The Devil Is a Lie (12 page)

“So yes, I need the money.” He sighed. “But you’ve got to understand that the last thing I want to do is hurt you.”

She almost laughed in his face. “For somebody who doesn’t want to hurt me, you always do a pretty good job.”

Todd dropped his head in shame. Nina wanted to hate him, but she couldn’t help thinking that he was being sincere. Her heart was trying to block out the painful past and only recall the good times.

“I can’t say it enough. I’m sorry.”

“Whatever, Todd,” she said, regaining her feeling of annoyance. She was tired of his BS. She needed to just get down to business. “The reason I asked you to come here was so that I could offer you a deal.”

He looked at her in bewilderment. “What type of deal?”

“One million. Flat. Drop this ridiculous quest to get half, and as soon as I get the money from the lottery commission, I’ll get you a cashier’s check.”

He paused, struck by some idea. She waited to see if he would say something and kept talking when he didn’t.

“I mean, really, you can’t beat the offer. My attorney—who is one of the best in the business—is already working on pulling information to support the fact that we both believed the divorce was finalized. He’ll bring up your infidelity, which of course will make all the papers. I know it would break your mother’s heart to read how much of a whore her son was.” She pushed a stray hair out of her eye. The more she talked, the more she felt empowered. “So when you get right down to it, it’s a win-win for everyone. You get money you don’t deserve at all. I get to go on with my life.”

“And marry Rick?”

She looked at him like he was crazy. No, he didn’t have the nerve to look bothered.

“And marry Rick,” she said with finality. “Or you can risk going to court, incurring court costs, and not getting a dime.”

He actually looked like he was contemplating it. She had expected him to laugh in her face.

Encouraged, Nina stood up. “Think about it, Todd. My attorney will be in touch by five
P.M.
tomorrow.” She headed toward the door. Todd had always been so fair. She prayed that he would take her up on her offer.

T
he shouting and laughter in the bar couldn’t drown out the thoughts that had been eating Todd alive. He couldn’t believe how nervous he was. He’d barely been able to make it through his shift, and then he’d come straight to Carrington’s in hopes that Lincoln could give him some advice.

“So, man, what do you think?” Todd asked his friend.

Lincoln was just as conflicted as Todd. “Dog, you know there’s a part of me that’s like, awww naw, get every nickel you can.” He hesitated. “But there’s another part of me that’s like, Nina is such a sweetheart and you did do her bad.”

“I know that.” Todd groaned.

The two of them were seated at their usual spot at the bar, although they were just nursing beers, since they both had to
work the next day. “In addition to doing her bad,” Lincoln continued, “you did think the divorce was finalized. It just ain’t right. Think about if the tables were turned and she had left you for another man and came back after you hit the lotto, dude in tow, trying to get half your money. You wouldn’t be able to handle that. Shoot, you can barely handle her being with this Rick dude, and y’all ain’t been together in over a year.”

Todd released a heavy sigh. “You got a point.”

“Seriously, you might want to think about taking her up on her offer. I mean, a million dollars is a lot of money. It should be more than enough to take care of Grams and keep a little change in your pocket. Dog, I think I’d have to take the offer. For real. What if the judge decided you don’t get anything?”

Tannie was washing out glasses nearby. “I have to agree with Lincoln here,” she said, flashing a smile at Todd. “A bird in the hand beats being broke.”

“See, I knew we were soul mates,” Lincoln said flirtatiously.

She laughed as she took his empty glass and went to wait on another customer.

Lincoln stood up. “Sorry, dude. Gotta run. Leslie is cooking and she’s gonna have a fit if I’m late.”

Todd laughed. Lincoln always tried to play the ladies’ man, but deep down he was a sucker for a relationship. Leslie, his latest girlfriend, might end up being the one who tied him down.

Todd continued nursing his beer. Lincoln’s words were weighing heavily on his mind.
If the tables were turned
…Yeah, he’d be pretty upset. Part of him thought maybe he should take Nina up on her offer, not only because it would be enough
money but also simply because of all the pain he’d caused her. He knew that’s what she was thinking about earlier at Starbucks. He could tell she was replaying the whole relationship in her mind, especially the day Pam came to their house and sent his world spiraling out of control.

Pam had become more and more impatient with being “the other woman.” She wanted Todd to leave Nina, and she complained and fussed about it every waking moment. Truthfully, as much as he was infatuated with Pam, he really didn’t want to leave Nina. As clichéd as it sounded, he loved Nina, he just wasn’t in love with her.

Or so he thought.

After physically fighting with Pam, Nina had put him out. No amount of pleading or crying would change her mind. The day he packed his bags and left, he knew he was going to regret it. But he didn’t have a choice. Nina refused to talk to him.

When he realized his relationship with Nina was really and truly over, he’d focused all his attention on Pam so he wouldn’t have lost everything for nothing.

He’d been miserable ever since.

“Hello…” Tannie was waving her hand in Todd’s face.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Todd replied. “I was thinking.”

“I bet you were,” Tannie said. “I was just asking if you want another drink.”

Todd glanced down at his empty beer glass. “Nah, I’m good.”

“So have you decided what you’re going to do?” Tannie picked up the glass and wiped the bar in front of him.

Todd nodded. “Yeah,” he replied. “I’m gonna take her up on her offer.”

“I think that’s the right thing to do.”

Todd couldn’t agree more. He wanted all of this lotto mess to be over with. Settling was the least he could do since he’d already caused Nina enough pain to last a lifetime. And maybe, just maybe, if he agreed to her deal, she’d see he wasn’t such a bad guy after all.

“S
he wants you to do what?” Pam placed both hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side. As refined as she liked to pretend she was, the ghetto could come out real fast. She was standing over him at the kitchen table. He’d asked her to have a seat so they could talk. But while he’d sat down, she’d refused to.

“I told you, she wants to settle.” Todd steeled himself for the battle with Pam. He had played out the talk he would have with Pam on his drive home from Carrington’s. But even so, he knew Pam wouldn’t see his point.

“Number one, why did you go meet with her in the first place?”

“Pam, do you really want to go to court?”

“Yes,” she cried. “You never know, the judge might give us all the money.”

Todd shook his head at her greed. “You know, Nina brought up a very good point. If we do go to court, her attorney is going to get down and dirty, revealing every messed-up thing I ever did. They’re going to talk about me cheating on her, pull up all the people you slept with.”

Pam was unmoved. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“I don’t know.” Todd was trying not to get frustrated. He’d never convince her that they needed to settle if he got all worked up. “First of all, the longer we fight this, the longer before we get the money, and I need to get Grams into surgery as soon as possible.”

He ignored Pam’s dramatic eye rolling and continued. “Second, if Nina is fighting to keep her money, you can believe she’s going to come at us with everything she has.”

“Well, bring it on. I ain’t ashamed of nothing I’ve done,” Pam said haughtily.

Todd should have expected that reply. “You should be.”

“Whatever, Todd. I’m just saying, we ain’t settling. We’ll settle for four million, that’s what we’ll settle for.”

“Pam, let’s think about this,” he said, trying to be reasonable. “We really don’t deserve any of the money.”

“Why not? You’re still married to her.”

“But I’m not supposed to be. And everybody but you thought Nina and I were divorced. I think she’s being very gracious in offering us a million dollars.”

“Oh, you think she’s being
gracious?
” Pam snapped. “I’m happy you think she’s being
gracious,
but I think she’s trying to play you and you’re the fool if you let yourself be played. The bottom line is, Texas law says you’re entitled to half, so we’re getting our half.”

Todd decided to try another approach. “Pam, have you given any thought to what this could do to my mother? She would die from embarrassment if news of my infidelity were splattered all over the front page of the newspaper.”

“
And?
Your mother would die from embarrassment if she wore white before Easter. Shoot, your mother knows you ain’t no angel, even though she tries to pretend that you are.”

“Pam…”

“Don’t ‘Pam’ me. You let Nina bat her eyes and show you some leg. Now all of a sudden you think settling is a good idea.”

He let out an exasperated sigh. “Nina didn’t bat her eyes, and she didn’t show me any leg. As a matter of fact, she was quite rude, which is understandable.”

Pam waved her hand, palm down. “This discussion is over. We’re not settling.”

Nina’s taunt about Pam running their relationship played in his head, making him mad. “You know what?” he said. “This ain’t even about you. This is between me and her, and I say we need to settle.”

“Oh, it ain’t about me?” she said snidely. “Please, if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t even have a case. So, I’ll say it again—we ain’t settling.”

“You don’t have anything to do with it.”

“If you settle, I’m leaving.”

Todd was taken by surprise, then laughed. That was actually the best news he’d heard all day.

“Okay, I’m not leaving,” she said. In an instant her tone had changed drastically. “But I’m about to be your wife and I think I deserve a say-so in this.”

“Pam, it’s done. I’m taking the deal.” He stood to let her know the conversation was over.

“Now, you know I’m not gonna let this drop just like that.”

He regarded her sternly. “I’m not asking you, I’m telling you.”

She nodded, giving in a little too quickly. “Okay, cool. If that’s the way you want it.”

Todd left the room with his victory in hand, but something told him that despite what she was saying, Pam wasn’t giving in that easily.

T
he jog had done her good. Nina loved running. It cleared her head, and now, more than ever, she needed to be thinking clearly. She had to figure out how to get her life back on track. If Todd didn’t take her deal, it meant months of fighting in court—unless she just gave up the fight on her end. She was feeling a growing uneasiness about Rick. She’d walked in the bathroom this morning and heard him whispering into the phone. She’d tried to eavesdrop but couldn’t make out what he was saying. If he was cheating on her…Nina felt a shadow pass over her heart. “No. Don’t even go there,” she muttered. She couldn’t think that. Rick wasn’t Todd and she was just being paranoid.

Nina glanced at her Timex sports watch. Her car was sup
posed to be ready at ten this morning, and she needed to call someone to give her a ride to the mechanic’s. Nina hadn’t made a lot of plans for the money, but she was heading to the car dealership as soon as possible to buy a new car because her 2002 Maxima was on its last legs. This was her third time in the last six months that she’d had to bring the car to the shop.

When Nina rounded the corner to her street, she stopped midjog. A white Honda Accord was parked on the corner. That was Yvonne’s car, evident by the Playboy bunny hanging from the rearview mirror and the dent in the back from when she hit a BMW in the mall parking lot and took off.

Why is it parked on the corner?
Nina thought. She strained to see her house down the street. Maybe Yvonne’s car had died. But Nina didn’t see her sister standing on the doorstep.

Nina jogged to her house, then eased up the walkway toward the front door. She had an eerie feeling in her gut, and something told her to go around to the back. That’s where she kept her spare key—a key her sister knew about.

Sure enough, the back door was open. Nina was just about to call out to her sister, but a warning voice inside her head told her to keep quiet. She didn’t understand the funny feeling, but she’d learned to trust her instincts. Yvonne was probably sitting on the sofa, watching TV and waiting on her. Still, Nina eased inside. She didn’t see her sister downstairs, so she carefully crept up the stairs toward her bedroom.

Nina stopped right outside the door. She heard voices coming from her bedroom, so she flattened herself against the wall.
She heard someone say, “Girl, are you watching for her car?”

“Yeah, why you think I’m standing at the window? Dang! You need to hurry up. What’s taking you so long? You ain’t found the checkbook yet?” another voice responded.

Nina’s eyes widened in disbelief. Both voices belonged to her cousins, Janay and Janai.

“Yvonne said she usually keeps them in her drawer, but they’re not here. Shoot,” Janai muttered.

“Well, this is crazy anyway,” Janay said. “When Nina can’t find the checkbook, she’s just gonna close the account or put a stop payment on it.”

“That’s why you don’t take the whole checkbook, dumbo. I’m just gonna take out random checks. Yvonne said Nina is so triflin’, she ain’t even gon’ notice her checks are out of order.”

Janay laughed. “You stupid.”

Nina could no longer contain her anger. She stormed into her bedroom. “She’s right about that!”

Both women jumped and exchanged horrified looks.

“What the hell are you doing in my bedroom?” Nina demanded.

Janay, who was always the most vocal of the two, quickly tried to compose herself. “G-girl, what’s going on? I, um, I was looking for your strapless bra. I’m going to this party tonight and I’m wearing this strapless dress and when I tell you it’s off the chain—”

“Janay, quit lying!” Nina snapped.

Janay raised her eyebrow, feigning innocence. “Ain’t nobody lying.”

“Number one, you wear a forty-two triple E. I wear a thirty-six C. Number two, I heard everything you two said.”

Janay knew she was busted. She held up her hands and quickly began trying to explain. “Nina, listen, just hear me out. I’m ’bout to get kicked out of my apartment, and I was just so desperate, and Janai said Yvonne told her—”

“Uh-uh, don’t put me in this!” Janai said, easing over to Nina’s side. “This was all her idea.” She pointed at her twin sister. “I tried to tell her it was wrong. You’re my favorite cousin and I didn’t think it was right the way she wanted to break in here and steal from you.”

“Shut up, Janai,” Nina said. She was disgusted with them both. To think Yvonne had participated in this scam made her stomach churn.

Janay tried again. “For real, cuz. This ain’t what it look like.”

“It is exactly what it looks like. You broke into my house.” Nina’s anger was replaced by disappointment. She and her cousins had never been close, but she never would have thought they would try to steal from her.

Janay’s apologetic expression turned defiant. “Look, what else am I supposed to do? I got bills coming out the wazoo, and you act like you can’t give me a dime. All that money and you too stingy to help out family.”

Nina’s head didn’t feel clear any longer. “How many times do I have to tell you people that the money is tied up in a litigation? I don’t have anything!”

“Whatever,” Janay said, rolling her eyes. “You just trying to be stingy.”

“I don’t go to court until next week,” Nina explained. “But that’s beside the point,” she said, suddenly wondering why she was even standing here debating the issue. “The bottom line is you’re up in my house trying to steal from me.”

Janai stepped toward Nina with fake tears building in her eyes. “I just feel awful about this, Nina. Please don’t hold it against my sister. She was just really desperate and not thinking straight.”

Janay looked offended that her sister was selling her out, but she didn’t say anything.

“Janai, stop trying to play me,” Nina said. “Both of you, get the hell out of my house.”

“But, Nina,” Janai began, “we—”

“I said get out!” Nina screamed. “Now! Before I call the cops and have you both arrested.”

Both women scrambled out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Nina followed to make sure they didn’t grab anything on their way out.

Janai stopped just as she reached the front door.

“Nina, we’re really sorry.”

“Get out.”

Janay shifted nervously. “So, ummm, does this mean you’re not gonna give us any lotto money?”

Nina slammed the door in their faces. Rick seemed to be on the verge of leaving her. Pam and Todd were about to take half her money. Now her family was stealing from her. Right about now, Nina wished she’d never won the lottery.