Pay Day Read online

  When I got to the Galleria, I made a beeline to the Gucci store. I definitely was going to buy some clothes, but expensive handbags were my guilty pleasure. I was never a materialistic person but I loved some purses. Even when I didn’t have a lot of money, I made sure my budget allotted for me to splurge on a designer bag every six months. Walking into that store and picking out any bag I wanted let me know that I had arrived. I chose the red Soho shoulder bag.

  “Nice choice,” a deep voice behind me said as I walked away from the counter.

  I turned around, and to my surprise, Antonio Whittingham, the star point guard for the Houston Rockets was gazing at me.

  “Oh, um, yes, I had been eyeing this style for a while,” I said with a smile.

  I peered down at the shopping bag I held in my hand, unable to make direct eye contact with him as we stood at the front of the store.

  “I love a woman who can walk into a Gucci store and buy what she wants without hesitation,” he said.

  “And I love being able to buy what I want without hesitation,” I replied with a flirty grin.

  He stared at me for a few seconds and I felt like he was undressing me with his eyes.

  His stellar smile should have been patented and the more I looked at him, the more I felt that he could sense my uneasiness.

  “Hi. I’m Antonio.” He extended his hand.

  Did he honestly think he needed to introduce himself? I had serious doubts that there was one person in Houston, or any other city, that did not know his name. I was weak just looking at him, but I mustered up the strength to give him a handshake. “Nice to meet you, Antonio, I’m Angelique.”

  He licked his smooth lips. “You are absolutely beautiful, Angelique.” The way my name rolled off his tongue gave me goose bumps.

  He inched a little closer toward me and I had to shake myself from being intoxicated by his cologne. I was sure that the delayed response made me look like an idiot. I clutched the handles of my purse a little tighter. My new body was feeling things I hadn’t felt in… ever.

  “Thank you.” I cleared my throat because I was sure that husky reply was so not cute.

  I watched him as casually reached over, picked a pair of aviator style sunglasses and slid them on. He continued to speak as he peered into the rectangular shaped mirror next to the display.

  “What do you think about these? Yes or no?”

  “Yesss… Definitely yessss.”

  He stood and smiled and I wanted to die.

  “I like the way you say that.” He motioned for the clerk who came running over.

  “Yes, Mr. Whittingham?”

  “I need two of these and that belt I was looking at earlier in black and brown.”

  “Yes, sir, we’ll put them on your account,” she said, scurrying off.

  Gucci had accounts? Now that I was a millionaire, I needed to figure out how to get one.

  “Why don’t you give me your number so I can take you out. Maybe we can grab some dinner one day this week.”

  I really wished someone could have pinched me, because I just knew I had to be dreaming. There was no way I was about to get Antonio Whittingham’s number in real life. No way. Before my surgery, a man like Antonio wouldn’t even give me the time of day.

  Even still, I didn’t want to appear desperate, even though I wanted to turn cartwheels right there in the middle of the store.

  “How about I take your number and call you?” I said, easing my new iPhone 6 out of my purse.

  He smiled seductively like he wasn’t used to that. But then he rattled off his number as I punched it in.

  “I’ll call you later,” I said like it was no big deal.

  He chuckled. “Yeah, beautiful. You do that.” He reached out and gave me a hug. “Until then, it was nice to meet you, Angelique.”

  I didn’t want to stop our embrace, but I didn’t want to seem too eager so I backed away. “Likewise.” I began heading toward the door. I let my small smile morph into a gigantic grin as I rounded the corner to exit the store.

  My day had just gone from good to great in a matter of seconds. I couldn’t wait to tell Janine and Raquelle about Antonio. People could say what they wanted, but skinny girls got more men. There had been times that I caught men looking at me before the weight loss, but when I would return the glance, they would look away. The most they would do was smile. Maybe they thought like my mother, I was pretty to be a big girl.

  That day, I felt good because I knew that the weight I had lost was only the beginning. I strolled down the mall with a grin so huge, and I was sure people thought I was drunk or high… maybe both. What they thought of me didn’t matter, because for a change, I felt good about myself. One of the hottest, most popular men in the city had just given me his number. Just the thought of calling him made me tingle all over.

  And then, I remembered… I had a man. Marcus would be heartbroken if he found out what I’d done. I felt momentarily guilty, then I passed by Foot Locker and saw a six-foot-eight cutout of Antonio in his Rockets uniform, advertising the new Adidas. I grinned, pushed aside thoughts of Marcus and tried to decide just how long I would wait to call Antonio.

  Chapter 15

  Terrance

  I was living it up! Yeah, I felt a little bad about the fact that Sheray had basically cut me out of her life. She’d moved out, even refusing any of my winnings. Of course, I thought that was ridiculous, but she’d torn up the check that I’d given her, threw the pieces in my face and told me, “I hope you and your money are very happy.” I figured she would come around eventually. But so far, not only had she not come around, but she’d completely cut me off. She’d even changed her cell phone number and told the switchboard at work not to put my calls through. I was a little taken aback at how she was trippin’. But it wasn’t anything a night out on the town couldn’t fix. And I’d had plenty of nights out.

  It was amazing how money could change the caliber of women that you interacted with. I didn’t know if word had spread that I hit the lotto or what. I’d told my boy, Mike, but I’d sworn him to secrecy. Even though he claimed he hadn’t told anyone, I was starting to think he had because I was suddenly becoming Mr. Popular. I never had been one to hang with a whole bunch of dudes, but Mike and I had turned into party animals. I’d flown him and two of his cousins with me to Vegas two weeks ago, where we’d partied for seven days straight. I finally decided to wrap things up when I realized my bill had reached forty grand.

  When I got home, I’d resumed my nightly dating. I wasn’t looking for anything serious (Been there, done that). I was just out to have a good time. But the dating scene wasn’t all that it had been cut out to be. I told women that I had a rich uncle die and leave me some money because many of them were bold and straight up asked how I “could afford such nice things.”

  I’d gone out with a woman and not ten minutes into the conversation, she was asking me to pay her light bill. Another woman asked for bail money for her brother. In the beginning, I was loving the ability to just freely give and spend money. But then, it started feeling like someone had put my name and number up on a bathroom wall because I started getting calls left and right. I’d even gone out with Veronica, my old classmate. But she started talking about how she wanted to settle down so I had to drop her.

  So these past few weeks, I’d steered clear of the ladies and just partied. Tonight, it was a VIP party for Houston rapper, Prince Mac. I loved the fact that my newfound wealth allowed me to roll up in my silver Porsche with a booming system. Of course, all eyes were on me as I drove up, got out and tossed the keys to the valet.

  Three glasses of Remy Martin VSOP and an appetizer later, I found myself sitting in the VIP section, immersed in conversation with Mia, a woman who was so gorgeous she could have easily been on the cover of any magazine. Her hazel eyes were more intoxicating than the alcohol I’d consumed. I couldn’t tell if her long chestnut brown hair was real or not, but it was so well maintained, it didn’t matter.

/>   “I haven’t enjoyed a conversation like this in a long time,” Mia said as she took another sip of her lemon drop martini. She crossed her long, elegant legs and my testosterone kicked up about six notches.

  “Neither have I.” I paused for a moment, and then I glanced at my watch. It was five minutes after midnight. I was horny and from the looks of it, my wife had no intentions on coming back to me, so I was fair game. Mia was the type of chick you wanted to have on your arm. “You have any plans once you leave here?” I asked. Yeah, I wanted to bed her, but she was the type of chick I wanted around for a while – but just to play with. I definitely didn’t want anything serious.

  Mia grinned. “I don’t, but if you’d like to change that, I just might let you.” She raised her eyebrows and finished the rest of her drink.

  I don’t know if it was the alcohol or what, but I felt compelled to say, “To be sure that we’re clear on everything, I want to let you know that I’m not looking for anything serious.”

  She looked me in the eyes and said, “Serious? What makes you think that I’m not just out to have a good time, too?” Then, she rubbed my forearm. “I can show you a good time, if that’s what you’re looking for, Big Daddy. No strings attached.”

  I wasn’t expecting her to be so receptive. Knowing that she wasn’t expecting anything other than a night of hot sex made me feel much more at ease. “Well, in that case, meet me at Hotel Derek on Westheimer.”

  The devilish smile on her face let me know that she was down for whatever I wanted to dish. “I’ll meet you in the lobby.” She licked her lips and eased off the barstool.

  As I waited for the bartender to take care of my tab, I watched Mia sashay out of the door. The sexy strut had every man she passed glancing down at her voluptuous behind. She tugged at the short hem on the black spandex dress she wore. And, I could tell she was experienced in walking in stilettos because with every step, she looked more and more like a runway model. My chest was stuck out a bit because I knew within the next hour, I would be the one all up in that.

  Once I arrived at the hotel, the valet took my car and I went inside. Mia was seated and when she spotted me, she jumped up and walked with me to the front desk. We checked in and once we got on the elevator, she stood in front of me and kissed me. It was a soft sensual kiss that made me wish the elevator doors hadn’t opened, forcing us to stop.

  When we got into the room, we wasted no time tearing off our clothes. I was feeling good in all of the right places.

  “Hold on, baby,” I moaned, reaching into my pocket for a condom. I always kept two in my wallet just in case.

  Mia snatched the packet out of my hand, ripped it open, pushed me against the wall, then proceeded to slide it on me. I closed my eyes and moaned in ecstasy.

  She stopped, slid on the bed, then used her middle finger to beckon me. I obliged. We kissed and our breathing got heavier as the urge to have our bodies intertwine increased. Her body trembled with anticipation as I entered her and neither of us stopped until we were both satisfied. We rested and then repeated our love dance two more times.

  The alcohol must have had more of an influence on me than I realized. I didn’t remember falling asleep. But when I woke up, I noticed a slither of light coming in through the dark window dressing. I rubbed my eyes and reached over to touch Mia. My thoughts were that we could have one more ride to ecstasy before it was time to check out. I rolled over, but I felt nothing so I figured Mia had gone into the restroom. “Mia, get your fine self in here, girl.”

  Nothing.

  “Mia?” I furrowed my brows and sat up, only to find that the pile of clothes we’d thrown off of each other were gone. Not one article of clothing was in sight. My eyes darted around the room. My heart pulsed as I kicked the covers off of my legs and jumped out of the bed. I ran into the restroom. No one was in there. I glanced at the nightstand where I’d set my new Rolex. It was gone. “Dammit,” I muttered, hitting the corner of the wall with my hand.

  As I walked my bare body into the room, I noticed that the only thing Mia left was my valet ticket.

  It hadn’t dawned on me until moments later that she not only had my clothes, but my wallet. I had over five hundred dollars cash in there, along with my driver’s license and credit cards.

  I rushed over to the closet and yanked the hotel robe off of the hanger and slipped it on. I loosened my jaws because I noticed I’d started grinding my teeth, which was something I typically did when I was angry. And I was beyond angry. As I thought back to how Mia had snuck into the VIP area, grilled me about whether I was in the music industry, then commented on my Rolex, diamond chain, and Timberlands, I went to the highest level of pissivity. How in the world had I let myself fall for what was clearly a setup?

  Walking through the lobby, I understood how it felt to be center stage in front of a large crowd. I couldn’t blame the other hotel guests and workers as they stared at a six-foot-three, two hundred and thirty five pound man walking through the lobby barefoot with a robe on.

  When I gave the valet the ticket so he could retrieve my car, I was almost sure he laughed at my appearance as he walked away. I was so pissed off that I just ignored him.

  When he returned with my car, he got out and looked at me like he was waiting for a tip. I just glared at him as I jumped in the driver’s seat and closed the door so swiftly that he had to jump back to avoid getting hurt. I sped off, my mind reflecting back over all the trifling women I’d dealt with these past few weeks. Most of them had been beautiful. Many of them had been their own special kind of crazy. And none of them could hold a candle to my wife.

  As I raced toward home, I heard Sheray’s voice in my head, “Be careful what you wish for.”

  Chapter 16

  Janine

  My cousin was missing in action, and I was trying not to think the worst. It had been three days since I last spoke to him and he wasn’t answering my calls or texts.

  Every Friday afternoon since he’d claimed the lottery money for me, Darnell and I met at Bank of America. Everybody from the financial advisor to the bank manager, had told us not to put all our money in one bank account. But I couldn’t do the mutual fund and investment thing until my divorce was finalized. The advisor had even suggested an offshore account, but I wasn’t about to send my money to some strange country. It was just too much to be having Darnell go through all of that anyway, especially when he was using a fake social security number himself. It was just easier to keep it in the bank, and withdraw a little at a time. Once Tony was out of the picture, I would invest and do all that other stuff the financial advisor was suggesting. For now, though, we just would do our weekly withdrawal thing. Now, what I was nervous about was the fact that my name wasn’t on the account. I opted not to have my name attached to it because I didn’t want Tony to have the slightest chance of getting my money. Our financial advisor told me ‘off the record’ so he didn’t get in trouble, that when Tony filed for divorce I would be bound by law to reveal all bank accounts with my name on them. That was the only reason why I didn’t put my name on Darnell’s account.

  My gut had said that wasn’t smart, but my desire to keep Tony away from the money won out. I found out he’d moved in with the Pop-Tart, so I’d be damned if they set up shop on my money.

  Even though I hadn’t talked to Darnell, I headed to Bank of America. I drove up at five-thirty that afternoon and waited for him until six-fifteen. The lobby closed at six, so I was screwed. After he didn’t show up, I called and left a voice message. Darnell knew the routine. I sent text messages and I even called his girlfriend, LaQuanta. She said she had been trying to get in touch with him, too.

  I felt my palms getting sweaty. Darnell wouldn’t have left me hanging, at least not without calling, and I couldn’t think of a time when LaQaunta didn’t know where he was.

  After another hour passed, I picked up my cell phone and dialed the number to the furniture store where he worked.

  “Good evening, thanks
for calling Your Furniture Store, this is Barbara. How may I help you?”

  “Hi, Barbara. I’m looking for someone who is employed there. I hope you can help me.” I was desperate and I didn’t have time to waste because for all I knew, my cousin could have been in a horrible car accident or he could have gotten attacked. It wasn’t a good thing that my mind always wandered to the worst possible scenario, but I’d been like that all of my life.

  “Sure, I can. And if I can’t, I can get ya to somebody who can.” I heard her eagerness to help through the phone.

  “Great, I’m looking for my cousin, Darnell Helms. Can you tell me if he’s at work? Or if he came in today?”

  “Oh, Honey, Darnell doesn’t work here anymore. He resigned last week. He said he -”

  I hung up so she wouldn’t hear my gasp. My heart was beating so loud I could hear it. “That mother…” No, I stopped myself. Darnell wouldn’t do this.

  I tossed the phone on the seat, and sped out of the Bank of America parking lot and headed to Darnell’s duplex. I was going to break in his house if I had to. I needed to find some clue as to where my cousin was.

  “Be calm,” I told myself on the twenty-minute drive. Darnell is like a brother to you. You’re overreacting. Even as I had the conversation with myself, I didn’t have a good feeling.

  I used the radio controls on my steering wheel and blasted the music, hoping to drown out my thoughts.

  I barely put my car in park before I jumped out my car and rang his doorbell. After ringing it several more times. I turned to walk back to my car and a taupe Mercedes S550 eased into the driveway. The dark tinted windows prevented me from seeing into the car. But, it didn’t take a genius to figure out who it was.

  I walked toward the car and Darnell bounced out looking like he’d just robbed a mannequin in Suit Mart. He hit the button on his key ring to lock the doors.

  “What’s up, cuz?” He flashed all of his teeth, including a brand new gold cap on the side tooth, complete with a dollar sign.