She is My Sister (5 page)

“You are special to me, Holly, and I intend to prove that to
you this evening.
 
I’ll pick you up
at closing.”
 
He hung up the
telephone, and Holly spent the rest of the day worrying about what he meant by
proving that she was special to him.
 
If the man thought a few words would earn him a place in her bed, then
he was mistaken.
 
Holly was waiting
for marriage.
 
She knew that Stacy
and Edmund were openly living together, but anyone could see that Edmund was
head over heels in love with the beautiful Stacy.

Sara came to work and Holly could tell she was upset about
something.
 
“What’s wrong with you
today, sis?”

“Nothing.”

“You may as well tell me and save all the badgering I’ll do
until I worm it out of you,” Holly insisted.
 
“I am extremely persistent.”

“It’s not really a huge secret.
 
The building I live in has been sold,
and the apartments are going to be sold as condos.
 
I love my place and I don’t want to
move, but there is no way on this earth I can get a loan to buy a condo.
 
I am another two years, at least, from
earning my masters, and where am I going to find another apartment I can afford?
 
The thought of moving home with the
parents makes me ill.
 
Mom doesn’t
respect anyone’s privacy, as you know, and Dad will start treating me like a
teenager with all his rules. If you hear of anything, will you let me know,
Holly?”

“Sure will, honey,” Holly promised sympathetically.
 
She gave Sara a big hug, but was
prevented from saying anything else as a family came in to order flowers for
their father’s funeral, and the telephone rang at the same time.
 
Sara got the phone, and Holly spent the
next hour offering sympathy and helping them pick out just the right
arrangements to honor their parent.

The rest of the day passed busily and it didn’t take Holly
long to realize that some of her business was a direct result of her work for
the charity event.
 
Several
customers who came in and called mentioned loving her work, and she was pleased
as could be.
 
She might not be as
beautiful as her sisters, but she was talented when it came to working with
flowers.

When Quince entered the shop right before closing time,
Holly was actually surprised to see him.
 
The man was so handsome it took her breath away.
 
What did he see in her?
 
She hoped he wasn’t trying to pay her
back for helping him on Saturday by giving her some attention?
 
Still, his eyes lit up when he looked at
her, and that smile was genuine.

“Are you almost ready to leave, Holly?
 
I thought we could drop your car off at
your place and then I could drive us somewhere for dinner…?”

“I don’t live too far from here,” she admitted.
 
Quince followed her, and waited
patiently for her to park her van.
 
It was the same van she used to make deliveries; the sides were
colorfully painted with the name of her shop and the telephone number, but what
really made it stand out and catch everyone’s attention was the floral
arrangements painted on each side.
 
Each
one was very beautiful, and she’d paid an outrageous sum for the artwork.
 
But, it was good for business.

“I hope you don’t mind Italian?” Quince asked as he
patiently waited for her to fasten her seatbelt.
 
“I’m super hungry+ tonight; there was no
time for lunch today.”

“I am hungry, too, and Italian is fine.”
 
She would order a huge salad, and only
eat a small portion of pasta.
 
Holly
wasn’t about to gain back the eighty pounds she’d lost.
 
“I had a busy day, too,” she
admitted.
 
“Several customers were a
direct result of the floral arrangements I did for your charity event.”

“That’s great!” he said with a smile, genuinely
pleased.
 
They talked of other
things, their conversation easy and unforced.
 
Holly learned more about his family, and
Quince asked about her siblings and parents.
 
When they were finished eating, he drove
back to her place.
 
“I hope you’re
planning to invite me inside for a cup of coffee, Holly.
 
We have a serious matter to discuss.”

Holly looked at him in dismay.
 
His tone of voice was very firm, and her
insides quivered in response.
 
“I
have coffee,” she answered, and melted when he smiled at her.
 
Holly thought that one of her sisters
would have known exactly what to say that wouldn’t have sounded so dumb!
 
Quince didn’t act as though he found her
stupid, and Holly found herself laughing as he related a story concerning his
boss trying to use the new coffee maker they’d installed in the break room.
 
He took her keys from her hand and
swiftly unlocked the door to her condo.

“This is a lovely place, Holly.
 
I would know it was your home in a
heartbeat.”

“Really?”

“Of course.
 
It
is beautiful, just like you.”

“Quince, you don’t need to flatter me,” she said a bit more
sharply than she intended.
 
“Beautiful
describes Stacy and Jenna, but not me!”
 
She hurried to the kitchen so that he wouldn’t see the tears in her
eyes.
 
But, before she could take
the expensive coffee from the freezer where she kept it so it wouldn’t go stale
before she used it all, Quince took her by the arm and turned her to face
him.
 
His face was set in angry
lines and Holly swallowed hard.

“I never ever want to hear you say something like that about
yourself again, young lady.
 
You are
beautiful, and I think you are more beautiful than Stacy.”

“She’s thin, and…”

“And she looks like a toothpick.
 
You are a woman with curves where I like
them.
 
Do I need to spank you to
prove that?” he demanded, and Holly felt her tummy do a flip-flop.

“You wouldn’t!” she whispered, wondering if he would.
 
In the next second Quince bent her over
the granite counter top and gave her bottom ten hard spanks!
 
Her bottom was stinging when he pulled
her up to look into her eyes.

“Do you still think I wouldn’t?” he asked.
 
“You are beautiful, and I want to hear
you say so, pretty lady.”

“You make me feel beautiful,” she whispered, sliding her
arms around his neck and standing on tiptoe to kiss him.
 
Maybe it
was
possible that she could be like her two older sisters and find
love!

Chapter Four:
 
Sara

Sara was depressed, and there was no point in denying
it.
 
Holly paid her a more than fair
wage for the hours she put in at the shop, but with school and rent and all the
other bills she had, there was no way she could afford to stay in the apartment
she’d called home for the last three years.
 
The apartment was hers before that jerk
of a boyfriend betrayed her with another woman, and she kicked him out into the
street in spite of the fact he thought he had as much right to her place as she
did.
 
She’d gone to court to defend
her apartment, and she won.
 
Now,
her beloved building was sold to some man who probably had millions, and he was
ruining her life!

Sara wiped her leaking eyes and then blew her nose.
 
What she needed to do was go and see
this mini god and give him a piece of her mind!
 
He shouldn’t be allowed to disrupt
people’s lives without so much thought as what to eat for lunch that day!
 
Maybe the others who lived here were
able to afford to keep their homes, or perhaps they were like Mrs. Mendez, who
looked forward to moving in with her daughter and son-in-law and her
grandkids.
 
Jim and Susie were
pregnant and needed a larger place, so they weren’t heartbroken, either.
 
But, a few others were as distraught as
she was, and Sara felt it was time that someone
confront
the new owner and let him know how he was ruining their lives for a few
dollars.

Sara didn’t bother changing clothes.
 
She was wearing her favorite worn jeans
and a tee shirt from the university she attended.
 
Flip-flops were on her feet, and her
hair was braided into two plaits.
 
She didn’t bother with makeup, either.
 
After all, she wasn’t out to impress the
jackass!

Sara got into her beat up car, put said jackass’ address
into the GPS that her dear sisters gave her last Christmas because Sara was
hopeless when it came to directions.
 
She got so turned around without even trying, especially at night, and
the others worried about her driving into a bad area of town and something
terrible happening to her.
 
Sara
used that GPS religiously.
 
The
farther she drove, the angrier she got… and when she discovered that he lived
in a gated community, it made her even angrier.
 
The guard’s little office space was
probably as big as her apartment!

“Is Mr. Williamson expecting you, Miss?” the guard asked.

“No.” She told the truth.
 
If he knew she was coming he would
probably dodge her.

“Wait here just a moment, please.”
 
The middle-aged man went back inside his
office, picked up a telephone, and Sara was positive she would be told to get
lost when the guard returned.
 
But,
to her surprise, he returned and smiled.
 
“Mr. Williamson is home, Miss.
 
You just stay on this street for three blocks, turn left on Williamson
Drive, and his home is on the right side of the block.”
 
He
smile
again
and Sara wanted to smack him for what he was thinking!

She found his home easily, which was a shock.
 
But then, it wasn’t all that hard.
 
His house was huge and took up the right
side of the street.
 
Sara realized
that his garage was huge and probably parked at least five cars!
 
She stomped up the sidewalk and then
leaned on the doorbell.

When Vincent heard the doorbell ring and ring and keep on
ringing he quickly realized that the ‘pretty lady’ that Jacob said was at the
gate asking for him was not here for a pleasant interlude.
 
By the time he reached the front door he
was irritated.
 
He opened the door,
ready to send the rude female on her way, but before he could say one word, her
hand shot out and slapped him with considerable force!
 
It took a lot to make Vincent truly angry,
but it had been a trying day, and the fact that
this slip of
a girl thought she could behave like a termagant and slap
him hard
enough to send him backwards a few steps before he caught his balance was the
final straw as far as he was concerned.

Sara gasped in shock as the man reached out and snagged her
wrist and pulled her inside.
 
“You
let me go, damn you!”

“You started this, lady, but I guarantee I am going to
finish it.”
 
He sat down on his
sofa, and then jerked her over his lap.
 
“I’m going to enjoy this,” he told the kicking redhead, and he brought
the palm of his hand down on her rounded bottom, and continued to spank her
with every intention of making her regret her behavior.

“
Owwwww
!
 
Stop!
 
Stop!
 
You have no right to do this, you rich
jackass!
 
You
don’t care what you do to people
,
do you
?
 
Ouch!
 
OUCH
!
 
Stop it!
 
Stop!”
 
Sara kicked and tried to squirm free but
Vincent Williamson was strong, and he continued to paddle her poor butt with a
hand that felt like a board.
 
Her
worn jeans were no protection whatsoever!
 

“I am not the one whose manners are so poor as to slap a man
without so much as introducing yourself and stating your problem before
attacking!”
 
His face still burned
and he wanted her butt to burn just as badly.

“Stop, please!”
 
Sara
knew she was close to crying and that would be the final humiliation as far as
she was concerned.
 
“Please, this is
wrong!
 
I only hit you once!”

“Punitive damages,” was his prompt response as his hand
moved lower and started whacking her sit spots and upper thighs.