14. Judgment Day
JUDGMENT DAY
I finally settled down enough to get to work in the late afternoon.
Cairo:
Although I wanted to shut him out so I could move on with my life, the urgency in his text moved me. He didn’t come across as someone who would use attention-getting tactics to cause drama.
After my conversation earlier in the day with Geoff, I didn’t have the energy to play with another man. If Cairo came at me sideways, he would get cursed out too.
“What’s up, Cairo? Are you well?”
No matter how little time we spent together, I couldn’t deny that I cared for Cairo.
At his core, he was a beautiful soul who angered me temporarily because he called out the flaws I beat myself up for having.
If we spent more time together, we probably wouldn’t have argued like this.
I had no doubt he wanted the best for me.
“I’m okay, but sweetheart, we need to meet.
I have disturbing news to share. I don’t want you to be alone when I deliver it.
Would Lena be okay with us meeting at her home?
Too many people might have eyes on you right now if I come to you.
And I don’t want anyone seeing you come to my place either. ”
When Cairo called me sweetheart, I got nervous. The tenderness and urgency of his tone had any number of scenarios twirling around in my head.
“You’re scaring me. What do you know?”
“Text me Lena’s address. I promise on everything that matters to me that you’ll be fine when we sort this out. We just need to get ahead of it.”
“Ahead of what?”
“Send me Lena’s address. I’ll see you within the hour.”
I called Lena and headed her way as soon as I could toss my belongings in my purse and car. As I expected, Lena didn’t hesitate to host Cairo and me when I shared his message with her. Like him, she cared more about my safety than anything.
I pulled my Cadillac sedan to the curb of a large duplex she owned and shared with a single mother and her small kids. When I entered her home, she gave me a big hug and directed me to her kitchen table, where she had a cup of hot chamomile tea waiting for me.
“What do you think it is? And why wouldn’t he tell you details over the phone?” Lena lifted her cup to her lips, eyes as wide as saucers.
“I don’t know, but I’m nervous. I don’t put anything past Geoff’s evil ass. He told me I’d need all the luck I could get when he was done with me. I bet he’s coming for my job.”
“But how? You’re a great president. No one can deny that.”
“He had a picture of me at the Torch game and called me a two-faced whore. He probably showed that picture to somebody. Liberation doesn’t play about women staying in their place.”
Before Lena could respond, the doorbell rang. She set her cup down and rushed to answer it. Cairo’s deep voice greeted her before he entered the kitchen.
I wasn’t sure what I would say to him when we met again, but peace overcame me the second I saw the concern in his eyes.
I stood and rushed to him, giving him a big hug.
He oozed masculinity, fineness, and activism in a fitted James Baldwin T-shirt and slim black jeans.
As his fresh, powerful scent enveloped me, the tense muscles in my back and arms relaxed.
I’d never been more comfortable in the presence of a man.
“I missed you. And I’m so sorry I was rude. Please forgive me.” Words of regret poured from my mouth before I could stop them.
Cairo reached for me again.
“I already have.” He rocked with me for several seconds and planted a kiss on the top of my head.
We stood like that until Lena tapped my shoulder. Cairo released me and gave her his signature smile.
“I hate to bust up y’all’s little reunion, but what’s up? Why are y’all rendezvousing at my house?”
“Let’s sit and talk.” Cairo pointed to Lena’s dining room table in the distance.
Lena went to the kitchen and returned with several small bottles of purified water.
Cairo pulled out a chair and gestured for me to sit.
He pulled his chair close to mine and kissed my inner wrist before holding my hand and placing it on the rectangular-shaped oak table.
Once seated, Lena gave Cairo a bottle of water, which he opened and drank in its entirety.
“This doesn’t surprise me since Geoff gave me a veiled threat when we broke up. He hated that I wouldn’t tell him where I was this weekend, although he pulled out a picture from social media of me with Shavonna, a woman whose sister I know at Liberation.”
“Y’all broke up?” Cairo smiled, which caused me to grin despite the grimness of our situation.
I suddenly felt shy at revealing that information so casually.
“Yes.”
“No wonder he was pissed. Geoff had to be the source of information because of the timing. Marice called Zora loose and was too disrespectful for my liking. I listened to him to gather information about possible next moves. He’s a real snake.”
“I agree.”
As we recanted other details of the conversation, Cairo’s carriage toughened. That was when I shared information I knew would piss him off.
“He almost hit me, but I cursed him out and made him leave.”
Cairo rose from the table and headed for the door, knocking his chair over on the way.
“I’m going to kill him!” he shouted.
I rushed to him and held his arm.
“No, you won’t. Stay the course. We’re here to strategize, not lose our cool. We can’t show our hands. Come back and sit down.”
Cairo nodded and slowly returned to his seat. I followed him and stood behind him, massaging his thick shoulders until I felt the tension leave them.
“So those limp-dick bastards are coming for Zora—plain and simple.” Lena crossed her arms and drank from her water bottle.
“Unfortunately.” Cairo reached behind his shoulder and guided me back to my seat.
I placed my hands on the table.
“Tell me about that public decorum agreement. How do they determine what’s decent?” he asked.
“Before I was hired, they harped about scandalous behavior and dress. Marice’s wife took me shopping and even bought me a two-piece suit from TJ Maxx that she thought would be appropriate for me to wear in public. It was the ugliest monstrosity I’d ever seen, but I put it on to keep the peace.”
“I told you not to take that job. Nothing about it sounded right. They’re tacky and cheap.” Lena rolled her eyes.
“I knew I was pushing the boundaries when I wore that outfit to the Torch game, but I was trying to impress a certain somebody.” I smiled at Cairo, who returned it, to my delight.
“Let that certain somebody say that he appreciated the gesture very, very, very much.” Cairo leaned over and kissed me on the lips on his last ‘very.’
Lena clapped her hands like a seal at a traveling circus.
“That’s what I’m talking about. My sissy deserves all that and more.”
“I agree,” Cairo said as he placed his hand on my thigh under the table.
I held his hand firm and squeezed his fingers.
“What are we going to do about this though? Can we cut it off before things get worse?” Lena asked.
For the first time since we began, Lena’s face registered concern.
“As a single woman, no. In the eyes of the board, I was loose, displaying my goodies in front of the world at the Torch game.”
“What if you had a man?” Cairo asked.
I stared him down with a frown.
“What kind of man?”
“One who wants his woman to put on makeup and represent him in a modern, low-key sexy way. She would be an extension of his public brand, letting people know he takes care of her and isn’t intimidated by her brains or beauty.”
My heart fluttered as I tried to process everything he said.
“Oh…you’re saying what exactly?” I placed my hand over my heart.
“My girlfriend wasn’t doing anything wrong.”
Lena jumped up and screamed.
“She accepts.”
“Lena! Please give Cairo and me a minute. Dang.” I pointed my finger at my sister before rising and pulling Cairo into Lena’s living room.
I peeked around the corner to make sure Lena wasn’t eavesdropping, then held his hands in mine.
“I don’t need you to save me. Again.” I shook my head, thinking about Cairo’s generous gift last week.
He placed his fingers under my chin and lifted my head.
“What if I told you you’re saving me?”
“I’d think you were lying.”
“I’m not. Since Cece died, I’ve been a wreck. The only time I’ve felt alive is when I’m with you.”
My heart was tender. I was serious about not wanting another man to bail me out of anything. I didn’t want Cairo to be with me out of pity.
“Tell you what. Let’s see how the board moves. If they come for me, and only if they come for me, will I allow you to step in. Please don’t judge me for being weak, though.”
“Nothing about you is weak. You’ve proven to me that you’re the strongest woman I know.”
He planted a chaste kiss on my lips. I hoped he was right about me.
Monday at 10 a.m., as I caught up on emails from the previous week and reviewed my schedule for the week in my work office, I received the correspondence I’d been waiting for.
Subject: Leadership Decision
Dr. Langston,
Pending an investigation from an independent body, the Board of Trustees of Liberation University is suspending you, effective immediately, for violation of our public decorum agreement.
Dr. Randall Andersen, Liberation University Provost, will serve as Interim President until we conclude our investigation.
Please do not respond to any requests from the media, or you will be terminated immediately. A security detail will arrive at your office at 10:30 AM this morning to escort you off the premises.
Marice Masters, J.D., Esq., Chairman of the Liberation University Board of Trustees
I couldn’t believe these bastards were being this petty.
I forwarded the email to Whitney, my personal email account, and my attorney’s inbox.
I believed in keeping receipts and wasn’t going down without a fight.
Before I pressed send on the final email, the media hounded me for a comment about my suspension.
Of course, I ignored them. Ten minutes later, Whitney knocked on my door.
“Yes?” I placed several files in the banker’s box Whitney retrieved for me.
“Security is here.” She spoke softly behind tear-stained eyes.
Two armed campus officers I previously had positive exchanges with entered my office.
“Officers Atkins and Botega, you’re early. The email said ten thirty. I will not be rushed.”
“We’re sorry to have to do this.” Officer Botega’s warm smile did nothing to soothe me.
Whitney entered and helped me pile several valuables and pictures in the box. I turned and looked at my full bookshelves.
“I’ll text you with other instructions.”
I pulled out my phone and sent a text directly to Whitney.
Me:
Please pack up any other valuables. Keep them until I can retrieve them. Don’t let anyone touch my belongings. Thank you.*smiley face emoji*
Although Liberation leaders thought they could treat me like trash, they weren’t playing with a weak woman. I stared at the two officers dead in the eyes and raised myself as tall as I could in my black patent leather kitten heels.
“Please tell your cronies that if anything is missing from my office, I will have somebody’s behind on a platter. That’s not a threat. It’s a promise.” I rolled my eyes and walked out with my phone and Louis Vuitton purse.
“I’ll be in touch,” Whitney smiled and mouthed when the officers weren’t watching us.
I gave her an indiscreet thumbs up but knew she would soon have a target on her back because of her loyalty to me. These misogynistic snakes were out for blood. I wouldn’t put it past them to dismiss Whitney out of spite before everything was sorted out.
I sighed when I left the building. Fortunately, my driver Rocky waited to pick me up from my office and take me to the president’s mansion. When he dropped me off, I contacted my crew, first with a call to Lena.
“Lena, they got me.”
Only when she picked up did I feel like breaking down.
“You need me to come over there, love?”
I held in my tears, not wanting my sister to know how hurt I was by the day’s events.
“No. I’m good. I’ll be in touch. Just letting you know I’m safe. I’ll call Mom and Dad when I get to the house. I don’t want them worrying about me. This, too, shall pass.”
“Contact Cairo, Zo. Let that man do what he said he would do for you. He’s powerful and well-connected. Maybe someone on his team could guide you through what’s going on. That university definitely doesn’t have your back. Please.” Her plea confirmed what was in my heart.
More than anyone, Cairo was the only person I wanted to be with right now. He exuded not only confidence but comfort I never knew I needed. But he was at practice. I wouldn’t bother him until the afternoon.
Although I needed to contact my attorney, I would do it within the hour. She already had the email I sent, so she would be prepared when we connected. More than anything, I needed time to breathe and take in the magnitude of what was happening. I’d done everything by the book and still got burned.
Did I have regrets? No. Was I embarrassed and hurt? Yes.
Ironically, I was free, at least temporarily, from the puppet strings of higher education for the first time in my ten-year administrative career.
When I let my hair down at the Torch game, I got rid of some bugs that were all in my head.
I was free of Geoff too. But why did it take Liberation’s version of a scandal for me to take stock of what was really important?
As I continued to process everything that happened, I slipped on a comfortable pastel short set and kicked up my heels in my spa socks, binge-watching Judge Mathis and Family Feud . I hadn’t watched that much daytime TV since college.
My phone pinged. It was Cairo.
Cairo:
I heard the news. I’m coming over after practice. Is it okay for me to be at your house?
It was time for me to put my liberation into action.
Zora:
Yes. Eff all of them. Come by anytime. You can even spend the night if you want.
Cairo:
O…kay. *confused emoji* Be there in 30 minutes.
Zora:
See you soon.
I may have had a bad day, but I wasn’t going to let Cairo see me down.
I’d been oppressed far too long. Today, I would reclaim my time and my life.
It might happen slowly, but it would be a start.
What the devil meant for bad would be my independence day.
It was time for the real Zora Langston to show up and show out.