After Hours (19 page)

W
hy is it I don't want us to be friends?
It took Lance four days to grasp what Dina had been trying to tell him. She'd communicated in a roundabout way that she wanted more than friendship. But it came at a price and on her terms: courtship and marriage, and that meant she wouldn't live with him or sleep with him without a commitment.

What Dina didn't know was that Lancelot Londell Haynes was committed to his software company, not a woman. He'd sacrificed a lot because of his commitment and drive for success. The payoff was sweet and he'd become a casualty of
by any means necessary
because he hadn't missed not having a wife and children.

The times he woke up in bed with strange women, he'd question why. Why her? What was it about the woman, other than they either wanted or needed sexual release, that drew him to her? And each time the answer was
I don't know.
His only rationale was that she was a consenting adult and available.

Now he found himself questioning his motives when he continued to pursue Dina Gordon. He'd found her an enigma, an anomaly and a chameleon. She was unlike any woman he'd ever met or known.

Bedding virgins wasn't in his sexual repertoire. He preferred sleeping with sexually experienced women because he didn't have to deal with the responsibility of being her
first.
Whenever he ended a relationship he made certain it stayed that way. He wasn't one to put up with call-and-hang-up scenarios or someone showing up unexpectedly in the middle of the night. Dina was the first woman he'd invited to his West New York apartment since he'd moved in, and he wanted her to be the last.

Swiveling on his chair, he stared out the window in his office with panoramic views of the Hudson River and the towering buildings that made up Manhattan's skyline. It was a sight that he never wanted to get used to. The intercom rang and he turned around to answer it, his gaze shifting to the planner on his desk.

A slight frown creased his forehead when he saw that he'd circled this past Sunday but hadn't put down a notation. Flipping back through the month, he went completely still. He smiled. It'd been a month since he'd met Dina for the first time. He'd circled the date because it was their one-month anniversary.

The intercom buzzed again. He touched the speaker feature. “Yes, Della?”

“Mr. Bellamy's secretary called to cancel because his wife just went into labor. She said the baby wasn't due for another two weeks.”

“Keep in touch with her, and when Mrs. Bellamy delivers, I want you to send her a basket of fruit and flowers.” Lance could count on his executive assistant to stay on top of every situation. He only had to tell her something once and it was done.

“I'm on it,” she said with her signature confirmation.

“I'm going out for a couple of hours. If you need to reach me, then call me on my cell.”

“I'm on it,” Della repeated.

D
ina sat at the branch manager's desk, signing signature cards for her checking and savings accounts. Her social security card with her new name had come in the mail earlier that morning, along with a printed invitation from Karla King. Enclosed with the invitation was a response card with a self-addressed stamped envelope. Her first impression was,
Oh, that's how they do it.
Proper ladies living in upscale suburbs don't pick up the telephone and say
Come on over
or send word by a cousin twice removed to “come by my spot for some links and ribs.”

She'd worked a double shift on Saturday and one on Sunday, but it wouldn't have been possible if she hadn't taken over-the-counter pain medication. Miraculously it did dull the pain enough to where she'd almost forgotten about it. Lance had offered to pick her up but she lied and told him that the busboy had offered to drive her home Saturday and Sunday.

What Dina didn't want was a repeat of Thursday. She didn't want to wake up and find Lance Haynes in her bed. If or when they shared a bed again, it'd be because she'd invited him.

She handed the branch manager the cards, her paycheck and the cash she wanted to deposit. She'd decided to open her checking account with two thousand dollars and the savings with one. Three thousand dollars was hardly enough to raise a red flag with the IRS, which required banks to report deposits totaling ten thousand or more.

“Come with me, Ms. Gordon. You need to select a four-digit PIN—or personal identification number—for your bank card.”

Half an hour after Dina had walked into a local bank on Nye Avenue she left with deposit receipts and an ATM card that gave her access to her money 24-7. She strolled leisurely along Irvington's business district, peering into store windows before going into a diner for lunch. She'd gotten so used to the gourmet meals prepared by Sybil and Jake Collins that she was reluctant to eat out.

The refrigerator and pantry in her apartment held only basic emergency staples: coffee, tea, powdered milk, bottled water, crackers, canned soups, peas, beans and peanut butter. Arriving home after midnight and waking up late mornings wasn't conducive to her eating three balanced meals each day. It was only when she didn't have to go to West Orange that she'd hoped to establish a routine where she did her laundry, cleaned the apartment and went food shopping. However, her plans were placed on hold because she was still convalescing from the vaginoplasty. It'd been a week since the procedure, and she had to go back to Upper Saddle Brook for a follow-up visit. Hopefully she would be pain-free by the time she began her dance lessons.

Dina looked forward to entertaining at the private parties for one specific purpose: to earn enough money to pay off Payne. His threat was akin to a bribe, but there wasn't much she could do with a contract out on her life. It wasn't until she paid him that she truly would be able to enjoy being Dina Gordon.

She gave the waitress her order for a small Greek salad, then reached into her purse for Karla's invitation and the cell phone Lance had given her. His secretary answered the call, then forwarded it when she identified herself. Her eyebrows lifted in surprise. Had Lance told Della who she was?

“Good morning…I take that back—good afternoon, Ms. Gordon.”

Dina smiled at his formal greeting. “Good afternoon, Mr. Haynes. How are you?”

“Wonderful. How are you?”

She wanted to say glorious but changed her mind. Everything wouldn't be glorious until after she gave Payne his blood money. “I'm good. I'm calling to ask if you would accompany me to a Fourth of July gathering in Oldwick.”

“Give me the address. That's in Hunterdon County,” he said after a pause.

Dina wanted to tell Lance she wasn't familiar with any of the New Jersey counties. “Are you coming with me or do I have to hire an escort for the day?”

“If that's your idea of a joke, then I'm definitely not laughing.”

She clamped her teeth together. Dina wanted to tell him to lighten the fuck up but swallowed back the retort. “I'm waiting for your answer, Big Daddy,” she crooned in a sultry whisper.

“Of course I'll take you. Did you know what Sunday was, baby girl?”

She smiled. He was back to calling her baby girl. “No.”

“It was month ago that we met for the first time.”

“You're kidding?”

“Nope. How would you like to celebrate tonight?”

Dina felt a wave of heat suffuse her face and neck. She couldn't believe she was blushing like a flustered adolescent when seeing her first crush. “I'd like that very much.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“You promised to take me back to LUA.” She wanted to see the nighttime views of the river.

“I'll call and make a reservation. I'll pick you up at seven. Will that give you enough time to get ready?”

Dina glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost one o'clock. She wanted to go shopping and buy a special outfit for their special night. “Yes. I should be ready by that time.”

“I'll see you later, baby girl.”

“Okay, Big Daddy.”

D
ina opened the door and Lance went completely still. Nothing moved. He couldn't believe the woman standing before him was his. Yes, she was his; she was LL's woman.

Skillfully applied makeup accentuated her large, brilliant eyes and pouty mouth. Even her hairstyle was different. The waves were missing. She'd parted it in the middle and it hung straight down her back.

She wore a sleeveless red silk wrap dress with a black sash that emphasized a waist he could span with two hands. His gaze moved down to her bare, smooth legs and feet in a pair of black high-heel pumps before reversing itself.

“I don't believe it.” His voice was filled with awe.

Dina lifted her waxed eyebrows. “What don't you believe?”

“What did you do to your hair?”

She spun around slowly, her hair swirling around her shoulders and back, spilling an ebony curtain around her sun-browned face. “I had it trimmed, roller-set, then blown out.” Dina didn't tell Lance that the entire ordeal, including a manicure, pedicure and eyebrow wax, had taken more than four hours. She barely had time to go to a boutique for the dress and shoes.

Lance reached for Dina and turned her gently to face him. His free hand went to the breast pocket of his suit jacket. He handed her a small box wrapped in silver paper with a black velvet bow. “It's just a little something to commemorate our one-month anniversary.”

Dina stared up at the man who made her feel like a fairy-tale princess. If she looked different, then so did he. He'd had his hair close cropped, leaving a hint of sideburns that slenderized his round, smooth face. Everything about him radiated elegance and breeding, from the exquisite tailoring of his dark suit to his imported footwear. He smiled and her gaze lingered on his perfect white teeth.

“I didn't get you anything.”

“You didn't have to. You're my gift.” Tears filled her eyes as Lance closed his. He couldn't bear to see her cry—even in joy. He pulled her to his chest. “Don't cry, baby girl.”

Dina's arms went around his waist inside his jacket. She wanted to love him, but she didn't know how to love. She'd grown up believing although mothers had babies, they didn't love their babies, and the cycle was repeated when she'd had Jameeka. The closest she'd come to loving someone was Dora Jenkins. Her grandmother fed her, kept her clean and protected her from the harsh realities of life the best she could. However, it wasn't enough, because she'd cut school, slept with men for money while setting them up to be robbed. There were times when she wondered if she would ever be able to love a man.

“Why are you so good to me?”

Lance buried his face in her silky hair. “Don't you know?”

Easing back, she met his gaze. “Know what?”

“You're special, Dina. I love everything there is to love about you.”

His confession set off warning bells in her head as Dina struggled with her conscience. He'd fallen in love with someone who wasn't who he thought her to be; he'd fallen in love with a fraud.

She hadn't been Dina Gordon a month yet knew it would take more than a month to leave her sordid past behind in order to start over. Every day was a struggle, an uphill battle not to revert to Adina Jenkins, to lapse into the fast-talking, potty-mouth, trick-turning ho.

Karla, Sybil and Lance had all offered Dina Gordon a second chance to put her past firmly behind her, and she prayed she would succeed. And if she failed, it wouldn't be because she hadn't tried.

“You have to give me time because everything between us has happened so quickly.”

Lance ran his hand over her hair. “I'm not asking you for anything. Especially not love. Either you feel it or you don't.”

Dina closed her eyes. “It's not that I don't like you, Lance.”

“Hush, Dina. You don't have to explain yourself—at least not to me. If ever you come to love me the way I love you, you won't have to say a word.”

“How will you know?” she asked in a quiet tone.

“I'll know because I'll be able to feel it. It won't be in what you'll say but what you'll do. Love is quiet, darling, not loud and boisterous. And love can be communicated in complete silence. One of these days we'll look across the room at each other and know exactly what the other's feeling or thinking.”

“Do you think that'll happen with us?”

“I know it will,” he said confidently. “Now open your gift because we have to leave.”

Pulling away, Dina removed the bow and paper. She opened the box to find a pair of heart-shaped earrings. The princess-cut diamonds winked at her like stars in a dark sky. Her mouth opened and closed quickly. “They're beautiful. I'm going to wear them tonight.”

Lance took them from her as she removed the gold hoops from her ears and replaced them with the diamond studs, tucking her hair behind her ears. His smile was one of supreme satisfaction. The gems were perfect for her.

He winked at her. “You were meant to wear diamonds.”

Dina's lowered her gaze demurely. “Thank you.”

She took several steps and picked up her small evening purse and a black silk jacket with a Mandarin collar piped in red. Lance waited while she locked the door, then hand in hand they made their way down the stairs and out into the warm spring night.