Lies of a Real Housewife (8 page)

would represent me. That was my security blanket. She told me that there was a secret society among lawyers and judges. Basically she made me believe, if I ever got busted for anything, she would be able to get me off. This was due to her affili
ations and influences. It was all I needed to hear. I was ready to go!

It started out very simple. Every morning, Phaedra and I had a meet-

ing at either her home or her office she shared with another attorney at 1069 Spring Street in Atlanta, Georgia. Phaedra would provide computer printouts, fake identification cards, and fraudulent checks. The computer printouts contained brand names and the model numbers of specific electronic items. These included lap top computers, palm pilots, and DVD players, jewelry,

home furnishings and televisions.

I always assumed she had money and couldn’t quite understand why

she needed such a large quantity of hot items. She never paid me for these types of jobs, but that was fine with me. My payment came in the form of add
itional checks she provided for my own use. There were no complaints coming from me. I had everything I wanted as well as a prepaid attorney on my side if things went bad. In this business venture, Phaedra provided her

family, and friends with the latest
in electronics for half the retail price.

I found out how superior Phaedra’s operation was by the people

she dealt with. When she called and told me to meet her at an office over on Northside Drive. I didn’t know what to expect when I got there.

It was sunny out that day, but the wind had a strong force behind it. I

arrived at around eleven o’clock that morning and hopped out of my favorite car, a 1982 Box Chevy Caprice Classic. It was all white with navy blue interior, wood grain steering wheel, super clean, everything original, beating the block down with four twelve’s in the trunk.

The heavy wind was blowing away everything that wasn’t tied

down. I was a six-foot tall, good-looking, young woman, and the wind was kicking so hard, I had to use
my hand to hold my weave tracks in place. Phaedra waited on the other side of the parking lot holding the door open for me. The wind was threatening to close the door, and blow Phae’s petite, almost five-seven frame back.

The inside of the building looke
d more like a warehouse than an

office. The place was just a big empty space with one desk, three chairs, and dust. Phaedra introduced me as Dane, a nickname I had been given on the streets because of my height. It was short for Great Dane. I was introduc
ed to the man sitting behind the desk, he was Alex. His face already looked familiar, but when she said his name it brought two and two together. Alex was the man! Alex Gidewon was the owner of Atlanta’s hottest nightspot at

the time, Club 112.

You didn’t have to be from Atlanta to know about Alex or Club 112. It was a guarantee that you heard about him or read about him. Alex was a very well respected Atlanta businessman. I had seen him several times before when I visited the club. His tall slim build along with his caramel brown skin made him easy to remember. Every time I saw Alex, he was standing in front of the club making sure his business was operating smoothly, he never hid

behind his desk.

He took a seat in a chair next to me, and listened as Phaedra gave

me my instructions. My job for that day was to procure seven Dell laptop computers.  She had given me the time frame. The merchandise was needed
by eight that evening. I already knew that this would be a difficult task to accomplish. I could have easily gone to one store and purchased all seven of the computers, but that would’ve made things too hot. I didn’t like drawing

attention and preferred to remain all the way under the radar.

‘Blend-in or bond-out’ was my motto. By nine-thirty that evening,

and five stores later, I had the order filled. Then I was on my way to see Pha-

edra to let her know that the mission was accomplished. 

I was learning the ropes, and I had a damn good tea
cher. My mother

always told me that I reminded her of a sponge because I was a quick-study. I

had a photographic memory, and soaked up everything around me.

It amazed me that any person with any kind of government ID could

write a check on a business account. I always thought it had to be that particular business owner. But to my surprise, I wrote checks well over ten-thousand dollars which were never verified or even questioned. Damn! Phaedra was one smart broad. I kept that bit of information under my hat because it was

good to know for future references.

The game was set up like this, if I stole one of your business checks, I can make an exact duplicate of that said check. I can next go on a spree. Name or identification didn’t have to match what was on the card. It could be any Jane or John Doe the check would still be approved as long as it was the same business account. If inquiries were made then I could easily report that I was your associate in charge of whatever part of the business, secretary,

or partner.

I treated my hustle just like a regular job. Rising at the same time ev-

eryday on go, I was just like the energizer bunny. In the end, my persistence paid off, and I was regimented. The job that I performed was considered to be business to business. I ran into and came across a lot of different people. One such person was a lo
cal rapper named, Slim. I fell in love with Slim the instant I saw him. Falling in love easily and immediately after meeting someone was a weakness I developed after being molested. It didn’t take too much

for me. I had developed a real need to be loved.

Of course I thought that Slim and I would be together forever. Ev-

erybody thought this way in the beginning of a relationship, and I was no exception. Slim was handsome. He was built just the way I liked my men, tall, dark and handsome. His skin was milk
-chocolate brown and his body

was a work of art. He had tattoos in all the right places. In addition, he was a hustler by nature. But it was his ambition and drive that really had me
going. Ever since I can remember, I’d always been attracted to bad boys. Maybe because I was a bad girl, but I was ride or die type, without question. Slim was feeling me just as much as I was feeling him. From there, our romance

continued to bloom.

January 2001, I became very ill. Throwing up, and the smell of cer-

tain typ
es of foods made me really sick. I could barely stay awake and was always exhausted. Phaedra wanted me to pull a couple of stunts for her. The duties entailed going out, and writing some checks for electronic items. We had orders placed by her family, friends, and or associates to fill. I could

hardly get out of bed and couldn’t perform like I usually do.

I knew exactly what was causing my illness, but was in denial. Pha-

edra kept calling back to back. Until finally, I realized she just wasn’t going to l
et me rest. I got up, dressed, and drove to her home. The moment she saw me, Phaedra could tell there was something wrong. I mentioned that I may be pregnant. She shook her head, grabbed her purse, and drove to the nearest drug store while I went to sleep in her bed. A trash can was strategically

placed near the bed for any upheavals. I knew that I was pregnant again.

Phaedra returned with a pregnancy test kit and the test confirmed

what I suspected. Phaedra immediately began pleading her case to the cour
t. Of course, it wasn’t a real court. I was being sarcastic, but she was pleading

to me about why I didn’t need more children.

She went on and on talking about how her criminal enterprise was in

full force. The money was rolling in really good, and I wa
s her MVP. She told me that if I had another baby it would slow down the entire business. Phaedra was right. I did not really want another child, and economically, I couldn’t

afford another child.

Phaedra made a telephone call, and after speaking for about ten min-

utes she hung up. I wondered what it was Phaedra had written down on her note pad. Then I found out that the person she had spoken to had given her some type of potion for me to drink. This concoction would cause me to have a miscarriage. Phaed
ra and I headed to the grocery store where she purchased some kind of large red root. I had no idea what that sh** was. Honestly, I really didn’t, but I trusted Phaedra. We immediately returned to Phaedra’s home, and she boiled it along with some other ingredients. I drank the brew then waited for a reaction. We waited! We waited longer…! Still nothing hap-

pened! Damn! I began thinking.

Even though the concoction didn’t work, Phaedra had convinced me

that abortion was my only real option. When I told my
baby’s father about my plan to abort, he got on his hands and knees. Slim begged me to spare

his child’s life. Then he called my mother, and put her all up in my business.

By this time, my mother was a preacher. God had finally delivered

her from low-down Curtis. She hadn’t seen him for a year, and she was doing well living with me in Atlanta. There was absolutely no way she was going to stand by and let me abort her grandchild. Needless to say, I was stuck being pregnant and raising anoth
er child in addition to my three children. My family situation required steady financial gains. Making money quickly became

the driving force behind my participation in all of the corruption.

March 2001, Phaedra introduced me to her current husband, Apollo Nida. He was clean-cut and very well spoken. About six feet two inches tall, intelligent and very handsome, Apollo put light skin dudes back on the map. He reminded me of a smooth criminal. Ironically, he even thought we were all crooks. For some reason, he came across as honest and sincere. Phaedra told Apollo that I was one of her closest friends, and her best worker. She explained that I had a proven track record, and it was time for my promotion.

This was the moment I had been waiting for and we met
for hours

that day. Finally, I was going to make the real money she promised me. No more running around to Best Buy, Staples, Office Depot, or Wal-Mart. I was tired of writing checks. Thus far, I had conducted our scam in every major department store in
Atlanta. Therefore in order for me to continue to pull stunts involving writing bogus business checks to fill her daily orders, I would have to extend the boundaries of the operation. That would involve driving to the nearby cities and towns. I had hit the jackpot! I was pregnant. Simple trips seemed to take all day, and were becoming more tiresome. Phaedra called to inform me that she had something different for me to do. It was a good thing because I had told her on many occasions that I hated repetitive cycles. I