Truth Be Told Read Online Free PDF Page A

money that made her love this life. She couldn’t walk down the street without someone calling out to her, requesting an autograph, or begging to say hello. And she lived for the times when she pulled out her credit card. People fawned when they saw her name. Starlight. There was no last name. One day she’d be as famous as those other single monikers: Oprah, Rosie, Whoopi.
    Carletta returned with the coffee pot. “Do you want anything else?” Her accent made her words sound more Spanish than English.
    Starlight motioned to Lexington. When he shook his head, she said, “That will be all.”
    Carletta bowed, then rushed to the couch, picked up the towels, and vanished into the hallway.
    â€œI hope she works out,” Starlight said. “I hate that I lost Maria.”
    Lexington said, “She’ll be fine. Just a little nervous. She knows she landed the best job in the housekeeping industry. But why do you have her in a uniform?” He laughed as if he’d told a joke
    She ignored his question and poured coffee into her cup.
    He glanced at his watch. “Need to set a time for a run-through. Gotta practice for tonight.”
    Starlight closed her eyes. There wasn’t a number high enough for the times she’d spoken in the last year. From women’s organizations to community centers to corporations across the country and internationally. She’d even appeared on Good Morning America and Dateline. She’d been everywhere—except a church.
    But tonight, she’d be speaking at Greater Faith Chapel, one of the city’s super-churches. The main sanctuary held eighty-five hundred, and yesterday Lexington told her that the tickets were sold out. Now they were selling seats for the overflow section.
    I’m speaking at a church, she thought to herself. Grace should accept me now. She opened her eyes. “I don’t need practice. I want to relax. Maybe I’ll go out to lunch.”
    Lexington leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands behind his head. “What’s bothering you? Tell me.”
    She stared at him. He was her confidant—or so he thought. He believed they shared everything. That’s what she wanted him to think. She said, “There’s nothing to tell.”
    â€œDoesn’t make sense,” he said.
    She cringed. Sometimes his fragmented style annoyed her.
    Lexington continued, “Should be ecstatic today.” He covered her hand with his and stroked her fingers. “This is our first church,” he whispered. “If we do this right, all kinds of doors will open for us.”
    She slid her hand away. Our, we, us? “I just want to relax,” she repeated. She stood, piling all the newspapers into her arms even though she’d read every article. “Meet me back here at six.”
    He blinked. “I … thought I’d hang out with you.”
    â€œNo need.”
    â€œI could help you … release some of your tension.”
    Starlight knew Lexington’s smile was meant to be seductive. Instead, he was a twenty-eight year old, wearing an eighty-two-year old man’s leer. For an instant, she thought she might lose her breakfast. “You should leave.”
    He sat up straighter, his smile gone. “Where should I go?”
    She raised her eyebrows, daring him to ask the question again. “Do you remember where you live?” She left him at the table and rushed to her bedroom.
    Sitting in the middle of her king-sized bed, she heard Lexington and Carletta exchange mumbles before the front door opened, then closed. Starlight sank back into the eight down-filled pillows. She didn’t have any reason to be mad at Lexington. He was the closest person in her life. Maybe that was the problem.
    She picked up the Los Angeles Times and looked at the picture of Grace waving to reporters after she stepped from the voting booth. Conner was by her side, as he always was, smiling, looking