Blueprint for Love (15 page)

“
You won’t be so cocky
when Veronica finds out what you’ve done,” Allen spat.

Toye asked Ronnie, “Did you know Vic has a
criminal record?”

Allen nodded. “Yeah, did you know he’s an
ex-felon?”

“
Yes,” Ronnie answered, “I
did.”

The look of shock on Toye’s face would have
been comical if Vic weren’t already pissed. “How could you just let
him come into our company—?”

“
Our company?” Ronnie
practically shouted at Toye. “This company belongs to the Jones
sisters, not you! I hire who I want to hire.”

Allen joined in. “Even a common criminal? Do
you know this man’s background? Do you know why he was in
prison?”

“
What I know or don’t know
is none of your business, Allen. In fact, you need to
leave.”

Vic could hear the anger and frustration
mounting in Ronnie’s voice. It was time he took matters into his
own hands. Time he took care of this little shit once and for
all.

He lunged forward, and then grabbed Allen by
the collar and slammed him against the brick wall of Ronnie’s
entryway.

“
No!” Ronnie screamed.
“Vic, don’t do it.”

Vic was blinded by rage. This dude tried to
humiliate him in front of Ronnie. Called the cops on him for some
bullshit trumped up charge. He deserved to have Vic’s fist rammed
down his throat.

“
He’ll kill me!” Allen
cried out. “Just like he killed Samuel Beckley five years
ago.”

Vic went still at the mention of Sam’s
name.

“
I did some
investigating,” Allen continued. “Vic was sent to prison for
assault with a deadly weapon. His hands.”

“
What?” Ronnie asked.
“What are you talking about?”

“
He was an amateur boxer,
trying to go pro. One night, outside of a bar, he beat a man to
death with his bare hands!”

Ronnie gasped. “Oh, my God.” She turned to
Vic. “Is that true?”

Vic released Allen and nodded. “Ronnie, that
wasn’t exactly what happened.” He reached for Ronnie, but she
shrank away from him like he had a disease.

“
Tell me the truth!” She
turned her venom on him. She was half-screaming, half pleading.
“Tell me why you killed a man, Vic. Why?”

His heart sank to the pit of his stomach. He
should have explained. He should have told her before now. He
should have told her everything. About his mom. His sister. He
couldn’t stand the way she was looking at him now like a leper. It
was on the tip of his tongue to explain. But he glanced at Toye and
Allen wearing smug expressions. Allen had been nosing around in his
business. Toye had been a willing accomplice.

If they truly cared for Ronnie, they
wouldn’t have bum-rushed her with this news. They wouldn’t have
called the fucking cops. They were haters, and he’d be damned if he
was going to bare all in front of them. It wouldn’t do him any good
to get angry now and validate everything this punk, Allen had said
about him.

Instead, Vic took the offensive. When he
couldn’t fight physically, he did so with his words.

“
I don’t need this crap,”
he told Ronnie. “If this is the way I’m going to be treated, I’m
out of here. I don’t want to be where I’m not wanted.”

With as much dignity as he could muster, Vic
walked barefoot to his Explorer, got in, slammed the door, and
drove off. If Ronnie had such little faith in him, maybe it was
better if they never saw each other again.

A week later, Ronnie was still in disbelief
over what had happened with Vic. He’d driven away from her house
without so much as a goodbye wave. No calls. No appearances.
Nothing. The only sign she had of him was the work boots he’d left
on her living room floor. She’d put them in the trunk of her car
hoping to be able to give them back to him when he called. But he
never did.

She bit back the feelings of loneliness that
threatened to choke her. It had only been six days, but she missed
him so badly. Correction: she was miserable without him. How could
someone who’d only been a part of her life for a few months have
her stomach in knots?

“
I should be mad at him,
but I can’t force myself to be angry. More than anything, I’m
worried about him. What’s he doing? Where is he
working?”

Ronnie sat across from Quatara on her best
friend’s portico. She’d always loved this second-story patio with
its breath-taking ocean view. Quatara and Bud’s occupations as
engineers afforded them a beautiful home in this exclusive
beach-front location. With no children of their own, Quatara and
Bud put all of their money into their house.

“
Call his P.O. and find
out,” Quatara suggested.

Ronnie sipped the Mimosa,
made with fresh-squeezed orange juice. Quatara had a flair for the
dramatic. She was fond of having brunch with Mimosas for no reason
at all. Ronnie gazed at
the spread Quatara
had put together for just the two of them. Caviar with crackers,
smoked salmon shavings, artichoke dip with red peppers, watermelon
salad, baby zucchini, poached shrimp, and assorted
cheeses.

Normally, Ronnie looked forward to hanging
out with Quatara. But today, she just wanted to hide beneath the
thick duvet of her queen-sized sleigh bed.

Vic’s parole officer had called to say Vic
would not be back, and he’d found another job. The man really
wanted to know if he could count on Three Sisters to give Vic a
good reference. The man also seemed like he wanted to know what was
happening, and why Vic had abruptly quit. Ronnie didn’t divulge the
details, but she did assure him she was pleased with Vic’s work
performance.

Quatara leaned forward in her wicker chair.
Her dark brown eyes captured Ronnie’s. “You know, you’re not the
first woman to be lied to by a man.”

“
Vic didn’t lie to
me.”

“
You asked him about his
prison sentence, but he wasn’t honest with you.”

“
That’s not true, either.
I asked him once. He told me it was complicated. Apparently, it
was.”

“
Okay, so I don’t get why
you’re so mad. You knew he had a record. What’s the
problem?”

“
I’m not mad. I’m just…”
She paused. “I just didn’t know he killed a man.”

“
Well, honey, what did you
think he was in jail for—jaywalking?”

Ronnie smacked her lips. “Of course not. I
guess I never really thought about what he served time for. I
looked past the fact that he was an ex-con. I let my guard down
with him. I was just getting to know him. Then, this happened. Now,
I feel like I don’t know him at all. The man I let kiss me, touch
me in the most intimate places is capable of taking a life.”

Quatara scoffed. “You feel
like you don’t know him at all?” She shook her head. “That’s
because you don’t. Let me tell you something, Ronnie. Vic hasn’t
changed. He’s the same man he’s always been.
You
never took the time to know him.
You never even followed up on the nature of his crime.”

“
So, now, my character is
on trial?”

“
I didn’t say that. You
just got carried away. You let your vagina do the
thinking.”

Ronnie sighed. Her best friend was right.
All it took was one guy to come along and stroke her in all the
right places and she started acting like a cat in heat. “Vic is
surprisingly charismatic,” Ronnie admitted. “He has a way of making
me…forget myself.”

“
Now, you’re just making
excuses.”

“
I know. What kind of
woman am I to lose myself like that? I’ve never been so captivated
by a man. It’s like I’m obsessed or something.”

“
It looks like you’re not
the only one.”

“
What do you
mean?”

“
Allen said he’d done some
investigating and he learned Vic had a past. What do you think
prompted his investigation?”

Ronnie shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“
I do.” Quatara stood and
refilled their glasses. “Allen is a weasel. I never trusted him,
and I don’t think you should either.”

“
What? Oh, c’mon,
girl.”

“
I’m serious. The only
reason Allen was digging up dirt on Vic is because he sees him as
competition.”

“
I’ve given Allen no
reason to think I’m interested in him.”

“
That doesn’t matter. He
wants you. I’ve seen him looking at you, following you around the
room like a loyal dog.”

“
Quatara, you’re creeping
me out.”

“
I’ve got something even
more creepy. I think Allen has been following you, too. Otherwise,
how would the police know where to find Vic that day? They would’ve
had no idea he was at your house.”

Ronnie stopped to consider what her best
friend was saying. Yes, how did the police know where to find Vic?
The two of them had only been at her house for a few hours. Vic
drove her directly from the rock shop to her house.

“
Damn, I never stopped to
think about that,” Ronnie admitted. “I was so busy trying to stop
the police from arresting Vic, I didn’t give any thought to how
they knew where he was.”

“
I don’t know if Vic is
dangerous or not. Only you know that. You’ve spent time with him.
But I do believe Allen is dangerous. You need to keep away from
that guy.”

Ronnie nodded. For the past week, she’d
given Allen what he wanted. She’d pushed Vic away when she’d
learned of his crime. Allen had been calling relentlessly. Checking
on her, he’d said. This only bolstered Quatara’s claim. But Toye
had been there with Allen, too. Were they partners in this? Ronnie
still hadn’t forgotten Toye’s brief attempts to seduce Gabe almost
two years ago. Candace had forgiven their cousin, but she hadn’t
forgotten. Neither had Ronnie. She hated to think Toye was involved
in trying to humiliate Vic. Why hadn’t Toye come to her personally
and told her, instead of crushing her world in public?

“
Truthfully, I don’t know
what to believe anymore.”

“
I think you owe it to
yourself to talk to Vic again. Ask him what happened five years
ago.”

“
I already know he’s
guilty.”

“
Yes, but do you know his
version of the story?”

Ronnie shook her head. “No.”

“
Well, it’s high time you
found out.”

# # #

Monday, Ronnie dragged herself to work,
hiding behind a pair of dark sunshades. She certainly didn’t feel
like working. She was in a funk. She’d left Quatara’s house well
after five p.m. yesterday. She went home and promptly threw up.
Then, she fell asleep. She had no business consuming all that
champagne. She wasn’t a drinker by nature, but somewhere after the
fifth glass, she’d suffered a mini meltdown. She’d almost called
Vic, but changed her mind three times.

When Jovan woke her up this morning to tell
her he was leaving for school, she felt even worse. She’d neglected
him the night before. It was no big deal to him. He figured she was
feeling bad, so he’d let her sleep while he played video games on
the big screen TV in the den. But it was a big deal to her. She
didn’t want to turn into her mother, leaving her kids to fend for
themselves. She wanted Jovan to enjoy his childhood for as long as
he could.

By the time she made it into the office at
ten a.m., two hours past her normal scheduled arrival, Ronnie was
not in the mood for Olivia’s jokes.

“
Well, well. Look what the
cat dragged in,” Olivia purred. “Did somebody have a hot date that
I’m unaware of?”

“
Coffee. Black. Please.”
Ronnie walked past Olivia’s desk with no further
instructions.

“
Oh, Allen called for you.
He said to call him when—”

“
No calls today.
Especially not from him.”

“
Uh, okay.”

“
I’m going in my office
and I don’t want to be disturbed.”

“
What about payroll? If
you want me to cut Vic’s final paycheck, I’ll need you to sign
it.”

Ronnie choked back a sob at the thought of
severing the last tie between her and Vic. “Fine,” was all she
said. She didn’t trust herself to say anything else.

Ten minutes later, the door to Ronnie’s
office opened. Figuring it was Olivia with her coffee, Ronnie
didn’t bother to look up from her computer.

“
Finally,” she
murmured.

“
Since you won’t return my
calls, I decided to stop by.” Ronnie looked up to see her cousin,
Toye holding a steaming mug. “I brought your caffeine fix,” Toye
added.

Ronnie pursed her lips. “Is it safe to
drink?”

Toye smirked as she sat the cup on Ronnie’s
desk. “How could you even ask that?”

“
Simple. I don’t know if I
can trust you anymore.”

Ronnie stared at the woman she’d helped
raise. Toye’s mother overdosed when she was thirteen years old.
Ronnie, only four years older than her, had taken her in, adding
her to the list of responsibilities. But she never complained.
Toye’s mama and Ronnie’s mama were like peas in a pod—two rotted
peas who attracted even more rotten men and bad habits.

Toye’s grey eyes softened. “Where did we go
wrong, Ronnie?”

“
You mean, where
did
you
go
wrong.”

“
I thought I was doing the
right thing.”