Owner of a Broken Heart Read online

  Nina quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt and crept out of the bed-and-breakfast, not bothering to say good-bye to anyone.

  When she got into the car, she sobbed until her shoulders shook and her eyes were red and raw. Why was it that every time she opened herself to a man, she ended up heartbroken? Taking a deep breath, Nina decided not to cry anymore. She wasn’t going to give Clinton the satisfaction. She started up the car and peeled out of the parking lot.

  She’d been driving for about an hour before her cell phone rang. “What?”

  “Eww, somebody has an attitude,” Yolanda said. “Hello, Sis.”

  “I really don’t want to talk right now.”

  “What’s wrong? I was calling to tell you that I’m coming to Charlotte tomorrow. Are you going to have time for your sister?”

  “I have a deadline,” Nina lied. “So, no.”

  “Look, I’m not going to continue with this charade. I talked to Alex and she told me what happened with Clinton. Then she said you took off, so deadline or not, you’re making time for me. Are you still driving?”

  “Yes, and I don’t want to talk about this today or tomorrow.” Nina glanced down at her speedometer. She was going nearly one hundred miles per hour. Sighing, she slowed the car down. “Why does this always happen to me?”

  “It’s not your fault. I could kick Clinton right where it hurts. Not only did he hurt you, but he was trying to steal Dad’s property. It would’ve been one thing if he had just done that underhanded crap but to involve you—”

  “What part of ‘I don’t want to talk about this’ don’t you understand?” Nina snapped.

  “Nina, I know you don’t want to talk about Clinton, but I don’t want you to get down on yourself like you were with Lamar and for God’s sake don’t let this push you back into his arms.”

  “I’m hanging up now.” Nina ended the call and tossed it on the passenger seat.

  Seconds later the phone rang again. “What?” she snapped.

  “Nina,” Sheldon said. “Are you all right?”

  “What do you think, Daddy?”

  “I hope you’re not speeding.”

  “No, I’m not,” she said.

  “I fired Clinton. I hope you know that I don’t give a damn about him coming in here and being Birmingham’s spy, but he hurt you and I will never forgive him.”

  “It doesn’t matter. We know the truth now and we can move on.”

  “It does matter, because I know you’re hurting right now. If I wasn’t a good Christian man he would’ve been leaving this place on a stretcher.”

  Nina smiled for the first time since she’d started driving. “I know, Daddy. I love you and I’ll be fine.”

  “I know you will and you’re going to meet Mr. Right one day,” he said.

  “Thanks, Daddy.”

  “I love you and call me to let me know you made it home safely,” Sheldon said.

  Nina promised that she would, then ended the call. She turned the cell phone off because she didn’t want to hear from anyone else.

  * * *

  “This is Nina, please leave a message and I’ll call you back.” Clinton had heard her voice mail greeting ten times in the last half hour.

  “Damn it,” he growled. Clinton couldn’t let things stand the way they were. She had to know that he wasn’t using her. Birmingham had really done it this time and Clinton was going to make him pay. Sheldon and Alexandria thought that he was a spy and Nina hated him, thinking that he had been pretending to love her. But that was the biggest lie of all. He loved her more than anything and she had to know that. He’d find another job, but he’d never find another Nina. Those checks weren’t his, but the checks that Birmingham had been giving to his father.

  How long had this bastard been planning this? he thought. That’s why he was helping my father.

  In order to clear his name, Clinton was going to have to confront his father and make him admit that Birmingham gave him that money. Though he dreaded talking to his father, Clinton rushed out to his car and headed to his childhood home.

  The drive to the Deas Hill area of town seemed to take three hours: Every light was red, people were driving at least ten miles under the speed limit, and every big rig that was on the road seemed to be in front of him.

  When Clinton finally arrived at his father’s house, he sat in the driveway for a few moments. Did his father have such a low opinion of him that he would turn to a man like Birmingham for help? Was he that greedy and proud?

  Slamming out of the car, Clinton pounded on the door and waited for Clinton Sr. to open it.

  “Boy, what the hell is wrong with you?” the elder Clinton asked when he snatched the front door open.

  “What’s wrong with me? Why have you been taking money from Birmingham? Thanks to you, I’ve been fired.” Clinton pushed past his father and walked into the living room.

  “The man said if I needed help that he would take care of it.” Clinton Sr. folded his arms across his chest. “What does that have to do with your failure? That’s all you’ve ever been is a big failure. You can’t do anything right for long.”

  Clinton closed his eyes, feeling as if he were an eight-year-old again, cowering in a corner as his father spat out how disappointed he was in him. “You know what,” Clinton said. “You’ve never been much of a father, husband, or a role model. It’s no wonder that I followed Randall Birmingham for all of those years like a little lapdog.”

  “Too bad you didn’t learn to be a man like him, someone who goes after what he wants. You are content to be a lapdog,” Clinton Sr. snapped.

  “Well, not anymore and you’re going to clear my name with the Richardsons. That money went to you and not me. You’re going to tell Sheldon Richardson that.”

  Clinton Sr. waved his hand as if he were swatting flies. “Unlike you, Randall has been loyal to me, more like a son than you have ever been.”

  Balling up his fists, Clinton pounded them into his thighs. “A stranger on the street could’ve been more of a father to me than you. This is useless.” He turned toward the door, then looked back at his father. “You don’t even care that you cost me something perfect, someone that I really love. I can find another job, but Nina was precious and she was the kind of woman that I could see myself spending my life with. You’re such a bitter old fool that you don’t give a damn or understand what I’m going through right now.” Clinton slammed out of the front door and stood on the porch. Tears stung his eyes. Just as he was about to turn and head to his car, the door swung open.

  “Son,” Clinton Sr. said. “You’re right about me. I’m bitter and I’m old, but the last thing I want to do is ruin things for you. Randall has been helping me out for years, but I never knew it was going to hurt you. Hell, he acted as if he were my friend and doing me a favor.”

  “I sent you money and you never said a word about him. You never said anything about your friend. Didn’t you think that when I quit working for him that he should’ve stopped helping you? You were just being greedy and damn the consequences, right, Dad?”

  “Look, if you want my help, this is no way to go about getting it,” Clinton Sr. snapped.

  “Just go to hell, old man.” He bounded off the porch and got into his car. Clinton knew his father wasn’t going to do the right thing. The only thing he could do was head to Charlotte and convince Nina that he really did love her.

  Chapter 18

  Nina arrived at her place and she wasn’t surprised to see her sister Yolanda was already there.

  As she stepped out of the car, she rolled her eyes. “Don’t start.”

  “No hello?”

  “Yolanda, I know why you’re here and I’m fine. I don’t need you to babysit me and send reports to Dad and Alex,” Nina said as she popped her trunk to remove her bag.

  “That’s not why I’m here, solely. I have some meetings with some people tomorrow and I’m not going to waste money by staying in a hotel.”

 
; Nina pushed her bag into Yolanda’s hands. “Make yourself useful.”

  Yolanda took the bag and followed Nina inside. “Listen,” she said. “I’m not going to take much more of your attitude.”

  Nina turned around and looked at her sister. “You can always go home, Yolanda.”

  “Not going to happen,” she said. “Besides, I’m here on business, remember? Some of these NFL and NBA players and their wives need fashion tips. Working with Daddy when USA Today did that article on him gave me a whole new outlook on how I could expand my business. Fashion consulting. Aren’t you tight with some of those people you write about?”

  Nina ignored her sister as she stormed into her bedroom. She didn’t care about her sister’s business plans when she was in the middle of another heartbreak. “Lord, whatever I’ve done in a past life or in this one, haven’t you punished me enough?” She flung herself across her bed.

  “Nina, you didn’t bring this on yourself,” Yolanda said from the doorway.

  With tears streaming down her cheeks, Nina sat up and turned to her sister. “No, this is all Clinton. That lying dog! But what’s wrong with me? Losers must see something in me that screams, ‘Come, get some.’” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I’m not going to do this, I’m not going to cry over another man again.”

  Yolanda took a seat on the bed beside Nina and hugged her tightly. “We could always roll down to Charleston and kick his ass.”

  Nina cast her eyes upward at Yolanda. “He lives in Summerville and gas is too expensive for that.”

  “Go wash your face and take me out to dinner. I’m not about to let you sit in here and feel sorry for yourself,” Yolanda said as she let her go. “By the way, have you heard from Robin lately?”

  Before Nina could answer, her phone rang. Yolanda looked at the caller ID. “It says ‘Charleston, SC,’ but it isn’t Daddy’s or Alex’s number.”

  “It’s probably Clinton. Don’t answer it.”

  Being that Yolanda never listened to anyone, she answered the call. “Hello?”

  * * *

  Clinton thought Nina had finally answered the phone, but there was something different about her voice. “Nina?”

  “No, this isn’t Nina and you have some nerve to call my little sister after you used her to try and steal my father’s business. And to think I defended you and encouraged Nina to open—”

  “I don’t mean any disrespect, but I didn’t call to speak to you, Yolanda. Put Nina on the phone.”

  “She doesn’t want to talk to you and you’d be smart not to call her again.” Yolanda ended the call.

  Clinton pressed redial and prayed that Nina would pick up.

  “What part of ‘she doesn’t want to speak to you’ don’t you understand?”

  “Let her tell me that,” Clinton said, struggling to keep his voice even. In the background he heard Nina tell Yolanda to hang up the phone.

  “Don’t call back, you’ve done enough damage.”

  “But it’s not—” The phone clicked in his ear. Clinton turned off on the exit that took him into Uptown Charlotte. It didn’t matter if he had to sit outside of her place all night, he was going to talk to Nina.

  When his phone rang, he prayed that it was Nina. “Nina?”

  “I guess her father showed her the package I gave Alexandria,” Birmingham said with a laugh.

  “You slimy son of a bitch. Do you care what you’ve done?”

  “Don’t really give a damn. I asked you to do one thing. You owe me for everything that you know and the fact that your father still has a roof over his head. I own you, Junior.”

  “No one owns me and I’m going to bring you down, Birmingham. For as much as you know about me, I know the same about you. Underhanded business deals, lying to your stockholders, and let’s not forget all the women you run around town with. How do you think your wife will feel about that?”

  Birmingham laughed and it incensed Clinton. “This is a big damn joke to you,” Clinton snapped.

  “No, Clinton, you’re the joke. Do you really think that your father is going to be able to make the Richardsons believe that I wrote those checks to him? They’re going to look at him as a father who’s trying to protect his son. You’re screwed, buddy.”

  Clinton ended the call and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. What if Birmingham was right? What if Nina never believed him?

  He pulled into the parking lot where Nina lived, cut the engine, and looked up at her place. What was he supposed to do now? If he knocked on the door, her sister would probably slam it in his face if Nina didn’t do it herself. But he’d come too far to sit in his car looking like a stalker. He hopped out of the car and slowly walked up to Nina’s front door. His heart pounded faster and faster with each step he took. Losing Nina would be the worst thing that could happen to him because he loved her so much and having her think of him as a liar hurt to the bone. Clinton had never loved a woman the way that he loved Nina. She touched his heart with just a smile, though he knew convincing her of that wasn’t going to be easy.

  He urgently pressed the doorbell and waited. The curtain moved back and he saw Yolanda glaring at him. She opened the door and stood in the crack. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to see Nina and I don’t want to argue with you.”

  Yolanda folded her arms across her chest. “You’re not walking through this door. You didn’t just pick a fight with my baby sister, but my whole damned family. I have half a mind to—”

  Nina appeared behind her sister and grabbed her shoulder. “Yolanda, I’ll handle this.”

  The cold look that Nina gave him was like a laser slicing his heart in half. She looked as if she hated him when it was only hours ago that those ebony eyes sparkled when she looked at him.

  “Why are you here?” Nina demanded as she stepped on the stoop, refusing to allow him to enter.

  “Because I have to explain, Nina. Things aren’t what they seem to be. I was never trying to take anything from your family. Birmingham set me up.”

  “Those checks, those e-mails, he just made it all up? Do I look like a fool? I mean, I know I made a fool of myself by letting you into my bed and my heart. You’re worse than any man who’s ever hurt me because you used me. Not just for sex but for money and to get closer to my father!”

  Nina stepped closer to him with fire flickering in her eyes and the threat of violence in her body language. Without warning she pounded her fists against his chest. “I hate you, Clinton. How dare you make me love you when it was all a lie!”

  He grabbed her wrists before she could hit him again. “It’s not a lie because I do love you and I didn’t use you. The only lie is the one Birmingham made up—”

  “Bullshit! The only lie is me believing you loved me. Let go of me and get out of here.”

  “Not until we talk about this,” Clinton said. “Please, Nina, why would I come all of this way if there was any truth to what Alex said?” He dropped her hands. “I can’t force you to believe me, but look at what we shared and tell me it was a lie. If you honestly believe that I could fake my feelings for you, then I’ll leave and you’ll never see me again.”

  She stepped back from him and the look in her eyes told him that she didn’t believe what they shared was a lie. “If you don’t get off my property, I’m going to call the police and have you removed.” Nina dashed inside and slammed the door in Clinton’s face.

  He placed his hand on the door and started to knock again, but he knew that Nina wouldn’t listen to him until he had proof that he hadn’t used her. Clinton got back into his car and headed for a hotel because he didn’t have the strength to drive back to Charleston.

  * * *

  Nina watched from her window as Clinton walked away from the door and got into his car. Part of her wanted to run outside and tell him that she believed him, but how could she ignore what was in black and white? Those checks had his name on them, those e-mails, cruel and revealing, said that h
e was only dating her so that he could endear himself to her father.

  “Nina,” Yolanda said. “You didn’t fall for his lies, did you?”

  She turned away from the window and toward her sister. “No, I didn’t.” Nina sighed and wiped her teary eyes.

  “I know that look and I know you’re considering calling that fool and giving him another chance. You’ve done it before and I’m not going to let you do it again. He didn’t just hurt you, he tried to hurt Daddy.” Yolanda sat down on the sofa beside Nina. “For once, Alex and her suspicious mind was right.”

  “I just wish that she wasn’t and he wasn’t a lying creep. I fell for him hard and it’s not going away. He seemed so different.”

  “Good acting.”

  Nina pinched Yolanda on the arm. “Why am I such a loser when it comes to men?”

  “Because you have a good heart and you will give anyone a chance, even those who don’t deserve it. Clinton’s lucky I have a business meeting tomorrow and I need to keep my manicure intact or I would’ve went all upside his head when I saw him at the door.”

  “But it doesn’t make sense,” Nina said as she rose to her feet. “Why would he drive here if he’d only been using me? Now that the plot has been exposed, what’s his purpose?”

  Yolanda blew on her nails as if her polish were wet. “The sex must be good to him. That man is no better than Lamar or any other loser from your past. Little Sis, trust me. Let this one go. I’m hungry, let’s go get something to eat.”

  “Fine, we can walk to a restaurant or something,” Nina replied. She didn’t want to go out, but she didn’t want to hear Yolanda and her theories about Clinton and his appearance on her doorstep.

  “Let’s go dancing after we eat dinner,” Yolanda said. “You need to do something to take your mind off things.”

  “How are you going to be ready for your meeting in the morning if you stay out all night running the streets?” Nina asked, believing that her sister’s visit was less about business and more about babysitting.

  “Who said my meeting was in the morning? I just said that it was tomorrow. I’m going to go change, you do something with your face. Tear stains aren’t attractive on you.”