The reality of the day began to take a toll on Eric. Friday, he was on top of the world and just as quickly, that world came crushing down. Nothing, not his family, his niece nor his music ever put him on a high the way Siri did; more so Friday night than the other times they were together. There was something about that night that took his feelings for her to an entirely different level. And now, the one thing she feared most was materializing and it would be his fault. There was a soft knock on the door as he sat in his solarium. This was the place where he went to think or work out problems. “Yes,” he replied to the knock.
Kerri Kendrick, Siri’ and TeKaya’s mother slowly opened the door, then looked around. Eric was sitting on the loveseat of a beautifully crafted wicker furniture set, surrounded by plants of all kinds and a beautiful pond. “May I come in Eric?”
Smiling at the woman who gave birth to Siri, he nodded his head. “Of course you may.”
“Oh my,” she exclaimed as she ventured further into the room. “This is lovely. How many different plants do you have in here?”
Eric looked around the room he sometimes took for granted. “At least fifty. Half of them are from different places around the world. Something about their beauty captures me and I end up bringing them home,” he smiled.
“You like beautiful things.” It was a statement more than a question.
He softly raised his eyebrow and smiled. “I do.”
She walked over, stood in front of him, and asked, “Is it my Siri’s physical beauty or inner beauty that has you in a freefall?”
For a moment, he did not reply. Then he pointed to the single chair in front of him indicating she should take a seat, then sat forward as if he was about to reveal a deep secret. “Both,” he replied with a knowing smile. “I’m in love with your daughter.”
“I know,” she smiled warmly. “And she is in love with you, but she doesn’t know it yet.” Taking his hands in hers, she looked into his eyes. It was so understandable how her daughter could fall in love with this quiet, sensual man. “The Siri we have with us now is very different from the Siri of before.” She shook her head back and forth searching for the right words. “The love of another man took her from us. I’m hoping your love will bring her back.”
How was he going to tell this woman, who was looking at him with so much hope and trust, that he might be the cause of more devastating hurt to her daughter? How was he supposed to protect her from her biggest fear when just being around him could be harmful? The more he thought about why Siri left this morning, the more he understood. The first time they were to step out as a couple, frenzy would begin with the media. They would want to know all about the woman who had captured the heart of the elusive Silk Davies. The way they were known to dig. He was certain that the incident in Richmond would come out, and so was Siri. That’s why she walked away. But it may have been too late. “I’m afraid I will be the cause of more humiliation for her.”
“Because you made love to my daughter and someone is greedy enough to try to exploit that moment. No, I think the responsibility for that humiliation belongs in the hands of the person destroying something so beautiful and private for personal gain. You shouldn’t carry that guilt.” She sat back. “However, Siri is not going to see it that way. The first thing she will think about is losing her teaching position. What she hasn’t realized yet, is that she has outgrown that phase of her life. She’s trying to recapture the past, and frankly, it can’t be done. But she has to come to that realization on her own. Now as for you, here is my advice. Don’t run away. Give her room to grow and find out what she wants for herself. Once she figures that out, she will be knocking at your door. Whatever you do, don’t give up on her.”
His heart stopped racing, his mind cleared and the anger of before dissipated. “You are an amazing woman. Here I thought my mother was the only one that could ease my fears.” He smiled. “I want you to know, I will protect Siri no matter what it costs. I will not allow this to be used against her in any way.” He stood and so did she. “I have to speak with Ty. Would you like to come along and see a grown man grovel?”
♫
Pay day, what a sweet, sweet moment, was all Latoya could think about since eight this morning. She was now free of the brat and was 1.5 million dollars richer. Signing the papers giving custody of Sierra to Jason, was the cake, but what she had in store for Eric was the icing. The agreement was simple. She was to sign over custody, receive a cashier’s check and the deed to the house once Jason had an opportunity to move his things. The packers were scheduled to be there by five that evening to begin the process. A week from Monday, the entire situation would be over. Jason certainly did not waste any time closing her out of his life. Latoya thought as she held the check in her hand. Four years of her life, giving birth to his child and living with him, and it only took him twenty-four hours to end it.
Well, unfortunately, for the Davies, she wasn’t through with them yet. Now, Eric would have to get down on his knees and apologize to her for the humiliation of turning her down. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, “That’s right—no one turns me down without living to regret it.” Even with the bruise on her face, courtesy of TeKaya, Jason’s new girl, she still looked good and was 1.5 million dollars richer.
It wasn’t enough. Eric would also have to pay, and double the amount she had received from Jason, to keep her from exposing the little love video. She picked up her cell phone and dialed Roy, the investigator. But his voicemail picked up. She left him a message. “Roy this is Latoya Wright. I want to complete that transaction today. Return this call within the hour or the deal is off.” She hung up the telephone. “That should get him moving.”
♫
Roy listened to the message from Latoya along with two very big, intimidating men from Ty Pendleton’s’ firm. Lord knows, if he didn’t have bad luck, he would have no luck at all. The moment he reached his office in the wee hours of Saturday morning, Ty Pendleton walked through his door, literally scaring the crap out of him.
The man didn’t say much, just stared at him. He never gave his name, but Roy knew who he was. “Can I help you with something Mr. Pendleton?” He casually asked.
“Do you value your life Mr. Kelly?”
“I do,” he replied while fumbling with the disc in his pocket. He knew it was not a coincidence that the attorney for the man he had a nude video of was standing in his office.
“Good,” he replied and took a seat. “Let’s negotiate.”
Roy released a nervous laugh. “I’m not sure what we need to …”
Ty held his hand up to stop what he was about to say. “If you are still standing by the time I reach inside my jacket, I will be pulling out a cell phone rather than a check book. Do you want to finish your statement or would you like to take a seat?” Roy was many things, but he was no fool. He slowly sat in the chair behind his desk. “Smart move,” Ty pulled out his checkbook. “The item you have is more valuable than $100,000.00 and Latoya Wright knows that. She’s going to make ten times that when she attempts to blackmail my client. You’re going to help me stop her. As a reward, you will receive $500,000.00 and your freedom. If in a reasonable period of time, I feel you are trustworthy, I may send some work your way from time to time.”
Thinking about the offer was not an issue, hell it was more than the woman was offering. But the prospect of working for Ty Pendleton would be beneficial. The man handled some of the top entertainers and athletes in the business. A few referrals from him could make him a rich man.
“What would I have to do to prove I’m trustworthy?”
“Turn over everything you have, from the disc in your pocket to the camera you took it on. And never,” the word was emphasized, “let me see or hear one word about what you saw.”
“I can do that. This didn’t feel right to me from the beginning. I mean, those two looked like they were really into each other. It wasn’t a booty call or anything like that. But it was my job.”
“You saw an opportunity and you took it,” Ty commented. “I’m not mad at that, but you need to seek better opportunities. Ruining someone’s life only brings bad karma into yours.” He stood and held his hand out for the items. Roy gave him the camera bag and the disc out of his pocket. “Is this everything Roy?”
“Yes. That’s everything.”
“This is your first test of trust, Roy.” Two men walked in the door and stood there. Ty looked over his shoulder, then back to Roy. “However, just in case you have a change of heart, a few friends of mine, I like to refer to as The Towers, are going to be spending a little time with you. Before sunrise, I’ll have a cashier’s check delivered to you here. Don’t feel intimidated by them; they’re just here to keep your company.” He took the bag and walked out.
Well, twenty-four hours later, the two towers were still with him. They were cordial. They talked sports, women, drinking, the normal things men talk about. But he wasn’t fooled for a minute. He knew that if he made one wrong move, he would not live to see a dime of that $500.000.00 check Ty Pendleton had had delivered to him. Relief washed over him when the Wright woman called. He didn’t expect to hear from her until Monday, but it seemed Ty knew she was going to call sooner. For a minute, he felt sorry for the woman, because apparently she did not know what she had coming her way. But then, he thought about his good fortune, and that moment of weakness disappeared.
“What do we do now?” he asked as he listened to the message again. Do I return the call?”
“Not yet,” One of the towers replied.
“Do we need to call Pendleton and let him know she made contact?”
“He knows,” the other tower replied.
Roy looked from one to the other. But before he could question them, tower number one cell phone buzzed.
“Yeah.” He answered then listened for a minute and hung up. “We have to make a move.” He stood, as did the other tower. They both looked at Roy.
The expressions on their face were not one to be questioned, so Roy stood. “I’m going with you.”
“Glad you see it our way,” tower number two replied and had the nerve to smile. They tapped Roy on the shoulder as they walked out of the door. “It’s going to be fun breaking you in,” tower number one said before turning off the lights and closing the door.
♫
Twenty minutes later Roy found himself in the home of the man, he had just video taped and the tension in the room was thick. Eric and Jason Davies sat behind a desk in what appeared to be an office and then some, it was so expansive. Ty Pendleton and the towers stood behind him. He was center court. No one said anything when he was ushered through the mini castle and strategically placed in the center of the lion’s den.
Eric didn’t trust himself to speak or move. If he did the bastard, standing in front of him, would be dead in a matter of minutes. “Ty tells me you are not a bad person, Mr. Kelly. You are a man that was hired to do a job, and you did it very well.” Jason spoke from the window where he sat, on the windowsill, beside his brother who was sitting in the chair behind a desk.
Roy knew an intimidation move when he saw one, and this one was good. Their weakness was that he knew not one of the men in that room would intentionally harm anyone. They were all decent people. Well, with the exception of the two towers. He was sure they would take your life out before you blinked an eye. But his concentration was on the man he was sure would have the final say on him. “Mr. Davies, this was not personal, it was a job. A job you made easy.” Eric didn’t flinch or bat an eye. That made Roy a little uncomfortable. “You and the little lady were reckless. I mean, I can understand why you were distracted. Cause the lady, well, she’s a looker.”
Before he could look up his eyes met Eric’s fist. The next thing he knew Eric had came across the desk, and he was on the floor. “Eric,” Jason and Ty called out, struggling to get Eric’s hands from around Roy’s throat. When they pulled them apart, the towers was holding Roy, and Jason had Eric.
Eric jerked away and calmly walked back around the desk and retook his seat. After everyone had settled down, Eric placed his arms on the desk and looked up at Roy. “It would be best Mr. Kelly if you refrain from referring to anything you saw during the timeframe when you were invading my privacy and trespassing on someone’s property.” The calmness of his voice was unsettling.
Jason took over, and his voice was just as chilling as his brother’s was. “Ty tells me you have agreed to cooperate with us. Is that a fact or are you playing both sides against each other?”
Roy stood his ground. Whatever he might have thought about Eric “Silk” Davies before, was now completely erased. The man might be quiet and reserved, but he had a temper and could throw a decent punch. “Mr. Pendleton made me a very attractive offer that I have accepted. Whatever you might think of me, I don’t slouch on my agreements.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Here’s what we are going to do.”
♫
Two hours later, Eric, Jason, and Miriam were seeing Kerri and TeKaya to the airport for the return flight to Richmond. “Well it’s been quite an interesting weekend.” Kerri smiled. “One daughter ends up in jail, the other on a scandalous video.”
“Kerri, I can’t tell you how sorry I am about all of this. I am so worried about Eric and Siri. I don’t know if they can make it through this. But that tramp that started all of this is going down. That I promise you.”
Kerri reached out and hugged Miriam. “Don’t you worry about Siri; she is strong. Besides for the next week we have a wedding to plan. So there will be no worrying and no sad faces. Let the boys handle this and if they can’t we will.” They looked over at Jason and TeKaya talking to Eric. “Let’s make a pact.”
“Okay,” Miriam replied.
“Come high or hell water, we are going to get Eric and Siri married before this year is out.”
Miriam smiled. Kerri was indeed an amazing, forgiving woman. “Thank you for not blaming Eric in all of this.” She sighed. “Eric isn’t the player the media makes him out to be. To tell you the truth I think this is the first time he’s been in love. I actually think he would kill Latoya over Siri, so that girl had better be careful. You can’t mess with a man’s heart.”
“Okay ladies, it’s time to go,” Jason said as they walked to the steps of the plane. “We’ll be in on Thursday.” He hugged Kerri. “Thank you for everything.”
Eric reached out and hugged her next. “I’ll fix this,” he whispered in her ear.
“Let’s get on the plane while I still can,” TeKaya said looking at Jason. “I’ll call as soon as we land.” She finally released his hand.
Jason, Eric, and Miriam watched as the plane taxied down the runway. “I have the name of a new reality show.” Miriam announced. Jason and Eric looked at each other. “Eric and TK throw down. Yep, I think that’s a good name.” She turned and began walking back to the car and continued to talk. “I’m buying both of you punching bags for Christmas.” Jason looked at his little brother. Shaking his head as they climbed into the car, “You know, I’ve never known you to be so violent, first Ty and then the investigator. I just don’t know what’s come over you.”
Eric stared at his brother. “I’ve never known you to be so loving, first Latoya and now TeKaya.”
“I never loved Latoya, but I do love TeKaya,” Jason smiled.
Eric sighed. “I know the feeling.”