Pay Day Read online

  I folded my arms, shifted all of my weight to my left hip, and lifted one eyebrow. “What’s up, cuz? That’s all you have to say? Have you not been getting any of my phone calls or text messages?”

  He didn’t look the least bit fazed as he said, “Oh, yeah, I’m gonna have to give you my new number ‘cause I’m getting that other one turned off. I got another phone and that old one is somewhere in the house.”

  I didn’t even get into why he had a new phone. Probably LaQuanta. The two of them had a crazy dysfunctional relationship and he’d cut all ties with her one minute, then be back with her the next.

  “What’s going on? Where have you been? Why didn’t you meet me at the bank?”

  He paused like he was thinking. “Oh, snap, it is Friday. Girl, since a brother ain’t on a time clock, I lost track of the days.”

  I took a deep breath, grateful that I did indeed know my cousin and he hadn’t stolen my money. “Speaking of which, why did you quit your job?”

  “Aw, man, I had to bounce on them fools,” Darnell said. “They started trippin’ cause I came in late a few times. I told ‘em straight up that I didn’t have to put up with that petty stuff they tried to run at me. So, last week, I was about to clock out for lunch and my manager started talking about I’d better be back on time, so I told her I was out. Shoot, I don’t have to take that mess anymore.” He shook his head and laughed. “You should’ve seen her face.”

  Darnell mimicked the woman’s expression like I was really supposed to laugh.

  I scratched my eyebrow and rubbed my forehead a few times. “Are you kidding me right now?” I finally said.

  He cocked his head to the side and shook it slowly. “I wish I was, cuz. It was epic.”

  I couldn’t believe he was talking as if he found nothing wrong with the situation.

  “You are getting out of control,” I said.

  “What you talking about?” he replied.

  “Standing me up.”

  “Oh, you know I got you.” He waved me off like I was making a big deal for nothing.

  I sighed. Maybe Darnell was right. The money was making me crazy because I knew my cousin. He had my back no matter what. “Fine. But you could’ve at least called.”

  “You right. Sorry about that.” He flashed a wide grin.

  “And what is that in your mouth?”

  “You like?” He turned to the side. “This is my new look. I didn’t get it in the front because that’s ghetto.”

  I rolled my eyes. “And what’s this?” I said, pointing to the car.

  He rubbed his chin hairs and said, “This baby is nice, huh? Fresh off the lot.”

  “I guess the better question is how did you get approved for a car?”

  He smiled. “Shoot, money talks, bullsh-”

  “Darnell,” I said, getting tired of him, “I know you did not spend my money on a Benz. Take it back and get my money,” I demanded.

  He held up his hands and smirked. “Hold up. You need to back up off me. You got a car!”

  “A used Beamer,” I replied.

  “Well, I’m not takin’ nothin’ back. The night you called me, you told me that you were gonna break me off some change. You never mentioned how much or when, so I got it myself.”

  I took my index finger and poked him in the chest. “Let me tell you something… if you don’t give me my money, I’ll-”

  Darnell laughed. “You’ll what? Sue me and give the money to Tony and his gal?” He looked at me waiting for a reply I didn’t have.

  “Cuz, you trippin’,” he finally said. “I’m fam. I got you. You know I’m not gonna mess over you.” He pulled a wad of money out of his pocket. “I went to the bank earlier.” He handed me a large roll. “This is ten grand. And here, I got you some Rush Cards.”

  “Really?” I said, looking at the prepaid Visa cards from Russell Simmons.

  “What? You said you wanted to get the money a little at a time, so Tony wouldn’t get suspicious that’s what we’re doing. I put the maximum of $25-hundred on each card. There are ten of them there, so you ought to be straight for a minute.”

  I paused, then stuffed the money and cards in my purse. I had taken the first ten grand and paid off bills. I had fifty grand under a mattress. Darnell was right. It’s not like I could put the money in the bank just yet.

  “How much have you spent?” I asked him.

  “Would you just chill?”

  “How much, Darnell?”

  He sighed like I was really bothering him. “I bought this ride, some gear, a few gifts for folks, but I ain’t spent no more than three or four hundred … thousand.

  I swear I almost toppled over. As much as I hated to admit it, there was nothing I could do about the amount of money he’d already spent or how much he would spend in the future. I couldn’t even control how much money he let me withdraw.

  As furious as I was, I decided that it was in my best interest to stay on good terms with Darnell because if I didn’t, Tony wouldn’t be the only one missing out on this fortune. So would I. But I decided at that very moment, family or not, I needed to come up with a Plan B because Darnell was getting a taste of the good life and something was telling me he wouldn’t want to give it up.

  Chapter 17

  Angelique

  The pounds were melting off of me like hot wax on a candle. I couldn’t pass by a mirror without doing a double take. My body was banging and my budding relationship with Antonio was giving me a newfound confidence. I still wasn’t completely comfortable naked, but I’d been sucked and tucked so much that my body was dang near perfect – in expensive lingerie. Antonio had no complaints. In fact, we’d spent every other day together for the past two weeks.

  “What time do you think you and your mom will be back from seeing your aunt tomorrow?” Marcus spoke louder as I walked from the bedroom into the bathroom to finish packing my duffle bag.

  “Probably pretty late so don’t wait up for me.” I chunked my toiletries in the bag and hoped he wouldn’t ask any more questions. I wasn’t very good at lying, and in this situation, that was the only choice I had.

  At first, it was easy to tell Marcus I would be gone for a few hours or I would leave for an hour or two without any explanation. But lately, Marcus began asking questions. Our relationship had grown stale in the two weeks since I had a taste of being with another man. The only problem was that Marcus didn’t seem to think anything was wrong.

  Since we’d met, Antonio spoiled me with gifts from designers Marcus probably couldn’t even spell. I hadn’t told him I won the lottery, but I made it clear that I could buy my own stuff. Still, Antonio wasn’t hearing it.

  Marcus was a gentleman and I appreciated the way he put my needs before his own. But sometimes, being nice alone just didn’t cut it.

  Antonio and I had conversations that intrigued me. He also put no pressure on me to leave Marcus because he wasn’t looking for a relationship. Other women called him and I knew it. What good would it be for me to care if he talked to other women? He was a huge basketball star, and most women, married or not, would have loved to be in his company. He made it clear that he was single and loving it. And I loved it, too. I was dabbling in two worlds. Faithful, reliable Marcus at home and sexy spontaneous Antonio on the side.

  The Rockets were playing the newly named New Orleans Pelicans and Antonio invited me to the game and told me I could bring a guest. I invited Raquelle. She had been going through a lot emotionally since her son, Shaun was diagnosed with Stage V kidney failure. At first, she was reluctant to accept the invitation because Shaun was scheduled for surgery next week, but her mom insisted that she join me. We all knew she needed to get out of the house and enjoy herself, especially with a looming court case.

  “Babe, you’re really looking good. Even though I loved you just the way you were, I’m happy that you’re happy.” Marcus walked up behind me and started caressing my back. When he reached in to kiss the nape of my neck, I hunched my shoulders
and wiggled away.

  “Not now, Marcus, I’m gonna be late picking up my mom. The ride to Austin is going to take us a while. So I have no time to play.”

  Lately, I’d been avoiding Marcus and his sexual advances. I really didn’t want to have sex with two guys around the same time and since Antonio had been hitting it dang near every day, it left little room for Marcus. Besides, sex with Antonio made me feel ways Marcus could only dream about. After one dose of that man, Marcus seemed lackluster in his lovemaking skills and was no longer sexually appealing to me.

  He reached toward me. “C’mon, Babe. It’s been over two weeks since you touched me and now you’re about to leave for the night. I mean it was thoughtful of you to offer to drive your mom to see your sick aunt, but before you go take care of her, can you take care of me?”

  I felt sorry for Marcus, but not enough to give in. I totally planned to be swinging from the hotel light fixture tonight with Antonio and I didn’t want to be nasty and be with two men in one day.

  I zipped my bag and put the strap over my shoulder. Then, I reached up and gave him a kiss on his lips. “Sorry, not today.” I gave him two quick pats on his chest and walked into the bedroom.

  “Well, when? You keep putting me off. We’ve never gone this long without having sex unless one of us was sick.”

  I heard Marcus’ frustration, but I had to get going. My flight left in a little under two hours and I had to pick Raquelle up from her house. “Stop being such a baby. It’s not all about sex. I have a sick aunt that I need to tend to and all you can think about are your selfish, manly needs?”

  Instead of replying, Marcus snatched up my bag and said, “I’ll take this out to the car for you.” No matter how angry Marcus got, I had never seen him lose his temper. I never opened doors for myself, never took out the trash, or never pumped gas if he was around. By far, Marcus was one of the most chivalrous men I knew. And truth be told, he was also very handsome and kept himself up. His broad shoulders and thin waist were always a turn on to me. Pre-Antonio anyway.

  As he walked out of the room, I walked over to the full-length mirror I had bought the week before. I glanced at my full figure and couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face. I’d dropped six dress sizes and could see the curves in my hips. I was proud that I could finally tuck in my shirts without feeling self-conscious. No longer did I look in the mirror and see someone who was “pretty for a big girl.” I picked up my purse, and walked outside.

  As I approached the driveway, Marcus began walking the opposite way toward the house.

  “I’ll see you some time tomorrow.” He didn’t respond, so I turned around. “Marcus, did you hear me?”

  He didn’t turn toward me. “Yep.” He opened the door and went inside.

  Marcus had never been so short with me. My first thought was to turn around and follow him inside. But I needed to hurry before I missed my flight.

  I backed out of the driveway feeling like scum. Was my fling with Antonio worth me possibly losing a man who truly loved me? That was a question I wasn’t ready to answer, but I knew sooner or later Marcus would no longer accept me distancing myself from him. No matter how nice he was, I knew that at some point he was going to have enough of my coldhearted ways.

  I couldn’t let my mind get consumed with Marcus though because then I’d continue to feel bad and ruin a great time. I decided to do like one of my favorite 90s song said and “Lay back, kick it and enjoy the ride.” I’d worry about everything else later.

  Chapter 18

  Raquelle

  Angelique and I had two separate hotel rooms, which didn’t really make sense to me on a girl’s trip. But she’d said we were millionaires and millionaires didn’t share rooms. I didn’t know if it was the money or the weight loss, but Angelique was turning into someone I didn’t know. Like the trip here, she’d worn a catsuit. Who the heck still wore catsuits?

  When we arrived at the hotel, we decided that we both needed to freshen up before we went to hang out. Angelique said Antonio told her that he wouldn’t be able to meet up to go out with us unless they were dismissed from their meetings early, so we planned to have a night out on the town.

  I felt guilty for leaving my children at home with my mom, especially Shaun. It was easier for her to stay at my house because Shaun needed to do his dialysis treatments at night while he slept.

  No sooner than I’d placed my luggage down in the hotel room, I dialed my mom’s cell phone number.

  “What do you need, Honey? We’re fine,” she answered.

  “No hello?” I chuckled.

  My mom laughed. “Nope. I knew you’d be calling. When the phone rang I told Shaun it was you before I even picked it up.”

  “What are you all doing?”

  “Tiana is on that phone probably taking more pictures of herself to put on the Internet. And, Shaun and I are playing cards.”

  “Ma, please make sure he doesn’t drink too much, and he won’t tell you when he gets sleepy, he’ll just try to stay up. Don’t let him. He needs to get in his bed and do his dialysis treatment. Don’t forget he has to do it for eight hours so he’ll need to go to bed early enough.”

  I couldn’t think of anything else I needed to remind her of. I just hadn’t been away from Shaun in the evenings at any time during the one-month time period that he’d began doing his dialysis at home. Even though I knew my mom would take excellent care of my children, no one could care for them like me.

  “Raquelle, honey go ahead and enjoy yourself. We will be fine. I promise Shaun will be in one piece when you return.”

  I sighed and took a sip of the bottled water I’d been holding in my hand. “Okay, I’ll try to call you guys later. We are going to go out and grab a bite to eat.”

  “It’s already after seven. Go eat, hang out, and enjoy yourself. We will just talk to you in the morning before we go to church.”

  I took a deep breath, realizing how grateful I was to have a supportive mom. “You’re right. It will be late when we get back. I’ll go ahead and talk to them both now.”

  I spoke to Shaun and my mom pried Tiana away from her phone long enough for me to tell her goodnight as well.

  Once we hung up, I touched up my eyeliner and coated my eyes with a few coats of mascara. Then I picked up my purse, walked across the hall, and tapped on Angelique’s door. She swung it open and held up her index finger signaling me to be quiet.

  She was on her cell phone. “Yeah, we just got here. And I wanted to call and let you know.” She was quiet. Then she said, “She’s not doing too well. My mom just went in the back with her. Let me go ahead and get in there with them. I’ll give you a call later. Love you, too.”

  She hung up and tossed her phone on the bed. “That was Marcus. I had to get that over with before we went out and had fun.”

  I shook my head. “You know I don’t like what you’re doing to him, right?”

  “Yes, you let me know that from the moment I told you about Antonio. But, just wait until you meet him in person. You are going to see why it’s hard for me to go back to Marcus.”

  Angelique had surprised me when she told me she had a male friend on the side. When she told me who it was, I was quick to explain that it wasn’t a good idea to get involved with athletes, actors, and other famous people unless they specifically tell you they are ready to settle down. They led such busy lives and came in contact with so many people that they rarely settled. She responded by letting me know that she was aware that he did his own thing and that she was just trying to have a little fun.

  “And this has nothing to do with the fact that Antonio is a superstar athlete?” I squinted my eyes and tilted my head.

  She shook her head. “Of course not. We just have a good time together. He is a really good guy and I enjoy being around him.”

  “And poor Marcus is sitting at home thinking that you are with your mom?” I had initially rejected her invitation to come to the game because I didn’t condone what
she was doing as far as Marcus was concerned. He was one of the nicest guys I’d ever met and his love for Angelique was apparent. Most women would beg for a chance to have a man love and treat them like he treated her.

  She held up a hanger with a pair of black leggings and a sheer shirt on it. “Okay, Miss Marcus Fan Club president, I know what I’m doing. Give me a minute to get dressed.”

  I glanced down at my outfit. I had on some skinny jeans with a white tank and some wedge heel sandals. “I’m going to keep this on. I didn’t bring a lot of extra clothes.”

  “And to answer your question, yeah, Marcus thinks I’m with my mom,” she called out as she headed into the bathroom. She was quiet for a moment, and then she continued. “I felt bad leaving him at first, but he sounds like he’s not even bothered about it.”

  “You think Marcus is starting to suspect that you are not into the relationship anymore?”

  Angelique came around the corner and fixed her clothes as she spoke to me. “No, he’s so oblivious to everything. And it’s not that I’m not into Marcus. He’s a good guy.” She did a slow wiggle. “But Antonio? He’s great. And can we stop talking about my situation at home? I invited you here so we could have a good time and that’s exactly what we are going to do.”

  She looked at herself in the mirror, first in the front, then she turned for a side view, and finally glanced over her shoulder to look at herself from the back. “You ready?” she said before she leaned over the sink and applied her lipstick.

  She was dressed in some black leggings with a sheer red shirt with a leopard bra peeping through. Her black five-inch open toe heels set the outfit off. I knew she was proud of the way she looked and she deserved to feel that way, because she looked amazing. Honestly, anything was better than that hideous catsuit that she wore on the plane.

  I surveyed my outfit again. “Yeah, well, I thought I was at first, but now I feel underdressed compared to you.” Then, I realized I was here to relax, not catch, since a man was the last thing on my mind. So I was fine as is. “Oh well, I’m not trying to impress anyone so I guess I’m good.”