Any Way the Wind Blows - E. Lynn Harris [62]
“Only if I know to whom I’m speaking,” I said. She sounded so proper and full of herself I wanted to slam the phone down, but instead I decided to play it her way.
“My name is Ava Parker Middlebrooks, and I obtained your number from LaVonya Young. I first read about you on her Web site, www.linesfromlavonya.com, and it’s in the paper today. I know LaVonya from my New York days. I gave her a call and told her I wanted to help you out,” Ava said.
“I haven’t seen today’s paper. What does it say?”
“Let me read it to you,” Ava said. She cleared her throat and then started to read: “‘What former all-star football player is being sued by a male model for sexual harassment?’”
“So LaVonya came through. Now how can you help me out?”
“Well, not only do I have confidential information about Mr. Henderson, but I understand from LaVonya that you have a great lawyer who’s gonna make him pay. The trial will be the talk of the sports world. I think you’re going to be famous.”
“I hope so. But how is the information going to help me? If he makes an offer and I take it, then there won’t be a case,” I said.
“Oh no, Bart. There’s got to be a case. I mean, think of what this asshole did to you and so many others. Next thing you know, he’ll be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with some fake wife and the world will never know what kind of sick man he is,” Ava said.
“He musta fucked you over good, sister. I mean, I can feel the venom coming through the phone line. Tell me what happened,” I said.
“No, darling, he didn’t fuck me physically, but he tried to fuck me personally. And from what LaVonya tells me, you’re a young man who don’t take shit from anybody. Well, I am that kinda woman. I vowed I would get Basil Henderson back, so I was utterly delighted when I heard about your little escapade.”
Ava spent the next ten minutes telling me how Basil had left her younger sister at the altar after she had spent more than $200,000 for a big wedding. She went on to tell me how Basil had been seeing a shrink to cure his lust for men and how he was secretly in love with a man. This pissed me off, since he’d told me he didn’t date dudes. I guess that didn’t include falling in love.
“How does your sister feel about you sharing this information?” I asked.
“She doesn’t know. She was so depressed that I had to put her in a home,” Ava said.
“Still … I don’t understand how this is going to help my case,” I said.
“You want him to pay, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You want him to be embarrassed, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you have to proceed with the case, even if you don’t win or the suit is dismissed. Think of the public relations nightmare it will be for Mister Big-Time Football Star and that company of his.”
“I hear ya, but my lawyer and I are suing for six figures. Now, I don’t know about you, but for a struggling model and waiter, six figures is still a lot of money,” I said.
“What if I matched whatever he offers? I know he’s going to try and settle out of court. He doesn’t want to face the possibility of a very public trial. Would you be willing to continue this fight, if not for yourself, then for a heartbroken sister?” she said. Her voice was cracking, and she sounded like she was about to start crying.
I looked at my phone like I couldn’t be hearing this woman correctly. Had she just offered me a hundred grand just to keep harassing Basil?
“You would do that?”
“Are you interested?”
“What are you going to do? Just write me a check? Naw, scratch that, I ain’t taking no check from somebody I don’t know. I don’t care if you live in Beverly Hills or Monte Carlo,” I said firmly.
“But I don’t expect you to take a check. What if I showed you I can be trusted?”
“How are you going to do that?”
“What’s your address?” Ava asked.
I gave her my address without even thinking what I was doing. What if she was a crazy stalker or, even worse, some kind of double agent working for Basil to set my ass up? Maybe they were planning to kill me or something to keep my mouth shut. Maybe I was watching too much Court TV.
“So you live up in Harlem, huh?” Ava asked.