Legacy: It's Never Black and White in Love and Business (5 page)

James Brewer was a small man, but somehow he still commanded the attention of the room. It could have been his large manicured hands or maybe that huge gold medallion that hung from his neck.  Either way, he turned heads. As a matter of fact, Tesha had a trained eye for thugs and OGs, so her radar picked him up first. He’d stayed true to his word and was wearing a black t-shirt with a gold chain. 

He stood up as soon as he noticed Tesha step into the restaurant. Time had worn her down, but she still looked great. Her red suit hugged her in all the right ways. This lady was classy. Her shoes even had red bottoms. James smiled as Tesha extended her hand to him. 

“Hello, Tesha, my name is James. It’s great to meet you,” James said with a smile accenting the gold in his mouth. 

“I’m not sure if I can say the same. How can I help you, James?” Tesha asked with a bit of an attitude. 

“I hear your daughter is marrying Matthew Marlowe.” 

“Why are you talking to me about my daughter? Are you some kinda pervert or something? Then, you had that damned pic of those guards going through my car. Why are you stalking us, mother fucker?” 

“Tesha, Tesha calm down. That’s not it at all. Have a seat. Let’s have a drink. You need to chill the fuck out.” 

Suddenly, Tesha felt relaxed. As crazy as it sounds, she loved to have a man use a little force and tell her what to do. She sat down on the bar seat next to the stranger. 

“Ok, asshole. I want to know what your game is.” 

“You cut straight to the chase, don’t you?” James smiled and Tesha’s heart melted.   

She felt something she hadn’t felt in years. She felt heavy, but soft manicured hands touch hers. 

“Look Lady, I can tell you’ve had a hard life, and I certainly don’t want to make it any more difficult.  I’m not here to complicate things for you. I’m here to give you options.” 

“Oh, so you’re one of those kind?” Tesha said, as she looked this sexy man in the face. 

“What kind is that, Baby Girl?” 

“The kind that is so used to dating babies that they use words like ‘baby girl.’” 

James chuckled to himself as Tesha continued.  

“It must have been some time since you’ve had a real life grown woman,” she said before raising her hand to call the bartender. 

“Look, I don’t want to waste your time, so I’ll keep this brief. Your daughter is marrying my nephew.” 

Tesha looked at the chocolate drop sitting on the stool across from her, “Nigga, what do you take me for? Matthew and Marcellus are white.” 

“You can’t always judge a book by its cover. You’re fine as hell and don’t get me wrong, but you’re as black as a pan and your daughter looks like one of the Kardashians. Genetics can do some crazy shit, man.” 

“You got that right,” Tesha echoed thinking about her lily white daughter. “So, what are you saying? Are you saying that he Marlowes are black?” 

“I ain’t saying shit until I know I can trust you.” James continued. “I didn’t know how you would react, but I get the feeling that we’re on the same page with this. 

“I don’t know that we’re even in the same book. I can’t shake the feeling that you’re wasting my time,” Tesha responded getting annoyed. 

“What would you say if I said Marcellus Marlowe is my brother?” 

“I would say stop lying, because that man is white as a sheet and your ass is dark as night. Oh, yeah, I’m the Easter Bunny’s sister, too,” Tesha shook her head and laughed. 

James smiled, “I could say the same thing about your daughter.” 

“Look here mutha fucka. Are you really brave enough to bring my daughter into this?” 

“Calm down, Ma. I’m just making a point. Marcellus and I had the same crackhead mother, except his father was white. We go to the orphanage together, but then some white couple takes him and his life changes forever.” 

“Oh, so they left your little black ass at the orphanage, huh?” Tesha asked. 

“Oh, now you got jokes?” 

“Nah, I’m just askin’. Excuse me for not being more sensitive. I just don’t get why you’re so caught up in the past. It looks like you’re doing alright for yourself now,” Tesha responded, trying to soften her response. 

“That was my hand, and I played it. I’m not complaining. Marcellus was good to me for a while, but then his ambitions left his black sheep of a brother out in the cold.” 

“What do you need him for? You’re not hurting. Your hands are manicured, your clothes are fresh and those shoes are hot to death. I can appreciate your story, but what does any of this have to do with me or my daughter.” 

“Don’t you want your piece of the pie?” James asked. 

“Hell, yeah. I love pie. What’s your angle?” Tesha said, leaning in to listen closer. 

“I think you and I should get married.” 

“What? Nigga, I don’t know you.” 

“You can get to know me while we get to know this paper,” James responded. 

“Where I’m from, a nigga get you a ring or something when he wanna get married,” Tesha said, actually warming up to the idea. 

“Tesha, believe it or not, I think we were made for each other.” 

She stood to her feet. “That remains to be seen.” 

“I’ll call you tomorrow. I know I hit you with a lot, but we gotta move fast.” 

“I’m not wrapping my head around this. Why do we need to be married?” 

“Can you imagine what we can do if we work together. The underdogs can win this time,” James pleaded, “Please just have a seat. I’m gonna lay out the blueprint for you.” 

For the first time of the evening, Tesha felt relaxed. This dude had a plan and that was more than she had now that Edwina had written her off. Why not stick it to Marcellus and Lena? They could afford it and with the history of bad blood after Mandell turned up dead, it was time that Tesha got a little payback.  

“I’m listening,” Tesha sat back down onto the bar stool and threw her hand in the air. “Bartender, I need another drink.” Then she finally listened as James laid out their road to riches. 

“But, you’ve only been divorced for two weeks,” Tesha complained. 

“Well, I could still be married and just trying to shit you. At least I’m being honest.” 

“I hear you, man. Gotta admit this is a little twisted, but I’m in,” Tesha smiled. 

“They will never see this coming,” James laughed, “And, since we’re getting married and all, don’t you think you need to let me test out that cookie?” 

“Hell nah, Nigga. You gone wait on this punanny. You wanna marry me to fulfill some twisted desire, I don’t mind.  But I tell you what, you’re gonna damned sure treat me right. Nothing is free, Boo. And, this is gonna cost you good behavior,” Tesha bent over and kissed her new fiancé passionately in the mouth. 

In less than 24 hours, she’d hit rock bottom and rose back to the top. Now, she was days away from her biggest take ever. She would walk away a married millionaire and that was fine with her.  

***

  “Who the fuck is doing this shit?” Marcellus screamed, as he threw the picture onto his desk. “Jimmy, who the hell sent this?” he asked. 

“I’m not sure, Mr. Marlowe. It was in with the incoming mail.” 

“From now own, let the team know to not accept anything without a clear understanding of its origination point,” instructed the nervous politician. 

“Excuse me, Mr. Marlowe.” 

“Don’t take another fucking package without knowing where the hell it came from or who delivered it. Am I making myself clear?” 

“Sure thing Mr. Marlowe. I’m gonna head out and grab some lunch. Can I bring you anything back?” 

“No thank you. Lena made her world famous lasagna last night, and I think I’ll be eating leftovers. Thanks for asking, though.” 

Marcellus watched as Jimmy headed out of the doorway and walked to his car.  As soon as he saw the young man sit down in his car, he picked up the phone on his desk. 

“Yeah, get me Lightfoot.” 

“Somebody’s trying to hold me over a barrel. Need you to look into it very discreetly, silently, in fact.” 

“Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, I’ll have Jimmy make the transfer in the morning. Just find out who’s fucking with me and shut it down.” 

Marcellus sat back in his chair, scratching his head. 

***

Jimmy had a call to make, too. He was on his phone before reaching the end of the street. 

“What’s up, Youngblood?” the voice asked. 

“Marcellus isn’t taking anymore unmarked packages. Everything has to be identified by the sender now, or it falls on me.” 

“Falls on you?” 

“Yeah, it’ll mean I’m fired.” 

“Don’t worry about that scary motherfucker. I have a plan, and we’re coming for that ass. I got you covered, though. No one will ever know we worked together.” 

“Thanks, Dad.” 

“No problem,” the voice responded. 

“UNO!” Edwina screamed. 

“Dang, not again,” Matthew complained. 

“Yep, I whipped that ass. Go on, Mrs. Butterworth. I’ll take blueberries in my pancakes this morning,” Edwina laughed. 

“I knew we should have played two-hand spades.”  

“Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. Quit your belly aching and feed me, Daddy,” Edwina smiled. 

Matthew made his walk of shame to the kitchen when the phone began to ring. 

“Hey Florence, get that,” he laughed as he lifted his head, stuck out his chest, and began to waddle like George Jefferson. 

“Shut up,” Edwina smiled as she threw a pillow down the hall at her fiancée. She leaned over to look at the Caller Id. 

A smile covered her face as she reached for the receiver. 

“Hey Lena, what’s up?” 

“Girl, are you ready yet? You know we go dress shopping for the engagement party today at noon and then there is an appointment with Liza Beth at three.” 

“Lena, I know. You told me yesterday and the day before.” 

“I know you have a lot on your plate with final exams and all. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t forget,” responded a nervous Lena. 

“We’re on it, Lena,” Matthew chimed in from the phone in the kitchen. 

“Don’t give me that Matthew. You are always late. Edwina and I have a schedule.” 

“Okay, Okay. Stop getting all riled up,” Matthew laughed. 

“Hush, Boy. Don’t you say another word, but you have that ass on the highway by eight,” Lena ordered. 

“Yes ma’am,” Matthew said smiling as he hung up the receiver. 

“You’ve really put a spell on them,” Matthew said, slapping Edwina on the behind. 

“I’m more concerned with how you feel about things. Do you think things are happening too fast?” 

“You are not pregnant and this is no shot gun wedding. I love you and you love me. It’s that simple for me,” Matthew responded.  He was beginning to be afraid that Edwina was getting cold feet. 

“Good,” Edwina said jumping into Matthew’s arms. “I don’t plan on letting your fine ass go, anyway.” 

He lowered his future wife to the floor and the familiar look of fear covered her face, only this time they weren’t at the swimming pool. Then as if on cue, Edwina began to speak. 

“It’s not you I’m worried about. I know I have all the right attributes to be a white woman, but what do I do when it rains and my hair frizzes or my roots give me away? I can’t keep telling people my mother is dead when she lives three hours away. It’ll take too much energy, and I’m not with it. We can put up a façade and live behind smoke and mirrors waiting on someone to find us out, or we can be honest and up front about who I am and where I really come from.” 

“Baby, that’s your problem.  My father lives in the world of politics where everything is hidden behind the same facades and smoke and mirrors you are talking about right now. Very few people are who they say they are, and it’s usually never to hurt the people that voted for them. It’s to push the agendas that make sense, creating the alliances that produce the best results, and lying your ass off until you get caught. Then, you get a lawyer and lie about lying.  That is just the crazy world I live in, and you have to be down for the ride.” 

“What if someone finds me out?”  

“We have people on our staff that make sure things don’t get out.” 

“You got killas working for you?” Edwina asked? 

“No, babe. They are fixers or conflict managers. They don’t hurt people. They usually give us a number, and we write them a check. No one gets hurt and the story goes away; so I think they pay people off.” 

“Matthew, you know money only buys time.” 

“Baby, time is all we need. People that play both sides of the fence like that are usually covered in dirt, so while they’re biding their time, we’re investigating their asses.” 

“So, you beat them at their own game?” she asked. 

“Exactly! Now, can we end this crash course in everything Marlowe, eat these hotcakes, and get on the road before Lena sends someone looking for us both?” Matthew joked. 

***

 It was 7:30 in the morning and Tesha’s phone was ringing. Who
in the hell is calling me this early in the morning?
Tesha wondered. 

“Hello,” she bellowed into the phone with a deep, cracky voice. 

“Good morning, Lovely,” James crooned from the other side of the phone. 

“Who the hell is this?” 

“Open the door, Woman. I got breakfast.”  

Tesha smiled, “Nigga, what you say?” 

“I said, I’m at the door with breakfast. Get up and let me in. You can’t keep your future husband locked outside.” 

She ran to the mirror and pulled off her scarf. Her curls from the night before had fallen, and she must have sweat in her sleep because her $150 hairdo was gone. There were no curls, the hair just hung lifelessly.   Oh, hell no. He can’t see me like this.  Tesha thought momentarily before throwing her bedazzled head scarf back on.  

“Damn, woman,” James said when Tesha opened the door. “You got on a damned head rag and you still fine as hell.” 

“Is that why you came by so early?” Tesha asked, reaching for the drink tray to lighten James’ load. 

“Hell yeah, that’s why. Do you know how many tricks walk around here looking like goddesses only to get them home and have the size of their stomach triple when they take that damned girdle off?  Or they had on so much make-up that you don’t even recognize their acne covered face the next day? I just had to be sure, Baby.” 

“Boy, you a trip. Come on in here with those IHOP bags,” Tesha chuckled. 

“I guess I can come on in here. You didn’t turn me into stone with that head scarf,” James laughed as he walked into Tesha’s house.  It was small, but very cozy. Everything was neat and had its own place. Things looked good so far, but he had to check the bathroom. He couldn’t stand a bitch with a nasty bathroom. 

“Hey, Tesha, which way is the bathroom? I need to wash my hands.” 

“Stop lying, I know you want to see if my bathroom is clean or not, but don’t worry, it is. You used to them nasty bitches with toilets so nasty they look like stuff is living in them. Ain’t ya?” 

“Hush, Tesha. Did it ever dawn on you that I may just like to wash my hands before I eat?” 

 “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Take your time. I’ll get this stuff heated up,” she responded, shooing him away.  

“Oh, Tesha, before you go to the window, let me save you a little trouble. My car is the black Benz parked right behind yours in the driveway.”  Tesha couldn’t hold her composure and blurted out a hearty laugh. 

“You see, we were meant for each other. We’ve both been around the block enough to check for the bullshit early,” she said before she knew it.  James nodded his head and made the corner, headed to the bathroom. Maybe his son was right.  Maybe this could be a very advantageous partnership. 

Love could come later. This was legacy business. 

***

 “I don’t know how much longer I can hold out, Dad,” Lena St James-Marlowe complained. 

“What do you mean, Lena?” her father asked. 

“Do you know how hard it is to look at that baby knowing that’s Mandell’s daughter outside of our marriage and remembering all he was willing to sacrifice for them? That shit kills me every time I see her face. What am I gonna do, Daddy? How do I keep my feelings from showing?” 

“It’ll be easier that you think in time,” Julius responded, trying to motivate his daughter, but growing annoyed with the conversation. 

“It’s been almost 20 years ago, and the thought of what I did still haunts me sometimes.  And now, seeing this baby’s face is like putting salt on a wound.” 

“Baby, I’ve stood by as long as I could because I didn’t want to hurt you even more, but it’s time you open your eyes. Are you ready for a dose of truth?” 

“Uh oh, here we go Daddy. What is it?” 

“You know good and damned well that baby ain’t Mandell’s,” Julius blurted out, as if tired of holding the secret. 

“Of course it is, Daddy. No one would risk their marriage by claiming to have fathered a child they know isn’t theirs.” 

“Wake up, Baby. The young lady played you both. That man’s been gone for over 19 years, and he died thinking that baby was his, but he was dumb as hell, too.” 

“What, so he was gonna leave me over a baby that wasn’t even his?” Lena asked. 

“Yep. You know both of them together were too damned black to have a baby that white with all that stringy, fine hair. Where was your mind? Did you never consider this?” 

Lena fell back into one of the two chairs facing the desk in her office.  

“I did the research and her father is Cannon Keen.” 

“Cannon Keen? Do you mean the Cannon Keen that just turned in his bid to run against Marcellus for the governor’s seat?” 

“Yes, Lena. They are one in the same,” Julius responded. 

“Are you sure, Dad? How did you find out?” 

“I had her checked out after that craziness at Thanksgiving. At first, we didn’t find anything, but after seeing all the zeros in Tesha Edwards’ checking account, I had to look at how they got there. We almost missed it, but then we saw a monthly $10,000 deposit going to Tesha from Cannon. From there it wasn’t hard to figure out at all. You always have to follow the money to figure these kind of things out, so what are you gonna do?” 

“I am gonna hold onto this. It may help Marcellus.” 

Lena let out a yelp as a hand crossed her face. She lifted her head to see her father, a tear hanging on his eyelash, with a look on his face she’d never seen. Fear shook her body as Julius St. James spoke. 

“You don’t keep that news to help Marcellus, My Heart. You use that information to help yourself. He is your husband, so do it in a way that can help you both if possible, but never give away something of such value for no reciprocity. He isn’t your blood. He is your husband.  You two may love each other, but you have to look at yourself in the mirror everyday even if he does not. You have to take control of your future and the only thing that secures your spot is what you know and who you know.” 

“I understand, but did you have to slap me?” 
 
“Will you ever forget this lesson?” Her father asked. 

“Nope.” Lena responded as she rubbed her face. 

“Then, yes. I had to slap you. Now you will never forget.” Julius said as he hugged the person he loved most.