Pretty Dangerous (9 page)

“C’mon, honey. Remember what we had,”
Roderick called back.

“You’re right to use the past tense, Roddy.”
MiMi glared at the door with her arms crossed.

“Listen, I talked to your parents and they
understand. Your mother suggested we talk things out,” Roderick
said.

“I’ll just bet she did,” MiMi muttered. The
phone rang. In no hurry, MiMi strolled to the kitchen to answer
it.

“Don’t make me yell through a closed door.
Your neighbors will call the police.”

“Bye Roderick,” she called over her shoulder.
She picked up the cordless handset, then regretted not checking the
caller ID. MiMi hissed at the strong contralto voice on the other
end of the line.

“Miliana Elise Landry, you let Roderick in.
He deserves an apology for the way you’ve treated him,” her mother
said.

“Apologize?” MiMi sputtered. She held the
phone away from her to gape at it. “I was in a third world prison
because of him!”

“That’s right, Miliana Elise. Tell the entire
city at the top of your lungs.”

“Mother...”

“Your father spent a fortune to settle the
matter and keep the scandal from crossing borders. No one knows,
and including your employer. If you still have an employer,” Mrs.
Landry said, her voice cut through the handset like a honed steak
knife.

Trust her mother to score several points in
one deft move. MiMi swallowed the string of curse words that
bubbled up her throat. “I appreciate what daddy did for me,
although he let me sit in jail for a long time. I do still have my
job,” MiMi replied tartly. She almost added “As if it’s any of your
business.”

“Don’t get an attitude with me,” Mrs. Landry
shot back. “Of course you had to wait. The authorities weren’t
going to simply let you go because he said so. Don’t be ridiculous.
Now I’m going to tell Roderick that you’ll let him in.”

“He called you? Are you kidding me? What a
big baby.”

“Stop being vindictive and let him in,” Mrs.
Landry said.

“You can’t order me around like I’m a child.”
MiMi stomped one foot and pursed her lips at the phone.

“Of course you have a right to be upset. But
at least give him a chance to explain and apologize. Your father
did silly things when he was young. That didn’t stop me from
realizing he was the right man for me. Think of Sage’s future.” Her
mother’s voice softened to her “I’m on your side” tone.

“I can’t believe you think Roderick is father
material after the stunt he pulled.”

“MiMi, I know you smoked marijuana several
times in college. And was Jack Crown father material?” Mrs. Landry,
her voice sharp again.

MiMi’s mouth had opened wide to argue the
comparison between Jack and Roderick. The defense froze on her
tongue. Score another set of points for team Pauline. “I get it,
mother. We all have faults; we all make mistakes.”

“Precisely, now open that door and don’t wake
up Sage with silly theatrics.”

“How did you know...” MiMi blinked at the
phone.

“I’ll call later. Goodbye.” Mrs. Landry hung
up as if confident her command would be obeyed.

“The woman knows what goes on in my house as
well as I do,” MiMi mumbled as she hit the off button.

She went back to the front door. Roderick’s
tall frame could be seen through the beveled glass, a dark shadow
against the bright sunshine around him. He waited patiently, no
doubt assured by her mother things were fine. MiMi huffed in
frustration, but after a few seconds she snapped the locks and
yanked opened the front door. Roderick looked too good dressed in a
dark gray suit, soft blue dress shirt and silver tie.

“Progress,” Roderick said with a grin. “Now
the big question; will you let me cross the threshold?”

“The bigger question, will I knee you in the
groin,” MiMi snapped. “You’ve got a nerve, pleading your case to my
parents and then coming over here.”

“I owed them an apology, MiMi. They were
worried sick, and it was all my fault. Totally.” Roderick grew
serious. “I can speak from right here. I don’t blame you one bit
for...”

“Oh just come in,” MiMi cut him off. She
stood aside as he walked past and then closed the door. Her charm
school, sorority debutante manners kicked in. “Would you like some
iced tea or coffee?”

“Decaf if you have it,” Roderick replied.
“I’m cutting back on caffeine. It’s not good for you.” He followed
her and sat on a stool at the kitchen island, elbows resting on the
black marble as if he belonged there.

MiMi loaded the coffee brewer with a pod of
gourmet decaf. “Right, but taking a toke of weed from some
Dominican street dealer is completely healthy and safe.”

“Ouch.” Roderick hunched his shoulders
dramatically. “In my defense, I’d been drinking rum tiki cocktails
on and off most of the evening. So had you.”

“Yeah, well.” MiMi sniffed. “I was on
vacation after all.”

“My judgment was a bit impaired, at least
give me that much. We partied hard though, had a blast.” Roderick
cocked his handsome head to one side.

MiMi spun around to face him, hands on her
hips. “Being in prison with hardened criminals cancelled out the
fun part.”

Roderick stood and came around the island.
“Look, I effed up big time. But don’t forget I told the police and
the prosecutor you had no part of me buying the weed. It was just a
tiny amount anyway.”

“My attorney made you tell the truth.”

“Our lawyers planned it as a strategy. They
figured the prosecutor and judge wouldn’t believe me swearing you
didn’t know right off. So they decided to make it look like I
confessed after I was backed into a corner.”

MiMi gave him a skeptical frown. “Mr. Columba
didn’t say anything to me about it.”

“He didn’t because they wanted you to have a
genuine reaction. Nobody watching could doubt you wanted to
strangle me.” Roderick’s full lips tilted into a sideways
smile.

“I still might,” MiMi retorted. She turned
away to break the spell of his hazel-eyed gaze. “Come to the DR,
you said. It’ll be romantic, you said.”

“I’ll say I’m sorry as many times as it takes
for you to forgive me,” Roderick said softly. He sighed and went to
sit on the stool again.

MiMi felt a shiver down her back at the sound
of his voice, smooth and sincere. His willingness to give her
physical space added an extra touch. The man could charm women into
agreeing that the sun rose in the west and set in the east. Was she
being a fool for him? She avoided looking at him as she put
artificial sweetener in her coffee and stirred. Then she sipped
from the mug and sat down. MiMi decided to change the subject to
blunt the power of his magic touch.

“So, how much hell did your father give you
when you got back?” MiMi said.

Roderick let out a groan. “He’s docking my
pay for the next three months to pay him back for the legal fees
and bail. And I’m on probation at the company. He says I won’t be
made CEO if I make one more ‘boneheaded move’.”

“Three months to get back thousands? Wow.”
MiMi mulled that over as she drank another sip of the strong
Louisiana brew. Obviously he was being well paid. Of course he was,
she thought.

“Don’t worry. I had enough left over for
this.” Roderick pulled a red leather box from his jacket pocket. He
put it down on the granite countertop. “Open it.”

MiMi blinked at the fancy gold logo embossed
on the outside of it. He nodded when she looked at him. Then she
lifted the lid. “Oh. My.”

“Chocolate with no calories,” Roderick said
quietly.

“I, it’s... my goodness.” MiMi lifted the
necklace from the midnight blue felt interior. A fourteen carat
gold chain ended in an oval pendant set with chocolate and
champagne diamonds.

“Let me put it on.” Roderick got up,
carefully draped it around her neck, and fastened it.

MiMi became mesmerized by sparkle. “It’s
gorgeous.”

“The colors are perfect for your beautiful
cinnamon brown complexion. I’ll get Sage’s present. Wasn’t sure
you’d let me in,” he quipped. Roderick dashed for the kitchen door
before MiMi could speak.

Not that she had words anyway. MiMi kept
staring at the way the diamonds reflected light into a rainbow of
colors. Roderick came back holding a huge chocolate brown teddy
bear.

“Roderick, you didn’t have to bring us such
fabulous gifts,” MiMi protested. She caressed the pendant even as
she spoke. “Sage adores teddy bears. I was going to start a
collection for her. She’s going to be thrilled when she wakes from
her nap. How did you know?”

“Every little princess deserves the very
best. Why don’t we take it upstairs? She’ll see it when she opens
her eyes.”

MiMi gazed at him. “Oh Roderick, you’re
making it hard for me to hate your guts.”

For the next two weeks, Roderick’s campaign
to court MiMi had gradually chipped away her resistance. Small
gifts arrived every few days, like her favorite flower- pink roses.
One day he sent a lovely silk scarf. Then came a sterling silver
charm bracelet that included Sage’s birthstone set in one of the
charms. She didn’t have to guess how he knew what she liked. He had
the blessing of her parents. She didn’t protest when he left some
of his things at her house, including in her home safe. They were
like a family already. MiMi suspected their mothers had coached him
on how to impress her.

On a Saturday afternoon, MiMi sat across from
Willa in Mama Ruby’s kitchen. She wore the necklace and the charm
bracelet. Willa’s adoptive mother stirred a large pot of her famous
gumbo, but they both knew she was all ears to their conversation.
Willa’s eleven year old daughter, Mikayla, played with Sage in the
den at the other end of the open floor plan. Willa’s father had
excused himself to “let the ladies have some girl talk”. He really
meant a basketball game was on and he didn’t intend to miss it.

Willa leaned over, voice lowered to a
whisper. “Let me get this straight. The guy who got you locked up
in a Caribbean prison came over to your house. You two have a
quickie while the baby was sound asleep. All is forgiven because he
bought you an expensive piece of jewelry.”

“Well don’t make it sound cheap and slutty,”
MiMi mumbled.

“Uh, there’s no way to not make it sound
cheap and slutty. You literally rolled over for him. I thought
you’d given up the gold digger game,” Willa replied and sat
back.

“He didn’t buy me,” MiMi snapped. “We talked
about the incident and he apologized, plus he explained a few
things. Some friend you are, thinking the worst of me.”

“You accepted his gifts after he threw you to
the wolves. The judge was perfectly willing to lock you up for
years,” Willa said.

“Lower your voice,” Mama Ruby whispered
sharply to her daughter. “And I agree with MiMi. That was a
terrible thing to say, calling her cheap and slutty.”

“Her words, not mine,” Willa protested. “And
why are you defending her behavior?”

“Ametrine always says the Lord wants us to
have a forgiving heart. I don’t think she should keep holding a
grudge against the man if he’s truly sorry.”

“The voice of reason speaks up.” MiMi gave
Willa a frown of disapproval. “Roddy didn’t ‘throw me to the
wolves’. He made it quite plain that I didn’t know he was going to
buy weed. Besides, we’d both been tipping back a few too many rum
punches that day.”

“In other words, you may have drunkenly
agreed to score,” Willa muttered. She ignored her mother’s sharp
glance.

“Nobody’s perfectly innocent. Besides, he’s
been so sweet since.” MiMi turned her wrist to admire the shine of
her bracelet. The tinkle of the pretty charms made her smile.

“Hmm. Your parents want y’all back together I
guess.” Willa sipped from a glass of diet cola.

“Mother and Daddy happen to approve, yes.
What?” MiMi looked at Willa.

“Your parents are suddenly concerned about
your love life. Sounds suspicious,” Willa replied, her tone heavy
with what she left unsaid.

“Of course they want the best for me and
Sage. Daddy knows that Roddy comes from a good family. In fact, our
fathers have worked together on several business deals. Daddy built
three warehouses, and one housing development. Mr. Jefferson wrote
the commercial insurance policies on the construction jobs.”

“Uh-huh.” Willa got up to help herself to a
still warm hush puppy.

“Hey, save some of those for dinner. We’ll be
eating in less than thirty minutes,” Mama Ruby scolded. She glared
at her as she finished mixing the potato salad.

“Umm-hum,” Willa said around chewing the
buttery treat. “I don’t mean to be cynical...”

“Oh no, not you,” MiMi shot back and rolled
her eyes. “Anyway, I know what you’re going to say. Yes, my parents
think we could form a pretty powerful business combination. You
know how tough it is for minority owned businesses to get their
share of contracts. All this backlash against set asides and
affirmative action is to blame.”

Mama Ruby lifted the large soup ladle “Yes,
as if we’re anywhere close to making up for over four hundred years
of not owning property. You know, Elton’s grandfather should have
owned...”

“Over ninety acres in West Feliciana Parish,
but the white sheriff and the white judge lied about the deed. I
know, mama,” Willa broke in.

“Don’t forget what happened to my great
grandfather. By rights our family should own another sixty acres in
Pointe Coupee Parish.” Mama Ruby went on again to tell the family
story of her ancestor. He’d become so successful, that envious
local whites threatened to lynch him. “He had to leave everything
behind to keep his family safe. Granddaddy said if it had just been
him, he would have fought. But he had a wife and children to think
about.”