CHAPTER 42
“You mean you left and no one even knew you were gone?”
“Yep.”
“I don’t believe that. Not Maxwell. That doesn’t sound like him.”
“Well, believe it,” Yolanda said. “I caught a cab home the other night. Haven’t heard from him since.”
“He hasn’t called you?” Jackie exclaimed.
“Nope. Not once. No apology, no explanation, nothin’.”
“He has your phone number right?”
“Of course he does! That’s not why he isn’t calling.”
“I warned you about Theresa. When she has her eye on something, she usually gets it.”
“Including Maxwell,” Yolanda added. “I hate that girl! She really needs to mess up again so she can get fired. Man, I wish I could just box up her stuff and send her packing. I’m telling you, Jackie, that girl is on my list. If I could figure out a way to get rid of her, I would.”
“I told you about saying things like that about Theresa. She’s a really nice person if you take the time to get to know her—”
“Not you, too! I don’t want to hear another thing about her. That girl is the devil, pure and simple. I mean, she has everybody blinded into thinking she’s this really good person, but she’s not.”
“Listen, Yolanda, are we friends?”
Yolanda thought for minute. They talked more frequently, almost every day in fact. They ate lunch together, went out on weekends, they were definitely on the fast track to becoming friends.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Good. And as your friend I’m telling you to leave Theresa alone. Just ignore her, and she’ll calm down. I mean, after all, you are trying to take her man.”
“Maxwell is not her man! They’re not together anymore—”
“So are you and Maxwell together? What are y’all doing? Are you just friends? Dating? What?”
Yolanda sighed. She didn’t know what they were doing. After all this time, they still hadn’t kissed; had, in fact, done nothing that went beyond friends. But something was there between them, and she was sure she wasn’t the only one who felt it.
“I know it looks like I’m wasting my time on him, but when we’re alone we talk about things, we have stuff in common. He’s a beautiful person and I really want to learn more about him.”
“That’s great, Yolanda, that really is. But being with Maxwell is not enough motive to want to sabotage Theresa.”
“In my book it is,” Yolanda said, laughing. “I’ll try to ignore her, I really will. And as far as Maxwell goes…”
“Maybe you’ll give him another chance?”
“I don’t know. We’ll see.”
“You’re such a liar! Anyway, I gotta go get some sleep. Tomorrow starts another week at work.”
“Whoopee,” Yolanda said sardonically.
Jackie laughed. “Night, girl.”
“Good night,” Yolanda said, hanging up.
Yolanda sighed and picked up Precious.
“You won’t ever leave me, will you, baby?” Yolanda asked, stroking behind her ears.
Precious purred her loyalty.
* * *
“—I hate that girl!”
“—if I could figure out a way to get rid of her, I would…”
“Being with Maxwell is not enough motive to want to sabotage Theresa.”
“In my book it is.”
Jackie smiled and stopped the tape recorder that was hooked up to her phone.
She couldn’t believe how naïve Yolanda was. How desperate she was for friends that she would just call anyone a friend. She couldn’t care less if Yolanda got involved with Maxwell, but she needed a plan B just in case her first plan didn’t go well.
She had enough evidence on Yolanda to make sure she would go down if things didn’t go as planned. All their late-night conversations, all the times she had said how she hated Theresa and wished she was gone, it all had been recorded. And now with Yolanda falling for Maxwell, Jackie had Yolanda’s motive, too.
You better stay on my good side, Yolanda, or else you’re going down, too.