The Perfect Mistress by Reshonda Tate Billingsley Read Free Book Online Page A

they’d both gone down in defeat.
    It was obvious to Joyce that her mother didn’t agree with her father’s decision, but she wasn’t going to challenge him. She never challenged him on anything.
    â€œGo on,” Joyce’s father said. “Go on and get your bag. Your mother will get Julian.”
    â€œCome on, baby,” Vernon said, taking her arm, helping her up. “Let’s go home.”

    Joyce’s eyes popped open, snapping her away from that memory. Maybe that’s why Vernon kept cheating, because he’d got her back so easily the first time. She set the standard for her marriage that day. A man would only do what you allowed him to do. And she’d allowed the women, and so the women kept coming.
    Sitting up, Joyce reached for the receipt again. What she needed to do was file this away with her important papers. She might need it in divorce court because right now, that looked like where she and her husband were headed.

L auren loved these days at church. Sunday morning was the only time when Lauren was hopeful that her family would stay together.
    Outside of church, her family was falling apart. Her mother and father yelled and fought so much, she was sure one of these days her father would just pack his bags and walk out.
    She couldn’t quite determine why her parents were fighting so much. They always stopped fighting when she walked into the room. But she figured it had to stem from all the lady friends that her father had.
    Even though she’d kept her father’s secret, her mother had to know. So many nights her father had come home late. Or at least that’s what her mother yelled about during their arguments, and Lauren had been awake a few times herself when he’d come home after midnight and she’d started yelling.
    Even so, Lauren wasn’t prepared for what happened on the steps of their church, right after Sunday service. Lauren clearly read the look of horror on her mother’s face when a woman stomped toward them in a too-tight zebra print dress that was completely inappropriate for church. Her long auburn hair bounced like she was doing a shampoo commercial.
    Lauren’s mother stood poised to perfection, the consummate southern belle ready to fend off a rival.
    The woman didn’t give Joyce a second look, though. “Well, look at the happy family,” she sneered. All of the people gathered in front of the church could tell that she was about to go off. Lauren could tell by the way they were trying to pretend they weren’t watching. But Vernon kept a smile on his face as he leaned toward the angry woman and whispered, just loud enough that Lauren overheard, “Cecile, have you lost your mind coming here? Don’t ever disrespect my family like this again.”
    Lauren wasn’t able to make out what he said after that. But whatever his magic words were, they were enough for Cecile to force a grin as she took a step back. “Mr. Robinson, I’m sorry for any misunderstanding,” she said. “I just came over because they’re trying to take my mama’s house away, and I really need you to finish my paperwork.”
    Lauren knew that even though her father was a big-time attorney, he did a lot of work for free. Correction, a lot of work for women for free. But even Lauren knew that nobody was buying Cecile’s fake-sounding explanation.
    â€œWell, Sundays are my family time,” Vernon casually replied. “Call my office in the morning and we can take it from there.” He raised his voice an octave to ensure all the nosy folks heard. He didn’t say another word as he took his wife’s hand, motioned for Lauren and Julian, and walked down the steps with the coolness of the October breeze that swept over the lawn of New Hope Baptist Church. Still, Lauren was mighty glad when they reached their black Cadillac.
    Tension filled the car, but no one said a word until they were three