The Beautifully Damned and the Eternally Blessed (SAMPLE)

Chapter Two: The Carrot-and-Stick Routines and A Letter from Derrick

"Jana Denise Booker, where the hell are you?"

I bristled from the use of my middle name whenever my parents or Melina thought that I wasn't being true to the Booker family values. "I'm in New York City with my friends, Dad," I sighed, sitting back in the chair. "I was at a funeral and-"

"Boo-hoo, people die every day," my father sneered. "You and your friends should be back in Atlanta right now and you need to be back home so we can prepare your engagement party to Asher. He's been asking for you."

I suppressed a groan, already dreading this conversation. "Dad, Asher is too busy getting single women pregnant or infected with STDs to want to be around me," I replied curtly. "If it wasn't for this arranged marriage plans that you and his daddy cooked up, I wouldn't have said yes like you and Mom wanted me to."

"All part of the Booker way to make sure that you fall in line, Jana. Besides, think of what you can gain by being Mrs. Lancaster- being his perfect wife, bearing his first and only child- which will be a boy, and you taking up the mantle of being a perfect socialite. Your mother got the picture when she married me as does Melina when she got married to Roger. You'll fall in line as well."

"Not likely," I couldn't help but sass back, which made Ellen and Tyler grin widely.

A pause, then "You don't really want to disappoint me, do you?"

And there it was, folks, the good-old-fashioned carrot-and-stick method to make sure that Gerald and Melania Booker used to keep their kids in line. No physical punishments (when it came to me and Melina), just verbal or emotional blackmail to make sure that we got the message in the Booker home: Obey or lose everything before you had a chance. I often wondered if that method irritated Derrick when he was living at home while I was away. "Every single time," he had said at one time. "Unfortunately, I never got any carrots tossed my way. Just a lot of sticks that were too damn real and landed my ass in the hospital."

I believed him.

At first, it was enough for me to bend to his will when he asked that question. But now, I was simply done with this shit. "Well, Dad, Derrick was a disappointment to you and Mom as well as Melina, Yvonne, and Jamal when he was in the ATL," I said simply. "Why should anything change now But the question is, why should I have to continue letting you and Mom bully me into being your perfect Barbie doll to marry some asshole who will jilt me at the altar?"

"Watch it," Dad warned. "Derrick-"

"Is dead, Dad," I cut him off. "Derrick Booker, the one son that you and Mom treated like a chew toy to abuse for your pleasures, is fucking dead. Murdered by a single gunshot as of last week. And I was just at his funeral."

"Good," Dad hummed. "Now that bastard got what he deserved. Now, come home and help your mother and sister plan your wedding to Asher."

I took a deep breath. "No."

"What did you say?"

"I said no."

"You are treading on thin ice, Jana," Dad hissed angrily. "You have zero say, even if you are grown."

"Like I fucking care," I retorted. "I'm not coming back to Atlanta and I won't marry Asher Lancaster. I'll be the one to break things off myself."

"You wouldn't dare."

I snorted. "Don't believe me just watch," I spat. And before he could even protest, I hung up.

"About damn time," Alexa drawled, clapping her hands. "You're really serious, aren't you?"

"As a heart attack," I replied. To the surprised police chief, "Sorry you had to hear that, sir. You can tell what Derrick and I was dealing with."

"Understandable, given that your parents and older sister are on top of the list of suspects who hired Mr. Gigalle to kill your brother," Chief O'Hara replied as he opened the manila folder. "They're joined by Yvonne Battle, the ex-fiance whom he jilted at the altar; Jamal Oglethorpe, the former arranged friend who joined in on the abuse on Derrick before he was arrested after Derrick left everyone at the church; Wendy Daimler, the heiress of Daimler Fashions and a business rival of sorts with some bad issues; and Miss Ariah Gannett, Derrick's first true love."