Whos Loving You (18 page)

A
ny type of contact with Grant excited me. That texting thing took me forever. He was firing back so fast, I wanted to ask Velvet to type for me, but she was inside the building on Sunset Boulevard, meeting with her agent. Velvet had insisted on us not joining her. Couldn’t blame her after the ordeal with Alphonso.

I sat in the car with Ronnie and his grandmother, waiting and texting. Initially, I wanted to be tough with Grant and tell him off and make him feel the pain I was feeling, but I couldn’t. We’d put one another through enough. Either we were going to be together or we weren’t, but the least we could do was be friends.

It was time for me to accept my accountability, get real with my feelings, and the first opportunity I had, I was laying my heart in his hands once more. Didn’t most relationships deserve at least a second chance? Then the choice would be his to either handle me with care or let me go. Grant was the only man I wanted to marry and have kids with. I didn’t know what made me so sure. But I was. It wasn’t hard to meet men. Meeting a nice man and then getting to know him was the challenge, and meeting one with character and substance…Lord, a woman’s chances of winning the lottery were greater. Sad but true.

Velvet came running out of the building. “Aaahhhh!”

I got out of the car along with Ronnie and Velvet’s mom. “Don’t tell me you got the part!” I said. I was so happy for her.

Velvet picked up her son. “I didn’t get the part yet, but it’s between me and one other person! Oh, my, God!”

“Mommy, that’s great. We’re moving to Hollywood,” Ronnie said, hugging his mother’s neck.

“Not just yet, baby,” said Velvet. “We’ll know for sure in a few days. They’re going to review the test film, then decide.”

“Velvet, baby, calm down,” her mother said. “I don’t want you to be disappointed.”

“There’s nothing to be disappointed about,” I said, giving Velvet a big hug. “She’s one of two finalists. That’s a major accomplishment. Okay, everybody in the car. Something important came up. I have to drop you guys off at the airport.” I reached into the cup holder for my iPhone.

Driving down Century Boulevard, I intentionally went slow so I’d have to stop at the red light. I texted Grant.
Where are
was all I typed before the light turned green.

“Why?” Ronnie protested. “Grandma promised to take me to Disneyland.”

Oh my, the disappointing look on his face made me sad. I even felt guilty. “You can go to Disneyland, but I can’t take you,” I said, pulling into the Sheraton’s parking lot. “You guys decide if you want to stay or go back to Atlanta, but I need to go to Vegas, and I have to leave now.”

I finished texting Grant, adding
you?
, then pressed
SEND
.

“I’m rolling with you,” Velvet said, as though her decision was final and she didn’t need my permission.

Actually, it wasn’t a bad idea to have Velvet ride along. If anything happened to me, at least she could tell Grant. “Fine. You can go, but this isn’t a trip for Ronnie,” I said.

Velvet’s mother chimed in. “I guess since I started all of this, I can finish it. Ronnie, it’s me and you, baby, once again. You can let us out here. I’ll check into one of these hotels.”

“Aw, don’t say that. I’d never dump you out on the curb with your bags. I’ll make you a reservation at a five-star hotel on Wilshire Boulevard, take you there, and get you and Ronnie settled, and then Velvet and I will leave,” I said. I tapped a few buttons on my iPhone. Seconds later several hotels popped up. I selected the best and my favorite, the Beverly Wilshire. I called for reservations and booked a double queen suite with two bathrooms.

I drove to Beverly Hills, checked them in at the hotel, and paid cash for the room. Velvet’s mother could use her credit card for incidentals. I couldn’t chance being tracked by the police if any of what Grant had texted was true. Maybe he was just trying to get me to spend the weekend with him. I handed Velvet’s mom a thousand dollars cash, and Velvet and I were on our way to Vegas.

I merged onto the interstate. “Now I don’t want you getting caught up in Vegas,” I told Velvet. “Stay off the pole, off the stage, off the corner, off the streets, out of the alleys, off the stroll, and out of strange men’s hotel rooms. Got that?”

“You’re starting to sound like my mother,” she answered, never looking up from her Sidekick.

“Well, I’m going to Vegas to meet with a friend, and then we’re headed back home. I may have to drive back to Atlanta, but I’ll put you on a direct flight out of LAS. I’m not sure yet. We’ll have to see once we get to Vegas. Atlanta, damn.” I speed dialed Onyx’s number.

“Hey,” Onyx answered. “Is everything okay?”

I exhaled heavily into the receiver. “We’re good, but there’s been a change in my plans. You wouldn’t believe the turn of events. I’ll fill you in when I get back in a few days. How’s everything there?”

This time Onyx exhaled. “Where do I begin?”

Oh no.
Turning down the radio, I braced myself for the worst. “What’s happening?”

“I didn’t want to bother you, but I’m glad you called. First off, Girl Six came back the same day you left.”

“What? That’s good news. Didn’t I tell you she called me? She said she was coming.” Had I forgotten? How could I expect Onyx to stay on top of things if I couldn’t remember to tell her the important things?

“No, you didn’t, but yes and no to the good news,” Onyx said, sounding as if her eyebrows were raised above her forehead. “Girl Six wants to stay, but I overheard a conversation between her and Sapphire. Seems to me Girl Six was sent here by Sapphire to spy on us.”

Immediately, I answered, “Let her stay. At least we know where she’s at. I’ll deal with Girl Six when I get back. What else?”

“I’m thinking about going back to my husband. I’m not happy in Atlanta.” Onyx started crying in my ear.

No way.
“Give it some time. Promise me you won’t leave before I get back. If you still want to go after we have a chance to talk things over…” There was no way I was letting Onyx go back. “First let me decide on another personal assistant to replace you.”

“If that’s a job opening to work for you, I’ll take it,” Red Velvet said while texting.

“You’re going to Hollywood, and Onyx is irreplaceable,” I said into the receiver, trying to let Onyx know how much I needed her.

Onyx didn’t understand that she couldn’t disappear and leave her husband, then suddenly show up at their home again. What if he’d moved another woman in or rented the house? Onyx had mentioned her husband only once, on the day she started working for me.

“Did you contact him?” I asked.

“No, I know better than to do that,” Onyx said.

“Good,” I replied. “I’ll call you back tonight so we can talk. In the meantime, keep an extremely close watch over Girl Six, monitor all of her calls, and give me a full report. Bye.”

“You sure have a lot on your plate,” Velvet said. “How do you do it?”

“This is nothing. Nothing I can’t handle,” I said, sounding confident. I wasn’t the norm, and what made me exceptional was I was willing to give my all for a cause I believed in, while others gave lip service about what they were going to do with their lives. “So tell me about this G, this man you keep texting,” I said, driving the speed limit.

I knew we had to talk about Alphonso, but that entire situation was depressing, and there wasn’t anything we could do to change it in a few days. Velvet, not her mother, would have to decide if Ronnie and Alphonso should meet again. Ronnie was such an intelligent and happy child. Introducing him to a loser like Alphonso, even if Alphonso was his dad, had been a terrible idea.

Velvet smiled. “Trevor, my boss, introduced him to me. He’s considering being Trevor’s new business partner.”

I’d forgotten all about my plan to shut down Stilettos. “Yeah, Trevor gave me his card that night. You ever heard from that woman’s husband?”

“He texted me a few times, trying to hook up again, but I don’t know where his wife is. Obviously, he doesn’t care about her, or he wouldn’t keep sending me texts.”

Velvet was a smart girl, but I had to say, “Stay the fuck away from his ass. What’s his name?”

“Tolliver.”

“Stay the fuck away from Tolliver. Let that bitch flash on somebody else. You have a son. Always put Ronnie first. I did a little research on your boss. Do you realize that Trevor offers you up like a two-dollar ho to suck his clients’ dicks? Stilettos is in financial trouble. I bet Trevor bought and paid you like a prostitute, for less than a grand.”

Velvet stared out the window. Was she smiling?

“It was worth it because G and I connected. I’d never seen a man that fine in my life.” Velvet crossed then uncrossed her legs. Then she squirmed in her seat.

“Trust me, he’s only interested in what’s between your thighs. You’re the best stripper Trevor has. Ever think about getting your own studio and teaching women how to pole dance? Pole dancing is extremely popular. You could even teach celebrities’ women and wives in the privacy of their homes. The income could allow you to live in L.A., keep your schedule open for more auditions. You could make a lot more money working for yourself.”

The smile on Velvet’s face got bigger. “I hadn’t thought about that. But where would I get that kind of money to get started?”

Oh, she already had more than enough and didn’t know it. “We’ll do your business plan, find you a good location, and I’ll help you get set up when we get back. That’s what I do; I help empower women. Trevor will be coming to you for a job. And you’d better put his ass on the pole.”

We laughed at that one.

My iPhone chimed twice, indicating I had a text message. It was Grant.
? x will u get here?

2 hours.? r u?
I texted back while driving. I was getting better, but driving while trying to text with one hand was difficult. Swerving into the next lane, I let my phone drop into my lap.

“Ooh, you want me to do that for you?” Velvet offered.

I wanted to say no, but by the time I finished texting back and forth, we’d be in Vegas. Handing her my phone, I said, “Ask him what room he’s in at the Wynn.”

Velvet texted my message in five seconds.

The phone chimed again. “What’d he say?” I asked.

“Sixty ninety-eight,” Velvet said, handing me back my phone.

“The sixtieth floor? That’s perfect in case I need to push him out the window. By accident, of course,” I said, thinking about how Grant had disappeared the last time we were together.

“Just curious,” Velvet said slowly. “Is your Grant, Grant Hill, six-five, about two hundred thirty pounds, gorgeous, to-die-for body and booty, from D.C., and owns his own real-estate development company?”

My eyes left the road. My neck turned in her direction. “Bitch, you’d better not tell me that’s your G man.”

“I didn’t know you knew him. What’s the big deal? We’re all sharing, anyway. That just shows we have a similar taste of and in men.”

I slammed on the brakes, going from ninety to zero in thirty seconds. Cars behind me skidded to the side. A few of them crashed, but I didn’t give a fuck. I looked at Velvet and said, “Bitch, you fucked my man?”

“Not knowingly,” she said. “Wasn’t like his dick had your name written on it.”

That bitch had no fucking idea who she was dealing with. I drew my hand back….
Whack
! I slapped that bitch as hard as I could.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

No, that bitch did not punch me back. No woman had ever hit me. I unbuckled my seat belt. Reaching over her lap, she punched me in my back, my head. I didn’t give a fuck. I opened her door and tried to push that bitch out of my rental car. Starting the engine, I drove ten miles an hour, then twenty, then sped up to thirty. Blasting the radio, I pressed down on the accelerator and sped all the way up to sixty miles an hour, ignoring that bitch and her screaming as she gripped her seat belt.

“Stoooooop! I’m soooorrryy! Pleeeeaassseee stoooop!”

Bitch should’ve unbuckled her seat belt when I unbuckled mine and got out before I took off. I pulled over when I got ready, not because her ass was screaming like a li’l bitch. I turned down the radio and stared at her, daring her to open her fucking mouth. Fuck! Once a madam always a madam. Velvet reminded me of the way I’d treated Girl Six. Once I was in that anger zone, whoever pissed me off could end up dead. Why did that bitch have to fuck Grant?

Velvet sat in her seat. The bitch didn’t even cry. If she made it back to Atlanta alive, I was definitely offering her a spot on my team if she didn’t get the part in
Something on the Side
.

I kept quiet, and if the bitch was smart, she’d shut the fuck up, too. I couldn’t wait to show up at Grant’s room; his fucking ass had a lotta explaining to do. But first I was going to open his window and get a little fresh air so I could cool the fuck off.

G
rant left me.

I’d done all I could to make him stay. Once we talked, I realized he was right. A woman could never keep a man who didn’t want her. Either way, with or without that man in her bed, she’d end up sleeping alone at night. After we showered, Grant wouldn’t caress, touch, kiss, or make love to me. Maybe he needed time to reconsider his decision not to visit me ever again.

I decided to take the night off from work and have a few drinks at a bar, but first I had to make a quick visit. I stopped at the gate of Summer’s community. I hadn’t been here since her twin sister’s funeral a month ago. Flashing my badge, I lied to the security officer, telling him I had an emergency from this area and needed to patrol the premises. I drove around the perimeter first, gradually making my way to the rear of the complex, where Summer lived. It was eight o’clock at night. Driving by her house twice, I saw a light on upstairs and one downstairs. I tucked my gun in my bra.

I parallel parked in front of her home. I was proud of Summer for moving out of her parents’ home. I knew she loved them, but the Days were too protective and extremely religious. Everything that happened in life wasn’t a sin governed by the King James Version of the Bible.

I rang Summer’s doorbell, then stepped back. I didn’t care if Valentino was there or not. Yes, I did. I wanted to stare into his cowardly eyes. Valentino wasn’t a man. He was a mutt.

Slowly, Summer opened the door. She stared at me for a moment, then said, “Sapphire, hi. I wasn’t expecting you.”

I invited myself in. Standing in the foyer, I said, “This is official business. I know my timing isn’t great. Neither is yours. You shouldn’t have bailed Valentino out of jail. Where is he?”

Summer frowned at me, then said, “He’s not here, but why not? No one told me I couldn’t.”

She was so innocent and naïve. What did she see in Valentino? Why did women spend their money bailing out men who didn’t give a damn about them? Now Summer had to pray Valentino did the right thing, or she’d lose a million dollars. That was her concern, not mine. I had to keep things moving.

“You’ll find out why,” I said. “But I promised your sister I’d take good care of you and Anthony. Have you deposited the cashier’s check I gave you?”

“No. Why?”

“For your safety, I need it back.”

“I planned on giving the money to Valentino for his attorneys’ fees.”

How many ways could I spell
stupid?
“Don’t. Give it to me. You won’t be able to use the money, anyway,” I lied. “It’ll hurt his case. The check is linked to Valentino for prostitution. Whoever cashes the check goes to jail.” I said that only because she’d told me she hadn’t cashed it.

“Oh my. Wait right here.” Summer ran upstairs. She returned, holding the check in her hand.

“Thankfully, you and your son won’t be associated with this check,” I said, taking it from her. “I’ve got to go, and if I were you, I’d put Valentino out.”

That was easier than I imagined. Driving to the casino, I missed Girl Six. Not in a sexual way. I missed having someone to talk with, or as Grant had said, someone to listen to me while I was at home.

Was he serious? I thought I was a good listener. Grant had told me a dozen times in every way he could imagine that he loved Honey. “I love Honey. My heart is with Honey. Honey is the woman I want to marry. Honey is the sweetest woman I’ve ever met,” he’d said, and I’d heard him each time. He’d gone on and on until I went to my kitchen, opened the cabinets, and threw out my bottle of honey, my honey sticks, my honey-flavored cough drops, and the empty containers of peanut butter and jelly, too. A man that in love with a woman couldn’t fake being in love with another. Damn, maybe one day I’d be lucky like Lace. I wondered if she loved Grant as much as he loved her, or if she even knew how much he loved her.

Some men could articulate their feelings to everybody in the world except the one person they loved. Oh, I’d heard it all. “Please don’t arrest me. I love my wife and kids. I’ll lose them if I go to jail for soliciting sex.” Those men would break down, crying like babies. I could imagine that their expressions of love probably hadn’t escaped their lips before they’d left home in search of a blow job, free pussy, or a prostitute. In search of a woman that would do to them all the things they’d fantasized about. Men who were unable to communicate the freakiest sexual desires burning inside them to their wives, fiancées, or girlfriends somehow could show their alter ego to a complete stranger. Suddenly, they’d become Superdick, able to satisfy any woman with multiple orgasms. Any woman except their significant other.

That was what Grant did with me. He fucked the shit out of my pussy. If he loved his Honey the way he professed, then why did he call me baby sixteen times. Hm, guess the word was meaningless to him. Definitely not to me. Men did those types of things. They lured women in with the one thing women desired most, not sex, affection.

My cell phone rang.

I debated about checking the caller ID. I never answered blocked calls, but something urged me to touch the answer box.

“Hello,” I said.

“Tiffany?” a woman asked.

“Who is this?” Only people from my past knew me by my real name.

“Tiffany Davis?” she asked.

“Yes,” I responded. “This is Tiffany.”

I heard a female in the background ask, “Is it her?”

What the hell difference did it make what my name was? At this point in my life, I was miserable without Grant.

Silence followed. I waited a few more seconds, then hung up and headed inside the casino to watch folks with problems far worse than mine. With all the money I had, plus an added ten million, I contemplated turning in my badge and finding my own Grant Hill. Every woman should be so fortunate as to have a Grant Hill of her own.