The Color Of Love: A BWWM Billionaire Alpha Male Romance (6 page)

Both women smiled at
having resolved their issues and turned up the ringer on the cordless
phone. Palate was in demand and the canvas was Florida apparently.

*****

Both the owner of
Palette Catering Craft and her assistant dressed in white for the
night. Their chef jackets were starched and ironed in preparation for
tonight’s grand event and the three extra vans
needed to transport the food were packed and
ready to go. The list for the dining room had doubled as word spread
about the amazing chef working for DMC Theater live.

The number was such
that Victoria and Abby would be using the theater’s cooperate
kitchen to prepare the final plates. At seven pm the curtains parted
and the orchestra struck their first note announcing the play ready
to begin. Dawson was there at the front dressed in a single button
jacket and slacks that hugged his legs all the way to his crocodile
skin loafers. His hair had been combed and styled and a different
watch circled his wrist just above the sparkling cuff links. They
sparkled just as brilliantly as his eyes.

His wink had become
a way of communication with her and she played along. Internally,
Victoria had become excited at the prospect of speaking with this
cocky man in private. Sunday couldn’t get here fast enough.
Wasting time wasn’t something that Victoria believed in and she
disappeared into the kitchen to snap the staff into shape. They had
dinner to serve.

It was around eight
thirty that the appetizers went out and the ball kept rolling from
there. The specially invited guests and those from the VIP box filled
the room while the journalist captured shots of the elite enjoying
her food. The actors were there too, several pounds heavier from a
full week of eating hearty meals.

The guests were
having dessert when Victoria decided to do her duty and walk around
the room. “Sumptuous, creative and decadent were words she
heard over and over from every satisfied table. Intentionally, she
visited Dawson’s table last. Victoria observed that he didn’t
have a lady on his arm. Interesting.

“Good evening
gentlemen. How are we this evening?”

Dawson opened his
mouth to answer but was cut off by the man she had been unable to
identify from last night. “We are great, you know I said to
myself, it must be a black woman in the kitchen. You can cook girl.”

The use of black and
girl from a white man she didn’t know from Adam, didn’t
come off as a compliment. She glared at him in shock, contemplating
if to respond as nastily as she would have liked. Victoria glanced at
Dawson who had turned an odd shade of red. The ghost director at the
table was equally stunned. She didn’t answer him, but instead
turned on her heels and headed for the kitchen door.

In an instant,
Dawson was behind her, quickly gaining speed to catch up with her
short legs. “I’m sorry Victoria. He’s my uncle and
a real asshole sometimes. I raked him over the coals about his brash
statement.”

Quietly Victoria
asked, “Is that all I am to you? A black girl who can cook? A
house hand?”
Holding her hand in a manner that indicated it
would be better to comply, Dawson stalked off in the direction of the
washroom bringing her along and once inside he locked the door. The
kiss he planted on her full mouth was passionate but soft. He wanted
her to understand that he was indeed sorry and no he wasn’t
like that.

Releasing her and
staring into Victoria’s eyes, he mumbled, “We are not all
bad.” Victoria quietly left the bathroom unconvinced.

There was going to
be a settling of the score at Restaurant Pegasus this evening.
Victoria contemplated not going. Dawson was too much and his family
was even more. He didn’t deserve her company. The tug of war
over her choice lasted all day and when four thirty rolled around,
she made her final decision to go. She would be early, she didn’t
need anyone to wait for her and it would let her regain some control
over the evening.

He had suggested she
wear red so she decided on orange. He could not and would not tell
her what to do. He was a rich man, but still a man none the less and
she would not be governed by someone who knew nothing about her. The
dress ended just above her knees and was strapless. The layered
outfit consisted of a plain rust orange sheath underneath with a
floral transparent high low over dress that fluttered when she
walked. The over dress ended just beneath her breast at the front,
and brought attention to the ample area but still covered enough to
be decent.
It
ended near her ankles in the back. The heels were nude with tiny
crystals decorating the peep toe and the ankle strap.

Victoria’s
makeup made her skin glow like copper and the nude lip gloss made her
natural pout more alluring. She was ready. Her large apartment was in
a middle class district where people knew each other and the
buildings were at least fifty years old. She decorated it with her
favorite colors - green, orange and a little black. Though it doubled
as her place of work, it was well kept and she liked it that way.
Order made things easier. It made for a quaint, almost village like
feel and she loved it there. She used a taxi this evening - the
service van would never do. At exactly five forty five she left her
neighborhood for Pegasus and the equally white man who had invited
her. She planned to make this their first and last date.

*****

Dawson had a stiff
word with his uncle about the way he conducted himself. Being from
the old school, he thought his comments to the chef were compliments
and not insults. He saw no reason to apologize but when Dawson
arrived at the restaurant, he intended to tell Victoria that his
uncle was sorry.

He half expected her
not to show. She had pride that was presently injured and Dawson knew
she would withdraw. Pleasantly surprised that she was there first, he
smiled and nodded as he approached the table. He loved that she was
true to herself. Everyone here looked like they were from the same
cookie cutter - thousand dollar shoes and platinum cards. None were
unique like Victoria. She acknowledged his arrival with a conceited
smile and he kissed her hand like a gentleman. His looks were
distracting.

Dawson started the
conversation. “Why are you so breathtakingly beautiful?”

She was quick to
respond, “You would have to tell me Mr. Ledger… why do
you find me beautiful?”

“Please, call
me Dawson. We are not at the theater and this is supposed to be a
light setting.” Victoria did not offer him the privilege of
calling her by her first name and he noticed.

He continued, “I
like your personality. I also like the determined jut of your chin
and this enchanting fragrance that you wear… it’s subtly
magnetic.

The woman to their
left thought she went unnoticed as she whispered and pointed at
Victoria and Dawson. Victoria was sharper than that. She used the
situation to launch into what was really on her mind.

“I’m
flattered that you find me beautiful, but you see this white woman
with the white hair next to us? She’s been whispering and
pointing the entire time I’ve been here. As a matter of fact,
she all but gawked when I came in. Can you handle that all of the
time?”

Dawson sipped his
pre dinner beverage and replaced the crystal tumbler on the brilliant
white table cloth before responding. “ Did you ever stop to
think that maybe she recognized you from the paper? Or probably she
saw you at last night’s premiere. Don’t be so fast to
think that people are judging you just because of your skin. “

“What about
your uncle? As a representative of your family, he made his position
quite clear on how my kind is viewed in circles like this.”

“My uncle is
an old jackass who has sent his most humble apologies for saying
those insensitive things to you. He knows he was wrong.”

“And what
about you Dawson, have you ever dated a black woman?

Pausing for a
second, he answered truthfully, “No, I haven’t, but
aren’t all women the same? You need attention, nice clothes and
some good sex to make you happy.”

The shallow answer
was intentional. He wanted her to say what she was really looking
for. Dawson knew she was more complicated than that. Victoria saw it
for what it was and offered no satisfaction. She simply smiled and
picked up her menu. She was bored with him or so she pretended.

As a chef eating
other peoples food, it could be a challenge or a pleasant surprise.
Tonight thankfully, it was the latter. The sea bass was beautifully
seared and the herb and garlic polenta were divine. The white wine
that Dawson picked out definitely added compliment to the meal. In
the end, Victoria knew she had too much.

Her tongue had
become loose and her mood receptive. It was time for the drunken
tongue to reveal a sober mind. Victoria was smiling - constantly.
Dawson took the lead and lured her into conversation.

“Tell me more
about you Victoria… your passions, desires and where you want
to go in life.”

Her usual guard wall
was down and the truth flowed from her lips.

“I am truly
passionate about my food. I love owning a business and creating
edible works of art. It feeds my soul. My only goal in life is a
destination called happiness. I want to live fully.”

Dawson nodded as he
listened to her go on about what inspired her to push through and how
Abby really was the bedrock of her success. Victoria was a loyal
woman.

Just as the waiter
cleared the final dishes from their station, Dawson extended his hand
and asked, “Will you come with me? I have something I’d
like to show you.”

On a regular day she
would say no but today her inhibitions were thrown to the wind. She
was happy, but not drunk, and noticed that he didn’t pay the
tab or make mention of it to anyone. Interesting. Dawson would later
reveal that he owned The Pegasus.

Victoria had arrived
in a taxi, but Dawson had driven his Bugatti. The valet had a look of
pride on his face as he brought the dashing car around to the front
of the equally grand restaurant. Thanking the young man, Dawson
walked around to the passenger side and held the door open for his
honored guest. Sliding into the plush leather seats, she settled in
while Dawson revved the engine of the designer car. The night was
young and he was with a woman he was intrigued by.

The destination was
a small odd building. It could easily have been taken from another
place and time with its brightly colored walls and strange looking
roof.
The
door was painted pink. Dawson seemed to know where to park and how to
get inside. The general area was deserted except for a few birds that
fluttered by as the expensive car was pulled into the car park.

Hopping out and
running around to open the door for Victoria, he found her smiling
and ready for adventure. Holding her hand he took her to the pink
door and twisted the knob. The inside was not what Victoria expected.
The walls were covered in art- not just any art, but all black and
white prints of the city as it stood hundreds of years ago.

Each piece told a
story of progress in the town they both loved. When Victoria finally
emerged from her haze of artistic enchantment Dawson was admiring her
- taking notice of all the things that she wanted him to see and
those that she did.

Holding her hand, he
pulled her gently toward the back of the room where the signature
piece he wanted her to see was
placed. It went floor to ceiling and was almost
as wide. The portrait was of a black and white couple-the woman dark
and smooth like mahogany and the man tall pale and dashing. As
Victoria inspected the masterpiece, Dawson added commentary. “This
was a painting my father did when he was in his twenties. He was a
fair man and though I’ve never seen him with anyone but my
mother he had a wandering eye. I guess he too may have had feelings
he never expressed.

Victoria
contemplated the artwork though the haze of emotions now over taking
her. Was this the right thing to do? Would he seek to dominate her
the way he did all other matters in his life? It concerned her. As
her thoughts wandered, she noticed Dawson’s body heat behind
her, his large hands spawned her womanly hips and before she could
turn around Dawson began to nuzzle her neck.

His warm breath
against her skin caused goose pimples and he sought to calm them by
kissing everyone he could find until they disappeared. Victoria found
herself yielding to the atmosphere and feelings passing through her
body. It had been a while since she had been touched by any man and
her body told the tale. Leaning her head to the side Victoria gave
him full access and permission to explore, her body was in control
and not her mind.

Inside her head a
battle of conflict raged on while her body melted like chocolate
under the heat of Dawson mouth. As he kissed, he muttered, “I
knew you would taste even better than you look and my God do you
taste divine.”

Victoria could not
respond, the out of body experience had taken her to another
dimension and her brain was having trouble processing the electricity
passing through her body. Dawson had lowered his stance to meet the
height of her naked back. It was almost as delicious as her neck.
They had no idea how their moans and pants of ecstasy filled the room
mixing with the masterpieces already there - they were making art of
their own.

He was on his knees
now and it didn’t matter that his suit cost more than most
could afford, he wanted to be up close and personal with the ass that
had mesmerized him for the past week. Cupping the cheeks in both
hands, he massaged the firm circles with his fingers while resting
his head on the curve of her spine.

Lost in the feelings
of floating on the softest of cotton clouds he sank into a place of
pleasure. Dawson realized that as much as wanted to be between her
thick, delicious thighs, he also wanted to get to know her better
before he took her. It was time for some self control. Rising to his
feet, he slowly circled her and came to focus on her eyes. The brown
pools danced with excitement, but he could also see her conflict and
as a natural leader, he needed her to be on the same page as him. It
would never do to coerce this woman he admired into anything. She
deserved better. Resting his forehead on hers, he smiled and settled
his ragged breath, it was apparent that she was trying to do the same
as well. He needed to ask her one simple question, “Will you
trust me?”