Customize My Heart

by Richard, By Bea

  Samantha wrapped her arms around Cameron’s waist, he relaxed. He stared at the uppity man “I guess I don’t have to leave a message for Samantha.” The man started to sweat, Samantha realized what had just happened.

  Her eyes narrowed on her employee. “Harold, did you prevent Mr. Davis from coming to see me?” The man named Harold squirmed while he came up with a reason why when Samantha held up a hand.

  “I understand Harold, you didn’t know who Cameron is, but, he should be treated like we treat all of our guests here at The View, not any different. I suggest you go sit with Tammy and learn a thing or two before we sit for your next evaluation, which if I’m correct is in two weeks.”

  Harold went pale and nodded as he excused himself to go back to the front desk, Cameron snorted. “The dude needs to get the stick out of his ass” he stated bluntly, Samantha smiled. “Don’t worry, once I’m done with The View, I’m going over to The Maxwell and do a major coming to Jesus with my staff.” Cameron laughed as Samantha showed her CEO side to him.

  Samantha took Cameron’s hand and led him to their private entrance to the garage. Cameron stopped her in front of his 1965 Shelby Cobra, Samantha groaned. “God I love your car baby.”

  He chuckled as he leaned on the hood and pulled her into his arms then proceeded to greet her the way he wanted in the lobby. Samantha melted into Cameron’s arms as he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth making her groan.

  “Good morning beautiful, ready to go to work?” Samantha was in a daze when she nodded her head, he chuckled. “If only a kiss makes you comply, I wonder what would happen if we took it further.” Cameron looked over Samantha’s attire and growled in satisfaction.

  She wore a baby blue CV Customs t-shirt with denim washed skinny jeans. Her knee length boots were in a stiletto style, giving her an additional four inches, bringing her head to the top of his collarbone. The bandanna she wore was baby blue, matching her eyes, he groaned.

  “I’m going to be distracted all day with the way you look baby.” Samantha giggled as she pulled away. “Down boy, we have work to do and right now I’m itching to drive this car.”

  Cameron rolled his eyes as he opened the passenger door for her. “I’ll think about you driving us back, if we do well at this auto show.”

  Samantha pouted as she got into the passenger seat. Cameron thought she looked adorable when she pouted about driving and drooled over muscle cars. He got in and started the car making Samantha jump up and down in her seat. He chuckled as he backed out of the space and headed towards the auto show.

  Cameron was stunned as he took in the people that attended this private show. Samantha wasn’t kidding when she said only the money makers would be at this car show. He was introduced to the people that owned the Bellagio, Caesars Palace and Treasure Island, and that was just as they walked in and went towards their booth.

  Vince stood at the booth as he spoke to the CEO of Mandalay Bay when he waved them over. “I’ve already got four orders for refurbish and I’ve got down payments from two customer that want us to find the cars and restore those back to pristine for purchases.”

  Cameron looked at Vince in shock while Samantha grinned. He took the orders from Vince and sat down to go over them when Sam knelt in front of him.

  “Are you alright baby?” She asked softly, Cameron looked up and saw the worried look on her face as she bit her lip. She thought she messed up.

  He smiled at his beautiful girl. “I’m alright honey. I’m just taking it all in.” She didn’t look convinced. He stood up and pulled her up with him. Cameron wrapped his arms around her, kissing her temple.

  “I’m good baby, I promise.” She kissed his chin and smiled “alright then, let’s get to work.” He let her go and went back to stand by Vince as customers came up to the booth to look at the cars and set more appointments.

  “I can’t believe we’re going to be slammed for six months.” Vince said as he took a seat on his couch. They just got home from a long day at the car show.

  They ended with nine refurbishes, and six custom orders. After all was said and done CV Customs will be bringing in over six hundred thousand dollars to the shop.

  Cameron was sitting on the floor leaning on the love seat while Samantha rubbed his shoulders. “Brother, we have to go over the shop schedule and then get with our vendors to see if they still have the titles to these cars.”

  Samantha thanked Lily as she brought her a glass a wine and a beer for Cameron. “Well I know Jay still keeps in contact with his friends in Hoboken. I’m sure they can help you out.” Samantha stated, Vince chuckled “as long as they’re not stealing the cars, then sure.”

  She rolled her eyes as Lily crawled up in Vince’s lap. Emma was already in bed while everyone else waited for Jay to come back with Chinese food which he claimed was as good as back home.

  Samantha looked over to Lily, wanting to know how her interviews went. Lily was excited with her picks. “The girls I’ve hired are all a good fit for the store. The one position I couldn’t fill was manager because it’s a toss-up.”

  She got up and looked inside her purse for the resumes then handed them to Samantha. She went over them then handed it over to Cameron “they both say they know you?” Cameron read both resumes and scowled. He looked at Vince as he hissed “one’s Jacqueline.”

  Vince got up abruptly and took the resume in question from Cameron. He looked over to his wife “did you interview her?” Lily shook her head “she wanted a phone interview due to having scheduling conflicts. Who is she Vince?” Vince’s face darkened “she’s Nickie’s sister.”

  Samantha gasped as Cameron got up and pulled his cellphone out of his pocket. “Nicole, yeah it’s me. What the fuck were you thinking sending your sister to interview at my store?” Samantha looked at Lily and motioned her to Vince’s office.

  “Spill it girl, who the hell is she?” Samantha asked, Lily sighed. “Jacqueline is Nikkie’s baby sister. From what Vince has told me, she’s no better than her sister. We would have nothing but drama and bullshit at the store if we hire her.”

  Samantha paced the office, biting on her thumbnail while she thinks. It wasn’t a secret that they were opening the store in her hotel, hell they had spots running on the local radio stations, television and cable.

  She looked at Lily when the idea hit her. “I want a guy for that position Lil, make sure he’s built like a sexy biker dude with tattoos and everything. If those bitches come in my store I think he’ll be able to handle the drama and we can get them banned from the hotels and other locations we decide to open in the future.”

  Lily grinned as she high fived Samantha. The door opened when Cameron walked in “food’s here, Sam can I talk to you?” She looked at Lily as her friend smiled and left the office.

  She sat down and motioned him to sit next to her. Cameron shook his head as he picked her up and sat down, sitting Samantha on his lap. He gave a satisfied grunt then he commenced. “I want to talk to you about the Nikkie situation.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Samantha listened as Cameron told her about his relationship with Nicole. He spent two years in his own private hell. The girl used to run the front office of the garage and at first everything was going smoothly, that is until she moved in with him and she wasn’t making the money she thought she deserved.

  Nicole started demanding more pay for the sales she made as well as living free in his house. She expected Cameron to take care of her as if she was his wife yet acting like a she deserved a piece of the business.

  What pushed Cameron over the edge was when she started constantly causing trouble for him with his vendors and customers which drove them to go to his competition.

  When he confronted her, she scoffed it off and quit. A week later one of his vendors came to him with the news Nicole now worked for his competitor and was banging him.

  Cameron busted his ass for the next year, not taking a salary and living off his savings just so the garage can stay afl
oat. He was ready to throw in the towel when he saw Samantha’s Hemi ‘Cuda in the bay.

  Once finished Cameron looked at Samantha and saw the tears in her eyes, it broke his heart to make her sad. She shook her head and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him tightly. “If I ever see that woman, I swear to God I will knock the shit out of her.”

  Cameron let out a sigh in relief as he held her for a while. When Samantha finally calmed down she looked up at Cameron “so what we to do about her baby?”

  He shrugged “so far it’s her sister. I can’t do shit until Nicole decides to show her hand.” Samantha scowled “well I can do a lot. I may not be as vicious as your ex, but I know enough people that the only place she’s going to find work is at a bunny ranch.”

  Cameron laughed at his woman’s comment, god he was crazy about her. He picked her up and set her down on her feet. “Come on beautiful, dinner’s here and we’ve got nothing to worry about. If she doesn’t heed my warning, then you can have fun making her work on her back.” Samantha gave an evil laugh as they left the office to join the others for a late dinner.

  They walked into the dining room when the aromas of lo mien and fried rice hit them. Samantha made her plate and sighed in contentment when she took the first bite. “Wow, this does taste like home, how do you find these places Jay?”

  Jay Mancuso’s been their adoptive father for the last ten years keeping an eye on all of them. He made sure that they stayed in school and didn’t stray from the paths they were destined to walk, especially Vince. He took him under his wing and kept Vince Senior from abusing Vince, teaching him on how to get issues resolved without violence.

  Jay patted his belly and grinned “you know I wouldn’t agree to move here if I didn’t have my Chinese food. A buddy of mine informed me some people from the old neighborhood moved out here and opened a restaurant, here’s the result.”

  Samantha gave him the thumbs up “well you did good daddy Jay. Now, have you gotten a date on when my babies start the trip out here?” Jay nodded as he checked his phone for the schedule of Samantha’s move.

  “I have little Mario taking pictures of the speedometers before they’re loaded onto the trailers. If they’re off by more than a quarter mile, let’s just say I know a guy.” Vince rolled his eyes as Cameron chuckled.

  Samantha sighed “I don’t want to know Jay, my house closes on Friday next week. I want my movers to be here Saturday.” He confirmed the date again then went to make the calls for the moving company to start driving to Nevada in a few days.

  She helped Lily clear the table and was ready to head back to the hotel with Cameron when she received a call from Brent. “You’re kidding right? Yeah I know I promised to handle it and I will. I’ll meet you at the airport.”

  Samantha gave Cameron an apologetic look “I need to fly out to New York tonight. Apparently I have a few employees in my Manhattan hotel wanting to boycott and bring the union into my hotel. I promised to meet with the rebel rousers and negotiate.”

  Cameron raised an eyebrow “don’t you have a board that makes decisions on those issues?” She shook her head. “Maxwell International is a privately owned company and I’m the sole owner. I won’t go public, too much stress worrying about trying to appease members of a board when I am perfectly capable of hiring and firing people willing to work for me. My father taught me that.”

  Samantha gave a weak smile to Lily and Vince, they nodded in understanding. “Well, since you’re going to New York, stop by the house and give little Mario my regards.” Jay stated, she grinned as she got her things and then looked up at Cameron “want to drive me to McCarren International?”

  Cameron smiled as he wrapped his arms around her, “You know I will baby, but don’t you have to get back to the hotel and pack?” Lily snorted “she doesn’t need to pack, she has Brent to do that for her.”

  Samantha rolled her eyes. “Actually, he has my messenger bag. I have a change of clothing in the plane. Once we land, we’re heading to the main house and I’ll pack a bag and stay at Brent’s house.”

  “When will you come back to Las Vegas?” Cameron asked, she thought about it for a moment. “I should be wrapped up in New York by Wednesday night. I have a few meetings here on Thursday with some of the other hotel owners we talked to today.”

  Vince grinned then looked at Lily. “While Cam and I talked cars with the customers, Sam made deals with Bellagio and The Venetian in opening a hotel in Dubai.”

  Lily looked at Samantha in shock, Cameron laughed “yeah, my little mogul here was sexy as she negotiated millions of dollars while wearing biker gear.”

  Samantha scowled at him as she looked over to Lily “they’re exaggerating. I will however take you with me to Tahiti once we get the green light.” Both Cameron and Vince scowled at the women as they laughed at making them jealous. She hugged everyone goodbye then took Cameron’s hand. He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it as he led her to his car and drove her to the airport.

  “Auntie Sammie, when can we move with you and daddy to Las Vegas?” Brent’s son Matthew asked, she smiled. “As soon as you’re finished with the school year, so about six weeks.”

  The meeting with the employees at her Manhattan location went better than she anticipated. Sure she had to fire the assistant general manager and a few of the staff in the front office for causing the commotion in the first place, but in the end the crew pulled together and now were back to being the happy family she expected from them.

  It was Tuesday night, their last day in New York and Samantha sat at Brent and Sirius’ kitchen table decorating cupcakes for the kids annual pre summer party held at the school.

  Brent and Sirius had surrogate mothers for both children. Matthew was six and his sister Samantha was eight. She was honored when the couple decided to name their first child after her and was given the title god mother to little Sam while Vince and Lily were god parents to Matthew.

  Sirius handed her a cup of coffee and sat next to her, grabbing a cupcake to decorate. “So, are we house hunting after the move to Las Vegas or am I to expect my husband to have one for us?” He looked lovingly over to Brent, he blushed.

  “Baby, you know we’ve decided that we should wait until you get there.” Samantha chuckled “you’re staying with me until you two decide on a place. Now I don’t want you to rush, the house is the size of Brooklyn so you won’t be in the way.”

  Sirius looked at Brent confused, he laughed. “You know Sam baby, she went big and now she’s going to beg for someone to stay with her so she won’t be so lonely in the house.” She scowled at her favorite assistant “hey, I got sexy man to keep me company.”

  Sirius grinned “yeah, I heard you’re seeing someone, so spill girlfriend. I want details since my husband over there doesn’t like to share.”

  She laughed as Brent scowled at Sirius then picked him up and sat him down on his lap, never once messing up the decorating of the cupcakes.

  Samantha placed another one on the plate and sighed “what’s there to say, he’s handsome, smart, funny, and has tattoos that make me wonder what’s underneath the t-shirt.”

  Sirius raised an eyebrow then scowled at Brent “and you couldn’t tell me this?” Brent sighed then pulled out his phone “look, here’s Cameron and Sam.”

  He showed him the picture he took of the couple, Sirius squealed. “Oh wow he is cute, I should have you grow your hair out honey.” Brent glared at him “don’t even think about it love, I’m fine just the way I am.”

  Samantha laughed at the bantering the happy couple had with one another. “Well Cameron’s been very good for Sam, she’s not such a workaholic” Brent stated, she smiled.

  “Yeah well I’m going to hate what’s coming up after you and Sirius settle into my house. I need to get back to Tokyo and walk the building with the inspectors before we open in August.”

  Brent groaned while Sirius gave his husband a squeeze. “It’s alright honey. I’ll have Lily and Vince to keep
me company and the kids would love to spend time spoiling baby Emma.”

  Brent sighed then kissed his husband gently “I know baby, I’m just being selfish.” Samantha smiled “once we get back from Tokyo, I want you to take Sirius and the kids to my apartment in Paris. I think you all need some family time before the kids head back to school.”

  Little Sam squealed while Matthew clapped. Sirius jumped out of Brent’s lap to give Samantha a hug “thank you girl, you don’t know how much we need this.” She grinned as she hugged him back, she did know how much and she was making sure she took care of them.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “I’ll make sure Cameron’s here when they deliver the Impala.” Vince stated to the person on the phone while Cameron walked into the office.