Authors: LeTeisha Newton
“Stupid, stupid move,” she cried. The doors to the elevator opened and she ran out of them and through the front door. Blindly she found her car and got into it. It was Friday. She wouldn’t have to return to work until Monday, so she didn’t have to worry about seeing Clyde over the next few days. She had time to recuperate. After that, she would decide what to do. Not that she was remotely sure what the hell that would be. God! It had seemed such a good idea at the time. He had felt so good. But she knew Clyde. She’d watched him and been his friend for several years. She was nothing like his type, and commitment was not his thing.
Not under any circumstances.
She turned on the windshield wipers and realized the window wasn’t clearing. Then she felt like all kinds of more stupid because she was crying. When she’d first gotten the job at Mansil Enterprises she’d just graduation from Florida State University, go Seminoles! She’d been looking at the world through rose-colored glasses. She was still the naive girl, high off pledging for her beloved sorority of the ladies of crimson and white, maintaining a 3.9 GPA.
Through sorority parties and social events, she still had been able to gain BS in both Management in Human Resources and Applied Economics. She never would have dreamed of working as an executive assistant. When the position had become available, a friend of hers, who worked in accounting for Clyde, said she’d be good for the job. Her degrees had helped, as Clyde required his assistants to be educated because of what he put on them. Tatiana had most definitely used her education throughout her time here. Her salary reflected that, and so did the fact that she needed her own assistant in order to assist him.
Not that she’d keep her job now.
She didn’t know what she would do if Clyde decided it would be too awkward now that they’d had sex. More reality came pouring in. She couldn’t afford to walk away from this job. Yeah, she had experience and funds. But she’d worked hard to get where she was, and she didn’t want to have to start all over with a different company. Plus, as Clyde did his acquisitions of companies so well, there may be companies that would be angry just to see her coming. There was really no telling. Either way, she may have made more of a situation for herself than she meant to, just for a couple hours of fun.
Correction. A couple hours of the best sex she’d ever had in her life with the man she loved with all her heart. She didn’t know how she’d ever look at him the same way again. Groaning, she turned her wheel, not quite ready to make it home. She was too tired to think right now. She just drifted, letting the tide take her where it may.
Chapter Two
Aaron was so pissed he could barely think straight. He could not believe that his entire life had come to a screeching halt. That he had to choose between a life of servitude to some angel over going to Hell just because he didn’t live life the way the good book said was right. Yeah, he figured there were plenty of people who wouldn’t agree with his lifestyle, but he hadn’t killed anyone, he didn’t steal or cause general calamity. He didn’t understand why Lea had chosen him to be her little errand boy. She’d appeared in his store the night before and the memories of the events were imprinted in his mind. It kept repeating in his head as if it were still happening to him. He could see it so clearly, it was like he wasn’t even in the here and now.
He hadn’t even seen her come into his store but when he’d turned around, there she was. Pale skin, barely kissed by the sun, fairly glowed with youth and health. Her messy locks filled out, darkened to auburn, and fell in a silky wave past her shoulders. Stylish new jeans hung low on her hips, baring a smooth stomach with a peekaboo navel piercing sporting cherries. Just as red as the fruit in her navel was her silk corset top that Aaron would have killed for when he went on stage. Her breasts nearly spilled out the crest with perfect form. Green eyes sparked at Aaron with enough attitude that even he stood up and took notice.
Not that he was going to let her know that, of course.
“What the hell?” He finally repeated.
“Not Hell, Heaven, not that you even deserve it,” she sniffed, pirouetting over the counter to stand right in front of him.
Okay. Now the chick was floating and Aaron felt he had just fallen into the rabbit hole. Only, he wasn’t Alice and wasn’t into following the rabbit. He was a second away from running but his feet wouldn’t cooperate.
“You’re a bitch, and not in the good way,” she said, interrupting his thoughts.
“Who do you
—
”
“Don’t start, Aaron Lancaster, better known as Coco LaMann, owner and brains behind Fairy Drag Mother. Yes. I know the last name that you just hate so much. I know everything about you. I have looked into your heart a hundred times over thousands of decisions. You can go two ways and you always choose the way that comes out with more negativity in your life. You should be so much further in the world than you are. But you can’t be. Not as you are now. Builder and ruiner of dreams, wants, and desires. You’ve been a very naughty man.”
“How do you know who I am?” Aaron returned.
“I just said I’ve been watching,” she responded, tapping her cheekbone and her eyes seeming to see
through
him. “You could be so much fun, but you’re not. I see what you could be. Death sees otherwise.”
“Death? Okay, lady, I don’t know who the hell you are, but you better get your ass out my store before I beat the living daylights out of you!”
“Score one for Aaron, I guess? You feel better? Can I continue?”
“Heifer
—
”
“You’re going to die tonight.”
That shut Aaron up. Seeing what he’d already seen, how could he not believe her?
Unless,
he thought,
she’s ape-shit batty.
In which case, he would be, as well…Not a good look. He chose to believe. “Die?”
“Yes, driving home on the highway you will doze, running off the overpass, and crashing through the guardrail. You’ll die on impact. This life is over. But I am giving you a new chance to get it right.”
“Die?” Aaron sputtered again.
“Okay, Aaron, catch up,” she sighed, lifting herself up on to the counter. She twirled her fingers, the registered dinged, and EXPIRED showed up on the screen.
“You, dead, tonight. Going to the fiery place, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars. Catch my drift? But if you agree to my proposal, you’ll live. Got it?”
“Hell? I’m going to Hell?”
“Do you want to live, Aaron? Do you want to get a second chance at life? I can give it to you.”
He didn’t want to die. He wanted to live. But, in his experience, he’d learned that no one did anything for free. If she was offering him a chance to live, then she wanted something. He just had to find out what.
“What’s the catch?”
“You do a few favors for me. The balance goes more toward the good side, and poof, you get a new lease on life.”
“Favors? What favors?”
“Do you agree?”
“What am I doing?
“It’s either me or death, honey. Take a leap of faith. Do you agree?”
“Well, when you put it that way, who wouldn’t? You, baby, are it!”
So now here he was, in his shop, with little Ms. Chipper raving on and on about how much he was going to help the balance of life. Like he gave a flying shit about helping anyone. He just cared about getting all of it over with and moving on. He wanted another chance to do life. He didn’t have much choice in the situation, considering it was either die or do as the angel said.
Damn Lea. She was going to be an ugly thorn in his side. He didn’t want to listen to a damn thing she had to tell him. He wanted to go back to his life, wake up in his bed as if this all were a bad dream. Every time he pinched himself, however, he knew this was far a dream.
“Aaron, I promise, this will fix you too.”
“I don’t need fixing, heifer. I need to survive these ‘favors’ of yours, and then I’ll have a chance to do my life over.”
“Aaron,” Lea began, shaking her head. Her curls bounced over her bare shoulder. She still wore a corset, though this one was aquamarine with white hip huggers to cinch it off. The girl had style. He’d give her that. Her diamond earrings twinkled in the fading sunlight like stones of fire, and he bet a jeweler would kill to get ahold of those. He’d kill her to get them, but he was sure that would hasten him to a quick death and an even quicker trip to down under.
“This is more than a job, Aaron. At the end of this you will understand what you need to do as well.”
“Look, even though I’m at your mercy right now, that doesn’t mean I’m some damn lapdog. Don’t play with me. Tell me what the hell is going on.”
“No time right now. And stop saying ‘damn,’ it’ll ruin your complexion. You don’t want to be damned anyway. Eternal burning in the pit of Hell is no fun. Trust me. Your first client is coming up. Make me proud, Aaron.”
Like she was never there, she simply vanished. Aaron still couldn’t get used to her powers. Things like that just didn’t happen in the real world. Things like that didn’t happen to him.
Then again, I never thought death was coming so soon for me either,
he thought as a woman stepped in.
She was beautiful, in an understated sort of way. She didn’t carry herself like she had any fire and that was what made her look less than she was. A cascade of microbraids gave way to curly hair that slid over her shoulders a round, yet soft, face. Her eyebrows were perfectly manicured, and the hazel color underneath them was breathtaking. Her nose turned up a little at the tip, giving her a youthful look. Her lips, however, ruined that thought. They were full and bowed, even if she had a frown right now and looked close to tears. That mouth said hot sex on slippery sheets.
Great, a pretty girl with a self-esteem issue. He just
loved
those. He could see her issue so plainly, he didn’t even need to ask her. She’d never get a man like that. He watched her as she went around the store, graceful hands touching things here and there. He wondered, though, what made her like she was. What pain ate at her from long ago that made her see herself as less? He supposed that was his job to find out, as Lea had left for her Heavenly duties.
Bitch
.
“I heard that, Aaron. Just because I’m not standing in front of you doesn’t mean I can’t hear you.”
“Do I get to hook you up one day?”
He tossed back at her, irritated she was in his mind.
“Angels
are
love. We don’t fall
in
love.”
“Sad.”
“Not in the least. We are loved and love the greatest being in the universe. We need nothing more.”
“Maybe
.”
Tossing off that communication, he walked toward the woman who seemed in a world of her own. It was her or Hell, and he wasn’t going to Hell. Lea had already told him that his store, the one he had worked so hard on, would be invisible to any passerby that didn’t need his assistance. In essence, he would be exclusively available for his
clients
. He supposed he should be happy that to the world he no longer existed. His time was simply frozen in place until he was done. Then he would go back to his life, back to the night that Lea had walked into his door camouflaged as Ms. Ugly. The world would press play for him again, and he was supposed to be so changed that Hell would no longer beckon for him.
Yeah the he
—
he meant heck
—
right.
“Can I help you?” he asked finally, swallowing a sigh when she jumped and turned around.
“No, sorry. I was just looking around. I’ve never seen this store before.” He bet she wouldn’t even think to come in if she did. The marquee had a drag queen dressed to the nines, complete with wings of gossamer and a wand spinning raining glitter over the name of the store. The very term “drag” spoke to a select minority of the world, and this woman didn’t figure into it. He sighed again.
Be nice
, he thought to himself.
“I’m Aaron, the owner of The Fairy Drag Mother. I’d hope my store was a little more visible than that.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any harm.”
“Child, I’m just playing. What’s your name?”
“Tatiana Henderson. Nice to meet you. This store is amazing. I mean I’ve never seen anything like this. I bet the clubgoers come in like crazy.”
“Well, I guess you can say that, honey. But my clientele is, well, different.” Her eyes widened at that.
“You mean like strippers?”
Aaron couldn’t help his laugh then. The chick couldn’t be this naive. Lord, give him strength.
“Oh, I like that Aaron,” Lea butted in.
“Shut up, Tinkerbelle.”
“I could show you better than I can tell you. How about you sit right there and I will be back in a moment?”
“Okay.”
Aaron disappeared into his back office and looked down at his vanity. Shock value sometimes got people where he wanted them to be. He had to get this woman to open up about her most sacred hurt, and Lea had given him no advice in how to make that happen. Perhaps giving her something of him would help. Plus, he liked the idea of having to show a woman how to work it. Sometimes a drag queen’s job was never done.
He knew he was tall, and heels made him taller. Even being six foot four, he still loved his stilettos. He pulled a silver pair of shoes on before taking black skinny jeans and a tank top out. A simple enough outfit to get his point across. He wasn’t preparing for a show. He changed, performing a miracle with his duct tape, until he looked like he had cleavage, and no other equipment. So dressed, he sat down at his vanity to change his face. When he was younger, the guys had picked on him for his softer features. His full lips were too soft, his brown eyes too warm, and his mannerisms too girlie. He didn’t care. Most of the ones who talked about him, he’d turned in his years in high school. Sad, but true. Honey, most of the time the quarterback of the football team and homecoming king loved to catch.