The Color Of Love: A BWWM Billionaire Alpha Male Romance (13 page)

A sharp kick to
Victoria’s ribs caused her to inhale sharply and Dawson to draw
his head away from her stomach to look at her inquiringly. Was he
feeling things or did the baby really kick? Victoria nodded in
confirmation and for the first time in her life Victoria felt she
understood the meaning of true love.

It was time to
mingle and Dawson was every bit of a host. Starting with the people
he didn’t thank at dinner, Dawson chatted with as many people
as he could with or without a back story. First was the youngest
couple there in which Evelyn was a Ledger by birth. She had an edge
to her that Victoria liked and she shook her hand vigorously as she
extended a sincere welcome to the family and congratulated her on the
baby. Apparently she was a photographer and did all the baby
portraits in the family and this would be no different.

Artists like Evelyn
fascinated Victoria because of their complex personalities and she
was no different. The husband was a neurosurgeon and quite straight
laced compared to his wife who seemed so rebellious. They were an odd
pair but who was she to judge.

Moving on to one of
the characters who looked unassuming, Dawson introduced her to a man
he called his grandfather, but the conversation seemed cold and
clipped. Either he was in Uncle Thomas’s camp or there was
something more deep seated that caused him to be so cold.

“Granddad, I
see you enjoyed your meal.” The old man was still in his chair,
rubbing his large tummy and puffing on a cigar.

“It was
pleasant, but according to Uncle Thomas your girl here is a beast in
the kitchen. Do you remember Audrey? She was the best cook ever at
the great house where me and your grandmother lived. She kinda looks
like Victoria too.”

This was enough. And
as the old grouch expelled his stinky smoke in her direction with a
glare of nastiness on his face, Victoria excused herself. It was
clear that regardless of how much green these people had in the bank,
the colors black and white were more important to them and pointing
it out gave them extreme pleasure.

The nasty quip from
the wrinkled man didn’t go unnoticed by Dawson, who quickly put
the man in his place before letting go of Victoria’s hand.

“Yes, I
remember Audrey, Pop, she was a great cook, but I also remember
walking in on you with your head between her legs when I was fifteen.
Do you remember that?”

The cigar paused on
the way to his mouth and his wrinkly face turned pink and then red.
Dawson gave the man a pat on the shoulder and laughed loudly. It was
upstaging at his best and as Victoria left to find the bathroom, she
chuckled at the quip. She loved Dawson more and more each day.

The ladies room in
Hotel Majesty resembled a master bedroom fit for a queen missing only
the bed. Upholstered couches were neatly arranged and the tiles on
the wall reminded her of an old palace in Greece she had seen on TV
once. There was a smiling attendant at the door waiting to help if it
was needed.
Once inside, Victoria realized the matter was
more urgent than she thought and she all but chipped to the toilet to
relieve herself. When she was finished, she sat there for a while,
feeling a bit tired and a smidge sleepy, the way pregnant women do.
It was then that she heard them walk in.

Staying silent in
the stall with the decorative gold door at the end of the row,
Victoria listened.

“Do you think
she is a gold digger? I just don’t understand why Dawson would
pass up supermodels and actresses for… well… for that
kind of woman!”

The other voice
responded. It was that of Evelyn. “She seems pretty nice to me,
but I am not sure what you mean when you say ‘that kind of
woman,’ isn’t she the regular type?”

“Come on
Evelyn,” the first voice said. “You know what I mean.
She’s black or didn’t you notice?”

“Yes, I did
notice, but I don’t see that as a factor. She’s mannerly,
she owns her own business and seems to have a good head on her
shoulders. As a matter of a fact I may ask her to work with me on a
food art project I am doing for the museum. I am struggling to see
what your challenge would be with this woman who has done nothing to
you.”

The attitude in the
woman’s voice changed to one of offense and shock. “You
want to work with someone like that? The last time I brought one in
to work at the shop, she stole from the register. If I had followed
my customary routine of hiring… well… white people,
that would have never happened.”

Victoria heard the
impatience in Evelyn’s voice. “There is something
seriously wrong with you Jane because if I remember correctly, you
hired a white girl straight out of college to manage the store and
she stole several thousand dollars worth of clothes from your little
designer store. People like you have issues that run deeper than you
think. Now if you would excuse me, I came here to use the toilet, not
gossip about people who seem happy. You on the other hand, are
miserable and lonely. Say hello to Martin the next time he passes you
with his young lady lover on his arm. Have a good evening.”

She tried to control
her laughter, she really did, but Victoria’s snicker bubbled
from inside and she decided it was time to officially make her
presence known. Both women’s heads snapped around when she
opened the stall door and walked to the granite topped sinks.

The woman called
Jane looked like she was about to have a stroke while Evelyn grinned
mischievously.

“Good evening
ladies,” Victoria said, as she washed her hands. She looked at
Jane and smiled before moving to Evelyn. She gave the woman a hug
before saying, “They say the measure of a person is what he or
she does when there is no one watching and you have proven that you
measure pretty honorable. Thank you for seeing me for who I am an not
judging me from a stereotype that some people deem to be the truth.”

Evelyn hugged back
and simply nodded as there was no need for words. Turning to Jane,
Victoria said, “I will pray for you Jane. I can see that you
are struggling with something deeper. I hope you can be helped.”

The gaunt woman who
looked thirty but had the aura of an old witch, upturned her nose and
tried to look regal. She failed miserably. Leaving the two, Victoria
exited the bathroom a better woman. It always paid to know who was on
your team.

The night ended on a
high note when the singer sang some Latin selections and the
orchestra concentrated on its percussion instruments. Victoria and
Dawson danced the night away until her ankles showed signs of
swelling. It was time to take the mother of his child home.

The kissing started
in the limo and only paused when they rode the elevator to his
penthouse apartment. Victoria had been here before, but tonight it
seemed special. Sitting before his floor to ceiling windows and
gazing at the sparkling city lights, Dawson massaged Victoria’s
swollen ankles lightly while she rubbed her tummy.

The softness of her
skin and the tiny sighs of pleasure leaving her lips made his heart
beat quicken and a familiar hardness formed in his pants, but he had
another focus in mind before taking her to his bed once again.

“Victoria”

“Yes my love,”
she answered

“I want to be
with you.”

“You are
already with me Dawson” she muttered sleepily

“No, you don’t
understand… I am asking you if… well will you marry
me?”

There was no answer
from Victoria and Dawson shifted his eyes to her face before he heard
a light snore. Smiling at the sight of the sleeping mother of his
baby, Dawson decided she would answer yes. Rising from the couch he
arranged a wool blanket around her thick beautiful legs. Yes…
Victoria would be his wife.

The day after the
‘reception’ as Dawson called it, A full page ad ran in
the Florida Gazette announcing the happy couple of Victoria Jones and
Dawson Ledger were expecting their first child. Victoria knew about
it before hand and despite her initial resistance, she agreed for the
first time to officially have her face plastered across the front
page of the paper’s entertainment section.

It was then that the
real problems started. A man Victoria had never heard of or seen
before came to visit Dawson one day when she happened to be in his
office having her lunch, and because she was his future wife Dawson
saw no reason to have her leave the room while they spoke. Politely,
she tried to excuse herself before Dawson said it was ok for her to
stay. The man was friendly enough and didn’t seem to mind her
presence too much and their meeting started.

The man whom she
came to know as Kevin was several inches taller than Dawson and much
heavier, was quite imposing but seemed relaxed enough in this
situation. He unbuttoned his jacket before dwarfing the large chair
he sat in and revealed the true reason for his visit.

“Well, my boss
received your generous contribution to his campaign and he is more
than grateful, however, he has a few… concerns…”
Kevin’s voice lowered considerably, and he paused to give
Dawson time to react which he did after leaning back in his leather
recliner and clasping his hands under his chin.

“What
challenges could your boss be having Kevin? He called me and told me
his plans and pretty much sold me and my whole executive board on his
mandate and intentions, so please if you can, explain to me what
challenges he’s having?

Shifting his
gigantic frame again in the chair, he explained, “Well as you
know, he’s a conservative candidate… religious, family
oriented and number one advocate for defending American rights and
freedoms. Lately he has begun to do some soul searching and he has
received divine direction indicating that some of his supporters are
not necessarily aligned with the same vision he has for the future.”

Lost but still fully
aware of where he was going, Dawson said, “But I too share
these values. When I sent the money as a playboy and weekend lover he
had no issue accepting it, but now that I am a family man he has a
change of heart? Isn’t that convenient for you?”

“Well, Mr.
Ledger my views don’t count, I simply deliver the messages and
my boss is asking that you reconsider any action that may affect his
association with you. He also asked that I pass this to you.”

The envelope was
sealed and Kevin rose from his chair to go to the door. As his hand
covered the knob, he muttered a general and curt, “Have a good
afternoon” before exiting. Victoria jumped from her rest on the
red couch next to the door and crossed the Persian rug to Dawson’s
side where he was ripping open the envelope. Expecting the check he
sent to the ungrateful man to be inside, he was surprised to find two
business cards instead.

The first card was
embossed with the Name Dr. Clyde Sheffield and below was the address
of his clinic. The second was that of a clinic called ‘Be Sure’
they promised fast accurate results. As Dawson and Victoria read the
cards in tandem, they both understood what they meant. Dr. Clyde was
a vocal advocate for the right of a woman to terminate a pregnancy at
any stage and the Be Sure clinic offered private DNA testing in vitro
to the stars who drank too much and then forgot which groupie they
may or may not have impregnated.

A string of curse
words suited for a pirate, left Dawson’s lips and Victoria sat
in silence. She suddenly felt ill and left the room without saying
another word. It would appear they had arrived at the legendary gray
area, where values were tested and loyalty either stood the test of
time or fell away like poorly mixed concrete. Victoria was certain
Dawson would crumble.

That night while
they sat in silence over a dinner Victoria had no interest in, a
quiet knock rapped the large door of the penthouse suite. The butler
had been relieved of his duties for the evening and Dawson answered
the door. The building concierge stood next to a little man with
thinning hair who held a brown legal sized envelope. Before Dawson
could inquire who he was and why the concierge had let him into the
building in the first place, the man thrust the file into his hand
and said, “Dawson
Ledger, you have been served.”

*****

“Order…
come to order. The honorable Janice Toller will be presiding over the
case of Donahue vs Ledger under the charges of grievous bodily harm,
threatening with intent to harm and also emotional distress. Donahue
is seeking damages to the tune of ten million dollars.”

No one expected
Naomi to press charges for the incident that happened months ago. As
a matter of fact, Victoria had convinced Dawson not to sue her! As
expected the charges were bogus and even the judge smiled when Naomi
recounted the afternoon events as she wiped tears with lace gloved
hands before resting them in the lap of her Jacky Kennedy styled
suit.

According to her,
Dawson had called her best friend and offered to send a chef by as a
birthday surprise. The crazy African American chef then prepared a
meal so spicy she was forced to spit it out and then she was left
injured and had to see her doctor for treatment of the second degree
burns she sustained to her mouth.

Dawson sat next to
his four attorneys while Victoria sat directly behind, finding the
matter entertaining. She never understood the drama of the rich and
famous, but now in a courtroom with flashing camera lights and
reporters she found herself at the center of a scandal.

When Dawson took
center stage his words were crisp and clear and he spoke the absolute
truth. Naomi was jealous of his current girlfriend and had used her
business to lure her into a compromising situation.

Though she was an
idiot, Naomi’s lawyers were not. They dragged Dawson’s
private love life over the coals and in the end he was made out to be
a dog in heat humping every sexy available woman out there.