Inner Circle (20 page)

“Anything for you, Evie.”

“Thank you, baby.” Eve kissed him softly on his thick, full lips.

Chase pinched Eve’s chin as he stared into her eyes. “If being nice to Amber gets me all this goodness and puts this smile on your face, I’ll make it a point to be more cordial.”

“I love you, babe. And about last night . . .”

Chase cupped Eve’s ass with both hands. “Awwww, you want some more, don’t you? I knew it,” he teased.

“Ummmmm, no, not what I was going to say at all. What I was going to say was that I heard you.” Eve smiled. “And I promise, the next time something like this happens, I’ll check with you before involving you in other people’s drama.” Eve placed her arms around his waist. “Thank you though for being so supportive.”

“It’s not like you gave me much choice. You’ve got her and her daughter staying here with us. Trust me, it would be a lot easier to get along and be supportive if she wasn’t under our roof. Besides, I don’t know how many more nights of quiet fucking I can take. You know big daddy likes to make you scream.”

“Oh, you wanna hear me scream?” Eve playfully rubbed her breast across Chase’s chest. “I thought last night was kind of hot! I mean, every time I felt the need to scream, I put your dick in my mouth.” Then she put her hand down Chase’s sweats. “But if you need to hear me scream . . .”

“You better stop playing,” Chase laughed as he backed away from Eve’s grasp. “Besides, unless you want your girl and her daughter walking in on me fucking you on top of this counter, you might want to keep your hands to yourself.”

“Whatever,” Eve said, playfully smacking him on the back of the head as he left the room.

Eve poured her coffee into a cup and headed upstairs to check on Amber. Although it had just been a few days and wasn’t an ideal situation for anyone, she was grateful for the opportunity to help. For Eve, the issue was never about who and how she was going to help out a friend, it was more about finding and creating a healthy balance that didn’t allow her the opportunity to make the issues of others a problem for herself.

17

Eve
shredded a stack of papers that rested on the desk in her office while talking to Jackie on the phone. The two of them had fallen behind on their plans for the Leopards’ team road trip to San Francisco for the playoff game. Paula, the Leopards Wives’ Association president, had suggested renting a party RV and inviting all the wives, girlfriends, and baby mamas to tag along. Eve shot down the notion that she’d even consider being a part of such a tacky ordeal, yet for the sake of unity, she offered to cover the expense of the rental as a gesture of good faith. Jackie was also forbidden to ride in the RV as Eve insisted her loyalty be to her and their own association.

“I still don’t see what the big idea is, Eve. Hell, just because we’ve got our own shit doesn’t mean we shouldn’t participate in the team’s events. Besides, I’ve been on one of those party buses and, if I remember correctly, I had myself a ball.”

“Drunk does not translate into fun.”

“Shiiiiiiit, I don’t know who you’ve been partying with, but every time I’m lit or even a little buzzed, oh, best believe some serious fun is being had,” Jackie laughed to herself.

“Well, it’s too late now; I’ve already told them we’d meet them there. Plus, I bought our tickets and they’re nonrefundable.”

“Of course they are,” Jackie mocked. “Fine, whatever. I’ll meet you at the airport. You just better make sure I get my beer.”

“Promise,” Eve assured her.

“And I better have fun. None of this work or Wives’ Association agenda shit either. I’m already gonna be on edge, hoping the Leopards win.”

“All right, all right,” Eve whined. “Hey, Jackie?”

“Yeah?”

Eve turned off the shredder and leaned back against her custom-made plum leather chair. “I need a favor. And I need you to promise me you’ll just say yes.”

“Eve, what the hell is going on?” Jackie scoffed. “You’re always pulling this crap with me. First, you needed me to cozy up to Paula in order to secure you a copy of her personal files pertaining to the Leopards Wives’ Association, so you could have a blueprint for our own group—which, by the way, cost me five unbearable nights of dinner at that bitch’s house. And you know Paula’s ass can’t cook to save her life.”

“She should’ve hired Sa’Myra’s skanky ass for herself instead of pawning her little gold-digging friend off on Amber.”

“You know Paula’s too damn cheap for that. And ever since Donté got moved to second-string, that ho is watching every dime coming in and going out of that house. You know she pulled her babies out of St. Joseph’s Academy and put their little asses in public school.”

“No, she didn’t!” Eve clowned.

“Yes, the hell she did. Damn shame too. You and I both know those ain’t the cutest kids in the bunch. They needed that Ivy-League education because ugly and dumb ain’t a good combination.”

Eve burst into laughter. “Jackie, don’t talk about the babies.” Eve couldn’t contain herself. “That’s just wrong. You know the rules: babies and old people are off-limits.”

“Maybe to you, but hell, I call ’em like I see ’em. And since we’ve both seen them gremlin-looking kids, you know I ain’t lying,” Jackie laughed. “Anyway, back to you. You’re just about out of favors with me. Hell, it’s about time I started cashing in on a few favors of my own.”

“Jackie, you know I got you. And didn’t I just hook you up with that new Hermes wallet to go with the bag Ray bought you for Christmas?”

“Bitch, please. You and I both know good and damn well that you and Chase got invited to have lunch with Johannes Burges, the owner of Hermes, after you donated all that money to that Parkinson Research Project he chairs. I know for a fact that he gave you a bag full of goodies as his way of saying thank you. My guess is that that wallet was one of the things in the bag.”

Eve snickered. “And I used it as my way of saying thank you to you! Come on, Jackie, I need your help.”

“What is it this time?” Jackie surrendered.

“It’s Callie. I’m really starting to worry about her. It’s been almost three weeks, and no one has heard from her or Drew since Carmen’s attack. I know you broke the story. And I know you know Carmen and Drew were having an affair. Can you tell me anything about the attack that’s not being reported? Do they suspect anyone? Was the attacker male or female?”

“Eve, I can do a lot of things, but when it comes to violating the integrity of my job, I have to draw the line. Listen, I’m concerned about Callie too. And yeah, word is floating around that Carmen and Drew were having an affair, but until there is more evidence to support that and Carmen cooperates with the police to make an official statement about the attack, it’s all speculation. Other than that, there’s not much more I can tell you. What I will say is this: if, and I do mean
if,
Callie had something to do with this, it would be in her best interest to surface soon.” Jackie sounded sincere. “Now, I know you’re very resourceful. And if I were you and I were wise, I’d use whatever tools
necessary to get in touch with Callie and have her ass make some kind of statement, quick.”

“I hear you. Thanks, Jackie,” Eve sulked.

“Listen, I’ve got to go. Ray took the girls to the movies, and I’ve got a few more things to wrap up before they get back. I’ll see you Sunday at the game, okay?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Eve hung up the phone only to pick it up again. She scrolled through her cell phone until she came to Callie’s number, then dialed it from her landline. Unlike before, when the phone would ring a couple of time before going to her machine, this time it went straight to her voice mail. Eve listened to Callie’s thick Brazilian accent on her message. At the beep, she decided to leave her own.

“Callie, it’s Eve again. I’m worried. I’ve left you countless messages, and you haven’t returned any of my calls. I’ve seen the news, and I can’t help but wonder if you . . .” Eve paused before finishing her sentence. “No matter what’s happened, I’ve got your back, okay? Don’t make me come over there!” Eve threatened jokingly. “But seriously, call me.”

Eve placed the receiver back on the base and pressed her head firmly against the headrest of the chair. She pulled her Louis Vuitton day planner out of the desk drawer and flipped to the page marked emergency contacts. She scrolled her finger down the list until she got to the name Eugene Frankel. Eugene had been the investigator that she’d been working with at one point to help her find out who her father was. She hadn’t spoken to him in months but knew that now was as good a time as any to play catch-up. Eugene had made wonderful strides in narrowing down who Eve’s father could be based on her DNA, birth records, and approximate date of her mother’s affair, so Eve hoped he could be equally as successful in helping her with Callie.

Even though Eve had just promised Chase she would stay out of other people’s business, until she knew Callie was safe that would just have to be a promise she’d have to break . . . at least for now.

18

Jackie
checked the time on her phone. She still had a couple of hours before Ray and the girls would be home and knew exactly how she wanted to spend her spare time. She pulled off her plush leopard bathrobe, exposing her naked, curvy, Beyoncé-like frame. She studied herself in the mirror, admiring her own reflection. Inch by inch, she examined herself starting from her head and working her way down to her toes. Although she’d had a little work done reshaping her ass after her second daughter, Jackie prided herself on her natural and authentic African American beauty.

At thirty-six, Jackie could give the average twenty-five-year-old a run for her money. Her rich caramel skin was flawless, and her super short Halle Berry-inspired coif set her apart from the typical longhaired, light-skinned trophy wives that sat in the stands with her week in and week out. Although Jackie was cool with most of the wives on her husband’s team, she hated the fact that most of them were only with their men for material gain.

Every Sunday she listened to countless conversations about the latest Louboutins, Louis Vuittons, laser surgery, or Lamborghinis, and wondered how in the hell had any of these women managed to perfect phoniness like they had. The main reason she gravitated to Eve like
she had was because, outside of supporting causes with a real purpose, which she usually spearheaded, Eve never fraternized with the other wives.

Eve was a woman of substance, and Jackie appreciated that. They could talk about anything intelligently and actually push and inspire each other to do more where their families and communities were concerned. Jackie’s competitive nature was always piqued by Eve’s aggressive demeanor, which often got her into trouble. When she would push too hard, Eve never seemed to mind. In fact, in most cases, Eve seemed to welcome the challenge.

Jackie ran her hand across her flat stomach and positioned herself so that her breasts perked up. Her own nakedness was making her horny, and she knew just who to call to satisfy her appetite. She left her bathroom and walked across the spacious bedroom decorated in red and black until she reached the bed. Jackie pulled her cell phone out of her purse and smiled as she dialed the number. While the phone rang she allowed her body to spread across the newly purchased Ralph Lauren Collection red and black checkered comforter. The thousand-count cotton was cold against her skin, but she knew the sound of her lover’s voice would quickly heat her up.

“Hey, you,” Jackie flirted when she was greeted with a hello. “I have the house to myself for a couple of hours, and I was wondering if you wanted to come over?”

“Where’s your husband?”

“He took the girls out.”

“You know we’re playing Russian roulette coming to each other’s houses while our spouses are away. Do you ever worry about getting caught?”

“I try not to worry about my life, period. Besides, I told you that was the whole reason for me joining Eve’s Wives’ Association. Hell, with all the attention and information the group is drumming up on Ray, it practically makes it easy for me to do my own thang. And right now, I’m trying to do my thang with you,” she toyed.