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I slumped back in my chair, listening as Danielle explained how a judge might actually rule in his favor because Cass and I had opened the center six years ago, after I married Robert. My interest in the center was essentially community property, and even though Tennessee wasn’t a community property state, Robert’s lawyer could make a compelling argument and just might sway the right—or wrong, depending on how you looked at it—judge.
I closed my eyes as cold, hard rage filled me. I had worked my ass off, me and Cass both, to build that place into what it was—a thriving, successful, black-owned medical facility. The only one of its kind in the county and for several miles. Genesis was our baby, our legacy, and he knew that. He knew how much it meant to me.
But the worst part was the fact that I had always supported him in his career at Garner Technologics. He was in sales and had earned a huge commission when I persuaded Cass that we should purchase our copier, fax, and phone system from him. I always, always wanted him to win. Even after we split, after he devastated me with his countless infidelities, I never wished him any ill will. But it seemed he was trying to destroy me, and I just didn’t understand why.
I left Danielle’s office feeling defeated. Wished I could go back in time and erase ever having met Robert Mattison. I sat in my car on the parking deck and closed my eyes, trying to will the throbbing headache that was nearly blinding me to cease when my cell rang. A quick check of the screen informed me the call was from my husband.
With a scowl on my face, I snatched the phone up from the console and answered it by yelling, “What the fuck is wrong with you?! Why are you doing this?!”
“So you read my answer to your new petition, huh? Look, why don’t we go have some drinks tonight, talk about reconciling. You are ready to reconcile now, aren’t you?”
I held the phone, then took it from my ear and stared at it. Then I ended the call. I was upset, hurt, angry, but I wasn’t going to sit there and let him gain satisfaction from playing with me. He thought I was still the old Renee. The one who begged him to stop cheating and go to counseling. The one who actually sat and babysat his baby for a few hours until Angie talked some sense into me. The one who turned her head night after night, pretending not to know he was cheating. I might not have been perfect or the strongest woman in the world, but I wasn’t her anymore. I hadn’t been her in a long time.
I kept my mind off our upcoming court date and the possibility of losing my business by recommitting my time to the organizations I’d abandoned during my marriage. It felt good to be amongst old friends again, and they quickly embraced me, got me plugged into some committees. For Mahogany Women in Motion, I was given the duty of trying to sell the last three tables for the annual benefit, a casino-themed affair complete with fake money and roulette tables. Chaka Khan was to provide the night’s entertainment, so I hoped that would be a good selling point. I bought one of the tables myself, convinced Nicky to get her lawyer boyfriend to buy another, and unloaded the last one on an old college friend who owned a local day spa. In the three weeks leading up to the event, I’d have to find appropriate attire and convince Mama to come. Invitations to join me at my table had already been accepted by Angie and Ryan, Janine, and Cass and her husband. I was going to have a good time that night. I was determined to. This was the very event where I’d met Robert all those years ago, and I was going to do everything in my power to attach new, better memories to it.
