Relapse: A Novel (4 page)

Both of them wore clean, tailored suits and exotic-skinned shoes. One was about six foot four, the complexion of a midnight sky, his suit barely able to conceal his powerfully built physique. But it was the partner who stood out. His skin was the color of
lightly toasted bread, sprinkled with cinnamon. His red hair was cut low, waves orbiting his scalp like his own private solar system. With all that was going on around him, he walked like he owned the big arena and all that was in it. Beijing thought he came off as sexy and confident.

When the ring emcee began to announce the fighters, Beijing forgot all about the man responsible for the brief palpitations of her heart. The theatrics that were about to take place in the center of the ring now monopolized her attention.

“In this corner fighting in blue trunks and weighing in at one hundred seventy-two pounds is Billy-the-Bullet Bevins. And in this corner fighting in black trunks weighing in at one hundred seventy-one pounds is the undefeated world champion, Jack Be-Quick Thomas.” The crowd leaped to their feet for the champion; most of them were there to see him put on a can of whip-ass.

“Let’s get ready to rummmmmble,” the announcer said, and the fight began.

“I told you Be-Quick was going to beat that boy’s ass,” Beijing overheard the wavy-headed man sitting behind her say after the bell rang to end the first round.

“Be-Quick is that dude, girl,” Rayna said, still at the edge of her seat from all the excitement.

“Girl, it’s only the first round, we still got eleven more,” Beijing retorted. She was pulling for Bullet, the six-to-one underdog. She was still smiling, though, because the fight had just begun, and from the looks of it, it was going to be a good match. “It’s far from over.” Beijing sat back and waited for the second round to start.

Be-Quick danced out in the second round the same way he’d ended the first: a flurry of hard jabs and three-punch combinations.

“This is going to be the easiest fifty thou I ever made,” Red Head said to his friend. The two slapped hands so hard it sounded like a small firecracker exploded.

Beijing was serious, concentrating on the brawl. In her eyes, Be-Quick was throwing more punches, but Bullet was blocking most of them and when he did counter he was hitting with blows.

“Oh shit,” it seemed like the crowd exclaimed collectively when Bullet caught Be-Quick with a vicious right, dropping him to the canvas.

Beijing jumped from her seat screaming. “That’s right, that’s what I’m talking about. Hah, never bet against the underdog.”

“One … two …,” the referee was counting, unable to conceal the shocked expression that had enveloped his face. When the fighter wobbled to his feet, the ref stood in front of Be-Quick, reaching for the fighter’s gloves. Be-Quick wasn’t that quick.

“Let me see your hands,” the experienced adjudicator said. He took one look into Thomas’s vacant eyes and stopped the fight.

After most of the fans got over their initial shock, they started cursing the third man in the ring for stopping the bout. Surely Be-Quick would have recovered from that lucky blow, people were saying to whoever would listen, while others were applauding and jumping up and down in pure exuberance.

“A knockout,” Wavy Head said offhandedly.

Beijing turned around, sweeping her long, silky hair from her shoulder. “Actually, it’s not a knockout,” she said, speaking to Wavy Head for the first time, “it’s a TKO.”

“I wasn’t talking about the fight,” he tossed back with an easy smile. “I was speaking of you.”

Beijing blushed at the guy. He had caught her off guard. She was trying to think of a quick comeback line, but it didn’t help that people were exiting in a hurry. It was time to go party, either to celebrate the win or sulk over the loss.

Beijing glanced over and saw Taymar shaking people’s hands. She wanted to approach Taymar about the hotel’s money. Then Wavy Head reached out and touched her arm. A tingle ran through her entire body.

Damn … I guess too much time with a vibrator makes me forget how electrifying the touch of a man can be
.

“Excuse me, miss,” he said, “my name is Lootchee.” He handed her the back of a matchbook with a phone number scribbled on it. “Whenever you feel up to it, give me a call. I would love to take you somewhere, show you a nice time.” He spoke with the confidence of a man who was used to having his way.

A nice time, is he talking ’bout fucking? Damn, girl, get yo’ mind out da gutter!

“I’m sorry, but I have a man,” she said instantly wondering why she’d told that bald-faced lie. She hadn’t had a boyfriend in a couple of years and wasn’t looking for one, either.

“Just keep the number in a safe place,” Lootchee said, penetrating her eyes. “Maybe you won’t have that problem much longer.” Before she could respond, he stepped off. She looked back over to her task at hand and that quick, Taymar had pulled a Houdini, disappearing into the crowd.

I’ll see that clown later
, she thought.

At the end of the aisle, Lootchee looked back at her and winked. Beijing was still standing in the same spot trying to figure out what her next move would be.

Everybody was running around the hotel with their heads cut off as they prepared for the big engagement party. Beijing was glad that she’d gotten the ring safely to the Tabby and into the hands of Mr. Tiller. Because the hotel was shorthanded, she decided that she would help out in the lobby.

“Girl, who is that?” April, who worked as a front-desk clerk at the hotel, jumped straight into groupie mode when a tall, slender, dark-skinned guy with a big diamond earring in each of his ears, wearing a ridiculously big medallion on a platinum chain, entered the lobby. “Look at the way his waves are in his hair. He must be a basketball player because he’s so tall and delicious looking.” April answered her own question.

Unaffected by the man’s appearance, Beijing nonchalantly informed April, “He’s probably one of the rappers coming into town for the concert tomorrow.”

Some of the biggest stars in the business had been through the
Tabby’s doors and Beijing had been right there to greet them, so she wasn’t inclined to make a fuss over a celebrity. Besides, as the hotel’s VIP concierge, she’d seen or heard stories through the housekeeping staff of just how trifling some of these stars really were behind closed doors.

“Girl, do you see that big-ass chain around his neck?” April shook her head. “Umpf, umpf, umpf. One diamond could pay my rent and my car note if I had a car.” She chuckled and nudged Beijing on the shoulder. “And he fine too, girl, he could get it.”

“Aprillll, hello, Ms. Thing, you don’t even know him. He could be a mass murderer, or a serial killer, and you talking ’bout hopping in the bed with him.” Beijing shook her head.

Even when she was a rookie to this business, new to being in the presence of the stars, diplomats, millionaires, and plain old rich bitches, Beijing never considered dropping her panties just to get some of their paper. Even after hearing how some of the housekeepers could damn near retire with some of the money they got off eBay for selling some of the stars’ left-behinds, she still never considered stooping to go through their garbage and whatnot. If nothing else, Beijing had a code.

None of that seemed to affect April, who had been working at the hotel even longer than she had. You would think she’d be immune to all the glittery dust by now, but nope, she was still blinded by it.

As the man strode over to the front desk with his superstar walk, April lusted over him. “Let me go check him in and offer him an upgrade.” April winked. “And see what else I can offer him, if you know what I mean,” she snickered.

Beijing rolled her eyes as a slight smile graced her lips.

“Hey, you got to see all those superstars in Vegas over the weekend when you went to the fight,” April said. “Now I’m going to work on making some of these dreams come true for my superstar guests.”

Beijing went over to her workstation and worked on her clients’ requests.

“Do what you do, and I am going to do what I do. Who knows? This may be my ticket up out of this hotel.” April moved to her computer. “Josh, I got it,” she said to her co-worker, who was about to check in the man whom she felt was her key to early retirement. “Welcome to the Tabby Hotel, where we make allllll of your dreams come true.”

The man gave April an up and down. He didn’t seem too impressed.

“Key please. My promoter, Wildcat Productions, should have made a reservation for me. Name’s Teflon the Don or it might be under Don Sessions,” he shot off.

April wasted no time calling up the reservation and handing two entry cards to the arrogant man.

“Is there anything else I can help you with?” she asked suggestively.

“I just found out my promoter’s limo driver was involved in a five-car accident about thirty minutes ago,” he said. “I need a car and a driver. I can’t be cabbing it around this town or trying to find my way in some damn rental car.”

“Oh, no problem,” April said, smiling so hard it looked like her cheeks would burst. “I will get Beijing on it. She’s the concierge who deals with all of our VIPs.”

As Beijing listened in, she remembered that all the car services in town had been booked for months because of the CIAA national basketball tournament. April didn’t stand a chance of finding a car for their demanding client. Beijing stood up and straightened out her sleek hip-hugging black skirt.

“Sir, all of the available limos have already been booked, but we have a fella that we call in these instances. He has an SUV that will be more than suitable, and he’ll be happy to drive you wherever you need to go.”

After looking at Beijing for a few moments, from her head to her toes, Don said, “Well, that will work. I’m about to take a shower and swap out the gear I got on, and then I’ll call down and let you know when I’m ready.”

“Great then.” She flashed her pearly whites at him. “We will be looking forward to your call.”

“And I will be looking forward to you answering, then—” He lit the room up flashing a smile full of white-gold teeth at her. “—wit yo’ cute self,” he finished as he walked off toward the elevators.

Beijing was standing next to April pretending that she didn’t see April’s jaw just about bouncing off the floor. She redirected her attention to another client who had approached the desk while Don headed toward the elevator with his key in hand.

“Mr. Bitz, I have your reservation set for five
PM
for dinner at this fabulous restaurant that your daughters will love. I managed to get you four comp tickets for that show.” Mr. Bitz had informed her earlier of his needs.

“Wow,” he gleamed. “That show has been sold out for months. My girls are going to be so pleased. You are making me a real cool dad.”

“I am happy to do what I can. But you must be done with dinner no later than six forty-five, because the show starts at seven fifteen and the ride over to the theater is fifteen minutes. Your tickets and backstage passes will be waiting for you at the box-office will-call window.”

Mr. Bitz reached into his wallet and pulled out a few hundred-dollar bills. “For you.”

“No, it’s my pleasure,” Beijing said.

“I insist. Those tickets were impossible to get and sold out in a matter of minutes. Months ago. How did you do it? This is going to be the first step of getting me in the good graces of my girls. Since the divorce, their mother has turned them against me, so I am trying to piece our relationship back together.”

“Well, getting tickets to the concert of the hottest girl group out is going to be a good start.” Beijing smiled. “There is nothing like a bond between a daughter and her father. Trust me, I know.”

Beijing knew firsthand of the connection that a father could have with his daughter. She sure had a close-knit relationship with hers. He had raised her from birth, and though she was pushing thirty and had been out of his house for years, she still depended on him for those jewels of wisdom that helped her along the way.

“So, Superwoman, lucky you, your time is almost up here.”

Beijing looked at her Movado watch. “You are right. Time flies when you’re having fun.”

“Yeah, I wish I could say the same, I have three more hours to slave.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“It’s not that good, either,” April was quick to counter.

“What are you going to do when you get off work?”

“Girl, you know I’m getting out of this place. I’m going over to check out that new restaurant the Vines to see if it’s going to be a place we send guests. I went over there for the grand opening but haven’t been since, and I’d love to check things out now that the hype has settled down.”

“I don’t blame you, I wouldn’t want to deal with the party, either. But the folks are not that bad.”

Beijing talked to April until her time on the clock ran out, and she headed upstairs to shower and change out of her black concierge business suit into something more comfortable for dinner.

As soon as she hit the lobby, the first person she saw was Don. She could see by the look on his face that he was stunned by her transformation.