by D. Camille
Lena smirked. “What does the card say?” She plucked it from the arrangement and moved it out of the way when Lana tried to grab it.
Stepping away, Lena opened the small envelope and began reading, “Lana Sable, thank you for welcoming me to the Sable Inn. Derek.”
Lana snatched the card from her hands. “See, he’s just saying thank you.”
“No one has ever thanked me that way,” Lena pointed out.
“That’s why I’m in charge of hospitality,” Lana told her.
Lena looked at her younger sister. “What’s that in your hand? He sent you flowers too?”
Lorna smiled. “No, it’s from Jamal.”
“I swear, you two,” Lena shook her head. “Are you friends or lovers?”
Lorna’s eyes narrowed. “Leave her alone, Lena.” Lana told her middle sister, who loved to needle their baby sister. “Jamal and Lorna are whatever they want to be.”
Lena sighed. “I’m going to go finish working on my marketing plan for the Fall. Can you handle things here until Daddy gets back?” she asked Lana.
“Don’t I always?” Lana answered.
Lena glanced at the flowers on the counter. “Seems like you have some other business on your hands.”
“Go do your work, Lena.” Lana ordered. “Dinner will be served in a little while.”
Both sisters took Lana’s orders seriously and made themselves scarce very quickly. Growing up they hadn’t had to worry about Daddy, half as much as Lana. Although, she was only two years older than Lena and four years older than Lorna, she took her big sister role very seriously.
Their father, Lloyd, had leaned on Lana a lot, in helping with the girls and the Inn. Currently, he was out of town visiting with his woman, which all the girls encouraged whole-heartedly. He’d dedicated his whole life to them and this business and now they wanted him to have his own life.
Lana, in her own way had followed in her father’s footsteps and made her life the Inn and her sisters. Their father had required all of them to leave home for college and they’d all returned with plans to stay.
Glancing at the purple arrangement, Lana sighed. She hadn’t received flowers from a man in a long time, not even ones just to say thank you. She smiled and shook her head, thinking that she definitely would not be telling her book club about this. She’d never hear the end of it.
******
Two hours later, Derek awakened to a blinking light on the nightstand next to him. Wiping his face, he picked up the receiver and pressed the line. He listened to Lana’s message that dinner would be served in the dining room or if he preferred, he could have something brought up to his room.
Replacing the receiver, he looked around the darkened room. He’d blacked out as soon as his head had hit the pillow once he returned from his tour with Lana. Glancing at his watch, he saw that he still had time to make it down to dinner.
Climbing out of bed, he showered and dressed in slacks and a casual shirt. Standing in the mirror, he brushed his hair and rubbed his beard before adding some cologne. Nodding at his reflection, he grabbed his wallet and key then headed downstairs.
Walking into the dining room, he spotted Lana across the room. Couples were seated at the decorated tables with flowers and candles on top. As he moved to one of the empty tables, he was joined by Lena.
“Good evening, Mr. Wells,” she took the seat across from him.
He smiled. “Good evening, Lena.”
“Are you enjoying your stay?” she asked.
“Yes, I am…very much.”
Lena leaned closer and whispered. “She swims in the pool at midnight.”
Derek blinked. “Excuse me?”
Standing, Lena smiled down at him. “Midnight.”
He watched her walk away and she turned back suddenly. “Oh, and there are cameras.” She winked at him.
Derek nodded in understanding and watched her walk over to Lana before turning to point him out. Lana looked at her sister then smiled at Derek from across the room. He sat back and watched as she glided over to his table.
“Good evening, Derek.” Lana greeted. “You got my message?”
“Yes, I did. Thank you for letting me know.”
Lana toyed with her hair as he watched. “I received your flowers. That was very nice of you.”
He watched her intently. “You’re welcome. You wouldn’t let me tip you earlier, so I decided to send the bouquet.”
Lana’s eyes locked with his. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know,” he answered. “And you didn’t have to let me take up all of your time.”
Derek looked around the room. “Your message didn’t say that this was a couple’s dinner.”
Lana also glanced at the other tables. “We have all couples booked tonight, except for you.”
“Would you mind joining me so that I don’t look like the odd man out?”
“I usually eat with my sisters,”
He smiled. “They are invited as well.”
“Let me talk to them,” she said softly. “Can I get you something to drink? We have beer, wine and soda.”
“A glass of wine,” he agreed.
“Red or white?”
He leaned back. “What do you suggest?”
“I lean more towards white,” she answered.
“Then white it is.”
Lana smiled. “I’ll be back with that.”
“I’ll be waiting…”
With another small smile, Lana turned and walked to the kitchen. Inside, the dinner plates were being prepared and she went to the wine fridge to select a bottle of white wine. Grabbing two glasses and a corkscrew, she went to find her sisters. The two were busy making sure the dinner service was being executed seamlessly, when she approached them.
“I’m going to sit with Derek, since he’s alone.” Lana announced. “He’s also invited you both to dine with him.”
Lena raised a brow at the wine and glasses in her hand. “Tell him thanks, but Lorna and I have some things to discuss over dinner.”
Lana looked at Lorna. “Uh, yeah…we’ve got a lot of things to discuss.”
She looked at them both. “Do you need me to help you?”
“No!” Lena objected. “Go and accommodate our guest. You know hospitality comes first.”
Lorna nodded in agreement and Lana looked at them again. “Ok, I’ll be in the dining room.”
“We know where to find you,” Lena told her with a smile.
Lana joined Derek at the table and he stood as she arrived. Sitting the bottle and glasses on the table, she informed him of her sister’s decision.
“They say they have work to do over dinner,” Lana told him.
Derek smiled. “Maybe next time.” He moved to hold out Lana’s chair and she took a seat. They both reached for the bottle at the same time, then looked at one another.
“Please, allow me…” Derek said picking up the chilled wine.
“You’re supposed to be on vacation,” Lana reminded, and held out the corkscrew to him.
“This isn’t work,” he told her.
Lana sat back and watched him methodically open the bottle and pour two glasses before taking his seat across from her.
Holding his glass in the air, he lifted a dark brow at her. “What should we toast to?” Derek asked.
Lana raised her glass to his. “The tradition is to health.”
“I think I’d rather toast to the beautiful things in life,” he said slowly.
She agreed. “I can do that.”
“To the Sable sisters, in particular the incredibly beautiful Lana Sable.”
Lana froze. “Cheers,” she said softly.
“Cheers.”
They both took sips of the sparkling beverage. “That was a surprise,” she commented.
“The toast?” he asked watching her.
“The subject of the toast,” she told him.
Derek studied her across the table. “It’s no surprise that yo
u’re an incredibly beautiful woman.”
Lana took another sip. “I’ve been told something similar.”
He nodded. “I have no doubt. I wonder why some brother hasn’t ‘wifed’ you already.”
She laughed. “Now we both know that brothers aren’t ‘wifeing’ on the regular. If that was the case, you’d have a wife somewhere already.”
Lana gave him a look. “Or maybe you do.”
Derek laughed. “No, no wife, no babies…just lots of work.”
“Here, here,” Lana told him. “Lots of work.”
He sat his glass on the table. “Then you understand.”
“Tell me exactly what you do,” Lana prompted.
“When someone wants to run for a political office, they call me in to manage the candidate and the campaign,” he explained.
“Manage the candidate?”
He nodded and picked up his glass again. “Tell them what to say, how to act, and basically keep them away from any bad press.”
Lana drank her wine, then asked. “How long have you done this?”
“I started out as a Political Science major at Howard. I interned at the White House for a year and cut my teeth on the Obama re-election campaign. For the past four years, I’ve handled more local elections where African Americans were the candidates,” he explained. “My success rate is over eighty percent.”
“Wow, that’s impressive.”
He smiled and sipped from his glass. “I hoped you’d think so.”
Their dinner plates were delivered and placed in front of each of them. They both thanked the attendant and turned to one another.
“I hope you enjoy your dinner. Mrs. Langston gets down in the kitchen,” Lana told him.
Derek looked at the plate. “If my lunch was any indication, I’m definitely looking forward to this.”
As they began to eat, Lana continued with her questions. “So you must really be in demand with a success rate like that?”
“Yeah, my phone never stops ringing.” He confessed. “Which is why I have it turned off right now.”
Lana studied him. “You really needed a break?”
He nodded and stared into his plate. “Watching what’s going on in politics right now has turned my stomach.”
“You believe in that system?” Lana asked and he looked at her.
“I did, wholeheartedly.”
“And now?”
Derek shook his head. “And now, I’m questioning everything I knew about this land of the free.”
“I didn’t vote in this last election,” Lana confessed.
He lifted a brow. “Can I ask you why?”
“We have basically this two party system that presented us with two unsuitable candidates in my opinion,” she told him. “My ancestors didn’t fight and die for me to be able to choose between the best of two evils.”
“You felt both candidates were unsuitable?” Derek asked.
Lana nodded. “I had strong reservations about both and neither moved me in one direction or the other.”
“Are you affiliated with a party?” Derek asked.
She shook her head. “I don’t think any party has served our community. We’re always the afterthought on display during election time.”
“I can’t argue with you on that. As a community we don’t use our power enough, especially in politics. Money controls everything in this country and it can buy just about everyone,” he told her.
“Are your candidates bought?” Lana questioned.
He shook his head. “I only work with the ones I trust and believe in.”
“You can afford to be that selective?”
Picking up his glass, he smiled at her. “I don’t come cheap.”
Lana lifted an arched brow clearly impressed. She sipped her wine then turned her attention back to the handsome man across from her.
“Thank you for having dinner with me,” Derek said softly.
Their gazes held. “Thank you for inviting me.”
“May I invite you again?”
Lana looked into her glass. “I don’t engage with guests. It’s very unprofessional and against the rules.”
“You want me to check out?” he asked.
She met his eyes. “No, I need your reservation.”
“The first thing I learned in politics is that all rules are made to be broken,” he said quietly.
“It would have to be worth the consequences,” she told him.
He smiled at her. “I’d love to show you some of my uh, urban tendencies.”
Lana dropped her head into her hand. “You heard that?”
“I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop but I didn’t want to interrupt you either. After a few minutes, I decided I’d better make my presence known before you all went any further,” he confessed.
She lifted her head. “So you know all my secrets?”
“I’m cool with B-cups and I love your hair.”
“Oh no!” she said closing her eyes as he laughed.
Derek reached across the table and took her hand, causing her to open her eyes. “I’m feeling you Lana Sable and I’d like to spend time with you while I’m here. There it is…straight, no chaser.”
“A vacation affair?” she asked. “Is that how you do?”
“This is the first vacation I’ve taken in four years, so no. Spending my down time getting to know you, yes, that’s how I do.”
Lana removed her hand and picked up her glass. “I’ll have to think about that.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he replied.
“You’re here for thirty days,” she reminded him.
“At least,” he rebutted. “I can stay for as long as necessary.”
She looked at him confused. “Why would you continue to pay to stay here for any longer?”
“She’s sitting across the table from me.”
Chapter 3
Lana leaned back with a soft smile. “You’re smooth with yours…”
Derek shrugged. “I’ve got some swagger.”
“You threw me off with the bowtie,” she admitted.
“I’ve got style too.”
She laughed softly and looked over his attire for the evening. “I can’t deny that because your cologne is the business.”
“Just like the lavender I smell from your hair,” he commented watching her.
Lana went back to the last of her meal. “We have more guests arriving this week including a few single reservations. You may find your picnic companion.”
“That spot has been reserved.”
She paused. “Did you get an RSVP?”
He also worked on finishing his meal. “Not yet.”
“Hmmm…you’re confident.”
“I have to be, I’m a black man in politics. Confidence and tenacity are a requirement,” he explained.
Lana turned all of her attention on him. “Listen Derek, I’m not trying to be the difficult black woman who chases good brothers away, but you just wandered in here. I don’t know you or anything about you. Right now, I’m not looking for a good time because I’m focused on this establishment.”
He waited while she continued. “I’m not trying to get the reputation of offering anything at the Sable Inn, except room and board.”
Derek nodded. “I hear you and I’m not asking you to come up to my room with me tonight. Like you said, you don’t know me…” he paused. “And I don’t know you. For all I know, you and your beautiful sisters could lure unsuspecting men here and store their bodies in the basement.”
Lana smiled. “We don’t have a basement.”
“See, I didn’t know that,” he deadpanned.
She laughed softly as he lifted his glass to his full lips. “Is there at least an initial attraction?” he asked and Lana watched his Adam’s apple as he swallowed the liquid.
She pursed her lips. “Honestly?”
Derek smiled. “I work with politicians, I know a lie when I hear one.”
Lana took her time
and sipped her drink while studying him. When their eyes met, he nodded.
“So yes,” he answered for her.
She finally smiled. “Of course, look at you.”
“That’s what I’m talking about,” he said leaning forward. “I saw your brown skin, your big hair, your dark eyes and your long legs and decided that I wanted to get to know Lana Sable.”
“You have an excellent memory,” she told him, hearing her words recited back to her.
“It’s my job to remember everything that’s been said,” he explained.
She looked away. “I have to remember that.”
“As long as you remember me.” He finished his glass and reached for the bottle, then Lana watched as he refilled both glasses.
Lifting an eyebrow at the now full glass, she asked, “You plan on keeping me here for a while?”
“A couple of glasses of wine, good food, and good company equals a perfect evening,” he told her quietly.
Lana reached for the glass. “I agree, but I really should check in with my sisters. I can’t slack all night and leave them with all the work.”
“Finish this glass and if you need me, I’ll help you.”
She took a slow sip. “I won’t put you to work.” Lana eyed him. “Not in that way.”
Derek smiled a lazy smile. “You’re the boss, Miss Sable.”
The two lingered over a second glass of wine, then finished the bottle while they talked quietly, oblivious of the room beginning to empty of its guests for the evening. Lena and Lorna showed up at their table a while later with secret smiles of their own.
“Hey Lana, the kitchen’s all cleared and everything is done, so you two can hang out as long as you like.” Lorna hinted.
Lana looked at her watched and noticed the late hour. “Oh dammit! I didn’t know it was this late. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to leave you two to do everything.”
Lena glanced at Derek. “It’s fine Lana. We know how to run things too, besides you never take time off.”
Derek silently watched the interaction between the sisters.
“We’re done for the night and heading home. The night manager is here and so there’s nothing for you to do,” Lorna informed her.
Lena smiled. “Go relax.” She glanced at Derek again and he nodded.
Lana stood and hugged her sisters. “Thank you. I can always count on you both.”