Woman on Top Read online

  Malik

  “You promise to come back to me?” were my parting words to my wife when Tiffany and Nylah left for Paris. I’d decided it was time for me to leave the confines of city politics, so having been convinced by a powerful group of socialites, I’d announced I wouldn’t be running for re-election. Instead I tossed my hat into the Governor’s race. This time, I’m running a clean race with no favors for friends and no kickbacks from contributors.

  There is one thing that keeps me from sleeping at night, the fact that we’d never captured the person who murdered my friend, Wesley. However my gut tells me that the person who ordered his murder, is, in fact, himself dead.

  The other thing I had to clean up was Tootie. She’d packed up and moved to Newark, Delaware, landing a job with Amtrak as a Station Manager. It wasn’t easy ending our 10-year relationship, but I couldn’t take the chance of her ruining my future or me not giving her one.

  As for Raquel Turner-Cosby, I’ve hired a private investigator to dig into her background because there are two things that still don’t add up for me. What had made her so smitten with my wife that she’d offered her such a high level job, with such a lucrative salary? The other thing was Haney. I mean, what kind of vendetta did she have against that man? There was no doubt he was ruthless and from what I’d learned about his relationship with my wife, if I could’ve killed him myself I would’ve. But for Raquel to have pulled the trigger, well that was personal.

  Unfortunately, I still don’t know if I’m the father of the baby Tiffany is carrying, and according to her, I may never know. However, if swallowing my pride to raise another man’s baby is what it takes to keep my wife, and put me in the governor’s seat, then that’s what I’ll do. I just pray she comes back to me.

  Raquel Turner-Cosby

  I’m your mother. It felt so good to finally say those words aloud, after having rehearsed them for over 30 years. Years through which I’d only imagined what it might be like to one day meet my daughter. A daughter who proved to be like her mother in so many ways, and now I’ll be able to teach her how to be shrewd in business as well.

  Tiffany may claim to have never cared about my existence, but I saw that misstep and that glint in her eye when I revealed who I was. No longer did she need to feel abandoned by a mother who never wanted her. I’d wanted her all along. And now sitting here in Danbury Federal Prison, I’m not worried about my future or hers because I’ve done my due diligence to protect us both.

  As for my son-in-law, Mayor Skinner, I know she loves him, but I’ve made sure that my daughter will never need him or any other man. What role she plays in his life and mine is solely up to her, but eventually she’ll return to us both; she won’t have a choice.

  For the few years that I’m away, that scoundrel, Lou Mendels will see to it that every month I receive pictures of my family. He’s already sent me holiday pictures from the City Hall tree lighting ceremony, but he turned me down when I suggested he follow Tiffany to Paris.

  Suffice it to say, I realize I no longer need to be the woman on top, because that title undeniably belongs to my daughter.

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  Chapter 1

  The Days

  I don’t even like those women that much, Pearson Day thought, taking another gulp of Merlot. Wincing, she put her wine glass down on the dressing table with a little too much force. The dark red liquid swirled over the top. While checking the bottom of the glass to make sure it didn’t break, Pearson caught the smirk on her husband Niles’ face through the reflection in the mirror. She snarled back. He shook his head and walked out of the bedroom.

  She picked up her compact and dabbed concealer under her eyes. “You should be happy I’m still going tonight,” she yelled after him.

  “That’s not the problem,” Niles yelled back from the master bath.

  “That’s not the problem,” Pearson scrunched her face and mocked.

  “I heard that!”

  Pearson snickered. The wine she’d been drinking while preparing for the evening started to warm her on the inside. She was finally feeling good—almost good enough to be bothered with ‘the ladies’ for the next few hours. Vonita wasn’t so bad. In fact, she was quite grounded. Pearson liked her most. Ryan seemed to be in need of a nice, strong spine, but it was Nadalia’s mouth and attitude that raked Pearson’s nerves. Those women were a cast of characters and Niles wanted her to befriend them, ordering her to ‘be nice’ around them just because they were attached to his friends.

  If it hadn’t happened in all these years, why would it happen now?

  Pearson had no problem with the guys and waved her thoughts of the women away. Truthfully, she knew she wasn’t the easiest to get along with because she never had many friends. These women were the closest things to friends she’d had in a long time.

  “Babe, you need to hurry up and get dressed. We’re going to be late.”

  Pearson looked up at Niles’ frustrated expression. He stared back at her through the mirror, pleading with his eyes.

  He had been ready to go for a while—all decked out in a peach shirt, a brown velour sports jacket, and matching brown shoes. His naturally wavy crop was cut close to his head and a freshly-trimmed goatee framed his perfect lips. She was still sporting a brown lace bra and matching panties as she sat at her vanity applying make-up.

  Pearson looked into his hazel eyes that matched his amber complexion and licked her lips. In response to her seductive gesture, Niles cast his eyes toward the ceiling and waved her off.

  “Come on, woman. We have to go.” He chuckled. “You’re going to mess around and cause us to miss the whole evening with smiles like that.”

  Niles walked up behind her, connecting with Pearson’s eyes in the vanity mirror. For a moment, he held her gaze and watched her pink lips. Pearson admired what she saw as her gaze swept over him from head to. . . waist.

  “You’re wearing jeans?” She raised her brow.

  “It’s casual night at the Beck even though a sports jacket is still required.”

  Pearson looked him up and down one last time, winked, and picked up her wine glass. Before she could get it to her lips, Niles pried it from her hand. A little spilled into her lap. She cut her eyes at him and Niles challenged her with his own look of defiance.

  “You’ve had enough and we haven’t even left the house. Can you please finish getting dressed?”

  Pearson rolled her eyes, but she wasn’t really upset. They had their issues, but after ten years of marriage, she was still giddy over him at times. He was the only human being for whom she’d curtail her razor-sharp tongue.

  Pearson applied one last coat of gloss and lifted herself from the chair, holding onto the sides. “Oops!” she said and snickered at the fact that she nearly lost her footing. When she was steady, she turned to Niles. “I’m only doing this for you. I would never choose these women as friends.”

  “Just—”

  Pearson put her hands up, stopping him mid-sentence. “And don’t tell me to be nice.”

  She slipped on her strapless maxi dress with the airy layers of soft flowing chiffon, took one last look in the mirror, grabbed her evening purse, and headed downstairs.

  Niles jogged down the steps and through the house at a brisk pace. Stopping at the front door, he turned to watch Pearson trailing behind. She could see the question he was itching to ask behind his eyes.

  Pearson cast her eyes upward and sucked her teeth. “What?”

  Niles took a deep breath. “Can you please take it easy tonight?” he asked, referring to her drinking.

  “Sure, Niles,” Pearson replied and waved him off once again.

  Pearson reached for the doorknob and heard him sigh behind her. She knew he was annoyed and hoped he’d get over it during the ride.

  Chapter 2

  The Lees

  Fully dressed and ready to
go, Ryan Lee paced the length of her spacious foyer while waiting for her husband Anderson to come home. She hoped she had successfully applied enough make-up to hide the evidence that she had been crying. The heartbreak she felt the night before had numbed. The more she became familiar with these emotions, the less time she spent wallowing in them. When she woke, she’d been done with the crying. However, the underlying rage never left; it only revealed itself passively.

  Anderson left the previous afternoon with nothing more than a simple, “I’ll be right back. I need to run by Niles’ house real quick.” Ryan hadn’t seen him since. All of her calls and texts went unanswered.

  She knew he would return home soon because they had a dinner party to attend. It was Sage’s birthday, and Anderson wouldn’t miss dinner with the foursome at their favorite place. Ryan often felt like Sage, Niles, and Mike were more of a priority to Anderson than she was.

  When she heard the tires of Anderson’s Jaguar crackle against the gravel, moths took flight in her stomach. A fresh wave of anger enveloped her. She stopped pacing, stood rigidly still, and tried to tame her breathing.

  As she continued rubbing her clammy palms together, Ryan flinched at the sound of the car door slamming. She envisioned each footstep, wondering what she would face when he walked through the door. She jumped again when she heard his keys in the lock. Shaking her hands, she tried to keep her trembling from making its way through her entire body. Her heart pounded as the locks tumbled, clicked and the doorknob turned. She convinced herself that she deserved an explanation and promised herself that she would stand her ground all the way through this time, no matter what he said.

  Anderson pushed the door open and stepped in. They were face-to-face, Ryan’s chest heaving. Anderson’s expression showed no guilt. Ryan swallowed hard. So many words crowded her brain, pushing themselves to the tip of her tongue only to be held there. She didn’t know what to say first.

  “What’s up, babe? You dressed already?” Anderson placed his hand on the small of her back and pecked her on the cheek.

  Ryan’s breathing increased. How dare you walk up in here as if nothing happened? Where have you been since yesterday afternoon? Nothing is open all night but hotels, bars, and legs. So whose legs were you between? “What happened to you?” she asked through tight teeth.

  “I had some business to take care of,” Anderson responded indifferently, then walked to the kitchen at the back of the house. He grabbed an apple off the table and walked back into the foyer, crunching obnoxiously. “What time is it? I don’t want to be late.”

  Ryan stood straight, taller even, holding her breath for a moment. “Anderson!”

  He turned and looked at her in a way that questioned what was wrong.

  “Where. Were. You?”

  “I told you I had to go by Niles,” he said as if her question was ridiculous.

  “You weren’t there all night, Anderson. Who were you with?”

  “Let’s not do this now. I need to take a shower and get dressed so we can get to Sage’s birthday dinner, remember?”

  “No!”

  Niles stopped chewing and held his apple in midair. He looked at Ryan as if she were crazy, then took slow steps in her direction. Ryan stepped back as he approached.

  “No? Ryan. . .”

  “You won’t do this to me again. I’m your wife!” Her body defied her desire to stand firm and she trembled as she spoke. She felt her pale skin burn red hot. “You left here more than twenty-four hours ago. I called you. . . texted you. I deserve an explanation.”

  Anderson took another bite of his apple. Ryan imagined him choking on it. He stood silent, gnawing as if that apple was the best thing he’d ever tasted. As if Ryan wasn’t standing in front of him. She felt like she would explode into a million pieces and wished she could do just that so the heat of her rage would set him on fire.

  “Ryan. . .” He paused to take another bite. Juice from the apple shot from the sides of his mouth. He wiped it with the back of his hand. “We can talk about it after dinner. I don’t feel like talking about this right now.”

  “Well, I do!”

  Anderson narrowed his eyes.

  She wanted to smack him, kick him, something.

  “Ryan, I had things to take care of.”

  “All night?” She folded her arms, but looked away. “I won’t put up with this much longer.”

  Anderson cocked his head to the side. “And just what are you going to do? Leave?”

  He walked toward her, closing the space between them as he awaited her answer. Ryan said nothing.

  “Where are you going? Back home to your alcoholic mother?” Ryan stared at him, eyes blinking, chest heaving, fighting back nasty words that were sure to bring on a full-fledged war she wasn’t equipped to fight.

  Anderson touched her arm gently. She jerked away, fire still shooting from her eyes. The things she really wanted to say taunted her lips. Things that if she were stronger, she’d say.

  “Ryan,” he called softly. “Can we deal with this later, please? I want to be able to enjoy my buddy’s birthday dinner.” Gently swiping away a wisp of her straight blonde hair from her forehead, Anderson kissed her cheek. “Now let’s go upstairs and get dressed.”

  She watched Anderson turn around and take the stairs two at a time. Once he was out of sight, she let the tears fall and the trembling racked her body. She hated the fact that he was right. She had no place to go. She had nothing without him. She was lucky to have a man like him in the first place—a wealthy, well-known actor who was admired, desired, and gorgeous—on the outside. Someone who had given and shown her so much and had taken her far away from her more than modest beginnings.

  Ryan vowed that one day she would have the courage to stand up to him. Until that time, she would stay until she got what she needed out of their union. How could she ever go back to having nothing when she’d become so used to having it all—almost?

  Like he said, she went upstairs, but she didn’t change her clothes. After all the effort she had put forth, it annoyed her that he hadn’t even realized she was already dressed. Ryan went to her bedroom mirror and checked her make-up. She’d already done the best she could to mask the evidence of her discontentment. The only thing she added before leaving was her game face. She stood looking at her reflection in the hall mirror. How did we get this way?

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