CHAPTER 17

THE MORNING STARTED OFF AS if Davis and Nicole didn’t have a care in the world. Not like everything around them was falling apart. She managed to keep her internal struggles to herself and make breakfast like she had done so many times in the past.

Rayna got up from the table, and Nicole felt a tinge of guilt when she looked into her eyes. They were brighter than Nicole had seen in a while when Rayna smiled and kissed her goodbye. “See you after school, Mommy.”

Nicole hugged her tight. Rayna left her arms and turned to her father. She threw herself into Davis’s embrace. After a couple of moments, Teena nudged her along and grabbed her hand. “C’mon, we don’t want to be late for school.” Rayna couldn’t drag her eyes away from DJ and her parents as she walked out of the door waving goodbye.

Nicole held her hands to her throat; she was full of emotion. “Rayna’s growing up.”

Davis seemed to have the same thought. He only hoped he would have the chance to see it up close and not behind the bars of a prison cell. It was if his thoughts conjured up the outside world. His cell rang. Davis pulled it out of his back pocket, glanced at the screen, then held it up to Nicole. “The lawyers. I’ll take it in my office.”

He walked out of the room, leaving Nicole alone with DJ. His chubby cheeks were all smiles. The innocence of children somehow made life seem easier even as her body’s cravings started to become more intense. Her headache was beginning to get worse, and her mouth was like a desert. Nicole went over to the refrigerator and grabbed a water. She downed half the contents in a few gulps, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and took a deep breath. You can do this. Nicole turned around and walked over to scoop her son up out of his chair. “How about we go upstairs and play with your cars for a while?”

After their morning of playing together, Nicole gave DJ a bath and dressed him for the day. He didn’t look as if he were ready to wind down anytime soon and seemed to be having the time of his life sitting on the floor playing with his toys. It was perfect timing when Teena showed up because she had received a very important phone call.

She mouthed to Teena. “I’m going to take this in my room.”

She nodded.

Nicole sat down on the chaise lounge by her bed. “Hi, Aimee. I was just thinking about you and planned to call to check-in.”

She sounded very faux contrite. “First, let me say how sorry I am that you and Davis are going through this.”

“Thank you. It’s all lies, and we plan to fight these slanderous charges.”

“As you should. That brings me to the reason for my call. The board has some concerns about how all of this might reflect on the Angel Foundation. They’ve convened an emergency meeting this afternoon to discuss our plans and position regarding it.”

“Plans? Position? I don’t understand why the foundation wouldn’t just put out a statement of support.”

“It’s not that simple. We’ve been fielding calls from reporters for the past couple of days. We plan to release a statement after we meet today.”

Nicole couldn’t believe it. “Not that simple? I would think it was—Just. That. Simple!”

“It is not my decision alone to make, and that’s the reason for the emergency meeting this afternoon. I hope you understand and will be able to attend.”

“Let me get this straight. You’ve known Davis and me for years. Not only have we personally contributed millions, but I’ve also brought in millions more in donations to the organization. You’re the President of the Foundation. I would expect the Angel Foundation to stand by us.”

“Please don’t take this personal.”

Nicole yelled into the phone. “How the hell else am I supposed to take it?”

“Honestly, I do hope you bring that same fire and passion to the meeting. You’ll be able to make your case there. It’s at 1 p.m.”

“I will definitely be there.” Nicole hung up without listening to Aimee’s reply.

Davis was standing in the doorway listening. “What’s going on?”

“It seems the Angel Foundation has some concerns about our situation, and how it will affect them. If I weren’t afraid I would end up on The Wendell Williams show or TNZ, I would go up there and give everyone a piece of my mind.”

Davis responded. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? For what?”

“For all of this.”

“You can’t keep taking ownership of things that are not your fault.” Nicole kissed Davis softly on the lips. “I’ve got to go get ready.” She hopped off the bed and grabbed her purse off the dresser as she went into the bathroom. Nicole hated herself, but she wasn’t going to be able to make it through her meeting without some help. She searched and searched hoping that maybe one or two pills had fallen to the bottom of her purse. She stilled. There it was at the very bottom—one last pill.

Nicole left her cell phone on the table next to her bed. It buzzed. When Davis saw the name Rome pop up on the screen, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He remembered that name. That was the man who sent the flowers. By the time he snatched up the phone to answer it, he had missed the call. Davis had never searched Nicole’s phone before, but he had no problem going through it.

There weren’t any outbound calls to Roman, but there were two inbound calls to her and one text message.

Enjoyed today & had a great time at lunch.

It was written several days ago.

Nicole didn’t even have a chance to come out of the bathroom. When she opened the door, Davis was standing on the other side with her phone in his hand holding it up to her face. “What the hell is this?”

She read it. “You went through my phone?”

Davis towered over her. His nostrils flared out in barely controlled anger. “He called. I saw his name on the screen, so hell yeah, I went through your phone. You had lunch with him?”

Nicole was wrapped in a towel. She walked past him. “You are overreacting. It’s not what you think.”

He followed her. “I’m overreacting? He’s sending you flowers with coded messages in them. Now, the two of you are having lunch that you didn’t tell me about, and I’m overreacting.”

“Yes. You are.” She sighed. “I had to go into KidCare to visit a couple of the Children and Family Services offices and to perform several wellness checks. He had contacted the organization to do a ride along. I didn’t know he was coming, and he didn’t know I would be showing him around.”

“So, when did you start doing wellness checks because you usually don’t?”

Irritated that Davis didn’t trust her, Nicole placed her hands on her hips. “It’s rare, but I have done them in the past. Let me get this straight; you’ve lied to me for almost a year, and yet, you have the nerve to call me a liar?”

His eyes bore into hers. “Are you sleeping with him?”

“What?” Nicole was livid. She placed her hands flat on his chest and pushed. “Get out of my way.” Davis didn’t move.

His jaws clenched. His voice was just an octave under yelling. “Are you sleeping with him?”

“I can’t believe you’re asking me this.” Her eyes reflected shock, hurt, and anger. He wouldn’t move, so Nicole stepped around him and walked away. She refused to dignify his question with an answer and went into her walk-in closet. “I’ve got to get dressed.”

Davis left like a hurricane. He slammed the door behind him so hard that pictures that had been sitting on her dresser crashed to the floor. When she came out to see what had broken, Nicole kneeled and picked up her favorite picture frame. It was the one with their wedding photo in it.

Nicole was entirely out of sorts. Her fight with Davis had left her an emotional wreck. How could he think she would ever cheat on him? Roman was handsome, but she loved Davis with her whole heart. Now, she had to go into this meeting with the Angel Foundation carrying the weight of that fight.

She had been invited for a one o’clock meeting, but the board had been in session when she arrived at twelve thirty. Her nerves were shot.

Nicole decided to wait it out at the restaurant in the lower level of the building. She was antsy and couldn’t be still. Her head was pounding, and her muscles ached. Nicole dropped her head in her hands. You can do this. You don’t need any more help. Maybe I can’t. Feeling defeated, Nicole called up her doctor. “Hi. This is Nicole Chatham. I’m calling because I accidentally dropped my last prescription in the toilet. Can Dr. MacEntyre phone in another prescription?”

“Let me get the doctor on the phone. Wait, your last one was just filled a few days ago.”

“Right. But I told you, I dropped them in the toilet.”

A waiter came to take her order, and Nicole waved him away as she spoke on the phone.

“I’ll make sure to inform Dr. MacEntyre. Please hold.”

Nicole tapped her fingers on the table as she waited. Moments later, her physician picked up. “Mrs. Chatham?”

“Yes. This is she.”

“I’ve just reviewed your chart. Unfortunately, due to the opioid epidemic, I’m unable to provide you with a replacement prescription for another twenty-six days.”

Her waiter returned.

Nicole put up one finger for him to wait. “Twenty-six days? There has to be something else you can do. What am I supposed to do for pain in the meantime? I can’t wait that long.”

“I’m sorry. Maybe you can try an alternative method. I can recommend an acupuncturist or massage therapist.”

“That won’t help me or my pain!” Nicole closed her eyes and massaged her temples as she spoke. “I’m sorry. Thank you, Dr. MacEntyre.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.”

She disconnected the call.

“May I take your drink order?” Nicole had almost forgotten the man was standing there.

“Yes. Please. I’ll have a seltzer water with lemon.”

He nodded and left. Once he was gone, Nicole went through her address book and made several more calls to doctors. None of them would write a prescription without scheduling an appointment.

Nicole downed the last of her water just as her waiter was bringing her the check. “Thank you.”

He whispered, “I might be able to help you with your problem.”

“Excuse me?”

“I couldn’t help but overhear your phone call.”

Nicole hesitated. “Help me like how?”

“I’m due for a break. If you meet me outside the restaurant, in the hallway going to the public bathrooms, there’s a private room that I have a key for. We can talk there.”

Everything in Nicole said no, don’t do it. However, she couldn’t form the words. “Okay.”

A few minutes later, Nicole was about to buy drugs from a stranger—a stranger named Sam. “They are just as good as Oxycodone. Fentanyl is even better. You’ll feel the effects much faster.”

Nicole was hesitant. “Are they safe?”

“Are you seriously asking me that question? If you don’t want them, then I’ve got to get back to work.” He made an attempt to leave.

“Wait.” Nicole placed her hand on his arm to stop him. “How much are they?”

“Fifty bucks a pill.”

She couldn’t believe she was negotiating a price for fentanyl. “Fifty dollars a pill! That’s highway robbery.”

“Lady . . . do you want them or not?” Gone was the pleasant person from the restaurant.

Nicole opened her wallet. She had five hundred dollars cash. “I only have a few hundred dollars.”

“I’ll give you a break. How about ten pills for three hundred and my number? When you get more money, you can call me, and I’ll get you more of these.” He held up the little baggie full of pills and shook them.

Nicole bit her bottom lip.

“I don’t have all day. My break is almost over. Do you want them or not?”

She didn’t have a choice. “Fine.” She pulled the money out of her wallet, and he gave her the drugs.

He tucked it into his pocket, gave her a small bag, and smiled. “Nice doing business with you. Hope to hear from you soon.” He used two fingers to salute her then walked out.

Nicole waited a few minutes before she left as well. She only had five minutes to spare and decided to make her way to the Angel Foundation meeting. She was tempted to pop one of the pills into her mouth but decided against it. The man, Sam, said they would work pretty fast. Nicole hoped her body could survive that meeting.

“Mrs. Chatham, please understand the position that we are in.”

She slammed her hand down on the table. “No, I will not! When I was installed as a board member, the seven of you sitting around this table, who are now judging both my husband and me, were in a damn storefront at a strip mall. Had it not been for Davis and me and our friends who have donated millions to this foundation, you wouldn’t even have a reputation to protect!”

“Please calm down, Mrs. Chatham.” Aimee still lacked any empathy for her situation. Her words and her expressions didn’t match up. “Again, we are sorry you feel this way.”

“I bet you are.” Nicole stood. “You don’t have to worry about removing me from the board. You’ll have my resignation by the end of the day.”

When she left the meeting, her blood pressure was boiling. She immediately rummaged through her purse and found the pills. She put one of them in her mouth and walked to the nearest water fountain.

Nicole went down the escalator and decided to stop off at her office before heading home. Someone called out to her. It was her boss.

“Julie.”

“Hi, Nicole.”

“I’m sorry I haven’t checked in. Things have been a little crazy.”

“Yeah. I heard. I just want you to know I’m so sorry. I’m sure everything will get straightened out.” She paused. “I hate to have to even bring this up.”

Nicole closed her eyes. “You too?”

Julie splayed her hands out in an offer of surrender and had a genuine look of remorse. “Look. If it were left up to me, I would say fuck em’. But it’s not. And we’re not firing you. We’re going to call it a temporary leave until the investigation is over. I was able to negotiate a statement of support.”

“This has really been a shitty day, Julie.”

“I can only imagine. But please know, I’m fighting for you.”

Nicole’s smile was shaky. “Thanks.”

Julie reached out and squeezed her arm. “Take care and please call me if you need anything.”

Everything Nicole had worked so hard for over the past few years had been stripped away in a matter of hours. She needed a break from everything and everyone for just a little while. She didn’t want to think or feel anything, and she knew just the thing that would help her do it.

Nicole went into her office to gather her things. When she was alone, she took another pill and swallowed. This time not bothering to wash it down with water. It took her all of twenty minutes to finish collecting her belongings. She was starting to feel woozy and wondered how the hell was she going to get home? Nicole didn’t think she was in any condition to drive. Maybe I can hide out in the restaurant downstairs for a few hours.

She made her way to the elevator on shaky legs and pressed the button. When the doors opened, Roman stood on the other side.