"Honestly Victor, she is a very beautiful girl."
"Precisely! I thought she was child when I saved her from a bus." I reminisce. "Burt the Butler, you can't imagine how beautiful and tiny she is. If I could put her in my pocket, and just pull her out whenever I – "
"Shall I remind you that I am not to be called BURT The BUTLER? And save her?" he scoffs. "Now operating under the guise that the minx has imprinted on you?"
Burt's bashing of my character warrants a hearty laugh and nothing else.
After a quick shower, I dress in a black suit and shiny black Tom Fords. I step out the bedroom and into the living room.
Burt has his back facing me in a newspaper, Burt says, "Your destination I could only presume is The Urban Gardens?"
"Burt, shame on you. I won't even ask if there was a photo of Lux in the requestor's file."
"Luxury Nicole Whitson," he mentions her entire name. The formalities of it all are beneath me because I plan to know each and every inch of her body. Soon...
There are cars honking, kids screaming, and bicyclist zipping by. And that's just the tip of the iceberg in Harlem. If my mother knew I got on the train to this place, she'd have a stroke. So, luckily, Burt is on an unrequested "vacation" at the Bulgari as I make my way past 133rd street, looking for The Urban Gardens. Brownstones come and go. I almost go pass the little shop while watching kids chalk the sidewalk.
A trio is close to the curb singing an old R&B tune that had exploded on the charts in England about 20 years ago. I pull out a crisp bill and allow it to fall into their guitar case. I'm feeling lucky today. Ready to see my tiny charm.
Then my senses pique. Within all the chaos of this active city, I feel a set of eyes is on me. While walking down the street, I pretend to stop at a hot dog vendor, get in the line, and slowly take in my surroundings. I see a man, black as night, standing in the alley across the street. He's dressed in army fatigues and a crumply shirt. He has on mirrored sunglasses meant to intimidate.
I know this Brazilian hitman. I sigh and decide that Lux will have to wait a few more minutes. I head in his direction, weaving past slow moving cars, and then proceed through an alleyway. Should have known this guy was also offered Whitson's hit.
As an added "benefit", when one or more persons have been given a prime mark, they get the chance to take out one another first. But X-Member requires that we utilize the same strategies of murder during the showdown. Yup, it's nothing but a western movie, where the cowboys walk 100 feet in one direction and whoever draws first is king.
Right now, with the Brazilian, the art of Jujitsu will be our tactic. I've learned the ground-fighting skills that will force this assassin to stay on his toes, even though this is his specialty and marksmanship is mine.
"It's just me and you, Vic," he says in a hard tone, though I'm not even fazed by all the jagged scars on his arms and legs. He back flip and bounces off of a dumpster in one quick, agile movement.
"Okay," I sigh.
The Brazilian begins kicking out at me, but I pull my silencer out and shoot him straight in his chest. Since he's mid air, his body slams back into the ground. He's in shock as death claims him.
"My apologies," I offer as his eyelids lower. But I won't be scuffling with anyone because I have a date to attend to. I slip on my leather gloves, drag his body between two dumpsters and amble out of the alley.
It takes a few minutes to get back over to Urban Gardens. I breathe easy, knowing that the only other contender for Whitson's death is dead. So I won't have to worry about any prospects for a few more days, when the requestor grows weary.
A dark-skinned woman with braids pauses to glance at me. A smile appears, as she looks me up and down. "How can I help you?"
I smile back, knowing she plans to make good on the request. Then my eyes lock onto my new prey.
"Victor … " Lux's small, silky voice fills the shop before she steps out. I mentally deny the desire to fuck her right on the spot, as she comes out dressed in a peach maxi dress. The clothing brings out the cinnamon of her beautiful freckles, and those golden flecks in her eyes. I've been dreaming about her features ever since we met. "How did you know I worked here?"
"You ranted about a florist in Harlem when you refuse my getting you fresh roses, so I searched the few in this area." I lie, even though Burt had finally provided her information. I bypass the argument and refocus on the reason behind my visit. "Luxury, I'm taking you to dinner tonight."
"No," she quickly replies with a slight connotation of nervousness. She cleans up with, "I uhhh ... watch reruns of Different Strokes with Dad every Thursday night."
Lux's coworker clears her throat.
"Aliyah," Lux turns around with an embarrassed, dimpled smile. All the while, her glance is threatening.
"Victor to be 100 with you, I have the feeling that we wouldn't even mesh well," Luxury looks me up and down and doesn't even notice how she licks those sexy lips of hers. "Furthermore, I don't drink, but would rather consume an entire bottle of rubbing alcohol and chase it down with bullets than be told what to do, which I can only assume is your type."
I listen patiently, amused by Lux's assessment and loving her reference to bullets.
"You haven't even really asked me out on a date," Lux continues to talk, seemingly more confident by the second. Then she laughs, the tone of her voice is shaky, as she waits for me to ask her out. Too bad. She would be waiting forever.
Her lanky friend gives a careless smirk and replies, "Tomorrow, Lux is free tomorrow night."
I reply, "Great, I'll have a driver pick you up at 7 tomorrow evening."
"Aliyah, bye!" Lux shouts.
"Bye, booboo!" Aliyah says, rolling her neck. "Stop talking that man's head off and awaken your mentality." Aliyah glares down at my pants before stalking away.
"Disregard my crazy friend, and what do you mean by 7? Did I say yes?" Luxury places her hands on the type of hips that are slick to the grip. "Dr. Finch, maybe you should go back to elementary school where grammar dictated a question from a statement … Hey stop that – !"
"Stop what?" I cut in, knowing exactly what she means. Luxury is rattled by the way that I stare at her. I give a cocky smile and add, "Now, before you continue Lux, take note I've just provided you with a question."
"Ha. You can ask a question when you want, I'm sure." Lux smirks, "But stop staring at me like it's as if you want to kill me or eat me or … ?"
"Fuck?"
"Oh, never mind. The more I speak to you the more … " Lux clamps her mouth shut, and it's evident that she didn't mean to divulge this information.
"What's your phone number?" I ask, even though I already have that information.
"Why?"
"So the driver can inform you if there are any issues with traffic," I state as a matter of fact, bemused by our disconnected dialogue.
"I didn't say yes … " she scoffs as her friend walks by to greet a new walk-in and clears her throat. Lux rolls her eyes in response, then those amber marbles land on me, "okay. You've got so many more degrees than I do, but somehow you lack simple communication skills. Where," she sighs. "Where would you like to meet?"
"Bulgari." I provide a slight smile.
"No." Luxury chuckles, now more embarrassed. My glare makes her add, "Isn't that a hotel?"
Luxury
How did I get myself into this? A date at a hotel, for Christ's sake, can only lead one place. It's almost Arnold and Tiffany's first year anniversary, so that mean's I'm a year celibate, with a desire to last a lifetime. Less than five hours ago, I committed verbal suicide by flapping my gums so much. I can't stand that man. I don't even know why. Victor stares at me as if he knows my every thought. Yes, that has to be the reason why I talked so much. I put my foot in my mouth.
As I stand in my bedroom, body all fresh and dewy from a bath and moisturized with Sweet Pea lotion, I look at myself in the mirror. What does Victor see? Through his eyes I was … beautiful. I turn away from the mirror, considering that maybe Victor just wants sex. I want a nice candlelight dinner at Bulgari, and that is all.
The navy blue, silk mini dress goes back into its glossy black box and I settle for a simple lilac cocktail dress that stops just past the calf. While fanning a green tea mask on my face, I consider the Manolo Blahnik shoes that were miraculously my size. A bike courier brought both items. After realizing that there will be no way that I'm 6 inches taller, not ever, I put them back and opt for my best pair of 3 inch black heels. Yeah, that's enough height for me. Even at a simple 5' 2, now with the little bit of help, I consider calling Doctor Victor Finch to cancel our date. Then my eyes narrow, as I realize that bossy man didn't even give me his number. He has all my information, work address, home address, and cell. All I know is that we are meeting at the Bulgari Hotel. Well, I Googled him soon as I came home from our awkward first meeting.