DUBIOUS (34 page)

* * *

“
I had fun today.” I lingered in my doorway with Sherman like a school girl with a crush.

“
I did too.” He kissed my lips for the fourth time in three minutes.

I didn’t want him to leave. But I knew if he stayed, we would be up all night. I still had some work to do before going to bed. I stood on my tippy toes to peck him on his lips but he drew me in for a deep kiss. We were standing on my front porch kissing as if the rest of the world had disappeared. There was something about this man that made me feel that way.

“
You had better go before I drag you in and throw you on the floor,” I said.

“
And the problem with that would be?”

He had stunned me with that. I had to laugh. He was dead serious, and I almost gave in until I realized that the real world was calling.

“
You are too much. I have some work to do before morning, so I’m going to have to be the adult and officially end this date.”

“
Party pooper.” He pretended to pout.

I kissed him again and pushed against his chest so he couldn’t grab me again. “Thanks for everything.”

“
Do you need me to pick you up in the morning and take you to work?”

“
Oh, I forgot about leaving my car at work. Don’t worry about it, I’ll ask Talisa to swing by and get me.”

“
I wouldn’t mind at all. In fact, I insist.” He smiled and made my knees quiver with desire.

“
I’ll call you later.” I shut the door with a smile on my face.

* * *

I booted my computer and checked my phone messages while I waited. I had a couple of hang ups, which was fine by me, and two messages from Sam at the kennel.

I felt a twinge of guilt because I hadn’t thought about the kennel much since I had hired Sam to run it. As long as the checks came in, I wasn’t worried. It was silly of me to give a man I hardly knew complete control over the business, but it was easier not to think about all the painful memories it evoked. Glancing at my watch, I dialed the number from my speed dial.

“
Sam speaking, how can I help you?” his voice was deep and cultured.

“
Hi, Sam, this is Felicia Clark.”

“
Hi, Ms. Clark.”

“
Please, Felicia will do.”

“
I’m sorry. Old habits die hard.” He chuckled.

I just wanted him to get to the point so I could get on with my evening. I was going to have to decide on what I was going to do with the business, but I just wasn’t up to it at the moment. “No problem. You called?”

“
Yes, I did. I haven’t heard from you. I’ve had some interesting callers, and I wanted to discuss the offers before I proceed.”

“
Callers? I don’t understand.”

“
Well … I’ve had several inquiries over the last few weeks. All of which offering ridiculous amounts of money for your puppies. Some of the pups are too young to be sold, and I’ve even received bids on pups that haven’t even been born yet. Of course I wouldn’t accept any offer without your approval, but the callers have been strange.”

“
How so? The kennel has an excellent reputation. My ex-husband spent a lot of money and time picking the best dogs to breed and their bloodlines are above reproach,” annoyance crept into my voice. I felt as though he was wasting my time, and I was eager to get off the phone.

“
I understand that and I agree, but I still feel uneasy with some of their questions. They want to know if the dogs have been trained. I’m not aware of any training that I am supposed to be doing, so I’m not sure how to answer them. Those same callers won’t commit until they have spoken to your ex-husband, and I don’t have anyway to contact him.”

He had my full attention now. Instinctively, I knew these perverts were looking for sexual encounters of the four-legged kind. Bile rose in my throat as I fought to hold on to the phone. My face felt flush, and I started to feel dizzy. I had to grab the table for balance. I could hear Sam babbling, but I could not concentrate on his words.

“
And this fat white lady—”

“
Excuse me, what did you say?”

He said, “First this black lady came by asking all these questions. I thought you had sent her, so I gave her the tour. She said she was your agent and you were doing a listing for the business. I didn’t pay it much attention, because you told me you intended to sell it, until she started making derogatory comments about your husband and asking questions.”

“
What kind of comments?” I shouted into the phone before I could stop myself.

“
Uh … she said your husband was a leech and was milking you like a cow.”

“
Excuse me?”

“
Please don’t get upset with me; I’m just the messenger.”

I immediately regretted yelling at him. He was just as innocent as I was. Obviously something foul was afoot. “I’m sorry, Sam, I wasn’t yelling at you. My marriage is very personal to me.”

“
I understand. That is why I cut the tour short. I told her she would have to speak with you if she needed anything further.”

“
I appreciate that.” I was ready to hang up. I needed to figure out who was checking up on the business, but his chatter was preventing me from thinking.

“
You’re welcome, but that only made her mad. She started asking questions about you next … and that’s when the fat white woman came in acting like she owned the place.”

Once again I was jolted into the conversation. All the pieces to the puzzle floated into place. “Sam, I need to see you right away. I’m on my way.”

Clearly this was not the way he saw this conversation ending, but he had little choice in the matter since I was still the owner of the kennel. I hung up before he could reply. I called Sherman on his phone and asked him to come back and take me there. Luckily for me, he hadn’t made it all the way home, and he’d obviously heard the concern in my voice.

I thought I was going to take my husband’s dirty secret to my grave. It was, however, apparent that this was not going to be the case. I was going to have to tell Sherman everything. I prayed that my confession wouldn’t destroy my relationship with him. It was a long shot, but that was a chance I was going to have to take because I could not handle this shit by myself. While I waited for him, I rehearsed what I would say to him.

CHAPTER 39

“
Twice in one day. I must say that I’m honored,” Sherman said as he eased the BMW into the express lane of I-20.

“
Hold on to that feeling. What I’m about to share with you may change those feelings.”

“
This sounds serious.”

“
It is.” I looked deep into his eyes, silently praying that his feelings ran deep enough to stand by me.

“
It’s going to be okay, baby, whatever it is,” he said as if nothing I could say would bother him.

“
I hope so.”

As he drove, he tried to get me to speak. I was so full of emotions, I just couldn’t. We arrived at the kennel and Sherman hurried around the car to open the door for me. He gave me a brief and comforting hug. After shutting my door, he grabbed my elbow and ushered me inside. Sam was at the front desk. He stood to greet us when we entered. His face was haggard as if he was worried. I went over to one of the two chairs in the waiting room and sat down. There was no way I was going to make a confession of this magnitude standing up. Sam took a seat opposite me and Sherman sat next to me.

“
Sam, first let me apologize for the late hour. This is my friend Sherman.”

They shook hands. I was nervous as a cat in a room full of dogs. The irony of that thought almost made me laugh, but the weight in my heart prevented it. I was mad at Randy for dragging me into this shit in the first damn place.

I pulled a photograph from my purse. It was a picture of the members of my law firm that I had grabbed before I had left the house. “Sam, do you recognize any of the people in this picture?” I held my breath. If he did not recognize anyone, I would apologize again for bothering him and leave without revealing my secret.

“
That’s you, right?” He pointed to my picture.

I could have choked him right there on the spot. “Yes. Does anybody else look familiar?”

He studied the picture. He looked up from the picture at Sherman as if he had expected him to be in the photo as well, but of course he wasn’t. Sherman shook his head. He was perched on the edge of his seat as if he was waiting for something to pop off. Sam didn’t say anything for a few more seconds. The silence was killing me. I was about to withdraw the picture and leave when he pointed out Frick and Frack, my coworkers. This was exactly what I was afraid of. Any hope of leaving this place with my secret intact had evaporated into thin air.

“
Shit.” I sat back in my seat and closed my eyes. I didn’t see Sherman take the picture from Sam. When I opened my eyes, he had it.

Sherman said, “Isn’t that Ms. Williams and her assistant? What’s going on here?”

My heart was beating fast. This was the moment that I had been dreading. I thought about leaving and telling Sherman in private, but I also owed Sam an explanation. Plus, I needed his help to form a course of action. I closed my eyes again and began to tell the story.

“
Here’s the
Reader’s Digest
version: I bought this place for my husband. He was trying to find his niche, and I was trying to be supportive. He traveled all over the world in search of the perfect dog. When he found it, he was so excited. In the beginning, he spent all of his time here. I could understand it because the business was new and he wanted to turn a profit immediately, so I didn’t complain about not seeing him for long periods of time. We stayed in touch by phone; and, every now and then, I would come here for dinner.” I paused to catch my breath. I was hoping one of them would interrupt me so I could have an excuse for not continuing, but they remained silent.

I continued. “He finally found something he could do—and do well, and he was making money. When he did come home, he brought one of the dogs with him. I stood by him through all of that and only put my foot down about him allowing the dog to come into our bedroom. This went on for about two years. The whole time I didn’t say a word. The shit hit the fan when he asked me to take out a second mortgage on our home to finance an expansion of this place. I said no, and he gave me an ultimatum: either fork up the money or he was leaving me.”

“
Damn,” Sam and Sherman said in unison.

I chuckled because that’s what I had said, too. “I called his bluff. Since he fought harder for his precious dogs than he did for our marriage, I kept this place.” I was afraid to look at Sherman. I could care less what Sam felt since I wasn’t fucking him. We sat in silence for several minutes.

“
But what does that have to do with those ladies from your job?” Sam looked puzzled.

“
To be honest, I’m not sure. I know there is a great deal of jealousy there. I believe they are snooping to find some dirt on me.”

“
Felicia, the business is sound. You are making money hand over fist. I told you when I called about the offers that I’ve been getting,” Sam said.

“
Yeah the business is sound, but it’s because the dogs are special. My husband trained these dogs to perform sexual acts with humans,” I said. I had gotten it off of my chest.

“
What the fuck?” Sherman spoke up and my worst fear was about to happen.

I shook my head. “I didn’t know. I found out when I collected some boxes from his office a few weeks ago. The sick bastard taped it.”

“
Were those the boxes that you picked up from me?” Sam’s brow was raised.

“
Yeah, when I looked at them it made me sick to my stomach.”

Sam nodded as if it all of a sudden made perfect sense. “So that’s why those people are willing to pay so much for the dogs.”

“
Exactly. I’ve been avoiding coming over here ever since I found out about it. Honestly, I don’t know what to do about it. Even though I had no knowledge of what was going on here, the business is still in my name. I can’t afford the scandal,” my voice was detached and all business. I’d yet to look over at Sherman, who was now standing in the middle of the floor. I could feel the burn coming from his eyes. “I didn’t know.”

“
Do you want this business?” Sherman spoke up for the second time.

“
No, I don’t. I never intended to keep it. I just didn’t want him to have it. I know it sounds selfish, but I devoted my life to that man and he threw it all away.” I raised my chin as I fought against the tears that threatened to come.

Sherman came to me and wrapped me in his arms. I stiffened, not sure of how I should react to his embrace.

Sherman said, “Then we sell it. First thing in the morning I want you to transfer ownership of the business in my name.”

I struggled to get out of his arms. “What? Why would I do that?”

“’
Cause your
friends
are out for blood. I can take the heat whereas you can’t. That lily white firm of yours will turn on you quicker than shit can start stinkin’. Once the business is sold, I’ll give you the check. You can draw up any papers that you need to protect your interest, and I’ll take care of the rest.”