“Were you acting out in front of his employees?”
Imani pressed her lips together. She pulled the sponge out of the water and squeezed its contents onto her naked body. “I wouldn’t say I was acting out per se. It was more like, setting her straight.”
“Hmm . . . you were embarrassing him in front of his employees.”
“What would you do if that were Drew?”
“The exact same thing except for the police would probably be involved. Here’s the thing, Drew doesn’t run the kind of business Garrett does. He’s also not as high profile. The people who work under Garrett have got to respect him. He can’t be seen as a joke. It’s bad enough the tabloids are always saying crazy things about your entire situation, but he can’t have his business associates not taking him seriously too.”
“I get that. I might have flown off the handle just a little bit, but, and this is a massive but, my opinions with Garrett don’t seem to carry much weight. His brother, Raymond, stopped by my office today. He wants to squash this entire soap opera. Garrett’s not having it. I just think he’s allowing his hate for his brother to cloud his judgment in doing what’s best for his son.”
“Can you blame him? The guy’s a snake. Disgusting at best. I wouldn’t want him within eye distance of anyone I cared about.”
“I understand all of that, but they are family. That should mean something. I honestly think Raymond is sorry and he’s acting out because he’s always felt inferior to Garrett.”
“Sleeping and fathering a child with his wife is a bit more than acting out. Family would never betray you that way.” Aaliyah placed Chloe over her shoulder in the hopes of rocking her to sleep. “What do his parents have to say about all of this?”
“Garrett’s not close to his parents. It was mainly just him and Raymond.”
“Gross. That makes his betrayal even worse.”
“I get it. I honestly do, but when Garrett Jr. gets older, he’s going to want to know about Shannon and Raymond. Even if they don’t have a good relationship, shouldn’t they at least have one?”
“I don’t know. That’s a tough one.”
“What’s worse than anything is that Garrett—” Her words faltered. “Today, he treated me like the hired help.” Imani wanted to cry. “Initially, I married him because I wanted to help, but I would never have gone through with it if my gut didn’t tell me there was something special between us.”
Aaliyah giggled. “Are you sure that something wasn’t a throbbing vagina?”
Imani didn’t want to laugh. She was hurt, but Aaliyah coaxed one out of her. “I’m sure that might have had a little to do with it but no. I would never have married Garrett if the only thing between us was just off the charts and absolutely fantastic sex.”
Aaliyah turned serious again. “I get the feeling Garrett doesn’t really know what the meaning of family is. At least, not the way we see it anyway. Haven’t you said he isn't exactly close to his parents? And, what brother sleeps with his brother’s wife? I mean really? That’s some tacky shit right there. Maybe he needs more patience than you’re used to showing. Maybe this is where you can show him better than you can tell him?”
“I don’t know. What you’re saying makes sense, it’s just right now, I want to hit him over the head with a blunt sharp object.”
“Please try not to do that. I’m not bringing Chloe to prison to visit you.”
The doorbell rang.
“I’d better go. Someone is ringing the bell. Our housekeeper left, and Anna is out with Garrett Jr.”
“Okay. Call me later.”
“Will do.”
Imani hopped out of the bath and grabbed a towel. After quickly drying off she pulled on her thick terrycloth robe, then ran down the stairs. “I’m coming!”
Once she got to the door and pulled it open, she was surprised to find Raymond. “What in the hell are you doing here? Garrett is going to flip!”
“Hey, beautiful. May I come inside?” Raymond didn’t wait for an answer he just barreled his way inside.
“Oh, no. No, no, no. You’ve got to go. You cannot, and I mean under no circumstances, be here when Garrett gets home.”
“I guess you talked to him about my proposal, and he wasn’t very receptive.”
“That’s putting it mildly.” Imani tightened the belt on her robe. “It’s going to take some time for Garrett to move beyond your betrayal and until hell freezes over to forgive you.”
“Why is that not surprising? You know as kids he was always the one who didn’t want to take risks. He needed to know everything from A-Z before he’d make a decision on anything. I would say, you’re the lone exception.”
“Seems to have served him well. Look, I don’t mean to be rude, Raymond, but you’ve got to go.” The room started to blur, and Imani began to feel hot. She attempted to swallow, but her mouth was as dry as cotton. Her feet were unsteady, and she began to sway on her feet.
Raymond started to look at her strangely. “Are you okay?”
The next thing Imani knew the room faded to black just as she heard Garrett’s voice. “What the hell are you doing with my wife in your arms!”
*****
Imani woke up in bed. She had no idea how she’d gotten there. Slowly, she attempted to sit up and whispered his name. “Garrett?”
He was
