Revolving Doors (22 page)

CHAPTER 39

~*~*~

When my house phone rang early afternoon, I was sure it would be Talia alerting me she was on her way and that I’d see her shortly.

I had been eagerly anticipating her return so I could get the full scoop on her date with Stanley. I was sure the details were grand.

When I looked at the caller ID however,
I saw that it was Joi’s cell number on the display. 

Oh boy.

I lifted the receiver to my ear.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Joi!” I said as cheerfully as I could muster.

“For you, maybe,” she snapped.

“
Huh
…what’s wrong with you?”

“Listen, I wasn’t going to call at all, but decided that after all this time of us knowing each other, I at least owed you that.”

“
Exxx
…
cuse
me?” I said, giving it back to her.

“What was that last night with Mike? Shit seemed fishy to me. I mean, he’s there…
with a wife
…
that you know
. I’m confused. So, was it some kind of set up concocted by the three of y’all or something?”

“You’re confused? Shit, join the damn club, Joi. I don’t even know what the hell you’re talking about. You’re gonna need to break shit down for me. We are talking about a man that you dated as a
teenager
, right?”

What I said to her went over her head…way above her head. She was on the war path and there was no stopping her.

“Are you telling me that you had no idea that
your new friend
was Mike’s woman until last night?”

“Something like that.”

“I don’t know what that means. Either you knew or you didn’t.”

“Look…I had every intention on telling you that
---”

“Tell me
when
, Gabs? Tell me
what
?”

“About Mike, that’s what. That is who we’re talking about, right?” I could feel my blood boiling and I snapped. “Why in the first fuckin place, I don’t know…because both of y’all are grown as hell! I just figured that it would be nice for you to know
– except it slipped my mind. The day I saw a picture of him at Mya’s office, I was so busy with
my
shit –
forgive the hell out of me
– that I forgot to mention it.”

“You’ve mentioned being around her a few times before I saw her the other night. You
still
forgot about telling me who she was, I guess?”

“I’ve been around her…
not
her man
. Seeing her doesn’t trigger thoughts of Mike. He’s never been that important for my life! When I placed his face, I didn’t want the awkward moment that comes after,
I know your man
, so I left it alone. I was only at her office for a few minutes that day.”

“Few minutes or not, Gabs! The trip back to your car where you could have picked up your cell and called me…that was a few minutes!”

“I was on my way to see my space that day. My mind was somewhere else. But I had every intention on mentioning it to you
and
her. I missed the opportunity. Not on purpose, just circumstance.”

“You didn’t need to be worried about what to tell her. Your loyalty should lie with me. Yeah, I understand that she’s a
friend
now, but you should have been more concerned with how it would affect me. She’s secondary.”

I had made up my mind. I was done sugarcoating.

“Look, I’ve had enough, Joi. The reality of the situation is that he’s
your past
, and he’s
her present
. I don’t owe you a damn thing because the shit is old. I would look like a damn fool getting bent out of shape about a dude that I haven’t been with in years!
Who gives a fuck
? Why would I care that any man that is a part of my past has moved on? Come on, now!”

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

“Are you done talking? Listening? Say
something
.”

“What do you want me to say?”

“You’re kidding, right? You call me…pissed off with accusations that I set you up, I explain my position and you have nothing to say? Girl, please.”

I was more pissed at the fact that I had allowed her to lure me out of my element. When she continued on the other end of the phone without saying anything, I was done.

“You take care. I’m about to hang up.”

“Hold on, Gabs,” she said in a whispered voice that sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

“It’s not really
you
I’m mad at. I’m really sorry.”

There was another pause on her end of the phone.

“There’s more to the story than you know. I’m not high school Joi pissed. I’m grown woman Joi who fucked this man recently, and I’m hurt.”

My mouth fell wide open at the words, as they echoed through my ear canal.

Her sobs were coming through clearly and I instinctively softened towards her in that moment.

“
Wow
…Joi…I don’t know what to say,” I responded slowly.

“Not really much to say. He played me for a fool. I wanted to believe all the bullshit he was feeding me. I guess once a cheater, always a cheater. It was a hard pill to swallow when I saw him there. I couldn’t even think straight. It’s why I checked out early.”

“Yeah. I asked Kelli where you went…” I trailed off, at the same time not wanting to be privy to the knowledge.

“I had to leave,” she continued. “I didn’t want to ruin the evening for you, but I knew had I stayed, I wouldn’t have been able to help myself. He’s an asshole that hasn’t changed at all in seven years.”

“Damn…” was all I could say.

“I’m sure this puts you in an awkward position.”

“Yeah…it does, Joi. I’m not gonna lie. I like Mya, she’s good people and I know she loves that man past death.”

“So are you gonna tell her?”
she challenged.

“No, I’m not. It’s not my place. At the same time, I won’t be sitting in her face knowing the truth either, so I’m hoping he’ll tell her out of fear that one of us will.”

“I doubt it,” Joi said. “He texted me already.
While he was still in the club!
It took everything in me not to take the whole phone over to his table and confront him in front of her. As bad as I wanted to, it wasn’t the time nor the place to do so.

“Texted what?” I wanted to know.

“It was a simple text:
we need to talk
. I texted him back,
of course we can talk if the ‘we’ includes your date
, and I left it at that.”

“He’s probably shittin’ bricks by now
,” I commented.

“I’m sure he is
,” she responded with a slight chuckle.

“You never even told me.”

“Yeah, because I didn’t know where we were taking things. We’ve messed around off and on for the past six months. He was at my house the night you wanted to go out to that club Allure. That’s why I passed on the invitation.”

“So, what are you gonna do? Have you even thought that far?”

“I’m done. He can have his happy life. I’m completely done.”

“You sure?”

“Yep. Nate…the one you met at your opening…is cool, he treats me good. The way I deserve to be treated. I just couldn’t shake Mike. But now, he’s given me all the reason I need to go ahead and be all in with Nate.”

Poor, Nate
, I thought to myself.
Second choice and doesn’t know it
.

Joi apologized to me before we got off the phone and although I accepted the apology, she had already given me a lot to think about. I didn’t like the way she called me with accusations, instead of questions.

Her overall demeanor was off and extremely combative, and beyond disrespectful.

I kept playing over in my head what Natalia said about her not being happy for me
, and then I reflected on some of the recent times she’d exhibited questionable behavior, that made it believable.

When I asked everyone to meet me at my club the day I got the keys, she never showed, never called to say she wouldn’t be there, never even offered up an apology for not being there. She never called later to see what she missed, if anything. She didn’t involve herself in any of the task list. Not that she had to, but asking would have meant something.

When we all decided on a date to use the spa gift certificates I had gotten everyone, she declined saying that she had other plans and that she
might
use her certificate at a later date. 

The time to reevaluate our relationship
had presented itself.

Sadly, and as a woman had once told me, “
not everyone will make the journey with you
…”

CHAPTER
40

~*~*~

“Hey stranger!” I yelled when Natalia showed her face in the kitchen.

I was preparing an enchilada casserole, black beans, rice and vegetables when she glided in. She came over and hugged me tight around the waist and placed baby pecks on my cheeks.

“Long time no see!” I teased.

She had the look of a teenage girl bouncing in wearing an all-white velour sweatsuit, her hair pulled up into a slick ponytail and glossy lips.

“What’d I miss?”
she asked innocently.

“
Uh-uh, girl
! Don’t even try it! What did
I
miss? I’ve been ready for details since you left with those pretty ass roses last night!”

It was all over her face. She was smitten. The distinguished gentleman, Mr. Stanley Coxler, had made an impression on her.

“Somebody is
glow
ing!” I teased, as she took a seat at the kitchen island. “Somebody
also
went shopping it looks like.”

“Are you at a stopping point so I can fill you in?”
she said laughing.

“Yep. Go for it. I need to continue meal prepping, because I’m hungry.
You
probably already ate. Or, at the very least…
been eaten
.”

I couldn’t resist.

“You are so vulgar,” she said playfully. “Do the parents know you talk like that?”

“No. And you know what else they don’t know? That their other daughter who’s here visiting from
Brazil spent a full night and practically another full day with a man they only met in passing.
Hmmm
…I wonder which one they’d care to hear about.”

“Ohhh! You are cold! You wouldn’t.”

“I might. If I don’t get details soon. And even then---”

“Alright, already! You blackmailer, you!”

“You know you want to tell me anyway. I don’t know why it’s taking all this prodding. You should have been offering every second of what happened before putting your butt on that seat!”

“Well…our first stop was a
beautiful
restaurant called Ame in San Francisco. It was really, really, nice and classy. I had
the best
Grilled Maine Lobster – ever. Delicious and cooked to perfection.”

“I know that place!” I exclaimed. “It is elegant.”

“Then you know about that menu? There were so many decadent items to choose from. I had the hardest time. Dessert was easy though. I had these things called Beer Donuts.
Oh. My. God
,
Gabriella
! They were
so
good.”

“Okay, enough about dinner and dessert. What happened afterwards?” I rushed.

“Ahhh…” she gushed. “After we left the restaurant, we stopped by his friend’s gathering for about half hour to mingle a bit. We ran into Mya and her husband, but we passed through so quickly, there wasn’t time for chat. She said to tell you,
hello
.”

Hmmm
, I thought. Good sign. Maybe she wasn’t upset. And she and Mike were together, so things were obviously still on track with them.

“After we left the friend’s home, we wound up in Tiburon. I don’t even know if I can classify it as a house. That place was a stylishly decorated miniature mansion.”

“Was the bed a mini mansion too?”

“You jump right to the bedroom, Gabriella
!”

“Yep,” I said turning the beans on simmer and sitting across from her. “You can tell me about the rest of the house later.”

“Why the rush?” she asked, batting her eyes.

She was trying to stall with the information she knew I was desperate to hear, but I wasn’t going to allow her to do it.

“No sex?” I asked.

“None,” she said. “What kind of girl do you think I am?”

“
Oh
…I forgot who I was talking to! You’re much too innocent for anything like that. Please forgive me oh innocent one!”

“Thank you. Because I am truly offended that you would think that I would lay down with this man only having known him for a few hours!”
she exclaimed, pouring it on thick.

“Oh you’re too much! So really…
no sex
?”

“Nope…
Nenhum
”

“No way! The wining, the dining and the glamour of the evening…”

“You’re right,” she beamed. “This morning, there was
plenty
of sex. Plenty of amazing sex. And plenty of dirty talk. And plenty of spanking. And plenty of…
circumference
!”

“Oh yes,
girth
. A very necessary part. I see why you’re beside yourself with joy,” I teased. “Now…question of the day…did he know what to do with said girth?”

“He most certainly did. He did.
Yumm
…” she said licking across her lips.

“
Wow
.”

“That was my response when it was all said and done.”

“What a ride. I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. Sounds like he made it a night
and day
to remember.”

“He did. After a morning of hot, sticky sex, we showered in side-by-side showers, shopped a little and went to brunch. And now here I am, bordering on exhausted, but full of glee.”

“What’s his story? Kids, divorced?”

“Divorce in process. They’re at the point of sifting through the details of who gets what. There are no children between them so no custody battles to fight.”

“Well, kudos to him! At least he was honest. Most men don’t offer that level of information. But I’m not surprised because he seems unlike other men. Mya speaks highly of him, so I expected him to be a good person. I just didn’t know I’d be assessing his character as it related to someone so close to me!”

“Guess what?” she asked suspiciously.

“What?”

“He offered to fly me back out here in the next few months,
if I’m open to it
.”

Stunned, I asked…“What did you say?”

“I told him I would think about it.

“So what did
you
do last night, honey?” Talia asked, shifting gears.

“
Robert
…” I replied with a smile.

“I’ll bet!” she laughed.

Listening to her laugh, it hit me that she would be leaving soon. It felt natural for her to be there. It was easy having her around because she was a part of my life. We knew each other inside and out and had lived much of our lives, in each other’s lives. We were connected, not by blood, but by souls.

“I’m so glad you came, Talia. This all meant so much more with you here to share in it with me.”

“Awww…I know. I’m glad too that I could be here. It’s going to be hard leaving,” she confessed. I can appreciate that now I’m going back with a newfound energy and outlook.”

“That’s good, Talia!”

“Yeah, I figure now I have more of a handle on what’s going on and can begin my planning for the future, now that I know there is one outside Paraiso Belo.

I was excited listening to her. Maybe all she needed was to take a moment away from it all to see that there was indeed a whole other world to be a part of.

“From now on I can work to save money, versus working to simply make money. That way, I’ll have a nice stash of cash to invest in my future.”

“That’s good. You’re going back with a goal, something you didn’t consider before. I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you so much. I appreciate you not forcing your thoughts on me over the years. Your support has been appreciated.”

“You’ve been there in the same way for me. It’s what we do,” I smiled. “You’ll feel good when you start executing for Natalia’s future. You’ll feel empowered.”

“As weird as it is,” she stated, “I already do.”

“Good to hear, Talia.”

“Geez…” She exclaimed. We sound so serious, huh? Switch! Onto something fun! I told you that Paraiso Belo is going through a major redesign, right?”

“Valentina told me the last time I spoke with her, but she didn’t elaborate,” I said giving her a side eye. ”It
might
have been because she wanted it to be a surprise…”

“Not my fault. If someone wants something kept secret, they need to say the words. Otherwise, it’s fair game in my book.”

“Okay. Well I wanna say here and now everything I tell you is a secret, unless otherwise specified,” I laughed.

“Whatever!”
she yelled, smiling the entire time. “It’s really nice! It’s expanded a lot. You’ll love it. I’ve seen the floor plans and it’s picturesque.”

“Well, I can’t wait. I have what?
Six months
?
Whew
! Seems so long away. I may try to get away before that. We’ll see. Depends on the needs of the business. Especially now that I’m juggling two!”

“Yeah, you big time businesswoman!”

“I am, aren’t I?” I blushed.