Passionate Bid (11 page)

“Mark, this is Doctor Julian Ravenwood. He”s a veterinarian from New York and he”ll be staying with us until Sam”s birthday. Doctor, this is Mark.” Mark extended his hand to Julian. “Doctor Ravenwood.”

“Mark,” Julian shook the man”s hand. Normally, he”d encourage someone he met outside his office to call him Julian. With this man, he didn”t feel like it.

“I didn”t know Joanie has a pet that needs attention. Aren”t you too far away from your clinic? You have one, I”m sure.”

“Yes, I have a clinic. I”m a good vet. You want me to check your ears for ticks.

Do you always scoot your rear end on the ground? Most likely you have an anal sacs problem. I could help you with that.” One of the top leading veterinary clinics in Manhattan and recently mentioned in the New York Post as the best, he wanted to add. But Julian wasn”t a braggart. He kept the information to himself.

“I bet you”re good in sticking your fingers in—”

“Guys! Please. Sit down and have breakfast. Good God.” Julian looked at Joanie, then at Mark. He wondered if they”d known each other intimately. Shoving the thought aside, he gave his attention to his daughter.

What the fuck do I care if Joanie’s sleeping with another man. He shouldn”t care, but his ego told him otherwise. Fuck.

“Come here, Sam. I”ll help you wash your hands.”

“And my feet, too?”

“And your feet, too.”

After washing Sam”s hands and feet, he dried them off with the towel Joanie handed him. He tickled Sam”s feet and felt delighted hearing her laugh, for making her laugh.

Joanie served everyone breakfast. Just like the hotdogs, she burned the eggs and toast. The bacon was crunchy and crumpled like brittle nuts. Good God, Joanie was a horrible cook. It was surprising considering Sam looked healthy.

“Mark, you want coffee?”

“No, thanks Joanie. I”m okay with my orange juice.”

“Julian?”

“Sure.” What kind of a man preferred orange juice over coffee in the morning? A weakling. He watched Joanie pour coffee in a white mug.

Jesus! It looked like tar. He looked at Mark. The bastard was grinning from ear to ear. Mark lifted his glass of orange juice and drank it with gusto.

Breakfast was horrible. His coffee was so strong even three heaping teaspoon of sugar couldn”t make it sweet enough. His teeth felt loose from biting his bacon, and he didn”t like Mark at all. The whole time, he listened to Joanie and Mark talk about things he couldn”t take part in; people he didn”t know, and places they”d been together. Joanie tried to include him on the conversation, but he had a feeling Mark didn”t care if his saliva turned sour in his mouth for not saying anything. Fuck him. And why had Joanie kept calling him Doctor Ravenwood?

What the hell was that about?

He focused his attention on Sam to avoid looking across the table where Joanie sat in her seductive uniform. What the hell kind of job did she have? From where he was sitting, he could see half the top of her breasts and the beginning of her cleavage. Mark, who was sitting closer to her, could probably see her nipples.

His wife”s nipples!

The thought irritated him. He wanted to hit Mark with the damn hard toast in between his eyes. Oh yeah, that would be satisfying. He almost smiled at the thought.

“Okay, you guys. I”m really going to get in trouble at work if I don”t leave now. Doctor Ravenwood, Sam is going to the zoo today. Sam, listen to your Uncle Mark and Aunt Dana. They might not invite you again if you don”t. And be nice to Marcus. No punching, okay.”

“I always behave, Mama.” Sam finished her glass of juice, then ran up to her mama and gave her a wet kiss.

Julian wanted that kiss. No matter how wet it was. As if Joanie had read his mind, she whispered in Sam”s ear. Sam ran to his side and stood with her puckered lips like a goldfish.

“I get a wet kiss, too?”

“Uh-huh. And a hug.”

Joanie gave him a quick smile, and then stood up. “Okay, you guys. I”ll leave you now.”

“We”re leaving, too.” As soon as Mark said the word, Sam latched beside him and grabbed his hand.

“Okay.” Joanie grabbed her purse from the counter. “You have Sam”s Hello Kitty bag, Mark?”

“Yes, darling. You already asked me that five times.” Mark shook his head at Joanie. To Julian he said, “She acts like a parrot sometimes.” Joanie punched his arm. “Don”t be mean. I just want to make sure.” She gave Mark a hug.

The goodbye hug was too long in Julian”s estimation. And the fucking asshole called his wife darling. Goddamn, he wanted to kill the man.

“Doctor Ravenwood, I am sorry, but I have to leave you here. Feel free to use the television. We have local channels, no cable. Uhm, we have VHS tapes you can watch. I think the player is still working. Oh, if you leave the house, make sure you lock the front door. The spare key is on top of the porch light. Mark, call me anytime.”

“I will, darling.” Mark winked.

Joanie bursts out laughing. The two looked at him as if they knew something he didn”t. “Bye, Sam. Mama will miss you.” Joanie kissed the top of Sam”s head then disappeared in a hurry.

Mark picked up Sam and headed for the door, too, but Julian stopped him.

“Wait.”

“Yeah?” Mark turned around, his stare unfriendly.

“Where does Joanie work?”

“At the Pink Mermaid. You must have seen it when you drove here. It”s the restaurant on the side of the road with a huge mermaid on top.”

“I”ve seen it. But I didn”t know it”s a restaurant.”

“Now you know.” Mark turned and walked out the door.

Julian wanted to flip Mark for his sarcastic remark, but controlled himself.

If he was right, Joanie already told the man who he was, which explained his instant dislike for him. He wouldn”t give Mark a reason to think he wasn”t fit to be around children. He watched Mark open his beamer”s back passenger door.

“Hey Mark,” he called.

Mark looked at him with an annoyed look written all over his face. “Yeah?”

“Who”s Dana?”

“My wife.” Mark shut the door and walked to the driver”s side.

Wife? Mark was married. So Mark was baiting him when he called Joanie darling. The prick wasn”t trying to inch his way in on his wife and daughter”s life after all. Julian waved at Sam and watched the car disappear around the corner.

When the quietness of the morning finally settled around him, he could hear the birds chirping and a creek running. He liked it. Sam was lucky to have the wooded property to play in. Something that city kids were missing.

Leaning against the doorjamb, he pulled out his cell and called his lawyer.

Ricky”s voice mail picked up. He left a message about Sam and Joanie then hung up.

Without Sam and Joanie, the house was quiet. He looked around the kitchen and laughed. It looked like Hurricane Katrina went by and destroyed Joanie”s kitchen. “Wow, what a mess.” He picked up the plates on the table and piled them all in the sink. “Hell, why not. I know how to wash dishes.” What he thought was an easy task turned out to be hours of labor. The cupboards were unorganized, the utensils were all mixed up and the dishwasher full of dirty dishes crusty from who knows how many days of sitting there.

Joanie wasn”t only a bad cook, but a horrible housekeeper also. Julian decided to extend his dishwashing help to cleaning the house, well, the downstairs at least. Why not? He asked himself. He bet Joanie would be grateful for his help. The woman needed all the help she could get. He”d be living here for two weeks. Might as well be the one to lend a hand.

He found a basket full of dirty clothes. He dumped them in the washer, sprinkled powdered soap on top, closed the lid then pushed the start button.

While waiting, he searched for the vacuum cleaner. He found it on the back porch beside the grill Joanie used to burn the hotdogs. Like a hungry manatee grazing the bottom of the sea, he pushed the vacuum around the house. It seemed in every room in the house, there were things that needed to be fixed.

Done with the vacuum, he searched for a screwdriver to fix the cupboards”

lose hinges and the coffee table”s wobbly legs. Underneath the sink, he found a wooden box full of carpenter tools. He grabbed a hammer and a screwdriver, then walked around the house. He had just tightened the screws on the cabinet doors when his cell phone rang.

“Hey, Ricky. You got my message?”

“Yes. What a shock. Is she really yours?”

“I bet my life on it.”

“So what are Joanie”s demands?”

“What?”

“Julian, you”re rich. She”s been denying you freedom for how long now? Why? Simple. Money. I”m sure she is using the child to milk you.” Divorce lawyers, he thought, were too smart when it comes to money.

“Yeah. She wants money.” After explaining everything, Ricky insisted he could come up with a case against Joanie. One would be blackmail. Julian discarded the idea in a heartbeat.

“By the way, when did you say you”re coming back?”

“Two weeks.”

“All right. Be smart, Julian. Make her sign the papers now. You can always push the issue about the kid later.”

“I”ll think about it.”

“By the way, sorry to hear Georgina left you.”

“I know. Thanks Ricky. I”ll call if I need you.” Why didn”t he think about that? Ricky had a point. He could give Joanie the money now in exchange of her signature instead of waiting until Sam”s birthday. The sooner he ended his marriage with Joanie the better. The woman was a temptation he didn”t need. If there was one person he must avoid at all cost, it would be Joanie. She’s trouble.

The clock struck five. Julian grabbed his jacket and left the house. On his way to the mall, he drove by the Pink Mermaid Restaurant. The words “Bends Best Burger” in big bright pink letters were painted on the grimiest glass window he”d ever seen. Mentally, he noted to stop by there to check out the place. Not to see Joanie, of course, but to have a taste of its burgers.

Whoever called the damn place a restaurant was nuts. It was more like an old barn or a gigantic tinderbox. The building tilted to the left, practically leaning to a tree. Battered and weather worn, the restaurant”s sign stood directly above the door. He stared at it.

Fry my ass if that’s a mermaid.

The tip of its tail was missing, hair was the color of the restaurant”s roof—

brown—PVC pipes were used for the arms and to keep it upright and the torso was wrapped with soot covered duct tape. The thing didn”t look like a mermaid at all. No wonder he didn”t recognize it. Julian wondered how long the poor mermaid had been sitting there.

He looked for a closer parking spot, but didn”t find any. The graveled lot was full. Pink Mermaid must have a great chef to draw this many customers.

Inside was as bad as it looked outside. The place was dank, smoky, and smelled of stale beer and body odor. Julian had to stand by the door to give his lungs a chance to adjust to the offensive smell.

A young waitress wearing the same uniform Joanie wore approached him.

“Come in or stand outside. We need to shut the door.”

Shut the door? Fuck, they need to keep all the windows and doors this place has open.

Better yet, remove the roof. Julian shut the door behind him. Jesus! He”d need a good shower to get rid of the smoke he could feel clinging to his skin, hair and clothes.

The waitress leaned in closer and yelled in his ear. “You need a table?” Julian nodded, although he wasn”t sure if she”d find one for him. For a rundown restaurant, this place was packed. “Sweetmelon. Is that your real name?” he asked, pointing at the waitress”s nametag.

She chewed her gum as if it was a chewy steak fat before she answered, “Do you think my mother is so stupid to name me Sweetmelon? That man there.” She pointed at the middle-aged man with a mustache so thick his mouth disappeared beneath it. “His name is Bogart. He owns this place so he gets to name all the waitresses. Anything to drink?”

“Tap beer, please. Anything dark.” He wondered what name Mustachio gave Joanie.

The room was full of men. All of them drinking and smoking. It looked like there was a celebration of some kind happening at the moment. The music was in full blasts and all tables, as far as he could see, were full. He stood in the corner closer to the door. The best place in the room since there wasn”t any emergency exits in sight. If a brawl or fire started, he could run outside quickly. He hoped Joanie knew the fire exit if she needed to escape. It was hard to believe Joanie worked in this sleazy joint.

Julian looked around for Joanie but didn”t see her. The waitress came back and gave him his beer—in a bottle.

“Sorry, this is what we got left. Widmer Brothers, locally brewed. It”s good.

You must be from out of town.”

“What made you say that?”

“Because men in this town always come here early every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.” Sweetmelon blew her bubblegum to a size of a saucer and sucked the air back in until it resembled a cows old wrinkled testicle.

“ Why, what”s the occasion?”

Instead of answering his question, Sweetmelon pointed at the stage the same time the lights went out except for the stage spotlights.

Men started chanting the name Cherrybomb. When the soft music floated in the air, everyone quieted.

Ah-hah! A show. These people weren”t here to eat, but to watch a freaking show. A minute after, a masked woman in a red silk gown and red stilettos came out to stand in the middle of the stage. She made a low bow, giving those who were in front a tantalizing view of her nicely rounded breasts.

Julian found himself staring. The dancer looked like God”s creation. A goddess. She was close to being perfect if it weren”t for her height.

From where he stood, he could see just a hint of her smile. An expert, he thought. The woman knew how seductive her smile looked, and she was using it to her advantage. A smart move for a dancer.

Slowly, her hips swayed in tune to the music.

Mixtures of grunts, gasps and groans collided in the air when the woman”s gown slid down her shoulders until it pooled around her feet. A red skimpy thong with what looked like chicken feathers barely covered her pubic mound. And her top—if one could call it a top—covered practically nothing. Now he knew why the men were here early. To secure a front seat. Hell, he wished he were there in the front.