Night of Seduction (38 page)

“Ms.
Wright,
”
a man called out from behind the bar.

“Yes,
”
she looked up.

“My name is
Mario; I
’
m the owner of this establishment. While we
appreciate your visits in the past, please accept this as a notice.
You will no longer be welcomed here. Please accept this
complimentary drink on the house and Phillip
here,
”
he pointed to the man standing next to
her,
“
will be happy to escort you out. Have a good
evening.
”

Before she
could protest, he walked off. She looked at the bartender, who
simply shrugged his shoulders and moved to the next customer, then
she looked at the man named Phillip.
“
I just work
here,
”
he said to her unasked question.

“Well, I
don
’
t need your damned drink,
”
she said with a
wave of her hand and walked out of the club. Surprisingly, her car
was waiting at the door when she arrived. Taking her keys, she got
into her car and pulled away furious. Taking her cell phone out she
pushed the first button, which was Adrian
’
s
number
—
he didn
’
t pick up. She pushed
a second button, for another friend still no answer. She threw the
phone into the passenger seat.
“
Where in the hell is
everybody?
”
she yelled. After talking a calming
breath, she laughed at herself.
“
What did I expect; I
went to one of Jason
’
s
spots.
”
Turning around, she went in the direction of one
of her favorite spots.
“
I
’
ll hit my
place. I
’
ll find somebody to party
with.
”

Sure enough,
when she reached one of her favorite clubs, the music could be
heard bumping outside. People waiting in line were jamming to the
beat.
“
This is more like it.
”

“Hey Toya, what
you doing here?
”
a girl she recognized, but could not
remember her name called out.

“I
’
m here to party
girl,
”
she replied, glad someone had spoken to her. She
walked over to the VIP door and just like before she was allowed
in. Moments later, she wished they hadn
’
t.
“
Adrian,
”
she pushed his back.
“
Where the hell have you been? I called you three times
today. What are you drinking?
”
She asked as she sat
her purse on the table.

A dumfounded
Adrian turned with his hands on his chest,
“
Girl you
don
’
t want to be here. Trust me, leave while you
can.
”

“Stop
it,
”
she laughed.
“
I
’
ve been
dying to party all week. It
’
s time to celebrate
my new freedom.
”

“Really?
”
A voice from behind her
asked.

Turing her face
went from glee, to what the
…
.? She came face to
face with Ty Pendleton.
“
What in the hell are
you doing here?
”

“I tried to
warn you girl,
”
Adrian whispered in her
ear.

Ty smiled, he
loved catching people off guard.
“
Like you, we are
celebrating.
”

“We
who?
”

“Oh, your
friends didn
’
t tell you. This is
Jason
’
s bachelor party. He
’
s getting married
this weekend. I made sure all your friends were
invited,
”
He pointed to a corner. CJ and Stan are over
there. Your girl Candi is with your boy, John. I think they are
hitting it off. And of course, Adrian here, who has been getting
his drink on for about an hour now. I
’
m glad one of them
called and told you about this. I
’
ll let Jason know
you
’
re here to wish him well.
”

The heat from
her anger was seeping through her skin. This was a set up to
humiliate her, at her own spot. She turned to look at Adrian, who
looked in another direction.
“
I hope you are
enjoying this moment Ty. Tomorrow you are going to be busy cleaning
up your boys sh
…”

“Don
’
t do it, there is no
cursing at this establishment tonight. Only happy people are
allowed to stay and you don
’
t look too happy.
Now, I understand you were removed from another establishment
earlier this evening. I would hate to see it happen to you
again.
”

Her mouth gaped
open, how could he know that? It just happened. As if reading her
mind, he said.
“
People just call me
and tell me things. What can I say, don
’
t call me? I
don
’
t think that would be very nice. Oh,
there
’
s Eric. Hey Eric,
”
he called out
“
come here man. You
’
ll never guess
who
’
s here. I would have called Jason, but as you know,
TeKaya was ordered to stay a hundred feet away from you. And since
Jason and TeKaya are one, he can
’
t come
over.
”

Eric walked up
and it seemed like the music volume got lower. For a moment, he
wasn
’
t sure if he could pull this off, but he promised an
Ossie Davis performance and that
’
s what he was going
to give.
“
Are you here to cause problems for
Jason?
”
he asked in the most cordial way he could. When
she hesitated, a moment too long Eric snapped his fingers and the
towers came into view.
“
I believe Ms. Wright
has expressed a desire to leave.
”

Latoya looked
around at the faces staring at her. Most of them she knew and
considered friends. Not one of them acknowledged her, but Adrian.
She turned to him,
“
I
’
ll deal
with you later.
”
She then glared at Eric, almost
smirking.
“
Are you sure you want
to go up against me, Eric.
”

Taking a step
put him so close to her, he could feel her breath on his
face.
“
I
’
ve never been more
sure of anything in my life,
”
he whispered, then
turned and walked away.

“Ms.
Wright,
”
tower number two said as he reached for
her.

“Don
’
t you dare touch
me.
”

Tower number
one stepped up and whispered,
“
You walk, or I carry
you out
—
your choice.
”

Without looking
back, she snatched her purse off the table and walked out
shouting.
“
Your ass will pay,
Jason and Eric! You will pay!
”

♫

Latoya reached
the house in record time. She was beyond angry
—
she was
livid. Going straight into her room, she took off her shoes and
threw them in the closet, the purse landed on the floor and she
flopped down on the bed.
“
I
’
ll make
them pay,
”
she declared as she went into the
safe and pulled out the video. Walking back into her room, she
heard the chime of her cell phone. Looking at the number, she knew
it was Adrian.
“
How could you let me
walk into something like that?
”
she yelled.
“
You
’
re supposed to be my
friend
—
you
’
re supposed to have
my back!
”

“Wait a minute
girl
…”
he paused for emphasis.
“
I told you to
get out of dodge. I wasn
’
t like those other
heifers that didn
’
t even speak. So
before you get your panties all up in a bunch you need to check
yourself. Because I counted the number of friends you have right
now and the count stopped at one
—
me. You get my
drift?
”

There was some
truth to what he was saying, but she was still pissed.
“
Why didn
’
t you tell me about
this party?
”

“I just got
back in town today. The invitation was special delivered to me when
I walked through the door. And you know I don
’
t turn
down free booze. You
’
re mad at Jason and
Eric, I
’
m not.
”

“Whatever
happened to loyalty, Adrian?
”

“He went out
the damn door. Look girl, I got to go, the party is
hopping.
”
With that, he was gone.

Latoya looked
at the phone in disbelief, then threw it across the room.
“
The party is hopping, okay. Let
’
s see if we can
get my party started.
”
She put the DVD in the player and
pushed the play button. When the video began to play, she
smiled.
“
Party tonight boys, but I have a surprise waiting
for you when you get home. She walked over and picked up her cell.
She knew a little about computers but not enough to do what was
needed with the video, she sat on the bed and called her tech
person.
“
I need you, this time you set your price because
I
’
m living large now.
”

“Tell me what
you need.
”

“I have a video
that I need stills from. Then I need to send them without the
receiver knowing it came from me.
”

“Send me the
DVD, I
’
ll take care of it.
”

“No, not this
time. I need you to walk me through it.
”

“That
serious?
”

“That
serious,
”
Latoya replied.

“Okay, is the
DVD in your computer?
”

“No,
”
she replied as she looked over at the
flat screen monitor, which was now black. Confused, she pushed the
rewind button.
“
Let me call you
back,
”
she hung up the telephone without hearing the
response. The video wasn
’
t playing. She
removed the disc and briskly walked into the kitchen and put the
disc in that player. After five minutes, the screen went black
again.
“
What the
…
.
”
She
pushed the eject button and looked at the DVD, there
weren
’
t any scratches that she could detect. Something began
to creep up her back.
“
Nope,
”
she shook her head,
“
now is not the time to panic. She walked into the room and
retrieved her cell phone and Roy
’
s business card. She
dialed the number as she walked back into the kitchen.
“
The number you have reached is no longer in
service.
”
She froze dead in her tracks.
“
The dirty
mother
…
..
”
she couldn
’
t finish the
statement she was so mad. She gave him two hundred and fifty
thousand dollars and he double-crossed her. Quickly changing into a
pair of jeans and a top, she grabbed the disc, and her keys. Roy
was giving up her money or the real disc. She
didn
’
t expect him to be in the office at two
o
’
clock in the morning, but something made her drive
over anyway. Her nightmare was getting worse, the office space had
a
‘
for rent
’
sign in the window. Still not willing
to accept defeat, she got out of the car and took down the
telephone number. She might not get an answer tonight, but she
would call tomorrow to get some information. Her cell rang.
“
You didn
’
t call me
back,
”
her tech friend stated.