Five Steps Ahead

ELEVEN

The most important rule in business is to be able to distinguish between work and personal life. What would I look like hooking up with my client immediately after his case?

In a slight shock from the discomfiture, I suggested that I leave Joe's house. It'd just be awkward after I'd declined his offer to kiss him. Plus, usually, that's what the dumb girls in the movies do anyway: they get so close to kissing the boy, and then suddenly they're in a hurry to leave.

"I'm gonna see you again, right?" Joe asked me.

"You can bet on it," I turned to him and sarcastically winked before softly closing his door.

It had been a wonderful day with Joe so far. But I needed to divert my attention away from him. My day would be depressing if I spent the entire day pondering about how different my life would be if I had kissed Joe and how much I regret not kissing him. Besides, I had other people to think about and spend time with anyway, starting with my best friend. I avoided Brit lately because I wanted to shield her from Joe's case and gang violence. I knew that if she got involved, everything would've gone left; Brit would never let up until she succeeded at anything she set her mind to. She was super ambitious. And her work life was her personal life.

I decided to visit Brit after leaving Joe's mansion to make sure she was okay. According to her Instagram, her boyfriend, Kendall, hadn't been home since the night of our dinner when he told her that he wouldn't make it home that night.

I silenced my phone and placed it in my back pocket. I didn't need it to ring around Brit just in case Joe decided to message me about how confused he was at our encounter.

*knock knock knock*

I knocked calmy, so I would be sure not to startle Brit. She's one to be paranoid by anything. That's what happens when your life is full of crime. I waited for a response, but nobody was there. Then, I tiptoed around the back to see if Brit's car was in the driveway, and it was. So I went back to the front door and knocked once again.

*knock knock knock*

I pounded a little harder this time, just in case she was sleeping. There was still no response. Fortunately, I had my own key in case of an emergency. I unlocked the door and stepped through it casually, indicating that it was not a break-in. When I entered her house, all of the lights were turned off, as if no one was there.

"Maybe she went to hang with Janet and Lauri," I thought.

I continued to the kitchen to ensure her house was still intact. As I turned the corner, I noticed Brit's black slippers peeking out from the side of the kitchen island. There was Brittany, sitting on the floor and weeping against the cabinets. God must've sent me here for a reason.

"Brit, what's wrong?" I asked after dropping my keys and purse to console her.

"Kendall just called me," she started, "He wants to break up with me."

I didn't quite understand why such a wretched guy deserved a sorrowful response. Then again, I've never experienced how it felt to lose someone you were dating, either. I didn't want to tell her it would be okay because it was NOT okay by the looks of it. So instead, I tried making conversation with her by asking, "Did he tell you the reason why?"

She slowly raised her head from her knees and precisely stated, "No, but that is a good reason to call and ask him." She began rising from the floor.

"Maybe you shouldn't call him. Your mind is not in the right place to have a civil conversation," I started while following behind.

"You'll converse based on frustration and out of anger," I assured.

"So what? He's not my boyfriend anymore; there's no reason to be respectful to him now." She shrugged and wiped her tears.

"How about you be the independent woman you are and find out yourself why he broke up with you?" I stupidly suggested.

Yes, I intended to say it was a stupid suggestion. I was beginning to encourage toxic behavior. But I didn't want to pull the "I told you so" card. I figured I supported Brit by urging her to search for hints on Kendall's social media concerning unhappiness. I mean, if someone wants to break up with you, they're either unhappy with you or happier with someone else.

I told her to find his interests and hobbies, compare, and use them to realize how different they were from each other. I thought it was an effective way to degrade her interest in him. I wasn't the best at offering advice, but she behaved as if everything was her fault. You can't change a person to be the one for you, and you can't make him like you either.

Brit was so upset that she took all of her frustration to social media. That was meant to aid in some way. When she logged into Instagram, she realized that she still had Kendall's password. What a dumb ass. Brit told me that she never wanted to snoop in his media because she trusted him, and there was no reason why she would lurk on his page only to hurt herself. That was the last time she thought like that. She immediately assumed that Kendall fell in love with another woman whom he liked more than her. She saw explicit images of a girl named Lindsey in his DMs. She dismissed the nudity until she scrolled farther down the discussion and noticed the woman sending photos of her children (both a newborn and a toddler).

As the conversation progressed, we concluded that Kendall Wood was the father of Lindsey's two children: Kylie, a four-year-old girl, and Kendall Jr., her newest son. Lindsey wasn't just Lindsey, either; she was Lindsey Wood.

Kendall had broken up with Brittany because he knew their relationship had become too serious and that he wouldn't be able to keep his deception hidden for much longer. It perplexes me that it took him three years to realize that. The number of curse words that Brittany uttered much outnumbered the words in my vocabulary. She felt so hurt and betrayed that she screamed, "I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!"

Those weren't words of anger, either.

As much as I agreed that Kendall deserved to live through some consequences, I couldn't let Brittany take his life. It wasn't because I wanted him to live, but I remembered that Kendall has a family. If someone in Kendall's family knew of the NSG, they could have Brit executed for his murder. However, I could not tell Brittany about NSG; it was exceedingly dangerous. Brit would put her career before any gang first, and Josephere's arrest would be my mistake. Instead, to keep her content with Ken's death, I advised her to hire someone else to kill him in her favor. This way, all of the fall would be on them, not her. She, unexpectedly, agreed.

"I'm going to need to find someone who can clean all of this up; Someone who can make this look like a suicide. You have to help me," Brit turned to me.

I scrunched my face and pointed to myself in pure confusion.

"Me?" I questioned.

I didn't want any part in the involvement of a murder. There was no way I was going to have my name tied to the death of ANYBODY.

"No way, Brittany," I started, "This is between you and Kendall."

"It wasn't a question, Amia. It's between you too now. I can't just let you go about your business as if you're unaware of what's going on. Who knows what you'll say in court to avoid going to jail if all of this comes to light? You knew about this with me; you're going down with me. If not, whoever I hire to kill Kendall may as well prepare to stage another suicide." She demanded and stormed out of the kitchen.

I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT. MY BEST FRIEND WAS GOING TO TAKE MY LIFE IF I DIDN'T HELP HER TAKE ANOTHER'S. AT THIS POINT IN MY LIFE, I WAS JUST ANOTHER DEAD MAN WALKING.