Buzzard Bay (9 page)

On the sand about ten feet below her, she saw that Mr. Manly had one of the models pinned up against the wall. She was naked, and her legs were wrapped around his waist. He was fully clothed, but it was quite obvious he was into her a long way by the pained expression on her face. July stood fascinated at the powerful thrusts that matched the girl’s moans, and then he looked up and saw July. He smiled and seemed to thrust harder. July’s legs felt like jelly; she felt the heat come to her face as she managed to pull herself back. Her breath came in gasps as she started along the path again.

“Whew,” she thought, “I’ve only been away from Bob a couple of days and already I’m horny.” She and Bob had a very active sex life. They didn’t miss many nights and often it was twice a night, unless she was away visiting her family or he was on a business trip. They hadn’t been apart much for years. She visualized Bob’s big cock and how she’d like to turn it on right now.

“Maybe I turned Mr. Waddell on too,” she laughed and entered the shop where she bought a sundress for now and an evening dress for the affair tonight. She returned through the casino in her new dress to find the bag lady, but she and the others had all left. She shoved the bikini into her handbag. “A souvenir,” she thought and made her way to the front of the hotel. She was relieved to see Arthur waiting patiently, sitting on the tailgate of his station wagon.

“How are you doing today, Mrs. Green?” he said with his big smile. He just made her feel so much better. On the way back to her hotel, she asked Arthur if he knew a Mr. Waddell.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “I don’t know him personally, but everyone knows about everyone in the islands.”

“What does he do?” she asked.

He answered, “He is the ancestral chief of the tribe that ruled the island before the white man came. His power runs deep in the voodoo and tribal traditions that still run deep in some societies in the islands. He’s very well-connected in the government,” Arthur answered. “I don’t know exactly what he does nor do I want to know, except that he’s probably a very good man to stay away from,” he said, looking at her.

“Thank you, Arthur,” she said, knowing not to push any further. “Our Mr. Waddell is a very interesting fellow,” she thought.

Arthur picked her up at nine o’clock and headed back toward the hotel. July had decided what she was going to do. “Arthur,” she said, “what were you told to do tonight?”

“I was told to take you to the Crystal Palace and then go home for the night,” Arthur told her.

“That’s what I thought. Arthur, would you wait for me? I’ll pay you.” Arthur looked at her.

“You’re a smart woman, Mrs. Green. I’ll wait for you. Just leave the doorman $5, and he’ll let me park out front until you decide to leave.”

“I shouldn’t be long, Arthur. Maybe two hours at the most. Thank you. I know you have a family at home. This is very nice.”

“No problem, Mrs. Green,” he grinned as she left the car, giving the doorman $10 just to make sure Arthur could indeed park out front. The doorman escorted her to the elevator and punched in the code to take her to the penthouse.

he stepped from the elevator right into the party. A small affair, she thought. There must be three hundred people here. She recognized the reggae music from her kids’ tapes at home. A live band was playing loudly right beside her. She kind of liked the music, she thought as she saw Tom rushing toward her. He took her arm, intending to lead her around the room. The room was elegant; it could be very intimidating, but not to July. People came to her; she didn’t need to go to them. She held the room in awe with her natural grace and beauty. She was as used to affluence as she was to reality. Not everything was as it looked; once you tore the affluence aside, you saw corruption as well as decay. She could tell the phonies from the real thing. She respected people for what they were; it never took her long to sort them out.

Tom soon found himself a hanger-on; not only was this woman beautiful, she was a mystery. No one knew where she came from, and they clamored to meet her. There were some legitimate people here, she decided, but I can tell who they are just by watching them leave here early. Her suspicions were confirmed about an hour after she had arrived. People began to leave, she was thinking about leaving too, when she looked to see Manly Waddell standing by her side. Her heart skipped a beat; he terrified her, yet there was something about him that was magnetic.

Tom jumped between them, “I don’t think I introduced you two today,” Tom said. “July, this is Manly Waddell.” July looked Manly straight in the eye.

“I guess we didn’t meet formally, but we did see each other in action, didn’t we?”

A puzzled look came over Tom’s face; a look of surprise came over Manly’s; he hadn’t expected her to be so straightforward. “Yes, I suppose we have,” he said.

“I’m having a much smaller gathering later,” he went on. “I want you to be there. I won’t take no for an answer.” He smiled and walked away.

Tom seemed very pleased. “Even I didn’t get invited to that,” he told her. “I’m glad you’re going. It will be very good for our project.” Neither man had any idea who they were dealing with. If they were used to having women at their beck and call, July was not impressed. She left Tom and went to the elevator.

A man by the door stopped her. “Mr. Waddell asked us to tell you to wait for him to escort you home,” the man told her. “It’s not safe to go alone.” July realized she was politely trapped.

he went back to the bar and ordered a drink. She watched the people in the room as it slowly emptied out. She could make a scene, and probably Mr. Waddell would be forced to take her home. She didn’t want that. Soon she saw what she was looking for. He had been introduced to her as Sir someone or another, definitely British, from their consulate most likely. He was slightly intoxicated and looking for company, definitely perfect for what she had planned. It wasn’t hard; she simply went over to him and struck up a conversation.

oon they were dancing. She steered him toward the elevator, bringing up the fact that she had brought all this money to gamble in the casino, and here she was stuck up here. Immediately, Sir so and so picked up on her plight. That’s not a problem; he was more than ready to help.

“Let’s go down and spend some of that money,” he said.

he giggled delightedly, “I’d love it!” Grabbing him a little tighter than necessary, they headed into the elevator.

“Take us down, old boy. We’re casino bound,” he told the man at the elevator door. The man looked perplexed but had no choice but to code them down. When they reached the casino, July wasted no time.

“I must go to the washroom,” she told him. “All this gambling makes me so excited,” she explained. July gave him a provocative look and left him with a look of expectation on his face. She had no idea how long he would stand there, nor did she care.

In no time, she was out the front door, past the doorman with a quick good night, and into Arthur’s car. She blew a sigh of relief, yet she was exhilarated, “You’re a sight for sore eyes, Arthur,” she said as they drove away. She reiterated to Arthur the events of the night. “I’m going home!” she stated at the end of her story.

“You’re a brave lady, Mrs. Green,” Arthur told her. “I’m sorry your stay here had to be an unhappy one, but I have an idea. My brother has a fishing boat. He’s taking me to see my family on Andros tonight. Why don’t you come?”

“Are you trying to kidnap me, Arthur?” she said jokingly.

Arthur smiled back. “God help the man who tries to kidnap you, Mrs. Green.”

he was giddy from the day’s events. “What the hell, another adventure is just what I need. I’ve never felt so alive,” she thought. They stopped at her hotel, picked up a few things, and the next thing she knew, she was on a boat headed for the island she loved so much.

The weekend flew by on the island; this was the Bahamas that July knew. Arthur’s family, while very poor money-wise, was very rich in sharing what little they had. When you walked into their humble home, it felt like a home, something that many people never experience. She was totally relaxed and reassured that the Bahamas were still the islands she had learned to love as she headed back to Nassau Sunday night.

he had talked to Bob; he wanted her to come right home, and she had agreed. Arthur dropped her off at her hotel. The desk was swamped with messages, which she took with her to her room to sort out. On her bed, she found a box with her sundress on it and next to the box lay a dozen red roses. The message read “Sorry for the inconvenience, Mr. W.”

Most of the other messages were from Tom, but one was from the Bahamas Board of Tourism. They wished her to phone them when she came in. For now, she’d phone Tom; the rest could wait until morning. Tom answered on the first ring. He sounded relieved that she was okay but didn’t ask her where she’d been. It came to her pretty quickly that Tom and probably everyone at the party thought she had spent the weekend with Sir what’s his name. Well, she wouldn’t tell them any different. Maybe if they thought she was involved with someone, they’d leave her alone. Her mind came back to Tom who was telling her the nature of the call from the Board of Tourism.

“They want you to do some work for them, July. It will be very good for the project,” Tom said.

“I’m going home,” July told him. Tom immediately began pleading with her. “They won’t start until after Christmas, just stay and see what they have to say. It will probably only take one more day.”

“All right, Tom,” she told him. “We’ll go and see them. Are you going to pick me up?”

“Great,” he answered. “I’ll be in the courtyard.” With this, she hung up.

Next, she phoned Bob, telling him what she was doing. Bob told her to do what she thought she should; he would come down if she needed him.

“Thanks darling,” she said. “I’ll be home in a couple of days. Miss you.”

he didn’t sleep well. What if Mr. Waddell was behind this, she thought. Tom hadn’t exactly been sterling either. Then she thought about what her mother had told her during her Miss Teen pageant days. “Keep your head up and your mind open,” she had told her. “There are leeches in that business, but there are good people too. Learn to sort them out and above all, gain their respect, and then the rotten ones will leave you alone.” Well, that still applies, she thought. With this in mind, she slept better.

Tom was there to pick her up at nine thirty. She was amazed! It was his way of saving face. When they entered the Tourism offices, Tom again tried to take control, but July paid him little mind. She saw Ozzie standing in an office doorway and headed for him. It didn’t take her long to find out it was Ozzie who had recommended and promoted her to the board for the job. Mr. Waddell was in no way involved.

“I look after the board’s photography,” Ozzie told her. “That job I did for Tom was a favor to Mr. Waddell. He’s a hard man to refuse.”

Ozzie’s expression darkened as he told her this. July got the impression that Ozzie didn’t like him much. Ozzie introduced her to the other people in the room. Lisa, a big black woman, was the person in charge. She told July how impressed they had been with the pictures Ozzie had taken, and that they would like to use her in a new video. They were to promote tourism in the Bahamas.

he would be featured in a brochure and shoot some commercials throughout the United States and Canada. They talked well past lunch. She learned the work would be mostly in Nassau and Freeport, but the final product would be done in Miami.

Finally, she asked, “How am I to be paid?”

Ozzie and Lisa both looked at Tom. “We thought since you were working for Tom, he would be paying you…”

July spoke to Ozzie, “Ozzie, did Tom suggest you recommend me to do this work?”

“No,” Ozzie answered. “I did that on my own.”

July turned to Tom. “We have nothing in writing, nor have I received any money from you to confirm I am working for you, is that right, Tom?”

Tom was furious; he had lost control of the situation a long time ago, trying to break in but getting nowhere with July.

“What about your hotel room?” he managed to get out, “and Arthur,I’ve got to look after him”

I’ll pay for my own hotel room, Tom. As for Arthur, he told me you hadn’t paid him anything, so I looked after that too.” Tom sputtered but kept his mouth shut.

July turned back to Lisa. “The fee Tom negotiated, was it a good one?”

“Standard,” Lisa stated, “the amount we usually pay, plus expenses.”

“What does an agent usually get for negotiating a price?” July asked.

This time Ozzie responded, “Fifteen to twenty percent is the usual fee,” he told her.

“All right,” July told them, “draw up a contract. Have it say that Tom is to receive a 20 percent agent’s fee, the rest is to be paid to me.” Tom, thinking he was going to be left out altogether, felt relieved; he almost seemed happy.

They went for lunch and when they returned, the contract was drawn up. July read it and found it to be fairly straightforward, until the last paragraph. “Who put this in here?” she demanded.

“I did,” Ozzie said, looking her straight in the eye.

This time, it was July’s turn to fume. “I’ve never been overweight in my life,” she retorted, always having prided herself on the way she kept her body.

“All the same,” Ozzie told her, “we want you to lose at least five pounds and in the right places. That means a rigorous training session in the next month before we start work. If you don’t, our contract becomes null and void.”

“Oh well,” she thought, “this had been all too easy. I guess no pain, no gain. At Christmastime, this will not be easy.” She tried to look as indignant as possible, but she agreed to his terms; now it was her turn to gain respect for Ozzie, she realized.

The next morning, Tom drove her to the airport. He seemed to have forgotten all about their differences and talked the whole time about the project.

“I’m expecting our funding any day now,” he told her, “so tell Bob to stay on the alert. We could be headed down here before March if everything works out.”

July had lost respect for Tom and told this to Bob shortly after she returned home. “You mean he’s lined up all these people, changed their lives completely, and he doesn’t have any money?”