Not that I am modest or anything, but I don’t think I’ll reveal anything else about my honeymoon, since some things should be kept private. I will acknowledge that I was one of the sorest women on the planet, both inside and out. I was Troy’s wife, and in the grand scheme of things, that’s all that mattered. However, I actually looked forward to a few days of rest upon my return to Atlanta. I said my return because Troy was asked to help a top staff member with a legal problem, so I flew back home without him. That’s my Troy, always willing to help his fellow man.
I phoned Amy and started filling her in on what transpired in the Bahamas. Before too much was said, she advised she was coming over to my Sherwood home to talk to me in person. I asked her to pick up Monica and Darnisha so we could have a nice gossip session. She informed me she hadn’t talked to or seen Monica since my reception, and Darnisha was still at work.
When Amy parked Stephen’s car in the driveway, I was so happy to see her, I forgot about the pain I felt and embraced her tightly. I filled her in on our exploits, with her shaking her head. She in turn relayed what happen at the laundry in my absence. She also expressed her decision not to renew her relationship with Chris, saying her children needed her more than she needed him.
“Amen to that,” I exclaimed. “What about Stephen?”
“I’m going to keep him. We both agreed we might have rushed into living together. He wants to marry me and adopt my kids, although he knows he has to change. Stephen, the big bad-ass cop everyone fears is just a huge pussycat. I really think we’re going to make it work.”
When Amy learned Troy didn’t return with me, she became suspicious and critical. I asked if she would have allowed Stephen to have his way with her like I’d given the green light to Troy.
“Ro, that’s a tough question. It would depend on whether our love was strong enough,” she said. “But I’ve got to level with you I still think he’s blowing smoke up your ass.”
“How can you say that? He loves me. I’m his wife now and I know he is going to be the best husband in the world.”
“Ro, you’re my best friend and I only want the best for you, but I just don’t know if Troy is who you imagine him to be.”
Remember when I indicated Amy was street smart as they came? Well, I listened to what she said, but didn’t hear her. Maybe she was jealous, or she could see something I couldn’t. Whatever the case, I was Rolanda Jenkins and legally bound to Troy forever. I was sore from his testing me and I had passed his final exam. I asked Amy if she’d go with me to pick up some new furniture, realizing once Troy returned from the Bahamas, he’d want a more masculine styled bedroom. Amy showed she was a real friend when she advised me to wait until Troy came back. She didn’t want me to do anything which might upset him, causing me to receive discipline for selecting anything he didn’t appreciate.
“Where’s your Lexus?”
“I let Mr. Grisby use it while I was away. He wanted to showboat for Rockeisha’s mom. It looks like she’s holding on to his salami.”
“Can you blame her?” Amy shot back, with both of us grinning.
Every minute she worked seem like an hour knowing Rolanda was back from her honeymoon. Darnisha wanted the scoop on everything. Trying her best to avoid being anxious as her shift wound down, she became elated to see Amy arrive a little early. Her coworker warned her about Rolanda’s supposed perfect romantic getaway with her new spouse, along with her new opinion of Troy. Darnisha truly cared about Rolanda and became concerned about some rumors she’d been hearing about Mr. Troy Jenkins’ reputation. Hoping that things she heard were false, she clocked out and rushed to see Rolanda.
After witnessing how slow her friend moved, it became apparent some of the accusations she’d heard about Troy were true. While he was considered a prized catch, he came with a perverted sense of love. The word which floated around the Atlanta area was that Troy was a sadists and he’d been questioned by the police on more than one occasion for not knowing when to stop. Role playing had their limits, and somehow Troy had overstepped that line on several occasions. Darnisha thought he had done so again when she had to help unfasten the bra Rolanda needed to remove. There were bruises, welts, and blisters all down her back.
“Ro, what happened?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Troy and I got a little carried away with our sex games in the Bahamas.”
“They look painful.”
“They’re getting better,” she replied, then tried to change the subject. “How are Alvin and you adjusting to the married life?”
“Ro, we’re fine, it’s you I’m worried about. I know you love Troy, but this is – is abuse. Alvin would never –“
“Darnisha, we were having fun. He’s not a monster, he loves me. Plus, he apologized for getting too caught up in the moment,” Rolanda advised.
There were so many things Darnisha wanted to say; nevertheless she understood any comment would fall on a person too deeply involved to understand with any sense of logic. She knew she couldn’t talk to Alvin about Troy’s sickness. She knew better. Rolanda had changed his life for the better and would have probably hurt Troy if he knew about the abuse. Rolanda would have to see him for who and what he really was; a good-looking, handsome professional, who wasn’t worth the dirt stuck to the bottom of an old pair of shoes.
The islands sounded like an ideal spot for a vacation destination in the future, however once she learned Troy didn’t return with Rolanda, the more the rumors she heard about him began to sound like facts. One of her old crew members just happened to take a trip the same day Rolanda went on her honeymoon. Maybe it was coincidental, but the chick still wasn’t back yet. Darnisha wasn’t sure what Troy’s agenda was, but she planned on helping to protect her friend whether Rolanda thought she needed it or not.
Two days after I returned to Atlanta, I received a phone call from Troy apologizing for the separation. He was on his way to the office and said he’d see me later. I was euphoric at the knowledge he was back. My husband was home and I intended on preparing a special dinner for him. At the time, I had no way of knowing it would become one meal we would never get to share. Several hours later, while I waited for him to come home, I was ready to enjoy an early sexual romp before we ate. All I wore was a bath towel wrapped around me. I tried to phone him, yet he never answered. Since the time was ticking away too slowly, I turned on the television to keep me company until he walked through the door. A special news bulletin interrupted the sitcom I watched. I didn’t know what was taking Troy so long to get home, but I worried about our dinner getting cold unless I re-warmed it. Then, as I heard what the reporter stated, I almost had a heart attack.
“Troy Jenkins, the attorney who represented Thomas Bertran has been taken into custody for questioning in the apparent murder of an Atlanta businessman at the home behind me in the Sherwood Forest subdivision. All we know at this point is that Mr. Jenkins is being questioned about the homicide which took place at 2040 Sherwood Forest Dr. We’ll continue with updates as…”
My brain didn’t know how to compute the data it was being fed. The address was the same as my smaller home, so was the home being shown on the screen. Then as the camera panned the driveway, I saw Troy’s car and my Lexus. What was Troy doing at my smaller home? He had never been there, nor did he know about it. Then I had a sickening feeling, knowing Mr. Grisby was using the Lexus. Could he be the murder victim? I felt the walls closing in all around me. The ringing of the phone snapped me back to reality. Amy, Darnisha, Alvin, Wallace, Rockeisha, Johnny, and so many others called wanting to know if I knew what was going on. Amy and Darnisha advised they were on the way over in the wake of my situation.
Of course I kept trying to phone Troy’s cell phone; however, it was never answered. I phoned Sheldon to try to find out what he knew, and was informed he was out of the country. I felt lost and alone. When Amy and Darnisha arrived, we rushed to my smaller home. They were in the process of removing the body from the house and towing both vehicles. Uniformed officers stated we couldn’t enter the home as it was a crime scene. When I said I owned the house, a detective came over, escorted me into the house, separating me away from Amy and Darnisha, and began to grill me with questions. Thankfully Johnny showed up and put an end to their interrogation. He led me back to my friends, saying he was there if I needed anything.
When I asked Johnny about Troy and Mr. Grisby, he tried his best to calm me down, acknowledging he too was in the dark about what actually took place. I couldn’t believe my luck, I’d finally become Troy’s wife and he’s hauled off to jail for possibly killing my boss. As reality seemed stranger than fiction, I found myself at the police station waiting for any information about Troy. Johnny had been retained by Troy to represent him, and I waited for him to supply me with any detail which presented itself. I saw Johnny exit one of the interview rooms and called his name. He came over and instead of answering any of the questions I fired at him he asked Amy and Darnisha to take me home. He said he would call me later, once he had a handle on everything. I had to be physically restrained from trying to reach my husband when they allowed him the opportunity to use the restroom. Once we were out of the police station, a familiar face from the past resurfaced. I saw Nicky slithering her way into the building. The bitch shows up as I’m being driven away. I screamed for Amy to stop and let me out of the car, but wisely she didn’t even slow down. I don’t know why Nikki would show up to reinsert herself in Troy’s life. He was mine, fair and square. If it cost me every dime I had to defend him; even if it meant going back to having nothing, that’s what I would have done. So unless Nikki wanted to donate to Troy’s legal fun, the bitch had better stay clear of me and my husband.
Johnny didn’t appreciate being in the middle of everything. His childhood friend had been killed. One of his firm’s rising young attorneys was the main suspect. Then there was the matter of Rolanda standing to profit from Jeremy’s death. The situation was both ugly and messy. The police hadn’t charged Troy yet; however, it was just a matter of time. Johnny tried to get Troy to admit to everything that happened, except his client knew how to play the legal system as well, if not better than he did. After hours of interrogation, Johnny was allowed to escort Troy out of the station.
“I’m extending your vacation,” Johnny advised as he drove.
“That’s not necessary, I’m okay, really.”
“I’m trying to put it as nice as possible, the old man was for letting you go,” Johnny said. “What the hell were you doing at Jeremy’s house anyway?”
Folding his arms across his chest, Troy decided to level with his boss.
“A few weeks ago I put a tracking device on Rolanda’s car. I had planned on removing the damn thing, but forgot about it. Anyway, when I returned from my vacation, I wanted to surprise her. I tracked her car to the house and upon seeing the front door ajar, wondered what she might be up to or if she was with someone, since there were two vehicles in the driveway. When I went inside, I saw some of her things in the home, I searched for her. When I went into the bedroom, I found a man lying on his back with blood gushing from his head. He was still alive, asking me for help. I did as much as possible to give aid, but it was no use. I relieved him of the metal pipe he was holding and within moments after he took his last breath, the police showed up. I swear I didn’t kill him.”
“Your story doesn’t add up Troy. The police contend the pipe was used to kill Jeremy. I suspect your prints are all over it. Your clothes are bloody and torn as if you’ve been in a fight. I suspect Nobel is going to panel a grand jury to indict you for Jeremy’s death.”
“There is no motive. I didn’t do it!”
“For someone as intelligent as you claim to be, you’ve got to be one of the stupidest lawyers I know. Do you have any idea what Jeremy’s death means?”
“I – I…”
“It means motive! Jeremy signed everything he owned over to Rolanda until it was safe from his ex-wife Leona. The house you entered, as well as the car you tracked, all belonged to Jeremy, including the Blairstown home Rolanda and you meet at. The Jaguar in the driveway, not to mention the five Laundry Lion locations, all belonged to Jeremy. Or they did; now they belong to Rolanda. That, Troy is motive. Now, let’s talk about your marriage.”
“Let’s not! I had no idea about any of that. Were they related?”
Johnny just shook his head, seeing the cockiness in the man become tamed. When Johnny filled him in on everything Rolanda stood to gain from Jeremy’s death, he fully understood the scope of the situation.
“The Georgia Dome?”
“The dome and all 500 acres under and around it. And the state’s lease is up next year. They’ll have to fork over millions or in essence, she’ll own the dome.”
“I thought she just work for the laundry. You know, just another hottie with nothing going for herself except trying to up her social status.”
Johnny could only laugh. Troy knew absolutely nothing about Rolanda Boyer. Nothing!
I awoke from the nightmare of Troy being questioned by the police, and Jeremy being murdered, whereby I was protected from harm by Angels. Peter had his arm draped over me and as I tried to roll over to start my morning, I discover Paul was guarding me on the other side. The last thing I remembered after taking the sedative was Alvin bringing Alisha and the twins over. That had to mean I wasn’t dreaming, and the past day was in fact reality. The aroma of breakfast being prepared had me curious to who was in the kitchen. I should have known Alisha was going to take good care of me, making me regret not adopting her. I walked in the kitchen finding Ruby, Alisha, Darnisha, Amy, and Monica. Alvin showed up with hot doughnuts as the twins one step behind me, were still acting like sentries. I’ve felt better knowing I had such caring people in my corner.
Amy kept her eye on the television, listening for updates about Mr. Grisby’s murder. Nothing new surfaced, although Johnny had phoned while I was sleeping. Amy relayed what he said, along with his reservations about my being seen with Troy.
“How can he expect me to stay away from my husband? He needs me now more than ever.”
“Ro, Mr. Grisby was your boss. Think for a second, because it might look real bad to people who don’t know you,” Amy said.
I phoned Johnny in an instant. He explained everything from a professionals view, so I’d have no false images of how the press would report the news if Troy and I were seen together.
“The gold digger and the murderer were recently married.”
The press would crucify both of us. Johnny had me promise to stay clear of Troy, explaining he’d issued the same caution to Troy. He suggested the best thing for me to do would be to work harder to take my mind off of things until he had a talk with the district attorney. He was absolutely right. If I didn’t focus my energy elsewhere, I’d go insane.
Working at that moment would have been too stressful, so instead of going to work I asked who wanted to go to the water park. As expected, the twins screamed the loudest. Monica, who sported a darker skin tone, said she’d never been to a water park. Alvin indicated he’d love to tag along but his boss probably wouldn’t let him off.
“You’re off today Alvin,” I said.
“Thanks Ro, but Wallace owns the place and calls the shots.”
“That’s so?” I replied, phoning Wallace to let him know I needed Alvin to handle some personal business for me. “He’ll be back tomorrow.”
“How’d you pull that off?” He inquired.
“Listen up; I’m only going to say this once and only once. I own all three of Carson’s auto dealerships. Next month they’ll receive a name change. They’ll become Atlanta’s Auto Emporium. Alvin, I was going to wait until then to inform you of your new promotion. You will be taking over Wallace’s position.”
“I’m going to be the boss?”
“Almost, I’ll still be the real boss, but you’ll run all three locations, which is why you’ve been learning every aspect of the business. That is unless you can’t handle the job.”
He didn’t answer; however, his grin along with the bear hug he gave me, acknowledged his response.
“Ro, who are you?” Amy and Darnisha asked in perfect unison.
“A female who’s ready to go have some fun with my handsome bodyguards,” I answered, taking hold of the twins hands. “If we’re going, let’s go.”
We loaded up a few vehicles, stopped to pick up Amy’s kids and headed for Water City. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ruby laugh so much. I don’t think she was ever sick, but lost between a combination of being malnourished and utterly depressed. Since eating properly and not having to deal with her late husband’s bull, her body looked nice in her swimsuit. I thought we’d surely spend a small fortune during our outing, yet I was wrong. We didn’t have to pay for anything. The owner of the business wasn’t present, leaving his 19-year-old daughter in charge of the place. As soon as one of the people in line to enter the park recognized “Straight A,” we were given the celebrity treatment, which included free admission, refreshments, and no waiting in line for any of the rides. Alisha signed quite a few autographs and posed for photo opportunities with half of the people at Water City. Her single was played over and over on the public announcement system. Right before the park closed, we were given complimentary passes to return, along with T-shirts as we vacated the deserted place.
Everyone made it home safely, except Monica who wanted to chill out with me for a while. After taking baths, eating ice cream, and donning our pajamas, she blindsided me with the reason she wanted to hang with me.
“Ro, I don’t know you that well, and I’m afraid to tell you what I need to because we might lose our friendship, and I really think you’re an awesome person.”
“I hold onto friends Monica. They’re the ones who have my back when times get tough.”
“I was in Freeport with Troy and you, during your honeymoon and also after you left.”
It took me a few seconds to register what she was saying. Before I responded, she broke down into tears. Inside of me, I felt rage flare up. Not at her and strange enough not even at Troy. To think I had to wear an oversized T-shirt over my swimsuit due to what Troy had done to me, whereas Monica wore a bikini, showing her beautiful unblemished skin.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to go at first, but he insisted, saying you wouldn’t mind.”
“Monica, don’t cry, Troy told me he invited you,” I lied. “I’m not upset with you, I know how much he needs and maybe he thought I wouldn’t satisfy his sexual drive. Did you to have a good time?”
“To be honest with you, not really. I thought we were going to be together, you me and him. I only went because you were going to be there. I hoped you and I would get a chance to – you know.”
“Thanks for being honest. We’d better get some sleep; tomorrow is going to be a busy day.”
I lay there, not wanting to believe Troy would betray my trust in our first week of marriage. Then I remembered I hadn’t had the chance to talk to him and give him an opportunity to tell me about inviting Monica to the Bahamas or staying a few days to treat her the way he should have treated me. I never saw any part of the island, as I was not allowed to leave our room. From what she indicated they enjoyed wining and dining all over Freeport. All my friends kept asking me who was I, when maybe I should have been asking myself that same question.
When sleep overtook me, I slipped into an unconscious state where Troy’s hands were caressing my body. His mouth traveled all over me. My legs were lifted over his shoulders, while he orally stimulated me. During one long sensual climax, I lifted my torso off the bed, causing me to awaken. I was drenched with sweat. Glancing between my legs, expecting to see my husband, I saw and felt Monica’s tongue lapping away every drop of nectar she could locate. I would have stopped her, except the next orgasmic wave flowed through my body with the force of a tsunami.