Lies Lovers Tell (13 page)

At any other time, Maya could have taken hours to study the ardent swirl of color in the nighttime scene captured by Van Gogh’s talented brush. But Maya didn’t have that kind of time today. With renewed resolve, she virtually marched over to the file cabinet, placed her hand on the handle, took a breath, and pulled. The cabinet drawer flew open as if the hinges had just been oiled. She jumped back in surprise.

“Oh my goodness,” Maya whispered to herself. The good news: The drawer was filled with multi-colored file folders; the bad news…none of them were labeled.

Maya’s ultraorganized personality was immediately incensed. “How on earth does anybody work like this?” she hissed angrily as she picked a file at random and pulled it out of its place. Mindful to not leave any clues to her presence, she also pulled up the folder just behind the one in her hand, so she’d be able to put each folder back in its rightful place.

A quick scan of the folder’s contents showed a variety of restaurant menus. Thinking she’d probably stumbled onto the food area of the files, she placed that folder back and checked the one behind it. Maya frowned. The folder contained several papers with what appeared to be a bunch of random numbers. She looked at the next folder without totally taking it out of its place. It was filled with computer printouts of California museums, and behind it a folder of…purebred dogs? What the “f”? What in the world could Sam Walters need this type of seemingly random information for? And why was it filed so haphazardly? At this rate she’d have to look into each and every one of these files; what she was looking for, whatever that was, could be in any or none of them. It could easily take the rest of the week, let alone the rest of the day. It was one more reason to despise the bumbling Brit.

“Stupid, sloppy, stuck-up, uppity…” Maya continued to mumble to herself as she pulled one folder up after another only to find what seemed to her totally irrelevant materials for a man trying to grab the Los Angeles real estate world by the tail: luxury cars, weather reports, world atlases—okay, maybe that one made a bit of sense—and Broadway shows. Disgusted, Maya slammed the top drawer shut and decided to try the bottom. She needed to hit the real estate info jackpot, she needed to find the files that would point her to where Sam Walters’s head was. Absorbed in her mission, Maya sat cross-legged on the floor, her head almost buried in the myriad of colored folders. She opened one with a directory to downtown businesses, with several of them highlighted in different colors.

“Yes!” Maya whispered enthusiastically. “Now, Sammy, let’s see who you’ve got your eye on.” She quickly ran her finger down the list of names.

“Find what you’re looking for?”

Maya gasped, dropping the folder and its contents as she stumbled to her feet. She didn’t even want to turn around, to witness Sam’s disgruntled face, the last thing she’d see before being literally kicked to the curb. How could she tell Zeke she’d gotten caught, had failed the assignment?
Well…you said you wanted to get fired. Here goes….
Slowly, resignedly, she turned around. Her heart was in her throat, and she closed her eyes, waiting for the railing. When nothing but silence greeted her, she opened her eyes.

“Sean!”

Knowing he’d lost the battle to keep his hands off Maya today, Sean had left only long enough to lose his Sam Walters facade. He’d given Cecilia the rest of the day off and planned to give “Martha” some good loving in the master suite’s king-sized bed. He was surprised to walk in and find the office doors wide open, another sign of how when Maya was on his mind, he thought of little else. Even though there was nothing incriminating in those files, it was the principle of the thing: he was slipping.

“What if Sam had walked in here, Maya?” He walked fully into the room. “Huh? What would you have told him about breaking into his office?”

“I didn’t break in, the door was open. Besides, you know what I’m doing in here. Something I wouldn’t have to if you’d help me. Is Zeke beating a dead horse here, Sean? Is Sam Walters really some provocative player set to upturn the L.A. real estate apple cart, or is he just some rich fool from London with money to burn?”

Maya stood there so vulnerable, her eyes pleading for his assistance. He ached to tell her that he was Sam, and to let her in on the deal he had working with Neil, Phillip Campbell, and a firm in China. But it was just too risky, for everyone involved. So he sought to diffuse the situation instead.

“As far as I know, he’s who he says he is. He owns a nice home in London and a country estate, travels in elite circles…I think the man just wants to get in on the action stateside. Why does Zeke think differently?”

“It’s something he feels instinctively, in his gut. But considering what’s been happening with Jade just a few inches lower, his radar may be off a tad.”

Sean’s laughter stopped abruptly as he heard the sound of the side door open followed by Cecilia’s familiar hum. What was she doing back here?

Her footsteps in the hallway told him he didn’t have time to find out. The office doors were still wide open and he couldn’t chance trying to explain what a strange man named Sean was doing in Sam’s office with the maid.

Maya had scooped up the dropped files and held them to her chest as she looked at him with wide, questioning eyes. He grabbed her hand, quickly opened the room’s closet door and pushed her inside.

Maya’s chest heaved with the breaths that rose and fell rapidly. She didn’t know whether her heightened state was from being moments away from getting caught in the closet with Sean, or from his arm now draped possessively over her left breast. He took his right arm and pressed her even closer against him, and carelessly brushed her nipple with his left thumb. Maya shivered, afraid to push away lest she bump into something and make a noise that would get them both discovered.

Sean closed his eyes, savoring the feeling of his woman next to him. She felt so good, smelled so good. He hugged her tighter, becoming bolder with his movements. He let his hand drop down to the hem of Maya’s oversized T-shirt, then slid his hand up under it. Maya’s hand and adamant shake of the head weren’t enough to stop his lustful wandering. After a second attempt to push his hand away, she stopped trying. If he removed his hand now, she might die.

Maya’s huge sweatpants gave easy access to the paradise Sean loved. He heard Maya’s faint intake of breath as he pushed his fingers gently against her love bush. His tongue flicked against her ear, and then her neck, as his fingers continued their journey downward. All the while he listened, heard Cecilia slowly walking the perimeter of the office, knew when she’d stepped onto the carpeted area, knew when she went to the window, and knew that even now she was looking out at the magnificent ocean view.

Maya’s body pressed against Sean’s involuntarily. Her legs parted of their own volition. It had been hours, it had been a lifetime, since they’d been together. She turned, wrapped her arms around his neck, and devoured his mouth.

Sean gave as good as he got. He clasped Maya’s round butt and pushed it toward his hardening shaft. He wanted her desperately; it took everything he had to keep his wits about him, to remember where he was and everything that was at stake. He kissed Maya passionately and dipped his head to take her hard nipple into his mouth. Maya’s gasp was audible then. She reached for his belt buckle just as he heard the outside door close. Sean stopped abruptly.

Sean turned from lover to professional Private I in a heartbeat. “You need to go,” he said, straightening her clothes. “I hear Cecilia’s footsteps upstairs now. She’s probably looking for you. Hurry out, go through the kitchen and come back through the garage. Tell her you thought you heard something.” He pressed his lips against hers one last time, caressing her booty at the same time. “Now go!”

Sean opened the closet door and pushed her out. Maya barely had time to think, let alone react. She hurried to the door, which she noted Cecilia had locked. Looking quickly to the left and right, she ran down the hall, out the kitchen, through the garage, and back through the door that led to the laundry room. Sean was right. Cecilia came around the corner just as she stepped inside.

“I’m off the rest of the day but forgot my cell phone. What are you doing out there?”

“I, uh, thought I heard something,” she said, not having to act much to adopt a scared, frantic tone. “In the garage.” Maya continued, catching her breath. “Sounded like a rat or something!” Thinking of Sean, she realized the last statement she made was the one closest to truth.

“A rat?” Cecilia repeated, immediately looking at the mounds of clothes around her.

“I didn’t find nothin’,” Maya continued, looking around as well. “But I better hurry up with this washing, get these clothes off the floor. We wouldn’t want to give a big rodent like that a place to hide!” Maya reached into the dryer, put those items on the folding table, placed the wet linens in the dryer and a fresh load in the wash. When she looked up, Cecilia was nowhere in sight. Guess the talk of a big rat squelched any questions she might have had about where Maya was or why more hadn’t been done in the time Cecilia had been gone. Thank God for small favors. Maya’s mind was mush: Sean’s stopping by had totally unnerved her; she would have totally failed a Cecilia-style interrogation.

Maya’s mind was on Sean the whole time she folded the towels. Was he still in the house? If not, how had he gotten out? She’d been listening, and had heard no door open or close since returning to the laundry room. And what about his car? Had it been parked right outside? Did Cecilia know what it looked like? Did she know Sean? How had Sean gotten into the house? And how had he gotten out?

Sean leaned his head back against the car’s head-rest. While Cecilia was in the laundry room talking to Maya, he’d eased out the side door next to the ocean, the one that intersected with the bike path. Then he’d crossed over to the condo building, staying close to the shrubbery until he reached the sidewalk, where he casually unlocked and stepped into his Mercedes, the car he switched with the BMW when going from Sam to Sean.

He dialed Maya’s number and got voicemail, as he’d expected.

“Baby,” he said after the beep, “you know we’ve got to finish what we started. Call me when you leave there, let me know everything is okay.”

There was a smile on his face as he drove towards the Marina. There was still confusion surrounding B&A, Rosenthal and his potential Angel’s Way connection, but one thing was crystal clear: he was back on track with Maya. With her in his life no matter what else, his world was right side up.

Trish lugged her large carry-on bag inside the door and kicked off her heels. She was sore, tired, dehydrated, and if anybody asked her to eat another piece of chicken, they’d get a beat-down. She’d never been happier in her life.

After taking a long, hot shower, Trish came out and checked her phone messages. She’d purposely not done so while driving home. She figured since Tony was out, he’d be calling and wanting to come over. But since she knew she wouldn’t have the strength for his all-night lovemaking sessions after the long hours on the set, she’d put off trying to talk to him…until now.

He picked up on the first ring. “Hey, baby, where you been? I’ve been calling you all day.”

“Yeah, I’ve been calling you for the last few days.”

“I know, I know, I’ve been rather unavailable.”

Trish closed her eyes, hoping Tony would come clean about being in jail. If he couldn’t be honest with her, there was no hope for the relationship. “Tony, where have you been?”

There was only a slight pause before he answered. “Aw, baby, they had me on lock for a minute, some bullshit about a past warrant and some old gang-related nonsense. They were just sniffin’ out a brotha, trying to see what they could find out and whatnot.” His speech became even lower and slower than usual. Trish loved it when he talked like that.

“I been missing you, baby…feel me?” he asked.

“Yeah…I feel you.”

“So, can a brotha come over? Get some lovin?”

“You know I want you. But I’ve had a long day, Tony. See, I got this commercial and—”

“Commercial…for real? You gon’ be on TV and thangs?”

He sounded impressed. It made Trish smile and reminded her why she was crazy about this man, police record and all. “Yeah, I’m going to be on TV. It’s a national ad.”

“What you selling, baby?”

Trish hesitated for only a second. “Champion’s.”

There was absolute silence on the other end.

“Tony? You there?”

“That new chicken chain? Aw, baby, not fried chicken.”

“What, you said you loved their chicken…said it was way better than KFC. Wait a minute…we’ve hit their drive-through plenty of times. We can eat it but I can’t sell it? We can spend our money there but they can’t spend money on me?”

“C’mon now, that’s not what I said. It’s just that they should have you selling some designer wear, diamonds, furs, shit like that. Not no damn chicken! I don’t want you doing that, baby.”

The same voice that moments ago had stirred Trish’s love juices was now grinding on her last nerve. Who was he to tell her what she should and shouldn’t do? True, his “d” was long, but his paper needed to be longer before he could start calling these kinds of shots.

“Excuse me? Do you know how hard it is to get a commercial, a national ad? Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting for a break like this?”

Trish tried to get Tony to see her point of view, explaining that this chain was the first to come along in years to give the number-one fast food chicken chain serious competition.

“Don’t trip, baby, I know this is cool and all. I’m just sayin…I don’t know if I want my woman selling chicken on TV.”

“Well, until you are paying your woman’s bills and all of her other responsibilities, you’re just going to have to let your woman make it do what it do. And for what they’re paying me, I’ll turn
into
a ‘d’ chicken…know what I’m sayin’?” To prove her point, Trish started squawking.

Tony was upset, but Trish’s craziness calmed him down. This was a good woman and he was going to try to keep his temper under control, a trait that had blown relationships with other women. After this job for Money, Trish would be able to do whatever she wanted to, hell, maybe he’d eventually bankroll a movie with her in the starring role. He could finally go legit. He and his boy Stretch were getting ready to suit up.

“So…can I come over?”

“Tony, baby, I have to be up in, like, four hours. Can I make it up to you this weekend? I had just got home when I called you, am tired as ‘h,’ and still need to practice lines. We’re doing three different commercials, and this is just the beginning of a campaign that’s going to run for almost a year!”

“Yeah, okay, whatever.” Tony didn’t try and hide his disappointment. “I’ll holla later.” He hung up without good-bye.

Trish sat in her darkened living room, wondering how one could feel so elated yet so empty at the same time. She’d hoped Tony would be as excited about her project as she was; ask her questions, offer to help her run lines, be there for her. Maybe that was asking too much. Tony had never tried to be anything other than what he was: a thug out of Long Beach, smart enough to be the CEO of any company, yet a man who’d gotten his GED while in prison. She spent most of her time looking at the good things he had to offer: his wit, charm, intelligence, a body L.L. Cool J would envy, and a penis that should be trademarked it looked and felt so good. If it weren’t for the fact that he’d have to sleep with so many women, she would have suggested he give adult movies a try. He definitely had the physique and stamina for it, and maybe he could get out of the illegal games he played that, while risky, paid so well.

Trish got up from the couch and headed toward her bedroom. The phone rang. It was Maya. “Hey, girl.”

“Hey, how did it go? You ready to give the leading ladies some competition?”

“Child, those sistas are a long way from needing to worry about my ‘a.’ I had fun, though.”

“You sound tired. Feel like talking about it?”

Trish gave Maya a brief rundown of her day. “I never thought I’d be a vegetarian, but after eating all that chicken…give me a ‘d’ soy burger, okay? Some beans, a salad…I don’t want anything that resembles an animal at this point!”

“Oh Lord, girl. I never thought I’d hear of you not wanting meat. You must be tired and full!”

“Girl, you know I’m playing. Somebody trying to take meat off my plate will get forked!”

“Now, that’s the Trish I know,” Maya said, laughing. “I was wondering where she went. Speaking of whereabouts, have you heard from Tony? I still haven’t heard from Malcolm and I’ve been calling him since you left last night.”

Trish filled Maya in on her and Tony’s conversation. “I love me some Tony,” Trish said in conclusion. “I just don’t know if love is enough. I want it to be…”

“Don’t let love for his loving blind you,” Maya warned. “No man is worth your getting in trouble with the law, Trish. Tony needs to be straight with you about what he’s involved in, at least as it affects you. And every time he comes over to your house, you’re indirectly affected.”

“I know I need to find out just what’s going on. We’re going to have that talk the next time he comes over. I knew better than to bring it up over the phone.”

“I’m glad to hear that, Trish. I know you’re a big girl but I worry about you.”

“Well, you worry too much. But I appreciate it. So is it on for us this weekend, you, me, Tony and Sean?”

“It was so crazy today, I forgot to ask him, Trish. He’s all caught up in the work he’s doing.”

“You said some detective work, right? Sounds mysterious, adventurous, my kind of fun.”

It was Maya’s kind of fun too, she thought after saying good-bye and hanging up the phone. The kind that had her wet and panting in an office closet. Sean had been busy when she called him back, an unexpected meeting with someone from China. She was glad to not have to hide the whole Martha charade anymore, and felt even better about her plans to tell Zeke she wanted out of the assignment. Sean said there was nothing shady about Sam Walters and she believed him.

She went to sleep imagining herself wrapped in Sean’s arms.