Slow Seduction (20 page)

Finally arriving at the hotel after a long flight, Jenisha unlocked the door and tossed her suitcase on the bed. Kicking off her high heels, she unpacked her suitcase and hung up her clothes. She got more comfortable on the bed, picked up the phone and called Clinton at work. He picked up on the first ring.

“Clinton Campbell,” a deep voice answered.

“Hey baby, it’s me,” Jenisha said, rubbing her tired feet.

“Sweetheart, how was your trip?” Clinton asked, closing the book he was writing in. “Do you know how much I miss you already?”

Stretching out on the bed, she placed her arm behind her head. “The trip was boring and I thought I would never get here. Right now I’m in my room trying to relax.”

Jenisha laughed at the pitiful sound of her boyfriend’s voice. “I haven’t been gone that long, but I miss you too baby.”

“What room are you in?” Clinton asked.

“I’m staying in room 1513. The conference starts early tomorrow, so I won’t be able to call you until late. If it’s too late I won’t call at all.”

“The time doesn’t matter. Call me as late as you want. I just want to hear your seductive voice every night before I go to bed,” Clinton muttered into the phone. He opened his mouth to say more when Robin walked into his office.

“Sweetheart, I’ve to go someone just walked in, but remember what I said about the phone calls,” Clinton whispered. “And, one more thing. I love you Jenisha.”

Jenisha smiled at the sound of love coming from Clinton’s voice. “I love you too, baby, and I’ll call you later on.

They both hung up at the same time. Jenisha turned over and tried to take a quick nap. Clinton stared at the person across his desk, wondering what he did for this surprise visit.

“Good Morning, Robin. What can I do for you?”

Leaning across his desk, Robin laid the stacks of paper in front of him and stepped back. “Principal Kimball wanted me to bring these papers to you. I think they are supply invoices.”

He took a quick glance up and Robin then picked up the papers. “T
hank
s, I have been waiting for these.” Instead of leaving, Robin stayed in front of his desk. Her dark blue eyes stared down at him.

Clinton looked at Robin for a few more minutes and said, “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

An almost hopeful glint came into her eyes at his innocent question. “Yes, I was just wondering if Jenisha arrived safely in Colorado?” She asked. “Everyone voted for her to go since she has a wonderful way of communicating with people.”

“Yes, she did,” Clinton said, looking at Robin strangely. He knew neither woman liked each other, so why was she so concerned about Jenisha?

Robin realized that she might have said too much, so she tried to find a quick way to get out of Clinton’s office. “Well, I better go.” She walked out the door without looking back.

Shaking his head at Robin and her strange behavior, Clinton started sorting through the stack of yellow invoices, making sure all of them were there. He hoped the day would fly by until he got to hear Jenisha’s sexy voice again tonight in bed.

Clenching her teeth, Robin cursed her lack of control when it came to Clinton. She didn’t care about Jenisha’s trip and Clinton knew it. So, why in the hell would she ask him how it went? She swallowed hard a couple of times to keep from exploding, but it didn’t work. She could still feel the anger burning in the pit of her stomach.

Rushing into the women’s restroom at the far end of the school, she burst through the door. “Hello, is anyone in here?” No one answered, but she checked all the bathroom stalls just to make sure, and then she headed to the very back one.

Locking herself inside, Robin slipped off her shoe and held it in her hand. “How in the hell did Jenisha get a man like him?” Her fingers tightened around the pump. The leather creaked under the pressure.

Bending her arm back, she banged the heel against the side of the stall over and over. “That bitch doesn’t deserve a man like him. She isn’t in the same league as him.” The sounds of rapid blows echoed inside the deserted bathroom, and Robin kept beating the shoe until she could no longer feel her fingers.

Ten minutes later, she sat down on the toilet and slipped her battered shoe back on her foot. Unlocking the door, she got out and checked her reflection in the mirror. She brushed down the strands of black hair sticking from the side of her head.

“Don’t worry, Clinton will be mine.” Robin blew herself a kiss and left the bathroom.

Back in Colorado, Jenisha sat inside the semi-crowded restaurant and awaited her grilled chicken salad with low fat ranch dressing. At the last minute, she decided to eat at this place instead of the hotel because she wanted some fresh air. She hoped the salad would be served in time for her to eat and get back to her room. She didn’t want to miss her favorite show ‘
Nip Tuck.’
Julian McMahon was so hot!

Seeing the waiter approach with her order, she moved the water out of the way and smiled at the young black waiter. He nodded back at her, placed her food in front of her and then headed back to the kitchen. Picking up the fork, she ate the salad slowly, her mind of Clinton. She never thought love would finally find her, but Clinton was the man she wanted more than anything in the world. His words of love earlier warmed her entire body like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter night. He might actually be the man who could overlook her problem. She wanted him as a part of her future more than anything in the world.

Jenisha took a glance at her watch and saw that she only had fifteen minutes to get back to her room. Tossing a few bills on the table, she quickly made her way toward the exit when a familiar voice behind the divider caught her attention. Peeking around the corner, her mouth fell open at the sight of Keith Rogers sitting there about to take a bite out of a double cheeseburger.

Keith Rogers stopped eating his food when he felt someone looking at him. Glancing to the side, he couldn’t believe his eyes. There was no way Jenisha Roman was standing five feet from him and looking as gorgeous as he remembered her. “Jenisha, my god, what are you doing here?” he asked, standing up. He watched Jenisha’s eyes widen in shock before she turned and ran from the building.

“Wait!” Keith yelled, but it was too late. Jenisha was already out the door and across the street. Throwing money down on the table for his meal, he dashed out the door behind Jenisha. He raced across the street and caught up with her in the hotel lobby.

“Shit, you didn’t have to run away from me. I wasn’t going to attack you or anything,” Keith hissed, grabbing Jenisha by the arm. “Look I just wanted to talk to you and that’s all.”

Jenisha took his hand off her arm. “Don’t you think you said enough when you left me standing at the altar?”

“I apologized for that.”

“Yeah, but it still hurt me for a long time,” Jenisha admitted.

He noticed they were getting stares from other guests at the hotel. “Is there somewhere we can talk?”

“Well, I’m not about to take you to my room, so we can talk in the lounge,” Jenisha muttered, walking in that direction.

Keith followed Jenisha, hoping that he could put the past to rest at last. The way he ended things with her still bothered him. She found them a booth in the very back so most of the people couldn’t see them. “What do you want to discuss?” Jenisha asked, folding her hands on the table.

Laughing, Keith said, “I remember you doing that all the time when you got really upset at something I did.” Jenisha quickly removed her hands from the table and placed them in her lap. He stopped laughing. “Jen, what I did to you has haunted me for a while. I want to know how you’re doing. Is there someone special in your life now?”

“First, no one calls me Jen anymore, and you should feel bad for what you did to me. I had the hardest time getting over the embarrassment. And, lastly, it’s none of your damn business if there’s someone in my life now.”

He watched as Jenisha ran her hand across her forehead. “What are you doing in Colorado anyway?” she questioned.

“Rodeo Convention.”

“I thought you were going to retire,” she asked, surprised.

“This is my last year,” Keith answered, touched by Jenisha’s concern. “I have done it so long I don’t know how to do anything else with my life.”

Not wanting to get swept back into his past, Jenisha stood up. “Well, I wish you luck, but don’t bother me again.” She got up from the table and left him sitting there alone.

Sitting on her hotel room bed, Jenisha realized that two days had passed since she ran into Keith at the restaurant. She never thought she could actually be this calm. Seeing Keith had shocked her. However, her world didn’t crumble to the ground.

He was still as handsome as she remembered, with his sandy brown hair and light gray eyes. But, now she could actually look at him and not feel her heart pound in the middle of her chest. It meant her past was truly behind her.

On the way to one of her training sessions yesterday, she noticed a huge poster in the middle of the lobby advertising the rodeo. If she recalled correctly, today was the last day.

“Good, I hope I can make it through the day without running into him.” The old Keith she knew would never leave without telling her goodbye. Snatching her purse off the bed, Jenisha hurried across the thick peach carpet and opened the door. Shock flew through her body at finding Keith standing on the other side with his hand raised to knock.

“What in the hell are you doing outside my hotel room door?”

Keith dropped his hand and slid it into the front pocket of his slacks. “We need to talk.”

Tapping the pencil against the drawing table, Clinton looked down at the unfinished sketches he still needed to finish for the library and the new activities room. The sunshine pouring through the open window provided more than enough light needed to work on the project, but he couldn’t concentrate.

He tossed the pencil down on the table and ran the back of his hand across his tired eyes. Everything was moving along so much faster than he thought it would, which meant he had to start making plans about his future with Jenisha.

He couldn’t believe how much he missed her these past four days. Sure, she called him every night, but it wasn’t the same. Clinton wanted to wake up in the middle of the night with her next to him in bed.

Jenisha would be stunned if she knew he went looking at rings last week. He would propose the moment she stepped off the plane. However, he didn’t want to rush her into marriage. He sensed there were some things Jenisha was hiding from him.

Sometimes, when she didn’t know he was looking at her, she allowed a lost look to come into her eyes, but then it disappeared as quickly as it came. He wanted to know what it was so he could make it disappear forever.

Maybe he could sweep her away on a romantic vacation if she could get some time off from work, or maybe Jenisha could do it on her next break.

Clinton decided there’d be time to think about planning a vacation with Jenisha later. She was a part of his life now, so it didn’t matter when it happened.

“If I don’t finish these sketches, I won’t have anytime for Jenisha when she comes back.” As he reached for the pencil he tossed away earlier, the doorbell rang. “Who in the world could that be?” he questioned, getting up from the desk. Jim and Dave were in another part of town picking up supplies, so he knew it could be either one of them.

Opening the door, Clinton’s eyes narrowed at the other person standing on the other side. It was too late in the day for this. “Robin, what are you doing at my house?” He sighed, wishing he had gone on the trip with Jenisha instead of staying here.

“Hi Clinton,” Robin whispered with a slight slur to her voice. She brushed past him before he could stop her.

He slammed the door behind them and glared at the woman who was quickly becoming a thorn in his side. “Why are you dressed like that?” His eyes swept over the turquoise dress held together by a small gold belt. One wrong move on her part, and everything she owned would be exposed to him.

“I thought you might want some company with Jenisha out of town.” Robin winked, strolling around his house and totally ignoring his other question. She went around her couch and fell down, crossing her legs so the spilt showed off her thighs.

“Sit down, Clinton, and have a drink with me?” She waved a bottle of wine in direction.

Clinton wrinkled his nose at the sight of Robin trying to sit straight on his couch. She was already drunk and it was only one o’clock in the afternoon. He was so happy that Jenisha wasn’t here to witness this.

“I’ll let you take the first sip,” Robin muttered, slurring her words even more.

“No, I don’t want anything to drink,” Clinton sighed.

Robin shrugged her shoulder. Bringing the bottle to her lips, she took a long drink and then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Waving the bottle back and forth in front of her, Robin stared at him for a while and asked, “Why are you with Jenisha when someone like me is free and waiting?”

He couldn’t believe his bad luck. Why would Robin approach him in this state of mind? He had already dealt with so many ex-girlfriends who loved drinking instead of dealing with their problems head-on. God, he was so beyond happy that Jenisha was out of town.

“Did you drive here in this condition?”
“No, I called a cab,” Robin hissed. “I’m not as dumb as everyone thinks I am.” Clutching the bottle to her chest, she tried to get up off the couch, but lost her footing and fell back down, spilling the wine all over the front of her dress.”

“Oh damn, I love this outfit.” Robin sat the bottle down on his table and wiped at the front of her dress with her fingers, making the stain worse.

Clinton moved closer to Robin and pulled her up from the couch. He couldn’t let her leave his house smelling like she had been out all night partying. “I’ve an extra shirt and a pair of shorts you can borrow. They’re going to be too big, but at least you’ve have some dry clothes. After you have changed, I’ll drive you back to your house.”

He shoved Robin toward his bedroom. “We’ll forget this ever happened,” Clinton told Robin as he found the clothes for his unwanted guest to wear. “Here, put these on and then come back out to the living room.” He didn’t even look back at her as he tossed the clothes on the bed and left the room.

Robin waited until Clinton closed the bedroom door before she did a little dance around the room. Smirking at her cleverness, she sat the empty wine bottle on the nightstand that she had filled with cranberry juice earlier. She stripped out of her clothes and got redressed in Clinton’s. Loving the smell of his cologne that hung on the fabric, it made her want him in her bed even more.

Now she had to work on the second part of her plan. Robin took the small hoop earring out of her ear. Holding it in the palm of her hand, she looked for a place that Jenisha would find it. Finding one, she quickly hid it then stood up. “Clinton won’t be able to talk his way out of this when Jenisha finds that.”

Robin opened the door and strolled out, trying to keep the smirk off her face. “It’s only a matter of time until Clinton is mine,” she muttered under her breath.