The Color Of Love: A BWWM Billionaire Alpha Male Romance (12 page)

That ended their
conversation and he plopped another kiss on her forehead before
walking to the door. He was excited at the prospect of her meeting
his family. Victoria on the other hand wasn’t too sure all
would go well. She was usually a confident person, but recent events
told her that all were not as accepting as a naive Dawson wanted her
to believe. Only time would tell.

Hotel Majesty was
one of Dawson’s latest acquisitions and he found it fitting to
celebrate such a momentous occasion in one of their smaller, more
intimate ballrooms. The truth was that his family was large enough to
fill the largest room on the property, but he only found it necessary
to invite those important.

Linked by both
business and blood, the people he chose to attend opinions mattered
in many ways, but none had the power to question his relationships.
This child would be mixed race yes, but his child nonetheless. It
didn’t matter, he thought, all blood was red.

Sara was given the
list and she passed it to the secretary who sent out the invitations
to each person. Friday the 27th was one week from now and they had
time to change any plans they had made. When Dawson called they
answered and this meeting would be no different. Fifty people all
together were summoned to The Angel room on the top floor of the
grand hotel. The setting should be beautiful enough to bring everyone
to the right mood.

*****

Victoria had become
accustomed to enjoying the luxuries of life with Dawson while
enjoying the peace and tranquility of her hideaway apartment, but
lately he had been hinting about her coming to live with him. Never
direct in the issue, he merely dropped a comment here and there, but
when he spoke about having only one nursery at his place she knew he
would insist that they live under one roof.

She wasn’t
ready to give up her freedom, but as she rubbed her swelling tummy,
Victoria began to believe it may not be such an outlandish
suggestion. Recently, it seemed that she had been surrendering all of
her will and life to Dawson and his wishes. The caged animal syndrome
began to take effect. Careful never to express this particular
feeling to him, Victoria decided to keep her place as long as
possible. It was her silent rebellion.

Sometimes she stood
naked in front of the mirror and looked at her changing body. Her
areolas were now a deeper shade of brown and her stiff stomach shone
as the tiny baby stretched her muscles and skin. Her vagina looked
different too, fuller, fatter. Was she loosing herself? The question
always loomed over her when she was alone. She never came up with an
answer.

What intrigued her
was the fact that she could no longer conceal the growing bump and
quietly a few female employees’ whispered congratulations.
Tonight, however, the dress she wore camouflaged her pregnancy
beautifully. She wanted to dress that way in case Dawson changed his
mind. Though Victoria doubted this would happen, she went with the
outfit anyway.

The caftan dress was
made in Malaysia from an ethnic designer Victoria had befriended
years ago. Perfectly capturing her desires in fabric while adding her
own flair, the fashion designer nailed Victoria’s vision every
time. Once Dawson had suggested she try some of the more trendy
European styles and designers. The sharp look she gave him reminded
him of Sara and Victoria’s shopping episode. He never mentioned
it after that.

The simple shift was
cut from fabric with the most exotic of pastel prints and the bat
wing sleeves were edged with crocheted lace. The dress made her feel
elegant even though it ended just above her knees. Kitten heels were
the order of the night because they offered comfort with fashion
flair and since her collection of wooden clutch purses had grown she
had many to choose from.

The party had been
set to begin at six fifteen and at five forty the sleek white stretch
limo she once detested, arrived on the curb of her ordinary street.
By now, the neighbors had become accustomed to the expensive cars in
their district. Maybe she was somewhat of a star.

*****

Hotel Majesty was
adequately named. The staff was dressed in pristine white and the
foyer seemed to sing with heavenly glory as the bright lights
shadowed by a brilliant craftsman’s lamp work cast deliberate
shadows in certain corners of the room. Emerging from a limo with the
bosses license plates meant she received even more gracious treatment
from the concierge who appeared eager to do her bidding.

Following the short
but commanding man who was responsible for keeping the rich guests
happy, Victoria was taken on a long elevator ride to the top where
she stepped out into the cool air. Keeping pace with the concierge,
who followed the edge of the pool and opened a French door ahead of
them, she was led to a small elegant ballroom with a long decorated
table running down the center.

A few guests were
already seated and looked around as she entered. Approaching the
table after leaving her coat with a handler at the door, Victoria
said good evening to the three men and two women seated there. Though
a confused look crossed their faces, they were polite enough for her
to feel comfortable.

She heard Dawson’s
voice from somewhere and looked around to find him chatting by the
door with a tall man who looked much like himself, Dawson joked and
laughed with the man at his side. When he saw her sitting at the
table, he immediately ended the conversation and walked over to her.
Ignoring the others, Dawson greeted Victoria with a kiss and a wink
of the eye while she felt their eyes boring into her back.

“I missed
you,” he said. “Have you missed me too?” Rubbing
his nose against hers, he listened to her sweet resounding yes.
Kissing her again, he jumped up and excused himself. Time to greet
the family. The crowd of Ledgers grew quickly and soon Victoria found
herself surrounded by white people paying her curious glances and
stares. Taking her hand again after making his rounds around the
table, Dawson led her to the head of the table.
At the head of the table, next to him she sat
and smiled while Dawson called the elegantly noisy crowd to order.

“Good evening
everyone, it’s so great to see all my family gathered in one
space. While we enjoy each other’s company I want to introduce
you to someone special. This is Victoria Jones, my girlfriend. This
fine lady will be joining us this evening. Now that introductions are
over I would like everyone to enjoy their meal.” Raising his
full glass he said “Salute,” and all present did the
same.

Sitting to the right
of Dawson was Uncle Thomas, who had avoided looking at Victoria since
he arrived. It did not go unnoticed by both members of the couple
heading the table. Waiters arrived bearing the first course and a
burgundy velvet curtain opened, revealing a small orchestra and a
female singer dressed in white who introduced herself as Rose and
began to soulfully sing a song of love.

Since the
announcement, Victoria noticed several people buzzing and whispering
as they tried to work out the unlikely couple. One particularly evil
looking woman in her eighties with stark white hair kept glancing at
her and then looking back into her soup. Maybe more than one person
had caught Uncle Thomas’s disease of the mind.

The second course
arrived just as the singer thrust into a passionate acapella about
love and pain. Victoria believed the woman had received a script.
Sitting next to Victoria was the tall gentleman who spoke with Dawson
as he entered. He was friendly. As the meal went on he asked her
about herself and business. His name was Thomas too, and as it turned
out he was Uncle Thomas’s son and closest cousin in age to
Dawson. Victoria suspected he already knew about the pending birth.

Just after the
dessert of the most delicious sponge cake and tropical fruit compote,
Dawson took control of the floor. Knocking his glass a little too
loudly, he instructed everyone to look to him. He didn’t seem
nervous and Victoria held her breath as she awaited the response of
what would be a shake up to this white family. Projecting his voice
Dawson said, “I trust that everyone enjoyed the sumptuous
selections from chef Jacques, second only to my lovely girlfriend’s
masterful creations.

“Before I make
this next announcement I want to say a few things. Aunt Veronica, I
want to thank you for the years of support and advice and you were
right when you told me to find a good woman and settle down. My main
man Thomas… you always told me the playboy life would never
satisfy me and Uncle Andy, I learned from you to take my time with
finding the right woman and after your first two divorces, I had to
agree with you.”

The crowd laughed at
the jokes being thrown, but after the laughter subsided Dawson’s
face turned serious.

“Now this
beautiful woman here has done me a favor. She has taught me patience,
compromise and most of all humility. Sometimes standing in another’s
shoes makes you see things in more colors than black and white and I
have to thank her for that.” Some of the younger women in the
crowed made faces indicating the emotional speech touched them and a
few of the men kissed their partners affectionately.

Dawson continued,
“Victoria is an ambitious young woman on the path to success,
but somewhere along the line I interrupted her walk. In a few month’s
there will be a tiny new addition to our family and I hope just as
you raised and guided me, that you will do the same for my daughter
or son. Thank you so much for giving me a listening ear and do enjoy
your after dinner drinks and the music.”

Victoria was full of
food and conversation from the younger Thomas and Dawson, who made
her feel quite at home. Some of the other guests were friendly enough
to offer quiet congratulations but for the most part they kept in
their circle.

The music changed to
something more up-tempo and jazzy and despite the crowd, Victoria
felt like dancing. Holding Dawson’s hand and pulling him away
from his conversation, Victoria held on to him and moved her waist
and hips to the lively song.

For a full five
minutes, she gyrated and Dawson tried to keep up. His loafers found
themselves under her feet more than once and before he injured her,
he stood to the side and swayed while she felt the rhythm of the
music in her bones.

She had no idea she
was being watched and judged as the other more uptight members of the
Ledger family kept their backs ram rod stiff and inflexible. After a
while her face became drenched in sweat and even though everyone
there looked cool as a cucumber, she was overheating. Dawson noticed
the flush on her skin and asked, “Are you alright Victoria?”

“Yes Dawson,
I’m good you know but now that I’m pregnant my body does
this over heating thing sometimes.” Then she whispered as she
added, “If these people were not here I would strip.”

Laughing at the
silly joke, Dawson held her hand to escort her outside where the
pool, night sky and other sights were waiting. Sometimes being above
others gave you a chance to see things from a different perspective
and being on the top floor of this building was no different.

Tiny lights dotted
the edge of the pool creating a perfect rectangle while a few cabanas
with chiffon canopies blew in the wind. As she took in the sights and
sounds, her focus left Dawson for a minute, but eventually she found
him staring at her, almost entranced.

He had something on
his mind. “They are so many beautiful things on this roof top,
but you… you Victoria out shadow every one of them. You have
no idea how much I look forward to seeing you each day and sleeping
next to you at night.
I know you are concerned that race is an issue
between us, I guarantee that I won’t let it stop us from
leading a normal life.” Dawson paused and sighed deeply as he
mustered the courage to say the words to her that makes every woman
feel special, honored and treasured.

“Victoria
Jones, I love you more than you will ever know.” The kiss was
hot and hard and a few of the older folk who had also drifted onto
the roof deck turned their faces the other direction. It was obvious
that this display of affection bothered them. Deciding not to ruin
the moment by pointing out the haters, Victoria concentrated on what
she wanted to say to the father of her child.

“Oh Dawson, I
love you too. It’s a hard kind of love,” she stuttered as
she searched for the right words. “It’s the kind of love
that has grown stronger from experience and though I’m
stubborn, I understand why you act the way you do. I trust you as my
partner and I only ask that you take my opinion into consideration
before making decisions and that you treat me fairly. I am so in love
with the man you have become over the past months Dawson. I truly
am.”

Pulling her body
close to his, Dawson ran his hand over the smooth, silky fabric of
her dress while she ran her hands over his jacket. He realized that
the growing bump stopped him from hugging her too closely.

Dropping to his
knees in a suit that cost more than some people’s salary, he
leaned his head close to her tummy and pressed his ear against it. He
began to speak to his unborn child and Victoria giggled at the entire
matter.

“This is your
father and I can’t wait to see you. It’s only been a
short while since I knew you were there, but I know that you chose
us. So little bun stay in this oven until you are nice and cooked but
don’t take too long. You have a handsome daddy and a gorgeous
mother waiting to hold you.”

He kissed Victoria's
tummy and replaced his ear just in case he got a response. He knew it
was silly, she was a little over three months and only once before
did the baby make and sharp defined movements. Tonight however was
different.