Night of Seduction (18 page)

“Ms.
Wright,
”
Gabby replied with a little bit of sarcasm as she
placed a cup of juice in front of Miriam.

“What would she
know?
”
Miriam mumbled.

“She was not
what you see now an hour ago. Gabby woke her and she went right
back to sleep,
”
Jason tried to defend his over
protective actions.

“I must say, I
was a little concerned at first. Sierra is usually waking me up in
the morning. I can always hear her talking to her dolls through the
monitor. But not this morning,
”
Gabby offered as a
defense.

“Good
morning,
”
Latoya said from the doorway.
“
Sierra,
”
she smiled as she took her daughter
from Eric ignoring everyone else. She brushed the curls back from
her daughters face.
“
How are you feeling
this morning?
”
She went through the motions of
touching the child
’
s face.
“
You don
’
t seem too warm
today. Are you feeling better this morning?
”

To most people
the scene would have appeared to be a mother
’
s genuine
concern for her child. But to Eric this was anything but. Latoya
should have continued with her acting career, for she was putting
on quite a show.

“Jason did you
call the doctor
’
s
office?
”

“I did, but
mother doesn
’
t think
it
’
s necessary now.
”

She looked up
at Jason with such concern, and then looked over at Miriam.
“
Hello Mrs. Davies. I
’
m sorry I
didn
’
t notice you at first.
”
She then turned to
Eric,
“
Hello Eric.
”
Before he could
answer she turned back to Miriam.
“
Are you sure she
doesn
’
t need to be seen by the doctor. She had such a
temperature last night.
”

“She
didn
’
t seem warm to me last night when I put her to
bed,
”
Gabby stated.

“Well she did
to me when I checked in on her,
”
Latoya replied with
a little bit of an edge to her voice.

“What time was
that Latoya?
”
Miriam asked as a look passed between
Gabby and Eric. The two had seen similar performances from Latoya
whenever she was trying to get Jason to purchase something she
wanted.

“I
’
m sorry Miriam, what
did you ask?
”

“What time did
you look in on Sierra?
”
Miriam repeated the
question.

“Well, it was a
little after eleven, I think. I was out with a girlfriend last
night. Where were you Jason?
”

“I was out with
a girlfriend as well,
”
he replied then took the child from
her and reclaimed his seat.

Sierra began
eating the fruit from his plate.
“
Grape
Daddy,
”
she held a grape up to his mouth as he shook his
head.

Standing with
her hands on her hips, the tears began to form in her eyes.
“
Why do you continue to do this Jason? Even if that was
where you were, did you have to embarrass me in front of your
family?
”
She did not raise her voice or sound angry, she
sounded hurt. Looking around at the people in the room, she stopped
at Miriam.
“
I
’
m sorry,
excuse me,
”
and ran from the room.

Sierra looked
up at her father,
“
Mommy crying Daddy.
You kiss her and make better.
”

He kissed her
forehead,
“
Okay
baby.
”

Eric gave Jason
a curious look.
“
Do you have an
appointment with the realtor today?
”

“Yeah,
why?
”

He looked at
the doorway Latoya made her exit then turned back to his
brother.
“
Does she know?
”

Jason never
looked up from his baby girl feeding him fruit.
“
Apparently
so.
”

Eric began to
chuckle as Miriam looked stunned.
“
No.
No.
”

Gabby looked
and nodded her head,
“
Okay, now that makes
sense.
”
She put the plates in the dishwasher.
“
Excuse me folks. I have a roach to
stomp.
”

“You go get her
Gabby,
”
Eric smiled as he took a seat at the breakfast
bar next to Jason.
“
Let me have some of
that fruit.
”

“No,
”
Sierra turned and looked up.
“
It
’
s for my
Daddy.
”

♪

Taking notes
from the call, Latoya was pleased with the information being
shared. She had a name, address and even knew where the woman
worked. Now all she had to do is make the travel arrangements.
Clap
—
clap
—
clap. She turned to
the doorway and saw Gabby standing there giving her
applause.
“
That was some
performance you gave. You know you didn
’
t fool
anyone.
”

“I
didn
’
t have too. But I bet you this. The next time Jason
leaves, I will know how to reach him. You see he
’
s a caring
father, whether he trust me or not. He will not leave here again
without me knowing how to contact him, just in case his daughter
gets sick.
”

“Mr. Davies,
can take care of himself. Sierra however, is a child. If I find out
you did anything and I do mean anything, to my pumpkin your ass is
mine.
”

“Hmm,
don
’
t play me old woman. You
’
re going to find
yourself as the first casualty around here.
”
She walked over
to the door and slammed it in Gabby
’
s face. She looked
down at the notebook in her hand then made another call.
“
I need you to trail someone in Virginia. I want anything
and everything you can get on her. I want pictures, I want dirt,
and I want it now.
”

She hung up the
telephone and looked at the notes again.
“
Okay, Siri
Austin
—
your time is up.
”

Siri

I
t was Friday
afternoon, the end of the first week of school. The children had
begun to settle down from the excitement of returning to school and
Siri
’
s system had adjusted to being back in the class room.
Roscoe was still being a pain in the butt, following her around,
and barking out demands. But none of it fazed her. She was happy.
Her life resembled something it hadn
’
t in a long
time
—
she was living. After the divorce and all the
publicity she walked around with her head down, ashamed of all that
had taken place. Not any longer. Now, she woke up with a smile
after a night of dreaming about Eric. Of course, she realized that
all she could do was dream; they were safe. Neither he nor any
other man could hurt her in her dreams.

She looked up
from the stack of homework on her desk and decided to call it a
day. Placing the papers in a folder, she decided to take them home
and grade them over the weekend. She didn
’
t have any other
plans. TK and her mother were in Atlanta looking at houses with
Jason, leaving her with the house to herself.

The September
weather was still warm, so she drove with here windows down while
listening to Eric
’
s voice serenading
her from the CD player. There was something about his voice that
just did it for her. It healed all her wounds, or at least she
thought it was his voice. It could be the memory of his hands on
her body, or his lips touching hers, but whatever it was she was
thankful for him. He made her want to live again, not just exist.
It was a shame she could not allow herself to get close to him.
Just the thought of going through the publicity of a relationship
with him sent chills up her spine.

When she
reached the front porch of her house, she heard the telephone
ringing.
“
I
’
m coming,
I
’
m coming.
”
She repeated as she
turned the key in the lock and ran into the kitchen. Breathlessly,
she answered the call.
“
Hello.
”

“Hello, this is
Maxine Long with Crimson Publishing. I
’
d like to speak
with Siri Austin.
”

The briefcase
Siri was holding fell to the floor with a thump as her mouth gaped
open.
“
Hello is anyone there?
”

“Yes,
”
Siri voice finally answered.
“
I
’
m Siri Austin.
”

“Well, Ms.
Austin, are you ready to meet the world?
”

“No.
”
Siri answered honestly but still a
little shocked.

“Well lady, you
better get ready, because I
’
m putting you on the
map. A Night of Seduction is wonderful and I can
’
t wait to
meet you. I sent a letter by carrier that you should receive today
with an offer. Get it to your agent and have a response ready for
me by Monday evening. You are free to meet with me on Monday for
dinner, aren
’
t
you?
”

Not able to get
a word in, Siri hesitated, then realized she had been asked a
question.
“
Yes, of course I can
meet with you. But I
—
I
don
’
t have an agent.
”

“You
don
’
t?
”

“No.
”

“Hold on for a
minute.
”
As Siri held the telephone, she wondered,
“
Will not having an agent lose the deal for me?
“
Take down this number. I don
’
t usually do this,
but I want this project. The name is Kiki Simmons,
that
’
s K i k i Simmons with a S, Call her and tell her I
referred you. If you like her, sign on with her as your agent. Give
her the offer to review and I
’
ll see you on Monday
at six at TJ
’
s in the Jefferson
Hotel. I look forward to talking with you. Bye
now.
”

Just like that the call ended. Siri still
held the telephone in her hand as she glanced at the name and
number she wrote on the message board on the wall. Slowly a smile
appeared and excitement began to build. She quickly hung up the
telephone to disconnect the previous call then immediately dialed
the telephone number to Kiki Simmons.

“Kiki Simmons,
may I help you.
”

“Um Ms.
Simmons, my name is Siri Austin and I was referred to you by, she
looked at the board for the name, Maxine Long.
”

“Maxine
Long?
”

“Yes, I need an
agent and I was wondering if we could meet?
”

“What
’
s you name
again?
”
Kiki asked

“Siri
Austin.
”

“And Max
referred you to me?
”

“Yes, is that a
problem?
”

“No, not at
all, I
’
m just a little surprised. Are you in
Richmond?
”

“Yes, I
am.
”