Damita looked worried. “That’s all I have in my life, Carmella, is women. Can you see my dilemma?”
“Of course I can, but if you’re worried about your mother and me, I wouldn’t. I’m not scared of him and I can bet your mother isn’t either.”
“It’s not about being scared. Neal’s problems run far deeper than drugs. Something is not connecting right in his head. You read these stories in the news all the time about some scorned ex killing his wife or girlfriend, then killing whoever she’s with, before killing himself. I wouldn’t put it past him to do something like that. He’s not stable.”
Carmella smirked. “I could have told you that. In fact, didn’t I already tell you that?”
“I hope this is not going to be an I told you so.”
“No, it’s not. I’m pissed off that this bastard has got my girl running scared. You’ve always been so strong.”
“Did I thank you last night for letting me stay here?”
“You’re my best friend in the world. You don’t need to thank me. It’s a given. I’m here for whatever you need.”
“You realize that I have no clue how long I’m going to need to stay, right?”
“Yeah, I know. Did you hear me? I’m not worried about how long it takes. You can stay as long as you like. Your ass ain’t never home anyway. It’ll be like living with a flight attendant. You’re always working.”
“The longer I stay, the greater the chance Neal will come by here looking for me?”
“Oh, he’s already been here. You were sleeping, so I called my detective friend, Derrick. He drove by with his partner and had a little talk with him. I’ve never seen a Negro move so fast in my life. Like I told you, men like him aren’t so tough when they’re dealing with another man. I know that’s your husband and all, but he’s a straight up punk. I watched him from the window, trying to charm his way out of the situation.”
“Tell Derrick I said thank you.”
“No problem. He’s only looking out for me and mine.”
Damita smiled knowingly. “So it’s like that, huh?”
“Yeah, this might be the one.”
“No way! I wish Brandon was here to see this!”
“That fool would be making all kinds of fun of me.”
“Yes, he would. I can imagine what he would have to say about you dating a cop.”
“I’ll make sure I tell Derrick you said thank you. I have to go to work. Are you going to be okay here, by yourself? I could ask Derrick to check on you.”
“No need. I’m leaving with you. I should have been at work two hours ago.”
“What are you going to do about that?” Carmella said, pointing at Damita’s face.
Damita glanced in the accent mirror hanging behind Carmella’s purple leather futon, which now doubled as Damita’s bed, and breathed a sigh of relief. She was happy to see that despite the numerous blows delivered to her face, the worst she had suffered was a split lip and a bruise on her forehead and cheek.
“That’s nothing a little makeup can’t cover.”
“Damita, I heard that line in a movie once. The character died.”
“Thanks a lot for scaring me even more, Carmella.”
“If scaring you is what it takes to make you leave that asshole for once and for all, then that’s what I’ll have to do. I’m going to jump in the shower real quick. Think about what I said, okay? You don’t want to go to the police, but think about it before the evidence is gone.”
Damita looked in the mirror again and realized that Carmella was right. She wasn’t sure if she was prepared for the drama that would most definitely unfold. She also didn’t think her career would be able to survive the turmoil.
Mr. Underhill was waiting for Damita in her office as soon as she arrived at work.
“Damita, where have you been? You had an eight o’clock conference call.”
Damita completely forgot she had rescheduled the conference call she was supposed to have the day before, when she met Carmella for lunch.
“Wendy took over for you. Neither of us could reach you on your cell and it would have been career suicide to reschedule that call.”
Carmella looked at her boss pleadingly. “I’m sorry, Mr. Underhill. I’ve been putting in such long hours for the last month. I was a little burned out. I worked last night until one and this morning I don’t know what happened. I didn’t hear the alarm.”
“Damita, you and I both know that’s what this business is all about. Long hours are a given.”
“Yes, I know. It won’t happen again.”