Champagne Kisses

by Zuri Day

  “Same way it felt the day before I walked down the aisle,” Jackson replied, scrolling through what was undoubtedly hundreds of emails, looking for emergencies while leaving spam and other run-of-the-mill correspondence for Marissa to sort out later. “What about you?” he said at last, taking his eyes from the computer screen and leaning back in his chair. “Looks like life at the resort agreed with you?”

  Marissa felt herself grow warm and hoped she wasn’t blushing. Was the satiated and satisfied way she felt written all over her face? “I don’t have to tell you how amazing that place is,” she replied, after gathering a batch of mail from his desk and sitting down just to buy time. “Seeing as how you built it and all.”

  Jackson nodded. “So how was it working with Donovan?”

  His question was asked casually but, knowing the Drakes the way Donovan had explained them, she thought that her love life might have been a topic of conversation between him and Diamond as soon as they landed at LAX and listened to voice mails. “It was fine,” was her accurate answer, however brief.

  “Then I guess I should ask…how was playing with him?” Jackson could no longer keep the straight face and broke out into a grin.

  Marissa looked behind her and then got up and closed the door. “Okay, Boss, out with it. Just what did Donovan tell Diamond and how much do you already know?”

  “Donovan didn’t have to tell us anything. Hearing that you attended the family gathering was a pretty big 4-1-1. Looking into your dreamy eyes is another FYI.”

  “Is it that obvious?”

  “It is for someone like me, who’s known you for as long as I have.” Jackson turned serious. “Are you sure this is a good idea, Marissa? I know it’s none of my business, but considering the dynamics I am already involved. For the record, I think Donovan is a good man. And I obviously vouch for the Drakes as a great family, since I became a recent card-carrying member. But considering what you’ve been through—”

  “Donovan isn’t like the others,” Marissa interrupted.

  Jackson nodded. “Okay. I get it. I know when to butt out.”

  “I’m sorry, Boss. It’s just that…whatever this is with me and Donovan, it’s different. Not like your average relationship, you know?”

  Jackson held up his ring finger. “Trust me, I know.” They laughed and the uncomfortable moment passed. “How was it living at the resort for two weeks?”

  “Like a dream.”

  “I don’t have to worry about you leaving me, do I? Don’t have to think about jacking Donovan up for stealing my assistant?”

  Marissa laughed. The phone rang, signaling an end to their banter and the beginning of her workday. She answered the phone on his desk. “Good morning, Jackson Wright’s office.” She waited. “Oh, hello, Mr. Laurent. Yes, he’s right here. One moment, please.” She placed the call on hold.

  Jackson took the receiver but paused before taking the call off hold. “You didn’t answer my question. Do I need to start looking for another assistant?”

  “Naw, Boss. For now, you’re pretty much stuck with me.”

  * * *

  Across town, a similar conversation was being conducted. “Boy, I can’t leave you alone for a minute!” Diamond had breezed past Donovan’s assistant, walked in his office and shut the door.

  “Good morning to you, too, sis. And, yes, please do join me in my office.”

  “Thank you, I think I will,” Diamond replied, already sitting down. “So go ahead. Give me all of the details.”

  “All of the details to what?” Donovan continued looking through the report on his desk and sipping his coffee without a care.

  “To the message Mom left on my phone, about you and Marissa being an item. What’s the backstory? Because that was a fast move, bro, even for a Drake man!”

  “If I remember correctly, somebody named Wright moved pretty fast.”

  “We’re not talking about me. It’s all about you right now. So,” she prompted when he remained silent. “What happened?”

  “Yes,” Dexter asked, entering the office just as she asked the question. “What went down in Drake Wines Resort and Spa town?”

  Donovan sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Isn’t it Monday morning, and don’t you two have things to do? Dexter, your production load is about to increase about fiftyfold. I can’t imagine that you have a speck of free time. Diamond, you’ve been out of the office for two weeks. It’s a wonder you moved past the work piled in your office to get out the door.”

  “You’re right, brother. I am back, and I am swamped. Which is why you should talk fast. Kat already told me as much as she knows, I just need you to fill in a few blanks.”

  Donovan drawled, “Oh, Lord. The Kat is out the bag.”

  Dexter’s phone rang. “Yes,” he said, speaking to his assistant. “Okay, that’s fine. Get them settled into one of the private dining rooms. I’ll be over shortly. You’re saved by the bell, brother.” Dexter rose. “But don’t think you’re off the hook.”

  “What about you? We’re still wondering about the woman Mom said was on your arm over the weekend.”

  “Onyx? Ah, that’s a hot sister right there!”

  Diamond stood. “That’s my cue. I surely don’t have time right now for a rundown of your conquests of the past two weeks. But what say you guys come over to our house for dinner tonight? I’m feeling the need for a sibling powwow.”

  “That sounds like a plan,” Donovan said, reaching for his organizer.

  “Count me in,” Dexter said, heading for the door.

  Diamond fell into step beside him, placed her arm around his waist. “We’ll also talk later about the international,” she threw over her shoulder. “I scanned the report. I guess you did as well as you could without me.”

  Donovan smirked as he raised his eyes to meet Diamond’s dancing ones. “Welcome back, sis,” he said sarcastically. “We really missed you.”

  * * *

  Within hours at Boss Construction, Marissa was back into the swing of things. She’d handled all of Jackson’s time-sensitive messages and, after grabbing a water and juice from the break room, settled into her chair for the next massive project: sifting through two weeks’ worth of emails.

  Deciding to break this job into chunks, she first decided to do a quick scan and delete as many scam mails that had missed her junk folder. Almost three hundred were deleted with that first sweep. Next, she checked the ones she knew were valid and placed them in a separate folder. She’d get to their particulars once she was done. That left about a hundred messages that she needed to open and read, to make sure she didn’t delete something the company needed. She’d gone through about half of those when, while yawning, she clicked on a message titled “Information Requested.” And almost fell out of her chair.

  Five pictures.

  Five poses.

  Marissa naked, flaunting. And in one…

  She quickly closed the window and reached for her purse. “Boss, I’m going to lunch,” she said once she’d punched the intercom button. Seconds later, she was out the door. She didn’t know what she was going to do, but she had to do something. Because if those pictures saw the light of day…life as she knew it was a wrap.

  “Marissa?” Donovan had looked once, then again, when he saw her walk through his office door. With it being Boss’s first day back, he wasn’t sure he’d see her today, or tonight for that matter. They’d been burning the candle at both ends. He’d already made peace with the fact that she needed sleep and his bed tonight might feel empty. But here she was. And something was wrong.

  He got up and closed the door, then reached for her hand and led them over to the sitting area of his office. Leaning over, he hit the speaker button and spoke to the temp now covering for Sharon. “Hold my calls.” That done he leaned against the couch, slowly rubbing Marissa’s hand. “Talk to me.”

  Gently pulling her hand away, Marissa began speaking, staring straight ahead. “Remember when you asked me about being
a preacher’s kid and if there’d ever been a time when I rebelled?”

  “Yes.”

  “I said that while in college, I’d done something I wished I hadn’t.” Tears threatened. Marissa swallowed them back, clenching her teeth to help staunch the flow. Crying would not help this situation. She doubted that anything would. “I posed once, nude, for an art class.”

  Five seconds passed. Ten. Twenty.

  “That’s it?” Relief was palpable in his voice. “Baby, the human body is nothing to be ashamed of.”

  “That’s not the point!” Deep breaths, Marissa. In. Out. Donovan is not the problem here. “What I mean is, growing up with the beliefs that were taught in my home, exposing one’s body was a very big deal. But at the time, I was toying with the idea of being a model. I mean, at one time or another doesn’t every girl want to do that?” A single tear escaped Marissa’s control, slid down her face and plopped onto her blouse. “I told Steven about my dream and a couple weeks later, he told me about the class. It took a while, but he convinced me to at least think about it, said it would be a great way to get experience, help me lose my inhibitions and shyness at being looked at, standing in front of a crowd. Yes, I’d sang and spoken in front of the church. But I’d grown up with those people, had known them all my life!

  “I went to the class and spoke with the teacher. She assured me that there would only be drawings, that no cameras or video equipment were ever allowed. But Steven had set up a camera that could shoot into the dressing room where I changed.” She turned to face Donovan. Another tear fell. “He caught me…doing things I shouldn’t. Adopting naughty poses and…touching myself.” Donovan said nothing, but again he reached for her hand. This time, she didn’t pull away. “He has pictures, Donovan. And he’s threatening to post them on the internet if I don’t…”

  “Don’t what?” Donovan’s voice was calm, deadly calm.

  Her answer was barely above a whisper. “Sleep with him.”

  “That’s not going to happen.”

  “But how do I stop him? The pictures are already digital, he sent them to my work email! He’s never gotten over the fact that I wouldn’t date him and that I got a promotion he felt should have been his. He’ll do it, Donovan, I know he will! He said he’d send them to members of my dad’s congregation. His television ministry, my mother…oh, God!”

  Donovan took her into his arms, wanting to take away her pain and then take Steven’s life. “I’m here, baby. I’ve got you. I know this situation looks unbearable, but we’ll get through it together.”

  Donovan’s words were like a dagger in Marissa’s heart. She sat straight up. “Oh, no.”

  “What?”

  “He can’t know that we’re together. That was another part of the threat, that if he ever saw me with anyone else he’d expose me, ruin me, for not being with him.” Marissa’s eyes filled with despair along with the tears. This time, she didn’t even try and stop their flow. “I’m so sorry, Donovan.” Her voice was raspy, aching with emotion. “I can’t do this to you, to your family.”

  Donovan took Marissa firmly by the shoulders. “Baby, stop it. Listen to me. Look at me. My sweet, sweet Marissa. Baby, look at me.” She did. “The Drakes have been in plenty of battles. We don’t lose many, and we never run from fights. I’m not going to leave you. My family will not leave you. We’re going to get this handled. And I promise you—” he took her chin in his hand, forced the eye contact “—I promise you that this Steven dude will rue the day he crossed you. He’s getting ready to find out that when he messes with you, he’s messing with me. For him, that’s not a good look.”

  “But your family, Donovan? I’m so embarrassed.”

  “Nothing to be ashamed of, sweetness. They love you now. They’ll love you later.”

  After another thirty minutes, he sent a slightly less frazzled Marissa to La Jolla with a key to his home. “Don’t worry about Boss,” he’d told her. He too was family and would understand the need to circle the wagons. And in very short order, Donovan did just that. He pulled Dexter and his father into his office and before they could take a seat informed them, “We’ve got a situation.”

  Chapter 28

  The next day, and at Donovan’s suggestion, Marissa found herself in Naperville, Illinois, sitting in her parents’ grandiose living room. Last night had been a whirlwind as she, Donovan, Diamond and Jackson strategized on how to handle Steven, how to ensure that the pictures would be destroyed. Jackson contacted a private eye, Frank Stanton, “an old codger who would wade through a minefield to get a lead.” Knowing that a good offense was a great defense they hoped to scour Steven’s closet for a skeleton or two. Diamond had looked at the pictures in order to give an objective opinion from a woman’s point of view. “There’s plenty worse that’s out there,” she offered, after seeing Marissa’s bare backside, breasts and more. And then, “Girl, I’m not gay but your body’s tight! No wonder my brother’s all twisted.” This comment delivered one of the few laughs of the night.

  And this morning, the Drakes’ car service had picked her up and taken her to the airport, and she was now seated in first-class for an early morning flight to Chicago. All she’d told her mother was that she was on her way to share something and it involved Steven. Thankfully, her father wasn’t out of town. She hadn’t wanted to have to share this story twice. But she shared it. And never had she endured a silence as long as the one happening now, after just baring her soul and her shame to her perfect mother and mega-minister dad. She sat back and waited, spent and empty. And while she felt horrible for having had to reveal a secret she’d hoped would go to the grave, she also felt strangely relieved, almost liberated, like removing a huge weight after carrying it around for a while. For almost ten years to be exact.

  Finally her father, Reverend Sam Hayes, broke the silence. “I’m sorry this has happened, Marissa. Sorry that you’re hurting, and that something that was done in relative darkness has come to light. But what was done in the past cannot be undone now. We’ll just have to deal with what happens, whatever it is, and keep moving. We’ll get through this, daughter. But I want you to do something for me. I want you to remember that nobody’s perfect, and we were all young once. Your mother and I have done things that we’d take back if we could. Everyone has.” Marissa’s eyes registered surprise. Her father continued, “Yes, I know you and your brother think we’re perfect. That’s our fault, keeping you sheltered the way we did, not wanting you to know when we were going through things. But you’re an adult, where we now might share things that we didn’t before. Am I fine with what’s happened? Of course not. Do I wish you’d made a different choice? Certainly. But you’ve asked for forgiveness and thus have nothing to be ashamed of.” He put a firm hand on her shoulder. “Wipe your tears and hold your head up, Marissa. This too shall pass.”

  “He’s right, baby,” Yolanda said, coming to sit beside her daughter. “Before we’re a ministry, we’re a family. And whatever that scoundrel Steven does, we’ll get through this together.”

  Marissa was stunned speechless. She’d imagined many scenarios of what would happen if her parents ever found out she’d posed nude and now, even worse, that Steven was threatening to post pictures he’d secretly shot of her online. None of the images had looked like this, her parents calm and understanding, offering compassion instead of judgment. She’d continued talking with them then, in the most open and heartfelt conversation with her parents she’d ever had. And when she left Chicago, it was with the strength to face Steven McCain…and whatever else.

  Meanwhile, back at the vineyard, Donovan conferred with his father. Donald had taken an immediate liking to Marissa, saying her quiet, observant demeanor reminded him a bit of Genevieve.

  “Did you see them?” Donald asked, having told Donovan that that was the first thing he needed to do. Know firsthand exactly what they were up against. Donovan nodded.

  “What do you think?”

  “They were taken years ago, when
she was just nineteen. Pretty tame by today’s standards. But her father’s high profile in ministry makes the situation all the more tenuous. She’s more afraid of embarrassing him and causing a scandal than fearing for her own reputation.”

  “What do you know about this guy?”

  “Nothing more than what Marissa has told me. He grew up in Long Beach. They met in college. He wanted to date her, she didn’t, but they became friends. Later he helped get her hired at the company where he still works.” Donovan finished by relaying the date drug incident. “It’s fools like him that give men a bad name.”

  “Son, the person you just described is not a real man. He’s a coward, one who needs to be taught a lesson.” After a brief pause, he continued, “We need to learn everything we can about this punk. You have to know your opponent to defeat your opponent.”

  Donovan smiled. “Already got Boss’s guy working on it. Frank Stanton, the detective who helped him last year.”

  “Good.” Donald was silent a moment, thoughtfully puffing his cigar. “You say you know where he works?”

  “Yes.”

  “Be good to know if we can work from that angle. Cut off the money, and you can cut off the man.”

  As he left his father’s study and walked back to the office, the wheels in Donovan’s strategic mind were whirling. His father had a point. Donovan had a plan. It had taken a lifetime to find her and nobody was going to come between him and this chance at real love. Nobody.

  * * *

  Exactly one week later, Steven McCain arrived home to find company that he had not invited. An official-looking character in a suit and a not-so-official-looking character in sweats engaged him in conversation, saying they had an offer that he shouldn’t refuse. A large firearm pointed in the general vicinity of vital body parts was a strong incentive for Steven to play along.