The Donor: When Conception Meets Deception (16 page)

The audio goes…

I don't ask I tell. I don't get told, I get asked. Somebody didn’t get the memo? Somebody needs some reminding as to who the fuck I am? What I can do? Defying me? Me? No, you say? That is a word that only I can use, not those who owe me their life [distorted audio]. BANG BANG [Bam’s fist slamming a table] Would have been ripped to shreds if it weren’t for me. I created [distortion] Chase. I built Ch-[distortion]Chase. And I can break [inaudible] him. I will not be defied. His [distortion] career? Done. A little boy he mentors? Over. Getting married to [distortion] the lawyer? I will destroy her too. [distortion] Her career? Over. Done. I will destroy everything. Let the world know everything. A debt is a debt. I demand [distortion] repayment. Chase better do this or I will [distortion] tell everyone who he really is.

Bam's voice detonates into a frenzy of expletives and restatements about who he is. The sound of furniture being shoved is followed by an explosive roar, hacking and wet gurgling. Eugene presses stop. Chase leans his back against the cold cinder blocks. He sucks the cold swells of tunnel air circulating through the innards of the restaurant into his nostrils. He bows his head. He misjudged…Big Time. He underestimated…Sorely. He miscalculated…Grossly. Eugene places a hand on Chase’s shoulder.

"That last sound you heard? That was him choking me," Eugene says.

Chase looks up.

"That's how angry he was at
you
. He couldn’t choke
you
so he took it out on me. As usual.”

"I-I had no idea he would—He’s never been—“

"Been like that with you?" Eugene interrupts.

"Yeah. He’s never acted like that towards me," Chase says.

“Yeah well you were always the golden child so you never got the real Bam Hickson. But we don't have time for this Dr. Phil shit. Enough time has been wasted and that chick you sent away was worth an easy ten grand. More, if we could have milked the conception thing somehow. Homegirl had some serious Euro trash dough."

“Yeah well
homegirl
, as you say, was seriously crazy. I tossed her out because she was a racist nutcase," Chase says.

"Oh stop being a whiny little bitch. She wasn't racist."

"Wasn't racist? She wanted me to be her slave and she the master."

"Look choir boy that's not racist that's just freaky.
Normal
people do kinky shit."

“Eugene she smacked me in the face and spit a loogie in my eye!”

Man-Man laughs like a hyena.

“Alright, Alright I get it," Eugene says, fighting back his own laughter. "We've already worked out a plan going forward."

“Fine. So what does Bam want to do?" Chase asks.

"Bam? No, no, no. When I say we, that means me and that redhead snowflake of yours," Eugene says.

"Redhead snow—? Wait...Andrea? How the hell are you talking to Andrea?" Chase says.

“She called me.”

Eugene pops a piece of chewing gum in his mouth.

“Called you? How did she even get your—“

Eugene stops Chase.

"That's not important right now. You can work that out with her later. But she's gonna help make this easier for all of us."

"This is not happening," Chase says as he tries to pace inside the cramped damp tunnel.

“Hey get a grip,” Eugene says as he squeezes Chase's cheeks in a pucker.

Chase smacks Eugene’s hand away. Man-Man clears his throat and slowly wags his finger at Chase.

"Listen. Snowflake is going to get the chicks for you now. She'll find them, screen them, and make sure they're not like the last one," Eugene says.

"She'll find? She'll screen? No, she’ll do no such thing. Whatever, I'll deal with her myself," Chase says.

"Do I need to replay this tape? You know who you're fucking with don't you? You've seen what Bam can do. He does good
and
he does bad. And his bad is worse. But make no mistake. What he did for you? Nobody does
anything
in this world for free. This is your debt to repay, playboy. Man up and pay. Or you can man up,
don’t
pay,
and then deal with the consequences. It’s your choice. Hell, I'll make it easy for you. I'll march right back in that room and play this tape for that Dean Ganges of yours since you’re not afraid of the consequences.”

A silent pause.

“That won’t be necessary" Chase says.

“Good. Now your redhead is going to get these chicks for you. You just be a man and do what men do. Can you manage that?"

"How?" Chase says.

"What do you mean
how
? Joker, you don't know how to screw?”

“You’re a crass little man. What I mean is, how is she getting these women? I don't want a repeat of that experience. Which reminds me. How the hell did you find that Vicky woman?"

“Oh that’s easy. The internet. Ever heard of it?"

"You're just the king of comedy aren't you?" Chase says.

Man-Man smirks and wheezes with a grin.

"I went on this site called Sell 'n Serve. All kinds of products and services. So I listed you as a product
and
as a service."

“This is what goes on in your brain? I'm on some website called Sell ’n Serve?"

“Relax playboy. I didn’t use your real name…well…I didn’t use your real
fake
name if we’re being technical. I can't stand your punk ass but I—

“—The feeling is mutual,” Chase interjects.

“But I wouldn’t blow up your spot. At least not just yet. That would be bad for business. I just put you in as John Smith and told Vicky your name when she responded to the ad.”

“And that worked out so damn well Eugene. Thanks.”

“Look, I’m a humble brother. I can admit a tiny mistake. My bad. It could have gone smoother. But that's okay. We just need to do what you might call, a course correction."

"A course correction? Involving Andrea is a course correction?"

"Look she called
me
okay? At first I thought it was weird but I'll admit. She made a hell of a lot of sense. She knows you well. And she’s smart. Snowflake got a good head on her shoulders. She knows how to plan shit. I'll say that much.”

“Oh, she will be my
first
call believe me," Chase says.

“Well, whatever, just don't mess this up. Now, Man-Man and I have other business to attend to, so you go ahead and enjoy the rest of your little dinner meeting. Your ex has your instructions for next weekend."

"Next weekend?”

Man-Man opens the double doors leading back into the banquet hall's main corridors. Chase and Eugene follow.

”Oh and congratulations on your promotion. I'll be sure to tell Bam, you know, just in case he wants to give a call to Dean Ganges himself. But you wouldn’t go and give him a
reason
to do that, now would you?" Eugene says.

He waits for a response. Chase just glares at him.

“Yeah, I didn't think so. Good night playboy. Rest up. You got work to do."

Chase sighs. The wind from the hall whistles through the thin slit of the door. Although the corridor leading back towards the gathering is steaming from the banquet hall’s cranked up heat, goosebumps form on his skin as if he were standing in a chilly breeze. Bam’s anger and threats, replay in his thoughts. It causes his skin to percolate.
When will this end?
His mind is a hornet’s nest of anxiety, fear and anger. He paces and grinds his temples with the heels of his palms.

“Argh," he screams aloud.

BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ

His pocket vibrates against his thigh. He fumbles inside for his phone. He reads the screen:

Dean Ganges

You need to get back here. Dessert/Coffee being served. Not a good 1st impression 4 the next Chair.

Chase

Sorry. Coming now.

He straightens his tie. Blows on his hands twice and rubs them together like sticks in a forest. He cups the warmed palms on his cheeks and shakes his arms out at his sides.
You can do this
. Deep inhale. Deeper exhale. Fake smile on. Back to the dinner.



A
soft amber bosom slumbers on a firm mocha chest. Their purring breaths curl within another like a poem of wordless whispers. The crumpled crimson bedsheets expose the indentations of his meaty, muscular rump and drape below her bared bottom. Their bodies appear gift wrapped in a silk ribbon. Points of light surf through the cracked shutters of the windows tiptoeing on the hunky bicep cradling her shoulder; it’s like the arm of a dark knight protecting his queen. The lovers are not simply asleep; they are at rest. That peaceful place of—

BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ

BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ

Technology. It’s like grandpa prodding his cane in your side to get your attention. It pokes a finger in his sleeping brain and jolts him awake. His protracted fingers fumble on the nightstand for the phone. It continues to vibrate as he shovels loose change, a purple dress sock, and the aloeswood incense burner, in a blind search for the electronic source of irritation.

"Chase get the phone," Jenae groans from under the frumpy pillow.

Chase accidentally knocks the phone to the floor as it rings a final time. He stretches over the edge of the mattress to retrieve it and swipes the screen:

ANDREA

(3) missed calls

He wipes the crust from his eyes and peaks over his back shoulder. His frizzy haired sleeping beauty is still buried under her silk pillow. Cradling the phone to hide the screen he thumbs a reply:

CHASE

Yo. Why so many calls?

Cant talk now. CB l8tr.

Chase puts the phone, screen side down, on the nightstand. Now, wide awake, he eyes Jenae. He traces the flawless contours of her shoulders and upper back with his gaze. He ingests her smooth slopes and cushiony curves. The fabric cloaks her tan posterior, like red velvet layered in moist, sweet cream. He loves to admire her succulence, especially, after the dawn when her beauty is at its most natural. It's not the first time he has risen by her side. But to Chase, the image of his love is always fresh. It’s like sipping chilled guava along the blue waters of the Aruban north shore. Jenae is that juicy glass of sexy sweet.

Chase’s slides a finger from the nape of her neck to the rising dunes of her derriere. He slips the sheet off and climbs on top. He blankets her back and legs with his full hulking length. The tight ridges of his abs sink into the concave of her spine. His knees sneak between her thighs and splice them apart. He is her quilt. As she lays pinned on her stomach he removes her pillow and nosedives into her curly follicles.
Mmmm,
the shea nut and cocoa butters with hints of anise, rivet his nostrils; he salivates. His fingers enjoy her silky filaments, as her sleepy breaths go silent. He knows she is awake. He interlocks their ankles. His thickness rises and stiffens on her soft, moist flaps. He taps on the door but does not enter. Sitting up on his knees he pulls her bottom up to his face. He bounces soft lipped pecks from right to left and then left to right on each bulbous cheek. She remains still. He grips her hips, spreads her open and licks her moist center. But Jenae does not utter a sound nor does she shiver or tremble. Even her breaths are mute. Chase takes no notice of these non-reactions and extends the pointed tip of his tongue inside and laps her up like an enthusiastic desert traveler…who has finally discovered an oasis. Chase is lost in his own carnal world assuming he is pleasuring her. She finally speaks.

“Okay stop,” she says.

He continues licking and lapping.

“Chase I said stop.”

Chase ignores her commands and stabs his tongue deeper. Jenae, on all fours, reaches her arm behind and smacks him. She wriggles away, eyes crossed, mouth gnarled. Chase is dazed. His stupor is more from Jenae’s anger than from the blow.

“Babe, wh-what’s wrong? Was I too rough? Did I hurt you?”

He smoothes his hand on her shoulder. Jenae shrinks, pulls her knees to her bare chest and wraps them.

“Sweetheart. Talk to me. Please. What?…What did I do?”

Jenae refuses to look at Chase. He cautiously reaches to caress her. Although her skin is warm, her mood is icy. He sighs and waits. He intertwines his fingers in her palm. She raises her head.

“Who was on the phone Chase?” she says.

“Babe? What do you mean? What's going on? Talk to me," he says.

Chase is perplexed. Jenae never questions him and certainly doesn't interrogate him. She snatches her hand away and lies on her side, pulling the covers over her shoulder. In over three years this is a new experience for him.

“Chase?" she says into the pillow.

“Yes,” he says.

"Things are different," she murmurs.

"What do you mean different?"

She doesn’t respond.

“Look babe we’re not having this conversation without facing each other. Turn back over.” Jenae refuses to comply.

Chase walks over to her side of the bed and crouches. He strokes the curls from her eyes. They are glassy. His heart clenches. He kisses the corners of her sockets and lingers his lips to sip the salty puddles that trickle from them. Her doe eyes flash. Chase plants a tender peck on her forehead and nibbles her nose.

“Stop, that tickles,” she says softly.

Chase strokes her temple.

“Don’t look at me like that, ” she says.

Chase knows she’s warming up but he is troubled. He wonders…
Does she suspect something?

“Babe, what’s on your mind,” he says.

She clears her throat, cups his neck, and rubs her thumb against his ear.

“Last weekend you called me about the faculty dinner when I was at my law conference in D.C. right?"

"Yes, my promotion to chair of the department. Wait. You weren't happy about that?" Chase says.

"No, no, it's not that. Of course I'm happy for you. It's just. It's just I had some great news of my own too."

Chase clutches her shoulder. His face lights up.

"Great news? Well come on, share, share, share.”

Jenae gives a a half-smile.

"Well the senior partners from the firm were at the conference as well," she says.

“Yes, that makes sense. Your headquarters are in D.C. but where you work, Downtown Brooklyn, is a satellite office right?” Chase says.

“Not really a satellite just a smaller office. New York focuses on criminal and corporate law and D.C. handles government, class action, civil rights, some corporate. It’s where all of our decision makers are though, yes”.

“Got it. So tell me about the great news,” he says, shaking the bed.

“Well, we had a company dinner Saturday night,” she says and sits up. “At least I thought it was a company dinner. But when I got to the restaurant it was just the five founding partners and my boss Bobby the Senior VP. You met him before remember? Christmas party two years ago?"

Chase looks perplexed.

“Come on you know Bobby. Bobby bongo you called him?” Jenae says.

Chase bursts in a fit of laughter.

"Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. That guy. He got drunk, took off his clothes, and started beating his big ol' pot belly like a drum,” Chase says.

“Yes him. But completely sober and fully clothed this time,” she says.

“Okay so you and the big whigs. Keep talking."

"So after drinks and appetizers we're in the middle of the entree, and that's when Bobby says,
Jenae you're probably wondering why it's just the leadership here right?
"

Chase nods for her to continue.

"Well he proceeds to tell me how valuable I am to the firm, I’m well regarded et cetera, et cetera. He said I really got noticed when popular wisdom at the firm said we should take the plea deals in the Prospect Park Three case. But I stuck to my guns, rejected the D.A.’s offer, and got acquittals for those boys. Apparently, I’ve been on the leadership’s radar ever since. So last weekend they made me an offer. Bobby said,
Jenae we want you here in D.C. We want you in senior leadership. We want you as a partner
."

"Oh my God babe that—that’s amazing," Chase says.

“Yeah, I was surprised and overwhelmed. It's a very high profile position," she says.

Jenae's face is not one of absolute joy however. And Chase notices.

"There's a but, isn't there?”

Jenae looks down and bites her bottom lip.

“Oh, the distance? My job as a professor in Brooklyn and this new opportunity for you in D.C.?”

“No, not that. I mean yes that’s something we would have to discuss but that actually isn’t it,” Jenae says.

Chase thinks for a moment.

“Aaah, I know. You didn't call to tell me this right when it happened,” Chase says.

“No, I didn’t. And that's the problem.
Why
didn't I? Why didn't I want to rush and tell the man that I love, this wonderful news? Why, even now do I hesitate?"

“Good question,” Chase says stroking her hair. “So…Why?”

"I don't know Chase. Something seems off. Frankly, ever since the night you proposed. When your friend showed up.”

Jenae's last line is like an explosion that rattles his ribs. Eugene's arrival has been a festering boil in his storybook life. And now the pus is seeping into Jenae's heart.

“Honey, I know things have been busy and hectic lately but—“

"It's not that we’re busy. Why didn't I want to share that news with the man I sleep with, cry with, laugh with? The man I'm going to marry?"

Chase is at a loss.
Did she see something? Overhear something?

Chase climbs up on the bed and cradles her palms. She turns away. He lifts two fingers to her chin and guides her eyes back to his. She pouts.

“Shhhh,” he whispers and smoothes his thumb across her puffed bottom lip.

His soft assurance brings comfort to a troubled soul. He speaks to her not in words but in his touch. His assuring gaze. Chase circles his palm on the back of her neck and reclines her onto the mattress. A powerful, full mouthed smooch accompanies the spreading of her shapely thighs. He wedges himself in between and anchors his fingers into the hearty flesh of her hips. She gasps.

“God, you’re so strong,” she says.

Her breathy tone fuels his rising libido. He grabs the back of her knees and rocks them up to her shoulders. A second gasp. He wants her to feel both his tenderness and his strength. Chase braces himself by gripping the rim of the headboard with one hand; he grapples Jenae’s neck with the other. And squeezes. Her jaw drops. Chase plunges his tongue into her esophagus. He keeps a clutch on her throat. She wriggles under him. He keeps her chained in his grip. Their rapid breaths fire in and out of each other’s nostrils like marathon runners in heat. Her tongue lathers his palate. He snatches his mouth away, and burns a stare of desire. She fixates on him. He plunges again. And snatches away. And plunges. And snatches. The long, wet, fullness of his tongue penetrates and slops the insides of her cheeks. Over and over and over and over again. She moans. The anticipation causes her breasts to swell and their peaks to harden. Her knees hover above her shoulders as her legs spread like the wings of a condor. Chase rises. Her moans turn to growls. She wants him but he still has yet to pierce the tightness of her depths. His stiff stem lingers on top of her velvety moistness. He strokes the slick surface back and forth like she’s a violin and he’s the rigid bow string. The soft, hard rub sends a tingling vibration throughout her body; it is more than she can stand.

“
Now, now
,” she says.

She coils her legs around his waist and digs her nails into his well oiled, muscular glutes. Her voice quivers. He rises up to launch—

BUZZZZ BUZZZZ

BUZZZZ BUZZZZ

Chase hesitates. By reflex he looks for a split second at the phone before returning his gaze to Jenae. But it’s too late. Her glare is menacing.

“Get off of me,” she says pushing him away.

BUZZZZ BUZZZZ

BUZZZZ BUZZZZ

"Babe wait. Wh-what?” Chase says.

Jenae elbows Chase in the rib and crawls from up underneath him. He swipes his phone from the nightstand.

"Look sweetheart, look. I just turned it off,” he says pointing.

“That's the fourth time your phone has gone off. That’s very unusual for you," she says.

"What do you mean? This is only the second time this morning," Chase replies.

"Yeah.
This morning
. It rang twice overnight," she says.

Chase has a blank stare.

“It…it did? I didn’t hear it but—“

“But I did,” she says.

"Babe, where's this all coming from? You’ve never acted like this bef—“

RING RING RING

RING RING RING

“The landline now? Really?” she says.

“Look, I’ll take care of whoever it is that’s calling,” Chase says, reaching for the phone. Jenae snatches the receiver from his hand.

"Hello," she answers.

Chase pantomimes a,
who?
Jenae holds her hand to his face.

“Excuse me?…How am I? Oh I'm just peachy. Full of joy and happiness, yourself?…Oh that’s
sooo
good to hear…Oh him? Yeah he's right here…oh, of course you can speak to him. He's been expecting your
fifth
call."