Hooker to Housewife (12 page)

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T-Roc didn't appreciate Chantal using him as a pawn for whatever game she was playing with Andre, especially since he didn't even have the opportunity to make love to the bronzed beauty. That wasn't entirely her fault since he somewhat gave her the cold shoulder after making a long overdue reconnection with Tyler Blake. After all these years he still hadn't gotten the delectable Tyler out of his system. She was the one woman he was unable to fully conquer. After their nasty breakup he wasn't sure he would ever have the chance to redeem himself. Now with the movie
Angel
he finally believed this was the break he had been waiting for. Tyler seemed to be happy with William Donovan, but T-Roc figured he was much too old for a young, vibrant Hollywood starlet like Tyler. She needed a man like himself to share the spotlight with. T-Roc envisioned them being a dynamic pair that brought a hot new, sexy aura to the Golden City.

As T-Roc finished up his drink before his private jet landed in LA, he couldn't help but feel anxious. Not only did he want the girl, but he also wanted the part as Damian. To triumph over both would be more than just another notch on his belt. This would be the start of a new chapter in his life.

 

After her blowup with Andre, Chantal was more than happy to escort Shari to a private party her boyfriend Chris was having at a swanky lounge. She hadn't spoken to Andre in almost a week and was feeling quite neglected. She was hoping that maybe one of Chris's Chicago Bear teammates could give her a little tender love and care until Andre got his act together.

“Shari, what street is this club on again?” Chantal asked, growing tired of circling the same block for the fifth time. Shari dug in her purse searching for the gold foil invite.

“The spot is called Reserve. It's on 858 West Lake Street,” Shari said, starting to feel anxious herself and ready to get out of the car.

“What's the cross street, because we've been driving up and down Lake for a minute now.”

Shari toyed with the invite, hoping that additional information was available. To her relief it was. “The cross is Peoria Street,” she told Chantal.

When Chantal made a right and saw all the cars lined up waiting for valet parking they both let out an audible sigh.

“Girl, this shit looks like it's hot. You see all these Benz, Beamers, and a couple of Maybachs. I might find me a cute little side-piece up in here,” Chantal boasted.

“All right, hot mama, you already a little shaky with Andre, don't cause a full fledge earthquake.” The heavenly pair stepped out of Chantal's alpine white BMW 650i convertible and strutted into Reserve. When they entered the posh lounge there were two rows of candles reflecting off the gleaming custom glass red tiles behind the marble bar. The setting complimented Chantal's radiant crimson Nicole Miller dress.

“Lead me to where they're popping bottles,” Chantal said as her hips glided to Beyoncé's new track.

“Follow me. I see Chris and I know they popping bottles,” Shari said, guiding Chantal toward her boyfriend. Chantal immediately began sizing up the cloud of people that were in a roped-off section.

“I thought this was a private party?” Chantal asked.

“It is,” Shari stated, wondering what warranted Chantal's question.

“Then why does he have this section roped off like he in a regular club and he need his own private VIP area?”

“Girl, that's Chris for you. See all this out here,” Shari said, pointing to their surrounding area. “This is the VIP area. Behind that velvet rope is what Chris would call the ‘VVIP section.' He's a little extra with his.”

“Whatever floats his boat,” Chantal said as they walked up on Chris and his posse of friends. Chantal observed that there weren't a mob of groupies occupying the section, which pleased her. “I'm glad I don't have to share space with a gang of bitches,” she whispered in Shari's ear.

“Hi, baby,” Shari said as Chris greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. “This is my friend, Chantal.”

“It's nice to finally meet you. Shari always talks about her running partner, Chantal.”

“I hope all good things,” Chantal said.

“Of course, it's all good. If I didn't know better I would say you were Shari's idol,” Chris said, smiling at Shari.

“Calm it down, Chris, you don't need to pump Chantal's ego any more than what it already is. This girl is damn near a legend in our old neighborhood—ain't that right, Chantal?”

“Stop making me blush, Shari. You know how I can't stand a lot of attention.” Both girls laughed as if sharing an inside joke. Both knew that attention was all that Chantal craved.

“Enough of this, you ladies grab a glass and make yourself comfortable,” Chris said, leading the ladies to the leather couches. Chantal and Shari giggled as countless women in their tightest jeans and most curve-defying dresses tried to finagle their way into the exclusive area. But neither the security nor the high rollers chilling in the VVIP area was having it. One disgruntled beauty finally managed to break through after screaming that she was the wife of one of the NFL players. The bouncer still wasn't budging until her husband finally came up for air from an intense conversation with another player and ran to her rescue. After about an hour, one confident man decided to take his chances and approach Chantal.

“Would I be too forward if I said you're absolutely stunning?” the tall, broad-shouldered man asked.

“Of course not—it's the truth,” she said with a slight smile. The man couldn't tell if she was serious or joking but decided to have a seat next to her nevertheless. Chantal didn't object since she was somewhat attracted to the well-built man with the most perfect teeth she had ever seen.

“So what's your name, beautiful?”

“Chantal, but you can stop with all the beauty comments; you've covered that.”

“I'm sorry. It's just rare to meet a woman that looks like you.”

“I know, but still enough already. Don't waste my time, or yours for that matter, telling me things that I already know. You may only have a couple of minutes to make a good impression, so be a little bit more original and step up your conversation game.”

Staying true to form, the man continued on with his champagne campaign but soon realized he was no closer to reaching his goal. Chantal was at first responsive to the handsome athlete but was now giving him shade. After she and Shari finished up the bottle he purchased, Chantal lost all interest. She barely even noticed when he took his business elsewhere.

“You ladies enjoying yourself?” Chris asked as he approached the two women.

“Yeah, this party is nice, baby. I'm getting a little tired though. But I wanted to wait for you so we could leave together,” Shari said.

“Oh, baby, if you're tired you should head home. I'm not sure what time I'm leaving this spot. We trying to party all night.”

“All night? I wanted to spend some time with you.”

“I tell you what, go home get some rest and tomorrow it's all about you. We'll get a bite to eat, do a little shopping, and then have a romantic evening, just the two of us,” Chris said as he ran his fingers through Shari's tousled hair.

“Okay, baby, call me in the morning,” Shari said as she kissed Chris good-bye. As the ladies exited the club, Shari couldn't help but feel a tad disappointed that she wasn't going home with Chris. Chantal could tell that her friend wasn't thrilled about leaving her man.

“Shari, snap out of it, he said he'll see you tomorrow.”

“I know, but you saw all those chicks in there. Any one of them would love to get their hands on a chipped up nigga like Chris.”

“True, but honey he seems to be all caught up in you.”

“You think so, Chantal?”

“Girl, yeah, and he spend paper on you and little Alex. You got that in the bag. Even if he do fuck one of those hoochies, that is all
it would be. They ain't getting nothing out of the deal but some dick, so who really gives a fuck?”

“I hear you, but I really dig him, Chantal. I don't want to share him with a bunch of random bitches,” Shari somberly admitted.

“I know, baby girl, but that's the double-edged sword to this game we're in. You can't expect to be with a man who has money and fame and expect to be the only one. It don't work like that. You just make sure that the relationship is worth your time. That means getting compensated with that dough. See, we ain't like those other silly bitches running around bragging that we fucked so-and-so and ain't got nothing to show for it. It's okay to catch feelings, but just keep it in check. The bottom line is get that paper because you never know when shit will hit the fan.”

“Is that last statement for me or are you speaking about your relationship with Andre?” Shari's statement caught Chantal off guard.

“Shari, what in the world are you talking about?”

“You're going on about it being part of the game for men to cheat and stacking paper because things might hit the fan. I mean, Chantal, if there's one thing you make clear, you don't want Andre sleeping with other women. You be the first one ready to beat a bitch ass over Andre but you're telling me that I should overlook it with Chris. That doesn't make sense.”

“Girl, when has love ever made sense? Do as I say, not as I do. I made the mistake of really falling in love with Andre's whoring ass so I've become territorial. Call me greedy. I want it all; money, power, and respect, but achieving two out of three ain't bad.”

As Tyler sat
in the studio waiting for T-Roc to arrive for his screen test, she felt extremely nervous. She couldn't tell if it was the normal nervousness she got each time the camera started rolling or if it was because she was looking forward to seeing him. But it didn't matter because T-Roc obviously had a girlfriend. It had been splashed on the TV and tabloids nonstop that he was now dating Andre's ex—talk about scandalous. The moment Tyler finished her thought, T-Roc was walking toward her looking stylish as ever in a cream linen pantsuit. The fabric highlighted the muscled definition of his sculptured frame. His perfect mouth of whites greeted the jumpy Tyler.

“Tyler, it's a pleasure to see you again,” T-Roc said, extending his arm for a handshake. Tyler was thrown off by his professional attitude. She didn't think he would pull her close for a
passionate kiss but she definitely did not expect a business-as-usual handshake.

“It's nice to see you again, too,” Tyler replied with an on-edge grin. T-Roc held her hand in a tight grasp until he noticed William beside him.

“I'm glad you all are getting to know one another,” William said, unaware of the fact T-Roc and Tyler had history. “Everything is set up, we just need the two of you to stand over this way and give us the performance of a lifetime,” he stated in his “let's get down to business” tone as he led them to the other side of the stage. “Do you have any questions before we begin?” he asked, directing his questions toward T-Roc.

“No, I'm good, just ready to make it happen.” T-Roc came across as totally confident and at ease to be a rookie, which somewhat intimidated Tyler. But then again he was overly confident with everything he did in life. That was, no doubt, one of the reasons he was so successful.

As they began the scene Tyler stumbled on her lines and realized if anyone was nervous, it was her. She eventually got into the flow of the character and the chemistry between T-Roc and Tyler was undeniable. He seemed like a veteran, spitting out the intense lines of Damian. When it was time for him to forcefully grab Tyler, he put his arm around her waist and with a quick jolt pulled her up close as they stood looking deep into each other's eyes for what seemed like forever. He then planted a passionate kiss on Tyler. T-Roc's lips were still soft and his kiss seductive. Her body felt a twinge and T-Roc obviously felt the electricity because he pulled her closer and kissed Tyler even harder.

“Cut,” Tyler heard William say, applauding, letting T-Roc know he could now stop. With great reluctance T-Roc released Tyler from his embrace and gave her the “undressing her with his eyes” stare she was familiar with.

“That was excellent,” William cheered. “If I didn't know better
I would think the two of you were in love,” William joked with a hearty laugh.

“Well, it would be easy to fall in love with a woman as intense as the character Angel,” T-Roc retorted, making both Tyler and William feel uneasy.

“My sentiments exactly,” William said, trying to break the awkwardness of the moment. Tyler stood quiet, letting the men thaw out the frozen vibe.

“Well, T-Roc, you were terrific. We have one more actor to audition and then we will make our decision. You should be hearing from us in the next couple of days.”

“Thank you so much for the opportunity, William. I know I'm the right guy for the part,” T-Roc added, with his arrogance shining through. “It was a pleasure working with you, Ms. Blake, and I hope to be doing more soon.” Tyler gave T-Roc a courtesy smile and stood there watching with William as he exited the building.