“I know what you mean. Congratulations to both of you. Mark, do you have time to go through the offer with me now?”
Mark’s expression was priceless, watching two females staking their claims without a screaming or pulling hair throw down. I didn’t think he’d ever been in a situation like that before. His body language showed me that he was too scared to move let alone agree to anything Vanessa said in my presence. It was best I took the lead. “Mark, I’ll show her to the conference room, that way you can wrap up what you were working on.” I leaned over his desk and kissed his lips. “Don’t take too long or else Connie will have to order you something from downstairs.”
I grabbed the bag out of her hand and guided her to the conference room.
“Wow, I didn’t expect this,” she blurted out.
I turned off the nice-nice attitude. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing really, just an observation.” Her tone changed as well.
“Let’s see what you were trying to seduce my future husband with,” I said emptying the bag. “Wow, caviar, eggs Benedict, smoked salmon, a bottle of champagne, hmmm, you went all out huh? It’s still warm.” If looks could kill she would have been dead five minutes ago.
“Excuse me? Seduce your future husband?”
“Vanessa, you’re not fooling anybody especially me. So stop trying to put Mark in a compromising position.”
“Don’t tell me you’re not sure of which side he’ll end up on? Warning seems a bit insecure.”
I was ready to back smack her and throw her food behind her. I restrained myself. “Oh no, you just don’t know Mark. He wouldn’t, at least”—I cut my eyes at her—“not with you.” She had to know I wasn’t stupid. I was positive I ruined another attempt.
“I wonder what prompted such an extravagant dedication since a few days ago it was bare. Maybe it’s a cover for what’s in store.” She took a seat across from me and dropped her $15,000 Hermès tote on the table. I only knew how much it cost because I had one myself.
“So are we going to continue to play nice or will I have to show you what’s mine is certainly not up for grabs? If you’re looking for . . . let’s say some affection I can give you a number. He’s into a whole lot of tricks just like you. He’s costly, but don’t worry he’s worth it so I’ve heard.” I gave a chuckle.
Vanessa’s brow rose as she put her hand over her mouth. “I’m surprised you would be on someone’s rotation instead being the first.”
Was she dumb? I had to wrap this up before Mark walked into a cat fight with words. My cool wouldn’t be the only thing lost. “Listen I get you want to fuck my man, but since I’ve called you out on your game then bow out as a real woman because next time you won’t just receive a bottle.”
“Okay, so what do we have here? Ahh, man, this looks great, Vanessa. Thanks, I hope my wife here didn’t impose. Please, if this was meant for someone let me know. I can have Connie get something delivered over there. Too bad it won’t be as good.”
“No trouble at all. My chef spoils me. Please enjoy.”
“So what brings you on this side of town? Aren’t your corporate offices downtown? I could’ve sworn Mark mentioned that to me.” I saw Mark’s eyes widen.
“Yes, but I had some business to attend to near here. It was convenient. Is there a date set?”
“Yes, my birthday. I want it to be special and I don’t want to get clocked over the head for forgetting it either,” Mark replied with speed.
I kept a poker face. We never discussed a date. There could be only one reason why he’s so quick to pull the trigger. He knows that I know where her boundaries lie. I stuffed my mouth to keep me from reacting to his response.
“How sweet and smart. Regina, don’t take it personal, most men forget meaningful dates.”
I stopped chewing to throw her an annoyed smirk then continued eating ignoring her words.
“So, Mark, do you have the paperwork on that offer?”
“Yes, it’s right here for you to look at.” He handed her a manila folder. She didn’t open it; instead she looked at me in a calculated way.
“I’m really sorry to do this, but I have to. Regina, please don’t take this personally, but can I ask you to leave? My legal department would kill me if they found out you were in the room while we were discussing pending offers. You do understand don’t you?”
I almost bit my tongue. I had to put a smile on and suck it up. “No, I completely understand, an agreement was signed. Sure, can you refrain from business for just a few more minutes, though? I’m almost finished eating.”
“Vanessa, I think she’s okay.”
Was he begging her? “Mark, it’s fine. We can talk about the wedding for a few minutes. I’m thinking Greece or maybe somewhere in the Caribbean, what do you think?” I asked rubbing it in.
“Wherever you are it’s okay for me.”
“Awww, that’s so sweet, you two must be so in love, but you have to tell me what took you so long to ask her?” She was so manipulative.
“I wasn’t ready.” I halted her third-degree assault toward Mark.
“I guess every woman is different. To each her own,” she admitted.
I refrained from shooting off at the mouth and simmered my temper with my last bite. “Mark, please don’t make it a late night. We have a lot of things to do before heading to California to pick our prospective surrogate.” I shouldn’t have given her any ammo, but deterring her persistence was on my mind.
“Surrogate? So you guys are having a baby as well?” Her fake smile burned me.
I pushed my container to the side and took Mark’s hand in mine. “Yes, we are having a baby. Two if we’re lucky.” I forced my joy squeezing his hand.
“You can’t have kids, Regina? That must’ve been a struggle for you as a couple, in the beginning of course.”
Okay, she was reaching too far into the cookie jar. This had to stop or I was going to literally slap her head off. “Okay, I think you’ve been subjected to enough of us. I’ll let you two get to your business. It was nice seeing you again, Vanessa. Maybe you’ll be able to attend our wedding?”
“Oh I’m sure it will be beautiful, but unfortunately weddings are like hot, flowing lava for me.”
I had a sneaky suspicion why. I held my thought in. “Well, honey, I’ll see you later.” I gave him a long kiss good-bye. That should slow her tempo down.
I walked out of the conference room straight to his secretary. “Connie, first, you know I don’t normally ask you anything, but, if you could, call me when she shows up or has any meeting with him? I don’t trust that bitch. Mark I’m sure of, but her ass is definitely dangerous around my future husband.”
With certainty my cage was rattled, but she wasn’t going to intimidate me into falling back to watch her destroy my impending future.
23
Tony
If Diana did everything I told her to, Amanda would no longer be a problem for her. As I told her before, humiliation will always knock them off their high horse. It was almost eight, and the night held a lot of slick talking to put Amanda where she had to be. The bait was me so it all seemed simple enough. I pulled my phone out and dialed Diana to see where she was.
“Hey, are we on schedule?”
“Yup, she just left. She should be at the restaurant in twenty minutes,” she whispered. “Are you sure she’s going to fall for this? She very well could see this coming.”
“Did you do everything I asked? If you didn’t, tell me now.” I was irritated by her doubt.
“Of course I did, but why did you want me to look at this place in SoHo?”
“Just be sweet, sexy, and very interested. Okay? Make sure to put on a good show,” I reminded her.
“But I still don’t understand. Who is this guy to you?”
“That will be clear as long as you do your part.”
“Don’t worry about that, I can handle myself. I just hope you can.” She was concerned about Amanda
denying my gift to verbally woo women of their feet.
“Did he confirm the showing? You did make sure it was during the day? And you made it clear that he had to show you the place not an assistant or some inexperienced broker only looking for commission?”
“Yes, yes, and yes. I got this. You’re not worried are you?”
“Just as much as you are about me. I’ll talk to you soon.” I hung up feeling confident. I took a last look at myself. “Custom-made suit, hair perfect, Rolex, money clip, and lastly business cards.” I opened a square container on my dresser and ran my fingers over the divider labels. “Export buyer and seller, maybe. Sports agent . . . Oil dispenser, perfect.” This should pique her interest. I grabbed my keys and phone then headed out the door.
The Uber car service pulled up in front of the restaurant. “Thanks, hopefully you’ll be in the area when I’m ready.” I stepped out just as she arrived; it couldn’t have been timed any better. I hurried my step to open the door for her. “Let me get that for you,” I said smiling. Her hair was wrapped into a low bun, exposing her diamond-studded earrings. The red formfitting dress hugged her every curve just right. Her ass was solid; there was no sloppy gelatin bouncing as she walked.
“Thank you,” she replied not paying me much attention.
I gestured for the hostess to seat her first, and play her role. It all determined her tip in this cameo.
“Mr. Tatum, how are you? Are you sure? Your table is ready, and the wine you’ve requested has been set to breathe.” She didn’t bother to address Amanda at all. It was as if she wasn’t even there.
Another hostess arrived nudging Amanda a bit just to shake my hand. “Mr. Tatum, so happy when you’re in town. I’ll let the chef know you’re here.”
Amanda stared me up and down before saying, “Wow, you must be a whole hell of importance, because she hasn’t even looked at me.”
“I’m sorry, did you have a reservation?” one of the hostesses asked.
“Yes, it should be under Simmons. I’m supposed to meet a client here.”
I stayed silent, waiting for my cue.
The hostess swiped at the screen in front of her. “Are you sure it was reserved under that name? I don’t have any reservations by that name.”
“Can you try Ms. Sutton? I had a temporary assistant all week and she’s been screwing up royally.” She was quick to throw blame to cover her embarrassment.
The other hostess turned to me. “I’m sorry, Mr. Tatum, would you like to be seated now?”
“I’m sorry, it’s not here. I can offer you a table next Thursday at eight. How does that sound?” the hostess asked.
“Ms. Sutton?” I eased my way to her rescue. “I would like to offer you my table.”
“I can’t . . . I mean . . . I’m supposed to be meeting a client here.” She was blindsided by my chivalry.
“It’s fine, but are you sure your client will be here? If the reservation wasn’t made I’m sure your client was not informed as well.”
She agreed. “I just don’t want—”
“Please, I insist. It would be my pleasure to have you as my honored guest.”
“I don’t have dinners with just anybody.” She was defending her obvious plotting as she eyed the hostess.
“Maybe you would feel better if you knew my full name, Daniel Tatum.” I reached into my blazer and handed her my business card.
“Oil Dispenser?” Her eyebrows raised. She quickly searched her tote and pulled out her phone. “Anybody can get business cards made.” She placed her phone on speakerphone and dialed my number in front of me.
I was prepared. I knew what I was doing; too bad she didn’t know what would hit her in a few hours. I didn’t make any movement. I calmly smiled and allowed her to play into the game. My voice was heard: “You’ve reached Daniel Tatum, please leave a message and I will get back to you shortly. Thank you.”
“Now, let’s take our seats.”
“Only dinner.” She smiled as the hostess led us to our booth nestled into the back corner, isolated from the other diners.
“Do you drink red wine?”
“Sometimes, depending on the year.”
“How does 1958 Giuseppe Mascarello Barolo sound?” I didn’t think she knew anything about wine.
“Italian, fruity, hmm, that’s a pretty good pick.” Her pearly whites showed again.
She seemed impressed. One point on the board.
“So what do you do?”
“I’m a defense lawyer,” she answered.
“I thought so. You have a very strong presence. Maybe that’s why I had to have dinner with you. By the way, thanks for not shooting me down, that would have been pretty embarrassing.”
The waitress arrived with the bottle of wine and poured a bit into my glass for tasting. I gestured her to continue and serve Amanda first.
After the waitress filled our glasses she quickly disappeared and Amanda’s confused look made me have second thoughts.
“Okay, so why haven’t we seen menus yet? What kind of restaurant is this?” She tasted her wine.
“I don’t eat from the menu. The chef will come to the table to let us know what he’ll prepare for us. Ms. Sutton, can you leave the lawyer persona at the door? Please let’s just enjoy each other’s company.” I tilted my glass toward hers.
“Ms. Sutton?” She raised her brows as if I shouldn’t have said her name.
“Yes, Ms. Sutton, you never fully introduced yourself to me.”
Her cheeks flushed red. “Oh my God, you must think I’m so rude. My name is Amanda Sutton.” She took another sip from her glass. I looked to the waitress to keep her glass full.
“No, not at all. You’re as rude as any New Yorker. I’m used to it.”
“Are you here on business or coming back from business?” She changed the subject quickly.
“I live in Dubai, Los Angeles, and New York throughout the year. Most of my business is done in Dubai.”
She snuck a quick peak at my ring finger. I laid my left hand on the table for her to examine with her glances.
“Wow that must be hard on your family.”
“Actually, no. It’s just me.”
“I don’t believe you.” She playfully giggled. “There’s no way you’re single and straight!”
I laughed. “Should I be offended? I know a well-dressed man may seem suspect, but my stylist dresses me. I can’t take credit for it, although sometimes I wish I could.”
“So do you distribute oil to refineries for purchase? Or do you go around like a salesman presenting your product to accumulate buyers?” She seemed interested.
“All of the above. I own a few oil rigs around the world so I’m always selling and buying. But enough about work. Can I ask what you do for fun?”
“Hmm, let’s see . . .”
“If you must think about it, I’m guessing you haven’t done anything fun lately.”
“You’re absolutely right.” She sipped at her glass as I barely touched mine.
As long as she keeps drinking, it will be easier than taking candy from a baby, I thought smiling. “You’re beautiful and definitely need to have fun before you forget how.”
“I could only imagine what you do for fun,” she said seductively.
Is she already putty in my hands? She can’t be this easy, I thought. I could see the chef approaching followed by a server holding a tray.
“Mr. Tatum, how are you? And you, madam? I’m Chef Myrie,” he greeted us extending his hand.
“Hello, Chef, nice to meet you,” she said returning his light handshake.
“So, Chef Myrie, what’s on the menu?” I jumped in.
He allowed the server to place the small plates in front of us. “These are just a few appetizers I prepared. They include all your favorites, some shrimp, some veggies, and a little bit of seared Kobe beef. Your main course will be my new favorite, curry lobster with small slices of Wagyu beef on a bed of greens. Excuse me, I haven’t asked your gu
est if she’s allergic to anything. Usually, you dine alone.” He looked to Amanda.
Amanda was too busy focusing on the food wafting through the air to even notice his concern.
“Amanda, you’re not allergic to anything are you?”
“Huh? Umm, no not at all. This smells fantastic.”
“Great enjoy. Your main courses will be ready in thirty minutes.”
“Thank you, Chef Myrie, I know you’ll bring us your best.” He left the table giving me a thumbs-up behind Amanda’s back.
Chef Myrie and I went way back since high school days. He came from old money. The day he graduated, his father bought him this restaurant. Even when he was in his teens he traveled abroad learning how to perfect his craft. We’d always been close so when I started my career of pleasing the ladies he afforded me just the place to wine and dine my clients. Depending on who I entertained, his services were always a great touch.
“This is great, Daniel. I gather you dine here all the time with your significant other.”
“I love his dishes. Chef Myrie worked with the finest in Europe, Japan, and Spain, but his specialty is a classic with a twist. He has all his signature dishes on the menu if you’re not comfortable with what he’s serving.” I avoided her implication.
“Not at all, I’m fine. So, you have a place in the city?”
“No, I prefer the suburbs. I do stay in the city, but it’s never more than a night. I’d rather that my neighbors be at least a mile away. Besides, New York has the craziest city life Sunday through Sunday. That’s not me. I like my privacy.”
After a little question-and-answer conversation, and another bottle of wine along with dinner, she was ready for picking.
“Amanda.” I stroked the back of her hand gently.
“Daniel,” she cooed.
“Can I show you how I like to have fun?”
“Now, Daniel, I’m not that easy. You can’t expect me to fold after a couple bottles of wine. Now can you?” she said slapping my hand.
“Have I been a bad boy?” I encouraged. After what Diana told me pain was my definite in.
“You like to be punished?”
Sharing the Sheets Page 12
