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Authors: Earl Sewell

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BOOK: Love, Lies and Scandal
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CHAPTER 14

ANGELA

A
ngela sat in her chair facing the makeup specialist. Butterflies were prancing around in her belly.

"You'll do fine," Candice assured her.

"Can you tell that I'm nervous?" Angela asked.

"Yes, because you're sweating," Candice said, laughing a little. "Don't. You'll spoil our makeup."

"Fifteen minutes before we go live, Mrs. Rivers," said Shaletha, one of her production assistants.

"You'd better go." Candice rushed her out of the chair.

"Thank you," Angela said and began to make her way toward the stage.

"There you are. I've been looking for you," Bobbi Franklin said as she approached Angela from behind. Angela turned to greet her with a bright smile.

"Are you ready?" Bobbi asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Angela said with confidence.

"Okay, this is your big moment. Now go out there and give birth to a hit show for my television station."

Angela smiled slightly at Bobbi. She knew that Bobbi was on her side, but she also knew that Bobbi wanted to see a return on her investment.

"Okay, Angela." Shaletha rushed up to her. Her headset was sliding to one side. "Ten seconds until showtime. The studio audience is hyped and the band is ready to play your theme music. I'll make sure that the guests come out on cue."

"Okay. Let's do this." Angela moistened her lips with her tongue and put on her game face. She heard the announcer call her name and stepped out from behind the curtain to a chorus of loud applause from the studio audience. All of the nervousness that she was feeling suddenly vanished.

"Thank you," Angela said to her audience who gave a thunderous applause. "Thank you," she said once again as the noise began to quiet down. "Welcome to
Love, Lies and Scandal.
On this show we get all of the juicy details of love gone wrong, lies that lovers tell and all of the celebrity scandals. But we also give no-nonsense advice to those who have lost their common sense." The audience laughed along with Angela. She immediately felt their energy and excitement, which helped her to relax even more. "Do you guys feel me on that one? Because sometimes people do some strange stuff. They get involved in bad relationships, mistake lust for love, or just flat-out lie." The audience laughed. "Don't you hate it when someone lies to you and then when you catch them in the lie they try to place another lie on top of the one they just told?" The audience shouted out their agreement. She could feel that they were all on the same page with her. She no longer felt as if she were talking to a crowd of total strangers; instead, she felt as though she was talking to very close friends.

"On today's show we're going to talk to men who watch too much pornography." All of the men in the audience howled. "We are going to discuss the reasons why men do it, and we even have a porn star as our guest today." All of the men howled again. At that moment, Angela got a brilliant idea. Ignoring the script that the writers had given her, she decided to go out into the audience and speak directly to men.

"You, sir." Angela picked a young white man, with sandy brown hair and freckles, who appeared to be in his early twenties. "Do you watch pornography?"

"Yes, I do," the young man answered with a smile.

"And what do you like about watching it?"

"It's fun," answered the guest, his face beginning to turn red.

"Do you ever invite your buddies over to watch with you?" Angela asked. The audience gasped at the question.

"No. Guys don't do that sort of thing," answered the guest.

"So you like flying solo?" The audience laughed and so did the guest.

"Is she your girlfriend?" asked Angela as she nodded her head toward the woman who was sitting next to him.

"Yeah, she's my girl."

"Let me ask you the same question." Angela turned to the woman. "Do you like watching pornography?"

"I don't believe you just asked me that question," shrieked the girl, clearly embarrassed.

"You can't play the shy role on my show." Angela forced the issue with a charming smile.

"I like watching it sometimes," the young woman confessed. "But I don't like watching the ones that are just all sex. I like them when they have some sort of story line."

"So you like porn stars to have some acting skills?" Angela asked.

"Yes," replied the woman.

"Thank you both for sharing with our audience. Well today we're going to speak with a man who says that he is addicted to pornography. So addicted that he lost a job paying him a six-figure salary because he was downloading pornography on his computer at work. We'll also hear from a guest who says that porn is what keeps him from cheating on his wife. Stick around. I know you'll want to hear this. We'll be right back after this commercial break." At that moment, the band began playing music and the audience began clapping.

Once the camera light went off, Angela knew that she was off the air. Shaletha came out onto the stage and gave her some water.

"How am I doing?" Angela asked her.

"You're doing it, girl. That was cool the way you went out into the audience to get them involved. You've got ten seconds before you're back on the air." Shaletha rushed offstage. Angela walked across the stage and sat down on the sofa.

"Welcome back," she said as she smiled into the camera. "My next guest says that he lost a job that paid him a six-figure income because he couldn't bring himself to stop watching pornography. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Mr. Walter Hyde."

The audience clapped, and Angela stood to greet Mr. Hyde as he came out. He was a very well-dressed man, well-groomed, with a pleasing smile. Angela shook his hand and they sat.

"Thank for being on the show," Angela said. "Now, Walter, you had a job paying you six figures, is that correct?"

Walter adjusted his position on the sofa before he began talking. "Yes. I held a position as the vice president of sales for an oil company."

"And you lost your job because adult material was located on your computer. Why did you download the material?"

"Well, Angela, like many people who suffer from addictions, it was something that I couldn't stop myself from doing. I found myself thinking about it all of the time. I just couldn't get enough of it. I wanted to see as much of it as it could. I wanted to see women from around the world getting it on."

"Wow. How long have you had the addiction?"

"Since I was a teenager. That's when my fascination with sex began. My curiosity was sparked when I purchased my first swimsuit magazine. After that I got into adult magazines and my fascination continued to grow from there."

"When did you realize that you had a serious problem?" Angela asked.

"Well, for a long time I didn't think I had a problem at all. I guess it was because watching pornography is such a private affair. I realized that I was having a problem on a flight from Dallas to Seattle. I was sitting in the middle seat with my laptop resting on the tray table. I had a significant amount of adult video loaded on it and the urge to watch a particular woman was eating away at me. Before I realized it, I began watching the film."

"On the plane?" Angela asked for clarification.

"Yes."

"With a person on either side of you?" Angela asked.

"Yes."

"Were they men or women?" Angela asked.

"Both women. They reported me, and I was asked to turn it off. It angered me because I wasn't harming anyone." Angela got a signal from Shaletha that someone in the audience had a question. Searching the stands, she saw a young woman standing at one of the microphones waiting to be recognized.

"The young lady at microphone one, do you have a question?"

"Yes, I do. My boyfriend loves to watch adult films. He likes watching them more than he likes making love to me, or at least that's the way I feel. Did you ever prefer to watch porn instead of making love to your woman?" the young lady asked the guest.

"Well, it depended," Walter answered cautiously. "Sometimes I didn't want to go through the hassle of turning a woman on. I just wanted to watch a flick, get an orgasm and go to sleep. Other times, I allowed women to watch with me, but they ruined the experience because they focused only on the imperfections of the performers' bodies. I tried to explain that I couldn't care about a scar or an odd birthmark. I only cared about how well they moved."

"So, did you view women as sexual objects without any emotions?" Angela asked.

"Well, yes. I viewed them as objects whose sole purpose was to satisfy me sexually." The audience gasped at Mr. Hyde's comment. Angela noticed that another audience member had a question so she acknowledged her.

"The young woman at microphone number two, you have the floor."

"I'm a woman who enjoys watching adult films with my husband. I also watch so that I can learn how better to satisfy my husband. My question to you is, do you think you're a better lover because you've watched so much pornography?"

"I wasn't watching to learn how to do anything. Well--let me rephrase that. Watching adult films did teach me a certain amount of control as I learned exactly how to operate myself." Angela and the audience laughed.

"That's a good way of putting it.
Operate yourself,
" Angela said. She took a few more lively questions and finished the show. When she made it back to her dressing room, Bobbi Franklin was there waiting to greet her.

"That was excellent! I can feel that this show is going to be bigger than I imagined it could be. You have such a natural way with the audience. They love you already."

Angela couldn't stop smiling. For the first time in recent memory, she was happy. Once Bobbi left, she found a moment to exhale and reflect. She thought about calling Will to share her excitement, but then she stopped herself because she was still pissed off with his immature behavior at the restaurant. She knew that when she got home, she'd have to address it head-on.

CHAPTER 15

J
O
A
NN

J
oAnn parked her car in front of the tavern where her sister Jackie worked. She sat in the car for a minute taking in her surroundings.
Chicago is such an old and historic city,
she thought.

"But this entire neighborhood needs a face-lift," she said in disgust as she studied two women smoking outside Lola's Beauty Salon. Next to the salon was an old church and then a tavern which had an Old Milwaukee beer sign hanging above the entrance. Outside the tavern, the ground was littered with beer bottles. The windows were gated and there was graffiti written on its door. There was no doubt that the tavern was a rough spot. When JoAnn stepped inside, she noticed that many of the bar stools needed to be reupholstered because the yellow foam was exposed. The tiles on the floor had come unglued in several spots, and the paint on the walls had chipped. A person wouldn't choose to come here to socialize; it was for those who wanted to check out from reality, drink to their problems and, on occasion, sleep with a stranger who happened to look good after several glasses of alcohol.

JoAnn was on her fifth glass of E & J, but the brandy still hadn't dulled the ache in her heart.

"So are you going to tell me what happened? Why are you in here drinking like this?" Jackie asked, pouring herself a shot of brandy.

"You're the bartender. Isn't it obvious what my problem is?" JoAnn's voice was filled with pain.

"No, it isn't. I'm not a mind reader," Jackie fired back as she gulped down some of the brandy she'd poured for herself.

"Jesse wants to leave me." JoAnn began sharing her misery with her sister. "He wants a divorce."

"Jesse has stood by your side for too long to call it quits now. He's helped you get over your gambling addiction--well, not completely over it, but he did try. He's cleaned up your credit so that you guys could buy a nice home for you and Trina. Plus he's been supporting your unemployed behind for close to three years now. He's invested too much time and energy into making your marriage work to call it quits now. He's probably just angry. He'll get over it," Jackie tried to reassure her sister.

"I'm not so sure about that." JoAnn tapped her glass, indicating she wanted a refill.

"Why not? You guys have had bad arguments before. What's so different about this time?"

"I fucked up," JoAnn said. "I fucked up big-time."

"What did you do?" Jackie tried to pry additional information out of her sister.

"Remember when we went to Las Vegas a few weeks ago?" JoAnn asked. "I gambled away all the money Jesse made at the fitness expo."

"How much money?" Jackie was now paying close attention to every word her sister was saying.

"About eight grand."

"You fucked up eight thousand dollars!" Jackie raised her voice in disbelief.

"I don't know what came over me. I caught the fever, Jackie. The palms of my hands were itching and you know that's a sign. You know that meant unexpected money was about to come my way."

"Here, have another shot," Jackie said.

"Jesse said that he just couldn't take it anymore. He doesn't trust me."

"Hell, I wouldn't either if you fucked up eight grand of my money."

"I just had a run of bad luck, that's all. I know I can make the money back," JoAnn said confidently.

"You sound just like Daddy," Jackie said.

"Don't start with me, Jackie." JoAnn didn't like it when her sister compared her to their irresponsible father.

"Well, you do. I remember Mama sending me down to that woman Rubylee's house on payday to beg him not to gamble his paycheck away because he had a houseful of babies to feed. But Daddy wouldn't listen. He'd lose his entire paycheck to that con woman. And no matter how many times he lost his money to her, he kept returning, because he was determined to win it back."

"My problem isn't as bad as Daddy's was," JoAnn shot back.

"Okay, if you say so, but I know better. Shit, I have the gambling bug, too, but I know when to stop." There was a long pause before Jackie continued. "Look. I'm your big sister and I've gone through my fair share of men. I've had men who were really good to me and I've had men who treated me like shit. One thing I know for sure is that Jesse is a good man and if I were you, I'd do whatever it takes to make this up to him."

"You're right," JoAnn agreed with her sister. "I know exactly what I'm going to do. If all goes well, everything will work itself out."

"What do you plan on doing?" Jackie asked.

JoAnn laughed a little. "I've already done it. I've taken some money out of Trina's college fund. I'm heading over to the casino in Hammond, Indiana, to win back the money I lost in Las Vegas."

"Gambling is what's gotten you in this fucked-up position to begin with," Jackie reminded her sister.

"I've got it all figured out this time though. I've won big in Indiana before. If I can win big once, I can do it twice. I just have to play my cards right."

"How much money do you have on you?" Jackie whispered.

"A few thousand dollars."

"Shit, you owe me eighteen hundred dollars from the last time you went on a secret gambling spree and lost all of the money that was in the cash register. Can I get any part of my money from you?" Jackie asked.

"Jackie, how are you going to ask me for money in my time of crisis?"

"Because you owe it to me. I can't help it if your ass can't hold down a job and the moment money hits your hand it evaporates."

"I can hold down a job. I'm just helping Jesse with the store until something comes my way."

"He didn't need your help with the store before you became unemployed and I'm sure he doesn't need it now."

"Why are you tripping like this? You're supposed to be on my side," JoAnn whined.

"I would be if I could see some part of the money you owe me. In fact, if I don't get at least one thousand of it right now, I'm going to call Jesse myself and tell him what you're up to."

"You wouldn't dare do that shit to me. I'm your sister. We're flesh and blood. How are you going to go against me like that?"

"Because I'm tired of waiting on my damn money." Jackie raised her voice. "And I'm tired of your lame-ass excuses. Shit, you knew that I was going to ask about my money when you came up in here and that's exactly why I didn't care when my daughter beat you up the other week."

"That's a low blow, Jackie." JoAnn now realized that she should not have told her sister about the money she'd withdrawn. "Fine. I'll give you a thousand."

"It's about damn time. Now, when are you going to the casino?" Jackie asked.

"As soon as I leave here," JoAnn said.

"Let me ride with you. I might get lucky my damn self and win some money."

"And you got the nerve to say that I'm the one acting like Daddy."

"You are more like him than I am. Either way, we're both his children and we both picked up his bad habits. Now stop drinking and sit here for a minute so that you'll be sober enough to drive. I get off work in about a half hour."

During their journey, JoAnn called Jesse and asked that he pick up Trina. JoAnn and Jackie arrived at the Horseshoe Casino around 6:00 p.m. Jackie went directly to the blackjack table and JoAnn decided to start off small and try her luck at the video poker machine. This time she wasn't going to pour money into the machine and then get up so that someone could sit down and win big. JoAnn planned to stick around until the machine hit pay dirt.

It didn't take long for JoAnn to lose every dime she had. When she lost her last poker game, she began slapping the machine as if it was its fault.

"Fucking piece of shit! You could've let me win at least one damn time." JoAnn yelled out her frustrations as she continued to hit the machine as if it were going to automatically make her a winner.

"Damn it!" JoAnn hissed. She was ready to get the hell out of the casino, but she had to find Jackie first. She called her up on her cell phone to find out where she was.

"Hey, where are you at?" JoAnn asked.

"At the teller cashing out," Jackie said.

"Did you win?" JoAnn asked.

"Oh yeah." Jackie's voice was filled with jubilance.

"I quadrupled the amount you gave me." Jackie began laughing. "Woo, I'm going to have myself a good time."

"I'm walking toward the teller now. I'll see you in a moment." JoAnn quickly hung up the phone. She couldn't believe that Jackie had actually won four thousand dollars. When she arrived at the teller's booth, Jackie was placing her winnings deep down in her purse.

"Hey, girl," Jackie greeted her as she secured the zipper on her purse. "How much did you win?"

"Not a fucking dime," JoAnn growled.

"Well, how much money do you have left to put back into Trina's account?" Jackie asked.

"Nothing. I messed it all up. I don't have a damn dime. I'm broke. You get it?"

Jackie chuckled. "That's real fucked up, girl. I'm ready to go. What about you?"

"Yeah. Come on." The two women walked through the casino and headed toward JoAnn's car.

"Jackie, loan me that four thousand you just won so that I can put the money back into Trina's account."

Jackie laughed. "You must be smoking crack. You need to find a way to get me the other eight hundred dollars that you owe me."

"Jackie, I'm serious. When Jesse finds out that I've taken that money, he might kill me."

"Hell, I'd kill your ass, too, if you kept fucking up money the way you do." Jackie had no sympathy for her sister. "Daddy'd lose every dime, too, and then he would come around begging for some more money."

"I'm not begging, Jackie, I'm asking you for a loan," JoAnn snapped at her.

"I don't give loans to people who don't have a job," Jackie fired back.

"I know you didn't just go there with me."

"Yeah, I went there and left."

"Jackie, don't make me take that money from you." They both stopped walking.

"I know you don't want to go down that road," Jackie threatened.

"Jackie, if you don't give me that money, I'm not going to drive you back home!"

"Then don't. I can catch a damn cab!" Jackie began walking away from her.

"Jackie!" JoAnn called after her, but Jackie kept on walking. "I need that money," she shouted. Other casino patrons looked at JoAnn shouting at her sister's back.

"That's okay. You're going to need me for something. And when you come crawling to me, I'm not going to give you a motherfucking thing! Do you hear me, Jackie? Not a motherfucking thing, girl!" JoAnn tried to catch up with her sister, but by the time she did, Jackie had already gotten into a cab.

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