“Never!”
“Well that’s what he likes,” said Janita and then she sat erect. “Finally!”
Von looked, too, as the front door opened and Reecie Webster began walking out in her big fur coat, her high-behind heels, and her long, flowing hair that, with extensions, was almost to her butt. She was fifty-eight and fabulous, Janita thought, and she wanted everybody to know it too.
But every time Janita saw her it only made her think the same way her brother was thinking. Why would a sister with all of her attributes stay with some mean old ornery white man like William Webster who treated her like a queen in public, but cheated on her nonstop in private? Money was needful. Janita was nobody’s fool. Money was a big deal. But it was it worth your self-respect?
In Brackenridge, Tennessee, less than fifty miles south of Nashville, there was no bigger name than the Webstername. For over a century, Webster Maple Syrup was as much a contributor to the fabric of America as Ford Motor cars, Hershey’s chocolate, and Campbell Soup. Although not nearly as prominent a brand as it once was, it was still holding its own in spaces that were becoming increasingly more competitive.
That was why, when William Webster married a black woman forty years ago, it was the scandal of the ages in Brackenridge that was still talked about to this day. But even that wasn’t nearly as scandalous as all of his mistresses down through the years that would plague the couple for decades. Now one of his out-of-wedlock daughters was about to be married and the entire clan knew to pretend they were one big, happy family and come together to support their “beloved” sister.
It was laughable on its face. Even Janita knew there was nothing happy about that family. But she heard all her life about the Webster Way:Do your duty. And then do your dirt. And when their patriarch said jump, they didn’t ask how high. They just jumped. They were raised that way.
Von sat upright behind the steering wheel when he saw Mrs. Webster. He was at least happy that they were about to get going as Janita hopped out to open the back passenger door for their client. He was the driver and Janita was the bodyguard. Both were well-trained in firearms of every kind and all manner of defensive driving. But they were the sum and substance of Cooper Security. It was just the two of them.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Webster.” Janita smiled a huge smile as she opened the back passenger door.
Reecie Webster returned her smile as she got into the backseat of the Infiniti QX80, but she didn’t speak verbally. She was a brutally private person who treated them with respect and dignity, but never as anything more than her employees. They were there to take her to various places and ensure her security,and that was all there was to it for her. And for Janita, as she closed the door and hopped back onto the front passenger seat, that was all it needed to be too.
But not for Von. He glanced at Mrs. Webster through the rearview mirror as she got inside. In his opinion, that heifer could at least say hey. And the shame of being the wife of a philanderer like Willam Webster only decreased her in his eyes. Why would she allow her gorgeous self to live like that? That still didn’t sit right with him. Besides, there were enough successful black men in Brackenridge that she could have chosen from if money meant that much to her, but that bastard William Webster was her choice? Just because he had more money than everybody else? No way, he thought as he drove off. No way!
Janita, however, took the long view. They were doing the job they were contracted to do. A job, she was convinced, that was going to bring to them more high dollar clients as word got out. That was all that mattered to her.
But then Mrs. Webster spoke up. “You know what?”
Oh Lord, both Janita and Von thought. What did she want now? “Ma’am?” said Janita.
“Before we go to the wedding rehearsal, take me toEllen’s Boutiqueon Sunset. I feel like a new dress today.”
Janita almost turned around and told that lady a thing or two. She was already seriously late for the wedding rehearsal, but she wanted to stop by some freaking clothing store first?
Von, astounded too, glanced over at his sister. He just knew she was going to remind that woman what time it was.
But Janita didn’t have to remind Mrs. Webster of anything. That woman knew exactly what time it was. And that they were on her time, not their own.
That was why Janita didn’t even look Von’s way. “Yes ma’am,” she said to her boss.
And Von, knowing the power they didn’t have, reluctantly swung a U-turn and headed to the high-end clothing boutique. He was shaking his head in anger. This woman was going to get them fired! But he knew to keep it to himself.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Well if it ain’t Shelton Dobson! Welcome back, Shelly.”
Hawk’s executive secretary, Greta Jacobs, had a big smile on her face as she sat behind her desk just outside of Hawk’s office and watched the company’s CEO walk in.
Eagle Records was bursting at the seams with activity as artists and producers clogged the offices and studios making deals and hit records. Even on the top floor where the major execs were, it was hectic. As if nobody died downstairs a month ago. That was how brutal that business was. “How do you feel?” Greta asked him.
“Like I’ve been laid up in a hospital for two months.”
Greta’s smile left. That was a dark day at Eagle. They were all crying when they heard the news.
“But no worries,” Shelly said when he saw that concerned look appear in her small, blue eyes. “I’m not a hundred percent yet granted. But I’m getting there.”
She looked down the length of his slender frame. “You still look good. Even in those stuffy suits you love to wear.”
“A record company is the only place in America where wearing a suit is considered a crime. To shame,” he said, waving his finger, and they both laughed. “He’s in, right?”
“Since five a.m. according to Security.”
