Betrayed (14 page)

“I noticed,” Victor said snidely.

“See, that's what I mean. Flippant. Downright flippant you've been. It's none of my business anyway what's going on in your life…as long as you don't forget who's been giving you all the good loving you've been blessed to receive the past six months.”

“And you've been paid well.”

“I'm not your whore, Victor. I'm sure your wife doesn't know that you've dipped into this honey pot and promised me that you'd leave her one day.” Sheila smirked, pleased that she seemed to have the upper hand and glad to know that Victor hadn't heard all of her conversation with Phyllis.

Victor fidgeted in his seat and took a good look at Sheila. “I'm not sure whether that was a threat or not, but I'm not worried about you. Newsflash. You'll never be the woman my wife is, Sheila. In fact, you couldn't touch her with the tip of your finger. She could run a hundred circles around you before you blinked once. And, for your information…please hear me well, I'll never leave Brenda.”

Sheila jumped from her seat and threw her arm across the large desk and pointed at Victor. But before her tongue was able to catch up with her anger, he caught her by her wrist and squeezed tight.

“You'll do what I tell you to do. And, you're not even that good of a secretary. If you hadn't been able to satisfy me like you do, and you do that well, I'll admit, your ass would've been in the unemployment line a long time ago.”

In vain, Sheila tried to pull free of Victor's grasp. “I'm not through,” Victor said. “I have an assignment that I want you to complete. If you do it well, there will be a reward.”

“And if I refuse?”

“You don't want to suffer the consequence of saying no to me.”

Victor pushed Sheila back and released her arm. She rubbed her wrist and stood, watching Victor with a scowl on her face.

“What's the assignment?”

S
ix o'clock on the dot. Victor touched the remote and watched as the garage door climbed to the ceiling, giving him access to the garage. His mood was sour—unhappy because of the unwelcomed visitor who had the audacity to step to him and hand him some crazy ultimatum.

Victor sauntered into the house, loosened his tie, took off his jacket and neatly hung it on the coat rack that sat off to one side of the foyer. Without making any noise, he moved easily from room to room until he found Brenda in the family room watching television, perched on the end of the white leather couch with Beyonce curled up beside her.

The atmosphere was cool when Brenda turned around and made eye contact with Victor. Even Beyonce sensed tension in the air and plopped up from her resting place, leapt to the floor, and sauntered off out of sight.

“What's for dinner?” Victor asked, a slight chill in his voice.

“It's a free for all tonight,” Brenda said, turning back to watch
World News
.

“Ummph,” Victor grumbled. “I noticed that a rental car is in the garage. At least you could have run out and got something to eat if you didn't want to cook. It appears you've healed from your injuries.”

Brenda swiveled around in her seat so that she faced Victor.
“You could've easily brought something home. You walk in here without so much as a how are you feeling, Brenda…is there anything I can do for you, Brenda…and you expect me to be at your beck and call. It would've been nice if during the ten hours you were away from home today that you would've thought to make at least one phone call to show you care about my well-being.”

“I do care, Brenda. Today was an exhausting day. I…I had to tackle one problem after another.”

“Ten minutes was all I needed from you. You give your concubines more than that.”

“Please don't start tonight, Brenda. You're the only one I love and I'll always be here for you and the kids.”

“You have a funny way of showing it. But I know you, Victor. Something has got you preoccupied. And I don't understand your obsession with me not seeing Mimi.”

“Mimi. So we're back to Mimi again. Wasn't your accident a sign that you should stay away from her?”

“What are you talking about, Victor? Did you have something to do with my accident?” Brenda rose from her seat and moved in front of Victor. “I could've been killed!” she screamed.

“Come on, Brenda. I had nothing to do with your accident. Why would I want to hurt you?”

“Why? Because you didn't want me to meet Mimi? Now you tell me why,” she hissed. Brenda folded her arms across her bosom and waited for a reply.

“My God, Brenda, you don't really think that I'm capable of what you're suggesting? You're my wife and the mother of my children. Please give me credit for trying to be the best husband to you for the last nineteen years. You just stuck a knife in my soul to so blatantly suggest that I could ever hurt you or anyone.”

Brenda let her arms drop to her sides and sat down on the couch.
“Cut the theatrics, Victor. I don't know what it is, but I've got this vibe that you're up to something…and I believe it has to do with Mimi.” There was no way she was going to tell Victor that Mimi had stood her up again.

Victor moved to the couch and sat next to Brenda. “I'm sorry that I haven't been supportive where you and Mimi are concerned. I remember how much her leaving hurt you, and I don't want you to set yourself up for disappointment again; that's all. Mimi wasn't dependable nineteen years ago. What makes you think she's going to be any different?”

“It's not your concern that bothers me but the fact that you told me point blank not to meet her. Seems like that would be a decision I should've made for myself. Maybe I needed answers to why she disappeared.”

“I still don't think it's a good idea. You went behind my back and tried to see her after you told me you were going to cancel that luncheon.”

Brenda slid off the seat, folded her hands across her chest, and faced Victor. “I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but I don't need your permission to meet my best friend for lunch.” She let her hands drop and pointed a finger at him. “Puzzled as I am about your interest in my not seeing Mimi, it will not stop me from seeing her. But don't you dare tell me whom I can and cannot see. I've put up with a lot of mess from you over the years, so now is not the time for you to forget that. You do get my meaning.”

“You're still my wife, and I'm still head of this household. Don't you forget that!”

Brenda sneered at Victor. He was hiding something, and whatever it was would eventually come to the light. Oh, his grandstanding meant nothing to her. All it did was prompt her to make
every attempt to see Mimi, and she would. Victor didn't scare her. She should have left his sorry behind a long time ago but thought better of it because she didn't want her children to be part of the growing statistics of children living with a single parent. But now curiosity was coursing through her thoughts, and a little research and surveillance was now on the menu.

Exploring other possibilities had also crossed Brenda's mind, and maybe, just maybe after Trevor was in college, she might entertain that desire. Marriage to Victor wasn't a match made in Heaven as people seemed to think, but she had sucked it up because she had fought and won the hand of the handsome prince. Although being a pregnant teenaged girl wasn't on Brenda's list of priorities all those years ago, having the fetus in the womb was the one thing that had secured her place by Victor's side. She was sure it was the reason she doted on Asia like she did.

But times had changed. Her life had changed. Brenda's resilience had made her one of the leading psychologists in the state and probably the country. She was the real force in the Christianson household and could easily sustain life without Victor. Priorities had been rearranged in Brenda's world. And as she glanced back at Victor who was now exiting the kitchen, she mentally dropped his priority number to last place.

Beyonce suddenly bounced into the room. The music on the television set made her bounce from one foot to the other, her tail wagging. A video clip featuring Beyoncé Knowles and a couple of dancers played on television and Beyonce the cat was moving with the girls as they sang,
all the single ladies, all the single ladies
… the reason Beyonce the cat got her name.

V
ictor rushed from the house, jumped in his Mercedes, backed out of the garage, and drove away from the subdivision. He barreled down the street as if he had no morale aptitude—a maniac, disobeying the road signs—the law of the land. All of a sudden his right leg flew up and slammed down on the brakes.
Screech
, his tires squealed as he narrowly missed a city bus that pulled away from the curb and into traffic.

His mind was bogged down, clogged with the stress of his ongoing dilemma, a dilemma that Victor was going to alleviate sooner than later. Not once had Victor thought about abandoning his quest to get rid of what he conceived to be the thorns in his side—Mimi and Afrika, but Brenda's insistence upon seeing Mimi left him no option but to nip it in the bud. Mimi, like himself, had no desire to expose her secret, yet having Mimi and her daughter in such close proximity to his family spelled future disaster.

Several traffic lights later, Victor hung a left and forged ahead, making a right turn into Mimi's subdivision. He slowed the car down to a crawl and was about to park his car in an open slot when the door to Mimi's condo flew open and John Carroll appeared on the doorstep.

Victor continued without stopping, circling back to try and assess what was going on. How did John fit into the equation and why was he suddenly interested in Mimi's well-being? After all,
wasn't Mimi married? Angry at this sudden turn of events, Victor left the subdivision and headed back into traffic. He picked up his BlackBerry, dialed a number and waited for the caller to pick up.

A
FRIKA SAT WITH THE CAR IDLING AS SHE WAITED FOR
A
SIA TO PUT
up her cheerleading gear in her room. Finally Asia reappeared and headed toward Afrika's car.

“Girl, I'm starving after that workout,” Asia said.

“Well, get in,” Afrika said, pulling away from the curb. “My mouth is watering for pizza.”

“Where is Keith? I thought he was going with us.”

“He's going to meet us there.”

“Oh,” Asia said, sitting back as she watched the scenery go by. “Why don't we go shopping instead of eating? I want to get another pair of jeans before we go to the frat party. My man will be there.”

“Let's do it after we eat. I told Keith we'd be there in fifteen minutes. Don't try to back out now. We won't make you feel like a third wheel.”

“Okay, let's do this.”

Afrika drove up Fayetteville Street and crossed over Interstate 95. The mall was ahead on the right, and in a few minutes more they would be at their destination. Afrika navigated her way in the parking lot and found a parking spot not too far away from California Pizza.

The girls exited the car, excitement about seeing Keith consuming Afrika as she walked with a purpose.

“Slow up, Nikki,” Asia said, skipping to keep up with her.

Afrika slowed but broke out into a grin when she spotted Keith sitting at a table.

“Who's Keith sitting with?” Asia wanted to know as they approached the table.

Afrika shrugged her shoulders and gave Asia an ‘I don't know' look. Keith turned around when he felt the ladies at his back and broke into a grin. He stood up and put his arms around Afrika and introduced her.

“Zavion, this is my girl, Nikki, and her best friend, Asia.”

Zavion stood up, taking an extra dose of Asia. “Cool. Nice to meet you.” He nodded his head.

Asia looked from Afrika to Keith. Afrika sensed Asia's mood change, but then she saw Asia's eyes travel the length of Zavion who stood tall, in buff medium brown skin, his hair locked in short twists. Zavion seemed to appreciate the mulling over he was getting from the beautiful girl who had yet to say a word. A smile awaited Asia when she finally connected with Zavion's face.

“You a basketball player?” Asia asked, as she continued to digest the man who stood before her, rocking back and forth like he had stirred up something in her.

“Yeah, I play for UNC. I'm a forward,” Zavion answered.

Keith and Afrika seemed to relax as Asia finally sat down next to Zavion.

“Umph. How tall are you?” Asia asked, her inquisitive mind running wild.

“Six-three,” Zavion said.

“Are you finished with your interrogation?” Afrika asked Asia, giving her a look.

“Not quite,” Asia said. “Go on and order your pizza. Zavion and I are still getting acquainted.”

Zavion smiled.

Before long, the foursome were chatting incessantly and eating pizza by the mouthfuls. Time buzzed by.

“Do you still want to go to the store and…” Afrika began before Asia cut her off.

“No, no. I've changed my mind,” Asia said. Then she turned toward Zavion, linking her arm through his. “I don't know if Keith bothered to tell you, but there is an Alpha party tonight in Durham. Would you like to tag along?”

Zavion gave Keith a cursory glance, pretending to know nothing. “If you're going to be there, I'm already on my way to the party,” Zavion said to Asia.

Asia winked at Afrika. “I say why don't we get out of here and get our party on. Nikki and I are going to the restroom first, but we'll be ready to go when we come out.”

“I'll be ready, too,” Zavion said, as he watched Asia work the jeans she was wearing until she and Afrika were out of sight.

“I told you she was high-strung,” Keith said.

“Just like I like them. Let me do the worrying; I can handle Asia. But I thought you said she had a boyfriend.”