 
## Soulphisticated Ladies Episode 1

Jaha Knight

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 Karasi Media Group

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

### Table of Contents

Chapter 1 | Scene 1: Betrayal Cuts Deep*

Chapter 1 | Scene 2:*

Chapter 2 | Scene 1: The Girls*

Chapter 2 | Scene 2:*

Chapter 3 | Scene 1: Breaking Face*

Chapter 3 | Scene 2:*

Chapter 4 | Scene 1: Career Girl, Abused World*

Chapter 4 | Scene 2:*

Chapter 5 | Scene 1: Revelations*

Chapter 5 | Scene 2:*

Chapter 6 | Scene 1: Masquerade Revealed*

Chapter 6 | Scene 2:*

Chapter 7 | Scene 1: Happy Endings*

Chapter 7 | Scene 2:*

Chapter 8 | Scene 1: Needle on the Record*

Chapter 8 | Scene 2:*

Chapter 9 | Scene 1: Second Guessing*

Chapter 9 | Scene 2 :*

Chapter 10 | Scene 1: Blind Paradox*

Chapter 10 | Scene 2:*

Thank you from the Author

### Chapter 1| Scene 1

"Every man dies but not every man lives." –William Wallace

'He loves the way I ride it,' was blaring from the club's speakers. Jacinta stood on the side of the stage watching the stripper gyrate and concentrate on moving her butt cheeks singularly back and forth until several men eagerly threw bills on the stage. Her head facing the crowd, the stripper licked lips that were already glistening under the lights. They were plump and soft pink with a hint shimmer. Long red ringlets framed her face and dripped over her shoulders. The thin fabric peeking from between her rounded butt cheeks contrasted starkly with the airy material that covered her torso. The men were in a stupor, mouths slightly agape as they watched her wiggle and alternately bounce to the music while bent at the waist and lightly caressing her calves and ankles.

Cin looked around her; the club was filled with men on a Tuesday afternoon. She smirked a little at how easily men could be distracted. She knew how to use that excitement to her benefit, though. As the music throbbed around them, bass heavy mixed in with the sound of drinks being poured, she took in the smell of overworked pussies and horny male sweat. Strawberry Dazzle was working the stage to Ciara's song. The room was filled with scantily clad women smiling into the faces of sexually excited men with money dangling from their hands.

She nodded to Ricardo in the corner. Her brother was six foot two and built like a linebacker. He leaned over and spoke into the ear of a bartender. Cupping the champagne, he brought it over to her group presenting it with a flourish. She winked at him, her smile a thank you. No one other than her family knew she owned this club. Five of her siblings worked here, in different capacities, but none of them worked the stage.

Jacinta popped the cork, her attention refocusing on Mr. Martinotti, the pudgy, sweaty man in front of her and the president of Steak & Shoes.

She began speaking loudly over the music, breaking the group's entranced reverie, "Mr. M, with this new marketing campaign, we can increase your sales by 79% within the first quarter, to be followed each successive quarter with a 65% retention plan to create customer loyalty and buy in. We will be rolling out the first commercial during the Superbowl. Then we will follow that up with a social media campaign involving the fashion blogs. It will feature models and their men to showcasing your shoes."

Pouring them both a glass of the bubbly liquid, Cin handed it to Mr. Martinotti, her fingers lingering suggestively on his as she handed him the glass. His glazed eyes widened slightly but he returned her smile. He really did look like a chubby angel, Cin thought. His blonde hair was wispy and thin on the top, the curly tufts silky and short. His stomach protruded from his crisply starched white shirt and dark trousers were strained around the crotch area. His eyes, a startling blue were unfocused and dreamy. She wondered how someone who seemed this innocent could become the president of such a financial empire. He didn't have a sharp bone in his soft, doughy body.

"Well, that sounds absolutely great, Ms. Cruz. We knew The Alanis Agency would provide us with the marketing campaign need to launch our newly acquired venture."

He turned to Robert, his second in command and said, "Robert get the details from Ms. Cruz."

Jacinta looked at Robert, whose glasses were now in the teeth of a Stacey Dash look alike, his hair ruffled and his conservative tie now sitting comfortably in her cleavage.

"Yes, sir," Robert said voice muffled by his own tie.

"I will get your copy from my car," Cin said. She stepped away from the group and stood near the wall in the back to watch Maxim.

Cin was giddy inside. She allowed herself a small victory arm pump. This was going very well. Two weeks ago, she called and rearranged the pitch schedule for Steak & Shoes to a day prior after getting her hands on Team Devine's marketing campaign. This was too delicious to be believed. Selah had no idea Mr. Martinotti was in town and when she found out, she'd quake in her stilettos. Cin was excited that her plan was in motion.

With her prompting, Maxim brought the whole team to Jocelyn's upscale gentleman's club to pitch this marketing campaign. He was in the corner getting a lap dance from the newest dancer in her crop. A blonde Russian named Juliette.

Cin loved it when another woman turned him on. It made her time with him that much hotter. As Juliette ground her butt into Maxim's crotch, Cin began to wiggle seductively. His eyes on Jacinta, he cupped Juliette's breasts in his large hands. Jacinta bit her lip and rolled the glass of champagne between her own. Maxim massaged Juliette's breasts—eyes devouring Jacinta. She lifted her skirt a little, subtly shifting her legs while flashing him her thin silver garter. Maxim slipped his hands down Juliette's back and to her waist. He helped her grind into him, bucking into her in time to the rhythm she set. Cin felt herself go moist. She tipped the glass to her lips and swallowed the liquid hard.

Placing the glass on the bar, she walked slowly to the door going to her car to retrieve the pitch for Robert.

Maxim tipped Juliette and followed Jacinta outside. She was in her Mercedes, apple bottom in the air digging for the proposal. Her attention was firmly fixed on finding all of the components of the proposal to give to Robert.

"How is the pitch going, Cin?" Maxim asked striding towards her. His long lean body was a total contrast to Mr. Martinotti's soft, round form. His broad shoulders were encased in a well-tailored suit. Sandy brown, shoulder length hair blew gently across his fully manicured beard and mustache. Maxim exuded sex. He was her boss but had also been her lover since she began working at the Alanis Agency a little over a year ago. Coming in behind her, he began rubbing himself against her protruding buttocks.

She moaned a little and closed her eyes. He was her one weakness, this man. Grabbing all of the information quickly, Cin pulled herself together. Slipping from the car she said admonishingly, "Maxim the pitch is going very well. This is business so we are going to have to save anything else for later."

He slid his finger down the side of her face, charming her instantly. It was a flashback moment to their first time in his office at The Alanis Agency.

"You know I am all about my business," he said, voice rumbling like thunder in his chest, "but you have me sufficiently distracted. You send me a sexy Russian blonde and then you tease me with what you're wearing under this very professional skirt and jacket. How do you expect me to stay focused? Don't you want to sin with me?"

Jacinta tilted her face into his caress, she knew this would happen and she welcomed it. That's why she'd parked at the back of the lot in a secluded area. His Escalade and Mr. Martinotti's stretch Hummer limo flanked her small car on either side. But she was conflicted; she needed to get back inside to hand off the proposal to Robert.

This coo was important to her. She wanted Maxim to recognize her as a professional dynamo. After all, was grooming her to be more ruthless and she thought she knew why. He wanted a partner in his bed and in his business and she was more than willing to fill that role.

Cin tossed her head at Maxim, gracefully exposing her neck and accepting his challenge. He kissed her behind her ear, smoothing back her long, inky black hair. Placing his hands on her hips, and with fingers over his, she slowly began lifting her skirt to give him a full view of the silver garters.

He sucked in his breath as she paused but kept lifting the skirt, showing him a perfectly waxed cunt. Her thighs glistened with her juices; her panties sat discarded on the seat next to the proposal that had since slipped from her fingers. Eyes glittering recklessly, Maxim nibbled kisses along her jawline, stopping as he smiled crookedly against her lips.

His newly favored words spilled from his lips as she guided his member from his pants, "There are seven deadly sins..." he began.

"But the eighth sin and the best one," Jacinta said, as he lifted her so she could wrap her petite legs around his waist, "begins with a C."

### Chapter 1 | Scene 2

"Is it possible to succeed without any act of betrayal? –Jean Renoir

Selah stepped off the elevator and stomped across the lacquered floor to her office, her shoes drumming in time with her heartbeat. Adrenaline and anger swirled through her like a hybrid force bent on destruction. Every line of her body reflected the emotions. She threw her coat and purse on the outer desk as she spat words at her assistant, Vivian.

Her mocha tinted lips curled back into a snarl, her mouth a tight thin line. The skin across them pressed so closely to her teeth, her dimples stabbed her gums in their effort to strain away from her cafe' au lait colored face. Selah's arms were willow thin and bent like sharp icicles as she pressed her palms flat against her desk.

Her legs, endless and toned strained the seams of her pencil thin skirt as she angled towards the woman that scampered quickly behind her into her office. Vivian, stood before her desk, iPad notes at the ready.

"Get Jacinta on the phone, Viv!" Her words were so soft, they cracked the air like a whip.

"I've tried her three times, since you called, Selah." Vivian spoke quickly, "She's not in the building. I've tried everything to track her down. She may be pitching—"

"Did you try Maxim?" Selah interrupted.

"Well," Viv said more slowly this time, "He's out of the office too. I spoke with his assistant and he said the last time he saw Mr. Alanis, he was with Ms. Cruz."

"Don't tell me she is pitching my team's ideas with Maxim to Mr. Martinotti! I want Jacinta on the phone, now!" Selah's face looked as if it were made out of glass. Her large hazel eyes sparkled in their anger. Her high cheekbones were angled so sumptuously she looked exotic. She looked as if she were ready to break. It was disconcerting that she was this close to the edge.

"Selah," Vivian said in a soothing voice, "let me get you some tea. I know you are upset, but you're crumpling the comps and we still need them for the Martinotti presentation." Vivian stepped closer to Selah and removed the comps from her hands, smoothing them against the desk as she spoke.

Walking into the reception area in the outer office to fix the herbal tea, Vivian looked around the immaculate office. Working for Selah for two years at The Alanis Agency and still didn't prepare her for her tantrums. They were so controlled, a little too controlled, she thought. She just wished Selah were like other people and would yell and scream and throw things. But she was always polite and stoic in her anger even when her words were biting she was cold when angered.

Icicles from Selah's woulds dagger you in the face before she blew up in the heat of anger. Selah never put too much out there. Vivian's hands shook as she poured in stevia and a drop of milk. She put her right hand over her left, willing it to stop trembling. Taking a deep breath, she walked back into Selah's office laying the cup of herbal tea on Selah's desk. Plunging back into the artic tantrum with Selah, Vivian began speaking quickly.

"Ms. Cruz has forwarded all of her phones to her assistant. He can't even reach her, Selah."

Selah took a few sips of tea. Its warmth steadied her frazzled nerves. A few seconds passed by before she spoke again.

"How did that bottom feeder, Jacinta "Cin" Cruz," she said mocking Cin's accent, "find out about our team's idea, Vivian?"

A few moments passed before Selah spoke again, more slowly now, almost thoughtfully to Vivian.

"We have all the copies for the team and everyone was supposed to keep their mouths shut on this campaign. We know what's at stake. There is only one digital copy of the presentation. We put all the printed materials under lock and key for goodness sake! She stole a campaign that we have been working on for six months. How could that have possibly happened?"

"I'm not sure, Selah," Vivian mumbled, peeking at Selah through lowered lashes. Selah was old school. When she started calling people by their entire name, there would be consequences.

Selah's eyes narrowed on Vivian's face. "You'd better find out Viv. I don't care if you have to polygraph our entire team. I want to know how Jacinta found out that we are pitching the 'Lick your chops while she shops,' campaign to the Steak & Shoes executives. Mr. Martinotti was expecting our opposing pitches tomorrow! Opposing! Do you know what opposing means, Viv? It means not the same! But she has our team's pitch and guess what! It's the same! Find out what happened Viv, you have less than 24 hours."

Vivian walked quietly out of the office, closing the door behind her. Her hairline was damp with moisture. She gnawed her lip worriedly. The last time Cin stole their marketing campaign she'd slept with Simon. He used to be on Team Devine and his story was a cautionary tale.

A widow spider eats her mate after they make love and Jacinta was no different. After sex, Simon, like most men, fell asleep and gave Jacinta access to his entire house. Unbeknownst to him, Cin cracked his computer's password and obtained access to all of the comps, mockups and the entire Team Devine pitch from his home computer. She emailed everything to herself while he slumbered.

When Selah found out, he was fired so quickly he wasn't allowed to take any of his personal possessions. Security escorted him directly through the glass doors in the lobby. His cell phone sat on his desk for three days before Vivian was able to box it all up and ship it to him.

Immediately following, Maxim, one of two Alanis brothers that owned The Alanis Agency, rewarded Cin; she became a junior marketing executive with her own hand picked team for Team Cruz. It wasn't long before she also slithered her way into Maxim's bed. Even though Gabriel, the other Alanis brother objected, he was minority owner and Maxim got what he wanted, in more ways than one.

So today shouldn't surprise them all that much, although they'd taken extreme precautions to prevent this situation from occurring again. Vivian began furiously typing a memo to Team Devine. They were going to have to regroup and meet outside of the Alanis Agency to strategize. They needed to figure out how Cin got this info and to plan out their next steps.

Cin was extremely manipulative and so were her team of snakes. "The Slitherers", that's what everyone called Team Cruz around here. They never succeeded on their own ideas. It was always off of the backs of others in the agency and Maxim knew it.

"If she successfully pitches Mr. Martinotti with our team's idea," Vivian typed, "she will secure a $3 million dollar marketing contract for The Alanis Agency and become Selah's equal with this new promotion. Jacinta's promotion would give her entire team a promotion. Team Devine was on shaky ground with this situation. There has only been one senior marketing team at The Alanis Agency in its 80 year history." She pressed the send button, catapulting the hair raising email into the core of their marketing department inboxes like a bomb. She picked up the phone to call the Dessert Bar to set up the dinner meeting. Replacing the receiver, she began typing Selah's memos.

Selah dropped down into her chair, steepling her fingers against the bridge of her nose. She inhaled slowly and let out the breath, her eyes opening in the process. Gazing out of the enormous picture window, she raked her hand through her long dark chocolate hair. Replaying every detail of the Steak & Shoes campaign she began thinking of the opportunities Cin had to rip her team off. After running several Mission Impossible scenarios in her head, she disregarded them and looked towards the door. There was a snitch in their midst and that person would be ferreted out and dealt with

### Chapter 2 | Scene 1

"We have to distrust each other. It's our only defense against betrayal." - Tennessee Williams

Sucre' & Spice Dessert Bar sat on the corner of Main and 10th St. in a two story industrial brick building with exposed beams and an incredible amount of light. It was stationed in the heart of the Broad Wall, FL community. Residents and tourists loved it for its charming ambiance and succulent dishes.

Small tables were paired with unenclosed booth benches that created cozy intimate spaces. The seats of the booths were topped with throw pillows and a couple of wooden chairs adjacent each table completed each unique eating space. A long metal topped bar sat off to the side of the room with octagon track light fixtures hanging from the ceilings, spotlighting the taps.

A refrigerated bakery display lined the entire left side of the wall next to the entryway. In it, a mouth watering array of desserts. The whole bar was reminiscent of a hostess entertaining people in rooms of her home. There were four large meeting areas curtained off with homey decor. Couches, and arm chairs mixed haphazardly with elongated tables. A sideboard was in each of the meeting rooms for dishes, cutlery and food. Each meeting room space also had its own theme. The entire second floor of the charming building held administrative offices and an employee break room.

Inside, Vivian was being seated in one of the curtained meeting spaces. Her senses were in for a treat. She was surrounded by the smell of desserts, small french tapas, floor to ceiling beveled windows shaded with wooden blinds and the beauty of exposed brick. The floors were wooden and rough hewn, a small cluster of fresh flowers sat in the middle of each of the two tables in a quart sized mason jar.

While waiting on the rest of Team Devine to arrive, Vivian began to reflect. The last directive she received from Selah was for her to get to the bottom of the leak and this was the only secure way to do it away from the office. The owner of Sucre' & Spice was Vashti Grier, one of Selah's best friends'. When she booked the reservation, Vivian asked Vashti for a private table.

Almost on cue, Vashti, elegant in a pink and yellow maxi dress, strolled languidly through the tables, checking in on the pre-dinner crowd. At six foot in flats, chocolate skin and dark lips, she was a striking woman. Making idle conversation with her guests, Vashti spoke to every seated patron, making sure their meals were up to Sucre' & Spice's incredible standards.

Vivian's fingers drummed impatiently along the table top. She hated waiting and personally subscribed to the idea that being on time was actually late. Looking at her watch, she shook her head slightly and told herself to be patient & calm down. But it was almost impossible.

Someone in this group was going to be fired, very soon and she hated the thought because she actually liked everyone on Team Devine. This part of the job was not fun. The competitiveness and cut throat aspect of advertising—especially at The Alanis Agency was enough to make your stomach churn with anxiety. Maxim encouraged an environment of back stabbing and stepping over other people to get ahead.

His personal mantra was "Step on them before they step on and over you on their way up." No joke, that was above his office door and he said it at the end of every staff meeting. It was even at the bottom of each of his internal memos.

The people on Team Devine seemed to be the only ones in The Agency that worked well together without the goal of back stabbing. Selah hand picked this team to work with and they all owed her a debt of gratitude for plucking them out of their dark places. Laura was their research and development guru, Chloe the marketing analyst, Steven the business development manager and Alfie their graphic designer and she was the marketing assistant and social media specialist. Personally, Alfie was her favorite. He always has the funniest things to say.

The door opened, cool air and the sound of rain brought in Laura. She shook her umbrella and set it in the stand. Briefly speaking to the hostess, she began heading towards Vivian. Her ash blonde hair glimmered with beads of water under the low lights. She was dressed quietly in head to toe charcoal, a battered book peeking from the enormous boho bag draped across her pixie waif-like body.

"Hello" she muttered in a breathy, tinny voice.

"Hello," Vivian said, looking past her to the door. "Where is the rest of the team? Did you see any of them when you left the office?"

"They were right behind me, Steven had them finishing some last minute details on the Robinson deal" chirped Laura in her melodic monotone.

Vivian didn't bother trying to make small talk with Laura. She knew Laura would just gaze at her with blank, turquoise blue eyes. Laura didn't do small talk. She was a facts chic and she didn't pretend to be anything but that. She was amazing at her job, though. She could memorize details and information better than anyone Vivian had ever met. She crossed to the sideboard where Vashti had her staff lay out the food Vivian had discussed with her over the phone. Grabbing a plate, she slid a vegetable egg roll onto it as a starter. Eyeing the mixed fruit drizzled with syrup with longing, she cursed her diet, abruptly reaching for the chopped cobb salad and returned to her seat.

"Laura, there's food on the sideboard, help yourself, The Agency is paying for it."

"Thanks," Laura murmured rising to fill a plate. She sat down just as the chatter increased in volume around them.

They both looked up, catching the tail end of a conversation, "...if none of us let it out of our sight when we had the digital copy, who could...?" Chloe broke off as they entered the space. She plodded over to a chair with her quirky neon striped leggings, combat boots and over the top outfit. Alfie and Steven brought up the rear, sitting on either side of Vivian on the couch.

"That's a great question, Chloe." Vivian said coolly. "It's what we're here to find out. I did state in the memo I didn't want the situation discussed until we were all together."

Chloe noisily plopped down into the chair next to Laura, irritation in her every movement. She knew the little princess would be annoyed if she heard them talking about the Leak-tastrophe. She should have voiced her concerns way before they arrived at the restaurant but Steven kept pestering them with last minute questions about the Robinson deal. Everyone was tense and double checking their every move. She sighed, it was now time to step into the lion's den with the little cub mother.

"Not getting any, Viv?" Chloe asked "No need to go all Adolf on me, I was just curious."

Ignoring Chloe, Vivian said, "Everyone grab a plate, I am almost finished but you all can eat while I go through these questions."

"Don't pretend that we are having a lovely chat, Vivian. This is an interrogation," Chloe snapped.

"I can narrow down your questions significantly, Viv, " Alfie said.

"How?"

"You can just mark me off the list of suspects. My whole piece of the project was done while I was at home on sick leave. When I returned to the Agency, I gave the digital drive to you, honey snapples. You were actually the first person I saw when I walked in that morning. Also, I can't go out like Simon because we all know I don't like that particular taste of fish, so you know Cin and I didn't sleep together. I didn't save anything to my personal computer and no one came over to my house while I was sick. I got the flowers Selah sent me but the delivery guy didn't even come inside of my home. Although he was looking pretty scrumptious. "

"Your boyfriend could have—"

"Viv, he would never betray me that way and quite frankly I don't like the fact that you're implying that he would. But," Alfie said, getting all up in his feelings, "since you seem to need further evidence, he was out of town at a tradeshow that week. His mom came over and dropped off soup and meds and she didn't come inside either because I had the flu. I didn't want to contaminate anyone else."

Vivian struck Alfie off the list. All of what he said was plausible. So that left the four of them. She questioned them all while scribbling notes and exploring all possibilities. The questioning went on into the early evening. They struck off every possibility that they could think of—except one.

"What about your roommate, Viv?" Chloe asked.

"Doesn't she work at the Agency?" Laura chimed in.

"Giovanna wouldn't do anything like that," Vivian dissented.

"That's what Simon said about Cin." Steven mouthed around a mouthful of apple almond tart...

### Chapter 2 | Scene 2

"Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down." \- Oprah Winfrey

Sweat trickled down her face as Moria squinted at Selah, who sat next to her in the sauna. Her signature long haphazard braid was pinned atop her head.

"Well, you look like my best friend," Moria said, sardonic look on her wide, heart shaped face, "but my best friend wouldn't go three days without calling me back as I requested of her on her voice mail."

"Your best friend is in crisis at her office and is in danger of losing her position," Selah fired back, "so forgive me for being a bit preoccupied with my situation."

"What's happening at the office?" Gennifer asked, her thick, chocolate skin glistening as she sat on the bench between Selah and Moria.

"Two words, Jacinta Cruz," Selah said, frustration cicling her words like frostbite.

All of the ladies groaned in unison. Gennifer shook her head, Moria sighed wearily and Vashti's plump lips tightened noticeably.

"She has convinced Maxim that the Martinotti Steak & Shoes campaign from Team Devine is her idea. No doubt she did that in bed while between his legs, although I don't know how you can talk with a mouth full of—".

"Selah!" Gennifer interrupted in an admonishing tone.

"Well, it's true," she grumbled.

Vashti shifted on the bench, long legs stretched out for maximum relaxation, "Your whole team came in for lunch today. When I left to come here, they were still at Sucre' & Spice. I'm sure they got to the crux of the problem. But to be honest, Selah, if it were me, I'd find Cin and bust her head to the white meat. That chic has no class and she obviously thinks she can continue to get away with just about anything as long as she's riding on the pole of Alanis."

"She was like that before she started sleeping with Maxim," Selah murmured. "The ability to sleep with the shark and not get bitten is obviously a talent of hers. He's training her. Although for what, I can't imagine. He likes it when she does devious things. I'm quite sure he knows all about this. Maxim only hired me to piss off Gabriel. He didn't expect me to actually be good at the job."

The mention of Gabriel's name always brought a haunted look to Selah face that her friends couldn't ignore. Three sets of eyes met briefly and looked away. They had been best friends since before they were all in training bras, they didn't need words to state a truth. As usual, Moria refocused the conversation.

"How bad is this? What did Cin get this time? A couple concepts? A hint of what your team is doing with the presentation?" Moria asked.

"She has everything this time. Like she duplicated our entire digital file or got ahold of the physical copies. We have someone in her department that tells me everything—he's my version of deep throat with a tidy little price for information." Selah said, her brow furrowed. "Ladies, this is bad. If I am bumped down at work, it comes with a huge pay decrease. Thorne will be furious if I come home and tell him we have to downsize everything because I let someone steal an idea that my team has been working on for half of a year. I'm the one that brought Mr. Martinotti to the Agency, had my team do all the research on his company and—" she broke off, overcome with emotion.

The girls mistook her choked up moment for professional fear. But they were wrong. She was truly afraid of what would happen if she told her husband about this. She didn't want the other ladies to see it in her eyes, so she turned away.

"Damn," breathed Gennifer, wrapping a silk scarf around her natural hair. She tied it securely, then rubbed Selah's back through the towel. "You will figure it out. You have a great team. They have your back. We do too. If there's anything you need us to do to help, let us know and we'll be there. Thorne will understand if it goes the other way, Selah."

"Thorne may understand," a bark of harsh laughter emitted Selah's lips. She turned towards her friends, pinning them each with her gaze, "Gennifer, you have Horizon House, Moria you have the University and Vashti, you have Sucre' & Spice. The Alanis Agency is what I have and I'm about to lose my position," Selah began passionately. "Not only my position but the positions of my whole team is about to be downgraded. Steven alone has like seven kids and he works three jobs! Where is Laura going to go? Gennifer, when you pointed her out to me at the Horizon House, she was barely functioning. Her dad had beat her so badly, the coma didn't even give her enough time to heal. Sometimes when her nightmares are too bad for her to cope with, I go over at night and lay with her until she falls asleep. She trusts me and I'm about to let her down. Alfie may be fine because he doesn't even need to work. Vivian is amazing but she's sold herself so many times to put food on the table that no one wanted her in their board room. Chloe's clothes come in the room before she does and I don't believe anyone else would hire a marketing analyst that looked as if she worked for Ringling Brothers. A back rub and sauna conversation is not going to make me feel better."

Gennifer snatched her hand back from Selah's towel as if it were on fire. Feelings hurt, she slid a little closer to Moria.

"Selah, calm yo ass down!" Vashti said loudly. Her voice bounced off the walls of the sauna and settled in the air.

"We were just trying to help." Gennifer said, sounding wounded.

Selah turned her back to them.

"It is just a job, Selah. Maxim and Jacinta obviously thrive in a hostile environment. You're allowing them to tear you apart in their dog fight. Don't allow them to control how you plan to go about your life. Change the game and make them play it your way. You are a valuable asset to The Alanis Agency. How much money have you brought into that company? How many of the clients that you've brought in are loyal and happy with what your team has done for their businesses? You're just as powerful as they are. Jacinta hasn't even touched the amount of money you're able to bring in for that company. You are allowing them to steal your power."

Gennifer sat back after delivering her speech.

"Yeah what she said," Vashti smiled over at Selah.

"You are right, Gennifer. I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"Well tonight," Moria enthused, "don't worry about any of that work drama. We are at the spa, our skin is being exfoliated and wrapped after the sauna. It's all on me because tonight is my anniversary with Sloan. You can't do anything about Jacinta while you're here so give yourself a few worry-free hours of relaxation. When you walk out the door and get into your car, you can think about it then. But for now, we are going to relax and enjoy this evening."

"Awwww, it's your anniversary!" piped Gennifer. "What do you have planned?"

"We are going to have a candlelit dinner at home. I've purchased a chess set for Sloan and he's going to love it!"

"A chess set?" Vashti giggled. "Girl you better give that man some of that swirl between your legs! I have never heard of someone gifting a chess set on their anniversary. That is boring as hell. Didn't you cook for him last night and the night before? So forth and so on? What's special about that? I hope you at least bought some new lingerie. I was there when you fell over that Lego last weekend. I didn't want to say anything but those granny panties had a hole in them and they were ugly. How can you even wear that crap around your husband?"

"I didn't buy any new lingerie and Sloan loves to play chess!" she said defensively. "Besides, haven't we had sex night after night and time after time before? It's the same as dinner!"

"If sex between you and your husband is the same as dinner, somebody aint doin' it right." Vasti proclaimed.

Gennifer and Selah laughed, listening to Moria and Vashti lobby the words back and forth across the heated room.

"You know exactly what I mean Vashti Grier. Don't be a smart butt."

"Don't take that school tone with me, professor. Calling my whole government out like I've done something wrong when what you're doing is criminal. Give that man some of that Moria dip, or at least let him taste it. Who are you saving it for? He's your husband."

"I am on my period, Vashti, not that it's any business of yours."

"Uh well put a tampon on, put on the lingerie and let him release new little Wens and Waydes in your mouth, school marm."

"That is so gross. You always have to take it too far."

"Uh," piped up Selah "Vashti has a point, Moria."

"What? You agree with her?"

"Yes, it's your anniversary."

"So you would do that for Thorne?"

"How often are you having sex, Moria?" Gennifer asked.

"That is so not the point." She said primly.

The girls looked at each other and then at Moria. As a chorus they said, "That is the point."

"How often do you have sex with Thorne?" Moria shot back at Selah.

"About six to eight times a month."

"Really? Wow, that's a little more than excessive." Moria said, stunned.

"Excessive? Girl I have sex three times a week and I'm not married. How the hell can you call six to eight times a month excessive? You better stop playin' Moria before someone else picks up your slack." Vashti admonished.

"Yeah Skye and I—" Gennifer started.

"About you and Skye," Moria stopped her, "Yeah, I don't want to hear anything about how many times you and my brother have sex, so please don't bring it up."

"Why aren't you having sex with your husband, Moria?" Selah asked quietly.

"It's not that we aren't having sex. But with the boys always around and in constant motion, now that they're walking. Sloan spends a lot of time at the business and when he gets home I'm usually worn out and asleep from working and taking care of the twins after work."

"Do you need me to baby sit tonight so that you can have alone time with him?" Gennifer asked.

"No, I will be fine. I'm not going to put on lingerie and do anything that Vashti recommended. I've already decided to make a nice meal and try to get the boys to bed early."

"Moria," Selah said, sadly "you're asking for trouble if you don't give your husband as much time and attention as you give the kids."

"Let the church say, Amen!" Vashti said loudly.

Moria said nothing, rolling her eyes, she laid back on the warm tile and let the sweat exuding from her pores seep into the towel.

### Chapter 3 | Scene 1

"Lord come quick, Lord come in a hurry cause Satan's stalking your children tonight. You can't see him kick, his only aim is to hurt you but God is taking up your plight." - Jaha Knight

Selah walked into the house, her spirit weary after the shock of Cin's betrayal. Her steps were heavy and laden, making her alligator slingback Manolos sound like house slippers. She was a little more relaxed a little because of the spa, but her mind was bursting with all of the signs that pointed to Cin backstabbing her for the Martinotti account.

She pushed the door closed, locking the deadbolt and snapping the chain into place. She flipped the lights on and took two steps down the corridor before she found her body in midair by a punch so hard it lifted her from her feet.

The air whistled from her in a soft, "Aahh", so familiar was this scene she didn't dare do more than whimper.

In those few seconds, Selah wondered wildly to herself, "What did I do now?"

Her muffled cry was cut short by a blinding pain. As quickly as the velocity of Thorne's fist arced her body upward, the wall abruptly stopped her ascent. The beautiful jade bracelet that belonged to her mother snapped as her arms flailed and connected to the wall before her body hit its unyielding surface. When she slammed into it, she caught her temple on the side of the wall's chair molding. Blood sprang forth immediately, sliding down her face and neck like a silent accusing tear.

Her body came down hard, the weight of her bones and muscle pushing her to the floor more rapidly than she was prepared for. Her buttocks bounced against the Spanish tile she'd insisted be installed when they bought the house. She wished she had known then that she would need carpet in their entryway.

Thorne stood over her, his fist blurring, already in motion again. His face was as dark as a lightning storm at midnight. Jaw clenched, his mouth was drawn into a tight line over lips and teeth that looked feral.

Selah's mind rolled back to a happier time. She was dancing in the front seat of Thorne's mustang. It was a convertible and her hair, much longer than it was now, was blowing in the wind. Thorne was laughing up at her; his face was handsome in the sunlight.

A punch wrenched her abruptly from her reverie. The muscles in Thorne's shoulders and arms bunched with effort, and fear exploded in Selah's mind. Her eyes widened, as she tried rolling away, but he crouched over her body like a seasoned fighter, beautiful in his fluidity but prepared to deliver more punishment.

Quickly, Selah pushed up onto her elbows in an effort to move backwards, but inadvertently she propelled herself upward, meeting his fist as it was plowed unerringly towards her face. Her neck snapped quickly to the right, lip splitting on impact. He rained punches into her sides and her face, uncaring that he was marring her beautifully smooth body.

Blood vessels burst under her skin, impacted by his hard and unyielding hand. Selah heard Thorne yelling something at her in his gravelly voice. Her ears were ringing from the blows she took to the head, so she couldn't hear him but she desperately needed to listen.

She tried to concentrate hard on what he was saying, knowing this was key in stopping the assault. His voice rose an octave, his eyes were maniacal and glazed. Spittle flew from the corners of his mouth. He was breathing easy, but she hoped that he would tire soon.

Her throat was dry and ached from screaming. Her eye was glued shut by the knot swelling under her brow and blood pooled in her collarbone. She scrambled backwards towards the steps thinking, she would be able to get away if she reached them.

As she felt for the first step she glimpsed his foot raising through her half swollen eye. She clambered quickly up the first four steps and heard him in hot pursuit behind her. Selah willed her body to cooperate and get her up the steps. She wanted to get to the bedroom and lock the door. Straining her muscles to move, commanding them to carry her to safety she screamed in her head, "Pleeeeaaaaassseee!"

Her feet obeyed. She began jerkily sprinting up the steps, her gracefully long legs clearing two steps at a time while her body hurdled towards the bedroom.

She felt Thorne grab her suit jacket and yank. The fabric tore. Legs paddling the air furiously, she thought she could shake him off but she was wrong. Selah was airborne, tumbling down the steps like a doll to land in a heap at the bottom. Thorne slowly walked back down the steps, his boots clanging on the hardwood like a death knell.

He bent over and checked her pulse. It was strong but she had blacked out. He wiped his blood-splattered hands on her shirt slowly as he stood over her a smirk on his face. He viewed her prone body with disdain. She was so damn weak.

He lifted his Timberland booted foot and kicked her in the back. Stupid bitch, she actually thought she could run from him.

"Next time bring your fucking ass home after work." He sneered aloud. Striding to the door, he unlatched the chain and unlocked the door. Slamming it behind him, he left the house.

### Chapter 3 | Scene 2

"The essence of lying is in deception, not in words." - John Ruskin

"Slow down Wen!" Moria admonished from the kitchen.

Wen's body was charging through the room at a record breaking 3 year-old speed. Small round face and big eyes concentrated on his mission. A lollipop was stuck to his jumper and his bare feet slapped against the floor. His arms pumping to give him more momentum, he searched the cabinets for a hiding spot. Wayde, his twin was counting loudly to five in the bonus room. Hide & Go Seek, Moria thought as she stirred the pot and checked on the biscuits she put in the oven.

Her anniversary dinner was right on target. She took the cake out of the fridge. Thank heavens for Sucre' & Spice. Vashti was sweet to bring the cake to her at the spa so she didn't even have to make the trip to pick it up at the dessert bar. The spa allowed her to put it in their fridge while she and the girls got their treatments.

She closed the oven, the cornish hens were almost finished. They were Sloan's favorite. She just knew this night would be great!

Squeals erupted from the living room area, so she knew Wayde had found Wen. They were laughing three-seconds later.

"Boys, come to dinner!" She shouted over the din. They trooped in from the living room, identical in every way except that darn lollipop.

"Wen, you've been eating candy before dinner again? Didn't we already have that conversation?" Moria said, pointing at the lollipop stuck to his jumper.

"It's not mine, mommie," Wen he assured her, clambering into the chair and lifting his fork to shovel in some food.

"For something that's not yours, it is strange that it would be stuck to your jumper, Wen."

"When I put my clothes on this morning, mommie I put on Wayde's jumper, so this is his candy. It's stuck on his jumper." Wayde reached over and snatched the lollipop off Wen's jumper. He understood his twin's logic perfectly and felt that since it was his, he may as well eat it.

Moria took the candy from Wayde, throwing it in the trash. "Wayde, did you eat any of the candy that Wen stuck to your jumper?"

"No mommie, but can I have one because you just thwew mine in the twash." His speech impediment was pronounced, his face curious. This was the only way to tell them apart. The endearing way Wayde pronounced his 'r's.

"Let me think about giving you candy this weekend, ok honey."

"How far is the weekend, mommie?"

"Two days away, honey."

Wayde's face fell, he thought he'd get it earlier than that.

Wen grinned at Wayde teasing, "The candy was really good, Wayde. I found it in mommie's purse. It tastes like strawberries."

"Wen!" Moria said sternly.

Looking at Wayde's downcast face, she said, "I will give you a lollipop and a scoop of ice cream honey, for waiting like you were supposed to and not stealing from mommie's purse."

"Yay! Ice cream!" Wen said, the message about stealing going completely over his head.

"You will not be getting any, young man. You will sit in time out while Wayde has his sweets. Next time keep your hands out of my purse. You don't steal, and you don't go into a woman's purse."

"But mommie, it's not my jumper," Wen said logically.

"Are you wearing it, Wen?"

"But Wayde's name has more letters in it. I have on his! He should get into trouble too with no ice cream!"

"Was your brother with you when you stole out of my purse?"

"Yes!"

"Nuh uh!" yelled Wayde, his face scrunched in anger.

"I have on his clothes so he was with me!"

"Your actions have consequences, Wen. You will not get anymore sweets and if you steal from my purse again, we're going to have a very different conversation. Wayde was not with you when you stole or ate the stolen candy just because you have on his clothes." That was Moria's no nonsense tone and Wen knew better than to push it any further. He calmed down and ate the rest of his dinner in silence.

Moria finished her anniversary dinner. The boys were washed and in bed by 8 pm. She took a quick shower and dressed for the evening ahead. She wore something pretty under her sexy red wrap dress and pumps. At her throat and ears were the pearl earring and necklace set she wore on their wedding day. She wondered if Sloan would notice.

Moria remembered when she met Sloan. She was walking on campus one day, mind absorbed by the English paper she had to write for class. Sloan was running across the campus to catch the ball his teammate threw. He practically ran over her in his total concentration. When she sat up from the grass, his face loomed into fuzzy focus.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

"I think so," she said, her hands gliding over her body to make sure all the parts were there.

"My glasses..." she trailed off as he placed them on her nose.

He was clear now, and she sucked air into her lungs a little too quickly. She began coughing as he patted her back. He was the captain of the football team and she'd seen him all around campus. She even let her roommate drag her to a couple games to ogle the sexy team.

"I'm Sloan," she said.

Sloan looked at her a little strangely and said, "What a coincidence, that's my name too."

She was gazing dreamily at him, her mind already busy seeing him in other ways. When he spoke she snapped out of her reverie and said, "Oh! No! I mean, I'm Moria."

Sloan laughed and asked, "Well Moria Sloan, can I walk you to the infirmary? You took a pretty hard hit. You may have a concussion."

Moria shook her head and immediately regretted it.

"No, I have a slight headache but I'll be fine, I was on my way to my room."

Sloan helped her to her feet and began walking with her to her dorm.

"I'll just walk you there then, since you're such a pretty little thing. You are really small, I can carry you home if you want. I wouldn't want you passing out."

"That's nice of you, but really, you don't have to walk me home."

"I insist."

He took his jacket off and put it around her shoulders and from then on, she was his.

Moria shook herself and looked at her watch. Memory lane was always nice, but Sloan was late. It was already 10 o'clock. Picking up the phone, she called his office.

"Thank you for calling Wayden Trucking" the automated voice droned.

Moria hung up the phone and called Sloan's cell. It went straight to voice mail. He didn't say anything about needing to work late this morning so she supposed he'd be home shortly. Two hours went by and the candles were burned to nubs. She tried Sloan six more times and left three voice mails. She was tired. Moria covered up all the food and scrubbed off the makeup and went to bed.

She was fast asleep when she felt the bed dip a few hours later. Sloan slid beneath the covers, pulled her close to him and kissed her on the cheek. She was too tired to respond with more than, "Happy Anniversary," before sleep engulfed her again.

### Chapter 4 | Scene 1

"I chose and my world was shaken. So what? The choice may have been mistaken; the choosing was not. You have to move on." - Stephen Sondheim

The alarm blared in her ear at five a.m... Selah reached over to slap the snooze button and winced. She was exhausted. Last night about an hour after she blacked out she came around. She laid there on the floor beneath her stairs, quietly listening to the sounds in the house. It was silent so she figured her husband had left. She cracked her eyes open, and used her arms to push her body up. She winced, her rib felt broken and when she put weight on her left leg, it felt odd.

One of her eyes was now swollen shut and she knew it would take a miracle to get the swelling down before she went into work the next day. She was a mess. Two fat tears slipped from her eyes, and down her face. She drew in her breath sharply. It felt like acid had been thrown into her swollen eye.

Gazing up the stairs, an involuntary moan was torn from her throat. She didn't have anyone to call for help and she didn't know how she was going to get up the steps to her bedroom. "Jesus," she whimpered, her throat spasming around its own dryness.

Pressing her fist against her lips to stifle the sound, she winced at her split lip. But she was allowing herself this moment, just a moment, to feel sorry for herself. To wonder what it would be like if she had just kept her promise to Gabriel and never married Thorne. And then the moment was over, it was a few seconds at best. Selah never dwelled in what if's, and she'd learned a long time ago not to feel sorry for herself. No one ever really cared about your pain.

She straightened, shuffled over to the bannister and placed her hand on it. Slowly, she hopped up a few of the stairs, left leg dangling in the air above the steps. Each jarring motion made her eye throb with heat and pain; her rib felt as if it were trying to burst out of her skin. Holding her side, she put her leg down and tried a little weight on the fifth step. It had to be better than hopping. The pain was instant, knifing up her leg like a rocket. She gritted her teeth and pushed herself to go up the rest of the steps.

On the landing, she turned towards the bathroom. Eyes glancing past the mirror, she went straight to the toilet and sat down to run a bath. A few minutes later, she'd shed her clothes and sunk so deeply into the hot bubbles, they covered her face. She wished she could stay there—under water, in the warmth and quiet. Nothing was demanding about the water, nothing harsh about its heat or its intentions. It was soothing.

With painstaking slowness, she sat up and turned on the jets. Washing herself, she was being careful of the cuts and bruises that braised her skin. Finishing, she turned off the jets, pulled the drain plug and stood to stretch her muscles. Her rib had a lot to say about that last move.

Stepping out of the tub, she rooted around in the medicine cabinet for the antiseptic cream. She put it on the worst of the marks and wondered what she was going to do about her face for work tomorrow. By now her eye was swollen shut and she couldn't see much out of the left one. Her leg felt a little better after the jet therapy and the warmth of the water. She felt her stomach to see if her rib was broken. She endured her own prodding with gritted teeth. If didn't feel broken, but she'd never had a broken rib so she was assuming. If it felt no better in the morning, she'd google it to find out more.

Sighing, Selah plopped two Tylenol in her mouth and swallowed them dry. Putting on her pajamas, she plodded downstairs for some ice. Laying on the couch, she iced her swollen eye for two hours, which brought some of the swelling down. She could see out of it enough to have two functioning eyes. She made dinner, placed Thorne's plate in the microwave and went to the landing with a bucket of bleach and water, a mop and a towel. She cleaned her blood off the walls and mopped the rest of it up from the floor. The pieces of her mother's bracelet caught her eye and she picked them up from the floor and slipped them into her pocket. By the time she was done, it was midnight. She trudged back up the stairs to go to bed.

The alarm brought the morning quickly into focus. Gingerly, she swung her legs over the side of the bed. She was careful not to wake Thorne. He was asleep on the other side of the bed, snoring loudly. In the bathroom, she closed the door behind her and walked into to her closet. She looked for a dark outfit with sleeves and found a black tailored shirt with a large tied bow, a pair of dark high-waisted, wide legged pin striped trousers. In her shoe closet, she found the perfect black kitten heels to complete the outfit. Placing them together on the empty carousel, she looked for accessories.

Last night she had to pry her contacts out before bed, so today she would wear her large glasses with the shaded lenses. Chunky, oval silver earrings and a matching heavy chain bracelet completed the outfit.

She went to the bathroom and took a shower. Wrapping her body in a robe, she looked into the mirror. The bruises were dark against her light skin. Some mottled extremely dark, a few were greenish and others red and angry, like the one at her temple. Makeup could hide most of the bruises. The high-necked top she'd chosen would cover the rest.

Selah dropped the robe and looked at her entire body. It looked like a map. The unnaturally colored areas of skin were a sea of land masses across her planes. Turning slowly she looked at the partial boot print on her back with dismay. The beatings were getting worse. Taking a deep breath, she resolved to not make him that angry with her again. She'd just have to be perfect for him. She should have called him before going out with the girls yesterday. He must have been angry because she didn't. It was her fault that he was upset.

Snapping back from her thoughts, she shrugged her robe back on and felt her side. Her rib wasn't as tender as it was last night but it was still causing a little distress. Her leg felt a lot better than it did last night but was now stiff. Looking closer in the mirror at her face, her eye now held her attention. It was her biggest concern. Ice would bring more of the swelling down.

Her watch showed that she had 3 hours before she had to be in the office. She headed to the kitchen for some ice and to begin breakfast.

### Chapter 4 | Scene 2

"Guilt has very quick ears to an accusation." - Henry Fielding

Moria was being kissed, rather wetly on her cheek. Opening her eyes, she saw Wayde standing next to the bed with a rose.

"Good mawning, mommie!" he said excitedly.

"It's your anniversary!" his twin said in a sing-song voice, dancing around the room.

"Aw, thank you boys, but our anniversary was yesterday."

The boys, eager to give her a present disregarded what she just said, and thrust their flowers in her face.

"Daddy gave us roses for you." Wen said hugging his brother.

"Did he? Wasn't that thoughtful of him," she replied sniffing the flowers dutifully, to show her sons her appreciation.

"Yes," Sloan said walking into the room with a tray. It was piled high with french toast, eggs and bacon. A cup of coffee steamed fragrantly into the air, orange juice and muffins completing the meal.

"It was thoughtful, but your mother is right boys, our anniversary was yesterday, so daddy is late."

"Why did you give us flowers for mommie, late?" Wen demanded, his little face scrunched at the thought of not giving her the flowers when he was supposed to.

"Daddy had to work late yesterday and sometimes daddies don't remember good stuff, like anniversaries. I forgot, but your mommie works so hard taking care of us boys, so she deserves breakfast in bed and a day off. And we are going to give it to her. Boys, hug mommie and go ahead and put your shoes and coat on, Patrice will be here in a bit to pick the two of you up for daycare."

The boys gave Moria a big hug and scampered excitedly from the room. Sloan placed the tray over Moria's legs and sat next to her on the bed. He kissed her forehead and smoothed back the waves of her disheveled hair.

"I'm sorry about yesterday, baby," he began. "I forgot about our anniversary. I was swamped with work."

"Sloan, I have told you time and again to keep your phone on," she said waspishly. "What if there had been an accident or an emergency with the boys? I am not a single mother. They are not only my responsibility. I cooked all of that food and you just didn't show up. It had to be around two or three a.m. when you strolled in here. What is so pressing at the office that it couldn't wait until today?" Moria folded her arms against her chest and sat back sharply against the pillows. Her angry eyes bored into Sloan's, her mouth pressed into a grim line. She touched nothing on the tray.

Sloan took a deep breath because he knew between her body language and her expression that this didn't bode well. She always waited until they were alone to bring up any problems. She never did it in front of the boys. Even when she was angry, she was never loud. She was a refined lady. He was grateful to have such a good wife and mother. So he immediately went into apology mode.

"Baby, you're right, you are so right. I should have known better and I'm sorry. After four years, though, you know I am not any good at remembering anniversaries and birthdays. I will try to do better, I promise. My phone died and I just didn't realize it. I apologize. I got all of your messages this morning. I didn't get home until two, but we are in the middle of a huge contract with the city of Broad Wall and I wanted to get all of the details hammered out before shutting it down." Sloan said as he rubbed his hands up and down her folded arms in an attempt to soften her up.

"The contract isn't going anywhere if you complete some of the elements today, Sloan. That really is no excuse."

"The deadline to get all the information in was today at 8 a.m."

"Oh" she said, anger leaving her abruptly. She unfolded her arms, embarrassed.

"I just need Wayden Trucking to be a steady source of income for our family. This is our second year in business and since the City has opened up for new contractors, I need to take advantage of it. I won't let you carry the financial burden anymore, Moria. It's not fair and it's not what I want for my wife. What happens when we have more kids? You'd definitely have to cut down on hours at the University."

She paused, looking at him over the tray. A bite of egg was on her fork, suspended in the air. "You want more babies?"

"Yeah, why not give Wayde and Wen some little sisters? We may even get a set of twin girls when we try this time. Who wouldn't want a set of daughters that look like their beautiful mother?"

Tears sprang to her eyes. Just a few seconds ago she was hopping mad but her husband always knew just what to say to her to make her feel like she was the luckiest woman in the world. He brushed away the happy tears that tumbled down her cheeks. She had always wanted to have a big family but after the twins, Sloan said they should wait a while and see how they did with the boys. He didn't want them to be too overwhelmed. In the past few years, though, he'd never brought it up again and when she did, he changed the subject. After a while, she'd been afraid to broach the subject. She wanted to have more children badly. She didn't think she could bear it if his answer was no.

When they found out she was pregnant in their senior year in college, Sloan dropped out and supported Moria while she was completing her degree. He'd worked as a mechanic through high school and went back to that work. When the twins came, he continued and she went on to get her masters degree. When she secured the position in the math department at Redmere University, he began the trucking company.

"Bumping into you was the best thing that has ever happened to me, Moria."

"Trampling over me, more like it," she said, laughing through the knot of emotion in her throat.

"You say trampling, I say it was a friendly love bump."

They laughed together, always reliving that moment as if it were frozen in time. It always made them feel lucky to have each other, that revisiting. Moria delivered the eggs to her mouth and picked up a piece of bacon, munching.

"It would be great to have some daughters, honey. I'd be happy with more boys too, just as long as they're healthy."

"Well you know, practice makes perfect," he said sliding the tray over to kiss her lips and work the buttons on her night shirt.

"Can't today, babe. I'm uh, doing what all girls do monthly."

Sloan growled his displeasure, dropping his hands from her shirt and returning the tray.

She laughed at his disappointment, thinking fleetingly of Vashti's suggestion. She poured syrup on her french toast and picked up her fork. Eyes closed briefly in bliss, they popped open as she remembered something.

"Why is Patrice coming to get the boys? I can just drop them off while you go in to work."

"Lady, didn't you hear me when I told the boys you have the day off?"

"I don't want a day off. I'd be bored. What am I supposed to do all day?"

"Spend it with me."

"You're taking the day off too?"

"It's our anniversary rewind. Patrice is going to keep them tonight as well and we will have the whole day and night to play and explore the city."

"Yay!" she said, clapping her hands and bouncing a little on the bed. "This is going to be great honey! Where do we start?"

### Chapter 5 | Scene 1

"The Angel said, 'Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong, and the one who is filthy still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness." - Revelations 22:11

It was a warm fall day that felt more like summer. The leaves hadn't yet turned, but the heat was insistent and cloying. Gennifer sat in her car outside of Sucre' & Spice with the windows rolled down sipping from a large cup of iced tea. Her car was running, blowing cool air across her overheated skin, and she was still fanning herself. She was waiting for Vashti. Her thoughts were racing and she had to get this off of her chest before she popped.

Waking up this morning with a heavy heart, she was so overwrought that she talked to Mama D about the situation. Her mom, ever the problem solver, told her to talk to one of the other girls. She knew Selah had a lot going on; her only choice was Vashti. So she waited.

Forty-five minutes later, Vashti finally made an appearance. She was strolling down the street, a light lemon and lime print sundress clinging to her body.

"About time," Gennifer said as she rolled up her windows, turned off the ignition and hopped out of the car in a couple of motions. Her thick legs were encased in some salmon shorts and a cropped white halter. Her deep chocolate skin glistened with the sheen of sweat. She rushed towards Vashti, gold thong sandals clipping with every step.

"Vashti!" she called, crossing the street.

"Hey Gen, what are you doing here?" Vashti asked, perplexed.

"I need to talk to you, it's important!"

"O-K" Vashti said slowly, "about what?"

"Well Skye and I were..."

"Gen, I can't give you sex advice about Skye," Vashti said giggling a little. "Moria was right last night when she said it's just weird talking about him in a sexual way." She continued, while shaking her head no, "We are all like his little sisters. So you are just going to have to..."

"I don't need any damn sex advice!" Gennifer snapped impatiently. "Just listen to what I have to say and stop interrupting!"

"Wow, touchy, touchy. What has you in such a nasty mood?"

"I'm not in a nasty mood, I am —" Now Gen shook her head, refusing to follow Vashti up in her ridiculous conversation. Instead she continued with what she planned to say from the get go, "Skye and I were celebrating his promotion at work last night so I left his place a little late. While I was driving home, I got a little mixed up due to the wine we had, and I turned down the wrong street in my neighborhood."

"You shouldn't even be drinking and driving Gennifer. Hell you shouldn't be drinking at all with diabetes."

Gennifer gave Vashti such a withering look that Vashti closed her mouth with a snap. She remembered all the times Gennifer put her to bed in their dorm room after she'd gotten drunk at some frat party on or off campus. She turned, unlocking the door to the bar and walked inside.

"I was trying to find my way out of that area when I could have sworn I saw Sloan coming out of one of the houses."

Vashti turned to face Gennifer, rearing back slightly. "Sloan? What do you mean he was coming out of one of the houses? How do you know it was him? What time was this?" she asked.

"It was about one thirty."

"In the damn morning?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe, it wasn't him."

"His car was parked next to the house," Gennifer said flatly.

"Moria and Sloan's anniversary was last night. Maybe he was at one of his relative's houses or something. It may have been a family emergency."

"If that lady that was all in his mouth with her tongue was a relative, then I'm glad we established hugs and kisses on the cheek in my family."

Vashti sat down in the chair with a thud. She rubbed her forehead in consternation. She knew this would kill Moria. She worshipped the ground Sloan stood on. There had to be another explanation. She looked over at Gennifer, standing there with the most miserable look on her face. Gennifer pulled out the other chair and sat too.

"Have you told Selah?"

"No, she's dealing with all that work stuff, I didn't want to bother her. I came straight over here this morning to tell you. I couldn't even sleep last night. I don't know how we're going to tell Moria!" Gennifer wrung her hands, slightly wailing on that last little bit. She looked like she were near tears and her eyes were already puffy from an earlier crying jag.

"Well first, we need to make damn sure it's true before we go telling tales."

"What do you mean? I saw him with my own eyes! It's true as hell!"

"You were drinking."

"I may have been drinking, but I know what I saw!"

"Gen, what you saw was him coming out of someone's house. You don't know anything more than that. There could be a dozen or more reasons he was there. They may have nothing to do with cheating. Although a french kiss can hardly be mistaken for a friendly peck. But you know Moria, she deals in concretes. We'd have to show her some evidence of it being true. Not that she wouldn't believe us if we went over there without any evidence but it is better that we have proof so that she can confront Sloan."

"Alright, so what do we do? How are we going to get proof? We are hardly ever around Sloan these days. He's so busy with the trucking company."

Vashti tilted her head, "Did you forget who I am? Finding out about the lies of men is my specialty."

Gennifer laughed as a picture of Vashti dressed head to toe in black spandex popped into her head. Vashti spraypainted liar on her boyfriend's car as it sat in front of his ex girlfriend's house one night. How she knew where his ex lived or that he'd be there that night had always been a mystery. She just gathered the girls and had them do a quiet drive by while she jumped out of the car like a secret agent, vandalized his vehicle and met them at the rendezvous point.

She always found out what men and sometimes her women, did behind her back. It was a talent and a skill. One they would need in equal measure to find out what Sloan had up his sleeve.

"For a second, I did forget."

"You mean in your panic, you forgot. You and I are just going to have to make it our business to see Sloan so I can get started. When we're done with him, though, he will wish he'd never fucked with one of the Soulphisticated Ladies of Broad Wall." Vashti reached over the table and patted Gennifer's hand.

### Chapter 5 | Scene 2

"Nothing is true, everything is permitted." - Assassin's Creed

Selah made her way through the glass doors of The Alanis Agency. Her dark glasses shaded most of her eye and the makeup she'd applied this morning was flawless. At the elevator she pressed the button, her back ramrod straight. It arrived and she got on, riding to the thirteenth floor where she emerged and walked into her office. Vivian hadn't yet arrived, so she hung her jacket and purse on the hook inside her door. She sat down at her desk, preparing to work on the second proposal for the Martinotti Steak & Shoe campaign.

Her intercom buzzed, "Mrs. Devine?"

"Yes, Jason?" It was Maxim's assistant.

"Mr. Alanis would like to see you in his office right away."

"I'll be right there."

She picked up a pen, a notebook and her digital recorder. It was always important to take the recorder in a meeting with Maxim. He was focused and detailed and expected all of his directives to be followed to the letter. But she was glad to be able to speak to him about the Martinotti account before everyone came in. She may be able to straighten this out before the pitch this afternoon. Might even be able to get him to see that Jacinta is a larcenous she-bot. The thought cheered her a little.

Leaving her office, she got on the elevator and rode to the fifteenth floor. The elevator opened, in the middle of a large open loft styled area, surrounded by glass. Jason was the only one in the office. He sat at a sleek glass desk with his headset on.

Waving her over, he said, "Mr. Alanis said you can come on in."

Selah strode stiffly through the reception area, glancing at the silly mantra above his office door. She knocked briefly on the door as a courtesy before going in and closing it behind her. Maxim sat behind his desk in a light grey suit and turquoise shirt. His hair was loose and framed his face. At her knock he looked up and removed his glasses.

He smiled at Selah, shark teeth flashing against tan skin and said, "Good morning."

"Good morning, Maxim."

"I'm glad you could make it in early. I wanted to talk to you about the Martinotti account."

"Yes, about that...I wanted to speak with you about our pitch."

"Is it ready?"

"It's ready but I have reason to believe that Jacinta stole our idea."

"How?"

"I was told that she has a pitch similar to ours."

"Similar is not stealing Selah. Who gave you this information?"

A snort of laughter almost erupted from her. She knew she couldn't trust Maxim as far as she could throw him. If he thought she was going to tell him who gave her that information, he was sorely mistaken.

He had proven to her over the years that he was not trustworthy, and she learned lessons like that, very quickly. He also knew he had her back up against the wall by asking her who told her the information she'd just divulged.

She would never tell him that, so she conceded. "It's not important, we will have a pitch for Mr. Martinotti when he comes in this afternoon."

"Great! That's what I like to hear! But, I actually called you in here for another reason."

"What is that?"

"Gabe."

"Gabriel? What about him?"

"I'm coming back." Gabriel said, stepping into the room from the adjoining office, closing the door quietly behind him.

Selah turned quickly, her breath catching in her throat. The blood drained from her face and she got a little light headed. It was like she plucked him from her memory and placed him there. He looked exactly the same except for his eyes.

They were guarded now and a little cooler when they landed on her face. Her hands gripped the back of the chair she sat on and she bit her lip, wincing when she felt the unhealed bruise under her lipstick.

"Gabe," whispered from her lips, her shock so thorough, her knees wobbled when she stood.

"Hello Selah," he said simply.

Time fell away and the reel of their relationship played quickly through her mind. Birthdays and firsts, goodbyes and pain. So much pain. All that was left was the memories and the fresh feel of him scraping out her heart with scalpel like precision. She averted her eyes because they misted with tears that she quickly blinked back.

She cleared her throat, "What do you mean you're coming back? To Broad Wall?"

"I'm coming back to The Alanis Agency."

"When?"

"I start today."

Selah didn't respond, instead she turned to Maxim, "Well thank you for letting me know Maxim," she said deferentially. "Is that all you needed me for?"

"I want to make sure there is no problem between my top marketing executive and the chief operating officer. The two of you will play nice and get along well, correct?"

"There will be no problems," Selah said.

"None at all," Gabriel agreed.

"The two of you will be working together closely, I want to add a sales person to each marketing team. As usual, Selah you will have the ability to choose the person you would like on your team. Let me know your decision by Wednesday. Gabriel, you will need to be in the Martinotti meeting this afternoon at three. That's all I needed, enjoy the rest of your day."

Maxim began working, ignoring the two standing in the middle of his office. They slowly began to walk away, heading in opposite directions. Selah to the elevator and Gabriel down the hall to the sales division.

In the elevator, the full range of emotions she'd suppressed in Maxim's office assailed her. She backed into the corner and wrapped her arms around herself as the memories of her and Gabriel's last conversation flooded into her mind.

She was waiting in his apartment to tell him about the baby. Pink and blue balloons colored the space. A box of cigars sat on the table along with uncreased baby books. She was jubilant, smiling and dancing him through the door. She sat him on the sofa and told him the news.

He looked at her blankly, saying he wasn't ready for kids. She saw his lips move, but they were like wax. She couldn't grasp that he'd just said that to her.

"What?" she asked, shaking her head to clear it, as if she'd herald wrong.

Their whole relationship, from high school through college had never prepared her for those words. Having never discussed it, she assumed he'd be as happy as she was when she found out.

He was so like Maxim in that moment—he wanted to explore more in life and having a baby would hinder him from that. He said they owed it to themselves to be young right now. And he wanted to know if she wanted him to pay for an abortion. She wheeled away from him as if he'd physically slapped her.

"An abortion?" she whispered, hollowed out by the words.

"Selah, we can have more kids. Let's just travel and get some life in before we start having children."

But the baby was already real to her. The small bump under her hands, her body stretching to accommodate its form, her eating healthy and singing to it in the morning. She'd known for weeks now that she was pregnant and she cherished the secret, holding it to herself so she could enjoy it a little more without outside noise.

It made her walk a little more proudly and smile a little more brilliantly knowing they'd created someone from their happiness. She loved the idea of being a mother. Not just any mother, though, the mother of Gabriel's children.

She looked at him then, his long, impossibly curly midnight hair, his Greek features classic and aquiline. His slim swimmer's body was in sweats and a tee-shirt, having just come in from the gym. His strong arms stretched towards her, sea green eyes pleading with her to see it his way. Her heart broke. No, breaking was too tame to describe how that felt, her heart splintered and shattered. She had never felt anything like it. The pain was physical and each jagged shard of her broken heart pierced her soul like a dagger. All the color drained from her face. She looked like a wan paper brown doll.

But she never looked away from his eyes. Hers were bruised bullet wounds framed by thick lashes and outlined in sadness. He moved towards her, but Selah was quicker.

Backing away from him to the door, she grabbed the knob and said around the knot that had lodged itself in her throat, "I never want to see you again."

Her lips were colorless. The lipstick that glossed her mouth seemed to have faded into her skin.

Gabriel was stunned. He didn't anticipate a reaction so severe and he didn't know how to repair this rift. He was always good at finding solutions to their problems or working through an argument but this seemed different.

He couldn't, no wouldn't change his mind. But looking at the woman he loved made him sorry for the stance he'd taken. He felt guilty and that made him feel like he owed her. Apologies wouldn't be enough. Flowers wouldn't even do it justice. He loved her wholly but he was not ready to be a father. It wouldn't be fair to her, him or the kid, so he said the only words that made sense for this moment and what he thought would give her peace.

"Then you won't," he said with a finality that cut through her like a machete.

He left Broad Wall shortly after, returning only once in the past five years.

### Chapter 6 |Scene 1

"Why did you trade heaven for all these earthly things?" - Bullock & Whiting

Their day together was fantastic. Moria lay her head on Sloan's chest as they rode back through the streets of Miami to Broad Wall. Her husband was just the best. He surprised her by taking her on a day trip to South Beach. It only took an hour to drive up the coast and they spent the day strolling and shopping in the stores. She bought some beautiful jewelry at a quaint boutique off of 8th Street and then they lunched al fresco along Espanola Way.

Throughout the day they kissed and talked, laughing and reminiscing over friends they hadn't sat down with for years. The day extended to evening, where they lay out on the beach to cool off, taking in the breeze off of the ocean and building sand castles.

They were walking along the edge of the water, when Sloan said, "I bet I can beat you to the bobbing buoy in the water."

Moria looked slightly behind him with her slanted eyes and said, "Oh my goodness, what is Wen doing here?"

Sloan turned quickly, shock making him begin walking towards where Moria was looking. He heard her laughing as she dived quickly into the water, swimming towards the buoy like a fish!

He kicked off his flip-flops and began running towards the water. He dived in, stroking fast enough to bridge the gap. He threw water on her as she came up for air and kept stroking towards the goal.

She beat him there by seconds. Her hair was wet and plastered to her face, her messy topknot, undone by the waves. She's breathtaking, Sloan thought to himself.

Moria splashed him thoroughly in her excitement, her fist hitting the water repeatedly while she laughingly shouted in triumph, "I won! I won!"

"Yeah yeah, you cheated. You know I would go running if I thought one of the boys were here. I don't know what I was thinking, I'm so used to them being around."

Moria sucked her teeth, "Don't try to take my victory away because you were too slow to keep up with me," she said as they swam leisurely to the shore.

They emerged from the water and Sloan looked down at his diminutive wife. He took in her four foot eleven frame, tiny tight buttocks and slim curvy legs. She turned towards him and pulled her hair over her shoulders. He hardened. She was so damn sexy. He reached down and smoothed her hair, wrapping his arms around her, carrying her to the blanket. He covered her body with his and devoured her mouth.

When they came up for air, he said, "You are delicious, Moria."

She blushed, her body reddening slightly between her breasts and on her cheeks.

"We are on a public beach Mr. Harding. We are giving people a show they didn't pay for."

He rolled off of her and began packing up their things. He reached down to her and said, "Let's go home now, Mrs. Harding. We don't want to give the people what they didn't pay for."

She grasped his hand and let him pull her up. They walked to the car.

Soon they were pulling into the driveway of their home. Sloan was gently shaking her awake.

"Baby, we're home."

Moria blinked, looking at the house without comprehension. Wen and Wayde got this trait from her. They slept so deeply, when you awakened them they would look at whatever it is in front of them blankly for a few seconds until they came around.

She shook her head slightly, shattering sleep's tight hold on her and stretched. They got out, unpacking the car and going inside. She turned to him in the kitchen and said, "This was a great way to spend our anniversary, Sloan. Thank you."

"This isn't all there is, honey. Why don't you go shower and get changed and come back down."

Her face lit up, "There's more?"

"Go shower, Moria."

"Ok, ok" she said running up the steps in her bare feet.

A few minutes later she came back down in a short white strapless dress and six inch red heels. The jewelry at her wrists and throat were also blood red and her hair hung on one side of her face, the other side was brushed and held by two small gold combs.

She paused on the landing for dramatic effect, her eyes were dancing with delight as he licked his lips.

"You said there was more?" she asked demurely.

"What?" he asked absently.

"Sloan"

"Oh, yeah, there's more," he took her hand and helped her down the remaining steps.

He'd showered in the guest bedroom downstairs and had also changed. He escorted her to the patio where they had a candle lit early dinner.

"You cooked? I wasn't upstairs that long, was I?"

"No, Vashti and Gennifer coordinated this with me. They called earlier this afternoon while we were shopping and asked how our anniversary went. They called you first but when you didn't answer they figured they'd grill me. I told them I forgot and was spending the day making it up to you, so they asked how they could help.

"That is really sweet of them."

"It is," he agreed, "I knew I wanted to end the night at dinner, so they volunteered to bring something over. I told them where the spare key was and voila, here we are, an elegant meal."

"I'll call them tomorrow to thank them," she said as she looked at the table and the setting sun and captured the moment in her head.

Moria wished she could freeze this moment and always remember it. Her heart melted as she looked at Sloan sitting there in his white linen slacks and tan polo shirt. The flowers looked fresh and inviting in the center of the table and the meal her friends made to help them celebrate was fragrant and tantalizing. She was grateful.

Rising slowly, she went over to sit in his lap. "Let's take a picture, honey," she said, lifting her iPhone to the sky.

They smiled into the camera, the epitome of a loving couple. She kissed his lips and returned to her seat. Placing her hands in Sloan's upturned palms, they bowed their heads together while he said grace over their meal.

### Chapter 6 | Scene 2

"Time will inevitably uncover dishonesty and lies; history has no place for them." - Norodom Sihanouk

They huddled over the transcript from Sloan's laptop, their eyes skimming the details of his daily computer use. Vashti never imagined Sloan would give them the opportunity to snoop in their house like he did yesterday. He handed it to her and Gennifer on a silver platter.

When they took the food over, they spent about fifteen minutes setting up the key logger on the laptop in his study. They split up and Gennifer went through his closet and searched through his pockets, while she rifled discreetly through the drawers in the study. The trip yielded a crumpled hotel receipt and a pair of panties that they doubted were Moria's. They photographed both pieces of evidence, replacing them where they'd found them and left the food on the counter in the kitchen.

Now they sat in Vashti's office, pawing through the printouts from the key logger. They disregarded work transactions and some of the websites he spent time on, but they took notes and highlighted key information. They still needed to get ahold of his cell phone to drop some spy software on it but that would take some ingenious planning and effort.

"Who would have guessed he did so much porn surfing?" Gennifer asked aloud.

Vashti looked at Gennifer briefly, then snorted. She never thought Sloan and Moria's relationship would go as far as it had, having kids and getting married. She always knew that his I'm too good to be true act with Moria was just that, an act. She never told the girls about sleeping with him and had hoped he would just go away so she would never have to.

It had gone too far for her to say anything now, but it had appeared as if he'd matured over the years. Their fling happened in college, and she'd slowly let it go over the years because he treated her friend so well. There were no red flags that she could detect between him and Moria. No indicators that Sloan was anything other than a devoted husband and father with the infrequent lapses in memory around special occasions.

Before they all knew that he was with Moria or he knew that they were friends, Sloan had it bad for Vashti. He'd send her flowers daily and was wooing her. Out of the guys and girls she was dating, well who was she kidding, fucking at that time, he wasn't in her star lineup. She was really into a cute economics major named Claudette. She and Sloan were in the doorway of the cafeteria on campus and he was asking to hang out later in the day. He was a great lover, and she was about to take him up on his offer when she saw Moria coming through the crowd.

"Vashti," she called, "I see you've met my sweetie," she said slipping her arm around Sloan's waist.

Vashti looked at her arm and her beaming face and decided to keep quiet. Sloan's eyes were pleading with her not to say anything. But she didn't do it for him, she did it for Moria. She looked happy.

So, she didn't say anything but fell into her usual sarcastic routine so Moria wouldn't suspect anything was wrong with what she'd just said.

"Sweetie, huh? How can someone you've probably known for ten minutes be your sweetie?"

"Ten minutes? Girl we've been dating for six weeks," Moria giggled.

"Six weeks, huh?" Vashti said looking Sloan full in his eye. She counted back and calculated that they'd slept together three weeks ago.

It was the wildest sex she'd had to date. She had never looked at a pottery wheel the same way after that day. Or clay, she smiled to herself.

She looked down at Moria's tiny frame and compared the two of them. She was almost Sloan's height, and she was a muscular chic, her skin was the color of a slightly tinted coffee with full lips and African features. She was sporting a cropped halter and a pair of form fitting purple jeans, her hair was jet black and hanging almost to her waist. She had a single slim braid in her hair, intertwined with rawhide and wrapped around her head like a headband. Two brown leather bracelets encircled both of her wrists, and she wore tan leather sandals.

Moria, on the other hand was the size of a porcelain toy, her tilted eyes showing her mixed asian heritage, button nose, high cheekbones and long thick hair that was always worn in a haphazard braid. Generally she wore crisp button down shirts and loose fitting pants that couldn't hide her round hips and shapely legs. That was the black side of her heritage peeking through. She was wearing crocs.

The difference was like looking at Will Smith and Carlton Banks, the two of them couldn't be more different.

"Got it!" Gennifer said triumphantly, waving the papers in the air.

Vashti snapped back to the present. She rose, looking over Gennifer's shoulder.

"What is it?"

"I have her email address, her name and you know we weren't looking at the business transactions, which was stupid because there's a consistent bill here every month to a property rental company."

Vashti looked at Gennifer stunned, "This dude is not paying her rent!"

"He is paying her rent. But that's not all, he has a consistent hotel bill from Masquerade Inn every Tuesday. It's all in his business accounts. I must have gotten the good part of the list because you didn't pick up on any of this."

"I didn't connect the dots."

Gennifer looked at her strangely. Vashti always saw deception and lies around every corner. She was the more cynical of the group. For her to not have picked up on any of that was odd.

"We have it now, we can check out the hotel on Tuesday to see who he's taking in there or meeting there," Gennifer said slowly.

"But if he doesn't meet anyone outside the hotel, one of us is going to need to be inside."

"I'll go inside, wearing a wig and see if I can get someone to give us any information early in the day. If not, then I'll just have to wait and see if I can get shots of him with someone inside the hotel, which is more than likely."

"Do you know where Masquerade Inn is?"

"The address is on the billing statement."

Vashti looked at her watch and grabbed her purse.

"Get your purse," Vashti said heading to the door.

"Where are we going?" Gennifer called as she stood up, snatching her coat from the back of a chair.

"We are going to Wayden Trucking. Your car just had a little trouble starting this morning."

"What? Nothing is wrong with my car."

Vashti lifted her car hood, loosened her starter wire, "Now there is."

### Chapter 7 | Scene 1

"Chaos is a friend of mine." \- Bob Dylan

Maxim groaned, his breath escaping his mouth harshly when the door closed behind Selah and Gabriel. He'd been holding that in the whole time they were in the office and it was agony. Giovanna, slurped loudly, gobbling the top of him and bobbing her head rhythmically. She used her hands to hold his balls and his head lolled back onto the leather chair. She'd barely finished scooting under the desk when Selah knocked on the door. While Selah was questioning Maxim about Jacinta, Giovanna unzipped him, rubbing him through the pants.

He loved starting his mornings like this and was considering giving Giovanna a promotion for being such a diligent worker. Maxim went looking for Jacinta a few weeks ago. He found her in the mail room, head close to this vibrant young woman with high tits and voluptuous hips. She had the tiniest waist he'd ever seen. Jacinta told him her name was Giovanna and she was new. Her lips were a red bow in her cream complexioned skin. Winged brows arched over hazel eyes. He sent for her later on and she sashayed into his office knowing exactly what he'd wanted her for and she gave it to him - very well.

He hit the intercom on his desk phone and said in a strangled voice, "Jason, can you call Jacinta into my office please?"

"Yes, Maxim."

Twenty minutes later Giovanna was on top of the desk, panties dangling from the heel of her shoe. Skirt hiked up to her waist and exposed. She moaned low in her throat as he plunged his fingers into her tiny slit, thumb massaging her clit.

Jacinta knocked on the door and Maxim called out, "Who is it?"

"It's Jacinta," she replied.

"Come in."

She paused in the doorway, surprise making her hesitate at the sight of Giovanna sprawled on the desk, before closing the door. Looking at the young lady's face she asked Maxim, "You called for me?"

"Strip," he commanded.

Jacinta didn't hesitate, she started removing her clothes slowly, walking towards him as lithe as a cat.

Maxim stopped stroking Giovanna, his hands instead going to her breasts and playing with her pink nipples.

Jacinta asked, "What do you want me to do?" barely giving Giovanna another look.

Maxim grabbed her by the hair, pulling her head back and devouring her mouth. She was pressed so close to him, his erection rubbed against her stomach.

She reached down, stroking its lubed surface back and forth. He backed her to the desk next to Giovanna and lay her across its surface.

Her legs splayed open and her hair mingled with Giovanna's. Their coloring was so similar, Maxim was taken aback. But it didn't take him long to disregard it.

He rubbed his dick rhythmically against Jacinta's clit, pre-cum, pearling at the tip and lubing her pussy. He plunged into her hot cum box twice before putting on a condom.

He entered her again, driving into her hard, while plowing his fingers in Giovanna's tight small cunt. She orgasmed on his fingers, her twat clenching him and almost driving him to the edge. He gave Jacinta a few more thrusts before pulling out and replacing his dick with his hands.

He slid into Giovanna, her dripping cunt still spasming with her orgasm and he almost exploded there. She was so tight, he knew he wasn't going to last long. Nibbling on her perky tits he watched his dick disappear into her hot thrashing pussy. She was almost screaming now, her body delirious with pleasure.

Maxim smiled when Jacinta put her hand over Giovanna's mouth. It didn't matter to her. Her eyes rolled up into her head and she came again, bucking wildly against him and squeezing him around the hips with her legs. He pulled out and let her juices run down her leg. He used his fingers to catch some of the sweet liquid, then placed them in her mouth to taste. She sucked on his hand greedily, lapping it all up. Maxim leaned down, kissing her thoroughly before helping her to her feet.

"Thank you," she said breathlessly, slipping into her shoes.

He walked back to his desk chair, sitting his bare buttocks on the leather. Jacinta walked around the desk in nothing but her heels. She straddled him, her plump ass facing him and he watched her put his cock in her still horny hole.

Kicking off her shoes, she threw her legs around the arms of the chair. Tucking her feet in to anchor her, she began riding him like a horse. He watched as her pussy greedily sucked him in, then let him go. She got wetter and wetter, coating his dick with her juices. He grabbed her ample breasts, rolling the nipples between his fingers. He kissed her on the back of her neck and she went wild. He trailed kisses down the center of her back and the pressure inside of her pussy began building.

Maxim trailed his fingers down her back, pushing a finger into her ass. She came all over him and he let go too, coming with her, falling into the waves her spasms. She stopped moving then, her head thrown back, letting orgasms take over her. He kept pumping as the cum shot out of his dick, hot and streaming. Jacinta was the only woman that had ever made him cum like that. They were breathing hard, their bodies now coated with sweat. Jacinta, collapsed against the desk and Maxim was gulping air like a fish thrown out of his tank.

Giovanna, silently gathered her clothes and slipped into Maxim's restroom to clean up. Maxim grabbed Jacinta's hair and pulled her around to kiss her deeply. She grabbed his hair and nipped at his lips, sliding her tongue inside and rubbing her fingers up and down his chest. She settled on running her hands through his hair. He loved it when she did that. She rubbed his ears while tasting him.

They broke away for air and to catch their breath.

"What a way to start the morning," he said smoothly.

"It was definitely a surprise," she replied cooly.

He looked at her and said, "You sound a little jealous, Cin."

"Not at all."

She stood and gathered her clothes, knocking on the bathroom door. Giovanna emerged fully dressed and eyes averted. She stepped out of Jacinta's way. Jacinta went into the restroom, washed up and put her clothes back on. She looked in the mirror and took a deep, steadying breath. Breaking eye contact with her reflection, she composed herself. By the time she re-emerged from the restroom, Giovanna was gone and Maxim was standing right next to the door. He left it open while he washed up and talked to her.

"My brother's back," he said over the running water.

"He is? Does Selah know?" she asked as she sat in his chair

"They were in here before you came up, so she knows now."

"How did she take it?"

"It was pathetic, the both of them. You should have seen him bracing himself to look at her and her shock to see him. I loved it." He laughed.

"You only set that up for your personal pleasure. You should have invited me."

"I set everything up for my personal pleasure. I would think you'd know that by now."

She grimaced.

He continued, "She made the claim that you stole her marketing campaign for the Martinotti group," he drew on his slacks and came from the restroom. "Is that true?"

She looked him in the eye and said, "I don't know how you'd like me to answer that. I do what needs to be done to complete the job successfully."

"If you stole her campaign Jacinta, just tell me."

She looked at him innocently.

"You don't always do what I ask you to do."

"Selah isn't the future of the Alanis Agency. She doesn't have the stomach for the things you want to do or the direction you want this business to go in. I am following your vision. Don't question the way I get it done."

"You make a good point."

"Did you bring Gabriel back to push her out?"

"I brought him back because he can't hide away from her forever, and he's shirking his duties to the business. He can't flit around the world without responsibility but expect to draw money from the business. His fairytale is over and it's time for him to get back to the land of the living like the rest of the world."

### Chapter 7 |Scene 2

"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." -Wayne Dyer

The last slide of Jacinta's presentation slid across the screen, her words lingering in the air, "At Steak & Shoes, you can, lick your chops while she shops." The lights flickered on in the conference room. Team Cruz sat across the table, smiling triumphantly at Team Devine. Mr. Martinotti and his executives sat at the end of the table next to Maxim. Everyone was murmuring and shaking their heads in assent. Team Devine had already made their presentation.

Selah looked at Laura, thanking God that they stored the second presentation with her, which was a totally separate place from the presentation Team Cruz just showed. If there was one thing that could be said about The Alanis Agency, it made you think more creatively just to keep your ideas safe. It also gave you an ulcer. When they sat down this morning as a team, they fleshed out their second choice pitch for today, but the basic bones of the marketing scheme were already pulled together. They went with the, "Eat great while you wait," approach.

Examining the room, Selah began measuring the reactions of the executives and the mood of her team. Everyone was talking about the two presentations, comparing them side by side and noting the viable points of each. She gave her team a reassuring nod. She knew this was a pivotal point in each of their careers. No matter the outcome, though she would make sure her team was taken care of; that was the side of her that made Maxim uneasy.

She may not fight for herself when it came to certain things, but she turned into a pit bull when it came to the good of her team. Leaning back a little in her chair, she turned to get a good look at Mr. Martinotti and his team of executives.

Mr. Martinotti came across Selah's radar a year ago when she read in the news of his large acquisition of a failing restaurant that also sold shoes. The concept was so unique, she knew that if marketed correctly, the chain would thrive. Women love to shop and men love to eat. It would be great if women would be able to take their boyfriends, husbands or significant others shopping, but entertain them while the women enjoyed a customized shopping experience. Steak & Shoes provided an exclusive opportunity for millions of women who loved to shop. It was even great for friends who wanted to lunch and shop together. The possibilities for the campaign were boundless.

She pitched the idea to Maxim first, so he knew she was wooing a potential client then she began the process of contacting Mr. Martinotti. They were both receptive and after several meetings, Mr. Martinotti gave her the direction he wanted to take the business in and the demographics of the customer he was targeting. From there it was easy to sit down with her team to pass along the information.

Unfortunately, Maxim shared this information with Team Cruz, saying that the two teams would come up with pitches for the one account so that we would make sure to reel it in for The Alanis Agency. He claimed a little competition in house was healthy. It was the most dysfunctional version of healthy she'd ever seen.

Selah tuned back into the conversations buzzing around her. She'd done her best to ignore Gabriel who sat at Maxim's right waiting for the meeting to resume. She sat directly across from him on Maxim's left.

Finally, Maxim raised his voice above the hum of individual conversations and said to Mr. Martinotti,"Thank you for allowing us to present these marketing concepts to you, Mr. Martinotti. My teams have been hard at work putting them together. Do you know at this time which will work best for Steak & Shoes based on the research and the additional information we've given you in our pitches?"

"Well," Mr. Martinotti started, "First I'd like to thank Selah Devine for bringing us into The Alanis Agency. I can see that everything I've heard about your company is justified. You can create a great campaign that will potentially bring us the customers and clientele we're looking for. We enjoyed our stay here in Broad Wall and we definitely enjoyed the entertainment that was provided and the treatment we've received. You all definitely know how to make your clients happy."

"No problem, Mr. Martinotti, you are always welcome in Broad Wall and at The Alanis Agency. We do aim to please," Jacinta said smoothly from the other side of the table.

Mr. Martinotti nodded, acknowledging Jacinta briefly before he continued speaking, "But for some reason, although it was Mrs. Devine who invited us here and set up our meetings, we really didn't get to talk with her about anything after those initial meetings in the spring. What happened to you yesterday, Mrs. Devine? This is really the first time we're seeing you since then."

Selah was a little nonplussed. She didn't expect Mr. Martinotti to ask that question and, therefore, responded with the truth before she thought better of it. "I didn't know your arrival date had been moved up, and I was unaware that you were in town. I didn't find out until the afternoon that you were here and no one knew where you all were, despite several attempts to find out."

"Well, we were right at Josephine's. The nice young Ms. Cruz took us there for lunch. Maxim also came along, but I was disappointed because we were expecting to see you there at some point."

"I see, " Selah said.

"Anyway, after reviewing the proposal Ms. Cruz gave to us last night, we figured there was some kind of dissension in the ranks here at The Alanis Agency and we don't do business like that. We like everything to work out smoothly with as little problems as possible."

"Dissension? We actually don't have any dissension here," Maxim began. "Our executives enjoy a healthy dose of competition. I thought I sent out a memo letting everyone know what date and time you'd be arriving. Mrs. Devine was simply not updated. My assistant may have dropped the ball on that. On behalf of Mrs. Devine, I apologize that she was unable to attend the festivities at Josephine's. Despite that, I think both pitches went very well. So I ask again, would you like to tell us which campaign you're going to go with?" Maxim ended smoothly.

"Competition?" A short twitter of laughter came from the group surrounding Mr. Martinotti, "That young lady there," he pointed at Jacinta, "gave Robert a sneak peek of the presentation she showed us here today. We were very impressed as we perused it. I have to say it's a mighty fine approach to what we'd like to do with Steak & Shoes."

A slow clap of congratulations started on the Team Cruz side of the room. They were excited to have their first major campaign to work on, stolen idea or not. They knew this meant a huge promotion for their entire team, and they were all hungry for it, willing to step on their own mamas for it. They slapped backs and high fived each other for a little bit before settling back down.

Mr. Martinotti paused for the celebration and then said, "But so was the approach Team Devine took with the other campaign. We enjoyed the strategy that went behind that. The level of detail was very similar to the second pitch. It was almost like we were reading both pitches from the same team. And you know what," he paused dramatically, "I'd say we did get the pitch from the same team. Especially since that sneak peek had Mrs. Devine's name on a couple of the documents, but it's missing from the copies we received today. I'd say there is a lot more than competition going on here at The Alanis Agency. Where I'm from, the word competition" he said mockingly, "begins with an 's'. That's called stealing, and thieves like her, " he said pointing again at Jacinta, "should be fired. We don't work with criminals. We do business with people of integrity," he finished.

Shock rippled around the table, as everyone was stunned into silence.

### Chapter 8 | Scene 1

"A really good detective never gets married." - Raymond Chandler

September 23, 3:11 p.m.

"Hey baby" the text read.

September 23, 3:14 p.m.

"Hi, honey" she replied

September 23, 3:25 p.m.

"I want to c u"

September 23, 3:26 p.m.

"I want to c u 2, cum over 2nite"

September 23, 3:27 p.m.

"Is your roommate going to b there?"

"She's going out with friends, we'll hv the house to ourselves"

September 23, 3:30 p.m.

"See you at 9"

"I can't wait!"

September 23, 3:45 p.m.

"Hey, wear that black lace nightie"

"The crotchless one?"

";-) You know what I like"

Gennifer and Vashti were waiting outside the rental home of Sloan's girlfriend. They wanted to get pictures of the two of them together and obviously from the texts, they'd be together tonight. Mama D let them borrow her SUV, so they wouldn't be spotted easily. The pair sat slumped in the front seats, keeping their eyes on the side mirrors, waiting for his arrival.

Two days ago at Wayden Trucking, Vashti and Gennifer showed up in Sloan's office. There was something wrong with Gennifer's car, they told him.

"We don't know what's going on with it but it's acting really odd, not wanting to stay turned on. We barely made it to your garage to have it looked at."

"Where were you two headed? Do you need to borrow my car to make a quick run?" Sloan asked.

"No," Gennifer said briefly, "we were just running a few errands, but we can get them done in time as long as the car can be fixed today."

"Well, let's take a look," Sloan led the way out of his office, Gennifer bringing up the rear.

In the garage, Sloan lifted the hood, to take a closer look at the car, all the while lecturing her about taking better care of the vehicle. He left Vashti in his office and his cell on the desk. They had surprised him with their appearance. He didn't even think to take his phone, in his hurry to help them. Vashti broke the lock code on his screen after two attempts and went to work quickly, installing the spyware on his cell phone. Phone-it-in was a tattle tale device, much like the key logger on his laptop but with expanded capabilities. It duplicated all his text messages and sent a copy to her cell phone. His incoming and outgoing phone calls were recorded, transcribed and sent to her via email.

It was a perfect solution because photos and receipts wouldn't put a nail in his coffin quite as well as his own words. And he was graphic in the texts he sent to these women he had on the side. She and Gennifer had counted at least four thus far. Sloan left no detail to the imagination when texting or talking with these ladies. Vashti used the term ladies loosely. The conversations and texts were so steamy, Vashti began to question where she was going wrong in her own love life. Some of the imagery Sloan painted with these women about what they wanted to do with each other, made her blush, and she was more sexually free than the other Soulphisticates. But the surveillance was taking a toll on Gennifer.

After listening to a few of the calls, Gennifer would run to the restroom, sick to her stomach. She found the whole idea of Sloan cheating on Moria thoroughly disgusting. Kissing, licking and touching other women when he was married to Moria, going home to her and the boys, kissing, and touching them too—all of it made her stomach scream.

It had only been a week since the spying began, but already she had lost six pounds. She was totally empathetic to Moria's pain even though it hadn't yet begun. Prior to all of this, she had as much faith in Sloan as Moria did. It was so difficult for her to stand there and talk to him for the length of time she did about maintaining her vehicle.

"What about maintaining the sanctity of your marriage?" she wanted to yell at him. He had some nerve to lecture her about anything, ole whore bag, she thought.

A few days later, Vashti met her at the Horizon House with the text, email and phone call transcripts. It was so much crap they had to slog through, but the phone records and texts made his business transactions make more sense this time around.

Mama D made them coffee and some lunch while they powered through most of it. As the day wore on, they started to get a clearer picture of what they were going to have to show Moria. Three of the women met him at the Masquerade Inn on Tuesdays. They each had a specific week and as best they could tell, the women were also married. One of them worked at the daycare the kids attended.

The fourth week of the month he spent with this chic whose rent he paid. He also saw her a few other random times during the month. Reading the transcripts to those calls were the most damaging. Sloan sounded as if he were making a life with this woman, but it was clear that she knew about Moria and the boys.

Gennifer stood and began gathering the camera equipment and a couple of the transcriptions. She had had enough.

"We are going to take this to Moria tonight!" she said angrily.

"No, we are not, Gennifer," Vashti said just as roughly.

"What is wrong with you, Vashti? She needs to know!"

"She only needs to know once we've put the whole puzzle together for her. If we give it to her one piece at a time her heart will break one piece at a time. Besides, it is much harder to defend four women than it is to explain away one."

Gennifer's shoulders slumped. She didn't know how much more of this she could take. Her emotional wick was low, and she was running out of energy.

"Let's get the pictures of him with the rent-a-whore he'll be with tonight. Then we can worry about the other ones, ok?"

Vashti gave Gennifer a hug and a pat on her back. This was rough.

So here they sat, parked in Mama D's Cherokee thirty minutes later waiting for Sloan.

He pulled up a few seconds later in Moria's mini van and parks next to the house.

"Look at this bold mother fucker," Vashti murmured in distaste.

Gennifer sat up and focused her camera on him locking the van doors and bounding up the steps to ring the door-bell. (Snap)

A youngish looking Latina woman came out. She had dark hair and fair skin. (Snap)

She jumped into Sloan's arms and kissed him passionately at the door in a thin satin robe. Sloan's hands immediately disappeared under it as he picked her up (Snap) and kicked the door closed behind him.

Gennifer jumped out of the car when the door closed. Standing at an angle, she got the mini van and the house in the frame, (Snap). She zoomed in on the house number from the mini van's rear, making sure to get some of the plate in the shot, (Snap).

In the car, Vashti was on the phone.

"...Hanging out with Mama D," was the tail end of what Gennifer heard as she got back in.

At her questioning look, Vashti mouthed, "Moria". Gennifer lifted her brows in surprise considering what the two of them were really doing.

"Yeah, we can come over, what's wrong?" Vashti asked, brows furrowed.

"John Femme was just released from prison. We need to go tell Selah."

### Chapter 8 | Scene 2

"Humiliation is the beginning of sanctification." - John Donne

Sitting at a corner table in Sucre' & Spice, Selah waited for her husband. Earlier this afternoon she called him from the office and invited him to meet her for dinner. It was a ritual they had when her team landed a deal. She and Thorne would go out somewhere nice for a meal. Celebrate over champagne. It was also a peacekeeping dinner so that if he was still angry, he couldn't take it out on her in a public place

She just wanted one day of serenity. Vivian booked the reservation and she now sat here with a bubbly glass of champagne. Sipping it, she thought of the events of the afternoon. Maxim had Jacinta escorted out of the building by security, saying he'd press charges if she ever showed her face at The Alanis Agency again. Jacinta was hopping mad, cursing him in a mixture of Spanish and English. Snarling threats of payback and retribution against the agency and Maxim himself.

Mr. Martinotti actually hugged Selah and her team, excited to be working with them. Team Cruz was disbanded and the group took a serious downgrade in pay and position. They didn't have anyone to smile smugly at now, bunch of thieves.

Thorne dropped down in the chair in front of her, startling her out of her reverie. She smiled with some difficulty at him but tucked her discomfiture into the edges of her mouth.

"Would you like some champagne?" she asked, preparing to pour him a glass from the bottle that sat on the side of the table in ice.

"Sure" he said.

"I got the Martinotti campaign today."

"Good for you."

So, she thought, it's going to be a night like that. She sighed. He was still angry, and she should tread lightly with what she said to him. Anything was liable to set him off.

"How was your day, sweetheart?"

"It was fine. But nothing in my day can compare to the excitement of yours. Alfie told his boyfriend all about what was going on over there and guess who filled me in. Ding ding ding" he said coarsely, "not you."

He threw back the glass of champagne like it was a shot of cheap liquor. Her hand tightened around the stem of her own glass before she relaxed and breathed to steady her nerves.

"Thorne," she started, "there hasn't been time. I was going to talk to you about all of this over dinner tonight."

She stopped talking abruptly, dread began unfurling in her heart like fire as she saw Gabriel walking towards their table. She shook her head slightly, but apparently he was obtuse to non verbal cues. His stride didn't break until he was by their side.

"Good evening," he said nodding at the both of them. He reached out, touching her arm, "I just thought I'd offer you congratulations on the coo today. Both of those pitches were excellent, I'm glad Jacinta didn't get away with her thievery."

"Yeah, we are too," Thorne said interrupting brusquely and scowling at Gabriel's hand.

Selah, aware of Thorne's possessive nature, shifted in her chair dislodging his hand. "Thank you, are you having dinner here too?" she asked politely.

"Yes, I am. I'm meeting a client here,"

"Sir," he heard the hostess call, signaling him,

"Oh, there he is," He said, gazing towards the door, "You two enjoy your evening." he said sauntering away.

"And also didn't bother to tell me Gabriel was back in town."

"I didn't find out until this morning at the office."

"Selah, you have a cell phone and you text me all kinds of other irrelevant shit during the day. You couldn't take ten minutes out of your executive schedule to tell me that your baby daddy" he said that piece sarcastically, "was back in town?"

"Thorne," she said softly, laying her hand on his, "I don't want to fight tonight. Can we just enjoy our dinner and not have this argument? So what if Gabe is back in town? You and I are together and have been for years. I love you." She looked at him with her doe shaped eyes, misting in frustration. This constant fighting had to stop sometime. If he wouldn't yield, she would have to just to keep the peace.

She knew what ate at him, what kept war in her home. He wanted a family and she couldn't have any more children. He felt like she tricked him, trapped in a marriage he no longer wanted. But he didn't believe in divorce and neither did she. Till death part them. And if they kept this up, it'd be sooner than later.

She often worried about that last bit. She knew he had it in him to kill her. Volunteering at the Horizon House all these years taught her that. She even led some of the domestic abuse training sessions. But she would still keep the faith. She had to believe her love was stronger than any pain he would give her.

He tensed when she touched his hand. It almost seemed as if his body was coiled to spring across the table at her. But he relaxed a little in the chair saying, "What are we eating tonight? Have you already ordered?"

"No, I was waiting on you."

They studied their menus for a while, discussing their choices before settling on their entrees and appetizers.

Selah excused herself to go to the restroom after they placed their orders. She wanted to freshen up and wash her hands.

In the bathroom mirror she looked at her face. She could see the need for a little touch up. Removing her glasses, she reapplied her foundation and freshened up the lipstick and eye shadow. She replaced the glasses, used the restroom, washed her hands and headed out.

Gabriel was there waiting for her outside the restroom area.

"I'm sorry I didn't call to let you know I'd be returning. I didn't mean to spring it on you."

He looked weary but watchful. He caught every play of emotion that danced across her face.

"You don't owe me anything, Gabriel." She averted her eyes and lowered her face so he wouldn't see the bruises. The makeup job was good, but not if you looked too hard. They stood there awkwardly for a few seconds - him wanting her to tell him what she was holding onto so tightly and her wishing he would just go back to his table and leave her alone. Starting around him, she saw Thorne a second too late.

He had come looking for her because she was taking an awfully long time in the restroom. His hand shot out and caught her on the side of the face, slapping her so hard she flew back into the restroom door. She fell into the sinks and her glasses cracked across her face.

Gabriel was shocked and turned to defend her from the onslaught. He punched Thorne in the jaw, his fist landing a hard, fast blow. Thorne laughed deep, his mirth rumbled in his stomach like thunder, then bounced and echoed off of the walls in the small space. He turned his attention slowly away from Selah and fixed it firmly onto Gabriel.

He said, "You may have won first place in her heart, but tonight I'm going to win first place with this ass whooping," right before he fisted his hands and connected an uppercut to Gabriel's jaw.

### Chapter 9 | Scene 1

"The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph." - Thomas Paine

Chloe's fingers tapped nervously on her desk. She sat in the large office with Alfie, Laura and Steven but she had tuned them all out. They were talking about the events from yesterday. She was preoccupied, replaying her conversation with Jason last night.

"In light of all that has happened today," he said over wine, "I am not very surprised that Jacinta and Team Cruz were found out."

"You had an idea they would be? It would have been great if you'd have shared that information with me."

"It was just a theory. I knew you all would figure out who stole the family secrets right out from under your noses. You are such a clever group."

She placed her glass on the table, "So, you're telling me you know who gave the information to Jacinta? Because we actually have no clue."

"Like I said, it's just a theory, but it has to have some foundation in the truth."

"Does this running theory have anything to do with Maxim?"

"I don't tell tales about what goes on with my boss. After all, I do need my job to support us in the lifestyle to which we've grown accustomed," Jason smirked. He gazed around the $3000 a month condo they'd purchased together on the beach closer to Miami than Broad Wall.

As Maxim's assistant, he was more than a secretary. He was a personal gatekeeper to the Alanis secrets. Maxim made him sign a confidentiality agreement, pass a couple rigorous security clearances, and agree to take a polygraph monthly. He was held to the strictest confidences and if he failed to keep his mouth shut, the fallout would be catastrophic. The employment agreement he'd signed said as much, it stated the most heinous penalties if he didn't comply implicitly.

He loved Chloe, but he was not about to lose his job or be sued to give her team a leg up on the competition, as it were. The questions in the polygraph often included personal questions about him and Chloe. When they first started dating, Maxim told him he didn't think it was a good idea. It was one of the reasons he'd dumped Vivian. She was too close to Selah Devine for Maxim's comfort. Every day he came in, Maxim harassed him about her. It was strongly suggested that he end that relationship. He complied because the stress just became too much.

Chloe pushed and hinted and after much internal debate, he agreed to discuss theory as long as she didn't tell anyone where those theories came from. They talked until the early morning.

She pushed back from her desk, startling Alfie and Steven, who were standing over her.

"Damn chic, you could at least say, excuse me," Alfie bitched. "You almost killed my Gucci's. And I must say, they've done nothing to you to deserve such a death."

"I didn't know you all were standing there, but don't you have desks? And don't you have work to do? There is no reason for y'all to be huddled around me."

"We weren't huddled around you. We were including your spoiled butt in our conversation, but apparently you didn't appreciate that. Move" Alfie shoved her chair back towards her desk, causing her to collapse back into it as he pushed his way past her on his way to his space in the office.

"That was uncalled for, " Laura mumbled towards Alfie. She never got into gossip or group discussions, so she was sitting at her desk.

Chloe straightened her flowered vest, tugged down the hem of her nautical themed shirt dress and clumped through the office to the door in her chunky silver Mary Janes with dignity. Alfie looked on, shaking his head in disgust. All she needed was some clown makeup and a Hyundai that fit twelve people. He wasn't too sure that the flower pin on the lapel of that hideous vest didn't squirt water.

Down the hall, Chloe sat in the reception area of Selah's office waiting on Vivian. A few minutes later, Vivian sashayed in, walking behind her desk, to put away her personal belongings. She hadn't even seen Chloe yet.

"Good morning, Vivian," Chloe said, starling her.

Vivian jumped a little, looking behind her quickly. Nervously. She didn't like Chloe, and she didn't know what she was doing sitting here waiting for her. She disguised her discomfort with impatience.

"I have a lot to do today, so forgive me for not swapping pleasantries. How may I help you?" Vivian asked, efficiently.

"What I have to discuss won't take much time, but if you would like to take that tone and that type of attitude," she said, walking towards Vivian's desk, "let's just discuss it with the rest of the team. I'm sure you and I will need a mediator anyway." Chloe dialed the number to her desk phone. "Can you all come to Selah's reception area please?"

She heard Alfie in the background say, "I'm busy, what do you want?"

Steven was more diplomatic, "What do you need us for?" They were still up in their feelings from earlier.

Laura said, "Sure" and left her desk.

Chloe didn't bother responding to the men on the team. She just clicked off the call. Vivian looked at her with trepidation. She wasn't afraid exactly, but she knew Chloe was mean spirited and it always put her on edge. She didn't need to start her day out with this kind of foolishness. Vivian simmered for just a minute, but it didn't take long for her temper to boil over. She exploded in motion around the desk, getting up in Chloe's face, inches from her nose. This little red headed weirdo thought she was afraid of her. She'd find out today.

"Tell me what this is about, Chloe," Vivian demanded shrilly.

Just then Laura arrived, followed by Alfie and Steven. They all took in Vivian's threatening stance and walked a little quicker. They had barely gotten through the Team Cruz mess yesterday. They didn't want any more problems for their team.

"Ok chics," Alfie said as obnoxiously as he could, "break this shit up." He stepped between them, Steven tugged Chloe by the arm, off to the side.

"What is this about?" Laura asked.

"That is what I was asking Molly Ringwald over there," Vivian said sharply.

"Rather aggressively," Alfie said with his usual timing.

"She thought she could intimidate me. I'm not scared to challenge you, Vivian. You don't have any authority."

"Apparently I have more authority over you than you'd like or you wouldn't have brought it up. You are just mad because it drives you crazy because you think you're better than me. Why? Because you are shacking up with my leftovers? Girl, get a grip." Vivian charged back.

"I have some important research to expand on for the Martinotti account. If we weren't called here for a reason, I am returning to my desk," Laura declared woodenly. She was entirely unfazed by the abundance of estrogen warring in the room.

"Why don't you tell them Vivian?" Chloe shouted around Alfie's body. She was getting worked up now that she had an audience. Alfie blocked Vivian from view but Chloe didn't mind taking a swing at Vivian now. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

"Tell them what?"

"Tell them you know who stole our presentation! Tell them it was you who gave it to Team Cruz!"

### Chapter 9 | Scene 2

"The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart." - Robert Green Ingersoll

It was dirty fighting. He was in a brutal headlock; Thorne was delivering a series of kidney shots to the side of his body with his free fist. Gabriel was using all his strength to break the hold Thorne had on him. When that didn't work, he realized he wouldn't be able to use his strength because Thorne had a solid hundred pounds of muscle on him. So Gabriel resorted to common sense. He bit his arm hard enough to taste blood, then shoved his elbow into his stomach to force him to release his hold. Thorne tore his arm from Gabriel's throat. An enraged roar poured from his lips like hot lava.

Selah pushed herself sluggishly from the sink in the restroom. Slicing her hand on her broken lenses caused a sharp intake of breath.

"Shit!" she said, succinctly.

She could hear the fight going on in the hall and tried to focus on getting herself together so she could stop it. Her nose was bleeding, making a mess of her shirt. Quickly she held her head back, pinching her nose while opening a stall for some tissue.

Oblivious to what was going on in the restroom, the men fought on, Gabriel parrying Thorne's punches and blocking some of the blows with his arms. But Thorne was on him like a mad animal. Patrons now recognizing the sound of fighting began screaming and fleeing from the dessert bar. Thorne and Gabriel continued the bout in the open area of the dining room. Gabriel was striking out, fists balled into futile fists while backing towards the door. He picked up a small chair, lobbing it at Thorne's head. Reaching behind him, he felt for the wood, pushing the door open and scrambling outside. He sprinted through the parking lot towards his car, removing his shirt and throwing it on the ground. He needed space to take on this king kong mother fucker.

Thorne followed, his thick, muscled legs clumping heavily behind Gabriel. He didn't try to stop running, he let the momentum of his body carry his fist forward to Gabriel's solar plexus. The power of his hate pushed through him like purpose. The air whooshed out of Gabriel. Thorne didn't let up, he began hurling his fists like missiles into Gabriel's body. Ribs, face, ribs, it became a combination that he varied in three-punch patterns. The body punches were brutal. He went on like this for a full minute. Gabriel was barely standing. His worn out frame having bent to the will of Thorne's fists. He deflected for a while, protecting himself from the worst of the blows. But his boxing skills rendered him an ineffectual amateur gladiator against a professional heavyweight.

Gabriel was a catcher. The only thing that kept him standing was his car and Thorne's thunderously clenched hands. If it weren't for the constant onslaught, Gabriel would have fell to his knees long ago.

There was one last punch to the side of his head, and mercifully, Thorne's rage was spent. Gabriel was no challenge. He slumped down the side of his SUV in slow motion. He looked like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

Without a word, Thorne spat on him. Then he turned and began heading towards the restaurant. Now it was time to take care of that whoring ass wife of his. His thoughts firmly fixated on what he needed to do to punish her. He didn't hear the car door open and shut. Hmph, that sorry ass little boy-man was on the ground bleeding and coughing and she thought he was the prize? He chuckled, he'd been wanting to put a beating on Gabriel for a while.

The thought had no longer entered his head before he was hit from behind with a wooden bat. Thorne's knees buckled as Gabriel put all his strength behind the blow. Thorne went down. Gabriel knew he was headed to beat on Selah and he was not going to have that. Spit dripped off of Gabriel's face as he followed that blow to Thorne's knees with five successive blows to the back. Using the bat efficiently, he slammed it into Thorne's stomach and heard a satisfying crunch. But that was only the beginning, using the bat like a baton, Gabriel rammed it into Thorne's sides and alternating by beating his legs. Thorne was down for the count.

Gabriel was in the zone, his focus totally devoted to decimating Thorne. There was some background noise, but the shrill hysterical screams close to him finally penetrated his fog.

"Stop!" Selah cried, "What are you doing Gabriel? Stop it!"

An arm grabbed the bat and pulled. But he was in mid-swing and its velocity propelled her forward with it. Selah fell on top of her husband, shielding him with her body. She screamed at Gabriel, "STOP IT YOU ARE KILLING HIM! Are you crazy?!"

Abruptly altering the bat's path on the down swing, it glanced off of the side of Thorne's face. Selah lay covering Thorne's body staring at Gabriel in horror. She'd never seen Thorne downed. She was relieved, but it was short lived. Now she was afraid. She could not imagine how angry he would be when he got back up again.

The panic subsided momentarily when she became aware of Gabriel's injuries. He was leaning on the bat, allowing it to support his weight. He looked like he was hurting pretty badly. There were several bruises across his face and lacerations all over his body. His long dark curly hair was matted in his blood and sweat. His slim chest was bruised and gashed. He looked like Jesus.

Trepidation rolled over her in waves.

"Get out of here," she spoke quickly. "Get out of here before he comes around and tries to kill you!"

"I'm not going to leave you here, Selah," he said groaning. His throat felt like it was on fire. His eyes were sad and wild at the same time, the broken capillaries in them standing out like bloody tears.

"You have more important things to take care of than me. Please go before he gets up!"

He didn't move, his feet didn't budge.

She cried out to him in desperation, "Please! I wouldn't be able to live with myself it something happened to you because of me. Please go!" The words were ripped from the core of her. He could see that she still loved him and it effected him as much as it did her. He hated when she cried, but tears bloomed and streaked down her face, washing away the carefully made up façade she'd carried all day.

He bent and touched her face. Smudging away the makeup from her eye to see the blackened and green bruise it covered. His lips tightened and he said, "Oh, Selah". Those two words were filled with such a wealth of sadness, her floodgates broke.

A torrential downpour ensued. She worked to stem the flow, looking away from his sincere and open face. She gulped deep breaths of air to stop her from getting up and leaving with him. He knew she'd broken her promise. Her fingers toyed with the band on her left ring finger. She could see it in his eyes, it had never gone anywhere. The eternal bond she shared with Gabriel was still there, but she married Thorne. She would stay. He saw her decision to leave waver and crumble when she broke their gaze.

"Please," she whispered.

Her voice prickled with pain. It was so raw that he wavered too.

Gabriel stood there for a while, willing her to look at him. She kept her eyes stubbornly trained away from him. He sighed, straightened, walking reluctantly to his car. His feet were leaden and his face seemed to have aged. He was miles down the road before she pulled herself off of Thorne and shook him awake.

Thorne sat up, orienting himself for a few seconds. His gaze focused on her as all the events of the day came back to him in a rush.

She saw the shift in him. His face became a sneering mask and she prepared herself, closing her eyes as he reared back, punching her full in the face.

His knuckles split on impact and the sound of his fist meeting her skin was so loud, it echoed in the parking lot like a gunshot.

### Chapter 10 | Scene 1

"Friends show their love in times of trouble, not happiness." - Euripedes

Gennifer flipped through the photos she took of Sloan and his mistress on her camera. She stopped at two of the pictures and stared, zooming in on the photo and out again. A few more times and she was convinced. She turned in her seat and reached in the back. Rifling through the pages, she pulled out a few business account bank statements. It was difficult to see the transactions in the passing street lights but Gennifer made do. After twenty minutes into the drive to Moria's house, she turned to face Vashti in the car.

"What if I told you that we got more than we bargained for with these pictures?" she asked biting her lip.

"I'd say you don't know what you're talking about because we have to gather this evidence for Moria," Vashti said sensibly.

"Ok, well I'm telling you now we got more than we bargained for, this is a huge mess."

"We knew from the beginning that this would be a mess," Vashti said impatiently. "Can you put all those papers away before Moria gets into the car?"

"I will but after I tell you what I just figured out."

"Then what's up with the game of Clue? Tell me already because I really don't feel like this tonight. It's late and I'm emotionally exhausted."

"Fine. That little rent-a-hoe we just saw with Sloan? She's pregnant."

"What?" Vashti asked, sounding like Dave Chapelle in the Lil Jon skit.

"I said, she's pregnant."

"What? I didn't see that, where are you getting this from?"

"When he slides his hands under the robe, I can see it. She has a bulge. It's slight so it's not very noticeable.

At a red light, Vashti handed for the camera. Gennifer was ready, she handed her the camera zoomed in on the evidence. She looked over at Gennifer after flipping through the pictures a few times. Their combined misery had no words.

"It has to be true. Plus Sloan's been buying baby things on the business account. I didn't think it was anything big when I saw it before. The boys are still young and get things from those stores. But why would he be using his business account when he has a personal account? He has to be hiding it."

"Check my phone to see if he's had any texts," Vashti said, resuming the drive. "Afterwards, put those papers up and put your camera away. I don't want Moria to wonder why we had a camera if we were chilling with Mama D."

Gennifer packed it all up and climbed into the back seat to put it all in the Jeep's trunk. Then she checked the phone.

"He's had two missed calls, both of them are Moria. She sent him a text asking him where he is. Nothing else."

Climbing back into the front seat, she sat and buckled herself in.

"We are going to have to talk to her about this soon."

"You were the one saying we should wait, but all of a sudden we have to talk to her about this soon?"

"A baby not growing in Moria by her husband changes things a little bit, don't you think?" Vashti asked sarcastically.

Gennifer's phone rang just as she was about to hurl a scathing retort back at Vashti. It was Moria.

"Where the hell are you guys?" she asked irritably. "It's taking you forever to get your asses over here."

Wow, two curses in one sentence? Moria was seriously testy.

"We are about six blocks from your house, did Thorne come home or you get a sitter for the twins?"

"I got a sitter," she snapped, "And she's here. I'm waiting on the two of you! I could have been at Selah's house by now!"

"We're sorry. My house is forty minutes away, you know. You can always go to Selah's house by yourself and tell her about John before we get there."

"Why would you even suggest such a thing? We never do bad news alone. We are all always there when something effects the circle. That's friend rule no 12."

"Man stop all that bitchin', Moria. We are coming, shoot." Vashti snapped loud enough for Moria to hear her.

"Shut up Vashti!" she yelled back just as loudly.

"Look, we are outside, Moria. Stop all that screaming in my ear and come on out," Gennifer said as she hung up.

Seconds later, Moria opened the door. Wen dashed around her and ran for the car yelling, "Gennifer!"

Gennifer got out and ran to catch him, she was laughing. Wen always knew how to keep life exciting. She kissed him all over his face and tickled his sides before saying, "Shouldn't you be in bed young man?"

"I have on sleeping clothes. Mommie is going with you, I want to go too!" he said seriously.

"You can't come honey, we have to do grown up things. Where is Wayde?"

"Wayde," Moria said as she took Wen from Gennifer "is in bed like you are supposed to be young man." She walked him back to Patrice, who was standing in the doorway.

"Don't give her any trouble, Wen," she warned.

"I am not going to be trouble, mommie," he said, his eyes as innocent as a cherub's.

She shook her head knowing that meant exactly the opposite of what he was saying and told Patrice, "Keep an eye on him."

She walked back to the car and climbed in the front seat. Gennifer had already hopped in the back behind her.

"Hey heifer," Vashti said offhandedly, pulling out of the driveway and onto the street.

"I am not a pregnant cow," Moria said automatically. This had been a greeting between the two of them for years.

"How did you find out John is out of prison, Moria?" Gennifer questioned.

"I saw him in the drug store on my way home from picking up the boys."

"Selah is going to freak. Weren't they supposed to notify her upon his release?" Vashti asked.

"They were. He apparently saw me too. He came over just as normal, trying to strike up a conversation! I bundled the boys into the cart and left. I didn't even buy what I went in there for How dare he think he can speak to me? I was disgusted and glad I have sons. Although he was in prison so long he may have switched sides."

Vashti's stomach cramped. She did not want to deal with any more today than she was already going over in her head. Her phone rang. Gennifer and Moria kept discussing John and the best way to break the news. She was listening to her night shift manager, Fawn. She slowed the speed of the car, coming to a full stop when she realized she was telling her that Selah and Thorne had just tore up the back of her bar during a fight. Aloud she said, "What the fuck?"

A few questions later, she had all the details. Selah and Thorne had left, he said after he was seen dragging her into a car.

Hanging up the phone, she heard Moria say, "I found out today so Sloan doesn't know yet."

"What now?" she asked, coming back to the conversation.

"I was telling Gennifer that I just found out that I'm pregnant."

Vashti's eyes caught Gennifer's in the rearview mirror, they both shared a twin thought.

"Vashti, slow your ass down. You have precious cargo in this car," Gennifer said from the back to ease the tension.

"I can't, we have to get to Selah's."

"Duh, we've been trying to get there all night. If the two of you didn't take so long, we wouldn't be rolling up this late!"

"Try her cell please, we need to get her on the phone." Vashti said, a burst of panic lodging in her stomach right next to her cramps.

"I am not going to call her. The news isn't going anywhere," Gennifer frowned, "and can you slow down? I am definitely not in a rush to tell her about her rapist."

"No, John isn't why I'm driving this fast. That was the Bar. Thorne tore up the area by my restroom. He and Selah were in a fight. It ended in the parking lot. My manager has called her cell several times to see if she was alright and Selah isn't answering. The last time she saw the two of them, Thorne was dragging her limp body into the car."

### Chapter 10 | Scene 2

"A simple grateful thought turned heavenwards is the most perfect prayer." - Doris Lessing

Her blood splashed a curtain across the window of their car. Thorne drove and beat on her simultaneously. She sat with her body clinched in the front seat, stoic in her pain and anguish. Her mouth was a crisscrossed fissure of flesh, each bruised section cracking and tearing open. His voice boomed and echoed in the vehicle's small confines, accusations running from his lips in a rampaging vitriolic stream. Selah was petrified.

The battering went on and on. In deference to the pain, she squeezed her body low now, trying to fit it into the space beneath the dashboard. The area was a little harder for him to manage to punch into. She was scared he would pull his foot off the gas and stomp her into nothingness. There wasn't anything she could say to soothe him. Her staying when she could have left didn't make him calm down. Her voice seemed to inflame him. He had a burning desire to trample her soul. He punched her knees in an effort to pry her legs apart in the small space. They popped open involuntarily and he took advantage.

His hand honed in on her face, slapping her while navigating down the streets of Broad Wall. She kicked out, her leg catching him on his jaw and surprising herself. He jerked the car, disbelief almost making him flip them into a ditch. His face was shocked. She never hit him back before. She sprung from the crouched position and slapped him across the face. He grabbed her and pulled her torso into his lap. He head butted her twice before she could guess his plan of attack.

Her fist shot out and punched his ear. It made a popping sound. His equilibrium was out of sorts. The car was swerving all over the streets. Her other hand grabbed his balls and squeezed. Hard. He screamed and for a moment it was a melody. She could hear poetic justice in the harmony of his pain.

He slowed his driving, made a couple turns he had to use both hands for and she kept squeezing. All the color drained from his skin. When the car came to a stop in front of their home, Selah twisted and pulled. She just needed him in enough pain so she could jump out of the car and begin running. Her feet hit the ground fiercely, she ran to a neighbor's house. Her body didn't move as quickly as she would have liked it to. She still had an aching rib and pounding head. Mr. Gaston would help her, she thought in a blur. She ran to the door, pounding on it just as she heard the door to the car slam shut. Thorne was coming after her. Mr. Gaston didn't come to the door.

She kept running, moving down a few houses thinking the Mitchells would let her in. Their car wasn't in the driveway, so she kept running. Thorne was gaining on her now, his longer stride eating up the distance between the two of them. Frustrated tears misted her eyes. Where was everybody? Winded she slowed her steps and stopped. She turned to find Thorne a few feet from her. He looked at her with murder in his eyes.

She zig-zagged figuring she could bluff him into going the wrong way so she could get away. She could keep running but he'd catch her. She zigged and he zagged, she ran past him, skirting the cars parked along the sidewalk. Her feet taking her to the house, she unlocked the door, slammed and locked it before he could stop her. She threw the chain across the door and went to the kitchen for the phone. She wouldn't live like this any more. She dialed, "9-1" before she saw an explosion of glass at the kitchen door. She shielded her face, pressing "1" as a trash can bounced into view.

She dropped the phone and grabbed a knife from the kitchen block.

"Thorne, you need to calm down," she said, her voice wobbling.

"Oh bitch you dare tell me what to do?"

"I'm just saying, baby, please calm down," Selah said in a conciliatory tone.

She held the knife out slightly while she backed away from his advancing. She was making her way around the island in the middle of the floor. She didn't want to move too fast, it may spook him and cause him to rush her.

"Yeah, calm the fuck down, but you're holding a knife on me?"

"I'll throw it down, Thorne. I just have it to defend myself. I don't want to hurt you."

"Hurt me? Hurt me? Bitch is you stupid?" he bellowed, mocking her.

"You're right, I can't hurt you. I'm sorry I said that. Baby, I just want to go upstairs and take a shower," she whimpered. She stood there in a ripped and bloody blouse. One of her shoes was missing and her short hair was standing up in places and matted down in others. Her eye was a mottled generation of fresh and old bruises. Her lips were cracked, peeling and swollen. "Can I just go upstairs and take a shower?"

He tilted his head at her, "If you don't want to have any problems, throw the knife down, Selah."

She hesitated. He looked reasonable, but she knew how quickly that could turn. She loosened the knife and let it slide from her fingers to the floor. That was the opportunity he was waiting for.

He lunged, grabbing her he pulled her up, close to him, eye level. Her feet dangled in the air, toes barely touching the floor.

"Yo nigga is back in town, and you were hiding that shit from me. He was so bold, he walked right up to our table. You wanted to humiliate me. Got me out in the streets showing my ass because you were that brazen. Bitch, do you know who you're playing with?"

"Baby, I didn't invite Gabriel to the restaurant. I didn't know he'd be there and I didn't know he was back in town until today. I wasn't trying to humiliate you, but I'm sorry. Thorne, please baby, please calm down," she pleaded.

"I'll calm down alright," he said throwing her across the island and into the broken glass.

She hit the floor and lay there for a few moments, the wind knocked out of her. Her hand was a mass of cuts and but she pushed into the glass anyway. Stepping in it with her missing shoe as she tried to rise. He kicked her in the butt, and she went sprawling. She crawled a little away from him, hoping to get enough traction to run.

His foot lifted a fraction from the floor as he gave himself a boost to kick her in the side. His foot came down two more times. She tried to protect the rib that still pained her.

"Stop it, Thorne" she groaned from the floor. She was panting in pain, struggling not to let the darkness of a black out engulf her.

He ignored her. His foot hammering into her. She kept crawling until she was within reach of the knife.

Her fingers wrapped around the handle and she held it out.

He laughed at her. Laughed like her defending herself was funny. Like he hadn't handed her humiliation on a platter as she ran from house to house in her neighborhood to get away from his tyranny. Like he hadn't beat her in a public place like his recalcitrant child. Every day he belittled her, and she hid it all beneath a mask of coolness. He thought it was funny.

Thorne reached towards her, intent on snatching the knife out of her hands.

She screamed, "No!!!!!.

### Thank you for reading book 1 of

The Soulphisticated Ladies

Stay tuned for book 2/episode 2 of the serial. You can join the mailing list at www.theslserial.com. If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review wherever you purchased a copy. Reviews help other readers find the book and are incredibly helpful to the author. The author's website is www.jahaknight.com.

