Taming Precious Sinclair (19 page)

“What about Bobby? She has your cell phone number. But why wouldn’t she. She is your wife. Why wouldn’t she have your phone number.”

The slow build had been agonizing but she also didn’t want to let him off easy. Precious had sat in the kitchen for half an hour, feeling duped and foolish. Well, now it was his turn to feel a little of what she’d felt. But instead of feeling deceived; Precious wanted him to experience her rage. She squared her shoulders, waiting for whatever he had to say.

“Precious.” He said her name but all the while, his angry thoughts stormed around Bobby. He could’t begin to conceive how she’d gotten her hands on the number to his private line. But he couldn’t think about that now. Not with Precious practically spitting nails at him. He wanted to touch her again but, she’d eased away from him; causing his hands to fall to his sides. He felt the pain inflicted by her jab but it didn’t compare to the angst in his heart. In spite of that, he risked injury by reaching for her hand. He had to make her understand.

“Come. Come sit with me.”

“No.” She said, folding her arms beneath her breast. Her eyes narrowed in unspoken defiance but Hamilton wouldn’t be swayed. He neared her, closing in on her like a predator. He said again...

“Come with me Precious. Let me explain.”

“There isn’t anything left to say that your wife hasn’t already said.”

“Bobby isn’t my wife. We were married a long time ago but it ended. We’re divorced and we’ve been divorced for the last seven years.”

“Then why did she say that she’s your wife? That
is
what she said Hamilton.”

Her arms were as tightly woven as they’d been when he’d first approached her. By her expression, he knew that Precious didn’t believe him. Then he asked himself, why should she? He knew Bobby well and she could be pretty damn convincing. He said in a low voice.

“Baby, please come. Let’s sit on the sofa. Just hear me out.”

This time, her brows lifted. A sure sign that she was considering his request.

“Fine.” She said sharply.

They were standing so close to each other, she had to shimmy her butt just to get around him. He watched her as she walked to the sofa, admiring the sway of her hips. Not even a flannel shirt could hide the curves that shaped her body. If the situation had been different, he would have taken her from behind, when he found her standing near the sink. When they both stood in the sitting area, Precious sat first, then Hamilton mirrored her posture. They sat on opposite ends of the sofa. Hamilton started by saying...

“Precious, tell me what Bobby said, that upset you. What was the conversation about.”

“You... She talked about you.”

“Be specific. Exactly what did she say.”

Precious pursed her lips, deciding what to do next. She didn’t want to repeat Bobby’s words because the woman’s voices wreaked of venom. When she inhaled, her intake nearly emptied the room of its air. The gesture had been a drama queen over exaggeration. A scripted move for a reality TV star. She fit the bill perfectly and her performance had been dead on.

Speaking succinctly, she summed up the conversation using short brief sentences. In short, she told him as little as possible.

“Your
ex-wife
said a few choice words; things that I will not repeat. In effect, she said that you need to call Sammy. She said that, if you didn’t want to take her for the summer, you should have called to relay this message.”

Precious left out the part about Audrey because even she didn’t like his perky assistant.

Hamilton rested one heavy arm along the back of the sofa. His hand brushed her shoulder but she didn’t move an inch.

“Precious, Bobby has a twisted sense of humor. I would try to explain it but I’m sure you would never understand.”

“Try me.” She blurted out the words, without giving the sentence time to ruminate. She didn’t even know if she really wanted to know anything about the woman.

Hamilton said...

“All right.” He wouldn’t try to sugarcoat this. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. But, if you really want me to tell you about Bobby; nothing will make sense unless I start from the beginning.” Hamilton couldn’t believe he was doing this. Telling Precious about a turbulent period in his life. He made a point not to allow his eyes to trail away. He kept his focus on her. He wanted Precious to know that he was telling her something that few people knew about him. He wondered if she even knew that this information lifted her to a new level. A station where people held elite status in his life. People who knew him when Bobby had been his wife.

He continued.

“I met Bobby at a Movie Premiere. The production was a collaboration project. Gantry and Point In Time Productions. Anyway... Bobby is a talent agent and the movies costar was her client. When I first met her, she was in the middle of a messy divorce. They were squabbling over property, stocks, bank accounts... You name it. There were so many blaring reasons that should have warned me not to entangle myself with her but not one of those reasons stopped me.”

“Bobby’s husband was part owner of a production company we frequently did business with. William Stein...her husband was much older than her. And Bobby... Well, she was eight years my senior. She and Will had a four year old daughter, named Samantha.”

Lights flashed in her head; now the frequent reference to the name Sammy was making sense.

“Bobby came with a lot of baggage. Too much actually but I allowed myself to get involved with her. We went out on a couple of dates. Nothing extravagant. Just dinner, a cocktail party and a concert. Then, out of the blue, she phones me crying. She tells me that her Ex has stolen her child. Mind you... Bobby had never told me that she was a mother. I only knew that her marriage to Will was over, and they were working out the final details in their divorce. When she called that night... Precious, I’ll never forget her cry. She waled and waled... Half the time, I couldn’t make any sense out of her words. I just knew that something horrible had happened. Then, after she calmed down a bit, she told me that Will had taken her child. Bobby’s husband was a great guy but he was known for his drinking problem. His drunken escapades had landed him in jail more than once and he was a frequent court room offender. Needless to say, Bobby had used this against him during their custody hearings. Will got the shaft, and his visitations with his daughter were pitiful. He was given two days in each month. Biweekly, visitations. Well, when she called me... Bobby persuaded me to believe that Will had skipped town, taking their daughter with him. I’d only known her for a short time, so I had no reason not to believe her. She had a kid and for some reason she had hid this. I figured that her divorce explained why she’d done this. Bobby and I had connected. Not, love... We just really got along. So, I went to help her. When I arrived, there were cop cars parked in the driveway and in front of her house. She also had called her attorney. There were so many people there, I didn’t understand why she’d called me. But when I stepped inside of her house, Bobby nearly knocked me down. She practically fell into my arms, crying and blubbering. She was a complete mess. I couldn’t begin to imagine what Will had put her through. I sat with her, waiting while the detectives notified the FBI. Bobby just cried and cried. Seeing her that way, tugged at my heart. I wanted to fix something...but I didn’t know what.”

Hamilton raked his hand through his hair. The memory was so raw. At the time, he had no idea who Bobby really was. He continued by saying...

“Precious... It’s hard to explain that scene. Bobby had everyone involved. They actually had sent federal agents to the airport, searching the terminals; looking for Will and Sammy. They didn’t find him there because Will didn’t kidnap his daughter. While at his home, Will had drank a few cocktails. He’d fallen asleep while the nanny watched his daughter. When the time came to return her, he was drunk and the nanny knew nothing about his visitation agreement. Will drove up in his car, over five hours late. He walked up to the door, and the officers recognized him on sight. Some had actually arrested him in the past; charging him with a DUI. The confusion during those next few hours was unbelievable. Will was hauled into another part of the house to be interrogated by the cops. Bobby was crying, demanding that he be arrested. While this crazy scene played out. No one stopped to check on their daughter. She was standing in the hallway, staring at her parents. When they pushed her father down the hall, then her mother followed them; it was then that her tears began to fall. Precious, Samantha was only four years old. No child deserved to see what she’d witnessed that day. At the time, she didn’t know me from Adam but I scooped her up anyway. I took her to her bedroom to get her away from the craziness. I sat and played with her. She was a cute kid back then.”

Precious was on the edge of her seat now. She couldn’t begin to understand why Hamilton had gotten involved with these people. But soon she would understand.

“Later that night, after everyone left, and Samantha had gone to bed. I sat with Bobby. She was still crying because Will had been arrested. She told me what her life had been like after their daughter had been born. Then she said that Sammy would never have a real father. I didn’t respond to that because I knew Will and I knew that her comments were true. Will was a great guy but for the life of him; he couldn’t stay away from the bottle. In that moment, Bobby looked so sweet but she also looked lost. She needed someone in her life. More to the point; Sammy needed a father. At first, I hung around for Sammy. When I went to Bobby’s house, my visits were to see that they both were all right. Bobby was so appreciative, she would insist that I stay for dinner. This went on for weeks, then after three months; Bobby told me that she was in love with me. She also said that, Sammy had mistakenly called me daddy during one of their private conversation. Hearing that sent chills to my bones. I’d never thought of myself in those terms. A father? Me? But...you know what? I liked the sound of it. I liked that Sammy wanted me. I liked that she needed me. Bobby suggested that we take a trip. She wanted to see how we would fit as a family. I went along because I liked the idea of traveling with them. We went to her summer cottage in Vermont. Then we traveled up into Canada. Everything was so perfect and it felt like we were a real family. So much so, that when Bobby suggested we make it legit. I didn’t even think twice. Just seeing Sammy smile again... I wanted her to keep that smile on her face. I wanted to give her a real chance at a normal life. So, Bobby and I... We got married. I moved into their home, and I thought... This is it. Time to grow up and be a man. I had a ready made family. But everything changed when Sammy turned five. Bobby shipped her off to boarding school. I didn’t even have any say in the matter. Then, she started taking long business trips. I would get long emails, explaining how we needed to combine our assets. She became more concerned about my net worth, than me or our marriage. Half the time, weeks would pass before Bobby would even come home. For me...;the straw that broke the camels back. On our first anniversary; I wanted Sammy to be with us. By then, I knew that Sammy had been the reason I married her mother. I called the school, then arranged for Sammy to come home. I had hoped, that maybe the little girl would be the answer to our problems. But what a big mistake that had been. Since, legally I wasn’t Sammy’s parent; the school contacted Bobby to verify the request. Bobby read them the riot act, telling them that Sammy was not to leave the schools property; then she ended the call. Without telling me what she’d done; Bobby took off, going to Niece on location. One of her clients was shooting there. I sat at home, waiting for her and Sammy. When I finally realized that I’d been stood up, I called her but she didn’t answer her phone. Carlos...her client. He answered for her. He didn’t mince his words. The young actor wanted her attention, and he was willing to do whatever it took to get it. He was sleeping with Bobby, and the man made it clear, that he wasn’t the only client warming Bobby’s bed. I ended the call, packed one bag; then I left. That was it for me. After one year of lies and never being allowed to see Sammy; I realized that my marriage was a farce. Bobby used men like Kleenex but I didn’t hang around long enough for her to get what she wanted out of me. She never got her hands on my money. If that was the only lesson that I had to learn, then I could have lived with that. But...it wasn’t because there would always be Sammy. I couldn’t erase her from my mind and I could never forget her. She was the only shinning light in that utter waste of my time.”

Precious leaned closer to him, inching across the sofa. She said...

“If the marriage ended so badly, then why does she still allow you to see her daughter?”

Hamilton laughed saying...

“There’s something in it for her. She gets a free babysitter for the summer months. Not that she’s hurting for money but Bobby would rather spend my money instead of her own. The only good thing in this travesty is that I really love that kid. Sammy is bright and she knows her mother’s games. She’s smarter than Bobby and Will combined.”