Unexpected Interruptions (17 page)

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Authors: Trice Hickman

BOOK: Unexpected Interruptions
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Sleeping In The Same Bed. . .
“I better head back home,” Victoria said, looking at the clock on Parker's wall. It was close to two in the morning and they were lying on his couch, feeling dreamy and relaxed from their make-up kisses.
“It's so late, why don't you sleep here tonight?”
“No, I think I better go home.”
“Baby, it's cold, it's late, you're tired, and quite frankly you've had too much to drink.” Parker thought about how, in spite of her best efforts, Victoria had stumbled when they came through the door after they got back to his place. “Just stay here tonight. You can go home in the morning,” he said, rising from the couch.
Victoria thought about his proposition. “I
am
tired. And you're right, I shouldn't get behind the wheel. But I don't have anything to sleep in.”
Parker smiled, pulling her to her feet. “I'll find something for you to wear.” He took Victoria by the hand and led her to his bedroom.
“Where will I sleep?”
“Certainly not the couch. You can sleep in my bed,” he offered.
Parker opened his drawer and pulled out one of his Howard University t-shirts. “Your nightgown, Madame,” he smiled, handing it to her. “I'm going to get out of this toga,” he said, heading to the bathroom to change.
Victoria undressed and placed her costume neatly in her duffel bag. She slipped the t-shirt over her head, grabbed her travel toothbrush from her bag and headed back to join Parker.
When she walked into the bathroom, he was standing at the sink—shirtless, save for a pair of blue and white striped boxers. His skin looked sun-kissed golden, and his body, a work of art. Victoria tried not to stare too hard at his rock-solid abs and rippled muscles as he removed the last of the cleanser from his face. She knew that fine, well-groomed men like Parker always put time into their appearance. She remembered how Steven used to raid the Clinique counter for toiletries when they were dating. Parker's baby soft skin benefited not only from good genes, but from a healthy dose of meticulous pampering.
“Your negligee looks really nice,” he teased, flashing Victoria his megawatt smile.
“Thank you. It's all the rage this season.” She pointed to his toothpaste sitting on the counter. “May I?”
Parker picked up the tube and squeezed a perfectly straight line of Crest onto her purple Oral-B. After he left the room, she watched him from behind and prayed the night would go by quickly.
She finished brushing her teeth, then headed back out to the bedroom, but she stopped short when she saw a long, lumpy form under the comforter. “Parker, are you in bed?” It was an obvious question.
“Yeah, and it's warm under here. You better come in out of the cold,” he said without an ounce of sleepiness in his voice.
“I thought you said I could sleep in your bed?”
“You can, and I am too. In case you didn't notice, this is a king-size bed. It's big enough for both of us.” Parker propped himself up on his elbows. “What's wrong?”
“I didn't think we'd be sleeping in the same bed.”
“Baby, you should know by now that I'm not going to take advantage of you.” Even in the darkness she could see the intensity in his eyes. “Remember, we're taking things slow. Now come to bed,” he said, gently coaxing her with his deep voice.
Victoria obliged and slipped into bed beside him, falling into a peaceful sleep.
The next morning she awoke to the feeling of Parker's long, hard body next to hers. The hair on his thighs tickled her smooth, bare legs. Not an inch separated his body from hers. She kissed him softly at first, not wanting to expose him to any unpleasant morning breath. But as their lips parted and their tongues embraced, Parker moaned, enjoying the warm saltiness of her mouth. After a few minutes they came up for air.
He looked at her, grazing her cheek with the back of his hand. “Victoria, what're we doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“Baby, last night was hard for me. When we're together, I try to act like holding you and touching you doesn't affect me, but it does. I want you so bad.” Parker placed his hand under her t-shirt, tracing his fingers along the length of her back. “This is so damn hard for me.”
“It's hard for me too,” Victoria admitted.
He brought his mouth to hers and kissed her deeply, enjoying the way her growing wetness felt against his leg as she pressed herself close to him. He rubbed her breasts, gently at first, then with more force and deliberateness. She kissed his neck and flicked her tongue against his skin, arching her back to feel his impressive length against the wet cotton strip of her panties.
“Mmmm,”
she moaned.
“I can't take this any longer,” he panted, grabbing her firm behind, massaging her cheeks in his hand. “Let me in, baby. . . .”
Victoria thought,
what the hell!
“Do it. Make love to me.”
Parker reached into his nightstand for a condom. “Let me put it on,” Victoria purred, straddling his lap. He handed it to her. Just then his beeper went off and they both froze. They looked at the small device as if their stares would make it stop. But it kept making its repetitive sound. Parker reached over and grabbed it from the nightstand.
Victoria let out a frustrated sigh and rolled off him. She lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling, hoping the page didn't mean what she knew it did. Reluctantly, Parker reached for the phone and dialed the hospital. “This is Dr. Brightwood,” he said in his professional doctor voice that always made Victoria smile. His sex appeal rose ten notches and all she could think about was how long it would take her to reach orgasm.
Parker had a disappointed look on his face when he ended the call. “Baby, I've gotta go in. This is shitty luck,” he grumbled as he rose slowly.
Victoria wanted to scream, but she refrained. “I guess duty calls,” was all she could say.
Chapter Thirteen
I Didn't Expect The Royal Treatment. . .
The next day Victoria sat in her seat, prepared for landing. The Sunday afternoon flight into LaGuardia was full, but thankfully the ride had been smooth. And that was good because she knew the week ahead would be bumpy, given that she had to work with Patricia.
She was headed toward baggage claim when she saw a chauffeur standing to the side. He was holding a white sign with her name written in big black letters.
“I'm Victoria Small,” she said as she approached the man.
“Hello, Ms. Small,” the stout Indian man greeted her. “I am here to take you to the hotel.”
“ViaTech arranged for this?” she asked.
“Yes, ma'am,” the chauffeur said, taking Victoria's heavy attaché from her shoulder as they headed off to get her bags.
He led her to a black town car waiting at the curb. When he opened the door, she was surprised by who awaited her inside. “How was your flight?” Ted asked.
“It was fine, but I didn't expect the royal treatment . . . a chauffeured ride? I was just going to cab it over. How did you know my—”
“Denise gave Jen your itinerary,” he answered before she could finish. He'd actually instructed his assistant to get the information from Denise.
After arriving at the hotel, Victoria unpacked her week's supply of clothes and arranged her toiletries on the marble countertop in the bathroom. After a quick shower she changed into a pair of black palazzo pants and a brown cashmere top, threw her heavy alpaca wrap over her shoulders, and headed downstairs to meet Ted for dinner.
The grand lobby was flooded with people, so Victoria searched for Ted through the sea of activity. She spotted him sitting in an oversized high-back leather chair in the middle of the lobby. She stood for a moment to study him. He was dressed in all black: trousers, mock turtleneck and jacket. She thought he looked painfully handsome, and she could see women checking him out as they walked by. “Have you been waiting long?” she asked as she approached.
“Only a few minutes. You look lovely,” he smiled.
Ted escorted her to the chauffeured car waiting outside. After they were on their way, he decided to address what he couldn't put off any longer. “V, I heard about what happened during the SME meeting.”
Oh, so you finally want to discuss it?
“Yes, it was quite a scene.”
“You'll be working with Patricia on Wednesday, and as I'm sure you already know, it was my decision. We need her institutional knowledge of the old software protocols for our reports.”
“That's fine. I'll work with her. But if she decides to give a repeat performance of what happened the other week, I won't be as diplomatic this time. I don't get paid to take abuse from anyone. I know that she's golden, and I know for what reasons. But I'm not trying to screw her, so I'm not putting up with her shit,” Victoria warned.
To hear her speak this way, Ted knew that Victoria was angry. “V, I hate putting you in this situation. But the problems here in the New York office are urgent.”
“I understand that business is business. But it pisses me off that she's able to get away with the things she does.”
“She'll be dealt with, I promise you that. So, are you angry with me?”
“No. Not with you, just with the situation,” she answered, looking into his penetrating eyes, trying to put a name on the strange feeling that was creeping up in the pit of her stomach.
Ted held Victoria's hand as he helped her from the car. He'd been looking forward to this all day. They'd had lunch together several times, but now he was finally able to share dinner with her. He hoped that spending an entire week together in New York would create an opening that would allow Victoria to see him as more than just a friend.
The maître d' seated them at a candlelit table in a cozy corner on the top floor of the restaurant. They made their menu selections and Ted ordered a vintage red wine to accompany their meal. Victoria loved a man who knew how to select a good bottle of wine. Parker had that talent as well. His taste, like Ted's, was impeccable. She found it strangely unsettling that they were alike in many ways.
As they laughed and talked throughout dinner, Victoria examined Ted more closely under the glow of the restaurant's soft lighting. She'd sat across the table from him on several occasions, sharing a meal, but had never paid attention to how smooth his skin was until tonight, or that he had a slight dimple in his right cheek that seemed to wave when he smiled really hard. It's amazing how you see things differently when you're out of your everyday environment, she thought.
Ted had been dying to find out what happened on her date with Parker. “So, tell me, did you have a good time at the costume party?” he asked casually, taking a sip of wine.
“Yes, it was lots of fun. But Parker and I had an argument. Our first real argument.”
“What about?” Ted's curiosity was piqued.
Even though they'd made up, the encounter between Parker and Sheila still bothered Victoria. She hadn't had a chance to talk to Tyler about it before she'd left town, and she wanted a male perspective on the situation. As she replayed the episode between Parker and Sheila in vivid detail, she could see that Ted was mulling it over in his mind. “Tell me what you think?” she asked.
Ted dabbed his mouth with his napkin while the server removed their plates from the table. He knew this was an opportunity to strike.
Ted had carried on affairs throughout the years, but had always been extremely careful, practicing the utmost discretion. No one could ever say they had seen him in any type of compromising situation with a woman. In his mind, Parker's public display confirmed that he was an asshole, and an idiot at best, to do such a thing when he had a woman like Victoria. “I think you were right to be upset,” he finally answered. “Even if it was innocent, the appearance was questionable. He should've put a stop to it before it got to that point . . . her putting her hands on him. That only leads to trouble,” he said, letting the suggestion linger.
“You're right. I told him the same thing, and he admitted that he'd made a mistake.”
She's defending him, he thought. Ted knew he'd said too much, so he kept the rest of his negative opinions to himself. “So you made up?” he asked.
“Yes,” Victoria smiled, to his disappointment.
He didn't care to hear details about their making up so he quickly changed the subject. After their meal, they ordered coffee and dessert to accompany their intimate conversation. Victoria found that being with Ted was easy, and she realized that she was enjoying the evening a little more than she cared to admit.
After dinner they drove around the city, taking in the bright lights and moonlit sky. As they rode in silence, admiring Manhattan's sights and sounds, Victoria thought about what she was doing—riding around the city in a chauffeur-driven car, after having a fantastic meal at a five-star restaurant, with a handsome millionaire. This would have normally been her idea of a perfect date. But this was different, and she had to remind herself that she had a boyfriend, and that the man sitting next to her signed her paycheck.
She also thought it was supremely ironic that under any other circumstance her mother would have cheered things on, but not in this case. Initially, Elizabeth had been a big Ted Thornton fan. She'd delighted in the news when Victoria shared with her that Ted had asked her to spearhead the SuperNet show, even after she'd turned down his EMP nomination. And when Victoria told her about her jogging accident, and how Ted had stayed with her at the hospital and brought her breakfast the next morning, Elizabeth saw grandchildren on the horizon.
“Oh sweetheart, it sounds like you've found a nice new friend. How old is this Ted fellow?” Elizabeth had asked with excited curiosity.
“He's in his mid-forties.”
“You know your father is ten years older than I am,” she hinted.
Victoria decided to ignore the comment because she knew what her mother was up to.
“It's so nice to see black men doing well in corporate America. It was so much harder when your father and I were coming along.”
“Mom, Ted isn't black,” Victoria said. It had just occurred to her that she'd never mentioned Ted's race to her mother. She just assumed that Elizabeth would know that most Fortune 500 telecom executives were white males. But then again, most of her parents' friends and associates who ran independent businesses and large companies were black. All her life, Victoria and her family had associated with highly educated, very successful African-Americans. So it was natural for Elizabeth to assume that the kind-hearted CEO was of the darker persuasion.
“Oh, he's not?” Elizabeth said with surprise.
“No. What made you think he was?”
“Well, from all the things you've shared with me about him, I just assumed he was black. Very rarely do white men in that kind of position take such an interest in the career or personal well being of a young black woman, unless . . . ”
“Unless what?”
“Well, unless they're getting something out of it—you know what I mean?” From that moment forward, Elizabeth's attitude about Ted changed.
But riding around Manhattan with him, Victoria knew that Ted's heart and motivations were genuine. During dinner she'd asked him to volunteer with Tyler's organization, YFI, and he'd gladly agreed to it. “The teenage boys you'll be working with are minorities from underserved neighborhoods. It's not at all what you're used to,” she'd warned.
“I guess it's time for me to learn something new,” was his response. “Until meeting you, I didn't even think about these kinds of things. For so long my life's been about business, and more business. Now I'm beginning to see all that I've missed out on.” Ted paused, lowering his voice to a soft whisper, “I'm glad you're a part of my life.”
Victoria had felt moved. Moved in a way that excited her, even though she knew it wasn't the kind of emotion she should have been feeling. She thought about that feeling as she looked out the car window, avoiding Ted's intense stare and the woodsy smell of his cologne. She tried to ignore the tingling sensation in her stomach, and prayed the driver would get them back to the hotel soon so she could clear her mind.
I Haven't Told Her Yet...
“So, how're you holdin' up, man?” Phil asked Parker as they talked over coffee and danishes in the hospital cafeteria.
“Man, I'm beat. I had four surgeries on Saturday. I was here for sixteen hours yesterday, and now I'm sittin' here talking to you at five-thirty in the damn morning,” Parker answered with weary eyes, although he loved every minute of his work.
“That's the kind of heroics that helped you get the green light for the Africa Project.”
“How'd you know I got the green light? They just told me yesterday.”
“Man, you know word travels around this place. Congratulations, my brothah!” Phil raised his cup, giving Parker a congratulatory nod.
“Thanks, man. But I'm so tired, it hasn't really sunken in yet.”
“When your ass is knee deep in insect repellent and mosquito nets, you'll have a better appreciation.” They both laughed at Phil's silly joke.
The Africa Project was a medical relief mission developed by the U.S. government and a panel of prestigious doctors from Emory Crawford Long. Only the top doctors from around the country were selected to participate. The Africa Project would enhance Parker's career, giving him international exposure and humanitarian relief experience. It had been one of the reasons he'd decided to move to Atlanta two years ago. The hospital was a founding member of the world renowned project, and boasted a third of its participants. Parker knew that calculating this move would pay off, and it was no secret that he was one of the most ambitious and talented surgeons on staff. He had big plans for himself.
“By the way, how does Victoria feel about all this?” Phil asked.
Parker shrugged. “I haven't told her yet.”
“You haven't told her . . . Have you discussed it at all?”
Parker hesitated. “Um, not really.”
“Man, you're leaving in two months, and you haven't even talked about it?”
“Look, I just got the official word yesterday.”
“Yeah, but you were chosen for the project back in July. You've just been waiting for final approval of the paperwork. I can't believe you haven't told her that you're going to Africa for six months on this project. This isn't good.”
“I didn't want to say anything until I was a hundred percent sure.”
“Man you're fucked. You better tell her soon, like today. And I'm tellin' you, she's gonna be pissed that you didn't say something before now. Trust me.”
Parker knew that Phil was right, and that he should have told Victoria before now. He'd almost told her that first night at the Java Café, because his gut told him that she'd be a part of his life. But instead, he decided against it. And then there were other times when they were alone, talking about life and sharing their dreams, that he'd wanted to tell her, but couldn't. He didn't want Victoria pulling back from him, and he knew that if she'd known of his upcoming departure, her emotional wall would have been harder to penetrate.
Parker had never loved a woman the way he loved Victoria. But he wasn't oblivious to her shortcomings, like the way she obsessed about putting everything in its proper place, picking up behind him if he sat his glass down in the wrong spot. And it drove him crazy the way she always questioned him on everything, determined to know the tiniest details of information because she couldn't just accept what he told her and let it go. He didn't know whether that behavior came from her trust issues, natural curiosity, or a need for control. But there were two things Parker knew for sure—despite Victoria's quirks, he loved her, and that the Africa Project was going to be a sticky issue.

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