by Collins, Lea
“You’ve had a long and stressful day. Wouldn’t you prefer to stay somewhere here for the night and fly back tomorrow?” responded Andre. He looked at Keith who said either way was okay with him. Andre sighed and they all got in the rental car. “I’m not taking you to the airport and have to wait hours for a fight. I’ll call first and see if there is anything available.”
After making the call, he found the first direct flight was the following morning. He made their reservations and headed toward the airport to find a place to stay close to the airport so the ride tomorrow would be short. The Airport Hilton looked nice so he went in and reserved their rooms. When he handed Keith his room key and Keith had picked up his small overnight bag, Andre made arrangements to meet at the hotel entrance tomorrow morning. He picked up his and Lily’s overnight beg and they went up to their room.
Upon entering their room, Lily immediately lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. Andre sat on the bed next to her and kissed her gently. “This has been a tough day for you, sweetheart. You need a warm shower, food and a good night’s sleep.”
She opened her eyes and looked into his. “I’m glad I hit Jack.” Andre grinned and brushed her hair away from her face. “I’m glad you did, too, since you saved my life. Keith’s shot completely missed Jack’s hand, although hitting his wrist. You’re one tough little woman.”
Lily smiled, “Don’t you ever forget it. I’ve heard that if you save someone’s life, then their life belongs to you, or they become your slave….something like that.” Andre kissed her. “I agree. My life is yours and I will be your slave.”
“I need to call Father and give him an update.” Andre called his father and gave him a short report of the recent events. “We are staying at the Hilton Airport tonight and will fly back to Miami tomorrow morning. You’ll get a full description of all that happened when we get back. Lily is emotionally drained now. We will see you and Molly tomorrow.”
Lily lay on the bed watching Andre. He leaned over her with both hands on either side of her face and kissed her lingeringly. “What would my lady like her slave to do?” “Hmm let’s see. I would like to be undressed, showered, fed, loved and put to bed. Can you handle all that?” He replied, “I’ll give it my best try.” When he had her naked, he undressed himself in record time, then took her in his arms. “I love you so much. I am your slave even before you cold cocked Jack.” “And I love you, too. You know I am your slave, too,” Lily replied.
They both got in the shower and soaped each other. When Andre got his erection, Lily began to rub it with soapy hands. Andre took her hands and turned her around so she couldn’t reach his front. He soaped and rinsed her, and when she turned around, she put her arms around his waist and they stood that way for a while. “I almost lost you,” she said in a quivering voice. “But you didn’t and that’s what is important. Your quick thinking saved the day. Keith’s shot could have missed and another shot might not have been in time so don’t keep thinking about it. I learned early on not to dwell on the play I missed but move on and concentrate on the next play.”
He kissed her and lifted her out of the shower. He dried her, then himself. She put on the robe and he suggested she lie down on the bed while he ordered dinner from room service.
He ordered their dinner, then went over and sat next to her on the bed. He opened the robe exposing her body and kissed her gently, saying, “I love you so much. I love to look at your beautiful body and kiss you all over. When I’m at work I think about you stretched out on the bed and then get so hard I have to put on an apron.”
Finally they heard a knock on the door. He put on his robe, quickly covered her and opened the door to their dinner cart. He put the food on the table and picked her up and put her in her chair at the table. “I’m really getting special treatment tonight.” “Whatever you want, I’m your servant,” he responded. He ate his dinner with gusto while she just picked at hers. “What’s wrong with your dinner?” he asked. “I’m just not hungry. There was too much highly charged emotion today, I guess.”
“That’s true. Are you finished with your dinner?” At her nod, he removed their dishes to the car and rolled it outside their room. He lay back down on the bed beside her and reached for her hand.
“You know I think about you during the day, too. It’s not just a guy thing.” She rolled over on her side and sniffed his neck and kissed his face and lips. She rubbed his arms, chest and said, “I think about your hot body, beautiful eyes and having you inside me. I think about how sweet, kind and thoughtful you are. I am so lucky to be married to you. And you give such wonderful back rubs.”
“Is that a hint?”
“Hmmm…”
She turned over on her stomach and he began to rub and massage her shoulders and back. He felt her relax and shortly realized that she was asleep. He pulled the covers up and they both went promptly to sleep.
Chapter 14
The cell phone rang and Andrew answered it and listened intently. He was unable to get in a question or comment as Andre was talking fast. Andrew agreed to relay the information to Molly and hung up. He had a stunned look on his face and Molly asked what had happened.
“It was Andre giving a rather strange report of what happened in Cincinnati. Jenny and Lily aren’t blood sisters, Keith shot Jenny’s gun out of her hand, Lily hit Jack on the head with a brass lamp and they’re coming home tomorrow morning and will tell us all about it then. Lily is pretty tired and still shook up by what all happened. That’s all I know.”
They looked at each other wide eyed and puzzled. “Why would Lily hit Jack on the head with a brass lamp?”
Andrew shrugged his shoulders saying, “I don’t know any details. We’ll just have to wait until they get back tomorrow. The only thing I can think of that would make Lily hit anybody on the head with a lamp is to protect someone….particularly someone she loves.”
“Likely Jack was going to hurt Andre, although I don’t know why unless it was jealousy.”
They both thought about it for a while.
“There’s something I’d like to ask you. What do you honestly think about my ideas for my store?”
“I truly think starting the store would be fun. I’d like to help if there is anything I can do. Jacqueline won’t be pleased as you’d be big competition for her. On the other hand, maybe she has her client base and this would not draw from it.”
The Next Day
Andre phoned his father from the airport telling him they had arrived and would stop by Molly’s apartment when they got home. His father replied they were eager to hear what happened in Cincinnati. Both Molly and Andrew were waiting eager to hear about what had happened.
Lily and Andre told of Jenny and Jack’s arrival and what followed. Both Molly and Andrew were shocked at Jenny’s behavior but her probable inherited mental illness would explain many things. Jack’s intention of killing Andre left them speechless. Andrew hugged Lily saying, “Thank you for saving my son when I have just found him.” Molly, too, was crying. Andre looked embarrassed and said, “Let’s don’t get too maudlin here or I’ll be crying, too. I’m proud of Lily….she’s a wonder woman.” He took her in his arms and kissed her.
“How are plans for the store coming along?” inquired Andre.
“I’m going out later to look for alternate locations but I want to be in the mall. I hope that works out.”
Everyone was thinking about the store when Andrew asked, “Are most of your clients regulars or tourists?” “That’s a good question. Most of them are regulars with some tourists. But the steady income is from regulars. So that’s an important consideration in choosing a location,” replied Andre.
“That gives us some guidelines to work from. I’d really rather be in your mall location but I’ll see what I can find tomorrow.
The Next Day
Andrew knocked on the Mall Manager’s door and entered to find the manager and a middle aged man standing. This is Mr. Ronald McMillan, owner of the mall.
Mr. McMillan held out his hand and Andrew and he shook hands and exchanged greetings. The owner invited Andrew to sit down and Andrew realized he is being given the VIP treatment, very different from his previous conversation with the manager.
The owner told Andrew he had him checked out and found that he is indeed one of the wealthiest men in Chicago and was financial sound. Andrew replied that he would expect them to do that. “I have the money to do what I want to do. What I need is an acceptable location with enough space. I looked at possible locations yesterday and have considered the possibility of purchasing a building in need of renovation and renting out retail spaces. I’m interested to hear your opinion on my plan should I be able to rent space here,” responded Andrew.
At the owner’s request, Andrew pulled out his plans for his store, explaining that he would have professionals design the space. Both the owner and manager studied the plans carefully. “This could certainly be a store appealing to the wealthy woman and an asset to any mall. This would probably put Jacqueline’s out of business, particularly if the Lily Collection is carried by your store. I understand Lily is your daughter-in-law so I assume you would be carrying her collection.”
“Lily’s contract with Jacqueline is for a year with ten months remaining. She is planning a new collection which could probably come to me when the store is ready but, yes, I will be handling Lily’s designs which are very hot right now. Plus she has an exclusive with Marcella Devereaux which has not been made public yet,” replied Andrew. “I don’t doubt my store will bring in wealthy customers with all that I have planned.”
“I don’t doubt it, either, Mr. Nelson, and I want your store in our mall. I understand you want to locate on the second floor close to an elevator.” Andrew replied, “The primary requirement is sufficient space in an acceptable location in the middle third of the floor. My store will draw in lots of customers and be helpful to all stores in the mall. I assure you it will be upscale in every way and something we can all be proud of. When can I expect to hear from you?”
“Obviously we have many decisions to make regarding space but we will come up with something to offer you that will meet your requirements. Let’s say no later than two weeks?” Andrew agreed with this time requirement, rolled up his plans and shook hands on the agreement.
He walked around the mall again and decided he liked the second floor better and hoped that would be a possibility. He also picked up a newspaper.
Andrew started reading the newspaper and noticed an ad for a dance troupe performing in Miami. He called Molly and asked if she might be interested in attending. She was extremely excited and he noticed that the performance was this evening at the Red Parrot. “Let’s go, Andrew, and ask Lily and Andre to go with us!”
“If you want to go, we’ll go. It should be interesting. It’s at that restaurant you and Lily like.”
Molly called Lily and told her about the dance troupe performance at the Red Parrot. Lily was excited and said she and Andre would go with them.
When Molly was dressing that evening, she put on the red chiffon dress which was her favorite. When Andrew, Lily and Andre arrived, she was fairly bouncing with excitement. “I just can’t wait to see if there is anyone I know dancing tonight. Do you remember what the name of the group is?”
“I think it is Miami Dancing Troupe. I thought it a very unimaginative name.”
They pulled into the parking lot to find it much more crowded than on their previous visit. There was an attendant this time so parking was not a big issue. “I’m glad I made reservations,” commented Andrew. “This seems to be a popular event.”
They were seated and drink orders taken. Lily asked Molly if she wished she was to be dancing tonight.
“Dancing is hard work. Your entire life has to be devoted to practice and more practice. Just for me to get in shape would take a tremendous amount of hard work. I have other interests now and no desire to go back to that life, although I enjoyed it at the time. People enjoy watching dancing performances with no idea how much precision and practice are involved.”
Lily expressed her interest in the routine of the dancers. “What would they be doing now, Molly?” “Putting on their costumes, warming up, and joking around to make the atmosphere relaxed. Some dancers get the jitters pretty bad. That’s true for any performer, whatever you’re doing. I never got nervous probably because I’d been dancing in front of an audience since I was a child. I was always excited and ready to get on the stage. I tried to help the nervous ones relax because they’re most likely to make mistakes. I loved performing,” replied Molly.
“Oh, I see Rita. She had to quit dancing because of an injury. Please excuse me. I want to go speak to her.”
Molly walked around the tables to sit next to an attractive woman with blond hair. She excitedly greeted Molly and they talked with animation for quite a while. Molly returned to the table excitedly telling Lily she had something to tell her. “That was Rita Romano who used to dance in the same group I was in. She has a daughter, Elena, who designs and makes all the costumes for the troupe. She has recently made some new ones and Rita is here to see the costumes for this performance. Apparently Elena has been sewing for years and is very talented in this area. I didn’t mention you, Lily, because I didn’t know if you would want to talk to her or not.”
“Do costume designers make a lot of money?”
“No they work on an as needed basis so it’s not a regular job. They don’t make a huge amount of money either.”
The show started with the announcer introducing the dancers. The first number was a slow waltz with the lead female dancer wore a red dress of a shimmering material with sequins on the bodice and sprinkled around the skirt. Lily and Molly grinned at each other since Molly wore her red dress that she wore when she was lead dancer with her troupe.
The show continued with fast music where the male dancer lifted the lead female above his head and flipped her around over and under his body. There was a sexy Latin number and the crowd whistled and clapped clearly enjoying the suggestive movements. There were many more performances by various dancers but the petite female lead dancer was in almost all of them. When the show ended and the dancers took their bows, she received a standing ovation along with her partner.
They all enjoyed the performance. Andrew had an odd expression on his face when he asked Molly, “Did you do all those things that lead female dancer did?” Molly looked surprised and responded, “Of course only I did them better. My partner was a better dancer than this dancer. Why?”
“I shudder to think how you could have been hurt if he’d dropped you. Thank God you’re not doing that anymore.”
Everyone smiled at this comment. Lily was very impressed with the creativity of the costumes and said she would like to meet Elena. “We probably should go over to where they’re sitting as Rita was injured and can’t walk.”
“How was she injured?” asked Andrew. Molly looked at him with narrowed eyes and said, “I’m not going to tell you.”
“I’ll bet she was dropped by the guy holding her up and fractured her spine,” guessed Andrew.
Molly stood and looked at him with one hand on her hip. “You are so often so disgustingly right, Andrew,” she said and walked off with Lily.
While Andrew looked smug, Andre said, “If you were married, you would end up sleeping on the sofa tonight, Father.”
Molly introduced Rita and Lily and asked when Elena would return to the table. “She supervises packing up the costumes so they don’t get torn up. They are so careless with all her hard work and it really gets me fired up at the way they take advantage of her. She gets paid very little and works so hard on their costumes.”
Elena sat down at the table and introductions were made. With long blond hair in a ponytail framing a beautiful face with large hazel eyes, Elena was much younger than Lily expected. Lily complimented her on the beautiful costumes and said that she, too, designed and made dresses. “I need some help with my se
wing business and wonder, Elena, if you would be interested in working with me. I will pay you a very good salary. You would have to be committed to my line of dresses and there would be no time for costume work. There is a good future for you if things work out. Would it be possible for me to examine the red dress with the sequins?”
“Yes, I’ll go get it. I just packed it in the trunk.”
Lily examined the dress carefully. She saw to her relief that Elena was a very good seamstress. Everything was very carefully and well done. “This is very well done and I think you would enjoy working on my beautiful dresses. Are you interested?”
“Oh, yes. I am very interested. It is hard for me to get work and I get such small pay. My mother can’t work and we have been having a very hard time getting along. This offer is so wonderful for us. When can I start?” replied Elena.
“Rita, you haven’t said anything. Are you okay with this?” asked Lily. “It is a wonderful miracle for us, Lily. I haven’t interfered because it depended on whether or not you liked Elena’s work. I am so happy that you do because things have been very difficult for us. Elena and I are close. We have always lived together and right now are living with my sister and her family. It’s hard for Elena to sew because we have only one room. Give us your address and Elena will be there for her first day of work.”
Lily gave them her address and asked Elena to be there at 9 a.m. They all hugged and thanked Molly for bringing Lily over to meet Elena.
Molly and Lily returned to their table and it was obvious Lily was very happy. She took Andre’s hand and with enthusiasm said, “Oh, Andre. I think I’ve really been lucky and found a seamstress who will be a lot of help! She designed and made all those costumes. Her work is good and I think once I show her something, I won’t have to show her again and again. She really needs work so I’m starting her tomorrow. Rosa is not a self-starter but I believe Elena will be. I’ll just have to see how it goes.”
