Foolish
By Sandra Peoples
Foolish: Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2011 by Sandra Peoples
Published by Diamond Ink Publishing
This is a work of fiction. Any references or similarities to actual events, real people, living or dead, or to real locales are intended to give the novel a sense of reality. Any similarity to other names, characters, places, and incidents is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other-except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without prior permission of the publisher.
Paperback Cover design: Mike Evans
Director of Art and Photography
The Ink Design Group; Flint, Michigan
Mike@theIDG.net
(810) 239-3688
Ebook Cover Design: Sandra Peoples
Acknowledgments
I would like to give honor to God for giving me the ability to paint pictures with words. I realize that I have a gift and now it is possible for me to share that gift with the world. Thank you God for not giving up on me.
I would like to thank my parents, Jessie and Deborah Peoples. I love you so very much. You have always stood behind me in my decisions, even when we didn’t always see eye to eye. Thank you for believing in me and never giving up on me when sometimes I gave up on myself.
I would like to thank my two little princesses, Jashimbra Leann and Aaliyah Nicole. You are the reasons that I do what I do, so that I can provide a better life for you.
To my little sister Jessica Jenkins and my little brother Kevin Peoples, I love you guys so much. You are and always have been my sounding board. Though I’m the big sis’, I still learn from y’all.
To my brother in law, Clyde Jenkins, the business man, every time I ask you for business advice, you always give good advice. You are not an in law, you are my brother, and I love you as such.
To my nephews, Joshua and Nathan Jenkins and little Solomon, I love you little boys so much.
To my two bestest friends in the whole world, my BFF’s, Lori Bell and Tarrell Slay, you are the best. I love y’all.
To a few special people in my life: My grandmother, Fannie Peoples, all my cousins and their families, Janaya Lake, my Godparents Doug and Mayrene McGruder, my sister in law, Stephanie, Shelonda Pray, Gina Moton, Bertha Shumpert, Lakkia Rhodes, Quenisha Johnson, Ava Bailey, Ken and Camille Bady, ‘Aunt’ Sue Bady, Devia and Vincent Bady, Diane Jamerson, Lillian Miyoko Dillard, Tawana Boaz, all my Boggan and Peoples family members, My Pastor, Dr. Joseph Rodriguez of Agape Faith Fellowship and my church family, Terri Jones and Marion Matthews, thank you for encouraging me.
To Mike Evans of The Ink Design Group, you are a wonderful, talented person and a good friend. Thanks for my paperback cover.
To Andre “Versatile” Hunter, you are a beautiful person. I’m glad I met you. I see success in your future.
To my writing family: Ashley and Jaquavis, who recognized that I could ‘really write’, Trista Russell, Tamika Newhouse, Anthony Moorer and the HHeat fam, Julia Press Simmons, Author Mahogani P, Author Ricardo A. Owens, and Brittani Williams, thank you all for doing what you do.
To Miasha, your story will forever motivate me to continue to reach for success.
To anybody I may have forgotten, please charge it to my head and not to my heart.
Thank you.
A Word from the Author
First off, I would like to thank you for picking up this book. I wrote this book for any woman who has ever been in love with a man, and even though you knew that man was bad for you, you still wanted to stick around to see if he would change. You believed that no matter what people said, your love could stand the test of time and that love can be found in some of the strangest places. You see, in 2006, I became pen pals with a man that was incarcerated. It started out as an innocent thing. He saw a story about me that had been written in the local paper and started writing letters to me. I was doing my thing as an up and coming entrepreneur and was very happy in the place that I was in my life. At the time, I was a single mother and I had adjusted to that life. I was doing all kinds of interviews and working with people from across the country. Then the first letter came.
I had no intention on writing this man back. I was a woman who had high expectations for me and my daughter, which was part of the reason why I started my own business. I liked calling my own shots.
The first letter was just to introduce himself to me. I had a feeling in my gut that I shouldn’t have written him back. But I am the kind of person that saw nothing wrong with a friendly response. That’s where it would end, right?
Over the course of four months, I ended up falling for this man. Call it what you will, foolishness, blindness, whatever, I was that at the time. His letters were so sweet and convincing.
Falling for him was not even the crazy part.
He came home in June of 2006. That was the first time we saw each other face to face. I thought he was cute, he was built nice, his voice was addictive and this was the man who was going to be my husband. It was all we had talked about for the last few months in our letters. I was naïve enough to believe that you could find true love anywhere, even through the mail. Don’t get me wrong; love can be found anywhere. You just have to know if it’s really love you are feeling, or something totally opposite.
I didn’t care that my mom and dad begged me not to marry him. That my own daughter, my baby, begged me not to marry him and even told me that she didn’t like him. I just saw love and was naïve enough to believe that if I loved someone hard enough, they would change, or if I was a positive influence in his life, he would change, and everybody would love him and accept both him and his past the way that I had.
You can’t change a person. Only God can do that, and that person has to want to change. I learned the hard way.
In September of 2006, we were married in a courthouse ceremony. This was way against my dreams of having a big, huge, fairytale wedding, with my daughter as the flower girl, my nephew as the ring bearer (there was only one at that time) and my daddy walking me down the aisle in my beautiful, expensive wedding gown. A few of our family members attended, not because they were truly happy for us, but because they had accepted the fact that we were going to be together and there was no stopping that. His step mother told me it wasn’t too late to change my mind. My mother asked me if I was sure I really wanted to go through with this.
“Look at your daughter,” she told me. I turned to look at my baby, who had her eyes covered like she couldn’t bear to watch me dedicate my life to a man like him.
A man like him is the reason why I wrote this book. I am not alone in the foolish society. You may not be married to an ex-con, but you may be in love with someone that is just wrong for you and you can’t see it, or you know he’s wrong but you refuse to let him go because that’s your man and you can’t live without him. That’s what happened to me. I couldn’t see that this man had come into my life to ruin it.
You may even be one of those women that have this belief that you can’t make it on your own and you just have to have a man, you need a man to complete you; to help you pay the bills and stuff like that. I know. My reason was I thought I needed a man to help me pay the rent, keep the car fixed and to take away that lonely feeling by being there to hold me at night.
Within six months, I had no business. No money. I ended up working in a group home for minimum wage, and paying all the bills because he couldn’t keep a job. Every time he would get a job, he would get in trouble and his parole officer would send him to a drug rehabilitation facility. He couldn’t stop smoking weed, popping pills and drinking himself into a coma.
In December 2006, we lost our home. The home we had picked out together. I couldn’t afford to pay the bills on my own because the few hours I was working were cut; and he was out of the facility but hadn’t started his job yet.
We ended up living in a family member’s basement against our better judgment just so that the two of us could stay together.
Did I mention I was pregnant?
It was almost as if overnight, I went from sitting on top of the world to being at the very bottom of the pit.
You have to be careful of the person you choose to spend your life with. If there are any red flags that signal trouble in paradise, heed to them. If I had done that, I would not have had to start all over from scratch.
It took him being returned to prison for a parole violation for my eyes to open up. I still made some foolish choices, but my eyes were opened before it was too late.
The man I had come to love, turned out to be abusive, a thief and just a cold hearted person. I knew I could not associate myself with that lifestyle any longer. Finally, I got up the courage to leave, for both me and my two little girls. There are so many women out here giving up things to be with a man. One thing you must realize is that a good man will never hurt you, and he will go out of his way to make you happy, no matter what. You deserve to be happy. You are worth it. Don’t let anybody tell you that you have set your standards too high. There will be plenty of men that will come your way, so take time and wait until the right one comes along. It will save you from a ton of hurt and heartbreak in the end.
Though this is a work of fiction, I pulled things from my own life and placed them in this book.
It is my hope that after you read this book, you will take away the very lesson I have embedded within these pages:
Don’t be foolish.
The Introduction
“I’ll only be gone three days.”
“I’ll be counting every minute,” Sharee` replied, her eyes soaked with tears as she stood outside the shiny black Cadillac Escalade staring in at her husband Jeremy.
“I wish I could take you with me,” He said as he reached for her slender hand.
“I know baby. But business is business. I’ll be fine. If I get bored, I can always go shopping.”
Jeremy smiled, wiping the tears from his wife’s face with his fingertips.
“Well, you’ve got the number to the hotel where I will be staying, just in case you can’t get through to me on my cell for some reason.”
Sharee` ran her lips across Jeremy’s thumb.
“Call me as soon as you get there,” She whispered.
“You’ll tell me what you’re wearing?”
Sharee` blushed.
“Go ahead and go baby. I’m sure Lamont is probably tired of hearing our conversation.”
Lamont was Jeremy’s driver.
“Alright, alright, I’m going. But I promise to call as soon as I roll up in front of the hotel. Now, give me the luscious.”
Sharee` leaned in through the rear passenger window and planted a warm kiss on her husband’s lips. For one brief moment, she was lost in the very essence of him. Then, she pulled away. Jeremy kept his eyes closed, just like he used to do when they first started dating.
Lamont smiled as he watched the couple in the rearview mirror.
“Are you love birds done yet?” He teased, Sharee` blushing yet again and Jeremy doing the same.
“I’d better go. I’ll call you.”
Sharee` stepped back away from the Escalade, watching as the shiny black beauty rolled around the circular driveway and out to the gated entrance. She waved goodbye, hugging herself tightly as the SUV disappeared into the slowly setting evening sun. She turned, making her way back up the perfectly manicured lawn and onto the pebble stone sidewalk which would lead her to the front door. She took her cell phone out of the leather hip case and pressed the number one, then held the phone up to her ear. One ring. Two rings.
“Hello,” The sexy masculine voice answered on the other end.
“Hey baby, it’s me,” Sharee` began, stepping inside the house and pulling the front door closed behind her.
“You can come over now. He’s gone.”
Chapter 1
(Four months earlier)
The one thing Sharee` Haskins loved most about living in New Castle Beach, a city on the outskirts of Florida, was the fact that everyday was like summer. With its tall palm trees, crystal clear aqua blue water, and sandy beaches, New Castle Beach was the ultimate destination for high class social elite.
Now she stood in her spacious gourmet kitchen outfitted with state of the art appliances in the beachfront mansion she called home, happily preparing breakfast for her husband. She hoped he was hungry because she had prepared the works: bacon, eggs, sausage, homemade pancakes, and fresh squeezed orange juice. Her husband Jeremy loved her fresh squeezed orange juice.
She smiled as she made a plate for him, knowing that within a few minutes, her man would be making his way down the circular staircase, through the cozy dining room and into the kitchen.
She definitely knew her man, because as if on cue she could hear the steps of Jeremy’s feet on the staircase. As he made his way into the kitchen, the first thing she noticed was his handsome face, followed by his sexy well dressed body. Jeremy was always dressed to impress in designer attire from head to toe.
Sharee` just stood there for a moment, checking out her man as he seemed to walk in slow motion towards her. It was as if everything else was motionless and only he was granted permission to move about.
“Good morning, baby,” he greeted with a smile, planting a soft and tender kiss on her cheek.
“Good morning. I hope you’re hungry because I fixed you a big breakfast.”
Jeremy quickly poured himself a glass of orange juice.
“I’m sorry baby; I really don’t have time to eat this morning. I have a meeting with a new client.”
Sharee` looked disappointed.
“You mean to tell me that I got up at six in the morning to cook all this food, for nothing?”
Jeremy gulped down the last of the orange juice. Wiped his lips with a monogrammed napkin.
“I’m sorry, Ree,” he said, sensing the hurt in her voice.
Sharee` threw up her hands in surrender.
“Look, go ahead and go to your little meeting,” she snapped as Jeremy set his briefcase down on the floor and walked over to her, placing his hands around her waist.
“Look baby, I know you’re upset, but I promise you, I’ll make it up to you.”
Sharee` smiled. “Promise?” She asked, just as Jeremy planted a kiss on her forehead.
“Promise,” he assured her, kissing her lips.
“I’ll see you later,” he said as they pulled apart.
Sharee` smiled and hugged herself as she watched him walk out of the door. Her man was fine. He always looked, and smelled, expensive. How could she stay mad at a man as sweet as Jeremy?
Just as her mind was about to race away trying to figure out what Jeremy was going to do to make this breakfast up to her, the phone rang.
Trina Luckett glanced at the caller id and sighed. Who in the world could be calling her at eight in the morning? Usually, ‘unknown name’ meant either a bill collector or a telemarketer. At first, she wasn’t going to answer it, but for some reason, she felt she should.
She rolled over in bed and snatched the receiver off the hook.
“Hello.”
“This is a collect call from…”
“Damion” The male voice broke in, interrupting the female automated voice.
“A prisoner at a correctional facility. Do you accept the charges?”
“Yes,” Trina answered, anxiously awaiting the click that would officially connect the call. There it was.
“Trina?” Damion said, making sure Trina was on the line.
“I’m here. What’s up boo-boo?” Damion Fuller was Trina’s best male friend. They had been friends since high school. Now Damion was locked up, serving a four year sentence for possession of a controlled substance, less than twenty five grams.
Damion laughed. “I’m maintaining, you know. I called to tell you that I got my out date. I get to walk out of here two weeks from tomorrow, a free man.”
Trina felt a wave of excitement rush over her body.
“Oh my goodness. That’s good, D. You already got your ride lined up and everything?” She asked, rubbing sleep from her eye.
“I was hoping you could help me out with that. I’m gonna need a ride and some clothes to change into.”
“You know I got you, D. Aw, I can’t wait to tell everybody that you’re coming home.”
“Yeah.”
“You have two minutes remaining for this phone call,” The female automated voice interrupted again.
“Well, that’s all I wanted. I will write you and let you know where to come and all that.”
“Alright D; hold on. You’ll be out soon.”
“Yeah I know. Bye.”
“Alright,” Trina said, hanging up the phone. She hated to say bye because to her, bye meant you had no plans of seeing the person again. She had said bye to Damion and it was about to be four years since she last saw him.
Trina sat up in her bed and stared at the picture she and Damion had taken together the day he got locked up. It was a hot, summer day; July fourteenth to be exact. They were at the park, having a barbecue with some friends. Damion had come dressed in nothing but a wife beater t-shirt and khaki shorts. His muscles seemed to bulge. He was definitely built. His skin was so smooth. His complexion was a golden bronze, like it had been kissed with just the right amount of sun. Trina loved the way Damion walked. But this day, something was different about him. His walk was even different. He had this certain kind of swag, almost like he was the man and he knew it. He kept walking out to the parking lot, leaning over into cars, and coming back to join Trina and the rest of their friends in the picnic area. Trina’s half sister, Janay was there, and like a hawk, she was watching Damion.
“I know he is not out here in broad open daylight, slinging rocks,” she said, folding her arms and shaking her head with an attitude.
“Damion is probably just out there talking to some girls or something. I don’t think he would be stupid enough to sell drugs out here, with all these people around.”
Janay frowned. “You know, you are always on the defense when it comes to Damion. He ain’t yo’ man.
Trina was not about to go there with her sister today.
Too bad Janay was right. Twenty minutes later, one of those cars Damion stuck his head inside of was that of an undercover cop. Before they knew it, the park was swarming with police.
That was the day Trina told Damion goodbye, as she watched an officer put him in handcuffs and shove him into the back of a squad car.
“Good morning, Sandra,” Jeremy greeted with a smile as he made his way back to his private office suite, carrying his custom Louis Vuitton briefcase in one hand, his BlackBerry in the other.
Sandra Lewis, Jeremy’s administrative assistant, smiled, then glanced down at the agenda for the day. She usually liked to remind Jeremy of all his appointments beforehand so that he could properly prepare for his day.
“Good morning, Mr. Haskins. Are you ready to hear your agenda, or would you like for me to wait until you get settled in first.
“Come on back,” he told her, nodding his head in the direction of his office. As they approached the glass double doors, Sandra began to read from the leather planner.
“This morning at nine you are meeting with our newest author, Nicole Peoples.”
Jeremy unlocked the doors and pushed them open.
“Yes, I skipped out on breakfast for this meeting. We’re offering her a two book deal, correct?”
Sandra shook her head. “This is true. You also have a board meeting scheduled for this morning at ten for the nonprofit writers group, and a planning session for the reality show.”
“Okay. Sandra, could you make me a cappuccino with French vanilla creamer, please?”
“Sure. Is there anything else you need me to do? I could always run down to the cafeteria. Breakfast isn’t over until ten-thirty.”
Jeremy sat down at his cherry wood desk, pressing the button on his answering machine to hear his messages. As they started to play, he turned to look at Sandra, who stood before him dressed in a black pinstriped pantsuit.
“Could you grab me some pancakes and sausage, please? I am famished.
“I’ll get right on it, sir.” Sandra said, turning to leave the office.
Jeremy was President and CEO of Haskins Publishing, one of the biggest publishing conglomerates in the nation. His empire began with the publication of one book, ‘Success is a Destiny’, which he published himself at the urging of his wife after 26 publishing companies rejected his story. He had no idea that publishing one book could lead to so much success.
He wrote the book when he was fresh out of college. Down on his luck, he started writing motivational messages to himself in a journal. These messages were written to help him keep his focus at a time when the road seemed pretty rough. The messages were like confessions, things that he believed he could achieve in his life. He would write in his journal, and then read what he had written to himself every day. Soon he had written over 200 entries.
One day, after a romantic candlelit dinner for two, Sharee` noticed that Jeremy had whipped out this black and white steno notebook and started writing.
“What are you doing?” She asked, sipping apple juice from a wine glass.
“Just writing something. About you.”
Sharee` blushed. Her interest was definitely piqued. “What is it?”
Jeremy didn’t know if he should try to explain to her what he was writing. She might not understand. He sighed. “I’m writing about you.
Sharee` wasn’t sure what to think or say. Was Jeremy weird or what?
“Well, can you read it to me?” She asked, hoping not to hear anything about him killing her, or anything crazy like that.
“I’m sorry. I just felt inspired to write about my future, and how I see you in it. Everyday, sometimes more than once, I write a message to myself. These messages help me keep my focus on the kind of future I want to have.”
Sharee` smiled. She knew Jeremy was a keeper.
That was seven years ago.
Now, Jeremy was at the top of the publishing game, with over forty authors on the roster and climbing, his own books translated into seven languages and lining bookstore shelves across the nation; He was the man.
All around his office, you could see signs that he had arrived, or was at least close to arriving. His face graced the covers of Essence, Jet, Ebony, Sister 2 Sister and too many more to name. His books and those of his authors lived on the New York Times bestseller list, usually gripping the number one slot at their debuts, and falling to either number two or three after about twenty weeks. And it all began with one book.
Jeremy was living proof that hard work paid off. The youngest of five boys, he had watched his mother struggle everyday to put food on the table, clothes on their backs and a roof over their heads. She worked two jobs, one in the morning cleaning houses and the other at night as a waitress. Neither job paid much. His father had left when he was only two years old.
One by one, Jeremy watched as his older brothers fell victim to the streets. He wanted to be different. He finished high school, an accomplishment neither of his brothers had achieved. He went to college and a got a double bachelor’s degree in English and Business Management with a specialty in Entertainment.
Now that he was reaping the fruits of his labor, Jeremy made it his business to always take care of his momma. And he vowed that when he got married, he was in it for life. No way was he going to walk out on his wife the way his father had walked out on his mother.
Sharee` closed her eyes and sighed heavily as she sat in the Jacuzzi bath tub filled with bath oils she had specially imported from France. Whenever she needed to relax, there was nothing like a good, long soak. She needed to relax anyway, since she was meeting her best friend, Trina Luckett, for lunch at the Seven Seasons Restaurant.
Trina and Sharee` were from two different sides of the track: Sharee` was the wife of a wealthy powerhouse. Trina was single and seemed to attract men that would not land her at the altar any time soon.
Trina and Sharee` had been friends since high school, sophomore year to be exact. For some reason, the juniors would make it their business to pick on Trina because she was the quiet, shy type. Trina was extremely smart, a borderline nerd. Her parents were well off at the time. She was the daughter of a trucking company CEO. She just didn’t know how to make it known that she had money. One day, Trina and Sharee` were on their way to math class when this group of popular junior girls cornered them in the hallway by the school cafeteria. Gia Mitchell, the ring leader of the group, pushed Trina against the wall.
“I don’t like you,” she said, getting all up in Trina’s face. Trina looked at her, eyes filled with fear. Sharee` didn’t like that look.
“Why don’t you push me like that?” Sharee` asked, staring Gia in the eye. If there was one thing that everybody knew about Sharee`, she wasn’t scared of nobody.
Gia turned to face Sharee` who came to stand beside Trina, fist balled at her side.
“What you gone do, Parlor. You don’t want none of this.”
Sharee` could feel herself getting angry just looking at Gia.
“You push me, and I’ll show you what I’ll do.”
Gia’s crew laughed.
“You gonna let her punk you like that?” One of them asked.
Gia got up in Sharee`s face, assuming that Sharee` would back down.
“Girl, you better get out my face!” Sharee` snapped, pushing Gia into her friends. Gia caught her balance, then swung at Sharee`. She missed. Without even thinking, Sharee` raised her foot and kicked Gia between the legs as hard as she could. Gia was done.
After that day. Trina and Sharee` became more than just study buddies, they became best friends. And the juniors stopped picking on her after Sharee` gave her a makeover and schooled her a little on how people with money should dress.
After high school. Trina went to college. Sharee` couldn’t get into college. Trina spent three years at Florida State University, studying to be an elementary school teacher and a writer. Her parents paid her tuition for her, all the way up until the middle of her third year. The automotive industry went on a long, drawn out strike. Because more than half of her father’s business dealt with the automotive industry, her family was hit hard. The money that was once spent on paying college tuition in full every semester now had to help cover truck payments, employee compensation and other bills.
Trina dropped out of the university and went to community college to take up a trade. She picked Nurse Assisting. That was the occupation she would hold for the next eight years.
Sharee` felt sorry for her friend. It hurt to watch her scratch and scrape just to make ends meet. After that strike, her family was never able to bounce back to the place they once were. Asking her parents for money was something she could never bring herself to do unless there was just some unavoidable circumstance.
Whenever Sharee` went out anywhere, she had to dress to impress. The mere fact that had she had money was cause for her to always be the center of attention. And she loved to floss around Trina. Sharee` knew that Trina could never afford to live the way she did. And for some strange reason, she loved to rub that fact in her friend’s face.
Sharee` had to have everything top of the line, from her underwear to her shoes. Her closet was like a bedroom it was so big. Everything in her closet was arranged by color, style, print, and season. Her shoes went one step further in organization by having pictures of each shoe adorning the outside of the box. That was a little something she had learned from watching The Style Network. She was always trying to be prepared for the day when she and Jeremy would be the first publishing power couple to be featured on MTV Cribs. That would really be something to brag about.
The Seven Seas was a very upscale restaurant that was known for its exotic menu. Many celebrities and high society social elites were known to dine there. Why Trina picked that restaurant, Sharee` had no idea. But she didn’t mind. It would be good to get out of the house and hang out with her friend for a while. Maybe she would take her shopping afterwards and buy her something.
As she stood in her massive closet, thumbing through her designer clothes, she couldn’t help but think about her husband, the man that had been placed in her life by God.
Sharee` knew that Jeremy was a man that had something going for himself the moment she met him. He had dreams. Big dreams. When they first met, Jeremy was just getting starting in his adult life, and Sharee` didn’t have anything going for her except her hourglass figure. To some women, that would have been enough. She had to admit, she did have men eating out of the palm of her hands, but she wanted a man that would amount to more than just a one night stand. She wanted somebody with a plan for the future. Jeremy had that.
Sharee` had struggled most of her life. Her mom and dad didn’t make much money and both of them worked. Her parents ran a clothing store, Parlor Fashions. Parlor Fashions used to be thee store back in the day when Sharee` was just a child. But a few wrong decisions in human resources caused the business to fall to the ground. Not only did it fail, but her parents couldn’t find a job that would give them the kind of life they once knew as entrepreneurs. Even with the both of them working two jobs, the money couldn’t come close to what they made at Parlor Fashions.
Sharee` made a promise to herself that she was going to find a good man, and they were going to build something together. Their business would not fail. She knew that the only way she would be happy was if she struck it rich. Life was just too hard without money.
Sharee` knew she would never have the lifestyle she wanted if she had to punch someone’s time clock in order to get it. Shoot, she wasn’t smart in high school. College was never an option. She learned early that if a woman had a cute face and a nice body, there would always be a man waiting somewhere to take care of her. In fact, she was the kind of woman most men dreamed about. She was short and shapely, with shoulder length jet black, bone straight hair. Her skin was a smooth caramel brown. Her almond shaped eyes were light brown and turned hazel in the sun. All the men swore she was half Black and Asian. Sure, maybe Asian was somewhere in her bloodline, but as far as she knew, she was black.
She always knew she had to have something to work with if she planned to snag a multi-millionaire. This explained why she ate salads all the time, kept her snacking to a bare minimum, and made exercise a top priority.
When she met Jeremy at the age of nineteen, she automatically knew he was the one. Jeremy was twenty and extremely smart. He willingly looked beyond the fact that she wasn’t on the same page that he was education wise.
After two years of dating, they married at the age of twenty-two; right after Jeremy graduated from college. Only a fool would have let him stay single. As soon as Sharee` found out what it was that Jeremy wanted to do with himself, she stuck to the man like white on rice.
She remembered when he used to come pick her up from her parents house in his little red two door 1986 Chevy Cavalier, always referring to that little rust bucket as his Mercedes.
They would ride out to the beach and sit out under the stars, Jeremy going on for hours about how he wanted to be CEO of his own business, making oodles of money doing what he loved. He talked about the kinds of people he wanted to work for him. He wanted to build a business that would know the definition of success. An empire. It was as if he spoke everything he wanted into existence.
Now the two of them were living out Jeremy’s dream. The only piece that was missing to the puzzle of their perfect life was a baby. Jeremy wanted children. Sharee` on the other hand, wasn’t ready for that yet. Children were too much trouble and she was living the carefree life right now. Besides, there was no way she was going to mess up her superstar figure for anyone. Not even Jeremy. So what if he was her husband.
Chapter 2
Sharee` and Trina met for lunch as promised at the Seven Seasons Restaurant. Sharee` was dressed in a red fitted Prada dress with spaghetti straps. Red leather Prada sandals adorned her feet. She even carried a red leather purse on her shoulder; Prada of course.
Trina pulled up in front of the restaurant in her late model white Malibu and stepped out of the car, handing her keys to the valet.
“Take care of my baby,” she said with a wink.
The valet was a cutie. He was short and had the most even tan. Trina liked white boys. If she couldn’t find a good black man to settle down with, she would have no problem hooking up with a good looking white man.
Trina was dressed in a denim halter dress that hugged her in all the right places and hit just at the knees. She loved to wear thong sandals and had managed to find a cute little pair that she could wear with a dress or jeans. Her long jet black bone straight hair flowed freely down her back, a flower gracing the right side of her head. She was short, about five feet two, with almond shaped brown eyes and a shapely figure. Her skin was a smooth light brown.
Sharee` spotted her friend making her way inside the restaurant and stood from her table to go and greet her.
“Hey Sharee` girl,” Trina greeted with a smile.
“Hello Trina. You look nice.”
“Thanks. I got this dress on sale at Target and the shoes I bought from the hair store on Fifth and Hasselbring.”
Sharee` giggled lowly. “Come on, our table’s over here.”
The two ladies made their way toward the center of the restaurant where Sharee`’s reserved table was and sat down.
“You look good, girl,” Trina replied with a smile as she studied her friend from head to toe.”
“Oh thank you, girl,” Sharee` replied, placing a napkin in her lap. “So, what’s been up with you?”
“Same old stuff, girl. Working twelve hour shifts at the nursing home, dealing with deadbeats and trying to keep myself looking good. I know you got some big celebrity like stuff going on, so tell me all about it.”
Sharee` blushed. “Well, Jeremy and I got asked to do the cover of Money and the Power Magazine,” she was like a teenager talking to her best friend about the cutest boy in school.
“Money and the Power? Girl, that’s big, they have some of the hottest celebrities on their cover. Dang, you and J-Money got it like that?”
Sharee` laughed. “I am so excited girl. And yes, we do have it like that.”
The two women slapped each other a high five.
“Well go head on girl. You deserve it.”
“Do you need anything, Trina? Money, anything?”
Trina threw up her hand. “No girl. I’m good. I don’t work them twelve hour shifts for nothing, trust me. I’m keeping my head above water. I can manage.” In the back of Trina’s mind, she wanted to say, ‘yes girl, can I have like a million dollars’, since Jeremy’s net worth was now at well over sixty million dollars.
Sharee` threw up her hands in surrender. “I was just asking. But you know if you ever do need anything, I’m only a phone call away.”
“Are you going to answer the phone?” Trina asked sarcastically.
“Shut up,” Sharee` replied jokingly.
“Guess who’s coming home?” Trina threw in, sounding like a teenager about to spill the beans about some juicy gossip with her friends.
“Who?” Sharee` asked, thumbing through the menu.
“Damion.”
“Damion? Damion Fuller? I wasn’t aware that he was gone anywhere.”
“Girl, Damion been locked up in prison for four years.”
Sharee`’s mouth dropped. “Prison? What did he go to prison for?”
Now Trina was studying her menu. “Drugs.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. Damion was always trying to be a little hustler. I’m glad I didn’t marry him.”
“Why you always gotta talk down about people? Everybody ain’t fortunate enough to be rich like you. People make mistakes, you know.”
“Yeah, but selling drugs? That’s just like Damion.”
Trina was obviously offended and found that the best thing for her to do would be to change the subject.
“Anyway, he’s coming home in a few weeks. I’m going to drive up to the prison and pick him up, take him some clothes and stuff.”
“Oh really. That’s yo’ man or something?” Sharee` asked, setting the menu down on the table and folding her arms.
“No. We’re just friends, Sharee`. Anyway, why do you care, you’re married.”
“I don’t care,” Sharee` began with a shrug of the shoulders, “I was just asking because you said you were going to go and pick him up.”
In all actuality, Sharee` did care. She and Damion had dated on and off in high school. He was the boy she lost her virginity to. And the man that had helped her make up her mind to never use sex for favors. Damion said that if she slept with him, he would take her to homecoming. Now back in school, Damion was that guy, the one every girl wanted to be seen hanging on his arm. He dressed in all the latest fashions, always kept the newest and hottest shoes on his feet. He was raised by his mother. His father was serving a life sentence in prison for being a habitual offender. The man had been convicted of manslaughter two times and miraculously, didn’t have to serve a hefty sentence. So the third time, they stuck it to him.
His mother didn’t make a lot of money. She worked as a dietary aide at The Berry Home, an assisted living facility in the heart of downtown New Castle Beach. Damion’s grandparents were well off, devoting most of their years to General Motors. Whenever he wanted something, he went to his grandparents and asked. He knew his grandparents didn’t know how to use the word ‘no’ when it came to him. For some reason, even though his grandparents spoiled him, sometimes that just wasn’t enough. Damion had a desire to be down with the in crowd. Even though he had girls throwing themselves at him because he was so popular, he always felt like he needed to do more. So he picked to hang out with the boys at school that every mother warns their children to shy away from. He hung out with the boys who skipped school and smoked weed, drank themselves into a coma, and made out with girls in the backseats of cars.
Sharee` dated him because he was so popular, but in the back of her mind, she always wanted more.
“No. Me and Damion are nothing more than friends,” Trina began, trying to convince herself that there was nothing more to the story, “I just feel sorry for him because he don’t have nobody, you know. In his letters he told me that he was going to change his ways, stop selling drugs. I don’t know if he means it or not, but, I would really like it if he did do that. Then maybe we could be a little more than friends.”
Trina glanced down at her menu, feeling as if she had said too much. “Ooh girl, I feel like shrimp scampi,” she said, wanting to drop the subject of Damion so that she wouldn’t get sad and enjoy this rare time with her friend.
Sharee` smiled. “I think I will just go with a salad. Besides, I have to watch my figure, girl.
The two women shared a laugh, just at this gorgeously handsome waiter made his way over to their table. This man looked like a chocolate Boris Kodjoe. Both women stared up at him in awe.
“Are you beautiful ladies ready to order?” He asked, pen and pad in hand.
Trina was speechless and Sharee` was almost on the same level.
“Um, I think I’ll take the Romaine Chicken salad, no dressing, and to drink, I’ll have a glass of ice water,” Sharee` answered, hoping there was no drool on the table.
“I’ll take the shrimp scampi and a small diet soda,” Trina managed to say; only after Sharee` gave her leg a kick under the table.
The young man jotted down their orders.
“Can I interest you ladies in anything else?” He asked, smiling. He had this perfect white toothy smile. And the way his muscles seemed to jump out at them through the burgundy uniform t-shirt he was wearing. He focused his light brown eyes on the ladies, first on Sharee` then on Trina, waiting for one of them to answer his question.
“How about you interest us in your phone number,” Trina joked, immediately getting yet another kick from Sharee`.
The young man blushed.
“I’m flattered, but,” he began, showing the ladies the gold band on his finger, “I’m married.”
Trina shook her head. “The fine ones are always taken.”
He blushed again. “Well, if you ladies aren’t interested in a desert or anything I will go and take these orders back to the kitchen for you.”
Both ladies smiled, watching as he walked away.
“Now that is one fine brutha,” Trina said, taking a bite of a freshly buttered bread stick.
“He’s fine,” Sharee` began matter of factly, “but he don’t look better than Jeremy.”
That comment made Trina drop her breadstick.
“Honey, do you need some glasses?” She joked.
Sharee` giggled. Trina was such a hater.
“Girl, that was good. You know, it has been a long time since we just hung out like this,”Sharee` said as she and Trina sat at the table waiting for their food to digest.
“Yeah,” Trina agreed, “We should go shopping or something. I got paid yesterday girl. Let’s go to some of them fancy stores you like so much. We can take your car.
“You know, that doesn’t sound like such a bad plan. We could stop by the salon and get those nails of yours done, too. Girl, them thangs are tore up,” Sharee` suggested, studying her friends nails.
Trina looked down at her chipped French manicure. “Yeah, I could use a new set.”
Both ladies were stuffed to capacity and ‘the itis’ had set in. Sharee` knew that if she didn’t get up from that table, she was going to fall asleep real quick.
“Come on girl, let’s go,” Trina began, watching as Sharee placed two one hundred dollar bills on the table, “If we hurry, we could go on the west side to the Chinese people and get my nails done.”
Sharee` frowned. “Girl, you already know that if I’m going to pay for those nails, they’re getting done at a top of the line establishment. No Chinese today.”
The two shared another laugh.
“I love you, girl,” Trina said, staring at her friend in admiration.
“I love you, too, Trina. You my girl for life.”
And with that comment, both ladies stood up from the table, placing their purses on their shoulders. Sharee` glanced at her watch. Two thirty. It wasn’t too late in the day. Maybe she would take Trina up on that offer of going on the Westside. She hadn’t been on that side of town since the days of Parlor Fashions. If not today, someday, she would revisit her old stomping grounds.
Chapter 3
Jeremy sat at his desk, staring at the computer screen, the phone receiver up to his ear. The meeting with Nicole had gone great. He decided to sign her to a three book deal, instead of the previously agreed upon two. She was that good of a writer. Right now he was on the phone, going over the figures with his numbers man who worked downstairs in accounting. Sandra walked into the office, carrying the leather appointment book.
“Okay Jared, I will meet with you and the others in the morning. Yep. Bye.” Jeremy hung up the phone, his attention immediately shifting to Sandra, who had taken a seat in the soft leather chair in front of Jeremy’s desk.
“What’s going on?” He asked, sitting up straight in his leather executive chair.
“Well, I just wanted to confirm a few appointments with you before I leave for the day. I need to pick my daughter up from daycare a little early today, if that’s not a problem.”
“Has it ever been, Sandra? Come on now, you know Jeremy loves the kids. If you need to leave a little early, I have no problem with that.”
“Thank you. I also wanted to ask you something.”
Now Jeremy looked a tad bit concerned because usually, after that phrase, came a request for time off, which meant having a temporary person come in to work Sandra’s spot. Though that was a human resources problem, Sandra was his right hand when it came to running Haskins Publishing. Whenever she was missing, the void was most definitely felt.
“What is it, Sandra.”
“Well, I wanted to talk to you about the tuition reimbursement assistance. I found a program I want to take up in college.”
Jeremy breathed a sigh of relieve. At least it wasn’t a vacation request. “Oh, you can just go to human resources and pick up the forms you need. They’ll have to tell you who to deal with after that. What you taking up?”
“I want to study either nursing or business administration.”
Now that struck a chord.
“Really; sounds good.”
Sandra could tell that Jeremy wasn’t as pleased as she thought he would be about her going off to college. But who cared? She was doing this for her daughter and herself. Of course, after the two or more years it would take to complete her degree in either major, she had to admit she would miss working for Jeremy. What other boss paid their administrative assistant a six figure salary? Allowed her to have a car allowance big enough to purchase a Mercedes Benz and live in a plush condominium on the outskirts of the city. If she could find a good job as a nurse, maybe. Start a company that made millions, maybe, depending on what kind of business she started. Maybe she would go to school, get the degree and continue to work for Jeremy for a while. Why was she worrying about that now anyway? That was something she had two years to work out all the details on.
Working for Jeremy was a dream job. She had come to Jeremy fresh out of college. Though she had an Associate’s Degree, her only experience came from a six week internship she did at a bookstore as an assistant community relations specialist. Jeremy took her in under his wing and taught her everything she had to know in order to be the best at what she did.
That was three years ago.
Sandra could remember that day all too well. She showed up for an interview dressed in a navy blue fitted skirt and blazer with a white top underneath. Her long jet black hair hung loose, framing her face somewhat because she had wrapped it the night before. She had read in a magazine that your jewelry should be minimal for an interview, so she only wore the diamond tennis bracelet her then boyfriend and now baby daddy had brought her for her birthday and a pair of pearl earrings that belonged to her mother.
Jeremy descended from his office, dressed in a navy blue tailored suit. Navy blue alligator shoes adorned his feet. He had big feet. Sandra could remember thinking that this man was gorgeously handsome and that he had to be married because it seemed like all the good men were taken. Of all the women he had left to interview, and even the two men, she was the only one there that had thought to wear navy blue. What a co inky dink.
“Sandra Lewis,” Jeremy called, his voice so sophisticated.
Sandra stood to her feet. “I’m Sandra,” she said.
Jeremy smiled. “Follow me please.”
Honestly, she felt like the reason Jeremy had given her that job was because of that navy blue suit. It already showed that they were in tune. Jeremy told her he wanted to hire someone that he could teach this business to. The fact that she had no experience had given her a leg up on the competition. Leaving Haskins Publishing, the place that had made her who she was, was something she realized she had no intentions of doing, anytime soon.