Vegas Surrender (10 page)

I slapped my card on the counter and waited for
her to get to the register before downing my poison. The liquid
singed my throat as it went down. I banged the small glass on the
table and looked to her for another.

She gave me a quizzical look but did my
bidding. “You want to talk about it?” The bartender handed me
another glass.

“
About my husband fucking a woman I
didn’t stop from joining in with us? Nope.” I downed the second
round.

“
This one’s on me. You need it.
Sorry.” Her eyes saddened. She left me alone and walked off to deal
with patrons on the other end of the bar.

The drink did little to lesson my anger and the
self-pity bubbling up. I dug my cell phone out my purse and dialed
a number.

“
Hello.”

“
Tina.” My voice
cracked.

“
What’s wrong, sis?” Her voice was
void of all jokes and banter.

“
It’s Daniel. He’s cheating on
me.”

“
What? No. Not Daniel. How do you
know?”

My chest heaved. “That woman. Cynthia. I saw
her leaving his office. He denied it, but I heard a message she
left questioning if I was on to them.”

“
This doesn’t make sense. Daniel
loves you.”

“
I’m sure all the other men who
cheat on their wives put on a big front too. I don’t think it’s
about love. She offers something exciting and new.”

“
There has to be more to this.” Her
tone remained calm and steady.

“
What? I thought you’d be doing a
parade with the I told you so’s. The white man did what you thought
he would.” My words slurred.

“
Come on. Yes, I’d admit it came to
me as a shock at first, but I love Daniel. I’d never met a kinder
or gentler man. His love for you knows no bounds.”

“
Well, apparently it does.” The
tears flowed.

The bartender handed me a tissue and went back
to helping the other customers. I didn’t care how I looked. My
appearance wouldn’t change the fact of my husband cheating on
me.

“
Oh, Jen. I’m so sorry.”

I grabbed my purse and got of the stool. “I’m
coming over. I can’t face him.”

“
Are you okay to drive? You sound
like you’ve been drinking.”

“
I’m fine.” I hung up.

Through blurred, tear-stained eyes, I made the
twenty minute drive to Stone Mountain. Tina greeted me with open
arms. “I still can’t believe this. There has to be more to it.” She
hugged me.

I had no more words. My head pounded, and I
needed a nap. In a daze, I stumble to her couch. I slumped down and
dozed off.

Chapter
Fourteen

I woke with a start. My eyes slowly adjusted to
the darkness. I stretched. Something pressed against my leg. The
outline of a body formed.

“
What the hell are you doing here?”
I gave Daniel the hardest shove I could muster and pushed him away
from me.

He caught himself before falling all the way
off the couch.

“
You didn’t come home so I was
worried. Tina finally told me you were here.”

“
Hump. You were worried. You
weren’t too worried when you were screwing that bitch in your
office.” I sat upright on the couch. I’d deal with Tina for being a
snitch later.

“
We’ve been through this. I thought
we were okay.” He reached out to my leg, and I moved it
away.

“
I believed your lies until I heard
her message. Why should it matter to her if I showed up at my
husband’s office unannounced?”

“
Dammit, Jennifer. I’m not messing
around on you. You have to believe me.”

“
I don’t know what to believe.
Maybe Dr. Patrick is wrong. We are headed for divorce.” I stood and
put distance in between us.

“
You don’t know what you’re saying.
I love you and will never do anything to hurt you.” The dim light
from the cable box cast a low glow on him. His hazel eyes simmered.
My heart told me to believe him, but my brain said I’d be a
fool.

“
I used to believe that. Please
leave. I need time to think.”

He slowly rose of the couch. “I’ll give you
some space, but I didn’t do anything and you will not ever say
you’ll divorce me again.”

His lips grazed my check. I resisted the urge
to pull him closer, annoyed my body wanted to react to him. Daniel
was a liar and a cheater. He left me standing there and stormed out
the front door.

I collapsed on the couch and finished off a
fitful night of rest. Morning came, and I groaned as Tina messed
around in her kitchen. Her apartment was so tiny I could hear and
see almost everything she did.

A fresh pot of coffee finally drew me from the
couch.

“
What are you going to do?” She
handed me a cup.

“
I’m going to go home and wash my
ass and then go to work. Too many woman let their lives stop
because of a man. I won’t be one of them.”

Tina rolled her eyes. “I mean about your
husband. You guys need to talk.”

“
We did. I don’t believe
him.”

“
He’s the love of your
life.”

“
So?” I dumped two scoops of sugar
in my mug and stirred.

“
Act like it and find out the truth
first. If you don’t believe him, I don’t know. Talk to the Cynthia
woman or something?”

I narrowed my eyes at Tina. “As if she’d tell
the truth or worse, what if she told me way more than I wanted to
hear.” I gasped at the notion. What if Daniel had her the same way
he’d had me? Did he lick her inner thighs until she begged for
mercy? What if she’d allowed him to do something we’d never
done—anal? He’d never asked for it but still. What if she were a
woman who begged for it? What if he liked it?

Tina snapped a finger. “Jennifer? Okay, let’s
say he did cheat. Are you just going to let some hussy come and
take your husband?”

I hadn’t thought of it that way. Was I willing
to give up everything and let another woman step in and take over
my life? I knew first hand Cynthia was a gold digger. She all but
said so herself, and she’d hinted to not being with her husband for
much longer. Hell no that woman would not get my Daniel. Not
without a fight.

We finished up our coffee, and I headed out. My
body reeked of liquor. I required a shower and good tooth brushing
well before stepping in my office.

The garage door creaked open, and I held my
breath. I let it out when I realized his truck didn’t sit on the
right side. In all my boldness about putting up a fight, I still
hadn’t prepared myself for facing him just yet. Daniel would not
get off easy. Hell could freeze over, and I still wouldn’t let him
have sex with me again.

Now that the gig was up, I doubted he’d
continue to sneak around with her. From now on, he was on a short
leash and had lots of making up to do.

I went inside the house and warmed up the
shower while giving myself the once over in the mirror. My caramel
skin and brown eyes had many of men giving me the second glance. I
kept my body in shape, which was a plus. Daniel better pray I never
had the urge to step out on him. I’d have no problem pulling an
attractive man.

I shook the thought from my mind. I didn’t want
another man. Daniel had my heart. He just needed to put in work in
order to keep it that way.

The water warmed my skin as I stepped in. It
beat away my woes. I scrubbed away my funk and stepped out. Kathy
hadn’t called yet, but she would. Any time I came late, it normally
was on my calendar. Today I didn’t have a reason.

I dressed and made the short commute to my
office. Arriving after ten made the drive all the more bearable due
to the lessened traffic.

“
Morning, Kathy.” Not in the mood
for idle chit chatter, I continued past her desk.

“
Jen.”

“
We’ll talk later,” I said over my
shoulder.

“
There something…”

I ignored her and opened the door to my office.
Green piercing eyes gazed up at me. “What the hell are you doing
here?”

Cynthia stood and walked toward me with a smile
plastered to her face. “Jennifer. Hi. I decided to come in early
for my appointment.”

This was my office. How dare she? I maintained
my composure, not wanting her to see she’d gotten the best of me.
“I’ve decided to no longer retain you as a client. I won’t take
money from a two-bit man-stealing whore.”

“
Excuse me?” Her eyes widened. The
appearance gave off the oh-no-she-didn’t look. Well, you
man-stealing heifer, yes, I did.

“
You left a message for my husband
wondering if I saw you. I did. From now on, if you dare come close
to Daniel, I will carve those green eyes right out your pretty
little skull.”

“
It’s not what you think. But I can
see you’re clearly upset.” She picked up her purse and
stood.

My frame blocked the doorway. “Upset? Hardly.
I’m mad as hell. Daniel is my husband whom I built a life with. I
will not let him go for the likes of you.”

“
You don’t want me as a client,
fine. I’m not going to take much more of your insults. If you’ll
excuse me.” She brushed by me and covered the distance from my
office to the front door in no time.

I close my door and slumped down in one of my
oversized chairs, burying my face in my hands. My body shook. I
willed myself to calm down before I truly lost it. Where did those
words come from? I came off like a sadistic lunatic. No matter. I
saw it in her eyes. She knew better than to cross me
again.

A slight tapping sounded at my door.

“
Yes.”

Kathy poked her head in. “Are you okay? That
woman ran out of here as if she’s seen a ghost.”

“
Everything’s fine.”

The sideways glance she gave me said she didn’t
believe me. “Okay.” She backed out my office.

I counted down from ten and got to work. Hours
passed, and I buried myself in my clients’ affairs. Daniel called
two or ten times, and I ignored him. If we spoke, I’d break down
and I needed to concentrate.

Six o’clock came around, and I finally called
it a day. Kathy had ventured off an hour earlier. I closed up the
office and went to play in traffic. The ride home would help clear
my mind, or at least lesson my thoughts on committing
murder.

Chapter
Fifteen

Fridays in Atlanta were hectic. At six
thirty-five, I’d barely moved four miles. I’d had enough of the
celebrity gossip and turned off my radio. Who cares what Kanye and
Kim K. were up to? I had my own drama.

How in the world could I pretend everything
would be okay between Daniel and me? Three years of marriage had
boiled down to this. My marriage didn’t fare any better than anyone
else’s. He was a good man and I knew it. But cheating. The tears
fell again.

I dabbed my eyes. In all my effort to put on
the most expensive and complimenting outfit I owned, it couldn’t
hide my pain. On Monday, I’d place a call to Dr. Patrick’s office.
We’d get through this.

My phone rang, interrupting my pity
party.

“
Yes, Tina.”

“
Where are you?”

“
In traffic. Where else?” It came
out more curt than it should have. To my credit, I’m stressed out
and darn near sitting in a parking lot on I85 didn’t
help.

“
You need to get to the W Hotel
ASAP!”

“
What’s going on?” I didn’t feel
like playing the guessing game.

“
Daniel and that Cynthia chick are
here. I’m sitting outside and saw it with my own two
eyes.”

All the air in my car sucked out. I couldn’t
breathe. My fingers fumbled across the panel in desperation until
the window rolled down. “What?”

“
Get here. I’m going inside to see
where they’re headed.” She hung up.

Pains stung my chest. Damn him. Here I was,
ready to work through his infidelity, and he gets a room with
her
.

I whipped my car over to the shoulder and
bypassed the other cars to get to the nearest exit. If it hadn’t
been for the traffic, I’d have been at home and have to back track.
From my location, I would be at the W Hotel in a few
minutes.

My head throbbed, and I found it hard to
concentrate on the road, but my anger got me through. Screw finding
a parking spot. I pulled up to the valet. He barely had a chance to
hand me the ticket. I made a mad dash into the lobby.

No sign of anyone. I called Tina. The phone
rang several times and then went to voicemail. I hung up, and a
text came through.

They’re in the bar.

I dropped my phone in my purse and changed my
course. I’d planned on shaking the hotel clerk down for answers. My
legs grew wobbly as I neared the door. I knew once I walked
through, my life would change. The fear of actually seeing them two
together set in. I hesitated. No. They would see me and Daniel
would know without a shadow of a doubt that I’m leaving his no good
ass. I forced my legs forward.