The things I did to get close to Corey and Lola truly astounded me, Marriott, but it would be worth it. It had to be. And of course I’d cancel the membership later . . . once I had my foot completely in the door.
Then a thought hit me.
I went back to Lola’s profile to find an image of her with Keke. I’d seen one before but never paid much attention to it because I had no idea who Keke was or how important she was to Lola until the meeting for camp.
In the photo with Keke, they were at a charity event, and both were wearing soaking-wet T-shirts and covered in bubbles. Lola had organized a slip-and-slide bubble race at a park for people of all ages to join them and raise money.
I had to give it up to Lola; she did have some very good ideas for raising money . . . or maybe it was her team who had the ideas and she just threw money at it. Either way, good for her on that front.
I tapped the photo, and Keke’s username popped up. I scoffed at it. KeeQueen. She was a joke. Still, I went to her profile, as I’d done once before, read her arrogant biography about being owner of a flower shop and being a queen and a boss, and then scrolled through her pictures.
There was a photo of her with a child that caught my attention most. I clicked it and read the caption.
Not sure what I would do without this little angel in my life.
Keke had a kid. A girl. She looked about three or four. That explained why she was a part of Ladies with Passion, I supposed.
I combed my way through more of Keke’s photos and could tell her life was a hot heap of shit. She wanted to seem like some high-class, entrepreneurial woman, and yet she was a single mother who owned a flower shop and drove a Camry. It was pathetic, and I could tell even from a mile away that Keke loved sniffing on Lola, probably hoping to get rich off her somehow.
I wouldn’t have given a damn about someone like Keke to begin with, but there was something to be said when it came to her. I couldn’t have another person standing in my way when it came to Lola treating someone like a charity case. From what I could tell, Lola donated generously to Keke’s flower shop and, in return, Keke was a sponsor for the charity, though I was sure Lola didn’t need it. But it served as loyalty.
She constantly buttered Lola up to get close to her. Served her compliments. Went on lunch and hair dates.
I wasn’t having it.
If anyone was going to be close to Lola and get to waste her millions of dollars, it was going to be me, someone who deserved it.
I needed to work harder to get in really good with Lola. I was sure she’d known Keke for years, but all it would take was one little mistake for Lola to kick her out of her life for good.
I was going to make that happen.
CHAPTER TEN
For the rest of the week I worked, and during any of the free time I had, I kept up-to-date on Lola’s social media posts. What? It wasn’t like I could text her every day to check in. I didn’t want to turn her off.
She’d posted on Facebook one day about having lunch with Corey and how much she’d missed him while he was in Vegas. In the image with her post, they were sitting in a fancy booth of some restaurant, their fingers entwined on the tabletop.
Corey was looking at her lovingly, clearly about to nuzzle the tip of his nose in the crook of her neck, and I scoffed at that. He was so infatuated with her that it made me sick. I bet Corey had no idea what kind of secrets his wife held—the kind of shit she did to people. He probably thought his wife was some perfect human being just like the rest of the world did. He was dead wrong.
The day after that, Keke had shared a photo of Lola holding her daughter. Of course Keke had come around again, playing her single mother card. She had a toddler she could use to make her look like she’d always need a helping hand. I rolled my eyes when I read the caption.
My bestie Lola got my baby some new summer dresses! #bestfriendsforlife #LolaistherealMVP #thatsmybestfriend
I sat on the bench outside my job beneath a palm tree, stewing over the photo. Her daughter was cute and all, but that bitch Keke was really starting to annoy me. I mean, “bestie”? Come on, now.
When Saturday arrived, I was filled with glee. It was my time to shine and get all Lola’s attention. I took a long, hot shower that same morning, and made sure my face was as bare as possible, but I didn’t forget the mint lip gloss.