Simply Beautiful

by Unknown

  Clearing his throat, James timidly said, “No disrespect, Alisha. I hope all is well at home,” then turned and walked away nervously.

  After James’ departure Tristan gave the hangers-on a look that had everyone scattering at once. Alisha’s secretary approached them.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Cameron, Alisha. I had just stepped away from my desk. I never would have allowed him in her office,” Betty said. “That man has some nerve. I’m just glad you were here, Mr. Cameron. I don’t trust that man.”

  “I’m glad I was here as well, Betty. No need to apologize. James had been given orders earlier. He should have heeded them,” Tristan commented.

  “Yeah, Betty, it’s not your fault. Don’t worry about it,” Alisha said, stepping from behind Tristan.

  “Okay. If you need me, I’ll be at my desk,” Betty replied.

  Tristan guided Alisha back into the office and closed the door. “Appears as though our boy James has a hearing problem,” Tristan remarked.

  Scowling, Alisha asked, “What do you mean?”

  “Brandon specifically told him to get someone else to work on the appeal with him—one of the male attorneys—and he even told him who to speak with. It appears James has his mind set on having you. Doesn’t take orders very well, our James. Let’s see if I can help him along. Gather your things, Alisha, and wait for me,” Tristan was saying. “I have to stop by to see Brandon and then James, and then we can leave.”

  “W-what, I can’t leave with yo—.”

  Someone was knocking on her door again.

  “Who is it?” both Alisha and Tristan barked out.

  “Brandon. Can I come in?” Brandon asked.

  “Sure,” Tristan responded. “It’s open. Come on in.”

  Alisha glowered at him. “Tristan, this is my office.”

  “Oh, so you don’t want Brandon to come in?” he asked.

  “Stop being an ass,” she said as Brandon opened the door and walked in, closing it behind him.

  “You two still at it?” Brandon remarked. “Save it,” he replied before they could protest. “What was all the commotion about?”

  Tristan answered before Alisha could. “Langston was here. He tried to walk right into Alisha’s office without knocking.”

  Brandon looked angry. “I thought we told him that—”

  “Yeah, we did. Seems he’s made up his mind on some things,” Tristan commented, nodding towards Alisha.

  “What?” she asked, clearly frustrated.

  “He’s still standing?” Brandon asked angrily dismissing Alisha’s outburst in favor of looking at his brother.

  “It took all of my control and then some not to knock him on his sorry ass. This is your office Brandon, you asked me to wait and I did this time, barely. I can’t promise that I will for long though.”

  “Good enough. We need something quickly, Tristan. This dude is getting bolder,” Brandon said. “I’ll go see James now. Tristan, I’ll meet you in my office afterwards,” he said.

  Alisha turned on Tristan as soon as Brandon closed the door. “I’m not leaving with you, Tristan, especially after what James implied in front of everyone,” she retorted hotly.

  “And you won’t. Listen darlin’, I don’t trust Langston. The only way I can assure myself that I won’t kill the man is to get you away from here until I can put a plan into action. It’s Friday, and you don’t have to be back until Monday. Hopefully I’ll have enough on Langston to have him out of here by then. If not, I’ll take matters into my own hands. Now, as soon as I leave, gather your things and I’ll meet you in the garage. At no time—and I repeat at no time—are you to go to that garage by yourself. Do I make myself clear, Alisha?” he asked.

  Tristan’s tone brooked no argument and Alisha could only nod her head in agreement.

  “Good girl,” Tristan said, quickly kissing her on the lips and slipping out of her office.

  Alisha felt she could take care of herself, but she was too smart to put herself in unnecessary danger either. She knew when to act and when not to. And right now, she needed a shower. After what she had experienced with Tristan, she needed a long soak. Gathering her things, she buzzed her secretary, “Betty, I am leaving for the weekend.”

  “Sure. Have a nice weekend, honey. Enjoy yourself,” Betty said with a smile.

  Alisha smiled blushing slightly, knowing that Betty had to know what she and Tristan had been doing in her office. Especially since Tristan was acting all possessive and protective now. Oh well, she would worry about all of that on Monday. She was going home. Retrieving her coat, she put it on, then grabbed her handbag and briefcase, locked her office door and left. Saying goodbye to Betty, she went through the reception area, and passed Lorna, waving goodbye, “Bye, Lorna. See you on Monday,” Alisha said on her way out the door.

  Lorna looked at Alisha in surprise “Oh, you’re leaving for the day?” she asked.

  “Yes. Something came up and I’ll be starting my weekend early,” Alisha replied.

  “Is everything okay?” Lorna asked with a worried look.

  “Everything’s fine, but if James asks, I have a family emergency. I’ll call you once I get home, okay,” Alisha pleaded.

  “Yeah, you do that, Chica. I’ll be waiting,” Lorna replied.

  Chapter Six

  Upon entering the parking garage, Alisha saw Tristan leaning against her car. As she approached her vehicle she came to a stop in front of him. “How did you know which car was mine?”

  He smiled sheepishly, “I asked Betty.”

  “Oh great!” she muttered, trying to sound angry and throwing up her hand for added effect.

  “Come on, Beauty, you know you’re not angry. Besides, I needed to give you something,” he said.

  “What?” she asked.

  “The key to my apartment,” he told her.

  She opened her mouth to object but Tristan cut her off.

  “Before you object, I’m worried about your safety. I want you to go there and wait for me. I can’t leave yet. I have to take care of some things first. You have your BlackBerry with you?” he asked her. At her nod, he continued. “Good, program my number into your phone.”

  With BlackBerry in hand, Alisha entered the digits as Tristan said them aloud. She then gave him her cell phone number.

  “Good. Call me when you get to my apartment,” Tristan said, handing Alisha a piece of paper with the address to his apartment.

  “Tristan, I know where your condo is. After all, you and Brandon are in the same building. I can’t go to your apartment now, though—I don’t have any clothes with me,” she muttered.

  He looked at her like she had grown two heads. “My unit is 29D and you won’t need any clothes, darlin’,” he said rather knowingly.

  “I can’t go without clothes the entire weekend. I have to come in to work on Monday. What am I going to do about th—”

  Tristan pulled Alisha’s body into his, leaning forward to capture her lips, stopping her flow of words. He had cased the garage before she had entered, confirming that no one was about. Grabbing hold of her buttocks, he ground his erection into her. Removing his lips from hers, he bent down and whispered in her ear, “Beauty, unless you want to be thoroughly fucked inside this parking garage, I suggest you get in your car and head over to my apartment. Trust me, I am so hard right now I can hammer nails with my dick, and I don’t have a problem with lifting that cute little skirt up and pushing myself so deep inside of you, folks will think we’re Siamese twins—stuck together. Got it?” he grunted.

  Tristan’s suggestive words and his hard cock pressing at her had her breathing hard and creaming, juice flowing down between her thighs. Trying to hide his effect on her, Alisha turned away from Tristan and opened the door to her Lexus SUV. “You better have something for me to wear to work on Monday,” she said, to cover her obvious arousal as she got into her car and fastened her seatbelt. Then she flashed him a smoldering look and started to drive away.

  “Remem
ber to call me when you get to the apartment, Beauty,” he called after her, a big smile on his face.

  Tristan and Brandon both owned apartments in one of New York’s more trendy condominium complexes. She was glad the apartment offered valet parking—trying to find parking in New York was a nightmare.

  Arriving in front of Tristan’s building, she gave the doorman Tristan’s unit number and her keys for parking her car, then entered the elegant lobby complete with concierge. “Damn, this place is awesome!” she whispered.

  Alisha took the elevator up to Tristan’s unit, opened the door, and walked into the most gorgeous and emptiest apartment she had ever seen. She started laughing hysterically. She was still laughing when she felt the vibration of her cell phone in her handbag. Taking it out and looking at her caller ID, she saw that it was Tristan. She stopped laughing long enough to answer. “Hello.”

  “Hello, Beauty. Are you in the apartment?” Tristan asked.

  “A-Ah, Y-y-yes,” she acknowledged barely keeping another round of laughter from spilling from her lips.

  “Beauty, are you okay?” he asked.

  “Yes, Tristan, I got here okay and all is well. That is…Tristan, can I ask you something?”

  “You know you can. What do you want to know?”

  “Why isn’t your apartment furnished?”

  “I only stay in it when I’m in New York, which isn’t often. I never got around to furnishing it. Never gave it a thought, to be honest. The master bedroom is completely furnished. I eat at the island in the kitchen, and that has seating. By the way, I may be here for a while. I can bring home dinner or order out once I get there. Which do you prefer?”

  “Bring something. There’s this nice Italian place close to the office that I love. If you wouldn’t mind I’d love something from there?”

  “Mario’s or Luigi’s?”

  “Luigi’s.”

  “Luigi’s it is. The building has maid service, so the fridge should be fully stocked. Brandon usually lets them know when I’m coming to town. Fix yourself lunch if you want—I know you didn’t get a chance to eat. The master bedroom has a television. Feel free to use it. Make yourself at home.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Tristan. I think I’ll make a little lunch and then call my sister. Tristan, is everything okay at the office?” Alisha asked, the concern evident in her voice.

  “Everything is fine, Beauty. Don’t worry. Everything is under control. I’ll catch you up to date when I get home. Relax,” Tristan responded.

  “Tristan, please be careful,” Alisha said.

  “I am always careful, Beauty. Listen, I need to get going. The longer I’m here means the longer I’m away from you. If you need me, you have my cell…use it,” Tristan said, disconnecting the call.

  Closing her phone, Alisha stepped out of her pumps to avoid scratching Tristan’s floors, which seemed to be made out of a very dark maple/walnut. She then went in search of the master bedroom. She would give Tristan the honor of showing her around the place when he got home. She didn’t have too far to go. The master bedroom was to the right of the living room and dining area. “Wow!” was all she could say. Tristan’s huge bedroom more than made up for his scarcely furnished apartment. In the middle of the room sat an oversized maple and oak sleigh bed with glass-shelved nightstands attached. An Italian area rug sat in the middle of the room with a coffee table in the middle. The bedroom had oversized windows with a picturesque view of Manhattan. Walking across his bedroom and into the en suite restroom, she was again in awe of the lavishness of the room. “Sweet!” A spa bath and Jacuzzi shower. Oh, my damn! If Alisha didn’t know any better she would have thought she had walked up into MTV Cribs. Alisha’s family was very well off, but not this well off. This was Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous kind of wealth.

  Alisha’s stomach grumbled, reminding her that she hadn’t had lunch. “Oh well, time to go search for food,” she mumbled, as she placed her pumps next to a pair of Tristan’s shoes and walked in her stocking feet back to the kitchen area. With her cell phone still in hand, she dialed her brother Trevon.

  “Hello, Lisa,” Trevon said. “What’s going on at the office?”

  That was Trevon for you, straight to the point. “There’s this attorney at the firm, James Langston, who has been accused of sexually harassing two former employees. Brandon, David, and Brandon’s brother, Tristan, are investigating the allegations. They are trying to keep the investigation on the down low because of James’ father’s connections and because James is a cracker-jack attorney and this could become a nasty litigation,” she said.

  Trevon whistled loudly. “Man! How did Brandon and David get mixed up with this dude?” he asked. “Wait a minute—does that mean this James has been hassling you, too? Is this what your involvement is, Lisa?”

  Alisha began to go over what had transpired over the last few days, including what had happened in her office earlier today, then held the phone away from her ear as Trevon began to call off a few choice words of what he was going to do to James.

  “Honestly, Trevon, I didn’t know the man was fixed on me. I’ve never felt comfortable in his presence, but that was mainly because he thinks he’s God’s gift to women,” she said, trying to calm her brother down.

  “I don’t like this, Lisa. If he’s been accused twice of this already, and considering his actions in your office, he could be dangerous. I don’t like the fact that you’re in New York alone, Lisa. I think I’ll get Darion and come pay you a visit. Darius is not due to leave for a few more weeks,” Trevon said. Alisha’s brother Darius was Special Ops for the Navy.

  “Trevon, please don’t come,” Alisha pleaded. “The Cameron men seem to have it all under control.” Alisha hoped he would accept her explanation and not question her further. No such luck. “The Cameron’s are protecting their investment. Who’s protecting you? No, I’ll be in New York tomorrow morning,” he said.

  “Trevon—”

  “That’s final, Lisa,” he said cutting off her next words. “You said you pretended you had a family emergency. Are you at home now?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she lied.

  “Good. Make sure all of your windows and doors are locked, and don’t answer the door unless you are absolutely sure who’s on the other side of it,” he said.

  “Trevon, I’m not stupid. I know how to take care of myself,” she said.

  “I know you’re not stupid, Lisa, and I know you can handle yourself, but you’re still a young woman living alone with this man’s attentions on you. I’m worried that sexual harassment is not all this man has done. Usually there’s more,” he said. “Practice precaution, sis, that’s all I’m saying. See you tomorrow. Please be careful. Love you.”

  “Love you too, and I promise I’ll be careful,” she said. “Bye.”

  “Bye, sis.”

  Alisha placed her cell phone on the kitchen’s island and went over to the fridge to grab a bottle of water and the fixings for a sandwich. After making her sandwich, she sat down to eat.

  Chapter Seven

  After seeing Alisha to her car, Tristan had gone in to see Brandon. While in the office with Brandon, David had called in a panic saying they were going to have to take the baby by cesarean section, so Brandon left to go be with him until his and Nadia’s families got there.

  Leaving Brandon’s office, Tristan went back to his office to call the Atlanta-based office to see how things were going and to check his messages and call Alisha. After talking to Alisha, he dialed Domino’s private line. Using Domino’s private line would clue him in on that fact that it was an emergency.

  “Speak,” was all Dom said.

  “Dom, I need a favor, man, and this one’s personal,” Tristan replied.

  “What?” Dom asked.

  Tristan began to give him the particulars about James and what had transpired in Alisha’s office earlier.

  Domino let loose a string of expletives, “Son of a bitch. How did Brandon and David get hooked up with h
im in the first place? Hell, they could have had you investigate him, Tristan. You still have as many connections I do.”

  “Dom, nobody has as many connections as you do, and besides, I think his daddy did a little fudging for him. He came highly recommended, so Brandon and David just did the basic stuff—a mistake they won’t be making in the future, I can guarantee that. Dom, just between you and me, this is personal, man.”

  “Yeah, I heard you the first time. How personal?” Domino wanted to know.

  “Very.” Tristan said.

  “Alisha? Name sounds familiar. What’s her last name?”

  “Carrington,” Tristan answered.

  “Shit. I knew the name sounded familiar. Man, two of her brothers, Darion and Trevon, were Texas Rangers. The younger brother, Darius, is a SEAL. All three are crazy as hell and very protective of their two little sisters. Haven’t met the younger sister. I’ve met Alisha—she’s stunning. No wonder—”

  “Watch it Dom,” Tristan warned his buddy.

  “Cool your britches, old man. No disrespect. The lady is beautiful. No wonder Langston has his sights on her. Be careful, man. Trevon let me in on a little bit of something that went on with her about ten years ago,” Domino said.

  Tristan’s whole body stiffened “What?”

  “He didn’t go into detail. Just said she caught her long-term boyfriend in bed with another woman. Trevon had gone to New York and came back saying he’d taken care of the situation. Didn’t ask him what he did to the man because I know what I would have done in his situation,” Domino said.

  It was Tristan’s turn to let loose then. “That sorry excuse for a man! He’d better hope I never run into his worthless ass while I’m in New York, ’cause I am definitely going to finish what her brother started. You get his name?”

  “No, I didn’t. Man, listen, let me get to checking on this dude. I should have something for you in about ten or fifteen minutes. Sit tight. Can I call you back on this line?”