by Tiana Laveen
…It was time for lunch…
“Ms. Ellington, there is a gentleman here in the lobby to see you.”
Before Zaire could deliver her well-rehearsed response of one word, ‘NOPE,’ the phone clicked and a deeper voice came on the line.
“Hello, baby. Are you ready for lunch?” A raspy, rich voice had taken over, one that sent tingles down her spine and worked its way to her ears, leaving her heart beating a tad bit faster. Now, hearing the crass maniac’s voice without alcohol roaming in her system like some thief stalking about in the night hit her in a different way…
Damn, he sounds sexy…
“Is this Mr. Savage?” She was determined to keep her tone even as she wound the hotel room phone cord tightly around her fingers and pulled. If she did it a little harder, the entire contraption would come out of the wall.
“You know damn well who this is.”
Her eyes bucked at his response, and she grimaced. It was sobering indeed. The spell he’d suddenly put her under was cast aside, the veil lifted.
“I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but I don’t wish to go out with you. Goodbye.” She disconnected the call and immediately dialed Allison. “Bitch! He called!”
Her friend burst out laughing, but for the life of Zaire, she couldn’t see what was so damn funny!
“I told you he would…”
“I was hoping all of that hoopla last night was just from his drunken antics, you know? That after an evening of sobering up he’d give this up, if he even remembered me at all!”
“Nah, even though I wasn’t with you the entire time, I could tell he meant business. Besides, Kim said he didn’t seem drunk though.”
“Now, how in the hell would Kim know?! She was high as a fucking kite on a mission to Mars, kept licking the wall by the buffet and calling it a tall sexy stranger, then yelled that the man she was seducing had dry lips! I told her several times that it was a partition, but she wouldn’t listen.” Allison broke out in a fit of laughter that made her ears ring. “She also began to sing ‘Amish Paradise’ by Weird Al Yankovic when she saw that old lady sitting at the bar wearing a doily! Now why would she think that woman was Amish? She was in a casino at a bar for goodness’ sake and even if she was, how rude!”
At this, Allison laughed even harder, working her nerves all the worse.
“Kim is so fun when she’s drunk, isn’t she? We had a blast!”
“Yeah.” Zaire rolled her eyes. “She’s a shining star, a real bundle of joy!”
The previous night had been practically a damn blur.
Allison had been no angel, either. She’d slipped away again before their evening had come to a close. The woman had found some rebound replacement peen around four that morning and according to her chipper report, rode it hard and long. After kicking the young man out of her room with nothing more than a half chewed apple Danish and a ‘Fuck you very much,’ she was already looking for another contender. Apparently, the guy was some exotic dancer who barely spoke a word of English, but according to Allison, when it came to sex, only three words mattered: ‘Yes, right there.’
“Zaire, you need to loosen up. Come on, don’t be a buzzkill this weekend.”
“I’m truly not trying to be, Allison, but we have to use common sense, even on a girl’s trip. I have never seen Kim throw caution to the wind to this extreme, and you’ve also gotten out of hand!”
“Out of hand? Okay, I had no idea I was enrolled in pre-school again.”
“Say what you will, but it’s like I’m hanging out with two strangers, yet your faces are quite familiar.”
“Maybe it’s because we are using this getaway like medicine. Did you ever consider that? I get tired of having to be the bigger person all the damn time, Zaire! Of being professional and reliable every hour of every day. I know you care, but sometimes you’re just so judgmental and harsh! I’m sick of it! You do that for your job, I get it; it brings in ratings. But we’re not your clients, honey. We’re your friends. And I know the real you… you’re much more vulnerable than you let on.”
Zaire closed her eyes and nodded. Perhaps she had been acting more like their mother than their friend? It was how she showed love.
“I just… I’ve been through so much this year. I just wanna be free…” She could hear the hurt in her friend’s words, and it brought her down a notch or two.
“I’m sorry if I came off the wrong way, Allison.” Zaire sighed. “That was not my intention. I just think there is a right and a wrong way to go about things is all, even in the midst of our pain. I’m not perfect, far from it, but I want to help and have people learn from my experiences so they won’t make the same mistakes, but you’re right; I’m not your mother, and there’s a time and place for advice and guidance, too. You don’t want that right now—duly noted. I do understand what you’re saying, even though I want to dispute it. You’re not my child and I get that the way I articulate things, at times, can sound—”
“Bossy, controlling, domineering.”
“Uh… not exactly what I was going to say, but all right.” She smiled tightly. “I’ll try to be more careful about the words I use when I am showing concern, okay?”
“Better yet, unless I’m about to get hit by a bus, don’t show concern for me at all during this trip, okay? I got this.” Allison’s words stung, but the last thing she wanted was to fight with her dear friend.
“All right, I agree to that.”
“Thank you. That’s all I ask. Hey, I think you should—” But before Allison could finish her thought, the hotel phone rang once again.
“Hold on, the front desk is calling. It’s probably that son of a bitch again.” She stared at it for a good while—her cell phone in one hand, that damn red hotel phone buzzer blaring like a beacon.
“Answer it,” Allison stated over the speaker.
Snatching it up, she cleared her throat.
“Hello?”
“Ms. Ellison, there’s a gentleman who wishes to see you.”
Zaire hissed, rolled her eyes, and stomped her gold sandals on the floor.
He just doesn’t let up!
“As I stated to him, and now I will to you, I do not wish to see him. Now please relay the message that I—” She nearly jumped in her skin when she heard a commanding knock at her door. It had power… the kind of knock that had double doses of testosterone and smelled of danger, determination, and damnation.
“Ohhh, girl… Savage is in the building. I guess you have company.”
“This isn’t funny, Allison. Please help me! Come out into the hallway and greet him. Maybe that’ll deter him.”
“I’ll be right there!” Allison disconnected the line, but all Zaire could do was stand there with her damn heart beating almost clear out of her chest. Allison’s room was only a few doors down; it shouldn’t take her long to provide the perfect distraction. Kim would definitely be of no assistance in this new venture to shoo away a vulture. The woman was zonked out in her room, recovering from what she’d described earlier that morning as a three-ring circus in her head—clowns included, the mother of all hangovers.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Came the knocking again… followed by muted voices.
Oh good… Allison is talking to him.
Zaire slowly crept towards the door to get a better listen. Her cream and baby blue sheer shrug with a soft floral design dragged on the floor as her little gold sandals floated towards the banter. She rose on her tippy toes and peered out the peep hole.
My Lord…
There on the other side stood the golden colored man with a well tapered beard and mustache, sporting dark shades that shielded his eyes. His short, black hair was shaped perfectly. His clothes, however, gave her pause. Black leather and biker attire, as though he were some renegade thug. The shiny silver buckle of his belt practically glowed. A slender silver band gleamed on his pinky finger and now that his arms were exposed, she could see they were muscular as hell, and littere
d with dark tribal-like tattoos.
“Yes! Uh huh, I totally get it!” she heard Allison say, excitement and mirth in her voice.
The deep, masculine response soon followed. “So, you know, if you want to come along, that’s fine. I sent her flowers to apologize for making her uncomfortable last night, but I meant what I had said. I’m just a truthful person.”
“Well, honesty is definitely at a premium these days!” Allison grinned. She had on a black jumper, her lovely hair tousled and gathered over one shoulder. “People lie so much nowadays, it’s a wonder the truth is even understood or recognized. Seems like a foreign concept to most if you ask me.”
“Yeah, true… So, uh, what are you lovely ladies doing here? Girls’ trip?”
“Yes! Zaire works so hard on her broadcast, Savage. I mean, she’s a real beast.”
“She does advice, right? Write self-help books ’nd shit?”
“Yeah, and her focus is on women making better choices and living their truth. Due to her rarely taking a break, especially lately, she needed a fun time away from home. I’ve had a lot of stuff going on vocationally and in my personal life and so has our friend, Kim, so we just decided to drive on down here from California, regroup and indulge in some fun self-care, ya know?”
“Yeah, I totally get it,” the man stated. Just then, she noticed he held a bouquet in his hand.
“You smell great by the way, Savage! What cologne is that?”
Are you kidding me? Allison is no damn help at all! She was supposed to help shoo him away! Now she’s complimenting him and rolling out the red carpet!
Zaire could not believe her ears! She placed said ear against the door and listened closer… The two were having a good ol’ powwow, yucking it up! Seconds turned to minutes, and they were chuckling like old friends, as if they’d forgotten why they were in the hallway in front of her door in the first damn place.
“Zaire!” Allison called out, tapping on the door and startling her. Zaire took a step back and gripped the chiffon material of her long shrug in the palm of her hand. She held on tight to it, the soft material balled up in her fist as if someone had deeply insulted her, asked her for personal information, things that were none of their business.
“Zaire, I know you’re standing there. I can see you’ve blocked some of the light beneath the door,” the man said. She took another step back, remaining quiet. He sighed loudly, as if exhausted. “You just moved again… probably about ten to twelve inches back. You’re not Houdini and even though this is Vegas, you have no magic shows here. We know you didn’t just disappear. Now open the door.” She looked down at the floor and wanted to scream. The bastard was right! She had moved about that distance away.
“Allison, tell him that I don’t want to go to lunch with him.”
“Why do we have to play telephone, Zaire? He can hear you. Tell him yourself.”
I’m going to choke the shit outta her when I get her alone! On second thought, maybe I shouldn’t. She’d probably like that.
“Please leave me alone!”
“Zaire, you’re being silly! Open the door, sis! He looks so nice! You do, you know… very nice getup.”
“Thank you, thank you very much…” the man stated in a silly Elvis-esque voice.
Zaire swallowed, anger now boiling within her as she snatched open the damn door, ready to end this once and for all.
I apparently have Ren and Stimpy for friends…
There the two stood like rotten peas in a spoiled pod. Bastards.
“You look amazing, baby… wow.” Savage stood there with his bouquet of flowers. These were long stemmed golden calla lilies, and they instantly perfumed the air. “I was just, uh, telling your nice friend Allison here that she could be our chaperone if you felt, you know, skittish… afraid of me.” He winked at her as he cocked his head to the side.
She wanted to smack that smug smile clean off his face. White teeth sparkled in his mouth like snow caps, and his eyes glimmered with manic mischief. Allison nodded in agreement, as if she’d somehow taken a great weight off her shoulders by offering babysitting services.
“I am certain you think that your persistence will win me over, Mr. Savage. Well, I suggest you think again. You apparently do not take rejection well. Now, this can end one of two ways. You walk away peacefully, or I call the police and you are dragged away in the most embarrassing of ways.”
Savage grinned, casually removed his phone from his pocket and shook it at her.
“Here, call them. If Officer Steve Frank answers, tell him Savage said hi.”
She gritted her teeth. Out of the corner of her eyes, she took notice of Allison shrugging.
“I mean it. I will call the police,” she stated sternly, though she was losing her nerve. Was his insinuation true? Was he a cop himself? What in the Rin Tin Tin, Huckleberry fucking Finn was going on here?!
“And I said feel free to call them. I know all of them very well.”
“Oh. So you have a record.” She smirked, poking at the bear.
“Nope. They’re just fully aware of my existence.”
“What do you do for a living, Mr. Savage?” She was honestly intrigued now, but calling his bluff.
“Come out to eat with me and I’ll tell you.”
“Nope. Not taking the bait.”
“Come on, Zaire. It’ll be fun. Did you know he can get us into almost anything here—even the sold-out shows? Besides, I’ll be there with you! Look, you two go out, and I’ll sit a few tables over. Deal?”
She was making it so much worse! Why in the hell was Allison pushing this so hard?! Zaire now regretted telling the woman about the entire ordeal, and admitting that she found him panty-soaking sexy.
“Look, Zaire, I know you think I’m some prick.”
“That’s quite insightful of you. Yes, I do.” She crossed her arms and held her chin high.
“And that’s fair, but you’re not going to be here long. You don’t have anything planned right now according to Allison, so I will treat you and her to a wonderful meal on my dime and if I were someone that can’t be trusted, there’s cameras all around this place.” He motioned to a few hanging in the hallway. “And as you know, the staff here know me well. If I did anything to you, I could never get away with it because my face is all over the video footage and it is well known now that I’ve been trying to get your attention. The initial meeting in the casino, the flowers sent last night, the calls from the lobby, all of this…” He shrugged. “I’d be stupid to try and pull some shit if that was my plan.”
She mulled his words over for a spell, chewing on her French manicured fingertip as she darted her gaze between her Benedict Arnold pal and this gorgeous motherfucker who refused to take no for an answer. He had a point.
“Oh, all right!” The man grinned impossibly wider and Allison clasped her hands together as if she’d just won a prize. “But I am not staying long.”
“And it won’t take long… unless you want it to.” He winked as he handed her the bouquet. “I’ve got multiple speeds, and I don’t need batteries. The duration is totally up to you, beautiful…”
CHAPTER FOUR
Psychopath
The host, a middle-aged man with a refined face, opened the door to the Michael Mina Restaurant in the Bellagio, allowing the group of three inside. The guy was dressed in a white tuxedo jacket and black slacks, and from the expression on his face and demeanor, he knew exactly what to do. He led them to a private, simply decorated table by a window.
“Thank you,” Zaire whispered to the man as she looked at the table covered in white linen and a single pink rose sitting in a vase in the center of it.
Savage took the reins. He first pulled out Zaire’s seat, then Allison’s. He scooted them both in so fast, hoisting the chairs off the floor a little, then setting them down gently, he drew a laugh from her friend. He walked to his seat and paused when he noted the beautiful sun shining through the window, reflecting on Zaire’s face in the mos
t amazing way. Her dark hair fell in thick, textured spirals, flowing down her back while the rays zigzagged along her deep bronzed face, illuminating half of it while the other half remained shrouded in shadows…
He sensed the same could be said about her personality. A duality of sorts that clung to her. She was the type of lady who presented the world with one version of herself, but kept the other part hidden from the world. A real life Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
That, in all honesty, made her even more alluring—a dark gift he wanted to unwrap. He wished to see what pushed her buttons, made her shine, and made her cry and scream, too. Savage was determined to not waste one second in getting to know her. He already relished this time with her, and they’d just begun, despite the third wheel who’d tagged along. Allison seemed nice enough, but for him to truly work his magic on a woman like Zaire, he’d need alone time.
Doesn’t matter. I’ll have to manage. I’ll find a way to improvise.
“It’s nice in here.” Allison bit on her glossy pink lip, evidently impressed as she looked about the place. She brought her wine glass filled with water to her mouth.
“This is your first time at this restaurant, I take it?” he asked, sliding his cellphone out of his pocket and carefully placing it on the table.
“Mmm hmm, been to this casino a few times, but never came in here before. I’ve walked past… Fancy.”
“What about you, Zaire?”
“Same.” The woman seemed to have developed a keen interest in her gold thumb ring. She toyed with it, rotating it from left to right along her well-manicured digit. He took a moment to case the place before sitting down, making mental notes of the exit locations, lingering patrons along the perimeter, anyone appearing strange or out of place. The Michael Mina Restaurant in the Bellagio was known for delectable, freshly flown-in seafood, and high-priced, one of a kind seaside fare. It was completely empty.
