by Stacy-Deanne
“Are you watching the news?” Wanda asked. “Preston Kinard is dead!”
“I know.” Osana tried to relax her breathing. “I’m looking at the news now.”
“What…how did this happen? We’re trying to work out a huge deal with him and the man ends up murdered?”
Osana looked at Leslie. “It’s definitely shocking.”
“Did you see him last night?” Wanda asked. “You were supposed to have a business meeting with him, weren’t you?”
“No.” Osana’s voice caught in her throat. “He cancelled. I never saw him last night.”
Leslie squinted.
“This is a mess,” Wanda said. “The press is gonna be all over us too.”
“I’ll handle everything, Momma.” Osana rubbed her face. “Shit, I’m gonna have to fan the flames when I get to work. You coming into Spears Corp. today?”
“Yeah, we’ll call a meeting and address this.” Wanda sighed. “It’s a shame. Preston was such a wonderful guy.”
“Yeah,” Osana muttered. “I’ll see you at work.” She hung up.
Leslie glared at her. “Why did you lie to your mother?”
“We can’t let anyone know I was at Preston’s last night.”
“But you said you didn’t do anything.” Leslie stomped her foot. “Osana, did you kill that man? Don’t put me in this position, please.”
“I didn’t kill anyone.” Osana rose. “But I’m not going down for shit I didn’t do. No one but you knows I was there. His servants weren’t even there.”
“How do you know no one saw you?”
“Because they didn’t.” Osana went to her closet and yanked out her red power suit. “I gotta get ready for work.”
Leslie whimpered, “Osana.”
“Everything’s gonna be fine.” She laid her suit on the bed. “Trust me.”
CHAPTER THREE
Abby, Shad Sidney’s young, blonde housekeeper, escorted Osana into the living room of the billionaire’s Victorian-style mansion that night. “Make yourself at home, Ms. Royal.”
“Abby, you don’t have to be so formal when I drop by.” Osana sat on the Italian couch which accented the white room. “I told you a long time ago to call me by my first name.”
A wide smile took up Abby’s face. “Mr. Sidney insists I treat you like a queen at all times.”
Osana laid her purse beside her. “That’s silly.”
“No, it’s not.” Shad sauntered inside and stood underneath the crystal chandelier. “Because you are a queen.” He bent over Osana. “You’re my queen.” He clamped her lips between his. “Mm. I needed that.”
She stroked his immaculate, midnight-black goatee. “So did I.”
“Bye, Abby.” He waved without looking at her.
She snickered as she scampered from the room.
Shad sat beside Osana, nestling his statuesque, semi-muscular frame against her.
Her nipples peaked just from him being in the vicinity.
He cupped her hand in his. “How have you been?”
“Better now that I’m here with you.” She laid her head on his shoulder, basking in the trace of his Jasmin-scented cologne. “Work was a jungle. The press was everywhere because of Preston’s murder.”
“Yeah, that’s all everyone was talking about at Swipe Play too.” He rubbed his black hair, which he wore short with a tall pompadour at the top. “I can’t believe it. My family and his go way back.”
“That’s right.” She lifted her head. “You and Preston were kinda close back in the day.”
“Yeah, I used to think of him as an older brother.” He sighed, his pear-green eyes losing their shine. “This is devastating. Who would want to hurt Preston?”
Osana swallowed, but the lump remained in her throat.
“I called his sister, Gloria, to pay my respects.”
“Right.” She bit her lip. “You dated her, didn’t you?”
He fidgeted.
“You can admit it.” She touched his lap. “Silly, it was years ago. I won’t have an issue with it. We’ve both had relationships before.”
“It wasn’t that serious. Anyway, she’s torn up like you’d expect her to be.”
Even then, she became lost in how the light tan flattered his fair skin.
“Preston murdered?” He sighed. “Osana, this doesn’t make any sense.”
“Maybe there was something he was hiding.”
“A secret?” He raised a bushy eyebrow.
“Everyone has secrets.”
His forehead puckered. “Are you getting at something?”
“It’s just that everyone is going on and on about how great Preston is, but he might’ve had it coming.”
“Osana.” He grimaced. “The man was beat to death. Why would you say something so cold?”
“I don’t mean to sound cold but everyone needs to stop assuming they know everything about him.” She shrugged. “That’s all.”
“I’ve known Preston for years. He was the most gracious person.”
She rolled her eyes, sighing.
“He’s someone I would go to for advice and he’d always be there for me. We lost touch over the years, but he’ll always be a big influence.”
“I’m sorry if I sound insensitive.” She put her arms around him. “Look, I’ve been hearing about Preston all day and I wanna get away from it.” She kissed him, capturing his fleshy bottom lip between hers. “I came here to be with you.” She climbed on his lap, gyrating. “You feel that?”
“Yes.” He laid his head back.
“My nipples are so hard.” She rubbed his shirt. “You know what I thought about on the way over here?”
“I think I can guess,” he said with less excitement than she expected.
“You inside me.” She closed her eyes, rocking faster. “I want you all the time, Shad.” She kissed him, panting. “I need you to take my mind off everything. So much stress.” She unbuttoned his shirt.
“Osana.”
“I need you, baby.” She planted kisses along the patch of hair on his chest. “Make me forget everything okay? Please.”
“Osana.” He grabbed her hand. “Wait.”
“What is it?” She rolled her middle against his crotch. “I can feel you want to.”
“I want to.” He licked her raspberry lipstick from his mouth. “I always want you. That’s not the problem here.”
“I didn’t realize there was a problem.” She got off him. “Is something wrong?”
He scooted up, buttoning his shirt. “I’m tired of this.”
“Of what?”
“Of you coming for sex or a shoulder.”
“Excuse me?”
“I can’t do this anymore, Osana.” He put his arm on the back of the couch. “I’ve told you a million times what I want, and you still haven’t given it.”
“What haven’t I given you?”
“Your heart.” He placed the tip of his finger on her lips. “I’m tired of us making love and you acting like it’s part of some business deal.”
She turned away.
“During sex you’re so open but the minute I mention commitment you fizzle. Why do you keep coming back?”
“The same reason you keep jumping my bones when I do.”
His mouth curled up in the corner. “I jump your bones because it’s the only way you allow me to get close to you.”
“You don’t have to worry because with the way you’re acting I might not be coming back anymore.”
“And here it comes.” He sneered. “The wall. What will it take to break down that wall? I’ve been begging for you to let me in.”
“What the hell do you want from me, Shad? I’m doing the best I can.”
He straightened, grabbing her. “I want you to be vulnerable with me even if you’re afraid of being hurt.”
She stood. “I’m sick of hearing this every time we’re together.”
He rose, holding on to her. “You’re gonna hear it as long as it takes for me to get
through to you. I want that passion, Osana.” He pulled her close. “I want you to have the same passion to be vulnerable with me as when we make love.”
“I’m not wired that way.” She shoved him. “I told you that. You take what I give you or nothing at all.”
“When we first got together, you ended things. I let it go even though I’ve never wanted a woman like I do you. Then, you came back begging me to try it again because you felt empty without me.”
“Wait. I did not beg you for a damn thing.” She wiggled her neck. “I don’t beg.”
“Oh you begged, sweetheart.”
She fumbled with her purse. “You better go somewhere with that begging crap.”
“Why did we start things over if you continue to shut me out?”
“Shad—”
“I love you.” He rubbed his hands. “I’ve loved you for years. Let me in. Not just into your bed.” He pressed his forehead against hers. “I need your heart.”
“There’s something you don’t understand.” She moved away from him. “Maybe I want a shoulder and great sex.”
“Well, I want more.” He caressed her hair. “You do too but too afraid to say so.”
“This is who I am, Shad.” She pushed his hand away. “If you can’t deal with it then we can go our separate ways.”
“Oh you’d like me to agree to that,” he snapped. “It’ll make it so much easier for you to keep running, wouldn’t it?”
She clacked out the room in her pumps.
“Osana!”
She kept walking.
****
“Hey.” Leslie raced through the foyer, wiping her hands with a dishtowel when Osana got home. “You got a call while you were out. Since Preston’s murder I’ve been antsy. Did anything funny happen at work?”
“I told you everything will be fine.” Osana went through the mail. “If you keep your mouth shut then you don’t need to worry.”
“Osana, you swear you didn’t—”
“I didn’t kill him for the last fuckin’ time.” She slammed down the mail. “God, Leslie you know me.”
“I do but can you blame me for being worried?”
Osana shook off the concern for Leslie and held her waist. “I have more important things to think about than your feelings right now. Who called me?”
“Some guy named Max Ace.”
“Who?” Osana dropped her hands. “I don’t know anyone named Max Ace.”
“He knows you.” Leslie watched her, squinting. “He says it’s important. Here’s his number.” She passed Osana a piece of paper and headed toward the elevator.
“And he didn’t say why he called?”
Leslie walked on without answering.
Osana pulled out her cellphone and dialed the number.
“Hello,” a husky voice answered.
“Uh, yes. Is this Max Ace?”
“Osana Royal.” He moaned. “I’m glad you called.”
“Excuse me for asking but who are you and how did you get my number?”
“One thing you’re gonna learn is I’m very resourceful, Ms. Royal. We need to talk.”
She batted her eyes. “What would we need to talk about when I don’t even know you?”
“But I know you,” he sang the last word.
“Okay, I’m not in the mood for games. What the hell do you want?”
“I said I want us to talk.”
She clenched her teeth. “We are talking.”
“What I have to discuss won’t work over the phone. You know where Myers Road is?”
“Yes, but I wouldn’t be caught dead in that part of town.”
“There’s a bar called Hollywood. Meet me there tomorrow evening as soon as you get off work. You get off about five, right?”
“Are you crazy? I’m not meeting you anywhere especially not in some dingy bar. You’re a stranger.”
“I won’t be for long.” He chuckled. “We have something in common. Does the name Preston Kinard ring a bell?”
Osana’s stomach did summersaults. “What do you want?”
“Come to Hollywood alone, and I’ll tell you.”
“Wait…”
He hung up.
CHAPTER FOUR
“Woo, wee.” A thin man with unkempt blond hair and a lopsided baseball cap whistled when Osana entered Hollywood the following evening.
“Mm.” A greasy, fat guy wearing a dingy wife beater, licked out his tongue as Osana passed his table.
“You want that tongue?” she asked. “I’d put it back in your mouth if I were you.”
“Yeah?” His belly flopped against the table. “I know somewhere else I’d rather put it.”
“Lay off, fat boy,” a hoarse voice said from behind Osana.
A man around six-three stood at the pool table, rubbing his cue as if he were jerking it off. His droopy, copper-brown eyes lifted in the corners as his narrow mouth formed a smile that made Osana’s knees quake.
“What’s it to you?” the fat guy asked the man.
“Nothing.” The man gulped beer from a mug, his chest muscles rippling underneath his sleeveless T-shirt. “Just wanna save you some embarrassment.” He gestured his glass to Osana. “No way you’ll get a crack at this one. She’s too rich for your blood, Porky.”
The fat man grumbled, scarfing a handful of corn nuts.
Osana inched toward the other man. She got close enough to see the tiny freckles on his oval face.
He smelled of sweat and beer like every other guy in the place.
“Are you Max?”
His gaze fell to her blouse. “Glad to see you didn’t chicken out.” He lifted his mug again, drawing attention to the multicolored sleeve tattoo of an Asian dragon on his right arm. “Step into my office.” He led her to a booth and sat at a scratched up, wooden table beside the restrooms.
Osana brushed the seat then sat.
He snickered, stroking his dark-brown hair which lay short on the sides but high and wild at the top. “Want a drink?”
“No, thank you.” She crossed her legs. “I don’t understand what this is about.”
“You will though, Princess.” He leaned back and propped his arm on the booth. “Don’t be so impatient.”
“I don’t like games.”
“Ooh.” He faked a shudder, laughing. “I’d better stay on your good side, huh? You’re a feisty one. I like that about you.”
“How do you know me?”
“You’re rich.” He wobbled his head. “And I make it a point to know everyone who has money. You also don’t shy away from the media.”
She straightened her skirt, catching the eye of another creep across the room. “Just tell me what you want.”
He leaned forward, wiggling his aquiline nose. “You’re a sexy woman.”
She grew tenser. “What do you want?”
“Simple.” He sat back, tapping the table. “I want money, and you’ve got plenty of it.”
“And why would I give you money?”
“I’m a keeper of secrets, Princess. I knew a big secret about Preston Kinard. He had his hand in his own cookie jar.”
“What are you talking about?”
He smirked. “He was embezzling money from his own company.”
“What?”
“I made him pay me to keep it a secret.”
“Wait a minute,” Osana whispered. “Are you a blackmailer?”
“I don’t like that term.” He glanced up. “It’s so dirty. See, what I do is an art form. I put a lot of time and effort into it. It’s my job to find information and use that for my good.” He winked. “It’s the American way.”
“Why…” She exhaled. “Why did you call me here?”
“You got a secret.” He waved his finger. “And guess who found out about it.”
“Go to hell.” She stood.
“Ah.” He snapped his fingers. “I’d listen a little longer if I were you.”
“Fuck you.” She bent over, getting in his face. “W
e’re not doing this.”
“Oh no?” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Preston said the same thing at first. He thought he could stop me but he came to his senses. He realized I don’t play. If you don’t give me what I want you’re over.”
“You don’t know a damn thing about me.” She moved from the table.
“You’re as difficult as I expected.” The little patch of hair under his bottom lip danced when he spoke. “I’m trying to help you. Funny, I haven’t decided how much my help will cost you yet. You’re so damn rich it’s hard to.” He laughed.
“Stay away from me.”
“Princess?” He stood, grabbing her wrist. “If you’re as smart as I think you are then you’ll sit.”
“And if you’re as smart as you think you are then you better understand no one makes me do something I don’t wanna do.” She ripped her wrist from his grip. “Come near me again and I’ll call the police.”
He leaned into her. “You sure you wanna do that?”
“Watch me.”
****
When she got home, Osana couldn’t describe the emotions she felt to see the hunk sitting on the leather loveseat inside her parlor. Part of her wanted to run into his arms and stay forever while the other felt it was too much worry and hassle to see him again.
“Hey,” Shad greeted Osana with his nose in her latest issue of Essence magazine.
Who am I kidding? I can’t stay away from him anymore than he can stay away from me.
“Are you all right?” He widened his long legs, dangling his hands between them. “You look like something’s wrong.”
She took the magazine and stuffed it into the rack beside the anchored floor lamp. “What are you doing here, Shad?”
He clasped his big hands, forcing her thoughts on how well they roamed her body.
“I’m sorry about the argument we had last night.”
“Why apologize?” She crossed her arms, smelling his cologne from where she stood. “We’re gonna have the same argument again. It’s unavoidable. You want something I’m not prepared to give you.”
“I understand that.” He lowered his head. “But, you gotta understand how I feel.”
“Oh, I do. You’ve made your feelings more than clear. You call me selfish, but you’re no better. I keep telling you I’m not at a place where I can open myself to anyone.”
