“Oh, fuck off.” I pushed his hand away. “If you don’t tell me what you do, I’m leaving you, Dean.”
“Yeah right . . . and go do what? You aren’t worth anything and don’t know how to do anything. You may as well be a child who still needs—”
With zero hesitation, I slapped him across his face as hard as I could. His face turned as red as fresh blood, and it looked like he might hit me back. But then Dean hung his head and sighed. I pursed my lips together.
“Fine.” He looked at me and threw up his hands. “Let’s just say I move goods in and out of Atlanta that law enforcement would frown upon.”
“What? Like drugs?” I furrowed my brow.
“Among other things.”
“Okay. So, what? Are people not using drugs anymore? Is demand down? Is that why we don’t have any fucking money?”
“No. Like I said, I ran into some issues with my last shipment. So, the people I work for are having me pay for it.” He dropped his head into his hands.
I tried to make sense of everything he was telling me. We were broke. Forever? Or was this temporary? What would people say when they found out? Who was I without money . . . again? I’d be Nomo, not Nemo. No money, not new money. Shannon would revel in it. How the fuck did this happen? I told myself this would never ever happen to me again, and at that moment, I felt like the teenage girl who had had everything ripped away from her because of a fucking dumbass man.
“Wait. What about our savings?” I said, my face lighting up. We had to have savings, investments, all that stuff.
“What savings?” Dean laughed. “Look at the way you live. The Olivia specialty is throwing one-hundred-dollar bills around.”
“Don’t you dare put this on me! You oversaw the money, and besides, I thought you were your own boss. Who the hell are you working for? Who’s ‘making’ you pay for this?” I wanted to know who this asshole was that was messing with our money, our livelihoods. I’d kill him.
“It doesn’t matter. Everything is going to be fine. Just trust me. I’ll take care of it.” Dean put his hand on my thigh and rubbed it affectionately. I picked a spot on the wall farthest from us and focused on it. He wouldn’t take care of it. I would take care of it. I couldn’t trust a man to do a woman’s job.
58
Jenny
The bar was less crowded as people were filtering out. There were only two girls on the dance floor. “Where did Olivia go?” I asked, realizing she had been gone for at least ten minutes. I glanced around, but she was nowhere in sight.
“Maybe she’s out in the limo, waiting for us,” Crystal said.
“Or maybe she’s in the bathroom?” Karen offered.
“Yeah, maybe. I’ve got to go to the bathroom, so I’ll check. You guys can go out to the limo, and I’ll meet you there.”
They nodded, finished up their drinks, and began gathering their belongings. I made my way to the bathroom and found myself alone in there. I walked to the sink and checked myself out in the mirror, ensuring my hair and makeup were still in place.
I pulled my phone out of my purse and texted the number from Shaun, the man I had met earlier.
It was nice meeting you tonight :) I sent the message, put the phone back in my purse, and smiled, knowing that I was finally ready to become more than Glow. Perhaps this night did me some good, and Olivia’s idea wasn’t so bad after all. I was still unsure of her intentions. Olivia just didn’t do things out of the kindness of her heart.
I walked out of the bathroom and bumped into our server. Before I could ask if she had seen Olivia, she pushed a bill into my chest with attitude.
“You need to pay for this. You’re the last one here, and your friend ran out on the check.”
I took the bill from her and glanced at the total: $1,989. My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open. Are you kidding me? Olivia ran out on the bill. Did she do this to us on purpose? Was this her plan all along? I knew she was up to no good.
I pulled out a credit card and handed it to the woman.
“Here.”
“It had better go through this time,” she huffed.
When she was done running the card and handing over the receipt for me to sign, I was out $2,500 as I still made sure to tip well. Her demeanor changed after seeing her gratuity. She smiled and told me to have a good night.
“One more thing. Be sure to tell Olivia that she’s not welcome back here,” the server said as I walked away. I nodded.
Outside, the girls were waiting on the sidewalk. “Where’s the limo?”
“It’s not here yet,” Shannon said.
“I think it was already here.” I looked up and down the street.
Their heads snapped in my direction.
“What do you mean?” Karen asked.
“Well, I’m pretty sure Olivia took it home. The server said she ran out on the bill.”
“Are you shitting me? I’ve had about enough of her.” Shannon pulled out her phone and started tapping buttons vigorously. “I’m calling us an Uber.”
Karen was shivering and tiptoeing around, trying to warm herself up. Keisha put her arm around her and pulled her in. I raised an eyebrow but didn’t say a word.
“Wait, did you pay for the whole bill?” Crystal crumpled up her face.
I nodded.
“Oh, for Christ’s sake! How much was it?” Karen asked.
“Twenty-five hundred, including tip.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll reimburse you for it.” Shannon fiddled with her phone.
“Me too.” Karen and Crystal nodded.
“Yeah, I don’t have a rich husband, ex or otherwise, so . . .” Keisha said with a laugh.
“What a shit night!” Shannon stamped her foot.
“You can say that again,” Crystal laughed. Shannon and Crystal exchanged tight smiles.
“Let’s remedy it. How about we go have a drink at the salon?” I offered.
They all looked at each other and then back at me and nodded.
59
Jenny present
Detective Sanford picks up the empty pizza box and tosses it on top of a small trash can beside the door. He wipes his hands off on a napkin and pitches it in the garbage can too. Retaking his seat, he flips through his notes. He glances at me. “Did you know Olivia and Dean were having financial problems?”
“I had a feeling they were.”
“Why?”
“Because on the evening we were all going out, I ran the membership fees at the end of the workday, and Olivia’s card on file was declined. I had meant to talk to her about it the next time I saw her. When she ran out on the bill, I put two and two together.”
“Did you tell the other women about Olivia’s financial problems?”
I shake my head. “No, it wasn’t anyone’s business.”
Detective Sanford nods and jots down a few notes.
“Were you aware Olivia had created a fake profile impersonating a man on a dating site?”
I furrow my brow and shake my head.
“So, you probably weren’t aware she was using that profile to talk to Shannon—or better yet, ‘catfish’ Shannon, as the kids say?”
My mouth fell open. “Are you serious? That’s awful.”
He nods. “We believe Shannon knew about it too.”
I cock my head. I don’t know where he’s going with this or why he’s telling me about it.
“Did you know about Karen’s relationship with Keisha?”
I nod.
“Did you know Shannon had Crystal privately investigated?”
I shake my head.
“Did you know Olivia was sleeping with Mark?”
I nod. His questions are like rapid fire.
“Did you know Olivia knew about Karen and Keisha’s relationship?
I nod. Without thinking, I stand from my seat with force and my chair falls backward, banging on the floor. I slam the palms of my hands on the table.
“What do you want from me?” I yell.
“I want you to help me understand these women. I want you to help me understand Buckhead. Because right now, I’ve got a dead body, a fuck ton of questions, and not enough answers. What happened in the days leading up to the party?”
I take a deep breath, pick my chair back up, and sit down.
“Start with the night you guys went back to the salon for a drink. What happened?”
60
Jenny