Tell Me No Secrets Read online

  I exhaled and laid my fork down. “I said I’m pregnant Jamie.”

  He sat all the way back in his chair, wiped his mouth, and dropped his white cloth napkin on the table. “Wow. Wasn’t expecting that.”

  “Yeah, neither was I.”

  I could tell by the way he’d slowly rubbed the back of his neck and the way his eyes had widened that he was indeed as shocked as I was when I found out I was pregnant.

  “Wow,” he exclaimed again before asking, “Who’s the father?”

  “What?”

  “The father, who is he?”

  “Aric.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, Jamie, I’m sure. But to calm the questions I know you’re about to ask, I’m going to have a prenatal DNA test just to be one hundred percent sure. You and Aric are the only men I’ve ever had sex with, so if he isn’t the father, you are. And I doubt that because the doctor said I was twelve to thirteen weeks pregnant and you and I only had sex two or three weeks ago. So there.”

  I said all of that, put it all out there so he could stop asking me questions and stop looking at me like he was disgusted that I was even in his presence. As I looked over at him I couldn’t tell what he was thinking and after he only stared at me with a look that I couldn’t read, I decided it was time for me to go.

  “Will you excuse me?” he asked me. “I need to go to the restroom. Don’t leave. I’ll be back.”

  I would have done just what he’d asked me not to do if he hadn’t kissed my cheek on his way to the restroom. I don’t know why he did it but it put me at ease. I shook my head and chuckled at myself. I had done some really silly mess in the last couple of months. More stuff than I’d done in my entire life. I’d had sex with two men in less than six months and one of them was married. I shook my head thinking, if my mother could see me now, what would she think? I always heard her ranting about how only whores slept around with married men and the dumb ones did and claimed they didn’t know about it. My mom may not have made the best decision when she chose to stay with my dad and she may have sometimes looked the other way when he used his hand to get his point across, but anytime he put his hands on me all hell broke loose. Maybe that’s why although at times I really disliked her for staying with my father, there were other times when I thought about the harsher beatings she would take for defending me.

  I was about to signal the waitress for the check when I looked up and into the face of the woman who had attacked me days before. Aric’s wife was walking right toward me. Now out of all the places in Atlanta to eat, why did we both have to choose the same location? I was hoping she was looking past me and would keep walking, but no such luck.

  She was a very pretty woman. Her beauty was almost intimidating and made me wonder what man in his right mind would cheat on her? She was a slim sister with a nice a breast-to-waist, hip-to-ass ratio. Her skin was flawless, dark and very exotic looking, even with the slight bruises and scratches that I could still make out on her face. The red knee-length dress she had on hugged all of her curves in the right places causing men to gape shamelessly, and the CL heels she had on only accentuated it.

  I could tell by the look on her face that she had spotted me and that she had something she wanted to say. At that moment, I made up in my mind that if she chose to sit down and talk to me, I would tell her whatever she wanted to know. I could be a woman and admit that I had slept with her husband, but she needed to know that not one time did Aric tell me he was married. She needed to know that I was not the woman she saw me as, but as soon as she stopped at my table and folded her arms with a nasty sneer planted across her face I knew it would not go the way I was hoping.

  “So we meet again,” she stated.

  I didn’t respond just yet. I needed to know what her motive was for approaching me first.

  “I know you’re not playing shy, Chyanne! You weren’t too shy to be fucking my husband,” she all but yelled.

  People around us started to stare again. It seemed as if I put on a show no matter where I was or who I was with.

  “Why don’t you have a seat so we can talk like adults—”

  She laughed at my candor. “Adults? Talk? What do we have to talk about? I just wanted to see the fat bitch that thought she could screw my husband and get away with it.”

  “Look, I didn’t even know—”

  “Don’t even try me with that, ‘I didn’t know he was married’ crap. There were plenty of times that we were on the phone together and I could hear you in the background asking who I was. I know it was you because you have that same squeaky ass voice and I know my husband; he would have told you about me, if you would have asked.”

  She was annoying the hell out of me and I was surprised by my own anger. It wasn’t like me to encourage any type of confrontation, but she was pushing my buttons.

  “I told you, I didn’t know he was married. If you know him so well, then why didn’t he tell me he had a wife? Not one time did he mention you,” I snapped.

  “To not know he was married means you are not only a slut, but a stupid one! I don’t know what you think is going to happen, or what you want to happen, but it’s over. Aric doesn’t want you. I’m Mrs. McHale and I will always be!”

  Why was it that every woman that fixed her mouth to call me stupid turned out to be the stupid one? She’s the one who had no idea her husband was cheating on her, but I was the stupid one? I was in his house, the house that I am sure she was at with him and there was not one article of anything there that even remotely resembled him having a wife. I was not about to sit there and allow her to get me any more worked up than I already was.

  “Okay, it’s obvious that Aric has lied to the both of us. So it’s not either one of our faults that we find ourselves here, but he’s the one you need to be talking to, not me.”

  “I’ve talked to my husband. Trust me on that, but now I want to talk to the little girl who’s gone and gotten herself pregnant by my husband. Baby or no baby, he will never leave me. You were just one of the many women he slept with. No matter how many times he’s done it, he always comes back to me, back home! You were just a piece of pussy and from what I’m hearing an easy piece of pussy at that. Stop calling my husband. Leave him alone. And, let me tell you, your arms aren’t long enough to box with me. Try me, and I will take that little bastard you’re pregnant with. Me and my husband will be raising the baby you carry. My arms reach a long way, Chyanne. I’m not the one you want to go to battle with.”

  Now she had gone too far. Her making a threat to my child was more than I was willing to take. If I wasn’t afraid of getting arrested, I would have dropped her where she stood. My eyes started to water I wanted to lay hands on her so badly. From that second she had crossed the line. I had no clue as to what Aric had been telling her, but she’d started barking up the wrong tree. I stood so I could prepare to leave. The waitress had placed the check on the table and quickly disappeared. I felt as if everybody was watching the scene unfolding, waiting to see what would happen next. I quickly looked around to see if I could spot Jaime and caught the glances of people who were watching me. Some looked as if they were just waiting for the fists to fly, while others looked at me with derision. Of course, I was the bad guy.

  “No, you sit,” she said as she pushed me back down in the chair. “I’m not done talking to you yet.

  I was too in shock to react right away, more so because I fell back hard and I felt a jolt in my stomach. My hands quickly went to my stomach. As I was about to jump back up and lay her out, Jamie’s hand on my shoulder stopped me. I was shocked when Stephanie tried to slap me and Jaime pushed her back.

  “Back up and leave her alone,” he said to her as he stood in front of me.

  Stephanie stumbled and almost fell back but caught herself. I could tell she was appalled by him pushing her and had hurt her ankle trying to break her fall.

  “Come on, Chyanne. Let me take care of the check so we can get out of here. You okay?”
he asked.

  I nodded and stood when he pulled my chair out. We both stopped and looked when Stephanie moved around him so she could see me. Jamie kept himself planted firmly between the both of us so she had to move at an angle to see me. It was clear that people were trying to gather whether if Jamie was the husband in question or not.

  “Stay away from my husband. I won’t say it again,” she pointedly told me as she made her way to the lobby with a slight limp.

  Jamie shook his head and after paying the check we both walked out. We were both quiet as he walked me to my car. I didn’t know what he was thinking of me, but I couldn’t really think about that at the moment. He wrapped his arms around me when I tried to run away from the wind blowing at me. He smelled so good and he was warm.

  So many things were running through my mind like, What had Aric told that woman about me for her to act that way? I mean, I knew she was upset about him cheating on her, but some of the things she said stuck out to me. Like, how many times he had cheated on her. I knew it was dumb, but it hurt to hear that. I didn’t know why I felt jealous in that moment.

  “You want to talk about it?” Jamie asked when we had reached my car.

  I unlocked the door, got in, and started the engine before turning back to answer him.

  “I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

  He squatted and placed his hand on my leg. “What the hell happened in there? All I kept hearing was people talking about some woman confronting another about her husband and I knew it had to be you.”

  I glanced at him quick and hard when he said that.

  “I didn’t mean it like you think Chyanne. I meant that . . . never mind. Tell me what happened.”

  “I really would rather not rehash it right now. Can I call you later and we can talk?”

  He nodded and placed a gentle kiss to my lips before standing. I wanted to ask him why he did things like that, but my phone started to ring. I knew it was Aric because of the ring tone.

  “Call me when you get in and let me know that you’ve made it home safely. I have to go down to Ellenwood and check on a few things at one of my stores so maybe I can stop by later and we can do a movie or something. Cool?”

  I smiled. “Cool. Call you later,” I said to him as he closed my door for me.

  I had pulled out of the parking spot and was about to pull out into traffic when I remembered my manners. I turned to see Jamie walking to where I assumed his car was parked. I didn’t know why I didn’t ask if he would have liked me to drive him to his car. I looked for a way to get out into traffic so I could pull along-side him and ask just that. By the time I had made the u-turn he had stopped and was talking to some woman who looked so much like Jill Scott it was uncanny. Don’t ask me why my face frowned and I looked like I had been slapped. They were both smiling at one another and when they exchanged business cards my jealousy meter shot through the roof. I finally pulled up and let the window down.

  “Sorry I didn’t ask before, but would you like me to drive you to your car?” I asked him.

  He excused himself and briskly walked over to the passenger side window before squatting and looking at me.

  “No, I’m good. Why don’t you go ahead and get home so you can get out of this traffic.”

  I looked past his shoulders at the Jill Scott look-alike and looked back at him. He gave a slight chuckle and smirk.

  “Please, don’t tell me I see what I think I see.”

  “And, what’s that?” I asked clearly defensive.

  “Are you jealous, Chyanne?”

  “No! I was just wanting to make sure you were okay is all,” I lied.

  He knew I was lying but was mature enough to laugh it off. “Go home Chyanne. I will call you later.”

  I shook my head at myself as I drove off. I had too much going on to be jealous over a woman talking to Jaime. I couldn’t believe I’d even gone there. Aric was calling me again and it quickly brought me back to the reality of my situation.

  Aric

  I knew something was wrong as soon as she answered the phone. Her voice was low and even. Anytime Chyanne was mad, I could tell by that low and even tone her voice carried. My first guess was that she was still mad about having to do the prenatal DNA test. She had been acting that way since she had signed the papers and made the appointment for it. I guess what she didn’t understand was that I needed her to do it for my sanity. She may have thought it was selfish on my part, but as a man I needed to know for a fact if I was bringing a child into the world. It was what it was and I wouldn’t make any apologies for it.

  “Why do you sound like that? What’s wrong with you?” I asked after I had excused myself from the lunch my bosses and I were having.

  She was quiet a minute before answering. I could hear her radio and the noise from traffic in her background.

  “I saw your wife today,” was all she said.

  I sighed loud enough for her to hear me. That was enough for me to know all I needed to know, but I asked her about it anyway as I made a mental note to call Stephanie.

  “And that’s why you’re upset?”

  “No. I’m upset because she put her hands on me again and I’m upset because . . .”

  She stopped talking like she had lost her train of thought or as if she changed her mind about saying what it is she had wanted to say. I took a seat on the bench across from the room the meeting was being held in. Although the board had agreed to look the other way about the incident my wife had caused when she attacked Chyanne, I was not about to take any chances with them finding out that I had really been sleeping with my executive assistant. I was careful in my conversation with her because people were still talking around the office and the last thing I needed was for the board to hear anything. I assured them that what had happened with Stephanie would never happen again. Yeah, I had to throw a little lie here and there when it came to me and Chyanne, but what had to be done, had to be done.

  “Because what? What happened between you two that has you all bent out of shape?”

  I could hear her breathing, sounded as if she was crying. “She put her hands on me and she threatened my child. She threatened to take my child away from me.”

  My brows creased. “What?”

  She made a sniffling sound that let me know for sure she was crying. “She threatened to take my baby away from me, Aric!” She said in a shrill causing her voice to rise an octave.

  “Chyanne, relax. Where are you right now?”

  “On my way home,” she said.

  Her voice had relaxed a bit, but I could tell she was still rattled. I had no idea what the hell Stephanie had said to her, but the last thing I needed was for Chyanne to be stressed the day before the testing was to be done.

  “I’ll stop by and check on you later when I get off. You just relax and don’t let Stephanie get to you. You have nothing to worry about. Just go home, relax, and wait for me, okay? We’ll talk when I get there.”

  After she reluctantly agreed, I hung up and called Stephanie. She didn’t answer. She probably already knew why I was calling and was preparing her side of the story. One thing was for certain, if the baby was mine she sure as hell would have to get used to Chyanne being around. As far as her taking the baby, she could hang that shit up. I would put my foot in her ass before I allowed that to happen.

  I walked back into the room and took my seat. All of the members of the board were in a happy mood. Gabe and I had just gotten a merger deal on the table between B&G Marketing and Charter Marketing Team. If we played our cards right, we would be the biggest marketing and advertising firm in the region in no time. We had been at lunch for about two hours and I was ready to get back to the meeting so I could call it a semi-early day. I was tired as hell and what Chyanne had told me about Stephanie had my nerves on end.

  I cleared my throat to get everyone’s attention. “If you guys don’t mind, I would like to wrap up these final slides so we can all get out of here and call it a day. We’v
e been here since six this morning and I don’t know about you, but I could use the rest of the day off. So, let’s get started.”

  I waited a few minutes for everyone to discard their trash and to get resituated before I continued. While they did that I put the Power Point presentation back up on the screen.

  “As we all know an average company loses anywhere between ten and thirty percent of their customers a year. What we hope to do with this merger is to cut those numbers in half for the company contracts we’ve acquired.”

  “What’s the time frame on that McHale?”

  That was Davies Devereaux. The one man on the board that seemed to get a kick out of countering anything I put on the table. He was a good ole boy. The kind that you knew called you a “nigger” as soon as you turned your back. I made an attempt to smile and continued on.

  “If we can get the companies to not only upgrade some of their technologies, but also to change the way their people work, we can take a company like Henderson MotorSports and turn them around in less than two years max.”

  He sat straight up and leaned forward. If I could take my truck and run him over I would. He was a blond-haired blue-eyed red neck and he seemed to think that no matter what I had done to turn the company around, I still wasn’t fit to run it.

  “A company like Henderson MotorSports you think would be a good risk for this company to continue to take on? I mean we will have to cut clients and we may as well start with a company that doesn’t seem to take our hard work to heart, wouldn’t you agree McHale?” He asked.

  “On paper Henderson MotorSports may look like a disaster, but this is a huge company and they are cleaning house. So the way Aric and I see it is if we get our hooks into the CEO and run these numbers by him, he would have no choice but to agree to do what we say if he wants his company to stay afloat. A good customer service strategy should balance costs, quality, and revenues.” Gabe started to speak up and leaned forward on the table so he could look Davies dead on. He didn’t like Davies any more than I did.

  “And with Henderson the quality isn’t the problem,” I continued. “We would need to get the costs down and the revenue up. We could do that in no time and get this company back on the road to recovery. We all know that a good thorough clean throughout the company can work miracles,” I joked.