Honey Brown II

Chapter 14

KENDRA

"So, what did you do last night?" I questioned.

"I-I was with Racheal. And she took me to a club. I-It ended up being a..." Liv struggled to finish the sentence.

"A lesbian bar," I finished as I showed her the message that I received. Her mouth fell open as she stared at the picture. It was of her being held by some woman. Clearly, it was meant to look as if they shared a mutual attraction.

She looked up at me, desperately trying to find the right words to say. I stood staring at her, arms crossed over my chest, waiting for her to explain.

Liv opened her mouth, but I spoke first, "Who took the picture?" Her face twisted up in confusion. I'm sure it was an odd question, but I wanted her to really think about it. Then, it hit her.

"You think Racheal did this, don't you? Why would she? And how would she even have your number?" she shot off, the disbelief etched on her face.

I closed my eyes and sighed deeply. I looked at her as I spoke, "Racheal is my ex." She gaped at my confession.

I continued, "That day that I became distant, I was sure that I saw her outside of your house, so I did some digging. It turned out that her best friend was the judge for your traffic court case.

"Racheal gathers intelligence for the government, so it wouldn't have been difficult for her to interfere with our lives. I started following her, and eventually, she led me to you. I didn't say anything at first, because I wanted to be positive that it was her. She's sneaky and determined. If she wants to ruin someone's life, she'll do whatever it takes to get her way. Answer me this, when you were with that woman in the picture, was Racheal with you?" I asked.

The look on her face answered my question. "If that was her outside your house, she knows that we're together. Which would explain why she's been messing with you. Fortunately for me, I've kept in touch with a few people, so I just need to make a few calls," I finished. A range of emotions flashed across Liv's face. The final expression was that of anger.

"I should have told you, I'm sorry. I just wanted to fix it before it got any worse. I–," I rambled out an apology as quickly as I could.

She cut me off, shouting, "I'm not mad at you. I'm pissed at myself. It's okay, though, I'll just call that bitch now and –."

"No," I stopped her, "I've been thinking, and I may have a plan. Just, trust me, please?" She paused, midway through calling Racheal. Liv looked at me for a moment, contemplating my proposal.

I started to get nervous. Finally, she spoke, "Fine. So, what do we do?" I shared my idea with her, and as I continued to speak, Liv broke out in a broad grin. When I finished, she was brimming with excitement.

"You can call her whenever you're ready," I told her. She took a moment to get into character, and resumed making her phone call.

She waited a few seconds, until she received an answer, "Hey, Racheal? It's Liv..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following day started out as any other. By mid-morning, there was a knock at my door. I looked up to see the Director of Human Resources. He briefly informed me that based on my complaint, an investigation took place, and Cherri was relocated to another office. I thanked him as he left, and fought to remain neutral until he was gone. Today was going to be a good day.

That evening, I sat on Liv's couch, waiting patiently. Finally, I heard the front door open and close. The expression on her face when she saw me was almost as satisfying as knowing how this meeting would end. I smiled as I spoke, "Hello, Racheal."

She quickly calmed herself before responding, "Kenny. I knew you would find out, I just didn't think it would be so soon. What tipped you off?"

"You got sloppy. You were always too cocky for your own good," I answered. I gestured toward the opposite end of the couch, offering her a seat. She slowly crossed the room, before choosing an armchair directly across from me.

I smirked at her attempt to protect herself.

"Where's Olivia?" she questioned.

"Don't worry, no one's going to assault you," I assured her. She eyed me with skepticism. I couldn't blame her; it wasn't as if she didn't deserve it. "I'm here to give you a chance to walk away," I finished.

A vicious smile spread across Racheal's face, "Really, Kenny? I would think that you of all people would know me better than that. If anyone is going to walk away from this situation, it's not going to be me."

"So, your plan was to what? Make life hard for Liv, hoping that she would leave to make my life easier? Or, I would get tired of all her issues, and push her away? Leaving room for you to swoop in and unbreak my heart?" I questioned.

"We're good together, and I know you know it too. If there happens to be some collateral damage, not my problem," she shrugged her shoulders.

I shook my head. "I know about you using Michelle to sit as the Judge for Liv's traffic court case, so I'm assuming you had something to do with her car being towed and impounded. I also know you sent us the text messages. And I bet it was you who called the Health Department falsely claiming Liv's cake shop had rats. Am I right?" I looked Racheal in the eye.

Once again, she displayed her smile full of malice.

How did we last for four years?

"I can, and will, do whatever I need to do to make sure that you are mine. You and I belong together. I was only trying to give you two the opportunity to see that on your own, before I had to forcefully remove Olivia myself. You are still just as stubborn as I remember," Racheal said as she stood to leave.

"What has happened to your little Olivia up to this point is nothing compared to what I plan to do. Just know that you brought this on yourself," she finished.

I watched her walk away. "Just let it go, Racheal. Don't make this harder for yourself," I tried.

"You haven't seen hard," she laughed as she closed the door. I watched her drive away before I made a phone call.

"Hey, Kurt, it's Kenny... I'm good... Yeah, it's been a while ... Listen, I have something that I'm sure would be of value to you. Why don't we meet for a drink?" I concluded the call, grabbed what I needed, and left for the bar.

After my meeting with Kurt, I text Liv to let her know that it was done, and invited her to meet me at the bar for a celebratory drink. Liv walked in about 20 minutes later, and after she had her drink, I told her the good news.

"First," I started, "Cherri was moved to a different location. Cheers to that," I held up my glass. She touched her glass to mine before we both took a sip.

I continued on, "The plan worked perfectly. I gave the video of Racheal's confession to her boss, and he's going to dig deeper into her recent activities. The consequences she'll face will be far worse than anything she planned for you. She is officially a non-factor," I smiled at Liv.

"Good. Because, I now know what she looks like. So, she can try it again if she wants to," Liv dared.

I chuckled at her, "Calm down, Warrior Princess. We don't have anything to worry about anymore. Therefore, I propose we focus on more important things," I said as I stood to leave. I took Liv's hand in mine, prompting her to follow.

She looked at me, puzzled, "Like what?"

"Like that bag I bet was full of lingerie that we didn't get to explore yesterday," I replied with a smirk. She graced me with her brilliant smile as we hurried out the door.

"Too bad you won't be able to enjoy any of it," she said as we walked to the car.

"Why not?" I questioned.

"Because, I'm not supposed to be wearing any underwear," she winked as she got in the car.

I couldn't drive home fast enough.