After Hours (26 page)

“M
r. Haynes, this is Jack in the lobby. There's a courier from Kazarjian with a delivery for you.”

Swinging his legs over the pale gray leather chaise in his private lounge, Lance reached for the telephone on a black lacquer table. He pressed a button on the console, connecting him directly to the building lobby. “Please send him up.”

Lance had made a call earlier that morning he realized it would change his relationship with Dina. Her performance as “Honey Dip” had him confused, elated and wondering what he had released in her when he'd taken her virginity. Her passion matched her beauty—both were shocking and breathtaking.

Reaching for his jacket over the back of a matching leather chair, Lance slipped his arms into the sleeves. A soft buzzing echoed throughout the office at the same time he made his way to the entrance. The screen on the closed-circuit security system showed the face of one of the building's security personnel and that of another man.

Lance unlocked and opened the door. Extending his hand, he smiled at the guard. “Thanks for bringing him up.” He'd given explicit instructions that the courier was to be personally escorted to his office.

The guard surreptitiously palmed the bill Mr. Haynes had pressed into his palm. “Please call me when you want me to bring him down.”

“I will.”

Stepping back, Lance opened the door wider and nodded to the courier. “Please come in, Mr. Kazarjian.”

Nicolas Kazarjian, a slightly built, swarthy man with a nervous facial tic stepped into the office of the man who'd called his nephew earlier that morning with a request usually afforded privileged customers. Once his nephew had identified who'd made the call, he'd decided to meet Mr. Haynes personally.

Switching a leather case to his left hand, he extended his right one. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Haynes.”

Lance shook the small, moist hand, smiling. “I want to thank you for coming on such short notice.”

“Time is nothing when it comes to love.”

“You're right,” Lance confirmed. “Would you like something to eat or drink?”

“No, no, no. I'm good.”

Lance extended an arm. “If that's the case, then we'll get down to business. Please follow me.”

He led the jewelry designer into the room where he'd lain awaiting his arrival. It was a smaller antechamber with a private bath and a Zen bar. Once he closed the door it became the perfect place to unwind. Whenever he buzzed Della to tell her he was “out” she knew not to put through any calls. The only exception was when Dina called. He'd instructed his executive assistant she was to connect him with Dina Gordon anytime or anyplace.

The lightly scented candles on a low table provided a calming backdrop to the semilighted space. When he touched a switch on the wall, recessed lights softly illuminated the room with walls covered in a fabric that resembled oyster-white raw silk.

“Are you certain I can't get you something to drink?” Lance asked again.

Mr. Kazarjian lifted his shoulders under a rumpled pale blue jacket. He angled his head. “Perhaps I'll take a little cognac. I'm not driving,” he added quickly.

“Please make yourself comfortable, Mr. Kazarjian.”

Lance walked over to a cabinet stocked with bottles of spirits, wines and liquors and poured two fingers of French cognac into a leaded-crystal tumbler. When he returned with Nicolas's drink, he saw that the man had placed an assortment of diamond engagement rings on a small black velvet tray.

He nodded when Lance handed him the glass. “Do you see anything you like, Mr. Haynes?”

“I like them all.”

“Then take them all.”

Lance stared at the jewelry designer as if he'd taken leave of his senses. The man had brought him eight diamonds rings, no doubt appraising for millions. He only needed one ring, not eight.

Taking a seat next to the jeweler, Lance stared at the rings, wondering which design Dina would prefer. He knew he was taking a risk in buying a ring before discussing marriage with her, but if he hadn't been a risk taker, then he never would've gone and set up his own company.

Everything was a risk and there were no guarantees—and that included life. At forty-nine, he didn't want to second-guess everything he did or every decision he made. He'd fallen in love with Dina Gordon and he wanted to marry her.

Nicolas took a sip of the cognac and smiled. It was excellent. He placed the glass on a matching coaster. “Well, Mr. Haynes, what do you think your lady would like?”

“I'm not sure.”

“Does she wear jewelry?”

“I've only seen her with earrings.”

“What kind of earrings?”

“I know she has a pair of gold hoops.” He didn't tell him about the small diamond heart-shaped earrings he'd given her.

“Are the hoops small or large?”

“They're not too big.” Lance remembered Dina telling him that she didn't wear earrings to work because she didn't have a pair that weren't hoops. All earrings had to be studs.

“How does she dress? Is she fancy or conservative?”

“She's definitely not fancy,” Lance said. “Her clothes are more along the classic lines.” That was what he liked about Dina. She wasn't one to show a lot of skin, yet her style of dress flattered her body.

He pointed to an emerald-cut diamond ring with a cushion bezel and trapezoid side stones set in platinum. “I like this one.”

A sly grin parted Nicolas's lips. “You have wonderful taste, Mr. Haynes.” He'd selected one of the most expensive rings in the collection.

Lance picked it up. The ring was magnificent. “What's the total carat weight?”

“The center stone is two and one-quarter carats, and the others stones total one and a quarter. The entire ring is three and one-half carats.”

He slipped the ring on his little finger. It wouldn't go past his fingernail. “What size is it?”

“They are all fives. You told my nephew that she is a small woman.”

“Yes, she's petite.”

“If you need to have it sized, we'll send someone to measure her finger, then we'll return it to you the same day.”

“Let's hope it fits, because when I put it on her finger I don't want to have to take it off.”

“So you want that one, Mr. Haynes?”

Lance glanced at the other rings, some with fancy yellow and pink diamonds and others cut into heart, pear and round shapes. The ring perched on the tip of his left pinky “spoke” to him, and he considered that a good sign.

“Yes, I do. How much is it?”

Nicolas took a deep breath and quoted a price for the ring, watching and waiting for Mr. Haynes's reaction. “Of course, we will give you a written appraisal for the ring.”

“Thank you.” He pushed to his feet. “I'll be back with your check.”

Nicolas waited until Lance left the room before picking up his glass and draining it. He'd never heard of Lancelot Haynes until his nephew told him that he'd Googled the name. What did he know about searching someone's name on the Internet? His only concern was whether a customer was pleased with his designs and
if
they could afford to pay the price for flawless and near-flawless diamonds.

He smiled for the first time, exhibiting stained teeth that were the result of smoking too many strong Turkish cigarettes. Mr. Haynes returned with his check. Removing a polishing cloth from his jacket pocket, he rubbed it over the stones. Reaching into his other pocket, he took out a white leather ring box and placed the ring gently into the groove.

“I know your lady will be very surprised, Mr. Haynes,” he said, placing the box on the table.

Lance smiled. “You're right. She will be very surprised.”

 

Dina had just gotten into bed when her cell phone rang. She picked it up, smiling when she saw Lance's name. “Hi, Big Daddy.”

“Hey, baby girl. Do you mind if I stop by for a few minutes?”

“I'm in bed, Lance.” She didn't want him to stay over because she'd told Mr. and Mrs. Foster that she didn't entertain men in her apartment. The exception had been when Mrs. Foster let him in.

“What I have to show you will only take a few minutes.”

“Where are you?”

“I'm in my car outside your place.”

“Come on up.”

Reaching for a cover-up that matched her revealing nightgown, she made her way out of the bedroom and down the hallway to the door. She opened it as Lance stepped off the last stair. She'd barely closed the door when he swept her up in his arms and carried her into the bedroom, placing her on the bed, his body following hers down. He reached over and turned on the lamp on the nightstand.

Dina searched his face. There was a slight puffiness under his eyes, but other than that he looked the same. “What's wrong, Lance?”

“Nothing's wrong, darling.”

She lifted a questioning eyebrow. “Why are you here? I thought we agreed that we wouldn't see each other again until Sunday.”

Cradling her face between his hands, he brushed a kiss over her parted lips. “I couldn't wait until Sunday to give you something.”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

He shifted slightly, reached into the pocket of his slacks and took out the ring box.

“I want to give you this.”

Dina's eyes grew large as she stared at the box on the broad palm. She knew it held a piece of jewelry. Lance had given her diamond earrings, but she suspected it was more than a pair of earrings in this box.

“Take it, baby girl.”

He moved off her and she pushed herself into a sitting position. She took the box and opened it. Light from the lamp fired the precious diamond winking seductively at her. She covered her mouth with a trembling hand. “Oh, no!”

Lance closed his eyes when the tears flowed down Dina's face. He had no way of knowing whether she would accept or reject his offer of marriage. He opened his eyes. “Will you marry me, Dina Gordon?” There. He'd said the words he'd never spoken to another woman.

Dina couldn't stop crying and she couldn't stop shaking. Everything she'd ever wanted and prayed for had come from a man named Lancelot Londell Haynes. He'd become lover and protector. She wasn't in love with him because she didn't know how to love, but what she did feel for Lance was something so new and pure that she suspected it was love.

His gentleness, his generosity and his lovemaking made her feel special, like the princesses in the fairy tales she'd read as a little girl. She was his baby girl and he was her Big Daddy.

“Yes,” she whispered, smiling through her tears. “Yes, Lancelot Londell Haynes, I will marry you.”

Lance took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto Dina's finger. It was a perfect fit. The knuckle-to-knuckle ring would've overpowered her tiny hand if her fingers were shorter. “It's almost as beautiful as you are.”

Smiling through her tears, Dina rested her head on his shoulder. “You have no idea how happy you've made me.”

“Come home with me tonight, baby.”

She sniffled. “We can't do anything because I have my period.”

“We don't have to do anything. I just want to go to sleep with you next to me and wake up with you next to me.”

“Same here.” She pulled out of his loose embrace. “Let me up so I can get dressed.”

Lance waited in the living room while she went into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her hair. It took less than ten minutes to pull on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and slip her feet into a pair of running shoes. She didn't need to take her personal toiletries because since she'd begun sleeping with Lance she'd purchased similar items to leave in his guest bedroom.

Mr. and Mrs. Foster were sitting on matching rocking chairs on the porch when she and Lance came out of the side entrance. She touched Lance's arm. “I'll be with you in a few minutes.” Walking up the steps to the porch, she smiled at the couple who'd been married longer than she'd been alive.

“Mr. and Mrs. Foster, I want you to be the first to know that I'm going to get married.” Extending her left hand, she showed them her engagement ring.

Mr. Foster held her hand while his wife gasped aloud. “It's beautiful,” he crooned.

“Bless you, child,” Mrs. Foster added. “You and your young man.”

“When are you getting married?” Mr. Foster asked.

“We haven't set a date.” And they wouldn't, Dina thought, until after she settled up with Payne. She eased her hand from her landlord's gentle grip. “We're going out to celebrate.” What she didn't tell the Christian couple was that she was going to her fiancé's house to share his bed.

Turning, she skipped down the stairs and crossed the street to where Lance leaned against the bumper of his car, waiting for her. “Honey Dip loves her Big Daddy.” Dina didn't know what love actually felt like, but whatever it was she was feeling, she prayed it was love and would last forever.