Trapped In Paradise
Deatri King-Bey
This is a work of fiction. All the characters, events, incidents, names, organizations and places portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2009 by Deatri King-Bey
All rights reserved. Except for the use in any review, the production or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerograph, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the author.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’d like to thank God for my matching my talent with my passion. My family for their continued support, and you for coming asking for more.
Chapter One
“When Saundra finds out what you’ve done, you’re dead meat,” Ashley said from her desk.
“Then I guess she’d best not find out.” Miranda pulled various travel brochures off the display rack to expend some of her nervous energy. Of all the cockamamie ideas she had come up with over the years, this one had to be the most cockamamie of them all. Usually her sister, Saundra, kept her from attempting to carry them out, but this time Saundra was the intended target. “She won’t find out.”
“Oh, she’ll find out, and when she does, Marcus will be a widower and those sweet babies of yours…” Ashley sniffed and wiped the crocodile tears from her eyes. “The babies…” She choked up. “Don’t leave them without their mother.”
“And you call me melodramatic.” She plopped the brochures onto her desk. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Which makes what you’re doing all the more psycho. You are ten kinds of wrong on this. Stop before it’s too late.”
Though scared to the marrow, Miranda knew she was doing the right thing. “I know you’re only trying to help. I appreciate it. I really do, but I have to do what’s best for my sister.” Feeling less than confident with her plan, she dug in her heels. Nothing anyone could say would make her change her mind.
“Who are you to say what’s best for Saundra? She’s happy with her life. I highly suggest you stop interfering.”
“I’m her older sister. I know what’s best for her by default. Let’s just agree to disagree.” She straightened her all ready neat desk. “She’ll be here any minute, and I need to calm my nerves.”
“You’re wrong, but I’m done.”
“Thank you.” Melting into the soft suede of her office chair, she gazed out the window. She had opened Traveling the Miranda Way five years ago and prided herself on her professionalism. Eyes closed, she inhaled and exhaled slowly. Even though the economy turned for the worse, her business still thrived. What she was about to do could ruin her reputation and all she’d worked so hard for. I have to do this.
Second, third and forth guessing herself, she whispered, “I have to do this.”
“Do what?”
Miranda jumped at the sound of her sister’s voice. So caught up in thought, she hadn’t heard her enter. “Ummm, nothing.”
Lips pursed and arms folded over her chest, Saundra didn’t even almost look like she believed Miranda. “You’re up to something. I just hope I’m out of town when whatever it is blows up in your face.”
Ashley choked. “Oh, excuse me.” She fanned her tearing eyes. “Soda… went down… wrong pipe.” Still hacking, she pushed away from her desk. “Sorry.” She rushed to the back office.
“Whatever you’re up to must be really big.” Saundra settled in one of the armchairs in front of Miranda’s desk.
“I’m not up to anything.”
“Sure you’re not, but I don’t even want to know what it is. I’m just here for my travel packet and I’m out. I still have a few calls to make before I pack.”
Miranda tsked. “Why do you always think I’m up to something?”
“Because you’re always up to something.”
Miranda unlocked her bottom drawer, took out the packet she had prepared for Saundra and handed it over. “I hope you aren’t planning on working. This is a vacation.”
“Working vacation.” She opened the packet and sorted through the information. “I said I wanted a coach seat. Why does this say first class?”
“You have more than enough money to pay for comfort.”
“I’m five-four in heels. Coach is plenty comfortable for me, and I have more than enough money because I spend and invest what I have wisely.”
“Fine, I’ll downgrade you to coach.” Ever since Saundra gave her the initial investment capital needed for Travel Miranda’s Way, then refused to accept payment for the “loan,” Miranda had been making her travel arrangements for her.
“Thank you.”
“You’re not seriously going to work, are you?” Proud of her sister, she wished she could tell the world of her accomplishments. Six of the seven last titles she’d written had made it to the New York Times Best Sellers list, but since Saundra was a ghost writer, very few people knew of her highly-sought abilities.
“What else is there to do on a boat?”
“I don’t know.” Miranda hunched her shoulders. “Meet a man, get laid.” She covertly checked the time on her computer screen. In the next twenty minutes, the second part of her plan would be walking through the agency’s door, so she needed to give her beloved sister the boot.
Laughing, Saundra shook her head. “No thank you.”
“You do realize that sex is much better with two than one, right?”
“Ha, ha, very funny,” Saundra said dryly. “Does your husband know you have such a dirty mind?”
“That’s what he loves best.” They shared a laugh. “Did I tell you there’s a conference during the cruise? Readers and writers a plenty for you to hang out with. Please don’t stay cooped up in your cabin.”
She stood to leave. “Yes you told me. You also told me it’s a romance conference. Yuck! You couldn’t pay me to read that garbage.”
Truly offended, Miranda grumbled, “You’re such a literary snob, you make me sick.” She opened her top drawer and pulled out a few books. Ever since Saundra’s divorce eight years ago, she had given up on romance, on love. “Read a little Beverly Jenkins and Rochelle Alers before you turn up your nose. Speak from enlightenment instead of ignorance.”
“I’m sorry. I know how serious you are about your… romance.” She took the books.
“You don’t have to say romance like it’s a dirty word. There’s nothing wrong with falling in love. Look at me and Marcus.”
“Don’t get me wrong.” Hand rested on her chest, Saundra said, “I’m so happy for you two, and my nephews are the cutest little guys ever, but what you have is special.”
“You can have it, too.”
“I thought what I had with Nathan was special, but it was nothing but a misery filled trap. I know it’s hard for you to comprehend, but I’m happy.”
“Lonely.”
“Alone, not lonely.” Saundra hugged her older sister. “I need to get going.”
“Call me when you land in Miami.”
“I will.”
“And promise to read these books.”
“I promise. Now let me get out of here.”
The door didn’t close completely before Ashley returned. “You’re going to burn in hell.”
“Didn’t you say you were done?”
“I changed my mind.” She returned to her desk. “After what Nathan put her through, she deserves the right to be alone if she so chooses.”
“If she were happy, I’d leave her a
lone, but she’s not. She’s more than alone, she’s lonely.”
“There’s no talking sense into you.”
“No there isn’t, so why don’t you stop trying.”
Miranda searched through her book drawer for the perfect novel to recommend to Jeremy and set it on her desk. Just as Ashley opened her mouth, the man Miranda wanted to see entered and saved her from having to listen to another lecture on what a horrible sister she was for ensuring Saundra wouldn’t be lonely.
“How’s my favorite travel agent?” He nodded a hello to Ashley as he entered.
Miranda rounded her desk and gave Jeremy a big hug. “Much better, now that you’re here. I thought you would weasel out on me.”
“Oh no. I said I’d allow you to make all of the arrangements for my vacation, and I meant it.”
She returned to her desk and took out his travel packet. “Well, with you being such a control freak,” she teased, “I’m truly honored.”
He chuckled. “You should be. So where am I headed?”
“A five day Jamaican cruise!”
“Cruise? I’m not sure about this.”
“Trust me on this. You’ll love it.” The disdain on his face did not sit well with her. He could be as close-minded as Saundra, reaffirming for her just how perfect they were for each other.
She watched him sort through his travel packet. Jeremy loved to read the boring books like those Saundra loved to write. Saundra was attracted to older men, and though her sister was a decade younger than Jeremy, she was mature for her thirty-four years. They both owned their own business and thought investing was a form of entertainment. A chill went down her back at the thought of the droll conversations both had put her through regarding stock options, and don’t get her started on those stupid political blogs. Oh yeah, these two were made for each other.
“It looks like you have everything in order.”
“That’s what I’m here for.” She smiled. “Now I hope you plan to do more than keep your nose stuck in a book.”
“I sure do. I thought I’d keep my nose stuck in several books.”
“All you do is work, read and hang out with married people. You’ll never find a wife like that.”
“I’m not trying to find a wife. I’m taking a much needed vacation.”
“But what if your Mrs. Right is on the cruise, and you miss her because you’ve stayed hidden in your cabin under a pile of books?”
He tapped the romance book setting on her desk. “I’m not the only one who’s been reading, I see. Life isn’t like in your romance books.” He picked up the novel. “I’m not interested in some little girl who just left home. I want a strong, independent woman. Unfortunately, the type of woman I’m interested in has been put through hell and is fed up with giving a man a fair chance. Don’t get me wrong. I partially blame myself. I know I helped push many a woman to the brink, but now that I’m ready to settle down…” He hunched his shoulders. “All I’m saying is my ‘Mrs. Right’ wouldn’t see me for who I am. She’d see the pain and disappointment the men before me have put her through.”
“And all I’m saying is you know your Mrs. Right has been hurt. Be understanding and patient. If you give her time, she’ll see you for who you are.” Nathan had pushed Saundra past the brink, but Miranda knew Jeremy could bring her back.
He stared at her.
“What?” she asked.
“It’s just… Are you up to something?”
Ashley broke out in a hacking-laughing fit. She quickly excused herself and rushed out the room.
“What are you up to, Miranda?” he said firmly.
Mouth agape and eyes wide, she drew her hands to her chest. “Me? I am so hurt. Why is everyone always accusing me of being up to something?”
“Because you always are.”
“Well, I’m not this time,” she said hotly. “You’re my friend. I just want to make sure you don’t close your eyes to what’s right in front of you.” She saw herself as a conduit of sorts. If she had to tell a little white lie here and there, so be it.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.” He set the book on her desk.
“No, you keep it. Evelyn Palfrey is one of my favorite romance authors.”
“I don’t read romance.”
“Well start. Her characters are marvelously mature and have been through a lot of what your Mrs. Right has gone through. You may actually learn a little something.”
Chapter Two
“I’m kicking myself for not flying first class,” Saundra re-adjusted her cell phone earpiece.
“Why, what happened?” Miranda asked.
“As I was boarding the plane, I saw the only man who could make me reconsider one night stands.” Giggling, she fanned herself and continued along the tunnel from the plane into the busy airport. “And wouldn’t you know the seat beside him was empty. I’ll bet it was mine.”
“That’s what you get for being cheap. What did he look like? What was he doing? Did he see you?”
“Slow your roll.” She glanced up at the signs for the baggage area. “Whew howdy, his wavy, salt-and-pepper hair called to my fingers.”
Miranda giggled. “You and your old men.”
“He wasn’t old, but mature, and his hair was more pepper than salt.”
“Whatever. How tall was he?”
“Leg’s look to be about fifty feet long.”
“Fifty feet?” Miranda laughed. “You should switch from writing non-fiction to fiction.”
“Okay, maybe not fifty.” In no hurry, she strolled toward the baggage claim area. “But he was well over six feet. He definitely needed the extra room of first class.”
“Woman, you ain’t but about two foot tall! What is up with you and tall men?”
“I don’t know. Let me ask my sister who is shorter than me and whose husband is at least six feet what’s the deal with her and tall, dark, and all too fine men.” She stopped in front of one of the many gift shops and debated purchasing her nephews a few Miami T-shirts and shipping them off before she left for her cruise. She had promised them she would pick them a little something up on each leg of her trip. “This man fits your heroes in the romance books: tall, dark, and handsome. Make that: tall, dark, and all too fine.”
With a giggle in her voice, Miranda said, “I’m just glad you are finally reconsidering the one night stand. It’s been eight years. How can you go so long?”
“For one thing, it hasn’t been eight. It’s been five.”
Miranda broke out in another fit of laughter. “Like that’s better. You’d better corner the market on condoms, because Jamaica is full of tall, dark and all too fine men waiting on you.”
“My name ain’t Stella, and I sure don’t need to get back my groove.”
“Says who? Five years. You need a whole lot more than to get your groove back. And I’m not saying you have to marry the man… men! Shoooot, the one night stand is a beautiful thing.”
“You’re married. What do you know about one night stands?” She selected Florida Marlin’s T-shirts for the boys and a “Too Hot To Trot” T-Shirt for Miranda. She wouldn’t tell her sister, but instead of reading on the flight, she had daydreamed about making love with the handsome stranger. Never in her life had she been so attracted to a man. It was frightening. Yesterday after she’d finished packing, she read one of the romance novels Miranda had given her. The Beverly Jenkins’ novel had turned out to be surprisingly good, but now Saundra was having second thoughts, thinking her reaction to this man had been too “romance novel.”
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