she had lined up today, and then the volunteer meeting at Sandhill Elementary School she was going to attend tonight.

I
t was lunchtime and Johnny was starving. He'd been so busy bouncing from one thing to the other that he hadn't eaten since this time yesterday. As he sat at his desk listening to his stomach growl, he thought about the dinner that Geneva had prepared for him last night. “Damn, I should've packed some of that food for lunch,” he said to himself. She'd prepared his favorites: beer-batter fried pork chops, garlic mashed potatoes with gravy, seasoned green beans, and her world-famous sweet potato pie. When he walked through the door last night, he'd wanted to dive mouth first into the food. But Geneva had been angry, and he knew better than to attempt to reheat the food that had gone cold because he'd neglected to come home on time.

“I don't know what's wrong with me,” Johnny said aloud as he rubbed his empty stomach. “I'm so tired I can't even think straight. I should've gotten some food out of the refrigerator 'cause a pork chop sure would taste good right about now.” But just like yesterday, this morning he'd been too busy to think about eating. His mind had been consumed with the usual: work, money, and what he was going to do about Vivana, all in that order. He knew if he hadn't stayed out all night he wouldn't be so tired, and he would have remembered to pack some food for lunch. Although he'd once desired Vivana like a drug that he couldn't get enough of, she was beginning to cause ripples in his normally calm life.

He hadn't meant to spend the entire night with Vivana—something he had promised himself he'd never do—but after they'd consumed the entire bottle of wine he'd bought as a peace offering, and then made love so hard and heavy that his body felt exhausted, he'd gone to sleep almost immediately after reaching his climax. Just before he drifted off, he asked Vivana to set the alarm so he could wake up in two hours. Geneva was an early riser, but she wasn't a night owl, and she usually had trouble staying up. He'd hoped he would get back home somewhere between her drifting off to sleep that night and waking up bright and early the next morning. But apparently Vivana had been wiped out, too, and she'd dozed off right along with him, forgetting to set the alarm.

“I need to slow things down with ol' girl,” Johnny said aloud as he sifted through the papers on his desk. He could tell that Vivana was becoming more attached than he liked. She'd even tried to withhold sex last night because she'd been upset that he hadn't greeted her with a hug and a kiss when she let him into the hotel. But they'd been in public, and as he'd told her from the beginning, he couldn't risk getting caught.

Unlike the other women he'd slept with since he'd been married to Geneva, Vivana had a husband, which Johnny initially thought was going to be a plus in his favor because she had just as much to risk as he did. He reasoned that he wouldn't have to worry about her demanding more from him than he was willing or able to give because she was in the same situation he was. But as he reminded himself from last night's encounter with Geneva, things change. “Yeah, I'm gonna have to cut Vivana back,” he mumbled.

Just as he was about to call in a pick-up order to China Express, his cell phone rang. It was Vivana. He didn't want to talk to her right now. He knew he should probably let it roll into voice mail because if he was going to pull back on their contact, this was the perfect time to start. But as he watched her number light up his phone screen, he couldn't deny the urge he had to feel her body next to his and hear her sexy voice moan in his ear. There was something about Vivana that drove him wild, and as annoyingly brazen and temperamental as she could be, he desired her. Against his better judgment he picked up the phone. “Hey you,” he said, trying to sound casual.

“Hey back. Are you all right?”

“I'm tired, but good.”

“Was she gone when you got home this morning?”

He'd told her that he hoped Geneva would be on her way to work by the time he got home, otherwise things might get nasty judging from the night before. “No she was there.”

“Oh . . .”

“She was about to leave for work when I walked into the house. We didn't speak to each other but I could tell she was pissed.”

“If you two didn't talk, how do you know she was upset?”

Johnny chuckled. “You know how y'all women do. She gave me the evil eye and a lot of nonverbal attitude.”

“Please don't compare me to other women, Johnny.”

“That's not what I was doing. I was just making a point. You know what I mean.”

“Uh-huh . . . so she was pissed?”

“Of course she was. If you had an argument with your husband and he didn't come home that night, wouldn't you be pissed?”

“Not at all.”

“Yes you would.”

“No, I wouldn't. You know my situation.”

“I guess.” When Johnny thought about what Vivana had just said, he realized that he didn't fully know her situation. As a matter of fact, aside from knowing that her husband was a stick-in-the-mud accountant who didn't excite her, she'd given him very few details about her life. But he figured that was a good thing because at this point he didn't want to know anything beyond what she'd already told him, or vice versa.

“You don't have to guess,” Vivana responded. “I don't love my husband, just like you don't love your wife, and if there's no love, there's no reason to be mad, right?”

Johnny frowned, but remained silent as he listened.

“That's why I'd be fine if Wilbert stayed out all night,” she continued. “Hell, he could stay gone all week and it wouldn't bother me a bit.”

This time Johnny responded. “Wow . . .”

“I'm serious. See, Geneva obviously loves you, and that's the reason she's mad. Now my question to you is why do you care if she's mad or not, that is, unless you're still in love with her?”

Johnny's antennae went up. He didn't like the direction in which this conversation was going and he knew he had to quickly change course. “Regardless of who loves who, my wife was mad.”

“You didn't answer my question.”

“Don't try to turn this into an inquisition.” He purposely made his tone sound irritable to let her know he wasn't going to be forced into saying anything that he didn't want to freely tell her. “The bottom line is, I would've made it home last night if you'd remembered to set the alarm like I asked you to.” There was a pause, and he knew his statement had made its point.

“I'm sorry, baby. I was so tired that I dozed off without even thinking about it.”

“Yeah, I guess we wore each other out.”

She purred. “Mmmm, yes we did.”

Johnny's mind started to drift back to last night, but he knew he had to refocus. He had to wrap up this conversation before Vivana started asking more questions that he wasn't prepared to answer. “So what's up?” he asked. “You okay?”

“I'm good,” she responded. “How're you?”

“Tired and hungry.”

“You should be after your performance last night. I wish I could've served you breakfast in bed this morning. That way you'd be satisfied and full.”

He could hear the smile and sexy coyness in her voice and it instantly made him horny, and improved his mood. “That would've been nice.”

“We could've ordered a big breakfast through room service to feed our appetite,” she said in a seductive voice dripping with carnal lust. “I'd love to pour syrup all over your sexy, hard body and lick it off.”

Now he was smiling on the other end. Johnny leaned back in his black leather office chair and rubbed his crotch. “Talk that talk, baby.”

“You like that?”

“You know I do. Tell me something good.” He loved when she engaged in phone sex with him.

“Why don't I come to your office and whisper what I want to do to you in your ear. Then after that, I'll show you.”

Johnny leaned forward and sat straight up in his chair. A crease of concern lodged itself in the middle of his forehead. One of the first rules that he and Vivana had agreed upon when they'd starting seeing each other was that they wouldn't meet in public nor would they rendezvous during the day. That meant that sundown, behind closed doors, was the only time they'd be able to spend together. He was perfectly fine with that, and up until now he thought she was, too. He knew he had to nip this situation in the bud. “You know that's off limits.”

Vivana laughed on the other end. “After how freaky we got last night, nothing is off limits.”

Damn! She's got a point!
he wanted to say, but stopped himself. He had to admit she was right. Whatever inhibitions he thought she may have had were thrown to the wind last night. Vivana had proved to be the most sexually charged woman he'd ever been with. She was down for kissing, licking, and sucking every imaginable body part and crevice, which had heightened his pleasure. She welcomed his penetration of every orifice on her body, and when she mounted herself on top of him, she moved her hips in a rhythm that made him shiver. It was clear to him that she enjoyed sex, and she knew how to please a man. She knew exactly how to touch him with just the right amount of pressure that drove him wild.

A part of Johnny wanted her to come over this very moment so he could fuck her from behind on top of his desk, but he knew that would be inviting danger. “Never shit where you work or lay your head,” Bernard always told him. It was part of the reason his friend had gotten caught and was now divorced. Bernard had slipped up and gotten sloppy. But Johnny had no intentions of allowing that to happen. “Listen, Vivana, we already talked about this and you know the deal. Maybe we can see each other again in a few days.”

“A few days? Why so long?”

“First off, that's not a long time. And second, my schedule is tight and my wife's been asking a lot of questions lately. She's getting suspicious and I need to be extra careful.”

The line was silent on the other end. “Hello . . . are you still there?” he asked.

“I'm here.”

He could hear the disappointment in her voice, and to him she sounded like a sulking child who couldn't get what she wanted. “I want to see you,” he said. “But I can't right now. I've got clients I need to meet with and several properties I need to show. Plus, I have a stack of paperwork sitting on my desk that I need to go through. It's just a real busy time.”

Johnny waited for a response, but there was still silence on her end. “Vivana, are you there?”

“I hear what you're saying,” she said, frustration seeping into her voice. “But here's what I know. When a man wants to do something he'll make the time to do it, regardless of what's going on in his life.”

“You're right, and I won't even try to debate you on that. But it also depends on the man's circumstances. You and I talked about this from the beginning, and I thought we had an understanding, right?”

“Yes, we do.”

“So why are you all of a sudden having a problem with our arrangement?”

“I don't have a problem, but things do change. I think we're both different people now than we were when we first met, and that's not a bad thing.”

Now Johnny was silent.

“I have needs, Johnny.”

“You're insatiable. I thought last night would carry you over for a while. What does it take to satisfy you?”

“For someone so smooth, and sexy, and charming, at times you can say downright insensitive, juvenile things. Sometimes you act like a caveman.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“Don't get sarcastic with me.”

He sighed heavily. “Well, what the hell are you talking about?”

“I'm not talking about sex, which is apparently all you seem to have on your mind. I'm talking about being with you, feeling your arms around me, and sharing special time with each other. I just want to see you.”

Now he became even more alarmed and he knew he needed to bring this conversation to an end. “Baby, I hate to cut you off but I have a call coming in from one of my clients.”

“Wait, did you hear what I just said?”

“I have to take this call. This is business.”

“And?”

Johnny couldn't believe his ears.
She's crazy as hell,
he thought. “Listen, Vivana, I'm trying to be nice but you're really pushing it.”

“Your client's call probably rolled over into voice mail by now so just deal with them later.”

“This isn't how we're supposed to roll.”

“Says who? I mean, things are different than they were when we first started seeing each other, wouldn't you agree?”

Johnny was tired and he didn't want to deal with Vivana on an empty stomach. “I have to go.”

“So you're gonna leave me hanging?”

“Vivana, I haven't eaten since lunchtime yesterday and I'm so hungry I can't concentrate, let alone have this kind of conversation with you. I was just about to go out to get something to eat when you called.”

“Where're you going?”

The curiosity in her voice made Johnny nervous. He hoped she wasn't asking so she could coincidentally show up at China Express when he went to pick up the order he was going to place. “I'm not sure,” he lied. “I haven't decided.”

“I can bring you lunch if that'll help you.”

He moved the phone away from his ear, looked at it, and shook his head. He didn't know if she'd made that statement just to get a reaction from him or if she was serious. Either way, he'd had enough. “Listen, I already told you I have to go. I'll call you later.” He hit the end button and ran his hand across his chin.