by Darrien Lee
At that moment, her cell phone rang, “Hello?”
“Keilah, this is Patrick Welch. I have a problem.”
Keilah listened as one of her employees explained to her that his vehicle would not start and he was late meeting a client for an assignment. She looked at her watch and realized she didn’t have time to replace him on short notice so she had to make a decision that her husband wasn’t going to be happy about.
“I don’t have my itinerary in front of me, Patrick. What is your assignment today?”
Patrick explained to his boss that his assignment was to accompany a model to New York on a day trip for some appointments. He was supposed to meet her at the airport and fly on a private jet owned by her modeling agency.
“Forward the itinerary to my phone so I can cover you until you can get to New York to relieve me.”
“I will,” he answered before apologizing again for the mishap. Keilah and Ramsey instilled in their agents to always make sure their private vehicles were in pristine condition and if for some reason they had a situation like this they had to have a back up plan in order for them to make it to their assignments. On this day, Patrick didn’t and he would have to be reprimanded for it later.
At the airport Keilah parked her car and texted the client that she would be there shortly before hurrying into the airport. She didn’t get a response which didn’t surprise her. She wasn’t dressed for running in her tailored navy suit and three inch heels and she hadn’t planned to anyway. If the client wasn’t there when she arrived, she wouldn’t be upset about it but something told her the model would be there and would probably have an attitude because she was late.
“It’s about time!” The model yelled at Keilah. “You’re forty five minutes late! What kind of business are you running?
Keilah calmed herself before speaking because the businesswoman in her was telling her to say one thing but the hood in her was telling her to say something else.
“I’m sorry I’m late but the agent assigned to you had some unexpected personal issues to attend to this morning so I’ll be accompanying you on your trip.”
The model looked Keilah up and down and asked, “What kind of protection could you possibly be? You look like you weigh a hundred pounds wet!”
At that moment a male voice from behind Keilah interrupted them and it was a voice she never expected to hear.
“Chill out Baby,” the man said as he walked over to the model and gave her a kiss. “You’re in the best hands possible with Keilah Chance.”
“Hello Trenton,” Keilah greeted him as she held out her hand.
He walked over to her and gave her a hug instead.
“It’s been a while, huh?”
Trenton was Keilah’s ex-boyfriend who was a professor at Howard University. Since they had broken up he had become an overnight sensation with several books hitting the New York Times Best Sellers list. Because of his success he had blown up in the lit world and recently got a part time gig on BET leaving him to teach at Howard on a part-time basis.
“You two know each other?” Chrisette asked with a scowl on her face.
“Yeah, we go way back,” Trenton answered without offering Chrisette any more details.
“How do you two know each other?” She asked curiously.
He clapped his hands together and said, “Let’s just say we use to hang out in the same circle.”
“Is that so? I thought maybe she was one of your students?” Chrisette replied sarcastically.
He laughed and said, “Let’s get this show on the road. The Big Apple’s waiting on us.”
Keilah was frozen in her tracks for a moment as she followed them down the tunnel to the plane. She hadn’t seen Trenton in almost two years. Their break up left her bitter because he couldn’t accept her career choice. What he wanted was to be the bread winner and for her to be a housewife but that wasn’t who Keilah was and she wasn’t going to change and be miserable. In the end it was Keilah’s good fortune that Trenton ended their relationship sending her right into Ramsey’s arms and life.
On the plane Chrisette immediately entered the bathroom as Trenton took his seat across from Keilah.
“So, how have you been? How’s your family?”
Keilah reluctantly answered, “Everyone’s fine, thanks for asking.”
He smiled and then whispered, “I think about you all the time. I really hate how things ended between us.”
“I really didn’t have a say in the matter, now did I?” Keilah asked.
“Wow! I guess I deserve that,” he admitted. “Keilah, you have to understand where I was then. I loved you dearly but I wasn’t use to a woman like you. I couldn’t handle that life.”
Keilah put her hand up to stop him from talking.
“Trenton, I’m here on business, not to talk about our past. It’s over and done with. OK?”
He leaned forward and took her hands into his and asked, “I don’t mean to upset you by bringing up our past but I need to know if you’re happy, Keilah? I mean are you really happy?”
She pulled her hands away and said, “I’ve never been happier in my entire life.”
He leaned back in his seat and started to speak when Chrisette exited the restroom.
“What do you think about this dress, Trent? I’m thinking about wearing it to the first appointment.”
“The dress is fine,” he answered, barely looking at her.
“Ah, I kind of like the red one better,” she replied.
He ran his hands over his face with frustration and then said, “Then wear the red one, Babe. You look great in everything you own, just pick one.”
Just then the pilot came over the intercom and instructed the passengers to buckle up and prepare for take off.
“I’ll be right back.”
Trenton grabbed Chrisette’s wrist preventing her from returning to the restroom.
“Sit down Chrisette so we can take off.”
“But I have another dress to try on,” she pouted.
“It’ll have to wait,” he replied as he discreetly stared at Keilah’s shapely legs as they all sat back and prepared for takeoff.
In Atlanta, Ramsey tried calling his wife again as he finished up breakfast with some business acquaintances at the Omni Hotel. He had one more meeting to attend before finally catching a flight home to his family. Keilah’s voice mail came on again so this time he left her a loving message. It wasn’t abnormal not to reach her on her cell so he decided to call his office.
“The Stone-Chance Protection Agency. How may I direct your call?”
Ramsey recognized the voice of the receptionist on duty and spoke personally to her.
“Good morning, Tia, it’s Ramsey. Transfer me to Keilah’s office, please.”
With a jubilant tone of voice she said, “I would love to transfer you to Keilah’s office but she hadn’t come in yet.”
Ramsey glanced down at his watch and tried not to get worried.
“OK, can you transfer me to Cameron, please?” He asked.
Within seconds, Keilah’s assistant, Cameron picked up the line.
“Good morning, Ramsey. Are you on your way back?” He asked curiously.
“I will be shortly,” he replied. “Listen, Cameron, Tia said Keilah wasn’t in the office yet. I tried to reach her on her cell but she’s not answering.”
Cameron could hear the tension in his voice. He’d been Keilah’s assistant for a long time and witnessed the progression of their relationship.
“Calm down, Ramsey. Keilah called me before Tia made it into the office. She’s just fine,” he said to reassure him. “Unfortunately she’s on her way to New York.”
“New York? What’s in New York?”
Cameron hesitated before answering because he knew Ramsey was going to blow a gasket.
“Patrick was supposed to escort a client there this morning but he had car problems so Keilah went in his place.”
“Car problems?” Ramsey asked angri
ly. “Has he forgotten what our guidelines are?”
“I’m sure he hasn’t forgotten but I don’t know the details of his problem. For all I know his car could’ve been vandalized or stolen.”
“Call him and tell him he’d better be in my office by the time my plane hits the tarmac. I need to have a one on one with him.”
“I would if I could, Ramsey, but Keilah told him to fly to New York ASAP to relieve her as soon as he was able to get to the airport. The client she’s with might decide to make it an overnight trip.”
Ramsey’s blood pressure went up a few degrees because he had made it clear to his wife that they were not field agents anymore, especially since Neariah was born. While he knew she wouldn’t put herself in immediate danger she was in a high risk position any time she was guarding a client.
“Did you clear Keilah’s appointments for today?” He asked.
“Yes, she made sure everything was re-scheduled or taken care of. Don’t worry, Ramsey, I got this.”
He laughed because Cameron was right. He and Keilah had two of the best assistants in the business and they compensated them well for their efficiency and expertise.
“OK. I’m getting ready to go to my last meeting and then I’ll be heading to the airport. If you talk to Keilah before I do, tell her to call me as soon as she can.”
“I will,” Cameron replied. “And don’t worry, she’ll be fine. Have a safe flight.”
Ramsey hung up his cell and hurried off to his meeting.
The flight to New York seemed to be taking longer than Keilah had anticipated. It didn’t help that Trenton kept staring at her seductively. Chrisette returned to the restroom to try on yet another outfit as soon as the pilot gave the all clear.
Trenton started laughing obviously irritating Keilah.
“What’s so funny?” She asked.
“I’m sorry. It’s just that I never expected to have this type of emotional reaction upon seeing you again.”
Keilah shifted in her seat and said, “You’re full of it, Trenton.”
He put his hand on her knee, gently stroked it and said, “Have you forgotten how hot we were together.”
With lightning speed, Keilah grabbed his wrist and twisted it doing her best to break every bone possible.
“Damn, Keilah! That shit hurt!”
She pointed her finger at him and angrily said, “I meant for it to hurt. Don’t you ever touch me! You lost that privilege a long time ago so whatever fantasy you’re sitting over there having about us, forget about it.”
“Just hear me out,” he requested. “I know I was a fool for putting my male pride over my heart. You have a strong personality and I now understand just how important your career is to you. I wasn’t ready for your type of independence. I guess you could say I felt like my manhood was threatened but I’m ready now,” he revealed. “I still love you Keilah and I would love it if you would give us another chance.
Clearly pissed off, Keilah pointed towards the restroom and said, “You’re a damn fool! How dare you step to me like this and your woman is in the bathroom?”
He chuckled and said, “Oh, you don’t have to worry about Chrisette. We’re just good friends.”
“I don’t care who the hell she is. I’ve moved on with my life so I’m good. You need to do the same.”
“Are you sure you won’t... .”
Keilah raised her voice and said, “I’m married, Trenton, happily married to be exact. I’m over you and have been for a long time.”
“Married?” He whispered to himself in disappointment and disbelief as he laid his head against the back of his seat.
Chrisette exited the bathroom in a red Donna Karan dress that accentuated her long magnificent legs and struck a model posed.
“Ta-Dah!” She yelled, “So what do you think?”
“It’s nice, Babe. You look great,” he replied with little enthusiasm.
Chrisette sat down next to him and gave him a seductive kiss on the lips.
“Do you really like it?” She purred.
He smiled and said, “Of course I do. You make the dress, the dress don’t make you.”
Pleased, Chrisette hugged his neck and gave him a longer, passionate kiss.
“That’s my Baby,” she whispered as she reached up and lovingly wiped her lipstick off his lips.”
She looked over at Keilah and asked, “Do you like my dress?”
“Yes it’s very pretty,” Keilah answered as she stared at Trenton.
Chrisette laid her head on Trenton’s shoulders and said, “I don’t know why you risk your life doing the kind of work you do. You know you could be a model too don’t you?”
Keilah laughed.
“No seriously,” Chrisette responded. “You’re very beautiful and you have a fabulous figure. My agency would sign you in a heartbeat. You have that exotic look that a lot of the designers are looking for.”
“Thanks but I’m not interested. I’m happy just being a wife and mother.”
“OK but I don’t think you realize what you’re turning down. You could travel all over the world, wear beautiful couture clothes and make a lot of money.”
“Like I said, I’m not interested,” she repeated before asking if she could get a bottle of water from the refrigerator.
“Leave it alone, Chrisette. Keilah’s happy with her life and money’s the last thing she has to worry about. Her business and family is very successful,” he explained.
“Wow! Rich, brains and beauty,” Chrisette replied. “You can’t go wrong with that.”
“Passengers, we have been cleared for landing. Buckle your seatbelts and I’ll have you on the ground very shortly,” the pilot said over the intercom.
Keilah buckled her seatbelt and prayed that Patrick was in route to New York to get her away from them. In the meantime she hoped that she had shut Trenton up once and for all.
Urban Books, LLC
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Deer Park, NY 11729
The Last Chance Copyright © 2007 Darrien Lee
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior consent of the Publisher, except brief quotes used in reviews.
ISBN: 978-1-5998-3292-0
This is a work of fiction. Any references or similarities to actual events, real people, living, or dead, or to real locales are intended to give the novel a sense of reality. Any similarity in other names, characters, places, and incidents is entirely coincidental.
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