The little barrel of a woman wandered back to
the L-shaped kitchen. She wore a light gray uniform and a pristine
white apron around her ample girth. According to Sacha, Rosina
could run a vacuum cleaner around a so-called professional cleaning
crew any day and still have time to wipe down the counters. In
addition, she wore comfy white Crocs and kept her long hair in a
tight braid.
“About this other little matter.” As she
spoke, Rosina opened Erica’s refrigerator and took inventory of
what her new employer had to offer. “I will give you satisfaction
in finding out all about this neighbor of yours.”
“As long as you’re not intrusive,” Erica
countered. “I wouldn’t want to get a reputation as a tenant who
goes around asking her housekeeper to get the goods on my
neighbors.”
“Do not worry,
guapa
.” As the
housekeeper laughed heartily, she tapped the side of her head with
a pudgy finger. “I have good eyesight, good hearing and a good
head. Plus, I look very motherly. It is amazing what strangers will
tell me. I do a good job, and no one will ever know I am under the
covers! Information can be bought for a good price, like my
homemade guacamole.”
Rosina brought out a bowl of fresh cut
pineapple. “First, I find the other maids here. They are a
fontana
of information about what goes on in this building.
Then I work from there. Within two, three days, I should have
answers to pass along.”
Covert operations, spies and information for the
price of a few avocados? Just what exactly had Erica gotten herself
into? All this in order to appease her curiosity over a Mr. Gianni
Sloan, the playboy of Palmetto Terrace? Oh well, more often than
not, curiosity came with a price.
So, leaving her apartment in capable hands,
Erica finished readying for work. As she cinched a red belt around
her waist, she took stock of herself in the full-length mirror. She
never considered herself a beauty, but she wasn’t a total
fea
either.
She credited her mother’s side of the family for her
fair complexion, and her father’s side for the sable eyes and
matching hair. She usually wore it just below the shoulder and with
just a bit of natural curl. Her one physical asset, her voluptuous
bosom, could be a toss-up genetically. Erica had no complaints
about her ample breasts, and neither had former lovers.
Now, with a pastel blue and white striped
sundress, she slipped on sandals to match the belt. She looked
crisp, efficient, and oozed creative zeal. Today was the day she
and Sacha went to present their schematics to Mrs. Weissman. If all
went well, and the client approved them, she planned to take her
partner out for a celebratory drink along with their boss and
owner, Craig Marin. Mrs. Weissman and her estate represented a good
chuck of money for the firm. Confident that their proposal would be
met with enthusiasm, Erica could almost taste that piña colada with
her name on it.
* * *
Instead of their usual drinks to start, and
because he felt in a highly generous mood, Craig Marin ordered
champagne cocktails for all his hardworking staff. Not only had
Mrs. Weissman loved Sacha and Erica’s ideas, but she had decided to
add the pool house into the decorating mix. All in all, the
Prestige by Design firm could easily walk away with a hefty fifty
thousand dollar profit.
The employees and their boss congregated at
their usual watering hole, the Gold Coast Pub & Grill. The
place offered an eclectic mix of décor and clientele, as well as a
comfortable, relaxed atmosphere. Now as the five participants sat
around the table, Craig proposed a toast.
“Here’s to Sacha and Erica, as well as the
rest of us! Because without us, the world would be in terrible
color-coordinating shape!”
“Here, here!” everyone agreed with buoyant
laughter.
Relaxing, Erica allowed her gaze to roam
around the table. Craig Marin ran his company with open, honest
ease, yet still demanded hard work and loyalty. He had been in the
interior design business for at least twenty years and had
graduated from one of the country’s top design schools, the same
institute that Erica attended and graduated from on scholarship. At
forty, he still looked youthful with his ash blond hair, darker
goatee and bright blue eyes between crinkled laugh lines. The good
life and a strong, twelve-year marriage had put on a few pounds,
but Craig always referred to his tubby status as a selling point.
Clients would rather see a well-fed, contented, and highly creative
designer, than a wasted and pinched cardboard cutout, a victim of
the latest fads in physicality and decorating ideas.
Next to the boss sat Victor Samaniego, the
firm’s accounts and billings manager. Victor’s job kept the others
in line just in case the designers came close to falling off the
deep end both creatively and fiscally. Dark and handsome, Victor
also claimed a happy marriage to an art director for an advertising
agency.
That left Erica, Sacha and Tai Wilson, the
office manager, as the unattached members of the group. Cute and
spunky, Tai also remained the youngest staffer at twenty-three. A
former California surfer girl, she had come out east to try her
luck in Miami and wholeheartedly embraced her assistant’s job
during the week. On weekends, the little brunette with the spiked
cut, sea foam eyes and pixie face could be found co-managing a
surfboard and jet ski shop at South Beach.
As she returned to her champagne, Erica took
a quick sip before she turned to scan the happy hour crowd. She had
hoped her sister Maritza could join them this evening. Trying to
get over a mentally-draining divorce, Mari had just begun to
circulate again. Like her sister though, she found the singles life
to be just as emotionally challenging and certainly different after
seven years off the market.
Erica excused herself to use the ladies room.
She had just about wended her way through the growing crowd when
someone stepped out of the bar’s corner shadows.
“Hello there,” the man greeted. “I don’t
believe we’ve met before, but I’m sure I’ve seen you in here on
several occasions.”
Erica’s gaze took in the man’s attractive
features and the shock of thick, dark hair as well as the small
gold hoop earring in his left ear. He certainly dressed well in
ebony slacks and shirt. Erica stood back. It was not that she was
adverse to meeting men in bars, but she just didn’t feel up to
small talk with a stranger when her interests lay with her table of
co-workers and the continuation of their celebratory good
cheer.
She tried a pleasant smile. “I’m sure you
have. I come in here from time to time. Now, if you’ll excuse
me—”
Sidestepping his tall, well-built figure,
Erica marched on to the restroom. Five minutes later, she made her
way back to her table, but found the stranger rooted in the same
place, right in her path. Only this time he wore a more sober
expression.
“Oh, listen,” he started, “I’m sorry if we
somehow got on the wrong foot. I’m usually not this bold, but you
are very attractive. And if I didn’t say something now, I never
would.”
“Maybe next time,” Erica tried to counter
politely. “I’m with a group of people tonight, and I plan to stick
with them.”
The man shrugged. “Okay, I understand. At
least I tried.” With that, he flashed another enigmatic smile
before disappearing back into the shadows.
Despite the heat in the room, Erica shivered.
Something about the guy both intrigued and repelled her, but as she
continued back to the table, she tried to put the handsome stranger
out of her mind. Suddenly, she recalled the note that Rosina had
left her. “
Señorita
,” the housekeeper had penned, “your man
is tall, dark and handsome. His full name is Giancarlo Sloan. Good
so far? Will find out more soon.”
Maritza had decided to join them after all, and Erica
eagerly and happily welcomed her younger sister to her circle of
friends. This time, Victor had ordered a pitcher of premium beer
and glasses all around. Beer and champagne... Erica hoped she
didn’t have a headache tomorrow. Yet, Saturdays gave her the
opportunity to take it easy, and Rosina would make it possible to
skip having the do the household chores.
“Oh,
mi tesora
, I have something for
you!” Maritza gave Erica’s hand an affectionate squeeze.
Similar in build and coloring to Erica,
Maritza had altered her appearance by bleaching her hair to a honey
color and wearing green contacts to give her hazel eyes a jade hue.
Unlike Erica, she also preferred sexier, form-fitting clothes that
accentuated her full figure and ample cleavage.
Reaching into her handbag, Maritza extracted
a small jewelry box. “It’s a pre-birthday present,
cariña.
I
knew you wanted these, and my divorce settlement finally came
through. And even though your birthday is tomorrow, I had to give
you these tonight. It’s not every day a gal turns thirty.”
“Don’t remind me!” Erica eased open the box and
stared at a beautiful pair of cluster earrings with seed pearls set
in chocolate gold. Unable to adequately express her gratitude, she
gave Maritza a heartfelt hug. “They’re beautiful, Mari! Thank you
so much!”
“Let’s see, let’s see!” Sacha coaxed and
clapped his hands. Erica started the box around the table so
everyone could take a good look at her gift.
“You shouldn’t have done it, you know,” she
lightly chastised Maritza with sisterly concern. “I wanted you to
save your divorce money for those little odds and ends that always
seem to come up.”
“That’s no fun!” Mari countered. “I spent
seven miserable years married to that bum, and I want to enjoy my
freedom as well as Ricky’s blood money. In fact…” Her gaze took in
everyone. “I want to buy the last round for everyone. Let’s do
tequila shots to finish off the evening.”
“Here, here!” Sacha chimed in happily.
Erica allowed her laugh to flow as freely as
the combination of champagne and beer did around the table. Turning
her head, she spotted the stranger from the corner of her eye. He
had taken a seat at the bar, with his back and elbows up against
the polished brass railing. With the backlight from behind the bar,
Erica had a better view of his good looks and casual, breezy
attitude. He appeared to be around her age, and the slight caramel
cast to his skin suggested a Latino background.
With a half-smile playing on his lips, he
seemed to weigh Erica and her group. Sizing up his competition,
perhaps? Ogling the available female meat? His eyes could be
considered akin to the bedroom variety, dark, sexy, alluring and
hinting at the smoldering passions that lay beneath. Shaking such
thoughts away, Erica brought her attention back to her group as her
sister announced her exciting news.
“Remember, I told you about my job interview
with Adentro Televisión, the Spanish network affiliate here? Well,
I got the job as their office manager!” Mari could barely contain
her excitement. “And if I do well and learn the ropes, I have a
chance to advance and start reporting human interest pieces. The
management loved my tests!”
“Well, well,” Craig said with a laugh,
“sounds as if we have an up-and-coming celebrity in our midst!”
“Congratulations!” Erica gave her sister a
quick hug. “I always knew you had the brains, the personality and
the looks to make it in broadcasting. After all, it was your
dream.”
Maritza’s eyes glowed with excitement. “And I
have you to thank for it!”
“Why is that?” Erica offered a little
frown.
“Because you’ve always inspired me to do my
best. The minute I legally and emotionally severed all ties with
Ricardo Rivera, I decided to emulate my big sister and start a
whole new life. I wanted to be just like you, strong, independent
and have a career that challenges my creativity.”
Erica felt taken aback. She had no idea her
sister looked up to her with such admiration or used her for
inspiration. Feeling a bit self-conscious with everyone looking her
way, she proposed another toast to her sister’s success. Everyone
wholeheartedly took up their glasses, the general bonhomie around
the table warm and generous and definitely alcohol-tinged.
The next time the waitress made the rounds,
Erica ordered several appetizers to counter the buzz effects. She
hadn’t planned to stay so long, but the atmosphere and the
joviality of her friends and family made it too irresistible to
leave just yet. Besides, where did she have to run off to so
early?
She felt Tai nudge her arm. “Rica, see that
man over there? By the bar?”
Erica followed her co-worker’s sharp eyes and
over to the man who had spoken to her earlier, the attractive hunk
in black.
“I went to bed with him once,” Tai continued
as she inched closer to her colleague. “The guy was great, but he
hasn’t called me since. So, I’m really pissed. What should I do? Go
over and spill my drink in his lap? It was serve him right to cool
off his cock, the bastard.”
Erica produced a smile. Once in awhile Tai
spoke to her about men and her dating woes. In a way she felt
privileged that a co-worker sought her advice, but Erica had really
no expertise to share, at least not with any confidence.
“That might work,” she offered cautiously,
“but I wouldn’t advise it. What happened? Did he just want a one
night stand?” As she spoke, Erica allowed her gaze to demurely
drift to the stranger who had by now swiveled back around to the
bar. The man in black seemed to be engaged in conversation with the
bartender.
“Yeah, you could say that,” Tai continued. “I
mean, it didn’t start out that way. I went on two dates with Mr.
Cocksure, and then went to bed with him. I should know by now. Once
guys get you in the sack, that’s it. Then it’s ‘Goodbye, darling.
Had a great time, but don’t call me, I’ll call you.’“