by Zuri Day
Vince looked at the bartender, a handsome blond kid who didn’t look old enough to serve liquor.
“Yeah, that’s me.”
“Man, I thought so! Dude! What are you doing here? I mean, it’s cool and all. Of course, you can be anywhere you want. I’m just shocked. Sorry, my bad for rambling. Just a huge fan.”
Vince’s smile was slow and easy. The kid’s excitement helped cover the negative feelings brought on by the Drakes questioning his manhood. Now he was being treated the way he was used to—as the superstar he was.
“What’s your name, kid?”
“Jake.” He held out his hand.
Vince shook it. “Nice meeting you, Jake. You sure you’re old enough to work the bar?”
“Ah, man. I get that all the time. When I’m out socializing, I walk up to the bar with driver’s license in hand.”
“Ha!”
“Because I already know the drill. Vince Edwards! My buddies aren’t going to believe this. Hey, mind if I get a selfie?”
“I’ll think about it while I sip my drink.”
“Oh, right. Drink. Sorry. Coming right up.”
The bartender left to fix his drink. Vince watched him for a sec, then glanced over at the pretty lady. She was looking at him and, when caught, didn’t immediately avert her eyes. Didn’t walk over, either. Didn’t matter. Vince knew the way he had with women. Knew she was trying to play hard to get. Another time and he might have joined her in the game. But he had business to handle. First, coming up with a way to get those fools their money. Then dealing with Nicki’s boyfriend and his brothers.
“Here you go, sir, on the house.”
Vince toasted with the snifter. “Appreciate it.” He knocked it back in two gulps, gritted his teeth against the slow burn as the cognac trickled down his throat and chased it with the seltzer water. Checked out Jake talking with the woman again. Telling her a star was in the building. He was sure of that.
“Let me get another one, Jake. And a menu.”
“Sure, right away.” Jake brought over a menu.
“Make it a double this time.”
“You got it.”
Vince picked up the menu and leaned back against the bar seat. Soon there was movement in his peripheral vision. He knew that chick wouldn’t be able to ignore his presence. Women never could.
Her floral-smelling cologne arrived before she did. “Bad day?”
He took his time looking up from the menu. “How do you figure?”
“Double shot at two in the afternoon. Mind if I sit here?”
He shrugged. “Chair’s empty.”
She perched on the seat, revealing a backside worthy of his attention. Pretty girl. A barracuda. He’d seen her kind time and again. He wasn’t interested, but he wouldn’t ignore her. He was a gentleman, after all.
“Anything worth ordering on this menu?”
“Best choice is the rib eye, medium rare.” She opened her laptop and began typing.
Vince watched her fingers fly across the keys. “You must be a writer.”
The woman smiled and revealed perfect white teeth and a dimple. Vince loved dimples. “A blogger. Why?”
“You type fast.”
She nodded. “Jake says you’re a basketball player from the East Coast.”
“That why you came over? To blog about me?”
She stopped typing. “Not necessarily. I blog about celebrities. Jake knows you but I don’t, so...” Her turn to shrug.
“That can easily be rectified.” Vince held out his hand and flashed his panty-dropping smile. “Vince Edwards.”
She countered with a look that Vince was sure had separated men from their money. “Ashley DeWitt.”
“Nice to meet you, Ashley.”
“Likewise.”
“Now, since you know me, will I be in your blog?”
“Depends on what kind of juicy tidbits I can pry out of those tasty-looking lips. Do you have any?”
He thought briefly. Looked over and smiled. “I might. Are you familiar with the Drakes, the family that owns the community center?”
“Very familiar. I dated the mayor.” Vince was obviously confused. “Ah, right. You’re from out of town and might not know. Niko Drake is presently our town’s mayor. But he looks poised to become the state’s next senator.”
“Is that so? What else can you tell me about them?”
“What would you like to know?”
Vince looked out at the near-empty dining room. “Why don’t we discuss it over lunch? My treat. You might have information that could be beneficial to me, and I might give you a tip on a hot story.”
Ashley slid off the stool with a hand on his thigh. “Follow me, Vince Edwards.”
Vince picked up his drink and followed Ashley into the dining room. The Drakes wanted him gone by nightfall. But Vince might not be ready to leave so soon.
Chapter 26
Nicki sat in the middle of the master suite’s walk-in closet, trying to squeeze way more clothes into a piece of luggage than it was designed to hold. It didn’t seem as though she’d shopped that much since arriving, but the pile of clothes still needing to get packed told a different story. Was there time to run out and buy another suitcase? Maybe, but Nicki didn’t want to stop to do that and have to come back. Somewhere between when she arrived and today, the town house had begun to feel like home, one she’d decorated. It was going to be hard enough to leave as it was. She only wanted to do it once.
She pulled out a stack of folded clothes and started to roll them, belatedly remembering that more clothes could get packed that way. Didn’t surprise her that the thought hadn’t come earlier. Considering how her whole world had been upended in the past forty-eight hours, she was amazed she could remember anything.
After thirty more minutes of trying the impossible, Nicki gave up on her single-piece-of-luggage concept. She’d place the extra items in a recyclable bag and buy another piece of luggage at the airport. There was plenty of time for her to catch the red-eye. But she needed time to go to the rental agency and have Devante added as a driver so that he could return the car after dropping her off at Oakland International. Thank God he’d given her his card that included a cell phone number. Aside from the Drakes, he was the only person in town that she knew. With any luck, she’d be able to depart without having to see the family.
A bit cowardly, she readily admitted. But easier. Necessary. It broke her heart to have hurt Julian the way she did. The man was in pain. Evidenced by how he hadn’t come back to the town house or returned her calls. After waking up to his empty side of the bed for the second day in a row, she got his silent message. There was nothing left between them to talk about. Her lies, no matter how well intended, had backfired and cost her the love of her life. It was over. Julian was done.
Feeling the onslaught of tears and refusing to shed any more, she jumped up and went into the bathroom for her toiletries. While gathering them she mentally went over the email she’d sent Jennifer. The one resigning from a position she hadn’t started. Apologizing for any inconveniences caused by her departure. Admitting she hated to leave but knowing it was for the best. And the one she’d sent Julian, stating all of that and the depth of her love. After one last look around, she ran a finger across the smooth, cool marble countertop and headed downstairs for a recyclable bag. She reached the landing and was startled when the doorbell rang. Walked over, looked out the peephole and opened the door with a sigh.
“Mrs. Drake, hello.”
“Nicki, we’ve come much too far to revert to formalities.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry. Just wasn’t expecting anyone.”
“It is how I intended. Wasn’t sure that had I asked you would have agreed to the visit. May I come in?”
“Sure.” She stepped back so that Jennifer could enter. “Can I get you something? Water or tea?”
“Tea sounds lovely, dear. Chamomile if you have it.”
Nicki went into the kitchen, grateful for the chance to get over the shock of Jennifer showing up at the front door. Time to put on her grown-girl girdle and take the verbal lashing Julian’s mother had undoubtedly come to deliver. After setting the kettle to boil, she joined Jennifer on the sofa.
“The water will be ready in a few minutes.”
“Good.” An awkward silence followed as Jennifer eyed Nicki thoughtfully. “I must admit, your email came as quite a surprise.”
“This week has been full of them.”
“More for some than others, I’m told.”
“Whatever it was that Julian told you, know that every story has two sides.”
“That is correct. The story told from his point of view is quite damning. I’d like to hear yours.”
The kettle whistled. Nicki prepared the drinks and carried the mugs back into the living room.
She took a sip and a breath. “I love Julian very much and would never set out to purposely hurt him. Whatever you think of what I’m about to share with you, please know that, Jennifer. Your son is the love of my life.
“In the twenty-twenty vision of hindsight, it’s clear that I should have told him everything up front. I didn’t lie, not outright. I just didn’t tell him everything at once. I told him I’d dated someone while he and I were broken up. He didn’t ask for a name, and I didn’t offer one. He didn’t ask whether or not we’d slept together, and I thought it best not to share that, either. It was a fling borne out of the hurt from the breakup. And it was over. So why tell him about it? We were back together, and for me, that’s all that mattered.”
Nicki continued to pour out her heart. Jennifer sipped tea and listened.
“With everything that’s happened,” she finished, “I knew there was no longer a place for me at the center or in this town. Julian doesn’t want to be around me. His actions have made that very clear. So I felt it best to leave quickly, quietly. Go back home and begin to pick up the pieces of my life.”
“I appreciate your honesty, Nicki. Thank you for sharing your side. Out of all of my sons, Julian is easily the smartest and the most sensitive. You’re right. He is deeply hurt by your betrayal, especially since it happened while the two of you were in such close proximity, and because it went on for so long. It seems clear that had you the opportunity for a do-over, you’d handle the situation differently. But...”
Jennifer paused as her phone chimed. She reached inside her designer bag and pulled it out. “It’s Julian. One moment.” She tapped the screen. “Hello, son.” A pause to listen. “Actually, I’m at your house, talking with Nicki.” She glanced at Nicki, her brow slightly creased. “What? When? Hold on a moment. Nicki, can you turn on the television to local news?”
Nicki opened a compartment of the coffee table, pulled out the remote and tapped the power button. Then she changed the channel to the local station, where a banner along the bottom of the screen announced breaking news. “We’ve got it, son. Let me call you back.”
Just as Jennifer ended the call, a picture of Vince came on the screen.
Nicki turned up the volume.
“Edwards claims the original dispute was between him and ex-girlfriend Nicki Long.”
“What?”
“...a professional dancer most recently seen in the hit Broadway musical A Hair’s Tale, now dating local resident Dr. Julian Drake. According to the former basketball star, the Drakes lured him to Paradise Cove under the false pretense of potential employment and then allegedly proceeded to threaten his life. Edwards says they backed down when he vowed to take the dispute public and was then offered money by Long to stay quiet and leave town.”
“Oh my God!” Nicki jumped up from the couch. “He’s such a liar!”
The TV cut to a location shot of Vince. “I was shocked,” he said, looking at the reporter who was offscreen. “I was excited about the chance to mentor the type of boys who grew up like I did. And to be blindsided like that, when expecting an interview? And then this bribery attempt?” He held up the paper that Nicki had given him. She wanted to throw up. “From everything I’d read, the Drakes are an upstanding family. But behind the suits and professional facade, they’re just a bunch of thugs.”
“What do you plan to do, Mr. Edwards?” the reporter asked.
“I’m not going to do anything,” Vince said with a smile. “I have an attorney to fight those kinds of battles. They’ll be hearing from him very soon.”
“Just when I thought he couldn’t sink lower...” Her voice trailed off as Nicki seethed.
“For some there is no limit to the depths they’ll go when money is involved.”
“Right. Money he was trying to get from me, which is why he badgered me and why I finally agreed to paid him. Not that crap he just spouted on TV.”
“Of course, but the truth wouldn’t warrant a lawsuit.” Jennifer appeared unmoved, her countenance almost one of boredom.
Nicki grabbed her phone. “What’s the name of that station, Jennifer? Their call letters. Do you know?”
“Stay calm, Nicki. This isn’t the first time we’ve danced with a frivolous lawsuit, which is certainly coming.”
“I still need to contact them and set the record straight.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to go down there and tell the truth about what happened. I will not let him tarnish Julian’s name. Or the Drakes’.”
Jennifer appraised Nicki with a spark in her eye. “Spoken with such conviction, one would mistake you for a Drake yourself.”
“I’m afraid I’ve ruined those chances.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. But one thing’s for sure. You’re not going to help the situation by running away.”
“I’m not running away.”
“That’s exactly what you’re doing.”
“I’m leaving a place where I’m no longer wanted.”
“You’re leaving a man who is angry and hurt, and rightfully so. But as you said, there are two sides to every story, at least. As a woman, I understand yours. Brief fling. Over and done with. Forget about it. Move on. It makes sense that you wouldn’t tell Julian. But once the threats continued, and you knew Vince was on his way here...”
“I used the advance to try to stop him. It was money, not me that he wanted. Vince promised me if I gave him the money, he wouldn’t take the job at the center and he’d leave me alone for good. Knowing the kind of man he is, I couldn’t give him the money without proof of that promise. That’s why I wrote the agreement. I thought the problem had been handled. That’s why I didn’t tell Julian. It’s too late for all that now. He doesn’t want to talk to me—he hasn’t come home for two nights straight.”
“He’s at our home, honey, and he hasn’t wanted to talk to me, either. He’s an introspective man who needs time alone with his thoughts. Space to ponder and work out his feelings. I can tell you this much—he doesn’t want you to leave.”
“Humph. I can’t tell.”
“If my son is truly the love of your life, as you claim, leaving now, with things as they are, would be the worst possible move. Drake men are some of the strongest, proudest, most stubborn, confident—some would say arrogant—men I’ve ever known. Yet if one is fortunate enough to win their heart, no man will love you stronger or better. This, I know for sure.
“He doesn’t want you to leave, Nicki, and quite frankly I don’t, either. Nor do I want to force you to stay—which, technically and legally, since you’ve already signed the contract to work at the center, I could do. I will say that the timing is especially unfortunate given an exceptional opportunity I’d planned to share with you before...eve
rything happened. One that I feel could have provided quite a boost in your professional career. Some might even have called it a chance of a lifetime. Not to mention a rather hefty paycheck. But never mind.”
“What is it?”
Jennifer hesitated. “I’m really not sure I should tell you, Nicki. Given your plans to return to New York.”
“That’s a wicked smile, Mrs. Drake. I think you absolutely should tell me.”
“Oh, well. If you insist. It involves a director named Ngo Xhe. Have you heard of him?”
“I’ve met him. Julian and I saw his show in LA. It’s fantastic!”
“So I’ve heard. One of my well-connected friends, a patron of the arts, is among several helping to sponsor a USA tour, performing in several major cities. I mentioned how wonderful it would be if he could put on some kind of show at the center, a fund-raiser during the holidays or the first part of next year. She wasn’t sure he could actually do the show himself but thought he might be able to lend us some dancers. All of this would require coordination and expertise, of course, but considering the level of people who support our endeavors, the rewards through connections made and the networking possible could be quite significant. Dear, what time is your plane?”
Nicki canceled her flight. She called the network and scheduled an interview while Jennifer fielded calls from family and friends. It hadn’t taken long for everyone in town to know what happened. Those who hadn’t seen the report on TV had found it online. By six o’clock the story had broken nationally. By the time Jennifer left an hour later, the Drakes’ lawyers had been called to handle Vince, and the two women had hashed out plans for a Valentine’s weekend fund-raising gala. That was less than four months away. The day had proved emotionally exhausting, yet Nicki was glad it had happened, and awed at how differently problems could be handled when one had power and money. If she’d shared everything with Julian the moment Vince’s threats started, the problem would have ended a long time ago.
Nicki went upstairs to unpack the suitcase. Happy that she was staying in town and excited about her professional future. Her ankle was almost healed, she’d soon be back dancing, and without so much as a phone call let alone an audition, she was set to choreograph a holiday show with Ngo Xhe’s dancers! Would she and Julian get back together? Only time would tell. Was the saga with Vince finally over? She certainly hoped so. But for now, and the next four months at least, she’d be too busy to worry.