She spoke to Mick’s Footman as he carried two garment bags out of their bedroom and down the stairs. Mick was still in the shower when she entered the bedroom. She sat on the edge of the bed, took off her heels, and began rubbing one of her feet. Her toes looked beautiful, as her manicurist made certain of it, but her feet were killing her. It had been a long day. But it was only going to get longer, she knew, because Mick was leaving.
When he finally got out of the shower and dried himself off, he tossed the towel down the chute and made his way into the bedroom. When he saw Roz, he displayed a barely registered smile on his face that most people would not have even seen. But Roz saw it. She also saw his fine body and long, dangling penis as he made his way to his underwear drawer. She continued to rub her foot. “Going somewhere?” she asked him.
“Yes,” he said as he pulled out a brand new pack of briefs. Then he looked back at her as she began taking off her suit coat. “How are you?”
“Ah, I’m okay.”
“Rough day?”
Roz nodded. “Another rough day, yes.”
“More defections?”
Roz nodded again. “Yup.
Mick turned back around. “It’ll get better,” he said.
She knew better than that, but she didn’t go there. “Where are you going?” she asked him as she began unbuttoning her blouse. When he didn’t respond, she asked again. “Where, Mick?”
“Rome,” he said as he tore open the new pack of briefs.
“What’s going on in Rome?” she asked as she removed her blouse and then her bra. She was getting comfortable, after a long day of work, and was ready to take a long tub bath. When Mick didn’t respond to her, she looked at him. And realized he was staring at her.
Mick stood there getting larger and larger, and he could taste those large breasts of Roz’s from where he stood. He dropped that package of briefs and made his way over to the bed. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips passionately, and then he laid her back on the bed, and pushed her further up on the bed, and got on top of her. And he began ravaging her breasts.
Roz smiled with a hooded look as she couldn’t help but enjoy his ravaging. “You can’t answer my questions,” she said, licking her lips as he did her, “but you’ve got all kinds of answers for my titties.”
“All kinds,” Mick said between sucks and licks and bites. And then he began moving down, and grabbed the band of her skirt and panties and pulled them both all the way down her legs and off of her body, leaving her completely naked like him. And he opened her legs and ate her long and hard down there.
He ate until it was too much for both of them, and guided his rock-hard penis inside of her. He laid down on top of her and began a slow, sensual journey that they both were able to sustain for nearly half an hour.
Until Mick hit Roz in her spot one time too many, and she couldn’t hold back. “You’re making me go there, Mick. You’re making me cum. Mick. Mick. Mick!”
And she came with an orgasm so hard and ferocious that she moved and twisted and turned so much that her legs ended up wrapped around Mick’s neck. And she was still cumming.
Then Mick came too. He couldn’t hold it in another second, either, and gave her all he had. He came as hard and as ferocious as she had cum. And just as she had called his name as she came, he was calling hers.
When they had finished, he collapsed on top of her. She didn’t mind. She let him lay there regaining his strength while she rubbed his silky black hair. Until he heard himself snore.
He smiled, and looked at her. “That was me?”
Roz laughed. “Yep!”
Mick snorted. “Sorry about that. How was your day, sweetheart?” he asked her.
“As I said, it was okay,” she said. She wanted him to ask about last night, and the fact that she didn’t get the role she was hoping to get, but he didn’t ask. Probably didn’t even remembered she had an audition, although she told him more than once.
He kissed her, got up, and headed for the bathroom.
As she heard him peeing, she grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. After flipping channels, she settled on an international news story about an actress she knew getting engaged to a prince.
“And in other international news,” the anchorman said, “the British Parliament sought to censure the Prime Minister for his refusal to submit to a breathalyzer while driving under the influence last evening. But the measure failed.”
Mick flushed the toilet and began washing his hands.
“In Rome,” the anchor continued, “a highly-fortified facility loaded with illegal weaponry was raided today.”
Mick walked into the bedroom drying his hands with a towel and watching the TV. Roz was about to change the channel, but she noticed his interest.
“The raid was led by America’s Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco agency, and according to the Americans, the stash is believed to be worth well in excess of two-hundred million pounds. It is said to be the largest one-day haul by the agency on foreign soil. The owner of the facility, and thereby the owner of the illegal arms, has yet to be determined. The AFT, thus far, is tight-lipped.”
Then the anchor moved on. “In Pakistan today,” he began, but Roz turned off the TV. She was looking at Mick. “Is that why you’re going to Rome?” she asked him.
He headed for his underwear drawer again. “Yep,” he said as he tossed the towel aside and began getting dressed.
“The ATF, Mick? That’s heavy duty shit.”
“Don’t I know it,” Mick said.
“But is that seizure legal?” Roz asked. “I mean, how can they go to Rome and seize your property? I’ll bet it’s not legal.”
“They’d bet it too,” Mick said. “They want the owner to dispute the right of seizure. That’s what they want. They want the owner identified.”
“You don’t think they already know?”
Mick hesitated as he dressed. “I don’t know. But I’ll find out.”
“I’ll bet it’s illegal.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Mick said. “They get away with that shit. They raided my facilities in Belarus too.”
Roz realized the gravity. “Is it a good idea for you to go to Rome, Mick? Couldn’t Lewdy or the lawyers handle it?”
“I don’t leave it up to somebody else to handle business that can blow back on me and mine. I have to take care of it.”
Which made perfect sense to Roz. But still! “When will you be back?”
“May take a few days,” Mick said, “or a week or two. It all depends on what’s happening once I get there.”
Roz hated to hear it. She looked at him. “What?” he asked.
“I didn’t get the part,” she said.
Mick hated to hear that! He let out a sigh. “Want me to do something?” he asked her.
“Like what? Crack skulls and make them want me? Of course not.” Then she sighed too. “It’ll work out. It always does.”
“That’s the spirit,” he said and then turned toward the drawer. She got up and, as he continued to fumbled to open a new pack of t-shirts, she placed her arms around him from behind and laid her head on his back. She needed him.
Mick could sense her clinginess as he removed the t-shirt out of the package. He turned around, saw the anguish in her big eyes, and pulled her into his arms. Roz had to be strong. He could never let her wallow in her weakness or there was no way he was ever going to be able to conduct his business effectively. Because he knew a truth that even Roz didn’t know: if she couldn’t handle his absences the way he knew she could, he wouldn’t go. It would ruin him, and possibly put his entire family in danger, but he would never hurt Roz. She always came first. Even above his grown children, he knew deep down. Because, if it wasn’t for Roz, his relationship with his children would be virtually non-existent compared to what it was now. It was strained for the most part because of his sternness with them, but they were an integral part of his life now. The twins were still in grade school. And he got a sec
ond chance at being a better parent when he and Roz had those two, but he still wasn’t great at it. And even they took a backseat to Roz. It was how Mick was built. She was the only human being to ever penetrate his wall. His greatest love on earth, and loyalty, would always belong to her first.
But he could not let her be weak. She had to be strong for her own sake. For their family’s sake. “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he promised. Then he leaned back, with his hands on her shoulders, and looked at her. “You understand I have to handle it. Don’t you, Rosalind?”
She understood. Because it was true. She wasn’t going to play make-believe. “Yes,” she admitted. “I understand.”
Mick gave a slight smile. “That’s my girl,” he said, and kissed her. “Nobody tougher.” Then he put on his t-shirt and continued getting ready.
Roz felt less-than as she made her way back to the bed. She felt as if he had put her in a situation where she had no choice but to put up with his neglect. Because she knew how much he hated weakness. And that was her biggest problem. If he decided she was just another one of those weak women out there in need of some man to cling onto, she believed he would leave her. That, perhaps, was her greatest fear. That, perhaps, was what drove her to never let Mick see the true extent of her vulnerability. And right now, as she neared her birthday, she felt completely vulnerable. And alone. But she knew she couldn’t go there with him. But he had to understand something too.
And when he was ready to leave, and he kissed her goodbye, she told him. “Don’t get it twisted, Mick,” she said. “Keep treating me as if I’m some damn doormat strategically placed for you to walk all over, and I’ll leave your ass. Real talk.”
Mick was pissed. Roz could tell by the way his jaw tightened. But she meant every word.
Mick knew it too. She was going to take his bullshit just so far, and then he’d be over the line. The problem with Roz was that she was so strong, he didn’t know where her line was.
But as he stared into her sincere, expressive eyes, a part of him was gripped with fear. What if she wasn’t bullshitting? But another part of him was certain Roz would never leave him. Their love ran too deep. And besides, she knew he had to handle his business.
He didn’t respond to her. He didn’t tell her he understood and would watch himself. He just left. He never answered to anybody in his life, and he wasn’t starting now.
Roz laid back on the bed after he left. And she finally allowed the tears that had been holding back since last night, to flow and flow freely.
CHAPTER NINE
“Just water for me,” said Jenay Sinatra, the wife of Charles Sinatra.
“Not for me,” said Amelia Sinatra, the soon-to-be wife of Hammer Reese. “I’ll take champagne.”
“Yes, madam,” the waiter said. “And are you ladies ready to order?”
“Not yet,” Amelia said. “We’re expecting one more. We’ll wait until she gets here.”
“Very good, madam,” the waiter said, bowed, and then left their table in the upscale restaurant.
Jenay smiled. “Champagne for lunch,” she said. “You’re one of a kind, Millie. At least you’re marrying a man who can afford your expensive tastes.”
“Shit, I’m not relying on Hammer’s money for a damn thing. I can afford it myself! He starts acting like he used to act with all of that what I say goes crap, I’m out of there.” Then she looked at Jenay. “Which brings me to Roz.”
“Don’t even go there, Millie,” Jenay said. “How Mick treats her or how she lets him treat her is none of our business. But I’ll tell you this: Roz is nobody’s patsy.”
“I know she’s not,” said Amelia. “That’s why it’s so strange! Why is she putting up with Mick’s shit like that? Every time I call her to see how she’s doing, Mick’s ass is out of town or out of the country or out somewhere. Never home. I said damn Roz. He’s up to that shit again? After all those years they’ve been married, I thought that was over.”
Jenay nodded her head. “Yeah, me too,” she said. “But you know how your brother is. If duty calls, he’s going.”
“But what about his duty to his wife?” Amelia asked. “What about his duty to those kids? He fucked up with Teddy and Glo and Joey. Is he going to do the same thing with the twins?”
“He’d better not,” Jenay said. “Roz won’t stand for it.”
“That’s the part I’m not having either,” said Amelia. “Because Hammer’s the same way. But Always got to go. I already told him to not try that shit with me. We can cancel the wedding right now if he’s going to try that shit on me.”
Jenay shook her head. “I still can’t believe in three weeks’ time you’ll be Mrs. Hamilton Reese. You’ll be marrying the former Director of the C. I. fucking-A. Wow.”
“Considering me and Mick’s crooked asses,” Amelia said with a grin, “it is a wow.” They laughed.
“I’m shocked Mick’s going to let you marry Hammer,” Jenay said.
Amelia frowned. “Let me? He doesn’t have to let me do squat. Now Big Daddy? Yes. I wanted Charles’s input, and got it. But Mick? Child please. What’s he gonna tell me? He can barely keep Roz. But Big Daddy knows how to treat his wife.”
“Speaking as his wife,” Jenay said with a smile, “yes, he does.”
Amelia laughed. Then her smile left. “But do you ever think about how blessed we are, Jenay? Not all that long ago you and I, and Roz too, were three black girls who were just trying to find a place in this world. And all three of us end up with our own, individual Prince Charming. We are blessed, girl.”
“Yes, we are,” Jenay said, and then noticed, from the periphery, somebody coming toward their table. When she looked, she smiled. “Speaking of Roz,” she said to Amelia, “here she comes. Try not to bring up Mick’s name. I mean it, Millie.”
“He’s not with her?” Amelia asked.
“Doesn’t look like it. Did you expect any different?”
“Nope,” said Amelia, as Roz arrived at their table. “Was hopeful though. Hey, girl!” She and Jenay both stood up and hugged Roz.
“Sorry I’m late,” Roz said as she sat across from the two ladies.
“Where’s Mick’s ass?” Amelia asked, and then quickly realized what Jenay had said. Jenay gave Amelia her best really, bitch look.
“He couldn’t make it,” Roz said as if it was no big deal, although all three of them knew it was. “You know how that goes.”
“I know,” said Amelia, “but Jenay doesn’t. Big Daddy is an always there when you need him husband. I told Hammer he’d better plan to be that kind of husband too.”
“He will,” Roz said with a smile. “He truly loves you.”
“Mick truly loves you,” Amelia said.
“And that’s a fact,” said Jenay.
“Although, we must admit,” Amelia added, “he’s never been an always there husband.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Millie,” Roz said. “He wasn’t always there like Big Daddy, no. But he made a concerted effort to be there for me through most of our marriage. And he was.”
But Jenay was staring at her. “Was?” she asked as the waiter arrived with her and Amelia’s drinks.
“Would you care for something to drink, madam?” the waiter asked Roz.
“Ah, a coke, please,” Roz said.
“Very good, madam. And do you ladies need more time to place your food order?”
“We do,” said Jenay, the waiter bowed, and left. “You said was,” Jenay said to Roz. “He was there for you. Not anymore?”
Amelia smiled. “I thought we weren’t going to talk about that,” she said, and Jenay kicked her under the table. But then Jenay smiled too. Amelia was getting married to the man of her dreams in a few weeks. She was giddy like a kid. Jenay would forgive her anything.
But if they thought Roz was going to sit up there and tell them about her marriage, they were gravely mistaken. “He’s alright,” she said, and that was all she planned on saying about it.
But Amelia had different ideas. “You don’t think you’re making a mistake?”
Roz looked at her. “By doing what?”
“By letting Mick get away with his bullshit,” Amelia said. “I’m just keeping it real. Every time I talk to you he’s somewhere other than with you.”
“He’s a busy man, Millie,” Jenay said.
“Ain’t that much busy in this world,” said Amelia. “Roz knows that.”
Roz exhaled. She wasn’t going to lie. “Yeah, I know.”
“And what are you doing about it?”
Roz didn’t respond to that. They didn’t understand Mick’s kind of busy, and the irons he had in so many fires. Sometimes she didn’t understand it either. “Excuse me, ladies,” she said as she stood up from her chair. “I need to use the little girls’ room.” And she walked away.
When she made it to the restroom, she leaned against the side wall and rubbed her forehead. Two nights ago she had another failed audition. Today she already lost two more clients to bigger agencies in New York. And Mick was out of the country on business too serious for her to even mention. And they wanted her to talk about it? They didn’t get it. They didn’t understand what it was like to be married to the notorious Mick Sinatra, and the sacrifices she had to make to be his woman. To keep their family together when he was absent. It was all too raw for her to just talk about.
She went to the sink, threw some water on her face, and then took her time to pull herself together. Then she wiped her face and headed back to the firing line.
Fortunately for Roz, the conversation had shifted, and they were ready to order their meals.
CHAPTER TEN
The jumbo jet landed at the Montreal airfield and Mick and Teddy, looking like two well-dressed businessmen, deplaned and hurried across the tarmac. Hammer Reese’s plane was readying for takeoff, but he had agreed to meet with Mick. Teddy, however, didn’t think it was a good idea.
Mick Sinatra: Needing Her Again Page 5