The Art of Deceit Read online

  The Art of Deceit

  Fabiola Joseph

  www.urbanbooks.net

  All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  “Hate What You See?” (Letter to the wise from Tangie)

  Prologue

  Chapter 1 - Mission Accomplished

  Chapter 2 - The Sexiest Snake That I Have Ever Seen

  Chapter 3 - Once I Have Him, Then You Can Have Me

  Chapter 4 - Well, I’m Sorry For Giving A Fuck

  Chapter 5 - Even Though He Was Knee-Deep In The Act Of Betrayal, He Knew She Had A Heart Of Gold

  Chapter 6 - Winner Takes All, And I Was Born A Winner

  Chapter 7 - Get Your Head out of Them Clouds and Wacth Over Your Shit

  Chapter 8 - Thanks For The Dick, But Pussy Has Nothing To Do With You

  Chapter 9 - No, No, Honey, I’m Not A Bitch. I’m The Bitch

  Chapter 10 - I Know That We Had Sex And All, But I Am Not Gay

  Chapter 11 - Will You Marry Me?

  Chapter 12 - This Is All Your Fault, You Fucking Bully

  Chapter 13 - How Dark Is Your Heart?

  Chapter 14 - Girl, I’m About To Pop Some Shit Off

  Chapter 15 - A Black Heart Is Earned, Not Learned, Baby Doll

  Chapter 16 - I Don’t Know What Made Me Think That I Could Ever Marry A Freak Like You

  Chapter 17 - Rot In Hell, You Dirty Bitch

  Chapter 18 - Congratulations. You’re Going To Be A Father

  Chapter 19 - The Beast That Came To Drag Me To Hell

  Chapter 20 - When Shit Hits The Fan Unplanned

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  Urban Books, LLC

  300 Farmingdale Road, NY-Route 109

  Farmingdale, NY 11735

  The Art of Deceit Copyright © 2018 Fabiola Joseph

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior consent of the Publisher, except brief quotes used in reviews.

  eISBN 13: 978-1-60162-100-9

  eISBN 10: 1-60162-100-0

  ISBN: 978-1-6016-2099-6

  This is a work of fiction. Any references or similarities to actual events, real people, living or dead, or to real locales are intended to give the novel a sense of reality. Any similarity in other names, characters, places, and incidents is entirely coincidental.

  Distributed by Kensington Publishing Corp.

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  Dedicated to Maude Henderson-Dafney and her daughter, Natasha Dafney-Neal.

  I cherish the connection you two shared with The Art of Deceit.

  I lovingly hold this in my heart and will do so for the rest of my life.

  And as Maude would say . . . , “That damn Tangie!”

  “Hate What You See?”

  (Letter to the wise from Tangie)

  Don’t look at me like you hate me.

  Hell, most of you want to be me.

  I’m that bitch that you buried deep down inside.

  The one in that dark place who you don’t have the balls to ever let come out.

  Shit, I do the things that you sit and daydream about.

  I say the things that make you tongue-tied when they try to come out.

  I’m that slick bitch,

  That rich bitch,

  That fine bitch who walks up to your man and walks away with his heart.

  I’m that chick Tangie you need to start letting out.

  * * *

  Don’t roll your eyes at me as if you can’t stand me.

  Hell, you wish you had my personality.

  I’m that bitch who holds her head high,

  although I may have just done something to make others cry.

  I just say, “Fuck it.” I move to my own flow.

  I’m the one who will fuck your man just to get what I want,

  Even if that means lying on my back and using my cunt.

  Even when I care,

  I’ll never let you know,

  And when I love,

  I never let it show.

  I know that I am the Tangie in you that you refuse to let out.

  * * *

  See, what most people don’t know,

  I used to be just like you.

  Maybe around seven or eight,

  But my mama set me straight.

  I no longer walk around with my pussy tucked tight.

  Held away like a game that nobody can play.

  Hell, how in the fuck do you think that I bagged Mr. Too Fine Tay?

  So y’all bitches go ahead and keep your nose up high,

  ’Cause I’ll be making damn sure that your man’s hand is creeping up my thigh.

  And while you continue to act like you don’t see me,

  I’ll let him slip his finger inside me and slowly finger fuck me.

  Don’t ever bring your eyes down to face your harsh reality,

  ’Cause as you continue to hate everything that you see in me,

  It doesn’t matter if it’s my beauty, my diamonds, or my blatant sexuality,

  The Art of Deceit will always live and thrive inside me.

  In the end, the sad part will always be,

  I’m the Tangie you couldn’t and will never be!

  Prologue

  Now was the time for me to put my acting skills on blast. I ran over to where the DVD was being played, and I yanked the plug out of the wall. The screen went blank, and so did everyone else. I thought that Black had lost his mind for a moment. He just stood there, so still, with glazed over eyes. Then he just charged Shamika like a football player on Super Bowl day, and no one made a move to stop him. Everyone knew and felt that she needed her ass whipped. Finally, Carl stepped up to stop him, but Tay held him back. He was mystified by what Shamika had done.

  When Tay looked at me, I put an “Oh, my God” look on my face. One of the guests from the party stood up and pulled Black off Shamika before he killed her. She lay on the floor, bloody and hurt. Carl went over and helped her up out of pity.

  “You fucking bitch! I’m going to kill your ass. Let me go!” Black screamed as the guest held him back.

  I walked over to her and acted like I was going to help her as I told Tay to call for a car. I pulled her hair back and handed her a napkin for her bleeding lips.

  “Now, pull yourself together, Mika. Everyone is watching. Don’t let them see you break down,” I said in a whisper. “Tay’von is calling a limo for you. I want you to go back to the house and get your things packed.”

  She looked at me as if she didn’t want to leave Miami just yet.

  “Now, you know that you can’t stay anymore,” I told her. “Black is going to try to hurt you if you do. Just give him some time to cool off and get his mind right. But there is one favor I need you to do for me. After all that has happened, there’s just one thing that I want you to remember—”

  She cut me off before I could make my grand statement. “But, Tangie, I don’t know how this got out. I didn’t make a copy or anything. The only one who could have put this out is you-know-who.”

  I put my arms around her and got real close to her. “You may not know how this got out, but I do.”

  She looked at me with shock on her face. I wanted to spit in it, but that was too low class for me. I released her from my embrace, then gripped one of her arms tightly.

  “Come on, Shamika. Don’t look so surprised. Try to look like we’re having a normal conversation. If you don’t, I won’t tell you what I kn
ow.”

  She tried her best to keep it together, but her body was shaking uncontrollably under my hand.

  “Look at me, Shamika, ’cause I’m responsible for the tape getting leaked. That’s right, bitch. I did it.”

  She tried to pull away from my grip, but I held on tight.

  “It fucking hurts, doesn’t it? I have been setting this up since we were on the road. You fucked me over, so now I’m fucking you with the biggest dick I can find. Tell me, how does it feel? Because I’m feeling damn good!”

  “You bitch!” she screamed, but I wasn’t moved. I kept the concerned look on my face, and I also looked confused and hurt.

  “Calm down, little Mika. Don’t be so mad. You got to admit that you’ve had this coming. I’m the last bitch that you should have fucked with. You messed with my life, so now I’m ruining yours. I hope that you never find a man who will spend another dime on you again. I hope that life gets so bad for you that you’ll need to borrow money just to get a sandwich off the dollar menu at McDonald’s. Rot in hell, you dirty bitch. And may you never rest in peace.”

  She was speechless as I let her arm go. The thought of me getting her first had never crossed her mind. It had just hit her that she had gravely underestimated me, and that mistake was to her disadvantage. She had lost the game that she thought she played all too well.

  That was why my motto had always been “Before you sit down to play a game, you must not only know the rules to the game, but you must also know all your opponents, even if that means skipping a hand or two just to make sure you know their skill level. Having this knowledge gives you an upper hand every time, and an upper hand always wins the game.”

  Chapter 1

  Mission Accomplished

  Life is so funny. Here I am in my big house filled with imported furnishings, original artwork, and millions of things that I really don’t need. I have all the clothes, jewelry, and accessories that I could ever want. I have six cars, which were paid for with cash and are all under my name. I also have a husband who has millions of women screaming his name as soon as he hits the stage. Yet I really don’t think that I am happy. People have always said that I am hard to please, and I just don’t think that this is normal. Maybe it’s because so many times in my life, I have worked too hard to get to where I am. Divorce is out of the question. They get way too messy. Plus, I would end up with only half of what I have now. Even though I have my own business, Tay’s money still looks too good next to mine on a bank statement, and I’m not ready to give that up.

  I started out as your typical video ho. Well, that was what they called us. I was approached while walking down the streets of New York and was asked to go to a model call for a hip-hop video. I had done about eight or nine videos before meeting this hip-hop singer at the video shoot. He would turn out to be my future husband, and at the time, his first album was out and was doing very well just off the first single. That particular shoot was for his second single, and I couldn’t wait to meet him. I showed up, and there were about fifty girls there. I didn’t have to stand around and wait to see if I had made it in the video, because I had already been cast in the lead role.

  After makeup and wardrobe, I walked out to the set, and there he was, Mr. Too Fine himself. The world knew him as Tay’von, but he had been dubbed Mr. Too Fine because of his very clean-cut, handsome appearance in the sometimes roughneck rap industry, and he looked even better in person. We ended up doing the video, and as soon as we were done, I got my things together so that I could leave. I never tripped over myself to meet the celebrity that I was working for, because they would always come after me, and that day was no different. Tay’von walked right up to me and asked me for my real name, thinking Tangie was just a stage name. I told him that Tangie was my only name.

  He looked me over one good time and took my hand. Then he led me to his trailer, just like I knew he would. Once in there, I didn’t speak. I waited for him to say something or make a move, but he didn’t. He just sat down and left me standing there. He opened a bottle of Hennessy and just stared at me. He finally handed me a cup and poured some alcohol in it. And although I hate Hennessy, I drank it down. I didn’t know what it was about this guy, but I never said a word. Frustrated with my mute approach, he got up, walked around me, and asked me if I remembered him.

  “Why would I? I’ve only seen you on TV.”

  He started to laugh, then said, “About two years ago, I rapped a hook on a singer’s song. You may remember the video shoot for the song ‘What More Do You Want.’ I’m sure you do, because I remember you.”

  “Really? I do remember working that shoot, but I don’t remember you being there.”

  He shook his head, as if I was wrong for not remembering him. “Why would you remember me? I wasn’t the main nigga in the video, right?”

  I looked at him with a serious smirk on my face. The quick temper that I was well known for started to rise. “So you brought me in here to cry about me not noticing you two years ago? Isn’t that some talk show–type bullshit?”

  “I just wanted to see if my theory was right. It seems that all it took to get you in here was the thought of fucking a star. You didn’t notice me back then, but since my song is number one now, you didn’t even think twice about coming back here with me. Did you think that I wouldn’t remember you turning me down in front of everyone the way you did? You’re just a star fucker, and I have proved my point.”

  I thought that Tay had lost his mind. I couldn’t believe that he had held on to this for two years. Then he had the nerve to bring me back to his trailer just to force me to remember some bullshit, and when I didn’t, he got mad. He had to be off his rocker.

  “Look, you took me by the hand and brought me back here. I didn’t ask to come here with you, so if this is all that you have to say to me, well, fuck you very much, and I hope things go better for you the next time around.”

  I put down the cup that he had given me, and I turned around to leave.

  “Bitch, please, you walk into every video shoot as if you’re the finest thing to ever walk the earth. You got your nose so high that you’re the only one breathing fresh air. All of them other girls out there look just as good as you, so get off of yourself.”

  By then he was holding on to my arm, and I hadn’t decided if I should just pull away and walk out or if I should smack his ass for grabbing on to me the way he had.

  “Come on now. I didn’t see you turn me away when I came in for the audition,” I retorted. “From what I hear, you’re the one who decided to make me the lead in your video. And we all know why you did that. It’s ’cause I am the baddest bitch around, so why don’t you just get off of yourself and admit it?”

  I had gotten in his face to make my point. His grip on my arm had got tighter once he realized that I would not back down. His face at first had been full of anger, but a smile had started to break through.

  “You have got to be the most conceited, most arrogant, and boldest girl I have ever met, and I have to admit that it turns me on.”

  Wait, he had lost me. He had to have multiple personalities.

  “Fuck you, Tay’von. How do you go from calling me a bitch to telling me that I am turning you on? Just let my arm go, so I don’t have to be in here with your disrespectful, foulmouthed ass any longer.”

  I didn’t care who he was anymore. He had taken things too far for me to care. I no longer wanted to get to know him, and if he didn’t let me go, I was going to hit his ass. But I didn’t get that chance. He pulled me really close and kissed me. It seemed like with that one kiss, all my anger melted away, and I fell deeper into both the kiss and him. I didn’t know what it was, but there was definitely a fire between us. Maybe it was the fact that the whole time we were going at it, I couldn’t take my eyes off his sexy lips. Men had always been my weakness, and Tay’von was no different. He was six feet, three inches tall, with light brown skin. He had pretty long cornrows and the brightest green eyes I had ever seen. An
d his body, his body was one that I couldn’t wait to get on top of.

  * * *

  Time went on, and I ended up doing another one of Tay’von’s videos, which caused us to spend more time together and get close. He still saw other people, and so did I. He hated the fact that I wasn’t just at home, waiting for him to call. I wasn’t the kind of girl who let a man run around town while I stayed home, hoping that he would grace me with his company. I had told him, “I’ll share my ass just as long as you share yours.” He thought that it was all jokes, but he had something coming his way that would force him to choose me.

  The night of an album release party that was being held for a label mate of Tay’von’s, I devised a master plan. I knew he was going to the party with some low-class ho whom I had seen around. What he didn’t know was that I would be attending the bash with a big-name director named Sims. I knew this would get under Tay’s skin because I had met Sims when he directed some of Tay’s videos.

  As soon as I walked into the plush club where the party was being held, all eyes were on me. I had known they would be. I walked over to the bar as Sims walked around, shaking hands. I had men throwing all kinds of game at me, but I was not there for that. I was on a mission, so I told them all to fuck off. I had on a little dress that was tight and hugged me in all the right places. The ice that glowed around my neck and on my ears and fingers added the finishing touches to my outfit. After I finished my first drink, I rejoined Sims.

  We walked around, mingling with other partygoers, and two hours later I was ready to go. On our way out, I made sure that we walked by Tay’s table, although I knew that he had been watching me all night. I looked Tay dead in his eyes, winked, smiled, and kept on walking. I watched him look down at Sims’s hand on my ass, and I saw anger in his eyes. Minutes later, while Sims and I waited for our limo to pull up, I felt someone standing behind me. I turned to find Tay’von standing there, smoking a cigarette. He said nothing, and neither did I.