What the heck was going on? And what was up with all these behind-the-scenes Black folks taking on German or Russian names? Vlad’s real name was just plain old Jamal. By either name, he had something against Pierce—big time.
Vlad and Simeon’s conversation changed abruptly. Both gazes locked in as Steve Iken hurried past.
Eric had to do something. Could he trust Steve to help?
Fifteen
When Raven opened her eyes, she looked at the man with his arms protectively surrounding her. As she moved, he pulled her to him instinctively. Pierce’s intense features had relaxed, allowing Raven a glimpse of what he’d been like as a little boy. His shallow breathing was almost inaudible over the hum of the jet’s engines.
Why did she get the feeling that him being with her was less an act of spontaneity and more a way to find himself? The thought brought on a touch of panic. Relationships were soooo overrated. Just like marriage. Who needed a piece of paper to define their lives? And that’s all a marriage license was anymore—plain old paper that no one seemed to respect.
Raven sighed, a smile flickering on her lips. She wanted him. Hell, she had wanted him that first night, but every rule in the book said giving herself to him then would have labeled her anything but a woman in control. When they’d danced, she had felt his erection growing, in direct agreement with her moistening panties. Crossing the line into casual, one-night-only sex had never been a consideration—until that night. Control had been the last thing on her mind. Her kitty had said, “To hell with morals! Let’s get to the good stuff.” And she had almost replied with, “Damn straight!”
She stretched her limbs and made a quick trip to the bathroom. Raven found two small travel kits filled with toiletries, one with her name on it and the other with Pierce’s. She smiled at Vinah’s thoughtfulness. Then another thought struck: had Pierce planned this all along?
On the way back to bed, she lifted the shade on the circular window and saw a bright orange moon shining in the star-splattered sky. How long had they been flying? She looked under the wing and saw something reflecting back at her.
The ocean? Her heart slammed against her chest. What the hell were they doing over the ocean?
She slid back into bed. His eyes didn’t flutter, but she sensed that he wasn’t resting as deeply as before. Seconds later, he opened his eyes and she saw a sureness that only a person who is completely alert could muster. “Watching me in a vulnerable position, were you, Ms. Armand?”
“You could never be vulnerable,” she teased.
Pierce trailed his finger across her face with a gentle touch that belied his massive stature. “You have no idea what you do to me.”
Make him vulnerable? Impossible!
He slid off the bed, peered at her for a long moment before heading for the bathroom. When he returned he gave her a minty-fresh kiss.
Raven pulled away saying, “I saw the ocean under us.”
A mischievous smile brightened his handsome features. “I’m not telling.”
Taking in her worried expression he added, “All of your books take place in Chicago.”
Raven stared straight ahead, mulling that over. “That’s all I know. Readers really get ticked when authors fake things they don’t know.”
“I kind of thought that,” he said cautiously. “Let’s give you somewhere else to write about. Someplace fun. Someplace you’ll always remember me by.”
She looked up at him and, without thinking, said, “I was kind of hoping that I’d always have you to remember you by.”
Raven didn’t miss the flash of hope in his dark brown eyes. They left the bedroom suite and strapped into the plush chairs.
“Pierce, seriously, where are you taking me?”
He brushed his lips along her jaw. She turned her face to him, opening her mouth for a kiss that showered her with his need and hunger. He left her breathless and trembling. Somewhere deep inside her an alarm went off, making her pull away.
The plane’s descent caused her stomach to heave. Takeoff was usually great for Raven; landing, however, was just short of a nightmare. Her grip on him was a little tighter than necessary. Well, probably tighter than he thought was necessary.
“I don’t like landings, either,” he said, linking her fingers with his.
The clouds thinned out and several shadows appeared in the moonlight, but it was too dark for her to recognize anything. Islands maybe? But which ones?
Moments later the plane took a turn, and she could make out shadowy palm trees.
“This is your captain…”
Pierce’s eyes widened, just before Vinah sprinted to the cockpit. Raven sat straight up in her chair, all ears.
“…Hope you’re having a wonderful time tonight. We’re only fifty miles from landing. It’s seventy-eight degrees in the beautiful…Huh? What?”
There was a pause and muffled voices before he came back over the speakers, cleared his throat, and said, “Oh. I apologize folks,” a little laugh followed, “it appears that information is privileged.”
Raven groaned under her breath as Pierce gave a low, throaty chuckle.
❤ ❤ ❤
It was 4 in the morning, and Simeon and Vlad were still pouring over music in the office. Eric’s limbs were stiff, but he couldn’t move without drawing their attention. Marie and Ava were surely worried. If he didn’t get home soon, he would miss his doctor’s appointment. Marie would kill him for sure.
When the men moved toward the door, Eric curled into a ball.
Simeon’s weary secretary rolled in some food. The men came out and scooped up another few boxes of CDs and settled in. The rich smell of Thai food was making Eric hungry and his stomach began to growl. He had to make his escape. Eric attempted to make the fifty-yard dash toward the elevator. He reached the main corridor but pulled up short. Vlad and Simeon’s voices were close. Eric doubled back, then hit the floor, crawling toward Pierce’s office for safe cover. He somersaulted into place and scrambled under the credenza behind Pierce’s desk. He pulled the chair and a garbage can in front of it.
The lights flicked on in Pierce’s office.
Eric’s heart slammed in his chest.
Shoot! Did they see me? Lord, please don’t let them come back here.
“Want to know what this whole Raven Armand thing was really about?”
“Yeah, some lawyer bitch is saying they might go with someone else,” Simeon growled.
“Pierce is slipping. This shit wasn’t about no movie soundtrack, or producing, neither.”
“What do you think’s going on?”
“I think it was all about him getting with old girl.”
“That fat-ass writer?”
Eric saw red. How dare Simeon and Vlad call his mother fat––especially with their bloated behinds. Simeon was skinny everywhere else, but his gut came from all that fancy champagne, eating too much rich food and being too lazy to work out. And he had the nerve to call someone else fat. Just wait until—
“Yeah, I think I’ll have to tap that ass, just to keep him from getting big-headed,” Simeon replied.
“Man, you’re not her type; she’s one of those stuck-up suburban bitches.”
Eric forced himself to remain silent.
Simeon guffawed. “Right amount of money…I’m every woman’s type.”
“Bet?”
“Jennifer’s still at home right? I’ve been pumping her ass with a kid every damn year. Told her ass if I catch her using birth control, I’ll kick her to the curb. Pierce just loves to see her ass pregnant every year. Weak motherfucker.”
“She’s gonna get tired of that shit real soon,” Vlad said. “Didn’t she leave before?”
“Yeah, but she came back, didn’t she? If she leaves again, I’ll ship their little asses out of the country and she’ll never see them again.”
“Damn, that’s cold.”
“Naw, man, it means I have her ass right where I want her. She can’t even speak to Pierce or I�
��ll cut her ass off.” He rubbed his hands greedily. “There’s never been one of Pierce’s women I couldn’t get with. Simple-minded bitches, this new chick won’t be a problem. All I have to do is fuck her one time, and he’ll lose interest. Works every time.”
“Not like his ugly ass is yanking ‘em by the truckload.”
Their hideous laughter filled Pierce’s empty office.
“And he won’t do a damn thing either. Pierce’s got that loyalty and ethics shit going on. Learned it from his parents. Punk ass.”
“Notice he didn’t lie for you when the chips were down?” Vlad pointed out, sifting through the files in Pierce’s cabinets. “You could’ve gone to jail behind that shit.”
Simeon tilted back in his chair. “One word from him and the case would’ve been over.”
“But nooooooo, that motherfucker said he couldn’t recall.”
“I’ll never forgive him for that.” Simeon signaled to Vlad to follow him out the door and just missed Eric crawling toward the stairwell. “First things first. Let’s focus on the money, then Pierce’s new woman. Let’s pull this thing together before he gets the bright idea that he actually runs this motherfucker.”
Sixteen
As Pierce and Raven covered the distance from the landing site to the airport, Raven answered her phone on the fourth ring, after debating whether to answer at all.
“Raven, where the hell are you?”
“On the way to dinner,” she replied, strolling behind Pierce.
There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end. “Dinner?”
“That meal that comes after breakfast and lunch.”
“Smartass,” Ava quipped. “By now it’s breakfast. Do you realize how long you’ve been gone? And who are you having this dinner with?”
She had told Ava everything else, so why not this too? “Pierce Randall.”
“Oh, you mean that arrogant, insufferable chauvinist?”
Raven bristled, hearing her own words thrown back at her. “Don’t remind me.”
“So you’re not going to make it in time to see your son before we leave?”
A touch of guilt stabbed her, which she quickly brushed aside. “Hey, that little boy stood me up. Later for him.”
“Wrong. I had lunch with him and his girlfri—um…oh shoot…um. Let me see how I should put this.”
“His girlfriend?” Raven stopped cold. Pierce looked back at her, cocked his head a little. “When did he get one of those?”
Ava remained silent.
Pierce walked back, hooked his arm under Raven’s and moved her forward.
“You met her?” Raven screeched, alarm filling her with each step. Eric hadn’t told her anything about a new girl in his life. “What’s she like?”
“Ah, let’s just say that you’ve taught him well to appreciate the attributes of all women.”
“And what the hell does that mean?” Raven stopped again. Pierce’s eyes narrowed on her. She held up the “one minute” finger causing him to scowl.
“She’s not what I expected, but she loves him, and he’s smitten with her.”
“Hmph,” Raven replied, not liking the fact that her teenage son was growing up a lot faster than she could handle. A girlfriend? A girlfriend? She should never have agreed to let him go to New York! In no time he’d be out of the house and in the college of his choice—a Historically Black College or University instead of one of the Ivy League universities that had come calling. With the release of his latest novel, extensive speaking engagements, book signings, and this internship, she would see even less of him. Knowing that the tumors in his brain could snatch him away at any moment, especially now that he had refused treatment, made their time together even more precious. The only reason she had caved in to his demands was because Ava had promised that he wouldn’t be working for Simeon Cahill and that Anita and Lorrie had promised to watch out for him. Now some little hoochie had her hooks in her baby boy! Oh no. That was not happening on her watch.
“Woman, if you don’t get those sexy legs moving…” Pierce began, impatience creeping into his tone. “I’m going to put you over my knee and spank that ass.”
Raven moved the phone away from her mouth. “What part of that’s a threat, Mr. Randall?”
Pierce could only smirk and shake his head as she winked. Raven moved along anyway.
“Well, we’ve got a signing at 12:30 and book club meeting at 6, so get your booty home, now.”
Raven swallowed, choosing her words carefully. “We might have to change those plans, my fine lawyer friend. I’ve just touched down at an airport in a place with palm trees.”
Silence on the other end expanded like a size-twelve girdle over sixty-inch hips. “You’re just now getting off a plane after…” She paused a moment. “After I left you over fifteen hours ago? Where the hell did he take you?”
“That’s what I’d like to know, but he won’t tell me.”
Ava howled with laughter. “So what’s he like?”
“About the same.” Raven shrugged, peeking up at Pierce. “But add pushy, tenacious, and secretive to the mix.”
Pierce cast a sidelong glance at her.
“I think you’ve been holding out on me,” Ava quipped.
“What do you mean?”
“All this time I’ve been setting you up with doctors, lawyers, and CEOs, and all along, wanted a bad boy.”
Raven nearly stumbled. “Go to hell.”
“You first, but riddle me this Catwoman, why do you sound happier than you have in weeks?”
Raven squared her shoulders. “I think you’ve got me mixed up with someone else.”
“Noooooo. Cranky, irritable, snappish, bitchy—”
“I’ma kick your ass,” Raven grumbled, placing her hand in Pierce’s.
“Well, all right! Raven’s back!” Ava burst out and fell into a fit of laughter before asking, “Did you tell Pierce you might have a few engagements?”
“No, it totally slipped my mind.”
“Ummm-hmmmm.”
Something about that didn’t sound too good. “What? Don’t you use that tone with me.”
“Get within ten inches of some real dick, and your memory’s shot to hell.” Then Ava’s tone turned somber. “Raven, can I give you a piece of advice?”
“When has the word ‘no’ ever stopped you?”
“Then I won’t let this be the first time.”
Raven didn’t bother to respond as she tried to scope out the names of the restaurants they passed. All of them were closed.
“I don’t know how to say this, so I’m just going to be blunt…”
She braced herself, but kept moving since Pierce had frowned at her serious expression.
“Don’t say anything about…Where’s Pierce right now?”
“Right next to me.”
“Oh.” Ava paused as though weighing her words carefully. “Don’t tell him you’re…I mean, you might want to keep…oh, how do I say this?”
“Just spit it out!”
“Don’t mention anything about your little desire to walk on the wild side.”
Raven froze. She struggled with how to answer her without cluing Pierce into what had suddenly become a sensitive conversation. “That’ll have to happen at some point.”
“Let’s let ‘at some point’ be like waaaaaaaaaaaay down the road.”
“You know I like to be up front when I’m…” she threw a quick glance at Pierce, “…negotiating an appearance.”
“Up front cost you three possible relationships. Pierce is kind of worldly, but I don’t think he’ll be that understanding. At least not so early in the game.”
“That’s not how I do things. I’d rather be honest. If they can’t deal with all of the terms of the contract, I’d rather know before investing my time and energy.”
“Give it some time, Raven,” Ava pleaded. “Then break it to him gently.”
“I might not have to at all.” She lowered her voice. “After
my visit to the Castle on Monday, all of my questions will be answered. Those and maybe more.”
“Bullshit.”
“Speaking of B.S.,” Raven said, remembering how Ava had left her high and dry in the conference room. And the fact that Pierce had said he had talked with her personally.
“Oh, trying to be ladylike. Can’t say the ‘s’ word out loud in front of the new man?”
“Don’t think you’re off the hook for serving me up like Thanksgiving turkey.”
“I didn’t serve you up,” Ava countered smoothly. “Pierce said he wanted to speak to you alone—that meant solo, single, uno—”
“I know what it means, heifer.”
“So don’t get mad at me.”
“I noticed you hadn’t even opened up your briefcase,” Raven said, trying to keep up with Pierce.
“So? I barely had a chance to set it on the table.”
“I bet you didn’t even have anything inside that thing, did you?”
“Excuse me?”
“You’ve been up to something.”
Pierce’s smile widened as he realized they were still talking about him.
“Whew, look at the time,” Ava answered, too casually. “I think I see my husband.”
“He’s in Chicago, Ava,” Raven replied in a flat tone.
“Well, I have to make sure he’s still there. Bye!”
Heifer.
The palm trees shook in the wind, whipping around as if a storm were coming, but the clear moonlight streaming in through every open space said otherwise.
Pierce watched Raven’s amazed expression as she attempted to figure out their location. The bold floral print shirts and Asian features of the airport personnel gave a few clues, but something could give away their exact location at any time, so he stopped walking and turned to Raven. “Would you like to know where you are?”
The Pleasure's All Mine Page 12
