A Seal Upon Your Heart (39 page)

“It is.” She smiled at the older woman. “Thank you for inviting me. It’s been amazing.”

“Well it’s not over yet!”

Martier laughed. “Good!” They went to Madame Tussaud’s and Martier used her cell phone to take pictures of the waxed figures of Barack Obama and Michael Jackson while Elaina blew kisses to a waxed Bill Clinton. They had a lunch of pizza in Time Square before rushing back to the hotel to get changed for the conference.

“I’m exhausted but it was fun!” Elaina exclaimed while hugging Martier goodbye. “See you at the conference.”

Martier hurried up to her room and took care in dressing in a smart pants suit and heels. She piled her hair to the top of her head in a bun and put on simple silver earrings. After spritzing herself with cologne she grabbed her briefcase and hurried to the conference.

The roomful of people were milling around, the speaker had evidently ended for the day. She looked around for Tim and moved through the throng of bodies.

“Hello there.” Someone greeted her. It was an older man that she had never before met.

“Hello.”

“What firm are you with?”

Martier gave him the information while glancing away, not wanting to be impolite but not wanting to spend time talking to someone she didn’t know.

“Ah,” the man held out his hand. “I’m Jackson Benson with Barnacle, Benson and Price.”

“It’s a pleasure.” She said politely.

“Who are you with?”

“Tim Singleton.”

Jackson’s eyes roamed her body. “Well he’s very lucky, indeed.”

Martier’s brow gathered and she turned away. “Pardon me, please.” She didn’t like that the man had just assumed that she was ‘with’ Tim…although she was. She saw Claudette with Aaron and headed to the two familiar individuals.

“Hello Martier.” Aaron greeted her.

“Hello Mr. Rangbo. Hi Claudette.”

“Claudette said that you’ve been doing some sightseeing.” He said politely.

She described how she’d spent the afternoon.

“You and Tim should join us for dinner tonight,” he invited.

“I’ll check with Tim. I’m not sure what plans he has. But I’d like that.”

“Just call me, hon.” Claudette spoke. Martier’s cell phone rang then and she apologized and turned away while placing her hand over her ear so that she could hear. It was Tim and her body seemed to instantly come to life. She felt herself grinning.

“Where are you honey?” He asked.

“I’m at the conference but…” She looked around unsure of how she would find him in the throng of people.

“Meet me at the stage.”

“Okay.” They disconnected and she made her way to the stage. Tim was standing nearby. He wanted to watch her before she saw him. When he caught sight of her, Tim felt his mouth pull into a silly grin. Damn she was beautiful. She looked great in her new suit and very corporate sexy. He took a deep breath and then joined her.

He resisted kissing her but couldn’t keep his hand from its possessive touch on her arm. “I’m sorry that I didn’t get a chance to call you. But I made a lot of last minute contacts that should be very lucrative and from here on out its fun fun fun.”

“Good, because…New York is great but I’d like it better with you.” She didn’t want to sound like she was complaining. She was having the time of her life—but she could have had the time of her life back home as long as Tim was there with her.

“I’m sorry, honey. But I’m all yours now.”

But that wasn’t quite true. As they made their way to the exit, Tim was stopped by colleagues and new and old acquaintances until it was another half an hour before they were finally able to leave the large conference room. They saw Aaron and Claudette entering one of the elevators and the couple’s hands were clasped. It was a sight that brought a smile to Martier’s lips and she suddenly remembered the dinner invitation.

“Oh! Claudette and Aaron invited us to dinner tonight.”

“Hmmm.”

“Hmmm?”

He smiled and slipped his arm around her waist. “I was thinking that we’d eat dinner in our room tonight.”

She felt her body flare to life. “How about we have dessert in our room tonight?”

The last thing he wanted was to listen to Eeyore for the next two hours--or more. But he felt guilty that he hadn’t created more social outings for them as a couple. And it sounded like this was something she wanted to do. He ached for her but…

“Okay, dinner with them but after that—”

Martier pressed the button for the nearest elevator and then did something that surprised the both of them. She slipped her arms around him and kissed him lightly on the lips.

“After that I want you all to myself.”

~***~

Dinner with Claudette and Aaron took place in the hotel’s upscale Bull and Bear Steakhouse. Martier was amused at the amount of steak that Tim could consume. The conversation flowed comfortably and she was surprised at how nice and easy-going Aaron was. He insisted she call him Aaron or Eeyore and then he winked at her good naturedly as Tim’s cheeks reddened.

Throughout the meal Aaron would slip his arm around Claudette or clasp her hand unconsciously as they chatted. Martier couldn’t help but to look at the couple and think; one day that will be Tim and I. She reached over and slipped her hand into his beneath the table. He smiled at her and raised her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. When she looked at Claudette the older woman was smiling at her as if she knew a secret. And perhaps it was very obvious that the couple had moved their relationship to the next realm. Martier smiled shyly and lowered her eyes and when the dessert came she managed to do everything with one hand as Tim had never released the other.

“Aaron Rangbo? You old dog!” And older gentleman stopped at their table. He was accompanied by a smartly dressed woman that Martier presumed was his wife despite the fact that she was younger than him by at least 20 years. Aaron came to his feet with a wide grin and the two men shook and slapped shoulders. They made small talk before the other man touched the small of the woman’s back. “This is my wife Ruth. Ruth, Aaron and I go way back. We both started our internship together at Kramer’s…well I won’t say how long ago that was.” There was plenty of laughter at that.

Aaron gestured to Tim. “This is one of the partners in my firm. Tim Singleton. Tim this is an old friend, Bruce Douglas.” Tim stood and shook the man’s hand.

“Pleasure to meet you.”

Claudette smiled at the man and Aaron placed his arms around his shoulders and turned his back. “How long will you two be in town? We should get together for drinks.”

“That would be great. Catch up on old times.” The man replied. He reached in his wallet for a card and passed it to Aaron. Claudette’s smile faltered. She picked up her coffee and took a sip.

“We’re here for the weekend; take in a show, do some shopping.”

“Same here, just for the weekend,” Aaron replied while exchanging his own card with his friend. “Business conference.”

“Oh, well have a good evening and give me a call.” He nodded at Tim and said goodnight to Martier and Claudette before leading his wife out of the restaurant. Claudette smiled at him but Martier could tell that it was forced.

Aaron had snubbed her, and it was made worse by the fact that the stranger had not.

The meal thankfully ended a short time later. Claudette never said another word and Aaron seemed completely clueless as he droned on and on.

The four of them rode the elevator up to their floor and Claudette conspicuously clasped her hands together in front of her while Aaron placed his hand at the small of her back to guide her in and out of the lift. The group stopped outside of Claudette and Aaron’s room; Aaron and Tim still talking all the while. Martier watched Claudette whose expression was completely unreadable.

“Talk to you later?” She asked.

Claudette seemed to draw herself out of deep thought. She smiled and nodded without speaking and then turned and entered the suite of rooms, followed by Aaron, who finally finished his droning.

Martier was quiet as she and Tim headed for their room. “Tired?” Tim asked as he placed his arm around her shoulder. She smiled and met the eyes of the man that she loved.

Martier pretended to yawn behind her hand. “Very. I can’t wait to turn in, it’s been a busy day.” Tim missed a step, breaking his easy stride as he looked at her in surprise. She couldn’t hold a straight face for long and threw her hands around his neck. “I am far from tired, honey.”

His hands went around her waist and the two shared a kiss.

CHAPTER 34

Making love was something that Martier soon began to equate to the creation of a poem. The feelings blossomed and bloomed within her, taking her on a journey where the world around them
disappeared. The universe became the feel of Tim’s body covering hers, and her reciprocating kisses and touches. She was the moon and he was the sun and nothing else mattered. This is love. This is how I love you, she thought as she matched his movements as if being taught a strange foreign dance.

The next morning was wonderful. Maybe the most wonderful morning that she had ever had! She opened her eyes to find her head snuggled against Tim’s shoulder and chest, which rose rhythmically as he slept soundly. She looked at him with a new awareness, allowing her eyes to sweep his broad chest with its sprinkling of salt and pepper hair. His arm held her even as he slept and she felt protected. It was a strange feeling.

They lingered in bed as if they were honeymooning but then the phone rang too many times to ignore and they were forced to begin their last day in New York. Tim answered the phone as Martier ran a bath for them to share. He watched the direction that she had retreated and craned his neck unconsciously when she moved out of his sight.

“Tim? You there?”

“What? Yes.” It was Jakob.

“Do you two want to meet for brunch? Or…are you busy. I’m not interrupting anything am I?” He asked with a wicked chuckle.

Tim frowned and focused on his phone call. “Keep your mind out of the gutter. It’s not that. Martier and I haven’t had any time to ourselves and I want to show her around New York.”

“We’re still on for tonight, right?”

“Yeah, of course. And we can do dinner before the show.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

The two friends made plans to meet later and then Tim quickly hung up. He walked into the ensuite bath and stopped at the sight of Martier stepping into the oversized tub, her dark skin a tantalizing contrast to the bubbles that she’d applied. The way that she moved with graceful curves froze him. She had no idea how beautiful she was. She gave him an inviting smile as she sank into the water’s depths. He wasted no time joining her.

Later they skipped indulging in a big meal in order to eat as they went from place to place. He took her to a place in Harlem called the Schomburg Center. She’d never heard of it and felt so young and naïve. This was one of the most important institutions to document black culture in the nation, and she had never even heard of it. She became absorbed in the displays and squeezed Tim’s hand for knowing that this was a place that she would enjoy.

Next they went shopping, but this time for Tim. It was the first time that she had ever accompanied him when he was shopping for more than groceries or a pair of socks. He was a force! He never asked the price and knew just what he liked. If the sales man suggested something that he didn’t like he told him flatly no and the salesmen suddenly didn’t like it either.