and you can get lucky.”
Now, you’re the one dreaming.
When she’d first arrived at Wayde’s house, he made it clear he wasn’t taking no for an answer. He’d convinced her she’d made her choice, and he told her he was going to be sure she got what she came for. Between her tears and her cutting words, sometimes she did get lucky, and he left her alone. At other times, she wasn’t lucky at all.
After downing the first shot, she poured another. She sat with her back three inches from the refrigerator. Wayde took his permanent seat on the long side of the table. The best seat in the house. If the stripper, Savannah were home, she’d be sitting across from her. And if the door opened, Savannah would cuss and scoot in a few inches to let whomever it was in. Usually, it was her married redneck boyfriend. The only other person who came to the door in the three months she’d been living with them was Savannah’s aunt, Wayde’s ex-sister-in-law. The aunt made it clear she’d only come to see ‘what kind of woman gonna go live with some man she don’t know and drag her kid along too’.
“You better watch how you’re talking to me,” Wayde said. “Don't know what you got full of while you were gone, but you’d better watch your mouth.”
“I’m going to lie down.”
“Shit, all you do is sleep. No wonder your husband got rid of you.” He didn’t look at her when he spoke. He just stared at the wall in front of him and took a big fat drag of his cigarette.
She downed her second shot, got up from the table, and set the glass down firmly in front of him.
When she went to bed, Wayde opened his cell phone and dialed. The call went directly to voicemail. He hesitated and then began to speak. “She’s home from Lakeside. Just how bad do you want to keep her here? And why don’t you ever pick up my calls. I’m getting sick of talking into the air. I love you.” He sighed and closed the phone.
Chapter 7
Jackson and Olivia’s limo pulled up next to an indiscriminate row of brick buildings with storefronts along the bottoms. He scanned the near desolate streets. The limo, against the backdrop of the noticeably poor neighborhood, appeared larger-than-life and out of place.
His brow rose. “Celebrity Den?”
Olivia laughed. “The joint’s unpretentious, like Xavier, and the food’s good. He had a meeting this morning at the youth center he funds. Most likely, he’s here already. He’s never late.” She put on more lipstick and checked her hair.
They walked toward the back of the narrow, dimly lit restaurant. Although small, a long mahogany bar with a mirrored backboard stretched the length of the room reflecting the light, making the space appear twice as large. The Den would be a terrific location to shoot a mob movie. Almost every inch of wall space was covered with photos and Hollywood memorabilia. Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, and the like. Olivia approached the furthest table, and a tall, well-dressed man stood to greet her and kissed her cheek.
He turned and shook Jackson’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Jackson. I’m sorry we haven’t met earlier. I didn’t realize the job would draw out this long or become more in-depth. I expected Kinsley to get on a plane and come back home long before now.”
“Pleased to meet you, too, Mr. Wentworth. Thanks for meeting with me. Three months is a long time not to know who you’re working for. If not for my friendship with Olivia, I would never have agreed to the anonymity.”
“I understand. Please, call me Xavier.”
Xavier had already attended to Olivia’s chair. Plainly, he and Olivia were intimate friends. Jackson took a seat and waited for their small talk to wind down.
Once their conversation quieted, Xavier addressed him. He appeared composed, but his words conveyed his distress. “I’ll explain why I hired you, and you can feel free to ask whatever you like.” He stopped talking when the waiter came around.
Xavier went on. “After Kinsley and Nick were separated a couple months, she met a man, Wayde, over the Internet, of all places. This surprised me. She’s generally levelheaded. When she and Nick split, she became distant. I’m sure she had other issues on her mind.” The little lines creeping from his eyes deepened with each word. “She and I have always had a good relationship, and I tried to advise her.