Prima Donna (10 page)

“
Muthafuckin’ cocksuckers,” she yelled, pissed.

“
I can’t believe they did this.” Kristen gazed around, amazed by the carnage.

“
This is some bullshit,” McKinley exclaimed, running from room to room.

Carefully, Kristen picked up a black-and-white photo of McKinley that was on the floor. Jamil had taken it while they were on vacation in St. Bart’s two summers ago. In the photo McKinley smiled gleefully. Rays from the sun shined down onto her honey- colored skin. McKinley looked strikingly beautiful in the picture.

“
They straight fucked up all of my shit. What the fuck am I going to do?” McKinley reentered the living area.

“
Okay, I know it’s a lot, but just calm down.” Kristen placed the picture on top of the mantle. “So what now?” Kristen asked.

“
Shit, I don’t know. You tell me. I’m a broke, twenty-five-year-old woman with hardly any work experience and not a pot to piss in. My fiancé is dead. I mean, how could my life get any worse?”

The words hadn’t even settled into the atmosphere before there was a loud knock on McKinley’s door.

“
You expecting company?” Kristen turned and looked at her.

“
No. It’s probably one of the neighbors. They’ve been bringing food and flowers all week,” McKinley said, slowly easing up from the floor. “Who is it?”

“
Leah.”

McKinley gazed over her shoulder at Kristen with a perplexed expression on her face. She didn’t know anyone named Leah. Slowly, she unlocked the door and found a well-dressed woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties, standing there.

“
May I help you?” McKinley asked politely with her hand on the knob.

“
McKinley, right?” Leah asked, clutching her Carlos Falchi clutch purse.

“
And you are?” McKinley ignored her question, afraid she might be a detective.

“
Leah Thompson…Jamil’s wife.”

The only thing McKinley could do was chuckle.
This chick is clearly delusional,
she thought.
There is no way on God’s green earth that my Jamil was married, especially not to this chick. Hell, I have been with him for three years, so where in the hell has this chick been the whole time? ’Cause he was here with me at least four to five days out of the week. Yeah, this bitch is crazy, so let me shut this chick down like a bad Ferris wheel, so I can get back to being depressed.

“
Look, lady, I don’t know who you are, but—”

“
As I stated before, I’m his wife,” Leah said with an even tone. “So to make this as simple as possible, let me get you up to speed. Jamil and I have been married for nine years and we have two lovely children, Brianna and Jamil Jr.”

McKinley immediately remembered the phone call where the lil boy answered the phone.
So that was his son,
she thought.

“
We have a home, or shall I say, a mansion on Star Island, and an apartment in Tribeca, New York, and a beach house in Malibu. I’ve known about you for about two years now.”

“
So why are you just sayin’ something now?” McKinley snapped.

“ ‘
Cause you weren’t the first woman he stepped out on me with and you for damn sure weren’t the last. To be exact, it’s me, then his other girlfriend slash baby mama Tanay, then you. And yes, to be clear, he was seeing all three of us at the same time. Did it hurt in the beginning, yes? Do I care now, no? ’Cause I knew this day would come where I would get everything.”

McKinley stood speechless. She hadn’t even blinked she was so stunned.

“
Yeah, I know it’s a shock. It was also a shock to me when I found out that he’d proposed to you with a five-carat diamond ring a couple of months ago and you tearfully said yes,” Leah said mockingly.

“
Oh, but wait, there’s more. Because of my husband’s untimely passing, I now have to tie up all of his loose ends. See, this fairly modest apartment that you’ve been living in is under Jamil’s name and since I’m his beneficiary I now have control of it. So I’ve decided to sell this apartment immediately, which gives you thirty days to vacate the premises.”

“
What? You’ve got to be kidding, right?” McKinley said in disbelief.

“
No, honey, sorry, I’m not. Well, look, now that we’ve gotten a chance to chat I have to be off. I do have a funeral to plan.” Leah secured her purse underneath her arm. “It was nice meeting you, McKinley. I wish you the best of luck. Smooches.” Leah blew McKinley a kiss then sashayed off down the hallway.

“
What was that all about?” Kristen asked standing up.

“
Oh, just the usual, you know,” McKinley scoffed. “That was Jamil’s wife. She came by to tell me that I have thirty days to vacate the premises. So I guess I was wrong. My life
can
get worse.”

“
O…M…G, really?” Kristen said, aghast.

“
Yes. This whole time that muthafucka was living a double life. Here I am thinking I’m the only one and he got a whole wife, two kids
and
a baby mama. I was with him for three years and all I have to show for it is a bunch of clothes and a wack-ass engagement ring. This bitch gets everything and I’m left with nothing. I gave up my family and my friends for him. He had me thinkin’ we were gon’ be together forever.” McKinley cried hysterically.

“
So what are you going to do?”

McKinley stood, trembling with fear. There was only one way out of her predicament. The one thing she’d been dreading the most. The word alone made her cringe and brought on bouts of anxiety.

“
I guess I’ll have to,” she swallowed hard, “go home.”

“
I guess I met you for a reason. Only time can tell.”

J Cole feat Drake

“
In The Morning”

After two weeks of packing up her things and having them shipped to St. Louis, courtesy of her mother, it was time for McKinley to bid farewell. It was her last day in Miami before flying home to St. Louis. She’d truly miss Miami. She didn’t know how she’d live without the smell of sea salt or seeing the leaves from the palm trees sway in the wind. She’d yearn for the scrumptious food, colorful printed clothes, all-night club scene and great weather. More then anything she’d miss all of the time she and Jamil spent there.

When they’d met three years prior, while she was on vacation, he’d swept her off her feet and she’d never left. Now she was being forced to leave. Parts of her hated him for the lies he’d told and for making her feel like she was the only one. But for the last three years of her life all she’d known was the love he’d shown her.

After strolling the beach one last time, McKinley placed her orange, suede, peep- toe heels back on and headed to Hotel Victor for an early dinner. As she walked the sun was just starting to set when suddenly she spotted him. There he was, sitting on the edge of his silver, SL 65 AMG, with his left hand in his pocket, surrounded by his homeboys. Everything about him screamed heartbreaker and to keep it moving, but McKinley couldn’t take her eyes off of him.

He was six feet, 190 pounds with skin the color of peanut butter. A blue Yankee’s cap cocked to the left covered his low cut, but enhanced his Asian-inspired eyes, chiseled cheekbones and soft kissable lips. She didn’t know if he had a girl, but visions of what they could be filled her mind. He was the type of nigga she wanted to wake up in the morning and cook breakfast for, forget her past for, shed tears for; but McKinley had bigger fish to fry. Like figuring out where she’d get her next buck from. Using the common sense God gave her, she made her way into the hotel’s lobby instead of giving into temptation.

Hotel Victor was one of South Beach’s premier hotels. Their luxury suites, breathtaking views and spa treatments were one of a kind. McKinley especially loved their use of vibrant colors and modern furniture. Vix wasn’t just another South Beach restaurant, it was an experience. It provided artistry in every aspect of the restaurant, from the cuisine to their elegant paintings. The tables were made of beautiful marble slabs. Each one was stylishly decorated with vanilla tea candles and twenty-four karat flatware. There were a mixture of crème and mustard colored chairs, trimmed in brown. McKinley was seated at a table for two by the window, which was opened.

A soothing breeze kissed her skin as she skimmed through the menu. Once her order was placed McKinley pulled out her cell to call her mother, but the sight of Jamil’s face on her screen brought her to tears. Overthrown with emotions, she threw the phone back inside her purse as well as her ring. She couldn’t imagine what her life would be like now that Jamil was dead.

Not only was he her boyfriend, but her mentor and friend; so when the proposal of marriage came up, there was no way she could say no. But now, McKinley was on her own and with little to no money and forced to move back in with her mother. Unknowingly a tear slipped from her eye and she began to cry. Choking back the tears that filled her throat, McKinley got up and walked quickly to the restroom to gather her emotions.

Once her emotions were in check she placed on a new coat of Chanel lip gloss and exited the restroom. On her way back to her table she locked eyes with the caramel thug from outside. Pleased to see her again, he strolled toward her with a smile. McKinley hoped and prayed that he couldn’t tell she’d been crying as he approached.

“
How you doing?” He gently took her hand, fascinated by her facial features.

“
Fine and you?” McKinley smiled.

“
Better now.”

“
Really?” She laughed.

“
Yeah. So what’s your name?”

“
McKinley.”

“
Nice to meet you McKinley.” He looked at her in awe.

“
Nice to meet you, too. . .”

“
Koran.” He shook his head.

“
My bad. It’s just that you look like someone I used to know.” Koran referred to his late wife, Whitney, who had lost her battle with cancer three years before.

If it wasn’t for the height and weight difference, McKinley would’ve been a dead ringer for Whitney.

“
I get that a lot.” McKinley chuckled.

“
So umm. . .are you here with somebody?” Koran looked around. “I don’t wanna get you in trouble or nothin’,” he joked.

“
You good, no actually, I’m here by myself.” McKinley stared him directly in the eye while still holding onto his hand.

“
That’s what’s up.” Koran nodded. “So uh . . .you gon’ let my hand go or what?”

“
Oh, I’m sorry.” McKinley drew her hand back and blushed.

“
It’s all good. I was just fuckin’ wit’ you. Were you on your way out or have you already been seated?”

“
I’ve already been seated. I was just on my way back to my table.”

“
You need someone to go wit’ you,” Koran flirted.
“If you want to.”

“
So, McKinley, what’s a pretty girl like you doing walkin’ down the streets of Miami by yourself this time of the day? It’s a lot of bad guys out here. You gotta be safe.”

“
Are you one of the bad guys or are you a bad guy tryin’ to be good?”

“
I guess you could say I’m a little bit of both. Hopefully you’ll stick around long enough to find out.”

“
Maybe I will.”

Koran normally wasn’t the type of dude to go after a female so hard, but he had to get to know the woman who resembled his late wife. Besides that, there was something about McKinley that told him she needed a real man in her life. She’d caught his attention as soon as she turned the corner. At that moment he knew he had to holla at her. She was stunningly beautiful, but in her own unique way. Due to the warm Miami heat, she wore a ribbed cashmere polo shirt and a pair of silk twill Louis Vuitton shorts. A topaz and gold braid necklace with black diamonds designed by Janis Savitt completed her look. Girlfriend was fly and from the way she talked, it seemed like she had her mind right.

“
So, Koran, do you live here?” McKinley quizzed.

“
Nah, I just came here for a wedding.”

“
Excuse me, sir, would you like something to drink?” a server asked.

“
Yeah, I’ll have whatever she’s having,” Koran replied.

“
You might not want to do that.” McKinley snickered.