Craving Temptation (20 page)

Rasheeda shifted her gaze to stare back at her brother. She lifted her mouth into a polite smile and nodded. “Whatever you say, Basil!”

Troy maneuvered his car toward his law office. He took a quick glance at the digital clock on the dashboard. He needed to be headed to the high school for the town hall meeting but Rachel had insisted on seeing him first. He hadn't been able to reach Amina and he'd been trying to call her for over an hour, his calls going directly to voice mail. He imagined she was already at the municipal building waiting for her family to arrive.

She hadn't slept well and her restlessness had made it difficult for him to sleep. He sensed that there was more wrong than she'd been willing to tell and that bothered him. They had each sworn to never keep any secrets from the other but there was something Amina was afraid to tell him. There was little that scared his beautiful wife so he could only begin to imagine what was tearing at her spirit. As he pulled into his designated parking space he blew a heavy sigh.

Rachel was pacing the conference-room floor when he arrived, her high heels clicking harshly against the wood floors. Her expression was strained and he knew her well enough to know that her mind was racing.

“Hey, what's up?” he said as he moved into the room, his gaze meeting hers.

“Your wife has uncorked one hell of a firestorm. That's what's up,” Rachel said.

Troy sighed again, his warm breath blowing past his full lips. “Fill me in.”

“Have you heard of the Broadman Gaming and Entertaining Group?”

Troy pondered her question for a quick minute. “David Broadman. He owns a consortium of hotels and casinos around the world. He and his group filed an application a few years back to build a casino here in Memphis.”

“He did and it was initially denied.”

“Okay.”

“It was denied because the property he wanted to build on had zoning restrictions and the powers in place at that time refused to revise the city ordinances.”

“So what does that have to do with Amina and what her brother is doing?”

“The city council will soon be voting again on that ordinance and with the right mayoral support it will likely pass. Based on a new application recently submitted by Mr. Broadman he should be able to get it passed. It's projected to be a two-hundred-and-ten-million-dollar project that will create over nine hundred jobs and inject more than sixty million in wages here in Memphis. Jobs and wages that are greatly needed.

“Last year David Broadman approached Dwayne about purchasing that old warehouse he owns around the corner from the bakery. Dwayne turned him down because he was hoping to acquire your property and expand Just Desserts into the national food market. It would have been ideal since the bakery would have been its anchor point. But when Harper decided not to sell neither one of us gave it a second thought.

“Well, it seems that a few months ago the title to my husband's property was transferred to Basil Salman. As well as most of the property that David Broadman was interested in acquiring to build his casino. Almost two whole blocks of property with deeds registered to Basil Salman.”

“Well, I'll be damned.”

“It gets better. Dwayne talked to David Broadman and someone named Kareem Fayed is negotiating the sale of all that property to him; a sale that will net Basil Salman close to one hundred million dollars.”

“Wouldn't the title searches have exposed him?”

“It probably wouldn't have been caught until after the fact, especially if the rightful owners didn't know what was going on.”

“So what now?”

“The district attorney has everything. I filed a lawsuit this afternoon on Dwayne's behalf and we're contacting all the rightful owners to let them know what's going on.”

Troy nodded. “Unbelievable. How did he think he could get away with this?”

“He might have if Amina hadn't gotten involved. They would have bilked the Broadman Group out of a lot of money and been long gone. But that's not why I called you.”

“What?”

“Doesn't Amina have some connection to this Kareem guy?”

“Yeah, she was supposed to marry him.”

“Well, I did a little digging and Mr. Fayed was investigated for his involvement in a similar scheme in Vegas ten years ago. They weren't able to tie him to it so charges weren't ever filed. But during the investigation Mr. Fayed's second wife died of suspicious causes, although her death was ruled an accident. Apparently she'd taken a nasty fall down a flight of stairs but the autopsy showed that she had previously suffered multiple contusions and broken bones that were never explained.”

Troy stared at her. “His second wife?”

Rachel nodded. “No one can find anything on his first wife. Not even their divorce papers.”

“Okay, so why is that important?”

Rachel reached for the morning newspaper resting against the conference-room table. She flipped it open to the society section. The announcement was in the bottom corner of the front page: news that mayoral candidate Nasser Salman was announcing the engagement of his daughter Rasheeda Salman to Kareem Fayed.

“There's something else,” Rachel said as she met the stare Troy was giving her. “Amina transferred the deed for the bakery into her name this morning.”

 

 

Amina looked around the crowded room. There was no sign of Troy or any of the other candidates and she reasoned that they were all in one or more of the classrooms waiting for the event to begin. She looked around for her brother but there was no sign of him or Rasheeda either. She bit down against her bottom lip, her nerves completely on edge. She spun back toward the entrance, looking to the parking lot for any car she might recognize. Mike suddenly rushed her, his own anxiety apparent.

“Where's your husband?” he whispered. “Doesn't he know he's supposed to be here?”

“I'm sure he's on his way,” Amina said as she gave the man a quick hug. “He's probably stuck in traffic.”

“This is not the time for him to be stuck anywhere. This event could win or lose him this election. I need him here focused.”

She nodded her understanding. “He'll be here. And he'll be fine. You know he's prepped and ready.” She took another glance around, searching the new faces that had come for the Q&A session. “Are the other candidates here?” she said, asking about the remaining contenders.

Mike nodded. “I saw Mr. Salman and his family, our esteemed public defender and his partner, and the bookstore guy who's running as an independent. The only person I haven't seen is Troy!”

“Well, here comes Quentin and Harper,” she said as the family pushed through the doors, greeting them warmly.

“Hey, we're not late, are we?” Quentin questioned.

“The only person who's late is Troy,” Mike said as he paced from side to side.

Amina shook her head. “Mike is having anxiety. I'm sure Troy will be here any minute now.”

Mike shook his head. “Since you three are the only ones here, let me review things with you. There are reserved seats for each candidate's family members. Troy will introduce you and all you have to do is smile nice, give the audience a little wave, and applaud loudly every time he makes a brilliant point. Any questions?”

Quentin and Harper tossed each other a look, wide grins crossing their faces. “Mike, you seem a little tense,” Harper teased.

Mike cut his eyes at her. “I'm going to kill him if he doesn't get here. You will all see me commit premeditated murder. I'm telling you now.”

Amina laughed with the other two. “He'll be here. But I need to go find my family. Where are the candidates waiting?” she asked.

Mike gestured down the length of hallway. “The classrooms back that way.”

Amina nodded, tossing her new family a quick glance.

“We'll wait here with Mike,” Quentin said.

Harper nodded. “We'll keep him calm until Troy gets here.”

Amina smiled as she turned and moved toward the holding area. Her eyes shifted back and forth as she looked for her father and Rasheeda. She saw Basil first. And then Kareem. The two men were standing in a huddle outside a science room, pretending to be standing guard. Both eyed her warily as she rushed to their sides.

“Where's Rasheeda?” she asked Basil as he stepped in front of her.

“Do you have something for me?” Basil questioned.

The two eyed each other, Amina's expression ice cold. She reached into her oversize handbag and passed him a manila folder. As he flipped through the documents inside a wide grin slowly filled his face. He cut an eye at Kareem, nodding his head slowly.

“Very good, Amina. I knew I could trust you.”

“Where's Rasheeda?”

Basil stepped aside and gestured for her to enter the room. Rushing inside Amina found her sister sitting piously in a chair by her father's side. She barely lifted her eyes to look in Amina's direction. Nasser moved to his feet as she eased her way over to where the duo had been talking.

“Father!”

Nasser nodded, dropping his hands against her shoulders as he kissed his daughter's cheek. “Amina. I see you came to support your new husband.”

“I came to support you both, Father,” Amina responded. She turned her attention to her sister. “Rasheeda, are you okay?”

“Of course she's okay,” Kareem interjected, moving to Rasheeda's side. He dropped a heavy palm against the young woman's shoulder and squeezed it.

Amina saw her sister wince ever so slightly. The two women locked gazes briefly before Rasheeda dropped her eyes back to the floor.

“I've been trying to reach you,” Amina said. “I was worried.”

“I told you she was fine,” Basil interjected. “She's been very happy. Perhaps you heard. Rasheeda and Kareem will be marrying this weekend.”

Amina's eyes widened in surprise. She looked from one to the other. Kareem's expression was caustic. Rasheeda's distant, as if she were someplace other than in her own body. Her posture was different, stiff and heavy, something about her giving Amina reason to pause.

“Rasheeda, can we talk alone, please?”

Kareem shook his head. “That's not going to happen,” he stated. He looked toward Nasser for assistance.

Her father cupped his hand beneath her elbow and guided her toward the door. “Amina, this is not the place for this conversation. You need to go support your husband. I will not have you trying to influence your sister's decisions. You made your choice. Rasheeda has made hers.”

“Did she? Did she choose this? Or is this all Basil and Kareem's doing? They won't even let her speak for herself!”

Rasheeda's voice suddenly broke through the tense atmosphere. Her tone was crystal clear and strong. She stood up, meeting her sister's concerned stare. The hint of a smile pulled at the edges of her eyes. “You should go be with Troy, Amina. Everything is going to be okay. I'm going to do the right thing. I promise.”

The two women stood staring at each other, a silent exchange passing between them. Amina nodded her head as she gave her sister a warm smile. “I promise, too,” she said.

As Amina moved out the door Basil rushed behind her. When they were out of their father's eyesight he yanked her arm, spinning her around to face him. “You're doing really well so far,” he hissed, his mouth pressed against her ear. “Just keep your mouth shut now and you and Rasheeda both will be fine.”

Neither of them expected Troy when he suddenly grabbed her brother. He pushed him back into the classroom, slamming him hard against the green chalkboard. Chalk dust spewed behind Basil's back as Troy slammed his fist into the man's stomach, following it with a left hook to Basil's chin.

“What's going on here?” Nasser said, his voice raised. “Basil?”

“Troy!” Amina cried out, shock splattering her face.

“If you ever put your hands on my wife again, I will hurt you,” Troy said, holding Basil by his collar. “You already got one pass. You won't be so lucky if it happens again.”

She called his name a second time. “Troy, baby, don't, please!”

Troy threw one last punch before he released the hold he had on Basil, the man's body sinking to the floor. He adjusted his suit jacket around his torso then turned toward Nasser. “Your son has a problem with hurting women. Now, you might not be able to keep him in check but I will if he ever hurts Amina again. Do we understand each other, sir?”

Nasser nodded, his jaw locked tight. He tossed a glance toward Basil and then to his daughter. Tears misted Amina's gaze, frustration creasing her brow.

Mike and another man suddenly appeared in the doorway. Mike's eyes widened, his mouth opened in surprise. The other man stepped inside, assessing the situation.

“Is there a problem here?” the other man asked. He looked down at Basil who was still reeling from Troy's assault.

Nasser shook his head. “No. No problem. My son tripped and fell. Mr. Elliott was showing his concern.”

The stranger eyed them all warily. “Well, the meeting is about to start. We need all the candidates to gather by the entrance,” he said.

Troy slid one hand into Amina's curls, his fingers resting against the back of her head. His other hand slipped around her waist as he pulled her to him and kissed her forehead. He pressed his cheek to hers and held her tightly for a brief moment. When he pulled away, Amina smiled.

“I love you,” she whispered.

Troy nodded. “I love you more!”

Mike grabbed both their arms. “I've got love for you both and I don't want to ever know what happened here.”

Troy smiled. “Why not?”

“Plausible deniability,” Mike said with his own chuckle. “We need to move it.”

Amina tossed her sister one last look. Rasheeda took a step forward and Kareem grabbed her by the back of the neck, his grip tight as he stalled her steps. His grin was malevolent as he pulled her closer to his side. Amina's gaze shifted from one face to the other.