“In the arithmetic of love, one plus one equals everything, and two minus one equals nothing.” Mignon McLaughlin
“Hey, Chynna. I’m sorry I missed your call. You sounded like something had gone down. I was in a meeting when you called. That she-devil I work for had me running behind her like a slave. Uggh, I can’t stand her. She makes my blood boil. Anyway, what’s up? You straight?”
“KeeKee, you should be used to her by now. Ever since they hired her you’ve been saying the same thing, that she’s a witch.”
“That’s ‘cause she is. She’s fired at least seven people since she came here. I believe that’s the reason they brought her here.”
“What? To clean house and get rid of folks?”
“Exactly. I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m on the short list myself. I think the only reason she hasn’t given me my termination papers is because she knows I know my stuff. I was the senior administrative assistant in that department for five years so Darcie knows I know the ends and outs of that company. She’d be a fool to get rid of me now, but I’m still scouting for a position in another department. I’ll even consider leaving the company altogether if I can find a stable company with as good of a salary and benefits as this one.”
“I heard that.”
“Anyway, enough about my job. I guess you’ve got your butt off your shoulders, huh?”
“You know I can’t stay mad at you, Kee. You’re my bestie. It’s just that you can make me so mad sometimes.”
“It’s only ‘cause I tell you the truth, which isn’t always what you wanna hear. So tell me, what’s up?”
“I need to talk to you about something but you need to promise you won’t say a word to any one, not a single, solitary word.”
“You know I wouldn’t do that.”
“I mean, not even to Cameron. I know he’s your man and all, but what I need to talk to you about is serious. And I need to do it face-to-face. Can you come over here?”
“Yeah, I can be there around seven. I need to go home and check in with my honey first.”
“Girl, please that joka isn't going anywhere, except to work and home. He loves your stanky drawers too much.”
“True…true,” KeeKee laughed into the phone. “I’ll see you later. I already know it’s got something to do with Dray. I just hope you haven’t busted all the windows out of his car again or bleached all of his clothes.”
“I wish it was simple as that. See you at seven.”
While waiting on KeeKee to arrive, Chynna turned on the television. She rarely watched TV and never watched the news, but this evening she did both. She flipped through the channels until she came to the six o’clock news. It was the usual stuff, crime in Memphis. Somebody got shot, a carjacking, and then there it was. She listened to the reporter.
“An unidentified man was transported to Regional One with life threatening injuries after a hit and run in downtown Memphis. A woman, who was also hit, is in stable condition.”
“Humph, how did she get hurt? I didn’t run over her behind,” Chynna mumbled. “Guess it was when Dray was playing Mr. Knight in Shiny Armor and pushed her out of the way. Serves him and her right.” She turned off the television when the news went to another story, went into the kitchen, warmed up some leftovers from Sunday, and proceeded to sit down at the small two-seated kitchen table to eat. As she enjoyed her food, she scrolled through Google searching for a good lawyer.
Always be prepared, and never, ever let anybody see you sweat. Never miss the chance to get back at anybody who hurts you. Revenge is sweet. Remember that, she heard the voice of her foster mom say in her mind. Through the years, the words became part of her to the point Chynna took every opportunity to make her foster parents’ lives a living hell as she grew older. She always disobeyed them, ran away as often as she could, and reported them for beating her more times than she could remember. She finally succeeded and the foster parents were sentenced to jail for a year for child abuse and neglect. One year was not long enough for Chynna. They deserved to be locked behind bars for a lifetime if you asked Chynna, but then again she told herself some jail time was better than nothing.
After she saved the numbers of a couple lawyers, she finished eating and went in her bedroom to take a shower when her text notifier sounded. She looked at it as she stepped out the last of her clothes.
“Hey. WYD? Busy?”
“bout to get into the shower.”
She smiled, knowing this more than likely would turn him on.
“is that right?”
“Yep.”
“Want company?”
“Ummm. Well…”
“Well what?
He texted after she didn’t say anything else.
“Think I’ll pass…for now. See you Saturday. Gnite, Nathaniel. I’ll think about you while I’m in the shower,”
she teased and laid the phone down on the bed.