“Bullshit! Honey, there are only two signals to send a man when it’s done. Red and green. Stop and go. You told the fucker both. Let me go upstairs and get my bat!”
“Wait!” Kyra grabbed her hand. She forced Jamie to sit back down. “He’s gone. Maybe he got the message. He won’t come back. He’s been really aggressive. He came to my job yesterday. It’s weird.”
“We need to call the police,” Jamie said.
“Why?” Kyra asked.
“So it’s on record he’s stalking you. And when I kill that fucker I won’t get hard time.” Jamie huffed.
Kyra laughed. She smiled until the tears dried in her eyes. “He’s gone. If he comes back I’ll call them.”
“Good. Now what the hell are you doing coming home at eleven in the morning? Honey, the party ended before breakfast I’m sure.”
Kyra closed her eyes and smiled. Renaldo was her dream lover. She hurt so bad between her thighs and still she craved more.
“Renaldo,” she said his name aloud. She opened her eyes and smiled. “Remember I told you about him? We saw him on the television.”
“The enforcer?” Jamie asked.
“Yes. But he’s a gentleman. A bodyguard. Not some hit man. I told you that,” Kyra said.
“He’s a sexy drank of water from what I could see on the news. But, Kyra, if he works for that family honey, he’s more than a bodyguard.”
“I was at the party. There were no ‘made’ guys there.” Kyra laughed with air quotes. “Just boring dinner conversation. And a ton of ass kissing. Oh and get this. The Battaglias plan to close the New York office. They intend to relocate to Paris and Italy.”
“Wow! Seriously? Perfect!”
“No it’s not perfect,” Kyra frowned. “How is that perfect?”
“You showed them your shoes right? Made your pitch?”
Kyra rose. She needed to change. And changing in front of Jamie was no problem. Jamie told her flat out, she was transsexual not a lesbian. She liked dick just as much as the next girl. Kyra ran the zipper down as she walked into her bedroom. Jamie was hot on her heels.
“So? Spill the beans, honey, what did they say?”
“I didn’t get a chance to. I couldn’t get in the conversation. But Marietta Battaglia noticed my shoes. When she asked if they were Mirabella’s I told her no. I told her I designed them.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” Kyra smiled. “But then Bette turned on me. Insulted me. Marietta Battaglia didn’t like it. She took up for me.”
“Wait, color me confused, honey, but I thought Bette was on our team?” Jamie frowned.
“She was, until she saw me as competition.” Kyra sighed.
“That fish! Eeew I hate snotty bitches. Glad I wasn’t there.” Jamie paced and ranted. “Would have caught her two-faced ass in the bathroom and put this size nine up her…”
“Oh be quiet,” Kyra chuckled. “It didn’t matter. Did you hear me? Marietta stood up for me. They noticed me.”
Jamie flopped down on the bed.
“Can you fix the hem on the dress? I need to take it in to the office on Monday.”
“Sure thing,” Jamie said. “So? This is it right? You interview with them and you take in your samples. This is it, baby girl. I can feel it.”
Kyra stepped out of the dress and hung it on the back of her door, with nothing underneath she was stark naked. She eased on her robe to cover her nudity. Jamie was staring at her with a funny frown to her face.
“What?”
“Skip the work part. Tell me why there are love bites on your stomach, thighs and ass?”
Kyra only discovered them when she was in the shower in Renaldo’s suite. Kyra had to grin at the naughty placement. “I told you the night ended with Renaldo.”
“Honey, it looks like you let the man use you as his chew toy? How freak nasty was it, girl?”
Kyra walked over and sat on the bed with Jamie. “He has the biggest penis I’ve ever seen in my life. H-U-G-E!”
Jamie howled with laughter.
“I’m serious. Jamie, before he laid a hand on me he taught me this word. ‘Rallenti’ in Italian, it means slow down. I didn’t think anything of it. But girl when he got on top of me. I thought he was going to kill me at first it was so thick and long. I’m still not sure he got all of it in me.”
Jamie continued to laugh.
Kyra smiled. “Then my body adjusted and it was so good. He was so good. We had fun. Lots and lots, and lots of fun.”
Jamie wiped at her tears.
Kyra smile faded. “It was on me though. All of it. He uhm, he didn’t seduce me or anything. I went to his suite. Kind of invited myself in. And this morning it was over.”
“Well you had fun. No harm there.” Jamie shrugged. “And I told you it’s best to leave them wanting more.”
Kyra had to consider it. She was not typically chained emotionally to any lover. Jamie said for her youth it was strange that she could breeze in and out of her relationships. Her sisters said she was behaving like some wild child whore. And her mother and father weren’t speaking to her. Jamie was the only person in her life that didn’t make her feel that her impulsive rebellious ways didn’t make her into some ungrateful spoiled brat.
“Last night he wanted me to sleep on his chest. He held me all night. He was a gentleman. But I didn’t go to his room for just sex.” Kyra looked over to Jamie. “I went there for help. I think he can help me get an interview with Catalina Battaglia. Between her and Marietta I think she is the one calling the shots.”
“Did he say he would?” Jamie asked.
“Well we didn’t get around to discussing it. But I will see him Sunday. He’s a really nice guy.” Kyra scooted back to her pillows. Jamie joined her. She opened her arms so Kyra could hold on to her as she had done with her mother many times when she needed comfort. Jamie rubbed her arm and kissed the top of her head.
“Be careful, butterfly. I don’t know much about the Battaglias except what’s been in the papers since that fashion diva Mirabella rose from the dead and married that Mafia Don. They said there was a recent blood bath in Naples and her husband was the cause. Some big Mafia boss confessed to the crimes. I think you should think of applying to Parsons again. See if you can get moved up on the waiting list.”
“No. Mirabella’s is where I want to be,” Kyra yawned. “Renaldo will help me. And when I have my own shoe division you and I will take Paris by storm.”
Jamie chuckled. “Shit. I’m ready, honey!”
***
Kyra opened her eyes. The buzzer to her apartment rang from the wall intercom. Jamie had rolled over and was sleep on her side. Jamie could sleep through a tornado. Kyra eased out of bed and went to the intercom. “Hello?”
“It’s auntie.”
Kyra frowned. “Auntie Zuri?”
“Yes. Buzz me up, Keek,” she replied.
Keek was a pet name the family only used for her. Kyra hit the buzzer. She went out of the room and closed the door to keep Jamie from hearing or joining. She fixed her hair and cursed the untidiness of her place. Kyra unlocked the door just as her aunt stepped to it.
“Auntie!” Kyra said and reached and hugged her. Zuri hugged her back. She hadn’t seen her since she paid rent earlier that month. “Come in, come in.”
Her aunt was a regal woman. A middle sister and the only one in the family still talking to her, let alone helping her. This apartment was one of several owned by her husband. And Auntie had given her a really good rate on the rent. Behind the back of Kyra’s parents.
“How are you, sweetie?” Auntie asked.
“Good. Work is good. And ah, I got invited to an executive dinner last night.” Kyra started to clean up the magazines thrown around and pick up the junk food wrappers. “Sit down, Auntie.”
“Your place is so messy, Keek. You have to keep it tidy.”
“Yes, Auntie, I know. I know. But I was… working late so I fell behind,” she lied. Cleanliness was a qu
ality that was to be admired. For the women in her family it was a matter of pride.
“So how is everybody? Mommy? Daddy?” she asked.
“Your dad has been sick.”
“What?”
“The flu. He’s better now. He had to take off from work.” Her aunt began to sort the pile of clippings to her left and stacked them neatly on the coffee table. “I would have called but your mother said… well I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”
“I understand,” Kyra murmured. She tried to hide her hurt. She suffered through the first holidays without her family. If it wasn’t for Jamie she would have spent Christmas alone. “How are Adika, Esinam, and Doe? Everybody?”
“Keek,” her aunt said. “Have you had enough of this yet? Working in some office and making sparkling shoes. Aren’t you ready to come home? Start medical school?”
“No. I’m not,” she said firmly.
“Well if you are getting married you need to be more settled.” Aunt Zuri said.
Kyra frowned.
Auntie smiled. “That’s why I come. Your mother told me about the visit they had. And I have to say you went about this the wrong way, Keek. My poor sister is beside herself with worry for you now.”
“Visit?” Kyra sat upright. “From who?”
“She said his name was Cezar. He wanted to speak to your father. He asked for permission to ask for your hand in marriage. Said he had planned to propose. Why are you looking at me like that? Did you not know?”
Stunned Kyra couldn’t speak. She blinked at her aunt and then tried to capture breath in her lungs. Cezar found her parents? Actually spoke to her mother and father. The implications were disastrous. “When di-did this happen?” she stammered.
“Ah?” Zuri tapped her chin to think of the date.
“Kyra?” Jamie walked out of the bedroom with the Mirabella dress folded over her arms. Her aunt’s head turned and she looked at Jamie with surprise. “Oh forgive me, honey. I didn’t know you had company.”
Kyra stood. “Auntie, this is my friend Jamie,” she said her voice tight with worry. If her aunt even suspected what Jamie was it would not go over well. Jamie and she had talked many times about the conservative views of her family. To the outside world Jamie was a woman, one of the most beautiful. But she never hid her transformation or denied the fact that she was once a man.
“Hello,” Zuri nodded at Jamie. She extended her hand. Jamie shook it.
“You are beautiful. Are you the landlady?” Jamie grinned.
“I am. My husband’s company owns the building. He’s the one you see. Nice to meet you. Are you a tenant too?” Her aunt looked at Kyra with concern. She had one bedroom and was not supposed to sublease.
“Yes! I live upstairs.” Jamie said. “Kyra is my little baby bird.”
“That’s nice you made a friend,” Zuri stared at Kyra and she could see a hint of disapproval in her eyes. It made Kyra nervous. She cleared her voice and spoke up.
“Jamie, I’ll call you after I finish my visit with my aunt,” Kyra said.
Jamie nodded “I will work on the dress and have it to you tomorrow,” she said. She gave Kyra air kisses and walked out. Kyra closed the door behind her. When Kyra looked over at her aunt once more she saw her now remove her coat and gloves. “Sit down, Keek,” her aunt said.
Kyra did as she was told. In their lives the women kept order. The aunties and her mother ruled everything as a family. Kyra knew her mother, though not speaking to her, kept tabs on her this way. Zuri would never admit it and Kyra would never ask.
“Your mom is worried about you. This man Cezar, he behaved strangely when your father questioned him. Where did he come from? Who is he?”
“He isn’t my boyfriend.” Kyra spoke up. “Not my fiancé either. He lied.”
“I figured he wasn’t by your reaction. What is he, just one of the men you sleep with?” her aunt asked with disgust.
“Doe is a liar. I don’t sleep around, auntie. I’ve had six boyfriends total since I was seventeen. Only six!”
“And now that person you are friends with…” her aunt continued.
“Jamie? She’s a…”
“A man.” Zuri finished. “You think I don’t know?” her aunt shook her head. “I wanted to help you, Keek, I did. But you won’t come to your senses.”
“What does that mean?” Kyra asked.
“It means I agree with my sister. You need to go to school and let go of these silly girl dreams. At the end of the month you will pay full rent or you will have to move out.”
“Auntie, please don’t do this,” Kyra pleaded.
“I am doing it for your own good. We have all spoiled you. Encouraged your foolish ideas. The Cezar man is the last straw. You aren’t marrying or settling down, you’re wandering. I can’t help you throw your life away. It’s decided. You have two weeks.”
“I don’t understand any of you.” Kyra said as she watched her aunt rise and put on her coat. “You have all the power in the family yet you do whatever it is they want from us. So what I don’t want to get married, make babies, be a doctor, whatever. Why can’t I be me?”
Her aunt shook her head. “We raised you better than this. Your mother and father sacrificed so much to give you choices. And the sacrifice they made wasn’t for you to make selfish ones. You can be free to be yourself, Keek, but it comes at a price. Everything in life comes at a price.”
Her aunt came over and kissed her cheek. Kyra turned her face away. She crossed her arms to guard her heart from the pain she felt. Zuri was her last connection to the family. With her withdrawing her support she had nothing. And with her job on the line she was beginning to think her mother was right.
“If you decide to stay and pay the rent it will be $1200 and you will have to sign a lease. Call me in two weeks and let me know.” Her aunt then turned and left. Kyra dropped into her seat and cried. She was so frustrated she couldn’t stop the tears. She placed her face in her hands and wept. She cried until she couldn’t anymore. And the phone rang.
Kyra wiped her tears and answered it.
“Hello?”
“Are you ready to listen?” Cezar said.
Kyra sat up. “Did you go to my parents’ home? Did you tell them you wanted to marry me? Are you fucking insane?”
“I had planned to propose. That is what this has all been about. But you broke up with me before I got the chance. That’s why I wanted to talk to you—”
“Talk! There is no reason for us to talk. I don’t want to talk to you, see you, date you, or marry you! Do you get that! And if you come around here again I’m going to call the police. Stay the hell away from me and my family! Do you get that?”
“Kyra…”
She slammed the phone down. Her life was falling apart and psycho boy was the last thing she needed. She fell back on the sofa and flipped on the television. She didn’t even have the strength to go to Jamie for consoling. Her depression pushed her deeper into her self pity and she wanted to wallow in it alone.
The phone rang. Kyra snatched it up. “Stop fucking calling me!” she shouted in the line.
A deep-throated voice chuckled.
Kyra frowned. “Hello?”
“Should I hang up?” Renaldo asked.
“Renaldo?” Kyra smiled.
“A bad time to speak?” Renaldo asked.
“No. No it’s not. Hi,” Kyra smiled. “I was just thinking of you,” she lied. She was actually thinking about slitting her wrists.
“Will you be free this evening?” he asked.
“Sure. What time? Uh, so I can make sure?” She flinched. She didn’t want to seem over anxious or too eager.
“How is seven?” Renaldo asked. “Unfortunately I have to remain in hotel. But I can treat you to dinner. Here.”
Kyra smiled. She loved his accent, the way he spoke. And she desperately needed this. If she could sit down to dinner with him she could explain her desires to be interviewed. Time was not her friend in any of this
. She had to get out of this situation, and soon.
“Okay,” she said.
“I send driver for you. Okay?”
“Yes. That’s fine. Send a driver for me. See you soon.”
“Ciao, Kyra.”
“Bye, Renaldo.”
Kyra wiped the tears from her face. She was done crying, and done with feeling sorry for herself. She had two weeks to secure a job and find somewhere to live. And she’d do it. Renaldo would help her.
Dinner –
Kyra arrived ten minutes early. She kept walking through the lobby. If she walked she had no time to think of everything that was at risk. If she lost her job and her apartment, out the window went her independence. She’d have to ask someone for help. And that wasn’t an option.
Everything was at risk.
Dinner would be at the Peacock Alley. She’d heard of the restaurant but never dined there. The butterflies in her stomach ruined her appetite. She’d be lucky if she could keep down a glass of water.
“Hi, I’m here to meet ah…” Kyra glanced around. She couldn’t remember his last name. “Renaldo?” she said.
The woman gave her a curious smile. Kyra felt like an idiot. “I’m sorry, it’s a dinner date and I forgot his last name.”
“No problem,” she scanned the guest list and nodded. “I see here Cracchiolo, for two?”
“Yes. Renaldo Cracchiolo,” Kyra smiled. It was shameful that she didn’t remember his last name after the night she shared with him. It wasn’t like she didn’t like him, or want to see him. What was wrong with her?
“May I take your coat?” the hostess asked.
“Oh, yeah, sure,” Kyra said. She shrugged off her coat and passed it over. Another woman appeared with a smile to accept the coat from the hostess and Kyra was given a claim ticket.
“This way,” the hostess said.
Kyra followed. Only one sweeping glance of the posh establishment was needed to locate Renaldo. He nursed a drink alone at a table. His dark head bowed as he stared into his glass. His gaze lifted when she drew closer and he was out of his seat. Renaldo again wore a suit like a man of importance. And those beautiful brown eyes smiled at her as if pleased. The hot sexy memory of every decadent moment she shared with him the night before made her cheeks burn with excitement.
Scandalous Heroes Box Set Page 9