Niki's Challenge (5 page)

Sighing, Niki eased into the chair and
regarded her Nana.

“
I want to do this on my
own.” Belatedly, she realized her Nana’s feelings were hurt at her
decision to be in her own home for the birth of her child. Thinking
hard, she tried to explain her feelings. “You know, do the whole
mommy thing. I’m changing my entire life around so I can raise him
or her.” Her eyes begged her Nana to understand.

“
I’ll still need you and
Nana Rita, but I want to be first line. You know what I mean?” She
didn’t want to offend, but steel determination underlined each
word. She’d do this her way. Her Nanas had been supportive and
delighted they wouldn’t need to share the baby with what they
deemed “other interfering” grandparents. However, at times like
this, they seemed to forget she was grown.

“
Who is the father, Niki?
Have you remembered anything from that night?” Nana Rita walked
into the foyer area and questioned, obviously angry she was hitting
road blocks in her investigation of the matter.

“
Yeah, Nicole, who are you
protecting?” chimed in Nana Bea.

“
I don’t know. I really
didn’t get his name,” she said respectfully, pleased that she had
outwitted them. Schooling her face, she flipped through the
magazine on the nearby table.

“
It was late or early, I
guess. I got angry, I left. I believe security introduced him as
Garrett something.”

“
This is your fault, Rita,”
Nana Bea accused. “You taught her to be ruthless in business. She’s
just like you. Don’t be mad she outfoxed you. Probably used one of
your connections.” Nana Bea moved further into the room, looking at
an irritated Rita. Niki smothered a smile, knowing better than to
get involved when grownups talked.

“
So you plan on telling
people he was an old friend?” Nana Rita commented ignoring Bea’s
remarks. “You really don’t know who the father is?” She repeated as
she bent and wrapped Niki in her arms.

It was times like this that Nana Rita
reminded Niki so much of her daddy, Nana Rita’s only child. They
shared that innate stubbornness, regal tilt of the chin and small
pout. Niki knew she was blessed to be loved as she was by this
fierce woman.

“
Nana, I don’t know his
name.” She let out her breath, and inhaled the unique fragrance of
her grandmother. “He offered his card, and I refused it.” Savoring
the comfort her grandmother’s arms offered, she added softly. “I
never wanted to revisit the whole night again.” She stopped herself
not wanting to reveal too much. Especially how much she’d enjoyed
herself under him. Funny, she remembered her first
orgasm—ever—happened that night, but little else.

Nana Bea had let it go since Niki
assured her she was all right. Not Nana Rita. She would sniff and
hunt him down until she found him. That was one of the reasons she
had her attorney blot out all the information of her visit that
night. There would be no contact ever from her baby’s daddy. She
giggled and hugged her Nana tighter.

“
Have you decided what you
are going to do about David?” Nana Rita asked.

“
No… I don’t understand
him, either,” Niki huffed. “I’ve only gone out with him a couple of
times and that was before I got pregnant, and now he seems to be
everywhere.”

“
Did you tell him you were
pregnant?”

“
I told him when I was two
months,” she explained looking at her relatives, shaking her head
in remembrance. “He looked at me kind of funny, as if he didn’t
believe me, and then asked who the lucky guy was.” After a moment
of silence, her Nana Bea spoke.

“
What did you tell him,
Niki?” Startled, she looked up, noticed the furrowed brows and
answered immediately.

“
I… I told him an old
boyfriend and refused to give him a name. I also explained the guy
and I were no longer a couple. He asked how the guy could let me
get away.” Shaking it off, she stood, “Honestly, I don’t know why
he keeps asking me out. The baby should have caused him to run
fast. I know there are a lot of women who like him.”

“
Yeah, the man is hot,”
Nana Bea smirked.

“
And rich,” added Nana Rita
smiling at Bea.

“
All that tanned Italian
skin and sexiness—shame you didn’t feel anything for him,
Niki.”

Shocked, Niki stared at her
grandparents. “Hot, sexy…what are you two doing looking at him like
that?”

“
Appreciating a
good-looking package,” Nana Bea shot back at her. “I may be older
but I still appreciate the finer things in life. And watching that
man strut is one of the finest things I’ve seen in a long time.”
Laughing as she high fived Nana Rita in agreement, chuckling in the
face of Niki’s skepticism.

“
You like him, Nana Rita?
You think he’s nice? He doesn’t come off as…too something?” Niki
asked, doubt obvious in her voice. There was something about him
that bothered her. She couldn’t put her finger on it. But, she
trusted her Nana. Maybe it was hormones or something, and she
should at least consider talking to him.

“
I haven’t spent much time
talking to him. Besides, we weren’t admiring his mind, his business
acumen or his personality. He may be rotten at the core.” She
shrugged. “I don’t know. All we are agreeing on is he is a fine
male specimen and yes there are a lot of women who want a piece of
that. Maybe that’s why he enjoys being with you. You don’t see him
as a piece of meat, nor do you want anything from him.”

“
Maybe, maybe not, I don’t
know. I just don’t trust him, that’s all.” Shrugging off the
conversation, content that she didn’t need to change her opinion of
him, she turned and picked up her water bottle. “I’m going walking
and then later I’m going shopping for some more clothes. These are
getting a little tight. Will you all have any time later to go with
me?” she asked, looking at them both while tossing the empty bottle
into the recycling bin, determined to include them as much as
possible. Nana Bea had the best taste in clothes coupled with Nana
Rita’s strong sense of style; they’d have a good time.

“
Yes, I’ll be back around
4:30, will that be good?” Nana Rita, asked turning to get her
briefcase, heading for the door.

“
That’ll be great, maybe we
can eat dinner while we’re at it? Nana Bea, what do you say?” Niki
rubbed her stomach in anticipation. It seemed she was always
hungry. Luckily, she hadn’t gained much weight.

“
That’s fine, Nicole. Just
remember you’re just four months and not showing much. So we’ll be
looking for clothes that may be a lot bigger,” Nana Bea said,
moving toward the hall.

“
That’s cool. My appetite
has really picked up and my boobs are getting big.” She chuckled,
looking in the hall mirror. “Yahoo...I never really had boobs or
much butt before. Now I got back.” Niki slapped her hips, laughing
at the face her prim grandmother made as she shook her head at her
antics.

Nana Bea was happy with Nicole’s
easy-going pregnancy. Nita, her daughter, had been that way with
her. Nicole’s mom didn’t even know she was pregnant until she was
four months. She had no morning sickness, and no real weight gain.
Because her periods had always been irregular, coupled with the
light bleeding throughout the first trimester; no one suspected her
of being pregnant. Walking into her room and closing her door, she
picked up the phone.

“
Jack... hi, this is Bea. I
need a rain check on dinner tonight... I’m going shopping with Rita
and Nicole,” she told him. “Can I call you when I get in?” She
paused, listening; “Okay, I’ll talk to you later
tonight.”

Chapter 5

Hanging up the phone, Tony turned
around in his chair and stared at his desk unseeing at the
information on an upcoming private auction. He’d been waiting for
this rare artifact to surface for over a year and now he barely
glanced at the pertinent data regarding its authenticity. Thoughts
swam around his mind in a state of disbelief.

He’d hired two separate
private investigators to track down the lovely woman from the hotel
in Chicago and both had hit roadblocks. He’d accused the first
investigator of not being thorough. No one could cover her tracks
that well. He had been wrong. With money and the right contacts,
you
could
make
things disappear. Obviously, she had both. He hadn’t written down
her name but remembered vaguely the manager calling her something
beginning with a B—or was it a N? Shit, he couldn’t remember.
Hitting his desk with his fist, he stood, and paced in front of the
windows of his high-rise office. Going over everything in his mind,
his jaw clenched. The General Manager had transferred shortly after
the incident and claimed little memory of that night. It had been
five months. The night desk clerk no longer worked at the hotel and
there was no info on him. There were no records of the mix up or of
her in his room or in the hotel, period.

A few months after the
incident, he had tried to justify the search by telling himself he
needed to check on her, just to make sure everything was
okay.
Sure, bud
.
He rolled his shoulders to release the tension of the lie. Even
inexperienced, her natural passion had grabbed him tight, and he
lusted for more.

Who the hell was she? Someone went
through of a lot of trouble to keep her information private. His
search sat dead in the water and he was out a few thousand dollars,
simply because he couldn’t get the chocolate beauty out of his
mind. Not only was she beautiful, but she’d walked out of the room
with her head held high like royalty, yet there was a refreshing
innocence about her. He’d never been so summarily dismissed before
in his life. The events of that night disturbed them both. Let’s
face it, no one should be seen naked and vulnerable. Except for a
couple of outbursts, she handled herself with a level of dignity
that impressed him.

As a collector of antiquities, he
didn’t impress easily.

Although that whole night was somewhat
fuzzy thanks to the large amount of liquor he’d drunk, he did
remember the sex. It had been so hot it sizzled. They’d both
reached a pinnacle of pleasure and the release was so strong that
even with the particulars unclear, he remembered her heat.
Groaning, he returned to his chair and the folder he’d been
reading. Lately, he’d been in state of constant frustration, and
couldn’t shake it.

Why did her face haunt him
daily? Hell, he didn’t know what he’d say to her if he did find
her. He wasn’t ready to settle down or anything. He simply wanted
to see her again, get to know her. Yeah, right…he willed his rod to
deflate. The memories of her tight sheath sent blood rushing to his
nether region. He ached with wanting to make sure that night wasn’t
a fluke.
Nothing could be that
good
. Shrugging it off, he sat back down,
trying to decide what to do next and pulled his thoughts from his
mystery woman.

His cell rang. Glancing at the caller
ID, he grimaced before picking up.

“
Garrett.”

“
Ah, yes, Tony. I waited to
hear more from you regarding your last dig in South America.” The
nasal voice on the other end aggravated Tony’s ears. “It’s been
what? Four, five months and you haven’t called or uploaded a report
to the Institute.” Tony ground his teeth, remaining silent. “Was
there a problem?”

“
No, Mason. There weren’t
any unusual problems. The same as before, inexperienced and
incompetent help, crooked politicians, horrible weather.” His bored
tone masked his dislike. “Once again the Institute lied about a
dig, but what else is new?” He wondered the real reason behind
Mason’s call. It had been months since he returned from the
Rainforest.

“
I’m sorry to hear things
didn’t go as well as you hoped.” Mason’s voice carried a giddy
sound proving his words to be a lie. “Tell me, in spite of
everything, did you find anything exciting on one of your forays
into the jungle?”

Tony laughed, a loud humorless sound
conveying his contempt. “No. And you know, I would certainly tell
you if I had.” He disliked the man and they both knew
it.

“
Now, Anthony, that’s no
way to treat a friend.” He continued in spite of Tony’s bark of
incredulity. “Well, associate at any rate. I try to keep up with
what’s happening and I know you would
never
have left South America if you
hadn’t discovered something that made the trip worth your while.”
Tony’s jaw remained clamped shut.

“
Nothing to say?” The
weasel continued. “Okay, I can respect that. However, remember if
you need to move something, get it tagged or blast an announcement
to certain collectors, let me assist you. You must admit, I’ve
always been fair and above board in those areas.”

“
Yeah, right. I have to go.
I’ll call you if I need you.” Tony hung up, distaste thick on his
tongue. He and Mason had been in graduate school together, for a
while they’d been friends. Mason was too hungry for money and stole
some artifacts from an Aztec dig. By the time the college got word
from the Mexican government, the artifacts were ensconced in an
unknown collector’s private collection. No one ever proved Mason
was the thief, but enough suspicion fell on him that he never went
on any large digs or excavations with them again. That didn’t stop
him from advancing in the murky waters of illegal sales of
artifacts. As long as collectors paid big sums for antiquities,
Mason’s services would be in demand.