TnT Temptations After Dark

(You) Drive me Crazy

Cookie sighed. Hearing a man beg for money was a major turn off. Especially when they came from money and didn't have a single dime to their name aside from the little check they were given from the mom and pop shop their parents opened in their name. "Of course I'll tell my dad. Thank you Ray! We are making greatness!" Hanging up, he smiled big at Cookie. "Ray is in the bag. Put him down for 100k." "That's great Papi. Look it's getting late, how about we call it a night?" "Oh sure yeah-" "Great. I'll call you in the morning okay?" "You don't want to stay again?" "Cramps babe. I just want to curl up with my heating pad." "Oh okay. Call me when you wake up. I'll bring you some breakfast." "Okay. Thanks." She pecked his lips and grabbed her purse. Finally she could get somethings done.

Pulling up to the apartment complex she found linked to Lucious, she stared at it. Wasn't at all what she was expecting from him. Getting out of her head she walked up to apartment 23. The door and windows looked as she tried to find a way in. "Can I help you?" She spun around seeing a sexy ass latina looking her up and down. "Oh I'm looking for Rome." "He's not here." "Shit.... I'm Shani and you are?" "The building manager." "Oh well maybe you can help me. I've been dying to get back my earrings from Rome and he seems to be holding them hostage. One time thing and you know men. They use the one thing you seriously left on accident to get you back in bed again."

The building manager stared at her bankly. She knew Anika was his girlfriend and this woman was not Anika. "How do you know Rome?" "My current bae is his current girlfriend's brother. An even bigger coincidence since Rome and I used to date. One drunken night after running into each other and now I can't get my favorite pair of earrings back." "You're dating Cristian?" "Yeah. You know him?" "I've met him once or twice. Are you the one getting him a job at Empire?" "Oh no I've gotten him off that trainwreck. That company has way too many skeletons in its closet and quite frankly I don't see why anyone keeps trying to get into those doors leading artists to a staircase straight to hell."

"I'm Delilah," the building manager said with a chuckle. "Nice to meet you Delilah." "I'll check Rome's place for you but you can't exactly come in. Legal reasons." "I gotcha." "What do they look like and where could they be?" "They're hoops with diamonds encasing them and the nightstand I assume? Not sure where else he would put them." "Okay I'll go check. Hang tight." "Thank you so much." Once Delilah went around the corner, Cookie quickly unlocked the window so she could easily come back in later. "So are you from the area or are you from New York?" "I'm from New York, which is also where I met Rome. "So who followed who?" "Excuse me?" Cookie shouted back.

"Who followed who? Did you follow him? Or did he follow you?" "Oh we were broken up and I had to come to Cali for work so it was kind of a coincidence honestly." "Oooh okay. I don't see any earrings. I checked both nightstands." "Ugh damn okay. I'll try and convince him to just give them back again. Thank you for looking though." "Yeah no problem. Tell him no more one night stands. Anika is a sweet girl. She doesn't deserve that and you seem like you have a good thing going with Cristian. He needs someone like you in his life. Anika can only do so much to keep him level-headed and out of trouble," Delilah confessed. "I will. I definitely will. Thanks again," Cookie smiled as she walked away. Unknowingly that she was being followed.

Later that night, she went back to his place and slid the window up slowly. She climbed inside and shut the window back quietly, making sure Delilah wouldn't be tipped off. She stood in the dining room and let out a heavy breath. When did Lucious start living like he was an average Joe? Getting back on track she began her search for evidence. Surely he kept something that linked him to killing her boss or even burying her alive. She started in the bedroom, a photo catching her eye. He looked cute with Anika..... but he didn't look happy. More complacent. Anika didn't satiate him and it showed. How could she when she truly believed this make believe side of him was real and true? He was playing Ken to her Barbie and she was so self absorbed, she didn't even notice it.