Ghost to the Game

by Orion Pharoah

  I could do nothing but embrace him as the crowd clapped a shot in one hand, mic in the other. I stood dead center of the room and raised my shot glass and everyone did the same.

  I started, “Tonight is a celebration-a family reunion. This family is here to bring in our future, one that will create enough power and riches to control the globe. Now I know everyone is ready to defile New Orleans so I’ll be brief:

  According to Koptic scrolls, the scripture, verifies , Pharaoh believed that all of humanity who followed him or were able to prosper because of him, would serve for eternity. The mighty Rah had ordained it so!

  It was recorded upon excavating the pyramids, that hundreds of thousands of followers were found buried under Pharaoh’s chamber. His entourage lived prosperously under his rule and upon his death, chose to be buried with him so they could celebrate him for eternity. Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, start an entourage!” With that, all shots were downed, and the room roared in approval.

  As the party turned up I saw Pops disappear to the VIP lounge so I thought I would check on him, and when I opened the door he was standing there looking down on the celebration smiling. Turning to me beaming, he exclaimed, “Holy shit Son, you did it! Every soul in that room is ready to march in your army, I knew you could do this. I want you to take your time in Cali findin’ a new hub and try to have a little fun while you’re wrappin’ up with Switzerland, because when you get home it’s your show.”

  It took me a second to put all that together but once I did all I could say was, “Yes Sir.”

  Hugging me he added, “They’re not even gonna know you left if you wanna go ahead and get out of Louisiana. Hell, they’re gonna party so hard no work is gonna get done for at least three days.” He laughed and I thanked him, went downstairs and jumped in the limo and headed to the airport. I would have enough time to get a couple hours of sleep before wheels down at LAX.

  Chapter 4

  I walked into a posh two-story Las Angeles real estate office and to my surprise it was full of people, so I made my way to a beautiful brunette standing in a doorway and asked if there was a place to check in. She smiled a smile so good it hurt.

  “You’re Mr. Duncan? She asked almost surprised.

  “Yes Ma’am, what gave it away?”

  “You’re Texas accent is undeniable- but can I ask you a question?” She never waited for me to answer. “You’re here to look at several properties across California, all well over 1.3 million apiece, how long have you been old enough to drink?” She smirked seriously.

  I smiled as I stepped close enough to her to change her sarcasm to primal attraction and whispered, “Less than 8 hours, but I’m here to purchase three properties across California, I’m not sure my ability to purchase a drink really matters. Now, Tammi- if that’s your real name.” She looked down guiltily, “My limousine is waitin’ outside so why don’t you gear up.” She was frozen. “Ms. Foster I just need two words from you, dear.” I smiled.

  Her expression relaxed and she dropped her blushing face and whispered, “Yes Sir,” as she walked to grab her attaché.

  Once we got in the car, I put her at ease. “Hey, it’s okay, for real, I understand you’re not at work to waste time and I don’t look the CEO part.”

  She did it again, that damn smile. She said confidently, “You walked into the most successful firm in all of LA and somehow without saying a word, made every woman in the building hope you were there to see them.”

  She broke our eye contact, “Dr Duncan, I’m sorry if I insulted you in anyway, sarcasm is my go-to when I’m overwhelmed.”

  She was astonishing with her bright blue eyes that sparkled when she smiled. I laughed and gave the driver the first address. “Look Tami, I promise we can start over right now, deal?” She beamed, “First, my name is Isabelle Fregoso, Tami Foster is my LA real estate alias, clients seem to like it better.”

  “Wow, that’s a beautiful name Belle, Thank you.” I expressed, as her smile did something I thought was impossible, it brightened.

  She scrunched her nose happily, “My father used to call me Belle, can I at least buy you lunch after this showing to say I’m sorry?”

  I laughed, “You can pick where we eat lunch, how ‘bout that?”

  As we entered the corporate office building it was hard to stay focused on my job because every step she took was like she was dancing on my soul. She was taller, and filled out her designer maxi-dress very well with curves in all the right places. Her auburn ringlets tucked nicely into a low ponytail bouncing as she sashayed across the floor, and every word she said was like a soulful melody, etching her voice into my brain. We finished the tour and as all of my research had pointed out, it was a great location. Once back in the car, I opened the door and Belle stopped in front of me, with a smile, “Would you like to discuss the local utilities over lunch Mr. Duncan?” She didn’t give me chance to answer, just claimed in, bent over the partition and said something to the driver and we were on our way.

  “This is incredible, how did you know I wanted a french dip?” I asked as we sat at a little table at some hole-in-the-wall bbq place.

  “Probably the same way you knew my name wasn’t Tami.” She winked.

  “Seriously, how did you know?” I smiled at her.

  “This is a place I knew a Texas gentleman, like yourself, would love- lots of cow.” She said with an adorable grin. She delivered on the food experience for sure.

  Chapter 5

  The next site had us sitting in traffic and I noticed a classic car show on the beach so I asked the driver to take us over to it. We walked around until I heard her-she was beautiful. The perfect black on black 1969 Chevy Camaro SS. She was almost elegant and for the second time today my breath was nowhere to be located. I walked up to her owner with Belle in arm, and asked him, “How much are you sellin’ her for? -If you don’t mind me askin’.”

  He smiled and looked at me then Belle then looked over my shoulder at the limo and shrugged. “More than you want to spend. Hell, I couldn’t even consider selling it for less than $175K.”

  He squinted and smiled as if he had laid down a good card hand.

  I smiled back, “Sir, her name is Shelby-Jean and if you have the tittle, I can have $250K wired to the account of your choice in less than three minutes.”

  As I began to type on my two-way, Belle squeezed my arm in excitement as he pulled a satchel out of the cab of his 5th wheel. I advised the driver he was free for the day and I looked up at what felt strangely right- Belle, sitting in Shelby’s passenger seat fixing her make up in the mirror.

  I sat down in the car and Belle chimed, “You’re very unpredictable.”

  “No sense in changin’ now. I thought we would skip the second showing and take a drive up the coast to San Francisco.”

  She smiled big, “Yeah that's where the 3rd property is and it's also almost 7 hours to get there,” She kindly reminded.

  I smiled back “Well it's a good thing we’ve got a fast car, I bet I can get us there before dinner.”

  “That's a bet handsome, you get us there before dinner and I'll make dinner plans.”

  Keeping my eyes on the road as we drove up the coast was incredibly difficult. I asked her, “Earlier you said your father called you Belle, where is he now?”

  Her entire demeanor changed.

  “I may never see him again, but I carry him with me everywhere.” She put her hand to her heart and I quickly asked about the rest of her family to change the subject and she went back to smiling.

  “I’m kinda the black sheep of the family, I was really a daddy's girl and he wasn't the most popular guy, so when he sent me to American college, things got tense. I haven't been home in a while but I keep in touch with my mom and our relationship has grown very steady and strong over the years.” She fidgeted with her necklace- a diamond shaped cross with a platinum chain, as rainbows danced on the ceiling as the light hit it through the windshield. I could tell it meant something to he
r and I smiled, “So you like that you grew up in Spain?”

  She leaned in and grabbed my arm, “Oh very much so! It's beautiful, the views are like this, all the time!” She waved her hands across the windshield pointing to the ocean. “Everyone’s so nice and they're either eating or socializing or socializing and eating. None of this high society social classes. I mean, don't get me wrong, there's bad stuff too but shit can't be all good all the time. I miss it a lot but I know that the trade off and what I've been able to do makes up for not going home.”

  I rested my hand on her thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze, “That's beautiful Belle- you are beautiful.”

  Chapter 6

  We stopped for gas and got back on the road and Belle put her phone on speaker to make a call. The voice on the other line answered, “Hey doll, what’s going on?”

  Belle smiled, “Hey Megs, do you think you can get us in tonight? I know it’s crazy late notice.”

  Megs replied, “Well, I can try but what the hell is all that noise? Are you in, a bi-plane?”

  She laughed, “No, believe it or not, I’m going about 90 in a muscle car headed to you.”

  Megs said jokingly, “Is that muscle car the US, you are needing a table for?”

  Bell blushed, immediately interrupting her, “That’s enough!”

  “Okay, I’ll get you in babe, and us is going to come meet me in the kitchen to talk about you. I will see both of you soon.” Megs hung up before Belle could respond and she looked at me. “I feel like I need to make up for taking you to a hole in the wall for lunch, so I hope you like seafood curry.”

  Rubbing my stomach, “I love curry.”

  She smiled big, “Great! Megan is world renowned for hers, you’ll love it. Just know, once you meet her, she’s going to get unruly.”

  We both laughed as we drove on into San Francisco.

  I threw the keys to the valet and he looked at me in shock. “Sir, I can't drive that car.” I laughed “Give me the front spot and I’ll park it.”

  He nodded, “Yes Sir.” I tipped him and he thanked me.

  As we went in we were greeted by a young host who set us at a very nice table in a corner of the restaurant and a beautiful bubbling blonde walked up and hugged Belle with all her might from behind. Megs smiled and looked right in my eyes. “You must be the muscle car.”

  I stood up to greet her, “Yes ma'am.”

  “Oh damn, and country as hell.” Megan blurted out laughing.

  “Come on back guys.” She grabbed Belle’s hand and Belle grabbed mine tight.

  She took us on a tour of the kitchen and as the ladies started to catch up, I excused myself to make a call, I stepped into the back of the kitchen so I could upgrade the reservations at the hotel that the real-estate company had reserved. I made my way back to the inevitability of a cross examination from Megan and Belle and laughed as she said, “There's nothing I can do to save you, handsome.” as she kissed me on the cheek.

  Megan looked me up and down, smiled, and asked “What's your intentions Mr. Orion?”

  I raised my eyebrow as to seem coy, “Globally, nationwide, or Isabelle? Because if its Belle you are worried about don’t, she’s holding all the cards.”

  Megan smiled, “Fair enough. What brings you to San Francisco?”

  “A 69 Camaro SS.”

  She laughed, “You’re a smart ass, I like him Belles!”

  Belle’s smile got bigger and she hugged me, “Good, I was half expecting a wild west draw but since the sheriff approves, can we please go have some food?”

  Megan laughed and hugged Belle, “Of course, you guys go eat, have fun Muscle car.”

  We eventually made our way back to our table, sat down and enjoyed what can only be described as the best seafood curry I've ever had in my entire life. Our waitress thanked us and informed us entire meal was taken care of compliments of the Chef so I pulled out my black card handed it to her, “Then Miss Katie, I want you to go tip yourself what the meal would have cost.” She blushed, “Oh my god, Mr. Duncan, thank you so much!”

  Belle smiled at me, “You're just adding to my list.”

  Megan leaned over Belle’s shoulder, causing Belle to jump a little, “Ah, we’re making lists now?” We all laughed and stood up, and hugged goodbye as we made our way to the valet. Megan hugged Belle one more time so she could say, “He’s smoking hot girl.” She turned to me and smiled, “That’s a beautiful car, since you obviously don’t care about money, you can’t be doing this just to get a good deal on real estate so treat my friend like something you do care about. OR ELSE.”

  I smirked, “What makes you think I don’t care about money?”

  She replied by handing me back my black card.

  “Well played.” I said, “Trust me we both have the same stakes in the game.”

  She winked, “Good.”

  Chapter 7

  Belle begin to smile as the elevator door opened to the penthouse suite and declared, “I want you to know that this isn't my thing, like I never veer off course but you are a horrible influence.” The doors opened to an amazing 180-degree view of the breath-taking San Francisco city. We stepped into the room and as I closed the door, I locked our eyes and warned, “Belle, you don’t know anythin’ about me.” She interrupted playfully, “And you know nothing about me either, Mr. Orion.” She put her arms around my neck and grinned and I adjusted my smirk to a more sinister glare, “I will know every single thing you have to show and all your secrets very soon Belle, but you will still only know what I allow you to.” She looked at me lovingly, pushed up high on her tip toes and whispered, “Promise?” then closed her eyes and kissed me.

  The next morning I got up early to finish business out on the balcony and when Belle woke, she wrapped up in a bedsheet and walked out to join me.

  “Working already?” She gleamed.

  “I was just making sure payroll was accurate before the quarterly filing.”

  “Sounds fun.” She said sarcastically.

  “It’s not but at least I get to hop the Atlantic for a few weeks to chill while I’m waitin’ on the bank.” I chuckled then paused for a second, in thought, “Do you have an updated passport?” She leaned in and questioned cutely, “Yes? What bank?” She raised an eyebrow.

  “The bank beautiful, is in Switzerland and, well if you have a good passport, I was thinkin’-” She interrupted with a huge screech and a kiss, “Yes!”

  I leaned in and kissed her all the way back to bed.

  I had lunch brought up and when Belle heard room service knock, she looked at her phone and her eyes grew wide.

  “Oh, shit, I’ve got to check in with the office. Stacey has left two voice mails and oh yea, I gotta ask for time off.” She laughed as she threw her hands up.

  I smiled and suggested, “How about you take care of that while we eat?”

  We sat out on the balcony with the food as she checked her voicemails. Belle’s face filled with color as blood rushed into her cheeks and her jaw hit the floor as she hung up the phone. I stood up, took her into my arms and swung her around and smiled, and when our eyes locked, she kissed me deep.

  “That was Stacey congratulating me on the three properties I sold to your company and letting me know that they wired the funds this morning. She said- and I quote- You’re rich woman! Take all the time off you want!” She paused to collect herself, “Orion-” I stopped her with another kiss.

  I broke our embrace to ask her a question but she interrupted, “Orion, as long as the next words out of your mouth keep us together, my answer is yes.” She smiled again and my soul felt warm. “Let’s head to the airport this afternoon. I’ve already made arrangements for Shelby-Jean.” She pressed her body close to me, “Do we have time to let me show you my home? Since we’re crossing the Atlantic.”

  I nodded, “I would like that.”

  Later that afternoon, we took Shelby-Jean to the airport for processing and Belle hugged my arm and smiled. There was a different twinkl
e in her eye this time, one that came from deep in her soul and that was when I realized I had all her trust. I looked over our shoulder and saw the car pull up andI whispered in her ear, “Time to go.” Within minutes we were on the G3 and ready for wheels up, she slept in my arms as we crossed the Pacific and when we came across land, I woke her up to see the beautiful continent we had entered.

  Chapter 8

  Barcelona was spectacular and Belle was so excited-like a schoolgirl holding my arm tight as we shopped through the streets of Spain. An older woman stopped us and grabbed our hands. She smiled, “Look how beautiful.”

  She spoke on for what seemed to be an endless run in Portuguese and Belle blushed and smiled. Then she kissed our cheeks and placed her hands on my face and loving said, “Obrigada.” and walked away. I turned to Belle, who was beaming and asked her, “What did she say?”

  She grinned from ear to ear, “She said the gods have brought beauty into a dark place that is warm but filled with a loss forever.”

  It set me back for a second because as wild as it sounded, it was very accurate.

  ***

  We agreed to meet Belle’s mom for dinner on Thursday and I don't think she slept at all Wednesday night. She was cute, fussing over what to wear and how to do her hair, she was excited to see her mom and when we finally got to the restaurant Belle was overcome with emotions! They embraced for what seemed like forever and I could definitely see where Belle got her beauty from. Her mother was stunning with crystal blue eyes and dark brown and grey hair. A chesty women with worry and smile lines on a face I could tell had been strong through the years and had shared many good memories with her child. She kept her embrace around Belle’s arm and I stood there taking them all in, then, she turned and looked at me, “You have brought a smile to my Belle’s heart and that assures me, in the dark mystery behind your eyes dwells a good man.”