Almost Doesn't Count (23 page)

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Authors: Angela Winters

BOOK: Almost Doesn't Count
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“What's wrong with you?” Richard asked.
She quietly closed the door behind her, turning to him. “I can't talk about it.”
“You should be happy,” he said. “You're getting recognition for doing what you love. You can make a name for yourself and start getting more big pro bono cases. That's pretty prestig—”
“You need to knock, Ricardo!”
He looked perplexed. “Seriously? You mad? You must be mad 'cause you just got ethnic on me.”
“You never knock.” She hurried over to her desk to make notes on the new status of the case.
“I'll try to remember, little miss petite moody.”
She ignored his teasing as she pulled the case up in the internal database. He was right. She should be happy and she would try to be. With this turn of events, it would be foolish and selfish for her to drop the case. She could see that now. She was going to win, not just for Ricky, but also for the firm. She could probably get some additional cases on the same matter and put an end to this bullying. There was a lot to gain from her sticking with this case and winning it.
She just had to figure out a way to keep her hands off her client.
 
This was all a little too seedy for Sherise's taste, but one couldn't be cautious enough when it came to hiring a private investigator to find out exactly who was fucking your husband. So here she was in the dark end of a grocery store parking garage, getting into the passenger side of a Toyota belonging to a woman she had never met before.
“That was quick,” Sherise said as she settled in and closed the door.
Beth Martin was a woman in her thirties of Asian and Irish descent. She underplayed her attractiveness, possibly in an attempt to be taken seriously in a male-dominated field, Sherise thought. She was known among some of the social elite in DC as someone you could rely on to be discreet.
Sherise had gotten her card from a friend almost two years ago who had used her to find dirt on her husband's political opponent for Maryland state congress. Sherise had the card in her hand just above the garbage before she thought twice about it. You never knew when a girl could use an anonymous friend.
After making love to her husband again, Sherise had renewed faith that she could save her marriage and believed honestly that getting this woman out of the picture was what was needed. Justin loved her and he felt guilty about what he was doing. That seemed clear to her. She wasn't going to nitpick, considering her own past. She was going to be a better wife to him, but none of that meant anything if this woman was still in the picture. This woman who was sleeping with her husband as part of a vendetta against her. She was no longer interested in car chases around DC or fruitless Internet searches. She wanted to find out who her target was so she could plan a quick, efficient, and effective attack and get back to the business of her family.
“This will be quick, too,” Beth said, her voice held a biting tone.
She handed Sherise a manila envelope.
“My bill is on top,” she said. “I usually require an advance, but since you were in such a hurry.”
“I'll write a check when I get home today,” Sherise said.
She opened the folder. Under the bill, she saw a report that started with the woman's name and her address in Texas.
“I just want to know who she is,” Sherise said.
“It was easy, actually,” Beth reported. “Jennifer Ross is a Democratic campaign consultant in Dallas. She's divorced, no kids, and thirty-four years old. When she comes to DC, she stays at the Fairmont, but she used to have an apartment in Bethesda.”
It bothered Sherise that she had no idea who this woman was. “What else? Tell me more about Bethesda.”
“She worked for Senator Mason's and Congresswoman Turner's campaigns. She wasn't extremely social, but she ran with a pretty elite set. You'll see her picture was taken in
Capitol File
and
Washington Life
.”
Sherise flipped through the small number of pages in the folder. “But I searched for her name and . . .”
“You searched for Jennifer Ross,” Beth said. “She was going by Jen Hodgkins.”
Sherise felt the shock hit her like a ton of bricks. Just as Beth spoke, Sherise uncovered a photo from
Capitol File
of Jennifer and her husband dressed in high-end formal wear. The caption read, JENNIFER AND RYAN HODGKINS ATTEND THE DC HEALTHY FAMILIES GALA.
Sherise knew that Beth was still talking, but it didn't matter. She didn't hear anything else. The pounding in her head was too strong. She felt like she was about to explode. She was heating up, and that itch of panic that she had been feeling since she stepped into the car blossomed into full-blown insanity. Of all the things in the world this could have been, she never suspected this. There was a slight suspicion that this was not a mere coincidence, especially after the note on the napkin, but not once had she thought a forgotten ghost like this might jump up and bite her in the ass. And this bite was big. The ex-wife of her ex-lover was now having an affair with her husband and trying to find out about the baby she'd had nine months after that initial affair with her then husband.
“Fuck me,” was all Sherise could think of to say.
She had no plan for this.
12
“H
old on!” Sherise yelled as she rushed from the kitchen to the front door of her apartment with her crying baby in her arms.
She looked through the peephole to see a harried looking Billie and Erica standing at her door. Was she ready for this? She knew that she needed to talk to them, but this talk could change their entire relationship. She was in a panic right now, and as much as she needed her girls, she didn't want to risk losing them when they found out the truth.
“It's do-or-die time,” she said to Cady, who responded by smacking her mother in the chin.
The second she opened the door, both girls sighed.
“Where the hell have you been?” Erica asked.
“I know,” Sherise said as she stepped aside to let them enter. “I know.”
“You haven't been returning any of our calls or texts,” Billie said.
“Come here, sweetie.” Erica held her hands out to Cady, but the baby shook her head and leaned farther into her mama.
“She's in an awful mood,” Sherise said, closing the door behind them.
She knew that was her fault, too. Her baby fed off her mood and emotions and Sherise knew her panic was sending a bad vibe to her baby.
“You can't just go chasing after some bitch with your husband and then not return calls,” Billie said.
After trying to reach Sherise, Billie got worried and contacted Erica. She'd told Erica about her last conversation with Sherise and what she'd been doing. Both women were worried, and after not getting any responses after eight
P.M.
, decided to come over and check on her.
“Is he here?” Erica asked.
“No,” Sherise said with a smack of her lips. “He had to work late . . . again.”
“Sherise,” Billie said, “I want to pop you. You had me worried that you had some kind of confrontation and shit popped off.”
“She wanted to call the hospital,” Erica said.
“I wouldn't be at the hospital,” Sherise said. “That bitch would have been though.”
“I just can't believe this.” Erica sat down on the sofa in the living room. “Justin. Are you sure there's no other explanation?”
“What happened?” Billie offered to take Cady.
“Let me put her down first,” Sherise said as she headed for the playpen in the corner.
“I want proof,” Erica said. “He's supposed to be one of the good ones.”
“There is no such man,” Billie said bitterly.
“Terrell would never cheat on me,” Erica insisted.
Billie sat down next to her, looking at her with a disbelieving expression. “Didn't you just say that about Justin? They cheat. They're assholes.”
Erica shook her head. “I want proof.”
“We have it,” Billie said. “And I have a feeling we're about to learn more.”
“I can't stay long,” Erica said loudly to Sherise, who was talking to a very unhappy Cady as she sat her in the pen. “Terrell is moving a lot of his stuff in right now. I can't leave him alone all night.”
“He can manage,” Billie said.
“I need to talk to him about something serious.”
“What?” Billie asked. “I thought you two were doing well.”
“Well, you know I told you about Nate's drug issue.” Erica had poured her heart out to Billie on the drive over to Sherise's house. “Jonah has offered to help me out with this.”
She noticed Billie's expression contort into some form of dread and disappointment.
“Look,” Erica said. “I know you guys don't like him, but I'm desperate. I need to know what's going on.”
“What's he gonna do?” Billie asked.
“He has connections,” she said. “He can find things out about people.”
Billie didn't like the sound of this. Whatever favor Jonah was offering, she felt certain some strings would be attached. “I can do that, too.”
“But you're busy,” Erica said. “You have work and Robert, and—”
“There is no Robert anymore,” Billie interrupted.
She hadn't returned any of his calls or e-mails since the fund-raiser. He was the last thing on her mind.
“Okay,” Erica said, “but you have that thing. You know, that thing with the guy that you like. That case.”
“I don't like him,” Billie said defensively. “He's my client.”
“But you had a dream about him kissing you,” Erica said. She could tell she struck a nerve with her.
“It was a stupid dream.” Billie was reacting nervously. “Look, it doesn't matter. We're talking about you and you're better off with me than Jonah.”
“I think he genuinely wants to help me,” Erica said.
“I don't doubt it, but . . .”
“Let me handle it, okay?”
Billie could see that Erica was conflicted despite the conviction in her tone.
“We'll talk about it later,” she said. “Right now, Sherise, what the fuck are you doing? Get over here.”
Having finally calmed Cady down, Sherise quickly went into the kitchen to retrieve the folder Beth had given her. She was getting more and more nervous with every second.
“This is her.” She handed the folder to Billie and sat down on the coffee table across from the girls as they looked through the folder. “Jennifer Ross.”
“The woman LaKeisha mentioned at the fund-raiser?” Billie asked.
Sherise told them everything that Beth had told her. Everything except Jennifer's marital history. As her girls looked over the information, she could see the look of dissatisfaction on their faces. This didn't make sense. Of course it didn't. She was holding out on them.
“This is proof?” Erica asked skeptically.
“Seriously, Sherise,” Billie added. “This is it? Are you sure this is her?”
“It's her,” Sherise said flatly.
“And you can't think of any way that you know her?” Billie asked. “Not a work project, a social event . . . nothing?”
“So you got to see her?” Erica asked. “The woman in this picture was the woman you saw with Justin?”
“I didn't really . . .” Sherise sighed. “Trust me, it's her.”
“Well,” Erica concluded, “if you don't know her, then we have to assume that the note on the napkin is unrelated to this.”
“It's related,” Sherise said, her head tilted somberly to the side.
Billie really observed Sherise for the first time since coming over. Her eyes were red and had dark circles around them. She looked a mess. She looked . . . afraid.
“What's going on?” Billie asked.
“I just found out the name of the woman who is fucking my husband,” Sherise said.
“What are you not telling us?” she asked.
Erica looked up from the photo and realized she had been missing something. Billie wasn't buying this.
“What's going on?” she asked.
“What comes around goes around,” Billie said. “Why, Sherise?”
Before she could utter a word, Sherise broke down and began crying. Her face fell into her hands and she sobbed as both girls hurried to her side and wrapped their arms around her.
“It's okay.” Billie ran her fingers through Sherise's hair with comforting strokes. “We'll figure this out, sweetie.”
“Just talk to us,” Erica added. “We've gotten through everything together. The three of us together can fix any problem, even this one. You know that, Sherise.”
It was true and Erica's words allowed Sherise the strength to lift her head.
“When Jennifer was living in DC,” she started, feeling sick for having to reveal this, “she was married to . . . She was married to Ryan Hodgkins.”
“Who's that?” Erica asked.
“Oh, no,” Billie said. “Don't you remember him? The guy that she kissed.”
“Oh, shit,” Erica said, suddenly recalling. “That was forever ago. She's coming after you now? He must have just told her he kissed you.”
“No,” Sherise said with a shaky voice. “He must have told her . . . he slept with me.”
“What the fuck?” Billie asked. “Why would he say that? Do you think he knew she'd come after you if he lied?”
Erica found this incredible. “So you think she's sleeping with Justin to get back at you for thinking you slept with Ryan? How fucking vindictive. We're gonna get this bitch.”
“I did,” Sherise said. She looked at Billie and then Erica before turning and facing forward as she added, “He didn't lie to her. I slept with him.”
She couldn't bear to look at them as they took it in.
“Wait,” Billie said. “What?”
“I slept with him,” she repeated just above a whisper.
Erica leaned away, thinking she'd heard wrong. “You just kissed him.”
“I told you I slept with him!” she yelled this time.
“You lied to us,” Billie finally said.
“You cheated on Justin twice?” Erica couldn't believe this.
“I was too ashamed to tell you guys,” Sherise said, looking down at her lap. “I was so . . .”
Billie was fuming. “So when we told you, warned you to stay away from him, you didn't do it, did you?”
“I tried,” Sherise said. “I swear to God I tried, but I don't know. I just . . .”
“Jesus Christ, Sherise!” Erica shot up from the table and stepped a few feet away. She looked down at Sherise. “How many men have you slept with since you've been married?”
Sherise looked up at her and was stung by the look of disgust on Erica's face. “I swear it's just him and Jonah. I promise you.”
“And what the hell does that promise mean?” Erica asked, shaking her head.
“I swear,” Sherise repeated a few times as she started crying again.
“So she has every right to do this,” Erica said.
“Erica!” Billie looked up at her, expressing her anger. “What the fuck is the matter with you?”
“How can you think this is okay?” Erica asked. “You were cheated on and she's a serial cheater.”
“She's your best friend,” Billie said. “She's your sister and she needs us.”
Sherise turned to Billie. “I need you both, so bad. I want to save my marriage.”
“You mean you want to keep your marriage together so you can cheat in peace?” Erica asked.
“Fuck you,” Sherise spat at her. “I'm dying here, Erica. I'm dying. You just don't understand.”
Erica felt a pang of compassion and guilt fight through her anger and disappointment. She sat down on the sofa and sighed. “I just can't believe you thought it was okay for you to do this, but not him.”
“I'm not judging him,” Sherise said. “I'm not being a hypocrite. I'm just trying to save my marriage. I'm trying to save my daughter's family.”
“And we'll help you,” Billie said. “Won't we?”
Erica reached out and placed her hand on Sherise's knee. “Of course we will. It's what we do for each other. It's what we've always done and always will. This bitch is history.”
Sherise placed her hand over Erica's and squeezed as she leaned her head into Billie's chest. She was already starting to feel better.
 
Erica was physically and emotionally exhausted when she finally got home. By the time she'd left Sherise's house, they'd agreed to get together Saturday, tomorrow, and figure out how they would confront Jennifer and let her know that she was going to stay away from Justin from that moment on.
Erica wasn't happy with the decision. She wasn't used to being in these situations. While Terrell had hurt her feelings in other ways, she had never been worried about him cheating on her. In the past, if a boyfriend messed around, she'd just dropped him. No questions asked, no apologies accepted.
She knew that marriage, especially marriage with a child, was different. Erica suggested that Sherise confront Justin first. After all, this woman, whoever she was, had not made a vow to Sherise. And what was the point of telling the woman to stay away if the man wouldn't do the same?
It was all very confusing to Erica, but she was the only one who had never been married, so she gave up arguing. As much as she worried for Sherise that her marriage could be ending, Erica was happy to get out of there. Too much heartache and fear and she was already dealing with enough of that with Nate. She wanted to get home to the one good thing in her life now, the one thing that was moving forward. Terrell.

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