Daniel smiled. “Oh yeah?”
“Oh, yes. Please Daniel. Just one drink.”
“You’re a tough broad, Mel, you know that?”
She grinned. “Absolutely,” she said and allowed him passage in.
While he walked around, taking peeps at the view, she hurried for the wet bar. By the time she returned to him with a glass of wine, he was sitting on the sofa.
She knew she had to get this right.
“Here you are,” she said to him and he stood to receive the drink. But just as he stood up, Melanie leaned toward him. The glass bumped against her and spilled just slightly onto her expensive evening dress.
“Oh, no,” she said. “I am such a klutz.”
“I’m sorry about that, Mel,” Daniel said.
“No, it’s me. This happens all the time.”
“I probably should not have stood so quickly.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s me. I’m always having these crazy accidents. But here,” Melanie said, handing Daniel the remaining glass of wine, “you hold this before I do more damage. And will you please excuse me for just a moment?”
“Of course.”
“You won’t go anywhere?”
Daniel smiled. “No, Mel,” he said. “I’ll be here.”
Melanie smiled and moved slowly, as if in total control, toward the bedroom. When she arrived in the bedroom, she changed quickly, taking everything off and putting nothing on but a red silk blouse that just barely covered her. She looked at herself in the mirror, put on her best got-it-together smile, and hurried back into the living area.
When she returned and walked over to the sofa where Daniel sat flipping through a magazine, he stood up and then looked down, at the blouse that covered her, at her sizable, attractive thighs nearly completely uncovered.
“I hope you aren’t offended but I didn’t bring many clothes,” she said as she sat down.
“We need to get that dress dry cleaned,” Daniel replied, sitting down too, “if you expect to get that wine stain out.”
“It’ll be all right. I wasn’t all that excited about it anyway.”
Daniel smiled. “So you just toss it aside? An Armani?”
“That’s right. I’ve had more than my share of good times in that dress, thank-you. Like tonight.”
Daniel looked at her.
“It was wonderful, Daniel. Thank-you so much for taking me out. It did me a lot of good.”
Daniel nodded. Melanie crossed her leg, almost revealing way too much.
“I’m sorry we didn’t get to see Arthur Chandler,” she said. “That would have topped it all.”
“I talked with the manager of the club. He said Art Chandler has become even more of a recluse. He doesn’t know if he’s even performing anymore.”
“Now that’s a shame. Because I say older is better.”
Daniel smiled. Melanie sighed, and leaned her head back against the sofa. “I think of you as my best friend, Daniel. As the only person in this world who seems to give a damn about me.”
Daniel stared at her. Melanie suddenly covered her face and began sobbing.
Daniel, however, remained where he sat. “Mel, what’s wrong?” he asked her.
“I’m sorry.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I just can’t help it. I try, but it’s so hard.”
She looked up, into his eyes. “It just gets so lonely sometimes. I feel so lonely. I’m forty years old now, and I’m all alone.”
“You’re not alone, Mel. You have me and you have everybody at Dreeson completely in your corner. Don’t you forget that.”
Melanie smiled through her tears. “I know you’re with me,” she said. “You’re the only human being who’s never hurt me. Can you believe that? You’re it. And you’ll never hurt me, will you, Daniel?”
Daniel hesitated. This was the kind of conversation he would have with Nikki, with his lady, but not with his assistant. He moved to stand up. “I’d better go,” he said. But Melanie began crying again and threw herself onto him.
“Sometimes I want to kill myself, Daniel,” she said and straddled him. She lifted her shirt and slung it off, revealing a completely naked body, and then she attempted to run her hands through his hair and kiss him.
But if she thought this was Daniel’s weakest moment, she was wrong. “Stop it!” he yelled at her and flung her hands away from him. “Get off now!” he ordered. Nikki had straddled him just that way hundreds of times. But she was not Nikki, and there would be no pretending with him.
Melanie was mortified by his reaction. She was certain, while they were dancing, that she had him exactly where she needed him to be. All it would take was the act itself. All she needed was his DNA! She could scream. At this very moment, she could do it. But it would be her word against his, and he used to be a criminal court judge. She wouldn’t stand a chance! She had to make this right!
“Oh, no,” she said, looking devastated as she hurried off of him. “I tried to kiss you, didn’t I? And my clothes.” She quickly grabbed her blouse and began putting it back on. “What in the world got into me?”
Daniel stood up, and buttoned his suit coat.
“I am so sorry, Daniel,” Melanie said, looking as if it was straight from the heart. “I let my loneliness get the best of me. I am so sorry!”
“Good night, Mel,” Daniel said and began moving toward the door.
Melanie’s heart was pounding. “But you accept my apology, Daniel, don’t you?” she asked him.
“Yes, I accept your apology,” he said. “I also accept your resignation. Effective today. Good night.”
Daniel walked out of the door, and closed it, without looking back.
The song now playing was old school: If I Were Your Woman by Gladys Knight, and Nikki was lying on her sofa, a glass of wine in her hand, listening. Luke had insisted that it was so simple. Just dump that zero and get herself a hero. As easy as a cliché. Dump Daniel, he said. And pick up him. Forget about the love she had for Daniel. Forget about all those years she committed to Daniel. Just dump him, he said. Just do it.
If you had the strength, to walk out that door, my heart would overrule my sense, and I’d call you back for more. If I were your woman,” Gladys continued to sing.
She was Daniel’s woman, that was the part of the equation that Luke couldn’t work out. He was as bad as Daniel’s friends, who couldn’t understand why. Why was she his woman? To Luke, she would have some young stud like him, who would make her the center of his life. But he could make her the center of the universe, and it still wouldn’t be enough. Because he wasn’t Daniel. And that, she knew, was the point.
Her phone rang. She grabbed it and looked at the Caller ID. She hesitated, and answered.
“Hey,” she said.
“How are you?”
“I’m okay. How are you?”
“I didn’t mean to phone you so late. I didn’t plan to call you at all, there was no reason to disturb you. But. . . But I miss you.”
Nikki didn’t respond. Just like with the music on her DVD player, she listened.
“What were you doing?” he asked her.
“Listening to music.”
“Who?”’
“Gladys Knight.”
“Midnight Train to Georgia, right?”
“If I Were Your Woman,” Nikki said.
There was a long hesitation from Daniel.
“Where’s Melanie?” Nikki asked.
More hesitation from Daniel. “Melanie?”
“Yes. She’s with you on that trip. Isn’t she?”
“Nikki---”
“Is Melanie Chandler on that trip with you, Daniel?”
Daniel exhaled. “Yes.”
“And I know, nothing’s going on, right? She’s your assistant and you needed her to be there with you. And you didn’t bother to mention it to me because it’s not my business anyway. Is that the drill? Is that the line? I know it by heart now.”
“S
he resigned, Nikki. Effective immediately.”
But that news only made it worse. It only meant that something did indeed happen in New York. “Why did she have to resign?” Nikki asked. “Because she wouldn’t give it up to you?”
There was a decided pause this time, and then a click. Daniel had hung up the phone. Nikki looked at the phone, tears now in her eyes, and then hung up too.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Three days later, while Daniel was just returning from New York and was unlocking the door of his home, Nikki got a visit of her own.
It was nine at night. She was already in bed. She hadn’t heard from Daniel in three days, nor had she attempted to phone him. And the pain of that separation was excruciating. But what could she do? Bury her head in the sand? Maybe he figured some older, sophisticated lady would have done just that. But she wasn’t older, and she wasn’t sophisticated, and how did he expect her to be what she wasn’t? She was a trained journalist. She was taught to follow facts, not fiction. And the facts were against Daniel. It was heartbreaking, but the facts were against them both.
She tried to watch television, but found herself flipping through channels as if she hated everything she saw. But when her doorbell rang, and then she heard loud banging almost right away, she got out of bed, put on her robe, and hurried downstairs.
But she couldn’t get down there fast enough. Her front door was rammed once, and then again, and then it broke loose on its hinges and flew open. Policemen, in what looked to Nikki like swat team riot gear, came charging in. She immediately stood frozen on her stairs.
“Get down! Get down now!” the officers yelled, and Nikki quickly raised her hands and crotched down. Her heart was pounding through her chest.
The officers rushed her on the stairs, slinging her down the stairs and then onto the ground, while other officers began searching frantically throughout her home.
“What is this about?” she kept asking, but she received no response, just orders to be still and quiet or she would be sorry. And they handcuffed her.
“Are you Nikki Graham?” the lead officer, a sergeant, asked as he stood her to her feet.
“Yes. What’s happening?”
“We received information about drug activity at this residence. We have a search warrant.”
“Drug activity? Here?”
“We have a search warrant. It’ll be better if you were to tell us everything you know.”
“What are you talking about? There’s no drugs in my home! Are you out of your mind?”
“Settle down, lady.”
“Settle down my ass! This is a terrible mistake you’re making!”
“We’re following up on credible information, so I suggest you cooperate. If you’re clean, fine. This will all be over rather quickly. If you’re not . . .” He wouldn’t even paint that scenario.
“Sarge!” an officer yelled from the patio around back. The sergeant immediately left Nikki’s side and hurried outside. Another officer sat Nikki in a chair and insisted that she remain silent. And she sat. And sat. Until the sergeant returned.
“Nikki Graham, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
“What are you saying?” Nikki asked the sergeant. She was stunned witless.
“I’m saying, Ms. Graham,” he said, “that you are under arrest.”
Daniel had had a long day. As soon as he could get out of New York, he did, with the company plane waiting to bring him home. Only home felt about as lonely as New York had.
He headed upstairs and laid across his bed. He was too tired to even change clothes. When the phone began ringing, he had been asleep for nearly two hours.
“Hello?” he said, still groggy.
“Daniel?” the voice on the other end said. It was Nikki.
Daniel lifted up to look at the clock on the night stand. Then he laid back down.
“Daniel?”
“I’m here, Nikki. What is it?”
The sound of sniffling could be heard through the phone. When he realized she was crying, he exhaled. What now, he thought. “What’s wrong?” he asked her.
“They came to my house.”
“Who came to your house?”
“The police.”
Daniel hesitated, realized he had heard her correctly, and sat up on his bed. “The police?”
“They broke into my home and said I was under arrest.”
Daniel frowned. “Nikki, what are you talking about?”
“They arrested me! I’m in jail, Daniel. They said I had heroin hidden on my patio. They said I had drugs at my home.”
Daniel leaned forward. It felt surreal to him. He knew the law. He knew the court system. He knew the seriousness of what she was telling him. “All right now, I want you to settle yourself down, you understand?”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to get you out of there.”
“Please, Daniel. They said they received all these phone calls about me, about how I had all of this drug activity at my home and how people were in and out like I was some big time drug dealer.”
“Okay.”
“But they’re lying. That’s not even true. Nobody’s in and out of my house, I mean nobody, and I’ve never done drugs in my life.”
“Listen to me, Nikki.”
“I told them they’re making a mistake. I told them. . .”
“Nikki?”
“Yes?”
“Listen to me. You are not to tell them anything else, you hear me?”
“But it’s a big mistake. I haven’t done what they’re claiming. I told them that.”
“You don’t tell them anything.”
“But they need to know I’m innocent, Daniel.”
“They don’t need to know shit! Do you hear me? You don’t tell them another gotdamn thing, Nikki!” He paused, to settle back down. “I’m sorry, honey, but you have got to listen to me. You have no statements to make. You sign no documents. You agree to no interrogations, I don’t care how innocent you are. Am I making myself clear?”
There was a slight pause. “Yes.”
“I’m on my way. I’ll be there as soon as I can get there.” Then he exhaled. “This will work out, honey, I promise you. You just. . .” Tears began to well up in Daniel’s eyes as just the thought of Nikki in jail, in jail, caused him to want to fall to his knees. But he quickly composed himself. For her. “You hang in there, Nikki. You just keep your mouth shut and wait on me. All right?”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
There was a pause. “Daniel?”
“Yes, sweetie?”
“Hurry.”
His heart dropped through his shoe. How much more did they have to take? “I will, honey,” he said. “I will.”
Daniel was sitting on a bench at the station, his back leaned against the wall, when Nikki was finally released. He sat quietly in the same expensive suit he had been sleeping in, his body anxious, and exhausted, and almost too horrified to move. But he knew he had to be strong for Nikki. She had never been arrested before in her life. Not for anything. Now she had a major felony hanging over her head.
He stood up. Nikki wore a pair of jeans, a jersey, and a pair of tennis shoes, an outfit he knew she threw on when the cops allowed her only a minute or two to dress. Her hair was frazzled, and her eyes were wide and still in disbelief. They’d better know whose woman they’re dealing with, Daniel thought angrily of the cops as he watched Nikki come toward him, as he inspected every inch of her body for bruises, cuts, visible marks of any kind of brutality.
When she arrived at his side she just stood there, her face refusing to look up at Daniel, her entire body seemingly cast down by the burden of her own weight. Then she just fell against him, her head leaning into him so hard that he almost stumbled back. He held her. He wanted to pick her up and carry her away from there. But he didn’t. He walked her out instead.
He sat her down and buckled her
into the passenger seat of his Jaguar. When he walked around to the driver’s side and stepped in, she immediately reached for his hand. He took her hand and squeezed it, and then drove away from there. She wasn’t crying about the ordeal she was enduring. She wasn’t complaining about the injustice of it all. She was just clinging; clinging to Daniel as if he were her security blanket, as if she was floating in a new ocean now and she wasn’t even trying to pretend to know its’ depths. She needed him. He knew it. And she knew it more.
He took her home, although he didn’t think it was a good idea. But she wanted to go home. As soon as his car turned onto Cypress Road and he pulled up into the driveway of Nikki’s townhouse, she got out of his car before him and hurried around the side of her home. Daniel noticed where the cops had rehung her door, albeit in a slap-dashed way, but at least the home was secured.
Daniel quickly got out of his car too and followed her, looking around, unsure what exactly was going on in this world of theirs.
Nikki saw where the cops had been digging, the light of her patio illuminated the entire area. She had a few plants she was trying to grow, right against the back side of her wall, and the flowerbed had been upturned, the few plants thrown out, and that was where they supposedly found the goods. Over thirty grams of heroin. Thirty grams? Heroin? Nikki shook her head. Then she looked at Daniel, who looked so worried to her that she felt a need to reassure him.
“I don’t do drugs, Daniel.”
But Daniel needed no reassuring there. “I know you don’t.”
“And for them to think that I would take thirty grams of heroin and bury it in my back yard, and not even in my backyard but right on my patio, is ridiculous. I’m being set up. How can they not see this?”
Daniel paused. Nothing was simple anymore, he thought. “Let’s go inside,” he said.
Nikki stared at him, and then she looked at her plants lying helplessly above the earth. She could have planted them again, to give them a fighting chance, but she had no fight left in her. She went inside her home.
DANIEL'S GIRL: ROMANCING AN OLDER MAN Page 23