Risking It All (31 page)

Julissa froze and looked up at Michael who had a smug look on his face. He nodded, as if to tell her to continue.

She didn’t want to c
ontinue, but she was curious
to figure out just how far Michael had gone to incriminate her. The next picture really got her shook up. The photo was a little fuzzy, but it appeared that someone had taken a picture through a window of them kissing on a couch. It looked like the basement door window. Several pictures of them kissing. Pictures of them walking inside the house. And then the most incriminating picture of them all, a picture taken against the kitchen window of her buck-naked, posed in the center of the kitchen island. There was also a picture of Quinton with his head buried between her legs and her feet on his
shoulders. Julissa almost had a
heart attack. The next picture was of them fucking in the kitchen on the island. Quinton’s firm backside between her spread legs.

Julissa clutched her chest and the pictures fell out of he
r hands in a heap on the floor.
“How could you?
”

Michael laughed. “How could I? Are you asking me that? I could hardly believe that the woman in that picture was you.”

“How could you take these pictures? Like this?”

Michael smiled. “Let me ask you this, Julissa. Do you want him? Is he better in bed than I am?”

“I want him. Yes, I do.
” Julissa picked up her bag again and threw it over her shoulders.

“Are you sure about that?” Michael reached in his suitcase again an
d pulled out another folder. He opened the folder out
on the bed.

The pages appeared to be laminated, like a book, or a report of some sort. The first page read, Quinton Omar Brennan, Age 31, Occupation: Software Engineer, Net Worth: $730,000. Julissa flipped to the next page and read over information about the last five places Quinton lived, a list of property he owned in Florida and Georgia. People, places, and things that he was affiliated with. Information that she and Quinton had never talked about. There was even a list of moving violations and parking tickets that he had gotten in Florida and Georgia. There was a criminal background check. That report was clean.

Julissa looked up at Michael. “You have got to be kidding me? Are you crazy?”

“Go on, Julissa, let’s see who’s the crazy one,” he egged her on.

Julissa turned to the next page and saw a picture of Quinton looking extremely handsome and sexy in a black blazer suit. It looked as though he were modeling for something. Then, she turned the page and there was Quinton again in another business suit, with glasses. He looked like one of those businessmen you see working Wall Street. But, Quinton didn’t wear glasses. Something was not right about these pictures. The way he seemed to be taunting himself in the pictures. There were several glossy pages torn from magazines of Quinton model
ing boxers and briefs.
All the pictures seemed to be current pictures of Quinton. Probably no more than three or four years earlier. Where had Michael gotten this stuff?

The next picture was of Quinton surrounded by women in nothing but a pair of boxers, their hands were all over him, touching his chest an
d groping his penis. The next picture…same thing. H
e was standing in front of a woman who was seated in a chair and
he appeared to be dancing
with his enormous erection almost sticking out of his boxers. The woman before him had money between her teeth and was bending forward with it trying to add to all the other bills stuck in the seam of his boxer. Next, there was a photocopy of an advertisement, probably from a newspaper or magazine. It read:
Ladies Only. Need an experienced male stripper for your next event? I specialize in bachelorette parties. Call me for scheduling and pricing. 555-4545. Q-pid.

“Oh, my God.” Julissa dropped the folder and backed away from the bed.

“Do you want him now,
Julissa? You had no idea, did
you?” Michael appeared to be teasing her.

“You’
re a fool. Why would you dig up other people’s business for?” Julissa turned away, not wanting to see anymore incriminating pictures on either her or Quinton.

Michael’s hands jerked her back, snatched her bag off her shoulder and threw her against the headboard. “Where do you think you’re going?!”

“Away from here!” Julissa tried to struggle free of his grip, but he held her tight.

“Are you going to him?
” he hissed

“If I chose to, I will,” she spat.

“What does he have on me, huh? If sex is the problem, we can work on it.” Suddenly, Michael’s voice was calm.

“It’s more than sex, Michael. A relationship is never just about sex.”

“What do you want from me
then?”

“Respect. And love.
But i
t’s too late for us now.
”

“I have always loved you. Don’t you see that this is a test for us? This will only strengthen our relationship. It’s okay to the play the field and now you see that things outside of our relationship weren’t as rosy as they seemed. I’ve played the field, too, Julissa, but I always come back to you. Don’t go to him.”

“What do you mean you’ve played the field?” Julissa stared at him. “Have you cheated on me?”

“
I don’t call it cheating. I call it playing the field. Do you think all those business trips I took over the years were for business only?”

What? He had been cheating on her for years? “You disgust me,” she hissed.

His hands were clutching her throat. “How will you repay me? I paid a hefty price for that investigator and those pictures.”

“Then you’re an idiot because I could have told you myself that I was fucking him!” Suddenly, Julissa didn’t care what Michael did to her. It was time that
she told him the truth, and
suffer the consequences later.

“An idiot? You little bitch.” Michael pulled her by the legs until she was spread in front of him. “If you wanted to get fucked
like a slut
, why didn’t you just say so?” He used his other hand to free himself from his slacks.

“No!”

“Is that what you told…what’s his name…Cupid?”

“No, please…” Julissa pleaded. She struggled against his weight, but it was felt like she was a small rodent being swallowed up by a python.

Michael’s cold fingertips had found her center and he was running them up and down her slit. “If this pussy wasn’t so good, I would throw your ass out with the stray dogs.”

“Don’t do this, Michael.”

“What? You don’t want to be fucked?” Michael stuck a finger in her pussy. “Wel
l, that’s too bad, Julissa. Because
guess what?” He leaned in and pressed his lips to her ear, and whispered, “I’m getting ready to fuck the shit out of you.”

Julissa rallied up all her strength and thrust her knee into Michael’s stomach as hard as she could. When she heard him grunt, she pushed him on the floor. She jumped off the bed and grabbed her bag from across the room, and then she began stuffing the incriminating pictures
and evidence into the bag. “Now
who’s fucked?”

Michael looked at her, rocking back and forth, and grunting in pain as he clutched his stomach. “If you leave this house…” he started, and then he got up, one hand still pressed to his stomach.

“I will be leaving and I won’t be back.”

“Julissa…” The look on Michael’s face was of pain and sadness. However, he lurched forward again for her bag.

She was quicker, as she stepped back. “If you touch me again, I will knee you somewhere else.”

Michael’s eyes widened in what seemed like fury. “Well, you know what? You can
go run to your male
gigolo!” He tried to get up. “Look around you
. L
ook at everything you had
here. That fucking dress you have on. The Lexus in the driveway.
When I met you, you were nothing. I made you!
I
f you leave this house, don’t step foot back in it, you ungrateful bitch!”

Julissa reached up and for the first time, she slapped Michael
violently
across his face, just like he’d slapped her.
“Who’s the bitch now?”

His mouth hung open, but he said nothing.

She snatched
the engagemen
t ring off her fi
nger and tossed it inside the
briefcase on top of all the incriminating pictures
.
“We’re through.”

Barefoot, she ran down the stairs and ran out of the door. She backed out
of the driveway, kno
w
ing already
where she was heading.

**

Julissa sat in the car, letting it run idle for several minutes, before she shut off the engine. She reached in the duffle bag beside her, gathered up
what she’d taken of
the folders, and got out of the car. She rang the doorbell and moments later his smiling face appeared at the door.

“What took you so long, baby?”

“Believe me…when you find out, you won’t be very happy.”

Noticing her unsmiling face, Quinton erased the smile off his. He took her hands and gently pulled her inside. “What’s wrong?” He took her in his arms and kissed her forehead.

“Michael’s known about us for a few days now.”

“Tell me what happened.
”

“We had an argument
. And I left.”

Quinton led h
er further into the house. “
There’s no furniture to sit on up here. Let’s go down in the basement.”

When they were seated, Julissa let her tears fall and Quinton immediately hugged her to his chest. “He knew all along. He was following us and Christina…she told him…and I couldn’t convince him that it was over before you…and…”

“Julissa…calm down…can we start from the beginning, please? I feel like you’re talking in circles.”

“Christina told him about us sometime last week. He followed me around and he saw me come here. He was so mad,”
Julissa used her cardigan
to wipe her tears.

“It’s okay. You were gonna tell him anyway. Everything is okay now. I’m here for you. Anything you need. I’m here. We’re together, now,
that’s all that matters. Right?
” Quinton whispered.

“Right.”

“I love you, Julissa, okay?”

“I love you, too, Q.”

“Come here.” Quinton reached for the sides of her face and she flinched. Seeing the pain in her face, he lifted her hair from her cheeks. She wasn’t sure what he saw, but his face became contorted, and then angry. “You’re kidding me, right?”

“What?”

“Your face is puffy. Here.” He touched her cheek gently with his fingertips and watched as she squeezed her eyes closed. “Did he hit you?”

Julissa bit her lips and didn’t say a word.

“I can’t believe this!” Quinton stood up and started towards the stairs. “You stay here.”

“Where are you going?” Julissa jumped up to follow him.

“To exchange a few ch
oice words with him. Perhaps that little wimp
would like to take his anger out on someone similar to his own size.” Julissa had never seen Quinton so angry before.

“No! Please, don’t go.” Julissa grabbed his arms.

“Listen to me, baby,” Quinton said. He kissed her lightly on both cheeks. “You don’t deserve that. What kind
of a man puts his
hand
s
on a woman? No woman deserves that no matter what she did. Do you hear me?”

She nodded.
“I know. But, he was so angry, because I was cheating on him with you.”

“I don’t care what you did. He’s not supposed to hit you. Do me a favor and get cleaned up? I’ll be back.”

“Please don’t go. I need you here with me.”

“I know what you’re doing, Lissa. But, if I ever see him, I promise you…I will not be able to keep my hands to myself.”

“There’s something else that you need to know. You need to see it.” Julissa knelt down on the stairs and Quinton sat down next to her, pulling her into him.

“What’s that?”

Julissa handed him the folder. “These are the pictures that Michael had a private investigator take of you and me…together. He also pulled up some information on you.”

Quinton gave her a knowing look and then opened the folder. As he looked through everything, there was no emotion on his face. He finally closed the folder and threw it on the floor.

“Why didn’t you tell me, Q? Why did
n’t you tell me that you’re a
stripper?”

“I
was
a stripper. I have
n’t done that in
years. He should have gotten the facts straight before he gave you this information. Yes, I was male stripper. That’s how I earned my money to pay off my student loans.”