Click here to catch up on Wicked Chances by going to the first part.

I hope to finish this one by the end of NaNoWriMo! Wish me luck and a lot of blessings!

Synopsis:

A woman with her children on the run from her past swears never to be another man’s whore. Now her baby’s father turns up dead and not only is his loan shark after her, but the police are after her as well.

Yet, when the malevolent, real estate accountant, Sterling Newman, finds out she is the key to completing his dream property, he blackmails her into marriage or turn her over to police.

Forced to marry in order to save her life and the life of her children, she vows to hate him forever. Yet, somehow he finds a way to make her body betray her heart.

PLEASE NOTE: Before beginning, no part of Wicked Chances may be duplicated anywhere without the express permission from this author. You may reblog and you may tag me in a twitter or on the social networks all you want!

Wicked Chances (c) 2012 Sylvia Hubbard

Follow me on Twitter too for quick notes on #WickedChances as well! http://twitter.com/sylviahubbard1, Use the hashtag #WickedChances or just #syllit to talk about my work with others.

Comments and suggestions are appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Enjoy.

Chapter 8

After the children were back in their room and playing with their new toys, she took a warm shower. Something she hadn’t done in so long Blair almost cried feeling the water over her body.  By the time she returned into her bedroom, Ray and Lannie were fast asleep.

According to Shadow’s text message the cab would arrive about nine o’clock and take Blair to a designated public location that Sterling had arranged.

Blair wasn’t sure where that was, but she was curiously excited and a little bit nervous to be meeting Sterling Newman again. Albeit this time she would be alone with him, yet in a public place, but for how long? Would this entail some coitus?

No, Shadow had promised.

The box contained the same black stilettos from the night before along with a long black simple dress with brand new underwear from Victoria’s Secret in her size! Blair had pulled her hair up into a tight ponytail and folded the ends under the band. She only applied some eye makeup and lip gloss to hopefully not fully looking like some kind of prostitute to him.

Briefly, she wondered was this a gift from Shadow or from Sterling Newman?

The cab took her to a very expensive and popular restaurant in Detroit called Gaston’s. According to history this place started out as a bakery ten years ago by a new chef returning home from being very popular in Paris. Chef Gaston made desserts the world raved about and soon lines grew so long to get boxes, he started serving light appetizers to feed awaiting patrons who wanted his dessert delicacies. Appetizers turned into full blown meals and the restaurant was born to give patrons a full pleasurable edible experience for their palette.

Blair only knew the meals were about a hundred a person easily, but it included a free dessert and for some reason everyone wanted to taste the “Gaston’s Delight.” She’d never tasted it, but getting out the cab looked forward to doing so on Sterling Newman’s dime.

“Reservation?” the matronly woman asked when Blair walked in the door.

“No, I don’t,” she said.

“I’m sorry, we’re full for the night. There aren’t any tables available and the wait time is two hours.”

“I’m here to see Mr. Newman.”

The woman gasped and then looked at her suspiciously. “Follow me,” she said after telling someone else to watch her spot.

Blair was led up the stairs away from where the general restaurant goers. There were private booths that were often reserved a month in advance or wealthy investors just outright bought out on the second and third floor of the converted industrial bakery.

The third floors had doors while the second floor had curtains to give each booth privacy. The woman stopped outside of the fourth booth curtain and cleared her voiced.

“Mr. Newman, your dinner guest have arrived,” she said.

“Please come in,” a deep voice beckoned.

The woman moved the curtain away and Blair knew instantly this was not the right Newman. This was a large black man who was cuddled up against a black woman with the most beautiful lavender eyes Blair had ever seen.

“Your dinner guest, Thad?” the woman with the unique asked suspiciously as the other woman left them.

Blair wanted to call that woman back and let her know she was with the wrong Newman.

“Well you said we should try something new, Skye,” he said with a teasing light.

The other woman Thaddeus was with punched him playfully in the chest and giggled, “I said we should try somewhere new!”

“I’m sorry, I must have mixed up directions,” Blair said flushing. “I had a date –“

“Oh no, you didn’t,” the man said outstretching his hand. “I’m Thaddeus Newman and this is my wife Skye. Most likely you’re here to see my brother, Sterling?”

“Yes!” Blair said relieved.

“You’re on a date or is this business?” Skye asked with that same playfully apprehensive tone.

“A little bit of both.”

Thaddeus and Skye looked at each other as if speaking only with their minds.

“Sterling came up to formally say hello, but he’s actually down on the main floor. That’s why he seemed on edge, my love,” Skye said to her husband out loud.

“Right, right right.” Thaddeus stood up and he was a colossal size as if he built building all by his lonesome.  “I’ll take her down there and you keep everything warm for me, my dear.” He winked wickedly.

Skye blushed. “I could take her, Thaddeus.”

“Oh no way. I finally want some bad gossip to circle around me instead of my fellow friends saying I’m so pussy whipped.”

“But you didn’t complain last night, my love.”

Blair even blushed at their verbal banter. They acted like newlyweds.

“Follow me, ma’am,” Thaddeus said. “At least I get to cheat on my wife in public while all the other ones have to hide it.”

“It was very nice to meet you,” Skye said rolling her eyes at her husband’s silliness.

Blair hadn’t told them her name but they really made her feel at ease especially since she was really so nervous about seeing Sterling Newman again.

When they came to the first floor, Thaddeus took her hand and led her through the crowd. It was tight quarters and each table was filled with at least two or more people.

“The middle of the restaurant,” Thaddeus said perplexed. “He’s gotten a table smack dab in the middle.” Even Thaddeus looked confused about that. “He wanted this to be a very public date.”

She only shrugged as they arrived at the table. Sterling’s teal eyes went sharply to his brother as if he were angry about being disturbed, but then he saw her and his expression immediately soften and he stood up as if he had been caught doing something wrong.

“I believe this young lady belongs to you, Sterling,” Thaddeus said. “They assumed she was meeting with my wife and I for dinner since you never-“

Sterling cut Thaddeus off. “Thank you Thad. Have a good night.”

He was dismissing his brother sharply.

Thaddeus turned to her and kissed the back of her hand. “It was very nice to meet you, ma’am.”

“Bea,” she said. “Ma’am seems so old.”

“Goodnight, Thaddeus,” Sterling said again with that cold tone of discharge.

When Thaddeus finally walked away, Sterling came to her.  He was dressed in a suit without his tie. She could see there had been an impression of a tie, but he had taken it off. “I really didn’t think you’d come. I thought that kid was playing around with me.”

“I have a feeling Shadow doesn’t play when it comes to money and the things she wants.”

“That was a female?” he asked incredulously.

“I said the same thing myself.”

It seemed they both remembered why she was here and where they were because they were both suddenly embarrassed at how easily they could speak to one another and the rest of the world didn’t matter.

He pulled her chair out. “Are you left handed or right?”

It was a very odd question to ask, but she answered. “I’m right.”

Sterling moved to the right chair and pulled it out from the table for her. She noticed the chair had been moved very close to the right of his original chair, but she didn’t try to move away.

This was a very strange meeting for a “date.” Not something she had expected.

As he sat down next to her, she said, “Is this what you really wanted to do? Just have dinner?”

“I’ve ordered already so the waiter won’t be bothering us for a moment,” he said.

“How do you know what I wanted to eat?”

He smirked. “Eating wasn’t really why I called you here.”

She stiffened and looked around the restaurant. “Why did you call me here?”

“How many men have you had?” he questioned his eyes looking at her, but she felt they were looking right through her soul.

He was evaluating her in more ways than one.

There was a glass of water in front of her and whether it had been for him at that moment she didn’t care. Her throat was dry as a bone.

After drinking several swallows knowing he was watching her the whole time, she said, “I’ve willingly been with one. The rest were for bartering.”

“That many?” he questioned raising a brow.

Damn, did he just look ten times sexier? Or was her libido just going out of whack? “And how many for you?” she inquired to keep the conversation going.

“I’ve never been in a deep relationship. None of my relations usually last more than one night. Something about me being an asshole.” He smirked. “Women find me either too much or too boring.”

She wondered what did he mean by too much? Yet she wasn’t going to ask about that. She was being paid to enjoy his company for this night only, which was why she didn’t question when he said more than one night.

Taking another sip of her water, she noted he was still staring at her as if he couldn’t believe she was there.

Putting the drink down slowly as if she was doing something wrong, she asked, “I’m usually just performing , but I don’t think this would be an appropriate place to perform.”

“You’re damn right about that,” he said very seriously. “Yet a perfect place to help me with one of my vices.”

“Your vices?”

He reached under the table and took her hand. She was only slightly aware that there were some curious glances at their table and people even whispering under their breath after looking their way, yet no one actually outright stared at them.

She realized this was her first time being with a white man in so long of company. All Ray Senior’s friend had been black, but she wasn’t prejudice, just very observant. At least Sterling Newman was nice to look at if she looked past the fact he looked as if someone was always irritating him.

Matter of fact… her thoughts suddenly went astray as she started paying attention to what was going on with her hand under the table.

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