We Didn’t See it Coming (21 page)

When he arrived at the house, he expected to open the door and get hit by the aroma from Tessa's fabulous cooking. Instead, the house smelled like peach air freshener.

“Tessa,” he called as he went to the kitchen and placed the wine and roses on the table. The kitchen was spotless. The only pot on the stove was a teakettle.

Baron left the kitchen and he ran up the stairs. “Tessa,” he called her again.

He looked into the backyard, calling her name, but there was no answer.
Tessa must be speaking to her niece.
He figured Tessa would come back and bring food for them.

After hours had gone by and night fell, Tessa never returned. Baron tried her cell phone several times, but all he got was her voicemail. He went on to make himself a sandwich from leftover chicken.

Tempted to call Aniyah, he grabbed his keys and left the house instead. He jumped into his car and drove over to the Houston Estate.

It was around midnight when he reached the estate. Baron rang the bell.

Aniyah came to the door dressed in a red bra and panty set. She was excited to see him. “Hey, sugar, you came to see me.”

Baron didn't want to ask her about her aunt. “I was in the area and was checking things out before I went home.”

Aniyah laughed. “Yeah right!” She pushed up her breasts with her hands. “You want this.”

He decided to use his lawyer skills on her. “Do you have company?”

“Hell yeah, you now.” She grabbed his tie and yanked it for him to come inside.

He followed her into the house, which would give him the opportunity to look around.

Aniyah put her arms around him and kissed him. He pushed her off.

“Stop it!” he said.

“You'll do what I say. Don't forget, I have the picture,” she reminded him.

He laughed. “Not anymore, I've destroyed it.”

She laughed back. “No, you didn't. You're bluffing.”

Baron stepped closer up on her and looked directly into her eyes. “Do I look like I'm bluffing?”

Aniyah saw that he might be telling the truth. She hadn't checked her hiding place where the photo was supposed to be secure, so she left him and ran up the stairs.

Baron looked around as much as he could while on the first floor. He ran up the stairs and looked in the west wing. There were no
signs that Tessa had been there. He headed to the east wing when Aniyah showed up furious.

She ran up to him, beating him on the chest. “You bastard, you found the picture. Give it back to me.”

Baron shoved her off of him with force. Aniyah fell to the floor.

“I'm not giving you anything back. You had no right to twist things around for your own nasty reasons.”

“Whoever's in the room, she's nothing but a slut!” he yelled, assuming she was entertaining a man.

In the office closet, Tessa tried to make noise. She could hear his voice.
Baron has come for me.
She prayed that her niece wouldn't harm him in anyway.

Aniyah got up. “Get out of here.”

He yelled back, “I will! I can't believe you're nothing like your mother.”

Baron thought that he would bring Tessa's name up, hoping Aniyah would give him a sign as to whether her aunt had been there or not.

Aniyah kept a straight face and said nothing about Tessa being there.

“That's why you don't want me. You love her! Well, she doesn't give a damn about you. She loved Rupert. She always said he was hot in bed,” she lied.

He walked down the stairs to get out of the house. Tessa listened as the sound of the arguing faded away.

“I feel sorry for you.”

“Go back to what you do best and be a yes-person for the Houstons. Just leave me the hell alone.”

Baron slammed the door behind him. He still wondered where Tessa was. He went over to the servants' quarters and woke Elsa. She came to the door covered in a long robe with her hair tied up.

“Hello, Mr. Chavis. Something wrong?”

“Have you seen Tessa today?”

“No, I haven't.”

“If she calls you, tell her to get in touch with me.”

“Yes, Mr. Chavis.”

“Elsa, don't tell anyone I was looking for her. Keep that between us.”

“My lips are glued.”

Baron called the limo service. He asked for the driver who had driven Tessa. The driver lied as he was instructed by Aniyah. “Miss Sanchez asked me to get her to the airport as fast as I could. I dropped her off and left.”

Baron felt his stomach tighten up. His gut feeling was that something wasn't right. But he hurried home in hope that Tessa would be there.

He arrived home and there were no signs of Tessa. He glanced inside the closet. Her belongings were still intact, including her empty suitcase. But he used his connections as an attorney and learned that she did not take a flight back to Mexico. “Where are you, Tessa?” he whispered as he lay across the bed. He prayed that Aniyah wasn't holding something over Tessa's head that would cause her to run.

He realized that maybe the driver was lying and was following Aniyah's instructions. The Houston Estate was too enormous to check, but he had to find a way to search it for answers. He worried that Tessa was in trouble. The answers were with Aniyah. He tried to stay awake but could no longer keep his eyes open.

• • •

Aniyah ran back upstairs and into the office. She opened the door, went inside the closet, and slapped her aunt across the face. “No food for you tomorrow. You'll starve.”

Tessa tried to talk but could not.

“Shut up! I don't see what Baron sees in you. He's hungry for you, but guess what? He had me and he liked all of this.” Aniyah rubbed her hands over her body. “He took me for himself in his house. How do you like that?”

Aniyah knew that her aunt could not answer. She laughed at her and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Tessa tried to cry but she had already cried so much that her tears were frozen. She prayed that maybe tomorrow God would send an angel to save her.

S
id picked Noelle up early that morning. She came out of the house wearing a simple baby-blue zip-up dress. He opened the door for her. “Good morning,” he said.

“Morning, Sid, how are you?”

“Doing better now that I have such a lovely lady in my car.”

Sid had become her permanent driver. He took Noelle to whatever destination she wanted. He thought that she was the sexiest woman he had ever seen. Today, she wanted to go shopping. He took her to a few shops, which included a party shop to purchase the necessary supplies for Kenley's sixteenth birthday. Lunchtime came soon after.

“Hungry?” Sid asked.

“Yes, I guess I've shopped up an appetite.”

“I have a great lunch for us.”

“Where did you get lunch from?”

“I had it packed just for you.”

“Thanks, Sid.”

Noelle thought that he was the perfect gentleman. He looked after her in every way while he was her chauffeur.

“So, let's see, where will we eat?”

“How about under a nice, big tree at the Houston Estate?”

“I don't think we should go back to the estate. It really belongs to Aniyah.”

“The estate is so big, she would never know we were there. We'll go to the far end like we did before.”

“I do love the grounds of the estate.”

“See, it's perfect.” He smiled.

First, Sid stopped to get some ice from the store and then drove Noelle to the estate. The security guard opened the gates for him.

Driving way out on the acreage to find a private spot, Sid parked the limo near a shaded tree to help block the hot sun. He turned on some soft music from the stereo in the limo. He took the lunch basket and carried it under the tree.

Noelle watched as he removed a large plaid blanket and spread it out on the grass. She eased down onto the blanket, pulling her dress down because she was too shy to expose her thighs to him.

The shade from underneath the tree cooled them off somewhat. Sid placed a sandwich on each one of their plates.

“You're always surprising me.” Noelle smiled.

“I love your company.”

“I enjoy yours, too.”

Noelle looked forward to him picking her up every time she had to go somewhere. There was something about Sid that made her forget about Baron. She wondered if it was because he showed her so much attention.

Sid filled two crystal glasses with ice and poured tea into them. He added a small salad to their plates. He brought her favorite salad dressing—Italian. They also had potato chips to munch on.

“Lunch is delicious,” she said as she took a sip of the tea. Her eyes sparkled as she glared into his eyes.

“My pleasure.”

Sid watched as Noelle ate her food; she thought he looked cute in his work cap.

“Do you ever take that hat off?”

The limo driver realized that he still had his black work cap on. He took it off to show off his freshly cut hair. “I wear it so much I forget it's on my head.”

Noelle smiled. “You look good without it.”

Sid felt that she was flirting with him, so he flirted back. “Anyone ever told you that you have sweet-looking lips?”

Noelle touched her lips and blushed. She lowered her head as her cheeks turned rosy. “Never.”

“I think you do.”

“Well, all I can say is thanks.”

When they finished eating, Sid gathered up the picnic items. Noelle tried to help.

“Stay seated. I'll clean this up.” He hurried to gather everything while Noelle watched as he put the items into the limo.

Sid sat back down next to her. “It's so pretty on your family's land.”

“Yes, I always loved the crystal blue waters. You can see it from everywhere,” Noelle said, but became excited and stood up. “Look!” She pointed to a group of ducks flapping their wings in a small pond.

Sid jumped up to get a clear view of the ducks. But he became distracted when he spotted a group of sailboats. “I've got an idea,” he said excitedly. “We can go for a ride out on the boat. I drove your father many times out on the lake in his boat when he just wanted to sit back and relax.”

“Father must have really liked you. I never knew him to let anyone sail for him.” Noelle smiled, feeling a connection with Sid through her father.

“How about it? I can take you for a spin out on the lake.”

Noelle agreed. It had been a long time since she had taken a boat ride. “I don't know where Father's keys are.”

Sid smiled. “It's a secret, but he gave me a key. He told me I could take it out; all I had to do was ask him beforehand, but I never did. I didn't want to take advantage of him. I enjoyed when we went out on the boat together. Mr. Houston took me fishing with him several times.”

Noelle felt good hearing something positive about her father. She saw that Sid enjoyed her father's company.

“We'll go out on the boat later. I have a few runs to make for Mr. Chavis, then I'll be back.”

They packed up and left.

• • •

Sid made his way back just as it got dark. He drove up in front of the Houston Villa. Noelle came out.

“Are you ready for the boat ride?”

“You want to go out
now?”
she asked.

“If you're scared to go out on the water at night, we can wait and go during the day.”

“I'm not, but I thought maybe you'd be too tired from work. We can do it another time.”

Sid wanted her company. “The water is what I need. Let's go,” he said, knowing the soothing water was where he felt he could be at ease and open with her.

“Give me a minute to change,” she said, still in her dress.

Noelle changed into a white shorts set; Sid sported a khaki shorts set. Her eyes wandered to the bulge in his pants and, immediately, she felt a warm, tingling sensation between her legs. Suddenly, Sid grabbed her by the hand, distracting her from the sexual tension that was mounting inside her.

They chatted as they drove to the boat. Once they arrived, he fired up the engine and sailed away as the stars twinkled in the sky. Noelle thought that it was so romantic, and she hoped that Sid felt the same way that she did.

“It's lovely out here at night.”

“The deep orange moon among the stars is breathtaking,” Noelle said as she looked up at the sky.

“Are you thirsty? There are drinks in the fridge.”

Noelle went and got a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. She saw it was fully stocked with drinks, fruits, and cold cuts.

She went back to confront him. “I think this is what took you so long to come back. You were preparing the boat for our sail.”

“Oh yeah?” He smiled. “We even have good old bologna sandwiches and chips.”

“What am I going to do with you?” she asked as she felt loved and protected by Sid's caring ways.

“All I ask is for your company whenever you can spare time.”

Sid drove over to a far end of the lake where there were no homes. He docked the boat and turned on some soft music. He reached out and asked, “Miss Houston, would you care to dance?”

Noelle, without hesitation, went to him. Sid put his arms around her and they danced until the music stopped. He looked into her eyes. Noelle looked back at him. She was attracted to him, and she wasn't going to be the way she was with Baron—sitting around waiting to see when he was going to make a move.

She put her arms around Sid. “Please, don't push me away again.”

“Not this time. I feel we have gotten to know each other in our own way.”

Noelle smiled as she locked lips with him. His lips felt soothing to her and she thrust her tongue into his mouth.

Sid took what she had to give him and in return, tongued her back.

Noelle stepped back. She pulled her top over her head, messing up her hair. She sported a white, laced bra.