The Devil Is a Lie (8 page)

“H
ow many times do I have to say I’m sorry?” Nina apologized for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Rick glared at her but didn’t answer as he pulled the car into the driveway. He jumped out and stormed toward the house. He’d been silent the entire ride home. Nina knew he was furious because he wouldn’t talk to her. Whenever he was this angry—which was rarely—he waited until he calmed down before talking to her.

“Rick, I’m just as shocked as you are. I honestly thought the divorce was finalized,” she said once they were inside. She had already told him that on the drive home, but since thirty minutes had passed, she hoped they could talk rationally now.

“How could you not know?” he said, finally spinning
toward her. His face was creased with anger. “I mean, that’s some ghetto mess there. How could you not know your divorce hadn’t been finalized?”

Nina had been trying to figure out that question on the entire drive home. If she hadn’t seen the paperwork herself, she would’ve sworn it was a scam. Nina was emotionally messed up with the whole divorce to begin with. In her heart she hadn’t wanted it, but she knew she’d never be able to forgive the pain of Todd’s betrayal, especially with Pam’s constant harassment.

Although she’d kicked him out of the house, Todd had been the one who ultimately filed for the divorce. Todd’s cousin Shari, whom Nina still kept in touch with, had told her that Pam had insisted he do it. But the bottom line remained, he’d had her served. They didn’t have any assets other than a few thousand dollars in their checking and savings accounts, which he’d let her have without complaint. She’d signed the divorce papers, sent them back to him, and hadn’t thought any more about it, especially once Shari told her that he and Pam were getting married.

“I mean, you have a college education.” Rick’s ranting snapped her back to the conversation. “Wouldn’t it dawn on you, ‘Hey, maybe I need some type of official divorce decree’?”

“I was just so messed up behind the divorce, I wasn’t thinking clearly,” she confessed. “After I signed the papers, I talked to Todd. He told me he’d received them and everything was settled.”

Rick tossed his car keys on the bar with a loud clatter. Exasperation filled his voice. “And you just took him at his word?” he asked like she was the dumbest person on earth.

Nina nodded in shame.

Rick shook his head, totally disgusted. “So, I guess we would’ve been in the Bahamas getting married for nothing. It wouldn’t have been valid because you’re still married!” He scowled at her. “You. Are. Still. Married!” he repeated as if she didn’t already get that.

The tears Nina had been holding back came pouring out. Although her tears were real, she hoped that Rick would show some sympathy, but he just continued looking at her like she made him sick.

He seemed relieved when his cell phone rang. He sighed as he pulled it out of its holster. “Awww, man!” he said when he looked at the number. “It’s Mr. Mathis, the developer. With all this drama, I forgot about our meeting.”

Rick pushed the Talk button. “Hello, Mr. Mathis.” He paused. “I know and I am very sorry, but something came up…I know, sir.” He cut his eyes at Nina. “I understand I was supposed to be bringing you the money, but like I said…” He began pacing back and forth. “No, I’m very serious. I know you have other people interested, but remember, I’m talking cash.” He massaged his temple, wincing at what the man was saying to him. “I understand. Yes, sir. Just give me a couple of days…. No, I’m not going out of town now…okay, one week. Next Friday, got it. I will definitely have the money for you by next Friday.”

Nina grimaced as he said that. Their attorney had informed them that he didn’t know how long the money would be tied up. If Rick’s dream was shattered because of her stupid mistake, she didn’t know how they would ever recover.

“G
o, Pam, it’s your birthday. You gon’ party like it’s your birthday.” Pam’s hips swung from side to side as she bounced to the song she’d been singing since they left the lottery office.

“Would you go inside?” Todd asked, pointing toward the door. He hadn’t been able to process all that happened because Pam had been giddy and working his nerves all the way home.

“We’re rich. We’re rich. We’re so doggone rich,” she sang. She stood up on her toes to plant a deep kiss on him. “Come inside and make love to a rich woman,” she seductively said, pulling his tie.

He gave her a small but genuine smile. As much as he was bothered about hurting Nina, having money felt great. His mother had been overjoyed to hear he’d arranged for the
money—although he’d yet to tell her how. That conversation he wasn’t ready for because he knew she wouldn’t approve.

Pam could see he was drifting away, and she leaned in and huskily whispered in his ear, “All of our money problems are over, baby. Your grandmother is about to be well taken care of, and you are about to live the life you were born to live. Come make love to me for the last time inside this raggedy apartment.” She ran her fingers up under his shirt and along his chest. “Life is about to get so much better. Come let me show you just how thrilled I am.”

He closed his eyes in delight. Even after all the drama she put him through, Pam could still make him melt with her touch. He became powerless when she decided to seduce him, and right about now she was in full-fledged seduction mode.

Pam licked her lips as she opened the front door and pulled him inside.

By the time they reached the bedroom, Pam had flung aside the sequined Versace suit, and the black lace thong and matching bra she wore had Todd in a trance.

“Come to Mama,” Pam purred as she pulled her man onto the bed.

Thirty minutes later, Todd felt like he needed a cigarette, even though he didn’t smoke. Pam was that good.

“So, baby, what’s the first thing we’re going to do with the money?” Pam asked as they lay naked beneath the covers. She had turned on her side, her hand propped up beneath her chin. “Besides get my Range Rover, which I still think we should’ve gone to pick out today.”

That immediately brought Todd down off his high. How they spent the money was definitely going to be a source of contention for them.

“Well, of course, I’m taking care of my grandmother—her surgery and her long-term care.”

Pam tried to stifle a groan. He could tell she wanted to say something cutting, but even she knew better than to go there. She plastered on a fake smile. “Okay, fine. Then can we go get my car?”

“How about we wait and get the money in hand before we do anything?” he said. “If I know Nina, she’s going to fight us on this.”

“And? She can fight all she wants. She can’t change the fact that you’re still married.”

Todd rolled over, putting his back to Pam. He didn’t want to think about fighting with Nina. Seeing her had brought back all kinds of memories. He definitely didn’t like seeing her with Rick. Was that muscle-bound fool treating Nina good? Was he faithful? Todd hoped he was. If Rick cheated on her, too, it would completely sour Nina’s view of love, and she was such an optimist. He used to love that about her. When he would see the glass as half empty, she’d see it as half full. He couldn’t understand when he’d started to lose interest in her because his feelings had almost overwhelmed him in that conference room. He sighed, chalking up his frustration with their marriage to being young and dumb.

“…and I was thinking since you wouldn’t let me go to the car dealership today—”

Todd realized he had tuned Pam out. “Pam, what were you going to tell the salesman? ‘I think I have some money coming so give me a car’?”

“It wouldn’t have hurt to look,” she whined.

“Please, it would have been torture for you.” He flipped over to face her. “Won’t it be better for you to walk in with a pocketful of money, which will demand their respect, then ride out in the car of your dreams?”

“Truck,” she corrected. “I told you I’m getting a Range Rover.”

“Okay, truck. Bottom line; let’s just wait until we have the money. Then you can go get a new car, truck, or whatever.” Pam had been so giddy about the money that she hadn’t fought him when he refused to go by the car dealership. But he knew she’d be starting in on him again.

“Fine. But the minute we get the check, I want my truck.”

“Fine,” Todd said, closing his eyes, hoping she’d let him go to sleep.

“I’m going to take a shower,” she said, throwing back the covers and climbing out of bed. She sang, “Money, money, money” as she made her way into the bathroom.

For now, she’d be happy with a truck, but Todd knew that once the check was cut, Pam was going to want a whole lot more.

N
ina smiled at the sight of her best friend, Michelle Cannon, standing in the doorway of the Olive Garden. Michelle was one of the calmest, most rational people she knew, and that’s exactly what Nina needed. She waved to get Michelle’s attention.

Michelle flashed a bright smile as she made her way over to Nina’s booth. As usual she looked classy in a black-and-white summer dress and black patent-leather shoes. She definitely didn’t look like she’d given birth to twins less than three months ago.

“Hey, girl,” Michelle said, leaning down to hug her. She pulled back and studied Nina. “Wow, you look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. Do you need a drink?”

“Naw, the last thing I need is a drink. I’ll probably fall out in tears,” Nina said, motioning for Michelle to take a seat on the other side of the booth. “Besides, I’m starving. I ordered us the soup and salad. Where’s Rene and Shavonne?” Nina asked, referring to their other friends who were meeting them for lunch.

“Rene’s coming. She’s outside on the phone arguing with Jesse. I swear they fight more than any couple I’ve ever seen. And you know Shavonne is always late. But we’ll have to recap when they get here because you need to tell me what’s going on. I understood some of what you were saying over the phone.” Doubt clouded her voice as she went on. “I know that I must’ve heard you wrong, with the twins crying and all, because you couldn’t possibly have told me that your divorce with Todd was never finalized.”

Just hearing the words again made Nina cringe. “You heard me right. Technically, I’m still married.”

“What? That is unbelievable.” Michelle leaned back as the waitress set their salad in front of them.

“Tell me what happened,” Michelle said after the waitress walked away.

“Not yet you don’t,” Rene said, her hands on her hips. She looked gorgeous in her signature leopard print. The wrap dress might have seemed too much on someone else, but Rene was curvy in all the right places, and as usual, she was rocking her chestnut wig. Shavonne stood next to her, looking cute and conservative in a black floor-length skirt and cream sweater set. She looked like a schoolteacher, but Shavonne was proof that
appearances could be deceiving. She had a Ph.D. in microbiology, but she wouldn’t hesitate to bring out the south side in her.

“Yeah, don’t be trying to dish no dirt without us,” Shavonne said, sliding into the booth next to Nina.

“Ummm, try using correct English,
Dr.
Richards,” Michelle joked.

“Whatever,” Shavonne replied. “I’m hanging out with my girls, so I’m in Ebonics mode.”

“Hello, ladies,” Nina said, so glad for their support. “Thanks for coming.”

“We need to get together more often,” Michelle said.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Shavonne said. “Now, what’s this I hear about you still being married?”

Nina sighed, then began recalling the whole awful story. She felt like every time she told it, it sounded more and more crazy.

“I can’t believe this fool had the audacity to bring his mistress, the woman he cheated on you with, to come claim your money,” Rene said as she tossed the salad, then placed some on her plate. “As my grandmother used to say, I would’ve told that fool, the devil is a lie. You ain’t getting a dime. What did he have to say for himself?”

Nina thought about it. Todd wasn’t man enough to look her in the eye while he was trying to take her money. Nina couldn’t help wondering if he’d known all along that their divorce was never finalized. If he had, he knew he couldn’t marry Pam. “Nothing,” Nina said. “He hardly said two words. The whore did all the talking.”

“I still can’t believe she was there. And you’re not in jail for assault? Oh, hell no,” Shavonne replied.

“Yeah, and she had attitude for days,” Nina said, feeling heat building up in her bones just thinking about Pam.

“Umph,” Shavonne said. “You’re a better person than me, because he wouldn’t get any of my money.”

“I know that’s right,” Rene agreed. “Not after everything that him and that tramp did to you.”

Nina took a bite of salad. Resigned, she pointed out, “Well, it looks like I’m not going to have a choice.”

“Why did you go on TV in the first place?” Rene asked. “Haven’t you learned anything in all the years that I’ve known you? You don’t put your business on the Internet, and you don’t go on TV for anything personal.”

“Please don’t start.” Nina sighed. “I’ve beat myself up enough over this. I don’t know. I was just excited. I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“The number one rule of winning the lotto is don’t let nobody know nothing,” Shavonne said, wagging her finger.

“Okay, guys, let’s not give her a hard time,” Michelle said sympathetically. “I’m sure she feels bad enough as it is.”

“Shoot, she should,” Shavonne said. “But I tell you who
would
be feeling bad. That skank Pam. ’Cause she wouldn’t be getting her slutty paws on nothing of mine.” She waved her partially eaten breadstick.

“Does he really have a leg to stand on?” Michelle asked.

“Apparently he does. Texas is a community property state. If we’re still married, he has a right to half,” Nina replied. She
tossed the fork down. The conversation was making her lose her appetite.

“Well, isn’t there some loophole or something?” Rene asked.

“No. Believe me, I have my attorney looking for a way around it. But he doesn’t think we can stop them.”

“I know how,” Rene said, arching her right eyebrow. “Give me the ticket. Let me claim it.”

Shavonne started choking on her raspberry lemonade. Nina and Michelle cut their eyes at each other, then all three of them burst out laughing. Rene was so far in debt and owed the IRS so much money that Nina would end up with about twenty dollars. And that’s if Rene’s boyfriend didn’t take that.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Rene said, waving her friends off. “Just because I owe the IRS doesn’t mean I can’t win the lotto. Besides, I’m doing a Wesley and protesting to Uncle Sam, so I’m not gonna pay.”

“And you’re gonna end up just like Wesley—behind bars.” Michelle laughed.

Shavonne was already on a new track. “Seriously, you should think about giving it to someone. What about your sister?”

Nina thought about that for maybe a split second. “Uh-uh. Definitely not my sister. I’d look up and she’d have disappeared with my money or lost it all in some harebrained scheme.”

“Why can’t you say Rick bought the ticket?” Rene asked.

Nina waved off this whole line of questioning. “They validate stuff like that with the surveillance video from the convenience store where I bought the ticket, and even if I could get
around that, unfortunately, we’ve already gone public. The Lottery Commission knows I’m the one who bought the ticket.”

“Here’s a thought.” Michelle looked like her mind was going into overdrive. “Why don’t you just give him half?”

Both Shavonne and Rene spun their heads in Michelle’s direction. “What?” Shavonne proclaimed. “Are you crazy? She’d better not give him a dime. For what? So he can go spend it on the woman he left her for? I don’t think so.”

Nina eyed Michelle skeptically as well. She didn’t agree with Shavonne often, but the girl was right on point with that. “I just can’t give in,” Nina said with a sigh.

“Just hear me out,” Michelle said.

Shavonne tsked like she wasn’t trying to hear a thing.

“I’m just saying, four million is still a lot of money.”

“Eight million is more,” Shavonne snapped. “Isn’t that what you’re bringing home after taxes?”

“Man, that Uncle Sam always got his hand out. Doggone shame they can legally steal eight million dollars from you.” Rene shook her head pitifully.

“Can we stay on the subject?” Shavonne said. She leaned over the table. “Nina, don’t listen to this nonsense Michelle is talking. In this day and age, four million dollars will be gone in no time. Shoot, you’re gonna spend two million on gas the first year.”

“Be quiet, Shavonne,” Michelle said, turning back to Nina. “Four million, invested right, can set you for life.”

“Yeah, right,” Shavonne said.

“I agree with Shavonne,” Rene said. “That money will be
gone in no time, especially once she starts handing it out to her begging relatives.” Her eyes lit up with a new idea. “Hey, don’t you have a cousin who just got out of jail? Lee Roy? Why don’t you call him or one of your other shady relatives to deal with Todd?”

Michelle frowned at her friend. “Don’t be ridiculous. She can’t have Todd ‘taken care of.’ This is not the Mob. Settling is her only recourse.”

Michelle was a critical thinker, and so Nina wanted to know why she thought giving Todd half the winnings was the answer.

“Seriously, Michelle, I don’t understand the rationale behind that. You really think I should just give him the money?”

“Why are you so against the idea?” Michelle asked pointedly.

“Ummm, because the jerk left her for another woman.” Shavonne leaned back in her seat and sipped her drink. “And now you think she should give him and the other woman half her money. You have lost your mind.”

“It’s one thing if you don’t want to give him the money because you don’t think it’s right. But I believe the only reason you’re against it is because you’re being spiteful,” Michelle said. “And you know what the Bible says about spite.”

“Yeah,” Rene said, “when a man does you wrong, cut off his nose to spite his face.”

“No,” Michelle said, smiling at her. “The Bible does not say that.”

“You’re doggone right she’s spiteful,” Shavonne added. “When your husband leaves you for another woman, you have a right to be spiteful, hateful, and anything else.”

“But I thought you had worked through your issues and forgiven him.” As usual, Michelle was trying to be the voice of reason.

“I have.”
Or have I?
Nina had tried to tell herself that she was over what Todd had done to her, but maybe she’d just pushed it to the back of her mind.

“Look, why don’t you go talk to my friend Vanessa Colton Kirk?” Michelle suggested. “She’s a divorce court judge who goes to my church. She can advise you, off the record, what you should do. She can also tell you how to get that divorce officially finalized.”

Nina nodded at that suggestion. She could use a professional opinion. “Can you call her for me?”

“Yeah, I’ll call her this evening and see if you can go meet with her tomorrow.”

“Thanks a bunch. Hopefully, she can help me straighten out this whole mess. And most importantly, help me make this divorce official.”

“You do that. And this time,” Shavonne said pointedly, “
you
handle the paperwork.”