The Pleasure's All Mine (11 page)

Eric didn’t pick up the bait.

“Okay, Eric, what high school does she go to?”

He let out a long, slow breath. “She’s in college.”

Ava’s heart slammed in her chest. “How much in college?”

“Uh…ah…second year. “

Ava swallowed hard. “What? Say that again!” she demanded as the doors opened.

“She’s nineteen, Aunt Avie,” he whispered.

“Nineteen!” A few heads turned in her direction. She moved away from the elevator, allowing the first car to go on without her. “
Nineteen?
” Ava ambled to a corner with a sliver of glass giving a tiny view of New York City. She pictured Eric at six months, all gums and slick hair stuck to his scalp, bright smile and full of energy. Then she pictured him at a rambunctious five, then seven, then at ten—all wisps of curly hair, glasses, with his nose pressed into a book.

“She’s only two years older than me,” Eric added. “I mean, I’ll be in college in the fall, remember?”

“Your mother’s going to cream you. Hell, she might have to stand in line!”

“She’s a friend, Aunt Avie,” he replied confidently. “She listens and she doesn’t care about my money or anything. She loves…I mean—likes me for me.”

Ava pictured him at twelve during his first book signing; at fifteen, sixteen—receiving his high school diploma in the principal’s office. She had deliberately skipped over the image of him lying in a hospital bed waiting for his next round of tests, but the image pushed its way back, and her eyes welled up. Why was God so unkind to put so much into such a beautiful soul and let all these murderers, pedophiles, rapists, and drug dealers live for what seemed like an eternity?

She quickly cleared her thoughts of Eric in the hospital to hone in on the latest pictures taken of him for his new novel. The young man looked more like twenty-one than almost eighteen. And now some gold digger had sunk her claws into him!

“Eric, this is too much. We’re already in enough hot water.” She had made it back to the waiting area. The moment she saw a shadow come toward the door, she whipped around in the opposite direction, scampering for cover. “Oh Lord!”

“What’s happening?” Eric asked.

Ava lowered her voice to a mere whisper as she peered around the corner to the conference room. “Pierce cleared the room. He wanted to talk with your mother alone.”

“That’s a good thing, right?”

Her heels clicked along the marbled tile. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

“So why did you leave? You were supposed to stick around and get some details!”

Ava didn’t tell him she’d made the fastest U-turn in history, especially when she saw the look on Raven’s face. “He didn’t have any unfinished business with
me.”

“Mom won’t see it that way.”

“She’ll get over it,” Ava replied with slightly more bravado than she felt.

“Won’t save
your
tail, though,” he said with a light snicker.

“You’re right, my star client.” She dropped her attaché into the nearest chair. “But if I get burned on this one, your little twenty-two million-dollar behind is going to have a seat by the fire right next to me.”

Eric gasped. “You’d serve me up like that?”

“ ‘Trust me, Aunt Avie,’ “ she replied, using the same tone and words from a few months earlier. “ ‘She’ll
neeeeever
know we had anything to do with it.”

“Awwwww, see! Why you gotta bring up old stuff?”

Ava laughed at his whiny tone. “Hopefully, she’ll be too preoccupied with…other things to remember that I left her hanging.”

“So where are you?”

Ava scanned the area again. “Right outside the conference room. I can’t see through the frosted glass, but they were both still standing when I left. No one’s moving in there now.”

“Stay right there. I’ll come get you and bring you down here. Maybe Marie won’t be afraid to meet you. We’ll go somewhere to eat, then you can let Mom know that Marie’s cool.”

“Now that’s why you need to stay out of grown-folks’ business.” Ava inched forward, cracked the door and peered into the room, whispering, “Pulling me into Raven’s love life when you can’t manage your own.”

“And what’s your point, caller?”

“Arrrrgh!” she said, shaking her head. “They’re not in the conference room! They must’ve slipped past when I turned my back. Damn! Damn! Damn!” She started pacing again. “Come to think of it, we’d best keep your girlfriend a secret from your mother just now. I’m not sure she can handle another shock. And where are we going, anyway?”

“How about one of Simeon’s restaurants? I get an employee discount.”

She stopped pacing. “I come all the way to New York and you want to be cheap!”

“Hey! I have to watch every dime,” he countered. “It was my
lawyer
who put me on a budget.”

Her stomach rumbled at the array of delicious snacks in the boardroom she’d missed out on. Food had been the last thing on her mind at the time. “Is Simeon’s food any better than his music?”

“It serves the purpose. Eat, drink, and major trips to the bathroom. So I guess the answer’s…no.”

Ava’s tummy grumbled in protest. “I want something with a New York flair that will stick to my ribs, not to everything else.”

“How about Amy Ruth’s? They serve up good, old-fashioned soul food.”

“That’ll work, but I’ll meet you downstairs. I don’t want Pierce to see us together—he might suspect something.”

Eric released a long, weary sigh.

“And you’re using protection, right?”

He choked out, “Aunt Avie, I’m not—”

“Boy, don’t mess with me!”

“Yes,” he said in a defeated tone. “
When
we finally get to that point, we’ll use protection.”

She placed a single hand over her heart. “This trip is giving me entirely too much to worry about.”

“Don’t say that! I’m being careful! We’re taking things slow. And I
love
this woman.”

Woman
being the operative word. This chick could probably run rings around Eric—who was a hopeless romantic, through and through. “You’ve only known her for what, three months?”

“You knew you were in love with Uncle Carlton the first day,” he said smoothly.

Aw hell!
Ava rolled her eyes as she left the window and stormed back to the elevator. “That’s different.”

“How?”

“Well, well, it’s…it’s…it just is!”

Eric laughed, and Ava knew she’d lost that argument. “She’s special.”

“This is moving much too fast.” Ava finally said. “You need to be dating more girls.”

“Can I help it that I don’t have a player’s bone in my body?” Eric asked seriously. “Remember that pep talk you gave me before I left for New York?” His voice took on a light, feminine tone. “ ‘Remember that every girl you meet is your mother, me, or your grandmothers. They are queens. Even if they’ve somehow forgotten who they are, don’t forget who
you
are.’ ”

Damn! Word for word.
Ava couldn’t argue with that either.

“Marie’s a queen and doesn’t know it. Other guys haven’t made her feel that way. I do,” he said proudly, and she could picture him standing tall with his little chest stuck out.

The words almost brought fresh tears to Ava’s eyes. Eric was the exact opposite of his mother. Where Raven pushed love away at every opportunity, Eric wanted love, welcoming it with open arms and a pure heart. And that could be dangerous on all counts. Ava would reserve judgment on whether this Marie
woman
loved Eric or his money, in spite of what he’d said.

She brushed away a tear. “I’ll be downstairs in a few minutes, Eric. I’ll send your mother a text message to let her know what’s going on. She might not mind at this point.”

“Thanks, Aunt Avie.”

“
Don’t
thank me,” she grumbled. “You’ll wish you had dinner with your mother when I get through with you.”

❤ ❤ ❤

Ava stepped off the elevator into the circular marble lobby and headed toward Eric and the young woman standing a few feet behind him, wringing her hands.

“Auntie Avie!” Eric hugged her enthusiastically then pulled away, putting his arm around the waist of his
girlfriend
. “This is Marie.”

Ava’s gaze traveled over the fleshy young woman whose high cheekbones, sulky mouth, and pert nose reflected an innocence that didn’t quite reach her brown eyes. Marie had been around the block and had probably parked a few cars. There was a hardness about her lips that Ava summed up quickly as belonging to a woman who had seen difficult times. Her freckled features were touched with a light sprinkling of cosmetics, which complemented her reddish-brown hair. To her credit, she wore a conservative dress that draped her form tastefully.

A second glance brought a sudden realization. Eric had chosen a woman who mirrored Raven in size and—if the eyes told it correctly—pain. He had been in over his head the moment he had laid eyes on this one. And there wasn’t much Ava could do, since his heart and hormones were involved.

Eric reached for Marie’s hand and they stood side by side.

She swallowed and met Ava’s eyes, not in a challenging way, but in a way that showed she was nervous but would not let anyone cower her where Eric was concerned.

Then Ava saw it. The moment Eric smiled down at Marie, the younger woman softened. Marie’s eyes communicated the way she felt about him as surely as the window of Heaven could pour down sunshine or rain. At that moment, the sun appeared from behind the clouds, shining through the glass doors behind them as though giving Ava some direction. Two youngsters in love, looking at each other in very much the same way as she and Carlton had when they first took the plunge. What could she say to condemn that? Absolutely nothing.

Raven wouldn’t be happy to find out that Eric was seriously dating—and possibly contemplating having sex.
Oh Lord, I’m getting too old for this!
Thank God she had plenty of time before her own children reached that phase. But Eric was like a son to her. Her relationship with Eric was so close, she could only be grateful that Raven wasn’t the jealous mother type. Eric appreciated the fact that Ava supported him in areas that Raven did not. And sometimes that could be a tight rope to walk.

Eric looked up at Ava, eyes sparkling with a bit of fear and anxiety, awaiting some positive sign. She couldn’t do otherwise. “Marie,” Ava said, extending her hand, lifting the corners of her mouth upward in what could pass for a smile. “I’m pleased to meet you.”

Marie’s mouth twitched a little as she looked up at Eric for reassurance before taking Ava’s hand.

Eric stared at Ava for a moment, watching the emotions play about her face.

Ava let out a long breath. Saying anything to dissuade him would only push him into this young woman’s arms and into her bed just to prove a point. At least they were taking it slow—or so he said. She knew many men who started the relationship that way, but who would also do a pole vault to get some nookie at the first come-hither.

A sudden commotion behind them made the trio turn.

Simeon stormed into the lobby from the elevators, two beefy bodyguards in tow, zeroed in on them, and continued his angry stride until he stood in front of Ava, Eric, and Marie. He wore a powder-blue and white striped Simeon Cahill signature sweat suit. His dark skin, well-groomed short hair, flashing black eyes, and curved lips were a combination most women considered handsome. Ava would never be counted in that group. Attitude and arrogance were a deal-breaker in her book.

“What happened to the damn meeting?” he asked Eric, then turned to Ava. “And who the hell are you?”

“Good afternoon to you too, whoever you might be,” she replied calmly as she released Marie’s hand, but didn’t offer it to the newcomer. “Ava Davidson. I’m Raven Armand’s lawyer, and his,” she nodded in Eric’s direction.

Simeon glowered angrily at her. “Simeon Cahill!” he snapped, as if she should already know.

She returned his glare as seconds ticked by.

“What happened to the meeting?” he ground out through clenched teeth, rubbing a hand over his extended stomach that looked strange compared to the rest of his slender frame. “I was called in from the Hamptons because there was some big ‘secret’ meeting going on. Now the boardroom’s empty.”

“It’s been delayed,” she answered cautiously, watching as Eric made a slicing motion across his neck.

“No one told me.”

Ava grinned at his frustration, understanding that Eric didn’t want her to mention anything about the deal. “It was kind of sudden.”

He turned around to survey the area, then faced her again. “Where’s your client?”

Ava shrugged, giving him a wide smile before turning her back to him, pretending to look for something in her attaché.

Simeon huffed and turned to Eric. “Where’s Pierce?”

Eric just looked at him and shrugged. Marie tensed under Simeon’s hard gaze and stammered, “I think he, I think they—” Eric nudged her into silence.

“This is bullshit!” Simeon looked annoyed, probably more with himself than anyone he could name.

Ava turned and looked at him, hazel eyes flashing fire as her lips pursed in quiet disapproval.

“So I take it that negotiations are off?” he asked her.

“Seems that way for now,” she replied with a haughty lift of her chin. “It’s not like this was the only offer on the table. Just the best…at the moment.”

Simeon narrowed his eyes as he moved closer to her. “What kind of game are you playing, lady?”

“Survival of the fittest,” she shot back, outrage quickly replacing annoyance. “Pierce Randall is making this deal worth the effort, and since he’s not around, we’ll wait until he is.”

Eric was right. She would not give this asshole any room to move past what Pierce had put together—period.

Simeon turned to Eric and Marie. “Don’t you have work to do?”

Eric met the man’s angry glare with one of his own. “We have the rest of the day off.” Eric extended his right arm to Marie, the other to Ava, grinning sheepishly. “Ladies, Amy Ruth’s awaits.”