Trouble In Paradise (10 page)

He cleared his throat,

“Aheemm.” 

She snapped out of it,

“Oh I’m sorry what was it you asked me again?” she fumbled out. 

He smiled, “I was just wondering why a beautiful woman like you would have the blues.” 

She took a deep breath,

“It’s a long story I don’t want to bother you with it.  Are you from here?” 

“Yes, born and raised, but you’re not from here are you?” 

“No, I’m from Memphis.” 

“Tennessee?  Well welcome to Chicago.  Are you here to stay?”

“So far I am here to stay but I guess we will see what the future brings, hopefully good things,” she smiled. 

“It would be nice to be a part of the good things, maybe I could help you get to know Chicago better and you could experience some of those good things with me.” 

Victoria sipped the rest of her drink and stared at him until she could hear the air suction noise the straw makes when there’s nothing left to drink. 

“Well Greg, maybe I wouldn’t mind that at all but I’m sure my fiancé would.” 

“Fiancé huh?” he looked at her engagement ring. 

Yeah right
Victoria thought, like you didn’t see the rock on this finger, impossible to miss.  She looked down at her Leo diamond. 

“Well I guess that means I still have a chance, the rock has been revealed and now the deal has to be sealed but it’s not yet right?” 

The smile on his face made her wiggle in her seat.

The waitress walked up with her rib sandwich. 

“Can I have water with lemon and another Long Island please?” Victoria asked. 

“Sure thing, anything for you sir?” she asked Greg after winking at him and smiling. 

Wow, Victoria thought, if he was my man this floozy was straight up disrespectful. She had no clue he wasn’t and she went for the flirt anyway right here in my face.

“No, thank you,” he said with that brilliant smile.

The waitress turned around to go get Victoria’s drink. 

Victoria pulled out a business card and slid it across the table to Greg.  

“Maybe I wouldn’t mind a friend,” she said. 

“Oh and I would love to be of some acquaintance.  So when can I call?  I don’t want to get you in any trouble.” 

“No trouble.  I’m a big girl; he doesn’t go through my phone or pitch a fit about whose calling.  He trusts me,” she said and swallowed over that last statement. 

He nodded.  “He should,” Greg said, “that’s the key to a successful relationship or a successful anything ship,” he winked. 

She smiled.  Her phone rang and all the excitement she was feeling was replaced by irritation and anxiety.  The waitress walked up put down her drinks and said,

“Anything else ma’am?” 

“No thank you,”

Victoria said,
she hit the talk button on her phone.

“Excuse me,” she said holding a finger up to Greg.

“Yeah,” she said into the phone. 

“Victoria did you finish that drink,” Shay said. 

Victoria picked up her drink and took a big sip.  

“Yes,” she pursed
her lips.  “What’s up?” 

“Girl, you’re going to need to call the cavalry in on this one.” 

“Drop it and stop beating around the bush,” Victoria almost yelled. 

Greg narrowed his eyes at her with a look of surprise.

  “The suspense is killing me and I really don’t need it.” 

“Victoria I don’t care what you say I’m coming up there.  I’ll be on the first plane to Chicago in the morning.  I have to go drop my girls off at their granny’s and I’m on the first flight out of here.” 

Victoria’s heart could not thump any faster than what it was now, any
faster and she would have a heart attack, Shay was beating around the bush like Danielle was trying to drop a bomb on her condo or something. 

“Shay!” she screamed into her phone, “tell me what is going on and tell me now!!”  

Greg sat back and was now locked in on her conversation like half of the restaurant. 

“
Leon is bringing a gun up there so she can scare you with it!” 

Victoria gasped and her hand immediately went down to her holster. 

“Scare me’” she said, “for what?  What the fuck is the point of her doing that?” she asked. 

“She wants to show you she’s the boss and she wants Joshua back.”

“Are you serious?” 

“Yes, I’m serious.” 

“Shay I gotta call you back.” 

“I’m still on my way.” 

“That’s fine.”

Victoria hung up.  She stared off into space for a moment.  Greg shifted in his seat.

“Is everything ok?” he asked, already knowing it wasn’t. 

“Umm I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude but I have to go.

 
She picked up her drink took a nice long sip and finished it off before turning around and walking out the door.

Chapter 14

Joshua finally made it home.  It took him all day to get his car out of the impound.  The security guard had his car towed and he was pissed about it.  Yeah he had yelled out, “Tow it then!” but he didn’t really mean it.  The guard did and he hadn’t been able to talk to Victoria all day.  He had to catch a cab to the impound, hunt for his car in the parking garage like hunting for a needle in a haystack, get insurance papers from the glove compartment, take them back into the impound and show all the proper paper work to get the car out of the pound. Then he was charged $525 dollars for parking fees and parking in an illegal spot. 

“I didn’t ask for them to park it for me,” he fussed. 

This is all Danielle’s fault she is so not worth the trouble. 

He pulled into the garage, got out and unlocked the door.

  VICTORIA!” he yelled, stepping into the living room.

No answer.  Her car wasn’t outside but he thought he’d try anyway.  He heard his phone ring.  He spun around looking frantically and found it on the counter.  He picked it up, it was his voicemail.  He had 20 missed calls.  He groaned.  He heard a car pull up.  He ran to the front window and looked out it was Victoria, at the side door he hit the button for the garage door to open.  It did.  Victoria pulled in.  He hit the garage door for it to go down.  She got and slammed the door. 

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?” she yelled. 

“Baby let me explain,” Joshua started.

She folded her arms and shot daggers at him with her eyes.

“I’m listening.” 

“Come in the house.” 

She didn’t move, he reached out and grabbed her.  She shook him off. 

“Come on baby please let me explain.” 

“I’m not stopping you.” 

“I’d rather you come in the house please.” 

“I’d rather you answered your phone, I rather you had found some kind of way to CALL ME!   But did you?  No but you have an excuse don’t you?  Well let’s hear it Joshua because once again something bad has happened and you were nowhere to be found! It’s starting to become a very ba
d habit of yours.  Am I in the twilight zone!” 

She was in overdrive.  She tried to refrain from using vulgar words but sometimes the moment could only be described
with one.  Joshua took a deep breath. 

“I’m sorry; I really am if you just give me the chance baby to tell you what happened I’ll answer anything you want to know just come in the house please.” 

She walked past him in a huff.  He closed the door and put on the alarm. 

“I was at home working on my truck, giving it an oil change when my phone rang.  It was a doctor from the hospital calling me to tell me that my fiancé had been in an accident and was attacked.” 

Victoria’s face stiffened. 

“Yes,” he said. “I dropped everything think
ing it was you and left my phone at home.  I get down there and the nurse couldn’t find your name in the registry.” 

She began to shake her head. 

“Yes,” he said.  “So I demanded for the doctor who called me to come and clear it up.  When he got there he tells me it’s a misunderstanding and walks me to the back to be with my fiancé.” 

Victoria grabbed the bar stool she was already leaning on
to steady herself. 

“When I go in, it was Danielle.” 

“She’s crazy,” Victoria said. 

“She said you attacked her.” Joshua said. 

Victoria looked at him like he was speaking another language. 

“You cannot be serious!  I didn’t attack her, the psycho attacked me an
d you know what I kicked her butt.  Now she’s talking about coming to scare me with a gun to show me whose boss.”

Victoria
hands were on her hips now.  She said in a sarcastic tone,

“
She coming to get her man back.  You better do something about it Joshua!!  You better do something now because if she steps on this property she won’t have time to reach for her gun before she already has a cap in her butt, that’s not a threat that’s a promise!”

“
Now this is your crap, your way or my way,” she said patting her holster turning to walk in the kitchen.

“Who told you she was coming to scare you with a gun?” Joshua asked with a skeptical look on his face. 

Victoria relayed to him what Shay relayed to her. Joshua called the police and asked for a detective to be sent to the condo.  Danielle had taken things too far and it was time for him to put an end to this madness before someone got seriously hurt.  Detective Sanchez came and took his statement and set up a police stakeout.  Danielle would be in for the surprise of her life because as soon as she showed up, there would be a cavalry waiting for her and she wouldn’t be able to make a move. 

Victoria was in her bedroom pulling out clothes for Monda
y’s workday when Joshua entered the room, walked up to her and put his arms around her.  He squeezed her and put his face up under hers.  She couldn’t help but hug him back, and then she pushed him away. 

“Why do you have Rebecca’s number in your phone?” 

“Baby she gave me her number and I just put it in the phone to amuse her.  I don’t talk to her.” 

“Oh really and what’s so amusing about it huh, you think it would be amusing if I put some dude number in my phone?” 

“Come on now baby, you got to know all I want is you, you have to know that.” 

“Oh yeah, well you have a funny way of showing it, ge
tting new numbers.  Oh and did I mention you’re coming with a big price.  We have police staking outside our house because you’re crazy ex-girlfriend came up here to ‘scare’ me,” she said mockingly.  “I mean really, I don’t know if you’re worth the trouble if you’re still getting numbers.” 

He frowned, “Hold on girl, don’t be so extreme.” 

“Extreme,” she said taking a step back. 

She walked up to him and raised her hand. 

“This chick came at me hard Joshua; slap the wind out of me for a minute. I came off my feet and fell down to the ground so hard and really she almost knocked me into next week.”

She demonstrated
a slap. 

“I mean
where they do that at?” 

She started back to her clothes, went in the closet and took out her shoes.  He walked up behind her. 

“I’m sorry baby, getting Rebecca’s number was foolish and it will not happen again, I promise.”

“R
ight it was foolish.”  

“I will deal with Danielle this way because I don’t want it to come to a confrontation with you and her.  It’s not necessary.”  

“Umph, whatever,” she said drily.  “We’ll see.” 

His phone rang.  He pulled it out and looked at it.  It was Danielle.  His stomach did a churn and flip. 

“Who is that?” she said.  He handed her the phone.  She looked at it, it read: ‘DO NOT ANSWER.’  She shook her head. 

“You have a stalker, and she has
come all this way to kill me.” She laughed, “This is some straight up ‘Thin Line Between Love and Hate’ crap.  Why is the girl going so crazy all of a sudden?  I mean we been together all this time and she has kept herself at bay now all of a sudden she acting like a straight up fool.  I don’t get it, y’all still messing around or something, she act like you her man and she caught you cheating on her with me.”

She shifted
her weight from one foot to the other, one hand on her hip the other waving in the air. 

“
I mean absence does make the heart grow fonder. So what gives?” 

Joshua was trying to breath evenly he knew he had still been with Danielle all the way up to her accident which was three months ago.  Victoria w
as in an accident she was sitting at a red light in broad daylight, ten o’clock in the morning, getting ready to go pick up Shay for their Monday yoga class.  While sitting at the red light she was struck in the rear end by a drunk driver, her car was forced to the other side of the street from the impact. 

The driver was a sixty-seven year old African American woman; she said she didn’t see the car sitting there.  Victoria was in a red Ford Explorer, the only car in either lane at the time.  The back of the Ford Explorer was damaged, but was no comparison to the woman’s small Chevy Corsica, it was totaled.  The woman’s beer had busted and spilled ever
ywhere and she was cut and bleeding.  Victoria was transported to the hospital to be checked out and she couldn’t get in touch with Joshua.  He knew if she knew where he really was, she might not be so forgiving.  He could feel his heartbeat start to pick up. 

“Baby,” she said. 

“Huh?” he looked up at her. 

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah.”  

“Baby, is there anything you want to tell me?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Well you seemed to go pale for a second there, I know I’m not going crazy but I just need to know if you have anything to tell me?” 

Her tone was even, he couldn’t tell if he heard understanding or coldness. 

“Baby,” she said very slowly, “if you have something to say now is the time to say it.  I don’t want any surprises later.  Have you been with Danielle since we’ve been together?” 

He narrowed his eyes. 

“What do you think?” he said, tr
ying to say anything to save time for him to think. 
Busted
he thought, should I just tell her?  No, no, she would kill me right where I stand.  He looked down at the boots she had on, he knew she kept one of his box cutters down there.  He also knew she was strapped. 

“Anything?” she said. 

He closed in on her and put his arms around her, he buried his head under her neck,

“Baby you should calm down now, ok.  You’re getting yourself worked up for nothing.  Everything is ok, ok?” 

He kissed her on her cheek.  She put her arms around him.  They embraced long. 

“I love you,” he said “and I want you to be my wife, you and only you.”

She smiled and exhaled, she had been holding her breath on that one.

“I love you too.” she said. 

*****

Ding!  The elevator doors opened and Leon stepped into the hallway.  He looked at the number for the hotel room h
e was looking for.  He called Danielle but she wasn’t answering the phone. 
I hope nothing else has happened
he thought.  He started down the hallway as he watched the numbers decrease.  When he reached two forty-eight he paused.  It was quiet.  Leon put his ear up to the door.  He couldn’t hear anything.  He knocked.  The sound penetrated down the hall.  No answer.  He knocked again with a little bit more aggression.  The door swung open, Danielle was standing there in a red and black Fredericks of Hollywood number.  Leon guessed he would’ve been turned on by this if he were straight but he wasn’t and this didn’t spin or spark anything in him. 

He removed his sunglasses,

“Hey Ms. Thing,” he said snapping his fingers.  “You expecting someone other than me ‘because I don’t go both ways honey child.” 

She reached out grabbed him and pulled him into the room.  The door slammed behind them. 

“I wish you were Joshua,” she said. 

“Well too bad I’m not.  What are you doing in here, it’s so quiet?” 

“Shaving.” 

“You got plans?” 

“As a matter of fact I do,” she said with excitement in her voice. 

“Ok do tell, don’t keep me in suspense.” 

“First of all Leon I just want to thank you for coming all this way, I mean, who in the world would come all this way for something like this?  I mean . . .” she paused.  “Thanks Leon this really means a lot.  I know it seems kind of crazy but I know Joshua, I know he loves me and I know he probably just wants me to show him how much. He has always played games like this,” she rambled on and on. 

Leon felt sorry for her.  If he always played gam
es with her like this then their relationship was worse than he’d thought. He knew she was in denial, he had already talked to Shay and he knew Shay was probably reporting to Victoria.
How did I get in the middle of this? 
Here Danielle is, pouring her heart out laying it all on the line, and she may be in for a rude awakening. 

“Ah
no problem girl, now tell me about this date you about to go on how did this happen?” 

“Well it’s not really a date.  I am going over to let Joshua know the good news; I’ve held it from him long enough.  I’ve been waiting for the right time to tell him but we haven’t been having the best of times lately.” 

She looked at Leon and gave him a big smile.  

“Honey boom spill it!” Leon yelled throwing his hands up. 

“We’re pregnant!” she screamed. 

Leon’s mouth opened wide into the shape of an O and he started to blink rapidly.