“You lying whore.”
Bliss knew she had her. “You should keep better track of your man. Fletcher wanted to discuss child support arrangements. Offered me fifteen thousand dollars a month. I don’t know what lie he’s telling you, but he knows he’s Harmony’s father.”
Mia seemed to sway unsteadily, even though she was wearing flats.
“Bliss, let’s go.” Jessica pulled her several feet away, but Bliss turned back to yell another taunt.
“Looks like you’re going to be a step-mama.”
Mia just stood there, as if she’d been slapped into silence.
“You’re just plain evil!” Jessica hurled their bags into the backseat and climbed into the car. “There was absolutely no reason in the world for you to do that.”
“Perhaps,” Bliss said with a look of total satisfaction. “But I certainly loved every minute of it.”
CHAPTER 23
Every other block or so, Special fought the urge to make an illegal U-turn and hightail it back home.
What the hell am I doing?
Although things had been great with Darius, she didn’t know where she wanted to take this. Sooner or later, he would want to do more than just kiss and she wasn’t sure she would ever be ready to go that far. She should just cut the strings now instead of letting guilt force her to show up for yet another date.
Before she knew it, she was turning off Sepulveda Boulevard onto 77th Avenue, then made a quick right onto Arizona street.
“Wow. This brother is livin’ hella large,” Special said, taking in the expansive ranch style homes in Darius’ Westchester neighborhood. “I wouldn’t mind living up in here.”
Pulling to a stop, she checked her lipstick in the rearview mirror, climbed out of the car and straightened her skirt. It was sufficiently short and, this time, her cleavage was on full display in a midriff tank top. She might as well give the brother a treat since it had probably been years since he’d been with a woman. At least one of her caliber.
She was about to knock on the door when it opened. Darius rolled back his wheelchair to allow her inside.
He whistled. “You look amazing.”
Special’s eyes were glued on the L.A. skyline through the large picture window in front of her. She’d only seen views like this in Baldwin Hills and View Park. But she didn’t want to seem easily impressed, so she kept it to herself.
“Thank you, sir. Nice place. And something certainly smells good.”
“Just a little something I threw together.”
She followed him into the dining room where the table was set with candlelights and colorful matching plates and glasses. The food sat near the end of the table in chaffing dishes.
“I made red snapper, brown rice, broccoli spears and my special German chocolate cake.”
“Alright now. I love a man who can throw down in the kitchen.”
“And I know I shouldn’t brag, but I’m quite the cook. Have a seat while I get the wine.”
“I can help you,” Special said, making a move to follow him.
Darius stopped her. “Beautiful lady, I have everything under control. Please have a seat.”
Special tensed as she sat down. She’d spent a couple of hours online researching the do’s and don’ts of dating a paraplegic. And one of the biggest no-no’s was treating them like they needed help with everything. She had to remember that.
She peered into the kitchen and saw that the counters, cabinets and even the stove, were a few inches shorter than the norm. She saw a long stick with a hook on the end of it, which she assumed he used to grab items on the upper shelves.
Darius returned with the wine bottle already uncorked. He rolled his wheelchair up to the table, then took her wineglass and filled it. At that moment, she was not on a date with a man in a wheelchair. She was sitting across from a gorgeous, sexy man who had prepared a romantic dinner for her and it felt wonderful.
Darius picked up her plate and started to fill it with food.
“Oh, Darius, I can do that. Let me—”
He hung his head and kept it there, then slowly raised it. “Special, I’d like to fix your plate and that’s what I’m going to do.”
“Okay, okay. Sorry.”
She clasped her hands together underneath the table and again reminded herself to kick back and let him run the show.
Darius finished fixing her plate, then made one for himself.
Special took a bite of red snapper. “Oh my God! This is fabulous.”
Darius smiled. “Thanks.”
She squinted at him. “Did you really cook this? If I go through your trash am I going to find takeout containers from some gourmet restaurant?”
“Nope. All my doing.”
They laughed and joked all through dinner. Darius was smart and funny and made her giggle like a schoolgirl. After setting the dishes in the sink, they moved into the den.
“I’m a bit of a movie buff. I have an extensive collection.” Darius handed her a sheet of paper with his alphabetized movie list. “Take your pick.”
Special scanned the paper. “Wow. You must have every movie ever made.”
Darius smiled. “Not quite.”
She started to pick a romantic comedy, but didn’t want Darius to get any ideas if there were any sex scenes. So she chose an action adventure staring Bradley Cooper instead. They cuddled together on the couch underneath a blanket.
Twenty minutes later, they were making out like two horny teenagers. She wasn’t sure how long they’d been at it when he gently took her hand and placed it on his groin.
“Feel that?” he said between kisses. “I told you my equipment still works. See what you made it do.”
Special slid her hand away. She could handle a little necking, but she wasn’t ready to have sex with the man. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
“Uh...I should help you clean up the kitchen,” she mumbled.
“The kitchen can wait.”
Darius was licking her neck now, and despite her mental misgivings, her body didn’t want him to stop.
When his hand crawled beneath her skirt, she sprang forward, then jumped to her feet.
“Uh…why don’t I clean up the kitchen for you. That’s the least I can do after that great meal you prepared for me.”
She was out of the room before Darius could stop her.
He joined her in the kitchen, remaining in the doorway, watching her as she rinsed the dishes in the sink.
“I have a dishwasher, you know.”
“I saw it. I just felt like doing it the old-fashioned way.”
The room fell quiet except for the running of the water and the tinkling of the dishes.
“I know dating a guy in my situation is a little strange for you. So I’m going to give you as much time as you need to get used to things. Okay?”
She turned around to face him. “Thanks. I really do like you a lot.”
“I know you do.”
“You certainly sound awful confident about that.”
“I am.”
He rolled his wheelchair over to her and she bent to hug him, throwing her arms around his massive chest. Everything felt so normal when she hugged him like this. She wasn’t sure how long they were in that position before she felt his fingers creeping up her skirt, sensually massaging her thighs as they climbed higher and higher.
She loved the way he took his time and how his fingertips were so soft. He eased down her panties and touched her in places that made her whimper. When he leaned forward and buried his tongue between her thighs her body went limp.
“Darius, I—” Special tried, but couldn’t finish the thought.
As he went to work, expertly, delicately pleasuring her, she felt shivers of gratification igniting every nerve in her body. As her moans intensified, so did the
swaying of her body. But Darius held onto her—a slender thigh in each one of his massive hands—refusing to let her lean too far to the left or right, despite the involuntary spasms of pleasure overwhelming her senses.
When she finally climaxed, harder and stronger than she could ever remember, she fell forward, collapsing into the wheelchair along with him.
It was close to a minute before her eyes met his. A proud smile lit up his face.
“See,” Darius said, peppering her face with kisses. “I told you I had some top-notch skills.”
CHAPTER 24
When Gabriella walked into the eighth-floor conference room at Karma Entertainment and slipped Fletcher a note, anxiety pressed down on him like a heavy boulder that wouldn’t budge.
Gabriella’s handwritten message stated that Mia needed to speak to him immediately and that she was very upset. Mia rarely came to his office, especially not in the middle of the afternoon, so Fletcher knew it was something major. His best guess was more drama from Bliss. He told his second-in-command to carry on with the meeting as he followed Gabriella out of the room.
“How dare you lie to me!” Mia yelled, even before he stepped inside his office.
Fletcher closed the door behind him. “Honey, why are you so upset? What are you talking about?”
“I just ran into your ex-girlfriend. She claims you didn’t sue her for defamation like you told me you did. And that you offered to pay her child support. Is that true?”
“Honey, please sit down and lower your voice.”
“You need to tell me—”
“I said sit down!” Fletcher’s voice boomed across the room. “I need you to be quiet for a second and listen to me.”
Mia obeyed his command and fell into one of the chairs in front of his desk. Her mouth had been silenced, but her eyes still raged.
Fletcher took the chair next to her, repositioning it so they faced each other. He reached for Mia’s hand, but she snatched it away.
“Vernetta and I have a strategy here. We—”
“You took that whore to lunch and offered her fifteen thousand dollars a month? What kind of strategy is that?”
Since the anxiety level in the room was already off the scale, Fletcher tried to take it down a notch.
“Please, sweetheart, I need you to listen to me. When I’m finished, I promise you’re going to understand everything, okay?”
Blinking back tears, Mia slowly nodded. Fletcher took her hand and this time she let him.
He had to think fast. Now was probably a good time to tell Mia about the turkey baster cases, but he was still reluctant to do that. Fletcher was used to rolling the dice. It was almost as if voicing the possibility that Bliss’ child might be his would make it so. In his mind, if he kept telling himself the kid wasn’t his, she wouldn’t be.
“I’m sorry I let you think I’d sued her for defamation. That’s not off the table, but like I said, Vernetta had another strategy that I wanted to pursue first. She thinks Bliss simply wants money. So she thought I should offer her two-fifty to see if she would jump at it. And if Bliss—”
“Two-fifty?” Mia squinted. “Bliss didn’t mention that.”
Fletcher felt like pumping his fist. The tale he was spinning was going to work out just fine.
“Of course Bliss didn’t tell you the full story. We’re talking about a very vindictive woman. I offered her a two-part deal, subject to a confidentiality agreement. Two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand dollars to go away and never contact either one of us again. And if the kid somehow turned out to be mine, she’d get fifteen thousand dollars a month in child support. I only agreed to that much because Vernetta says I could be on the hook for a whole lot more.”
He made a mental note to make sure Vernetta backed up his story that this was all her idea in the event Mia ever approached her to verify his lie.
“But I don’t understand why you would offer to pay child support for a kid that isn’t yours.”
“I only offered to pay her child support if the kid turned out to be mine. Vernetta described it as a preemptive strike. She figured that if Bliss was lying about me being the father, she would jump at the two-fifty and disappear.”
Mia revved up again. “But she didn’t jump at it. So what the hell does that mean?”
“It means Bliss has something else up her sleeve. You know better than I do that she’s vindictive and mean-spirited and nobody knows what’s in her messed-up little head. All I know is that kid isn’t mine.”
He could see Mia’s mind working through the line of thinking he’d just laid out. He also noticed that she seemed to soften every time he maligned Bliss. He would need to do more of that.
“But you never slept with her after we got together. So it’s impossible that baby is yours.”
“C’mon, Mia. You know how devious that sick whore is. I actually had a nightmare that she paid someone at the testing facility to forge the test results. I asked the guy who took my blood and he said it could happen. I wouldn’t put anything past her.”
Mia just stared at him.
“You and I are getting married in the South of France and we’re going to live a wonderful life together. My primary goal in life is to make you happy.”
He squeezed Mia’s hand and she squeezed back. He had her.
“Bliss pulled this stunt because she wants to upset you,” Fletcher continued, more impassioned now. “Spending two-fifty to be over and done with her would’ve been well worth it. The fact that she didn’t take it means she has more bullets to shoot at us and we have to be ready for the fight. She wants to destroy our relationship. But I’m not going to let that happen.”
Mia smiled weakly. “I love you so much.”
“If you really mean that, then you have to have confidence that I can handle this.” Fletcher took Mia by the chin. “Everything’s going to work out just fine. I promise.”
As he kissed her, Fletcher prayed like hell that what he’d just said was true.
CHAPTER 25
As Jessica drove to Patina restaurant to meet her husband, she was even more nervous than she’d been on their first date over a decade ago. It had taken some arm-twisting to get Paul to agree to dinner on a Thursday night. He finally gave in, but insisted that he had to return to the office afterward.
Since Paul was such a time freak, Jessica expected him to already be seated when she arrived. For Paul, six o’clock meant six o’clock. Not a minute before or after. She imagined herself floating toward his table as he marveled over her fabulous makeover. But Paul was standing right there in the entryway and spotted her the second she stepped inside the restaurant.
Jessica inhaled and waited for her husband to compliment her new look. His eyes shined with surprise, then seemed to cloud with disappointment. Just as she was about to walk over to him, the hostess indicated that their table was ready. As she trailed behind him, Jessica had to be careful with every step. The strappy pink shoes Bliss convinced her to buy felt like walking on stilts.
Paul waited until the hostess disappeared before speaking. “Let me guess. This is all Bliss’ doing, right?”
Jessica’s eyes fell to the table as her heart tumbled to the floor. “I guess that means you don’t like it.”
“You’re beautiful the way you are. I’d really prefer that my wife didn’t expose her breasts to the world.”
“My breasts aren’t exposed to the world. I’m only showing a little cleavage.”
“And what’s with all the makeup? When did you start wearing fake eyelashes and hot-pink lipstick?”
Jessica’s eyes started to water. “I thought you’d like it.”
“No, Bliss thought I’d like it. You know me better than I know myself. I don’t want you to change a thing about yourself. You’re fine just the way you are.”
“That’s the problem. I want to
be more than just fine.”
When the first tear fell, Paul reached across the table and took her hand.
“I’m sorry, honey. But I just don’t like the influence Bliss seems to have over you.”
“She’s my friend.”
“No, honey. You’re her friend or more accurately, her lapdog. You take care of her kids better than she does. You run her errands. You practically idolize her. Bliss has no other friends because no one is willing to put up with her nonsense. The way she gets pregnant just for the child support is obscene. I don’t understand why you insist on condoning her outrageous behavior.”
“This is not about Bliss. It’s about you and me. We never have sex anymore. We never spend any time together. I feel like I’m losing you.”
“You’re not losing me.” Paul squeezed her hand. “I told you, this deal has me stressed to the max. I love you.”
Jessica started to whimper.
“C’mon, babe, please don’t cry. We’re in a public place. Tell me what it’s going to take to make you stop crying.”
“You already know what would make me happy.” Jessica dabbed at her eyes with her napkin. “A baby. I want a baby.”
Paul released her hand. “We’ve already discussed this, Jessica. We made a deal when we got married. No children.”
“I know. But I feel differently now. You love it when Bliss’ kids hang out with us for the weekend. I know you’d feel the same way about your own kids.”
“Having kids over for a weekend is not the same as having them around twenty-four/seven. I don’t want that responsibility. Maybe you should consider going back to work. And not in banking. Try something completely different. I think you’d make a great interior decorator.”
“A job won’t take the place of being a mother.”
“This isn’t the time or place for us to discuss this. I’m not hungry anymore. I need to get back to the office. I’ll try to be home before midnight.”
And just like that, Paul was gone. Jessica ordered an apple martini and wondered when and how she had lost touch with the only man she’d ever loved.
Maybe she’d be better off behaving more like Bliss and thinking only of her own wants and needs. To hell with what Paul wanted. She deserved to be a mother. Bliss wouldn’t ask permission. Neither would she. She would just stop taking the pill.
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