Chapter 16
DELANEY
“You have a guest, Delaney.”
“Who is it, Rebecca?”
“Mr. Settles.”
“I don’t want to see him. I thought that I explained that to you all a while ago.”
“I know, Delaney, but he refuses to leave. I told him that, but he’s adamant about seeing you.”
“Call the police.”
She sighed. “Okay.”
I ended the call but immediately called back. It wasn’t fair that I brought the staff into the problems that I had with my ex-husband.
“Becca?”
“Yes?”
“I’ll be down. Don’t call the police.”
“Okay, thank you. I’ll let him know.”
I could hear the relief in her voice. When I ended the call, I inhaled deeply, held it for several seconds, and slowly exhaled. A quick stop in the restroom was necessary for me to check my appearance and get my act together. I needed strength and a cold ass shoulder to deal with my ex with.
It bothered me that he was still popping up in my life after we were divorced. I wouldn’t be mad if I never saw him again, yet here he was once more.
I headed downstairs to the lobby. I walked to the section where he sat in front of a collection of African paintings from the eighteenth century. He appeared to be deep into assessing them, but he acknowledged my presence without turning around.
“Thank you for not turning me away.”
“Oh, but I did. I even told her to call the police.”
“I know. She told me, but I’m thankful you changed your mind.”
“What is it that you want, Clayton?”
“I know that I don’t have a right to tell you how to live your life. I’ve done a lot of things during our marriage that I regretted. You were a good woman—”
“I am a good woman.”
“You’re right. You’re a good woman. I wasn’t strong enough to admit that I wasn’t a strong enough man for you and that you were too good for me.”
“Why are you here?”
“I’m here to say something that you probably don’t want to hear. I’ve struggled about how to handle this. I’m going to contact the state board and inform them what Naijhel is doing. He’ll more than likely lose his license, if not get disbarred.”
“Why would you do something like that? Aren’t you done ruining my life? Didn’t that apology you gave and all the things you said on Sociogram mean anything?”
“It’s like I said before, Del, you’re a good woman. If that is what I need to do to protect you, then I am willing to do it.”
“You’re evil! Because you couldn’t make me happy, you want to ruin someone else’s chance to do it?”
“That’s not what this is.”
“Then what is it? Because that is exactly what it looks like to me.”
He sighed. “You’re right, I did do a lot. But I’m not about to sit back and watch someone else screw over you too. I told you what I told you over the phone because it needs to be your decision to walk away from him. But you’re too blind to see the truth.”
“Why would I do that? He’s a damn good man. Better than you’ve ever been to me.”
Naijhel had returned that night after he disappeared. But it was late, and I wanted to turn him away, but I couldn’t. I realized that I needed that man like I needed my next breath. So I had let him in, fed him, and gave him my body.
He told me that his mother was being threatened by someone she had been dating.
He told me that it gave him flashbacks to what happened with his father, and he didn’t want to talk about it beyond that.
He confirmed that he had gone to his mother’s side and stayed with her for hours before he went home to get his mind right.
I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I respected it.
I knew that Naijhel was still traumatized by his father’s death, as well as I knew that he was close to his mother.
I couldn’t imagine what he had gone through getting her call.
I only wished that I had been able to be there for him, that he had allowed me to.
“Listen, I know that you don’t like being lonely.
I get that you’re probably falling for him, and it’s hard to walk away from someone lavishing attention and money on you after you’ve gone through a divorce.
I get that your heart is bitter toward me, but you have to let go before you get yourself hurt. ”
“The only person who ever hurt me was you!” I spat angrily.
“Naijhel has ulterior motives for getting involved with you. He’s only using you to get back at me for lying to him.”
“How is him dating me getting back at you? You didn’t give a damn about me while we were married; I know that you don’t now.”
“Just trust me, Del. You’re not even his type. Check his social media and you’ll see. Naijhel always goes for the slim, tall, light-skinned women with either wavy hair or curly hair, but it’s their real hair, not sew-ins.”
My heart hurt because a part of me feared that Clayton might be telling the truth. It never made sense that Naijhel was attracted to me and wanted to become involved with me when he barely knew me, especially considering it could cost him his license.
“Why do you even care, Clayton?”
“Because he’s the scum of the earth, and he doesn’t deserve a woman like you.”
“You need to leave.”
“I will, but let me show you something first. Once I show this to you, Del, you can make your decision about what to do, but at least you will be informed no matter what you decide.”
My stomach clenched tightly, and I was unsure if I wanted to see anything that he had to share with me. But I was compelled to look at his phone anyway, despite the fact that I suspected my world was about to change.
Clayton flipped through pictures of Naijhel in a few different rooms, and in one, he was holding a baby.
In another, he was still holding the baby, but he stood by a bed with a woman who appeared to be asleep, lying in the bed.
I noticed in a couple of the pictures, there was a Black Dahlia lying beside the woman, and the other was placed in the baby’s room. A chill ran down my spine.
My heart tightened. I recognized the Black Dahlia as the tattoos that he had on his body. What did this really mean? Who was the man I had fallen in love with?
“Why are you showing me this? What does any of this prove?”
“In this picture, he’s in my office,” he explained, flipping back to the first photo. He flipped forward a couple of more. “In these next few images, he’s in my home, with my baby, and in my bedroom with my woman.”
I looked closer and recognized the girl in the bed as the one he claimed to be his cousin. Though terror burned a trail in my gut, and my heart thundered in my chest, I still asked, “What is this supposed to mean?”
“He wasn’t supposed to be in my home or my office. These pictures are still frames that I took from the video footage. He entered both places without my permission, and it was to threaten me.”
“For what?”
“Lying about who you were and what you had done.”
It all made sense now. For some reason, I could see Naijhel doing that to protect me.
“I don’t believe this.”
“The pictures are right here, Del. Don’t be a fool.”
“You mean the way that I was for you?” I asked spitefully. I pivoted on the ball of my feet and headed back toward the stairwell.
Clayton caught up with me and grabbed my elbow. “I promise that he doesn’t care about you. Can’t you see? Naijhel’s not who you think he is, and he’s only using you. He’s a dangerous man, Del. He’s in the mafia, and I’d hate to see you get hurt.”
My legs threatened to give way, and my heart snagged in my chest, but I stayed strong.
“You need to leave before I have you physically removed,” I warned.
Clayton released me and walked away.
I stood in that spot for several minutes, processing what he said. There was no way it could be true. I mean, I could see Naijhel going after him for lying to him, especially knowing what he had gone through with his father and now his mother. But the mafia? Using me to get back at Clayton?
That couldn’t be true, could it?
“Delaney, are you okay?” Chase asked, passing me on his way to somewhere else.
“Oh, yes, I’m fine. I was just lost in thought.”
“You look like you saw a ghost. Can I get you anything?” he asked.
“No. I’m fine. I’m just heading back upstairs to my office,” I stated numbly as I walked away.
How would I get through the rest of my day?