Authors: Marie Rochelle
“T
hank
you,
Bella.
” Antonio whispered reaching across the counter, as he took the check from her hands. “If you’re boyfriend ever loses his mind and dumps you, please come back to me. I’ll be more than happy to show you the world.” Turning her hand over, he kissed her wrist gently whispering, “
Arrivederci
mia
Bella.
”
True gasped shocked at Antonio’s words. He knew she had a boyfriend and he was flirting with her. Laughing softly, she eased her hand away from his and joined
Jenisha
at the door.
“Did you understand what he said to you?”
Jenisha
asked coming out the door behind her.
“Oh, it wasn’t anything special,” True shrugged unlocking the car door. “Get inside.” Starting the car, she looked over at
Jenisha
“We got done earlier than I thought. Do you want to go window shop at the mall?” True asked pulling the car out onto the highway.
“I would love too. I might even buy a few things to take back home. I do need a new dress for work.”
“I know the perfect shop to take you.”
Twenty minutes later, she pulled in front of Satisfaction’s a small dress/lingerie shop. She had past it several times on the way home from Antonio’s business, but never wanted to go in alone. “Here we are. I don’t want you leaving without two bags filled to the top.” She shut off the engine, tossed the keys inside her purse and got out of the car.
“I’ll try my best to keep up with you, but you know it’s easier for you to find some cuter clothes than me with these long legs of mine.”
Jenisha
complained as she got out of the car.
“You know I would love to be a few inches taller and carry off a strapless black dress the way you do. Men love women that have legs for miles.” True stated, glancing down at
Jenisha’s
legs in the mid-length gray skirt.
Jenisha
held the shop door open for her and shook her head. “You wouldn’t want my legs if you had them.”
“I don’t know about that,” True disagreed as she went into the dress shop behind
Jenisha
.
Stopping in front of her,
Jenisha
pointed to a gorgeous ankle length dress toward the front of the shop. “Well, I would love to continue this decision about my legs, but a certain Polk-a-dot dress in the window is calling my name. I’m going to check it out. I’ll meet you at the register when you’re ready to leave.”
Jenisha
smiled then spun away, rushing toward the dress.
* * * *
Spotting a huge lingerie section in the back of the store True moved in that direction. She needed to buy a new nightgown to replace the purple one that she lost. She had looked all over the house for that nightgown, but it was nowhere to be found.
Running her fingers across the satin and lace material, she imagined which one
Hayward
would enjoy removing from her body the most. The different styles and textures of the clothes were alluring, but none of them were tempting enough to seduce
Hayward
. Groaning, she turned to leave when a turquoise slip hanging on the back of the dressing room door caught her attention.
“This is it.” She pulled the slip from the back of the door. The silky material glided through her fingers. It felt like softer than a cashmere sweater. “I believe I have found a winner.”
“Some guy is going to be one lucky man tonight.” A male voice uttered behind her.
Spinning around True quickly took a step back from the tall sandy-haired white man staring at her with strange colored eyes. They gleamed with a mixture of blue, green, gray and another odd color plus his intense body language spoken volumes. She wouldn’t want to meet him in a dark alley alone at night.
“I didn’t see you standing there.” She took another step back and her back bumped into the mannequin by the dressing room door.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.” He said reaching out to touch her.
She sprung back from his unwanted touch and tried to keep her cool. She didn’t want him to see how uncomfortable he was making her. She slowly looked around the shop for
Jenisha
. She couldn’t keep the thoughts at bay that poured into her mind. Who in the hell was he? Why did he think he could touch her? Why did his voice sound so familiar? She breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted
Jenisha
heading for the cash register. Turning away from the guy, she dashed over to stand in line behind her friend, but she could still feel his eyes on her.
A smirk tugged at the corners of Sylvester’s mouth as True raced for the check out line. The urge to take her, right then, tore through his body.
He ducked between two racks so she couldn’t see him watching her. He was so happy that he followed her from her house this morning.
She never noticed his car parked right across the street from her house. Taking one last look at True, Sylvester licked his mouth and eased out the service entrance at the back of the store.
“Who was that man you were talking to?”
Jenisha
questioned.
“I don’t know who he was.” True whispered, swallowing down her fear. She still couldn’t get his voice out of her mind. She couldn’t put her finger on it but there was something about it. “He was really strange I think we need to leave,” she commented paying for her lingerie.
Going to the car, she muttered, “Be sure to lock your door as soon as we get in the car.” She told
Jenisha
as they got into the car and fastened their seatbelts. Taking one last look in the rearview mirror, she pulled out on the highway and headed back home.
* * * *
Coming from around the side of the building, Sylvester watched the mustang speed off down the highway and blend in with the flow of traffic. “Don’t worry sweetheart we’ll see each other real soon.”
A cloud of smoke blew around his head as he took another puff of the cigarette. He pushed his sunglasses on top of his head and tossed his cigarette to the ground crushing it under the heel of his snakeskin boot.
“I’ll keep this little encounter to myself because what my boss doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
Chapter Seventeen
When
True
got home, she pushed down the eerie feeling in the pit of her stomach, got out of the car and took her purchases inside. In the living room, she tossed them in the middle of the couch.
I won’t let some weirdo creep me out
.
“Are you okay?”
Jenisha
paused by the bottom step and looked over at her. “That guy really did a number on you didn’t he?
“No, I wasn’t thinking about him.” She lied. “Why don’t you go upstairs and put your stuff away. Maybe later we can go out to eat or order a pizza and watch television.”
Jenisha
shot her a skeptical look before she turned and made her way up the steps. “I need to check my messages at home first, and then we can decide what to do.”
“Take your time because I need to run this present over to
Hayward
.”
Taking a seat at her desk, she tore off a piece of the pink stationary from the pad in front of her. She wrote
Hayward
a quick note and sprayed it with the bottle of perfume she kept hidden inside the desk, for special occasions. Folding the paper in half, she got up from the desk and stuck it into the bag. “My surprise is so much better than his.” True giggled on her way out the front door.
Rushing over to
Hayward
’s house, she left his surprise by his front door and rung the doorbell and quickly raced back across the grass to her house, to avoid detection. “I know he’ll like his gift much better than I did mine,” she whispered.
* * * *
Hearing the doorbell,
Hayward
stood up from behind his desk, “I can never get any work done with that doorbell.” He complained going to answer the front door. Opening the door, he looked around for someone, but he didn’t see anyone outside. “I don’t have time for this.” As he was about to shut the door, he glanced down and spotted the red gift bag with a ribbon and card tied to the top. “What the hell?”
He picked up the bag and got surrounded by the light scent of floral perfume. Shutting the door, he brought the bag into the house.
Flipping open the card, he read the feminine handwriting,
‘Don’t open until you’re in bed tonight, True.’
His eyes swung toward the clock on his mantel and a curse flew from his mouth, “It’s nowhere near my bedtime. I don’t think I can wait that long.” He groaned heading toward the staircase.
Taking the steps two at a time, he went into his bedroom and sat the bag on the nightstand. He stared at the red temptation on his nightstand and the urge to open it clawed at him, but he shook it off.
True knows she isn’t playing fair, making me wait until bedtime.
He sighed one last time and then went back downstairs.
All
Hayward
could think about the rest of the day was that damn gift upstairs, waiting for him. He knew he had to get his mind off the present or he wouldn’t make it until bedtime. Knowing he had to read the paper that
Clinton
sent him about a new client,
Hayward
sat back down behind his desk and got started.
He had to agree with
Clinton
about the
Griffin
’s and the huge amount of money they wanted to pay Campbell Construction and Design to work on a home for them. Now, Campbell Design’s didn’t come cheap, but no one ever offered them this amount of money at the initial meeting.
Last night, he stayed up and did a little research on the
Griffin
’s and found several interesting facts about them. Three of last houses that they had reconstructed burnt down to the ground within two years of each other. They got investigated by the insurance company, but no foul play was ever found, so they got the home insurance each and every time. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up every time he thought about doing this project for them.
However,
Clinton
was handling all the new projects through Campbell Design and he would back off if his brother wanted to work with them, but he thought it was a bad idea. He had a very bad feeling that this couple weren’t meant to be trusted.
He prayed everything went okay tomorrow when
Clinton
called this couple and gave them the bad news. With three house fires already under their belts, he really didn’t know of any place that would want to deal with them.
Hayward
worked steadily for the next couple of hours on new designs that
Clinton
sent him, plus answered several important emails that he had been putting off from Daniel Shaw. He was doing every thing he could do to keep his mind off the gift that
True
left for him on his porch.
I can’t wait until I find out what she got for me,
he thought.
Happy with finally having all of his projects accomplished
Hayward
left his office. Making his routine rounds, he secured his home and then sprinted upstairs to his bedroom to see what
True’s
little bag of seduction contained.
Vanilla perfume caught his attention the moment he pushed open his bedroom door. He let the fragrance circle around his body and envisioned how much better it would smell if True was wearing it in front of him.
“I’ll look at my present after I take my shower.”
Hayward
stripped out of his clothes and tossed them into a chair as he went to the bathroom. Fixing the water the way he liked it
Hayward
stepped underneath the sprays. Lathering up he washed his hair along with his body. He loved taking a shower before he went to bed. For some reason it made the sheets feel smoother against his skin. Turning off the water he wrapped a fluffy white towel around his waist and sauntered back into the bedroom. Tossing back the covers he dropped the towel and crawled into bed. Taking the bag off the nightstand, he placed it next him. Untying the ribbon, he pulled out another card.
Hayward
,
I brought this gift for us to share, but we can’t use it until my sleepover. Remember you promised to be a good boy.
I love you,
True
XOXOXO
Reaching inside the bag his fingers touched something smooth and silky,
Hayward
grasped it between his forefinger and thumb then slowly pulled it out. “Shit!” He yelled knocking the bag to the floor. Holding it up the turquoise
nightie
with both hands he brought it to his face, so he could examine it more closely.
“There’s no way in hell
True’s
breasts can fit into this little slip of a
nightie
.” He muttered.
“She’ll spill out all over the place.”
The material slid through his hands like running water. If True wore this nothing would be left to the imagination and he loved the idea tremendously.
Bringing the turquoise
nightie
closer to his body,
Hayward
thought about how it would look against
True’s
beautiful skin tone.
How could she do this to me? I won’t get any sleep tonight thinking about her damn present
. He refolded the lingerie and shoved it back into the bag.
Reaching for the phone he pushed in
True’s
phone number, he wasn’t going to allow her to get the best of him.
“You weren’t supposed to call me.” True giggled.
“How did you know it was me?”
“Who else would call me at
“Hell kitten. Did you really think I wouldn’t call after the present you gave me?” He was trying to play by her damn rules, but she wasn’t making it easy on him. “I’ll be fantasizing about it for the next two days. You aren’t playing fair, honey.”
“I thought I was being seductive.” She purred lowering her voice. “Did you not like it?”
“You know I did.” He growled under his breath. Did she realize how seductive her voice was? It was driving him crazy.
“I’m happy you like it because I have other pieces to match it.”
He gripped tightened on the phone. “What else did you buy today, baby?” His mind was in overload, fantasizing about another
nightie
sexier than the one on his bed.
“Now, if I tell you it will ruin the surprise.”
True pouted.
His voice grew deep with arousal. “Kitten, I’ll want one little hint. I promise I’ll be good after you tell me. I won’t call or bring anything else over.”
“Baby, I’m not going to tell you anything else, because it will ruin the surprise.”
“True, you’re a surprise to me each and everyday.” He admitted softly wanting her to hear the love in his voice. He imagined her lying on that huge comfortable bed with a soft smile of her luscious lips.
“No, you aren’t going to trick me with sweet talking words. I’m going to be strong. You won’t get it out of me. A surprise is a surprise. Goodnight, handsome,” she whispered quickly hanging up the phone.
Hayward
hung up the phone and groaned. “True is a lot stronger than I thought she was.”
Flicking off the light, he lay down and prayed his dreams wouldn’t be filled with her wearing the peek-a-boo
nightie
.
* * * *
The aroma of bacon woke
Hayward
the next morning. Putting on his robe, he followed his nose to the kitchen. Ms. Pinson stood at the stove fixing breakfast. “Good Morning, Mr. Campbell.”
“Good Morning, Ms. Pinson.”
Grabbing a piece of bacon off the plate, he sat down at the counter.
“I haven’t seen you in a while how are things going between you and Ms. Williams?”
“Things are better than I could ever dream.” Finishing off the first piece of bacon, he reached for another piece and stuck it into his mouth.
“If you keep munching on that bacon you aren’t going to have any for later,” Ms. Pinson scolded.
Hayward
grinned then he snatched his third piece off bacon off the serving tray.
“I’m not worried. I know you’ll fix me some more.” He teased.
Shaking her head Ms. Pinson laid three more strips of bacon in the skillet. “Do you really understand what you are setting yourself up for with True?” She tossed at him out of the blue.
His half-eaten piece of bacon dropped from his hand and hit the table. Leaning across the table, he stared a hole into his housekeeper’s back. “What in the hell are you talking about?”
Ms. Pinson faced him with a stern expression plastered across her face. “Mr. Campbell, you’re a good looking man. You could have any woman you wanted, so why pick True?”
He didn’t like the turn this conversation was taking. “You have to explain yourself better, Ms.
Pinson,
I don’t think I’m following you.”
Removing the last pieces of bacon from the skillet, Ms. Pinson laid them on a plate and turned off the stove. Pulling out a chair she joined him at the table. “Do you really want your first relationship after the death of your family to be with True? I don’t want you to think I don’t like
True
because I do.” She muttered placing her hand on top of his.
Hayward
snatched his hand away from his housekeeper and rested it on the back of his chair. Narrowing his eyes, he glared at Ms. Pinson, but she wasn’t paying any attention to him. She was too busy running her mouth. Did Ms. Pinson really think he would dump
True
because she didn’t approve of the relationship?
“She’s a wonderful girl and I can tell she loves being with you, but don’t make it into something it’s not.” Ms. Pinson continued, cutting into his thoughts and pissing him off even more.
She stared at him for a few seconds then pushed her chair back from the table. “Well, I’ve said my piece. I better get up so I can start working on the laundry.”
Did she really think he would let her get away with talking about True like that and he wouldn’t say a word?
“Don’t you dare move until I tell you what I think about your opinion1” He hissed through clenched teeth.
He studied the play of emotions that crossed Ms. Pinson’s face as she sat frozen in her seat and stared back at him across the table. She looked out of her mind with at what he was going to say and she should be. She totally overstepped her bounds in their employee and employer relationship. Ms. Pinson better pray that when he was finished that she still had a job.
“I let you
speak,
now I want you to hear me.” He growled barely able to control his temper. “First, I’m not getting myself into anything. I’m in an unbelievable relationship with a woman I adore more than anything.” He exclaimed. “True has never asked me for anything and has given me so much in return.” He declared, his voice growing tight with emotion.