Fire and Desire (BWWM Romance)

by Watts, Rebecca K.

  “Oh, so you scared?” Heather challenged.

  “Scared of who? You? Whatever, you must really be high to talk to me like that. I’m not scared, and I won’t be tricked into coming. As a matter of fact, you’re about to get the dial tone. Don’t bother calling me back.” She laughed and hung up.

  Her laughter turned to frustration. How did Heather get her number? They were never friend’s only coworkers. Heather was a fellow entertainer who danced to keep up with her drug habit. Women like her gave dancers a bad name. While at the Banana Split, Emily avoided her. If it weren’t for Heather’s sister Emily would have never said “hi” to her. Heather oozed bad news.

  Emily felt as if her world was falling apart right before her eyes. She needed the club in order to prove herself as a legitimate business woman. The online business was doing better than she ever imagined, but she yearned for more. She wanted to have a backup in case her online business fizzled out one day. “Never put all your eggs in one basket.” Whoever was the first to say that knew exactly what they were talking about.

  Buzz, buzz. Her phone vibrated again, Private Call on the display.

  “Yes,” she said with attitude.

  “Miss Washington, this is Edmond. Did you I catch you at a bad time? I truly hope not, because I was hoping you thought about my offer and have reconsidered me as an investor.”

  “No, I have not,” she stated firmly. “I told you I was meeting with other people. I’ve chosen someone else.”

  She wasn’t lying. That someone else was Kenny. Because of their great chemistry, she had decided to make him a small percentage partner.

  “Whatever they’re offering, I’ll double.”

  After her present bad luck, she was tempted, but her instincts wouldn’t allow her to be swayed by more money. “Sorry. I am quite sure someone else would love your offer. Now if you’ll excuse me, I was in the middle of something very important.”

  Irritated by her bothersome phone calls, she refocused her attention on her business plans to open her club in two months. She dialed the number for an interior decorator she’d written down from a magazine she’d read at the dentist’s office. Fortunately, the company had someone available that afternoon. They would just have to view the club from the pictures she’d taken.

  If Kenny was going to be her partner, he needed to be in on the planning. His phone rang six times before going to voicemail. She left a detailed message and hung up. Lately, it seemed that Kenny had been ignoring her calls unless it was for business purposes, which he only returned the call after hearing the message. She hadn’t the faintest idea as to why but wasn’t going to ask him either.

  Emily got dressed and made her way to the northern suburbs. She was ushered to a conference room. Much to her surprise, because he didn’t return her phone call, Kenny had already arrived before she got there.

  “You must be Emily,” the blond baby-faced man said. He pranced over to her, giving her air kisses.

  “Tremane. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “Oh yes, girl. You’re partner came early, so I thought it best to bring him in the conference room and see what ideas he had running in his little head.” Tremane took a seat with the grace of a primed girl in prep school. “He said it was best to wait on you.”

  Kenny nodded.

  “I’m here now, so let’s get started.” She smiled and took her seat.

  “What I did get from Kenny was this is an upscale lounge with private rooms. Is this correct?” He looked over the brim of his glasses.

  “Yes.”

  “And…” He popped his tongue and over exaggerating his words. “What were you thinking for the décor?”

  “I’m going for upscale elegance. I want to attract the corporate crowd but not overwhelm the blue collar worker.”

  “I see.” He picked up one of the design books off the table and flipped through it. “Something like this?” He handed her the book.

  “It’s nice, but I’m in the adult entertaining business, so it needs to be a bit more edgy.”

  “Oh!” He clapped his hands together. “Why didn’t you say so? Excuse me a moment.” He stepped out and came back moments later with books full of hand-drawn designs.

  Emily glanced over the embroidered bar stools, decorative seating, and modern lighting. “Now these are amazing!”

  For the next forty-five minutes, they reviewed designs and came up with a plan. She wanted to have a few Hip Hop concerts here and there, but not so many that it would turn into a thug haven. She would also incorporate Jazz, Blues, Alternative, and R&B to round out her clientele. Emily dreamed of her club being as well-known as those in LA and New York. When people came to town, her club would be the place to be.

  “Are you going to tell me the name of the club today, miss lady?” Kenny asked on the elevator ride down.

  “He speaks.”

  “He does, and he also has a life outside of doing your bidding.”

  “Wow. Kenny, I’m sorry.” She grabbed his arm. “I’m really sorry. With the vandalism, I just wanted to focus on moving forward.”

  “No. I had a long night, and I’m a bit cranky. Forget about it. What’s the name?”

  “Secrets. What do you think?”

  He put his hand to his chin and said nothing for a few moments. “With your private dance rooms, I think it’s the perfect name.”

  “Glad you like it.” She was tempted to ask what kept him up all night but with his outburst decided against it.

  “You know I love all of your ideas. I keep telling you you’re a very smart lady,” he stated genuinely.

  “So you keep telling me.” She nudged him.

  Kenny shoved his hands in his pocket and spoke more towards the ground than her. “Are you and Antonio pretty serious?”

  “Serious as in making wedding plans? No. I do enjoy his company. He seems to really understand me, and we have a lot in common.”

  “Just don’t fall in love too fast, okay? Looks aren’t everything.”

  She couldn’t hold back her laughter. “Are you serious? Is this the reason you haven’t been answering my calls? Are you jealous?”

  “Forget I said anything, Emily,” he said in a huff, pushing through the exit of the building. His long legs moved so fast she couldn’t keep up.

  She watched as Kenny got farther and farther down the street finally disappearing before she headed in the direction of her car. Emily hit the highway back to her side of town with lightning speed. She had to get her son’s daycare before they closed. Her sister Keisha had to work late at the law firm, working on a court brief, and wouldn’t be able to get him for her. Emily thought it was silly that the daycare closed at five-thirty instead of six like the others in the area, but after doing extensive research, this one was the best.

  She arrived ten minutes before closing. After giving the daycare owner a hefty check for the month, she put Sean in his booster seat and continued on their way home. When Sean was content from eating dinner and playing his video game, she headed downstairs to handle business.

  There was a stack of applications for women trying to join The Playhouse. The cute girls who weren’t sexy enough to be one of her girls ended up in a separate stack to be sorted through later. Instead of giving them a flat out no, she may extend an offer to be a hostess at her new club.

  “Uh, boss lady,” Ryan said. “You have a dude at your front door who looks kind of suspicious. I went to check him out, and he claims to be your baby daddy.”

  Emily rolled her eyes. She hated the term, but unfortunately, he fit it to a tee. Sean’s father was less than a deadbeat. “You got to be kidding me. What the does he want now? I haven’t seen or heard from him in months.”

  “You want me to get rid of him?”

  “No. I can handle him, thanks.” Emily slid her feet into her house shoes and headed toward the front door. “Can I help you?” she said dryly.

  She took in his dark over six foot frame. He’d changed up his look f
rom a low fade to a fresh bald shave. His muscular arms and flat stomach was an indicator he still owned a gym membership.

  “Yeah, I want my son.” A strong odor accompanied his words.

  “Do I smell alcohol? Are you drunk?” Emily narrowed her eyes at him. The freshly shaved bald head and perfectly trimmed beard did little to disguise his glossy eyes.

  “No. I mean…I, uh, had a few drinks.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “But you know me. I ain’t drunk.”

  She was hardly impressed with his attempt at being charming. “No, I don’t know you. If I did, I would know where you’ve been for the past six months. I know you got out of jail and haven’t heard a peep from you, not even asking about your son. And now you think you can come over to my house demanding things? You can get him on the weekend like you are supposed to. Today is Tuesday. Come back sober on Friday.”

  “Why you still got me paying child support when you living large anyway? You know I can barely find work.” He moved his head to the side in an attempt to get a better view of the inside of her house.

  “And who fault is that? If you would sober up, you might keep a job, and the child support is for your son, not me. That little fifty-seven dollars a week can’t pay for anything in my house or the academy he’s in. I put Sean’s money in a savings account for him.”

  “Really?” he said. Emily could see the wheels spinning in his head. “Can I have some?”

  She hated the way he stood there, looking at her and rubbing the hairs on his goatee as if he just hit the jackpot. “No, you didn’t! The money is for your son, not for you or me. Look, Dwayne, if you really want him, come back on Friday.”

  Emily quickly closed the door, leaving him standing alone on her front porch. Dwayne stomped off. She cursed herself for ever falling for the charming jock while in college. He was kind and caring up until the moment she uttered the words, “I’m pregnant.” Then his true colors came out. Dwayne was selfish and only cared about his football career. She laughed at how he’d put everything into him going pro and injured himself his last year in college.

  Funny how things worked out. Dwayne thought a child would stop him from being a star. He never recovered from the shock of not going pro and lived in the past while she continued moving forward, child and all.

  Chapter Nine

  Antonio sat across the table from the middle-aged lady. Remnants of a beautiful young woman were barely visible in her sad eyes. The women’s correctional facility wasn’t a place he carried to be. Thankfully the weather was nice and they were allowed to be outside.

  “I see she’s fallen for you.” Jessica took a long drag on her cigarette. She waited for a little girl to walk pass before blowing it out.

  “Yes, but she does keep her guard up. I’ve told her I love her in so many ways, and she never says it back.”

  Jessica’s eyes lit up. “Do you really? I thought the strong Marine would never settle down.”

  “No one has ever made me want to, caro cugino, dear cousin.”

  She gave him a pat on the arm. “Don't worry. You’re very charming. I’m sure she’ll totally give in to you soon enough. How is this club business of hers coming along?”

  “It’s moving full steam ahead.” He smiled.

  “She’s a persistent one.”

  “That she is. Speaking of Emily, our time is up, and I have to run.” He kissed her on the forehead before standing to leave.

  ***

  Her eyes closed, Emily sat in her burnt orange lazy boy in her den, letting her mind wander. With one leg propped up on the right arm of the chair, she let the other foot dangle freely, barely keeping her purple fuzzy slipper on her toes. She analyzed the recent events trying to figure out if there was something she missed. The vandalism at the club, Kenny’s odd behavior, the investor hounding her, baby daddy drama, and Heather showing back up gave her a migraine.

  The police must have taken her for a fool to believe kids had been the culprit. If someone tried to break in again, they would have to deal with her Brinks alarm system and video. The cameras were now active, and they’d be caught red handed.

  Kenny’s behavior, however silly it was, finally had reasoning behind it. He was jealous of her and Antonio blooming relationship, which made absolutely no sense to Emily. He wanted a woman who was way more reserved than she would ever be. They were opposites, and from the beginning, neither expressed a liking to the other outside of business and friendship.

  Edmond and Dwayne she could handle. Both were only a mere annoyance. Emily could handle the investor by keeping him at bay, and Dwayne was harmless. Nerve wrecking, but harmless. He showed up ranting and raving anytime the child support office found out he had a job and deducted support from his check.

  Heather coming back to town was a whole other issue. She knew something was up with her when she looked on the Bunny Ranch website the night before and didn’t see a picture or her name with the rest of the girls. Emily didn’t know what Heather was up too, but whatever it was, it changed her from the girl she used to be. She was used to Heather being extremely passive. Now, Heather was confident, aggressive and almost threatening. They were never truly close, but it was no reason for Heather to now see her as the enemy.

  A childhood memory came to mind.

  “Mama, why those girls always pick on me?” a fifteen-year-old Emily asked her mother after two bigger girls had teased her about being too skinny at school.

  “They’re just jealous, baby. They want what you have. You have lots of friends, you don’t just play sports, you dominate everything you attempt, and you’re cute.” Mama Washington caressed her hair.

  “It has nothing to do with these two mosquito bites on my chest?” Tears threatened to spill over her eyelids.

  “Mosquito bites? Let me tell you something. You are my daughter, and regardless of the size of your chest, you’ll be someone and those girls know it. They tease you because they want to be you and because they can’t, they try to destroy you. Honey, you are my child and God’s creation. There’s nothing they can do to you to stop you from being who you are destined to be.”

  Emily smiled. Her mother always had a way of setting things right and never judging her. Mama Washington didn’t even blink when Emily first mentioned she was dancing in a club. Now that she owned her own site, her mother was even more supportive. She always said if you are going bother to do anything to be the best at it.

  Now that she was on top, she reasoned it was about time for people to try and pull her down. She wasn’t going down without a fight. She’ll come out on top no matter what. Emily worked hard to get where she was. She refused to go back to working temporary agencies and let her diploma collect dust.

  “Somebody’s got to be on top so it might as well be me.” Emily sighed.

  “Ma.” Sean walked in the room interrupting her thoughts. “Can you read to me?”

  Placing Little Nabil in her hands, he pulled her from the chair to the couch so he could sit next to her. He was too big to climb in her lap, but it didn’t stop him from snuggling up close to her, eagerly waiting for his mom to start reading.

  “Little Nabil was a young boy living in Africa…” Emily read. She always made sure she read to him on a regular basis even though he was learning to read himself. It was her way of bonding with him. The books she bought had people of different nationalities in them. She wanted him to be culturally diverse.

  Emily read to him until he started nodding off. When he was all the way sleep, she carried him upstairs to his bedroom. Pulling his Spiderman covers over him, she kissed him on his cheek and turned out the light for his midday nap.

  Back in her den, she pulled out a pad of paper and wrote an article for The Playhouse Girl of the Week until she realized almost seven days had almost past since her strained conversation with Heather. Unable to focus on what she was doing, Emily made a decision to end the nonsense. She called her.

  “Hello,” Heather answered with attitude.

  “We
need to talk.”

  “Oh, so now I’m supposed to jump because Mercedes commands it?” Heather smacked on a piece of gum.

  “Look, you’re the one who wanted to meet with me. I have some free time. Where can we meet?” She started to regret making the call.

  “Okay, your highness, let’s meet in two hours in the same spot as I said before.”

  “Fine.” Hearing no response, Emily glanced at her phone. Call ended flashed on the display.

  Two hours was perfect. It gave her enough time whip up a quick meal and drop Sean off at her sister’s. Not one to be caught in a trap, she called up Janet for backup. She was far from scared, but with the way Heather was acting, she wasn’t taking any chances being caught off guard by a lunatic drug addict.

  After packing up some food for Keisha as a peace offering for her watching Sean on a short notice, Emily headed out the door. She picked up Janet along the way, and they laughed at Heather’s boldness. It was hard for Janet to believe they were even talking about the same person.

  From the time they got out of Emily’s truck to the time they made it to the food court, Emily kept checking her surroundings like she was being followed by the FBI. Heather acting strange and the club vandalism made her paranoid. A few years prior, she would’ve jumped at a chance to knock an enemy upside their head, but being a mother and a business woman, she decided to try and negotiate.

  “I’m here now. What’s this all about?” Emily took a seat. She noticed that for Heather to be on drugs she was rather healthy looking. Her makeup was flawless, her clothing complimented her body, and for once, none of her acrylic nails were broken or missing. It was a contradiction to Heather’s appearance the last time Emily had seen her.

  “I see you couldn’t leave your sidekick at home. What happened? I thought you were supposed to be a big movie star by now?” Heather cut her eyes at Janet.

  “I know you ain’t talking, you bleach blond whore! Yeah, I know you used to jack those men off back in the day to get paid.” Janet waved off the seat Emily pulled out for her.