Entitled Woman

By Sheila Murdock

Cheyenne Stillman wants what most women want—the man she really wants. But being single seemingly forever, her chances seem to get slimmer with each year, so she wants to try and get who she wants by taking advantage of the oldest thing in the book—her pretty privilege.

And there might be someone out there who can finally help her.

True Wells is dubbed as one of the luckiest women in the world when it comes to getting the man a woman really wants. Married for the first time in her 50's to a multi-billionaire, women of all ages look up to her as the embodiment of entitlement. Since her fairytale marriage, she's devoted her life to helping women become social "diamond butterflies"—but not every woman qualifies.

And someone out there doesn't believe Cheyenne qualifies no matter how good she looks.

The 50-ish, but 30-something-looking Mrs. Wells is known for her brash, tell-it-like-it-is, in-your-face opinionated commentary when it comes to a woman's chances of getting who they really want, and her free open seminars are something that have to be seen to be believed, which relationship critics caution to hopeful, entitled women, "Attend at your own risk."

No holds barred is a vast understatement at her seminars.

But Cheyenne is hopeful and feels entitled so she takes her chances, but sees firsthand just how being entitled is something that is not guaranteed and discovers what happens to women who felt they were entitled to the man they wanted and what happened during their relationships with these men they were set up with through True. And what she finds out and sees as a reality will be etched in her mind forever.

Despite this, True finds Cheyenne someone . . . but is he the one she really wants? She will see just how far her pretty privilege and entitlement will go in a relationship that may or may not be too good to be believed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sheila Murdock
• Release date: Apr 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798227038692

Book preview

Chapter One

"B e careful of who or what you think you’re above. Be careful of who or what you think you’re entitled to. And especially, and especially—because this one is just as important as the first two I’d just mentioned. Don’t always think you’re gonna be the ‘in’ or ‘it’ girl with men because of the shade of your skin. And there is a reason I’m saying this because I’m about to throw some shade. Yes, I’m about to throw some shade on the light-skin women out there who think highly of themselves just because they were born with a feature that has given them many privileges throughout their lives. Most know it’s the reason why they’re where they are in their lives, but what most don’t realize is that even though your light-skin has been historically seen as a currency in the Black community, a currency also loses value, and most of the time it loses value because of your own doing. Seriously. Look at me, and I can tell you I know that personally.

"Currency doesn’t always hold its value and we don’t all have currency in the eyes of these men, but in our community, you pretty much automatically have currency if your skin is light, really light. The lighter the better, the more you’re worth. The more you’re worth, the more things you’re gonna naturally think you’re entitled to. But that’s not always true and sometimes it’s a flat-out lie, and you better get that through your heads right now and I’ll tell you why."

Ms. Gloria Leavitt used to be Mrs. Gloria Leavitt, and she knew all-too-well about having that currency that most people considered to be a privilege to have in the Black community. All of her life she was told she looked just like the late Lena Horne, and she immersed herself in the admiration while taking full advantage of it.

Yes, I knew about currency at a very early age and there was not one person who told me I didn’t have it, and I ran with it and right into the arms of Floyd Leavitt, son of multi-millionaire businessman Franklin Leavitt. Ms. Leavitt continued. We got married when I was 20, he was 21. We were married for 50 years, and on our 50 th wedding anniversary, he turned my wonderful world—the only world that I’d ever known—right the-hell-upside-down.

A shock wave rippled throughout the all-female audience, young and old, and from all walks of life. Some sat with their mouths hanging open, some sat with sympathetic smiles. Some shook their heads, some were indifferent . . . but all had some kind of emotional, non-verbal response to it.

Except Cheyenne Stillman.

Yes, he did this on our 50 th wedding anniversary. A day that I was supposed to be the happiest, we were supposed to be the happiest. We’d made it. 50 years. But what most didn’t know in that audience of over 500 friends and family, I’d made those 50 years hell for him.

Everyone looked at each other in even more of a shock as Cheyenne kept her look expressionless. She even lifted up her phone to see if she had any texts coming from her friends. Disappointed she didn’t have any, she planted her phone right back into her purse.

"But despite making things hell for him for all of those years, I still felt I was entitled to him. Hell, I felt if he put up with my shit for this long then he would put up with it for the rest of our lives, but he took all what he was gonna take from me. He didn’t care that I’d kept myself fit and fine like a fine wine all of this time. None of that mattered anymore. It didn’t matter if I’d given him five kids and they gave us grandchildren. Didn’t matter. It was plain and clear that my currency lost its value with him. It didn’t matter if I was a pretty light-skinned woman. Yes, I’m gonna keep talking about this light-skin shit because I think it needs to be talked about. It’s talked about all of the time, but I feel it isn’t talked about enough, because enough is enough. It’s a serious issue in our community, and I want all of you light-skinned women out here and everywhere to know this. Your light skin is not gonna keep your man if you don’t have your attitude in check. Your light skin is not gonna keep your man if you don’t know how to treat others with respect. Your light skin does not guarantee you a lifetime of entitlement, and I think at my age that I know that to be certain by now. You’re only as good as your worth, and a lot of women out here are worthless. And I was one of them."

A pin could be heard dropping in this room as Cheyenne checked her phone again to see if she had any missed calls. She sighed with disappointment that no one had called her yet and put her phone right back in her purse.

Stop checking your phone, Charmaine, her older sister, whispered to her. It’s rude as hell.

Go to hell, Cheyenne whispered back with a huge grin.

Charmaine shook her head as she continued to pay attention to Ms. Leavitt.

"My currency with my husband at the time started to immediately lose its value in the first year we were married, yes, you heard that correctly, the very first year. I had a horrible attitude and I knew exactly where it came from. My mom had a bad attitude, but she was a bi-racial woman with very light skin and loosely curled long hair that brushed at her waist, and she had a beautiful face. I was her mini me in every way possible. But I’m not gonna go through my childhood and all of the 50 years of my marriage, but you get the idea of how I thought I was entitled to a man who could—and did—provide me with a dream lifestyle just because I had the right looks, and right shade of skin and hair type for him. Back then, that’s all I needed besides a killer body. Check. I had it. He didn’t care at all about my personality and what I could really bring to the table; all he cared about was how I looked, and he told me throughout our divorce that he instantly regretted marrying me when he saw me show my true colors which was the opposite of what he saw all on the outside which was light, bright, and beautiful. My personality was dark and ugly, which was what him and most men stayed far away from when it came to women who looked like that on the outside, but who had the light, bright, and beautiful personalities on the inside. Yeah, you talk about men being visual. But as I’ve seen today, the more things change the more they stay the same. She took a sip of her glass of water. It’s gotten worse, much worse."

Charmaine glanced at Cheyenne with a grin; she returned the gesture.

Social media and all of that shit, don’t even get me started, Ms. Leavitt said.

The audience laughed and nodded in agreement.

But my husband didn’t just want a divorce from me on the night of our 50 th wedding anniversary, he proved it to me by showing me.

The audience gasped as they waited in an on-the-edge-of-their-seats suspense.

"After he made the kind of announcement no one is expecting to hear at an anniversary party, much less a 50 th one, he walked right out of the establishment to a stunned me as well as our children and friends and family. Snapping out of the shock, we all got out of our seats and followed him. And there stood his longtime chauffeur, Mr. Maynard Wilkerson, with the doors to a white Rolls-Royce Phantom wide open—oh, just to let you all know, Floyd and I arrived in a beautiful gold-colored Rolls-Royce Phantom since it was our golden year wedding anniversary driven by Maynard—waiting for my husband to get right in, while a 50-year-old beautiful dark-skinned woman with a thick head of gorgeous natural hair and slim-fit body also waited for him right outside the door as she stood across from Maynard. Floyd let her in the car first, and then got in after her. Maynard shut the door, got in the driver’s seat and off they went. Off my husband went to his new life, a life that I don’t even know how long he was living before he announced this to me and to everyone. Just like that, I was replaced. After 50 years of marriage, I was replaced—replaced by a woman who was born the same year my husband and I got married—and it was my fault. My husband was always good to me. I took my marriage and the life he’d given me for granted. Entitlement at its finest. I thought this was a joke; we all thought it was a joke. No joke, because life is not a joke. How you treat people is not a joke. The only joke is what you feel you’re entitled to simply because your skin may be lighter, your hair may be all natural and finer, your body may be slimmer, and your face may be prettier. My oldest child, who is only a year younger than her dad’s new love interest, turned and looked at me, and she said something to me that will stick to me for the rest of my life. ‘You should’ve seen this coming a long time ago. Your beautiful looks guaranteed you nothing. Now you’re gonna be all alone in that big home.’"

Chapter Two

S o, what did you think of Gloria’s talk? Charmaine asked, as she drove them to an upscale restaurant where no casual or street clothes were allowed.

Cheyenne shrugged. What should I think of it?

Charmaine sighed. Cheyenne. I took you to this because you wanted help in getting a man who you really want.

And how is going to a talk with a woman who admitted that she fucked up in her marriage of 50 years gonna help me?

It helps in the sense that you don’t make the mistakes that she made once you’re married.

Yeah, that’s if I ever get married. Listen, Char, I didn’t need to hear that woman up there feeling sorry for herself. She knows she’s done and she’s just trying to look for sympathy—but she’s an excellent talker so it’s clear she got all the sympathy she wanted. She knows she’s never gonna get another man like the man she was married to. She’s too old with five kids and probably about twenty grandkids and she’s obviously still bitter. Very bitter. Ain’t no man putting up with that shit.

Charmaine grinned. Yeah, that may be true, Cheyenne, but she gave this talk to warn you and all of the other women out there. It’s not easy out here trying to find someone who will truly love you and take care of you and give you the life you want. And it’s even harder to get who you really want. Most of us have to settle, and you’re lucky you’re still in the best position that you can be in where you don’t have to settle.

"And I wanna be with the best man that I wanna be with. But I’m worried, Char."

She looked at her. Worried about what?

What if I already missed my chance of getting who I want? What if I looked a man right into his eyes upon us passing each other on the street and he could’ve been the one for me?

Well, you can’t think about what could’ve been, Cheyenne. There are way too many men out there to keep thinking about someone who you never talked to that you passed on the street. If you felt that way and neither one of you decided to talk to each other then it was never meant to be, that’s how I look at it. And that someone who is meant to be for you is still out there.

That’s easy for you to say, Char. You’re married. You’re married and you have been for ten years.

And you know I almost lost my husband because I had Gloria’s attitude early on in our marriage. That’s why I wanted to bring you to her talk, Cheyenne. She doesn’t do them that often anymore and she does them all over the world. You saw how I almost lost Randall because, yes, I acted just like her. Women who are able to hold on to their husbands for decades and act like the way Gloria did are in the one percent of the one percent. Men are not putting up with that shit anymore like the way they used to just because they simply thought they had to.

I know they’re not. I just don’t wanna be that type who acts like that because that’s the reason why every one of my boyfriends in the past broke up with me—except one of them—because I always had a bad attitude, but I still felt like I was still entitled to be in a relationship with them. I got what I deserved. They’re all married now—except for one of them—and seemingly happy. I’m still single, never been married, and not happy at all.

"That’s why I’m trying to help you, Cheyenne. You know I’m your sister and I’m gonna do everything I can to make sure you’re happy once again, but you have to put in that effort to want to be happy once again. You don’t want anyone keeping you single, but you especially don’t want you keeping you single."

Yeah, I know what you’re saying. I’m just tired of going to clubs and shitty parties and just not meeting anyone worth being with. And don’t even get me started on social media. I don’t take anyone seriously on there. All of the men who I’ve met in the past I’ve always found out that they’ve already had a girlfriend or wife or kids or both when I met them. I’m just tried of the lying and conniving, that’s all. It’s just getting worse and worse out here.

It is. I actually feel sorry for you and the other single women out here who are looking for serious, meaningful relationships. But, Cheyenne, you are still in the best position you can be in. You can still get who you really want.

Well, tell me where he is!

She laughed. If I knew where he was then you know I would tell you. Unfortunately, it’s hard to weed out the ones who are worth your time and the ones who aren’t. These men are just getting way too sophisticated in their ways.

Yeah, and that’s why I’m still single. And you know, I used to wear being single like a badge of honor—until you got married. I saw just how happy you were when you cleaned up your attitude.

She laughed once again. You’re right, Cheyenne, because there was nothing Randall had done to me as to why I acted the way I did. I just got that nastiness from Mom. You see how her and Gloria act exactly the same, but she’s still married and married just as long to Dad as Gloria was to Floyd. But they’re two different men. One took the shit as long as he could and had enough of it, and the other is still taking it. Can’t explain it.

Well, that’s why I was wondering why you took me to see Gloria considering the fact that we saw our own mom act that way to our dad while growing up, and she still acts that way. What a shame.

"And you know especially now not to act that way towards the next man you meet. Remember, you wanna be able to get the man you want, not have to settle for someone you really don’t want like what most people—men and women—have to do. You learned what not to do in a relationship, and it’s just as much of a powerful tool as learning what you should do."

I agree.

And I’m sure you’ll agree with the saying that your attitude determines your altitude. And you wanna go as high as you can go when it comes to who you can get. But you’re not going anywhere with anyone with a bad attitude. It will definitely keep you grounded in the worst ways possible.

Yeah, you’re right. I’m glad I learned that pretty early on about the attitude thing. But sometimes I have to catch myself. I don’t intend on ending up with someone I don’t wanna be with because of a bad attitude. Even broke men don’t like women with bad attitudes.

No one does, Cheyenne. You wanna be able to go as high as True Wells.

"True Wells? Oh, come on, Char. I may feel like I’m entitled, but I may not be that entitled. True Wells is in a whole other world when it comes to entitlement. She was able to bag a rare Black billionaire in her 50’s? She’s only been married to him for a few years."

And she’s living like a queen beyond her wildest dreams, Cheyenne. Isn’t that the way you want to live? Isn’t that the way most—if not all women—want to live?

Most women won’t be able to bag a Black billionaire, there’s simply not enough of them. Hell, there’s not enough of them of any race. Seymour Wells was obviously looking for a new wife and True was in the right place at the right time.

She looked at her. Do you realize what you just said?

What did I say? Cheyenne asked as she stared back at her.

"You said she was in the right place at the right time, and that’s exactly what she was. She was able to get him because she put herself in a position to get him. Seymour doesn’t play. He wanted a specific certain type of woman, and he got her. True was everything he was looking for. And yes, it’s hard to be that way the older you get. Most her age have kids and grandkids, been married at least once or for some, several times, and just have a million problems. True was the opposite of all of that when she met him. Not to mention she looks like she’s in her 30’s instead of 50’s."

But isn’t Seymour, like, in his 70’s?

She grinned. Yeah, he is. It’s obvious he likes women her age, but it was said that he didn’t think he would ever find someone like her. In her 50’s, beautiful, fit, childless, with an amazing personality. But I heard her personality isn’t so amazing when it comes to her evaluating other women for a potential date with her clients, who are men that she calls ‘The Men of True’s Value.’

The Men of True’s Value? I guess I have been off of social media for a while. I never heard of her having a channel or whatever it is.

Yeah, it’s like a private matchmaking service she has. Since she doesn’t need the money, it’s completely free and she’s a hundred percent honest with these women about whether or not they have what it takes to be an entitled social diamond butterfly.

A social diamond butterfly? Cheyenne said with a huge grin. Who does this woman think she is?

Someone who is living the life most—if not all—women want to live and is helping women achieve the type of success she’s had with who she found and got married to. Isn’t that what you want?

This woman is more of a fantasy than a success story, Charmaine. She was the rarest of the rarest gems out there. It sounds like she gets a lot of women’s hopes up.

No, Cheyenne, you don’t understand. She does nothing of the kind. She is strictly honest with them about their chances. Like we all know, everyone can get someone, but her focus is on helping women find who they really want, and she has this circle of men that no one sees until she has her open seminar. She only does them once or twice a year, and I must warn you, you will either love her or hate her when it’s over with because she can get downright brutal with these women.

There’s no need for that.

There’s no need for the truth? I beg to differ. The majority of the women out here today think they’re entitled to men they’re not entitled to. They overvalue themselves way too much. That’s a fact, and True defines her name to the fullest by setting them straight. Randall and I look forward to seeing the videos of her open seminars every year.

For pure entertainment, huh?

No, for pure reality checks. These modern women need it and deserve it.

Yeah, it’s easy to sound all brash and shit when you’re married.

And it’s easy to think you’re entitled to something because you look above average and have a nice body but have all of the things a man with viable options does not want to deal with and doesn’t have to deal with. These women these days are beyond out of control, and True defines her name to the fullest by telling them the truth about themselves and setting them straight. Love it or hate it, I love it.

Yeah, I just bet you do!

Cheyenne turned the radio to a hip-hop station.

Turn it back, Charmaine demanded.

Why? Cheyenne asked with a grin. Don’t you get tired of listening to stuff that’ll make you fall asleep?

"It doesn’t make me fall asleep. Jazz music is some of the best music ever, no matter what era it’s from. I don’t listen to any