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continue to be employed at the Landon estate. There was even a provision added allowing her first pick of any staff member to come and work for her at full salary for up to five years, to be paid for by Chase, in the event that she wasn’t permitted to keep the house.
    Eve had heard the tales of players getting involved with their staff long before she’d met or married Chase. The firm she worked with was a full-service firm, catering to everything and everyone in sports entertainment. From divorce to domestic violence, contract negotiations to criminal court appearances, Eve was prepared for anything. She was smart, always anticipating the worst, even while being prepared to demand the best.
    When word got around about how strict Eve’s hiring process was, many of the other wives thought she was being a bit ridiculous. But she didn’t care; she knew she was protecting herself from any “incident” that might occur, just like what had happened to her best friend Amber at her house, involving their family’s personal chef.Although Eve warned Amber of the risks of hiring female help, Amber insisted on hiring a beautiful, young chef by the name of Sa’Myra whom Amber met after she was hired to cater their mutual friend Paula’s birthday party a few months back. Sa’Myra’s dishes were exquisite, but while the taste of Sa’Myra’s rosemary jerked chicken still made Eve’s mouth water, she knew that anyone who looked and cooked with such perfection was not to be trusted.
    “Are you fucking kidding me, Amber?”
    “Come on, Eve. I mean really. Sa’Myra is all about her work. She’s been here three weeks already and not once has she even looked in Sean’s direction. Olivia adores her, Sean and I are eating healthy and losing weight, and we have more time to spend with each other. Our sex life has never been better, and frankly, her rosemary jerk chicken dinners have us all looking forward to Fridays. We haven’t been this happy as a family in a long time.” Amber selected a pair of sandals from her closet and slipped them on while Eve touched up her makeup.
    “I hear you, girl, but I still wouldn’t trust any bitch that looks better than me parading around my husband,” Eve recalled saying while she dusted the shine from her face with her makeup brush while sitting in Amber’s bathroom.
    “Wait! Are you saying Sa’Myra looks better than me?”
    “Umm, yeah! Have you looked at her? Don’t get me wrong. You’re cute, and when you actually take the time to do the work, you give the average woman a run for her money, but let’s keep it one hundred: You don’t always do that. Take the outfit you picked out today,” Eve said, raising an eyebrow. “With a broad like Sa’Myra in the house, jeans, a tee, and your hair in a ponytail won’t cut it.”
    “Well, not everyone feels the need to look like they just ripped up the runway, Eve. Some of us can’t afford to spend our entire day shopping, getting pampered at the spa, or grooming all the damn time. We have houses to run.”
    “Bitch, please. I work! And I say this with love: You’re the queen of all those things. Don’t front! You’ve got a nanny, trainer, housekeeper, house manager, driver, assistant, ass kisser and wiper. Need I go on?”
    The ladies laughed as Amber threw a shirt at Eve.
    “I’m just saying, Sa’Myra is not just some non-muthafuckin’ factor kinda chick. She’s freaking Halle Berry pretty, so be careful. A woman like that usually has a plan. And I’d make for damn sure that the only thing she’s jerking in this house is the chicken.”
     
    Eve closed the door to her refrigerator. Thinking about that conversation brought back major concerns. She wished she’d been wrong about Sa’Myra, yet time soon gave confirmation to her suspicions. Less than three months after she’d been hired to cater their daughter Olivia’s seventh birthday party, Sa’Myra turned her attention to Amber’s husband. As soon as Sean’s