Raven's Revenge (The Pleasure Pros #2) (19 page)

Late Saturday Afternoon

Jillian

Hannah and I spent
almost three hours at the mall, so by the time Mom stopped by to pick her up,
we were both dressed to kill.
 
Hannah had insisted on wearing her new dress, so we were busy taking
selfies
when she came to the door.

“You two are just
darling!” she declared, taking out her phone to snap a few pictures of us.
 
For most people, that wouldn’t seem like
a big deal, but it was one of the nicest things she had said to me in years.

“Are you sure it’s
okay if Hannah stays with you tonight?”

“Sure!” she
replied with a wave of her hand.
 
“Toots and I have dinner plans, but since this little sweetie is all
dressed up, she’s going to blend right in.”

“That’s great,
Mom.
 
I really appreciate it.”

“Don’t give it a
second thought,” she replied, glancing out the window.
 
“A red Ferrari just pulled up to the
curb.
 
I think someone’s date has
arrived.”

“Let me see!”
Hannah begged, holding her hands in the air for Mom to pick her up.

“Isn’t that a
gorgeous car?” she asked Hannah.

“Yeah!
 
It’s fun to ride in, too!” Hannah told
her with wide eyes.

I think Dalton was
a little surprised when he was greeted at the door by all three of us.
 
The look on his face was priceless as he
quickly assessed the situation.

“Wow, you guys all
look great,” he said, flashing each of us a smile.
 
“Are you two coming with us tonight?” he
asked, looking at Hannah and Mom.

“
Nooo
,” Hannah said, shaking her head.
 
“We’re going out for dinner with Toots!”

“Oh, well that
sounds like fun,” he said with a subtle sigh of relief.

“You probably
don’t have much of a back seat in that thing anyway,” Mom teased him.

“No, it would’ve
been an interesting trip,” he agreed.

After I gave
Hannah a hug goodbye, she extended her arms toward Dalton.
 
He graciously bent over and gave her a
hug.
 
“Have a good time with Grandma
and Toots.”

As he stood back up,
he was face to face with Mom, so he gave her a hug, too.
 
“Have a nice evening, Felicia.”

“Wow, you even
remembered my name.” Her cheeks instantly flushed.
 
“I’m impressed.”

Mom then took
Hannah by the hand, telling her that it was time for them to go and pick up
Toots.
 
As we said goodbye, I
couldn’t help thinking about how much her attitude had changed in the past few
days.
 
Who would’ve thought that our
relationship would actually improve after I told her what Dalton and I had been
doing.
 
I don’t think I’ll ever completely figure her out.

After locking my
apartment, Dalton and I headed for the stairway.
 
As we approached, I heard the heavy
footsteps of someone running up the steps.
 
Please be Tom
.
 
Sure enough, Tom’s head appeared around
the corner.
 
To say that he looked
startled would be an enormous understatement.
 

“Tom, I would like
to introduce you to Dalton… or Gunner as you like to refer to him when talking
to my mother,” I said.
 
Dalton and I
stood side-by-side trapping him in the stairwell.

“Hi, Dalton,” he
replied with a crack in his voice, sticking out his hand.

“You must be the
one who tried to stir up problems with Jillian’s mother,” Dalton replied,
squeezing Tom’s hand firmly.

“I’m sorry about that…
I’d been drinking.” He winced in obvious pain.

“Well, if I were
you I would stop drinking, because I’m holding you personally responsible if
her identity is ever leaked,” Dalton threatened, gripping his hand even
tighter.
 
“I will hunt you down like
a bloodhound, buddy.”

“I haven’t said a
word to anyone else.” He groaned.
 
“I promise… I’ll keep it a secret.”

“Just remember, I
know where you live,” Dalton hissed, glaring down at him.

“I swear, not a
word!”

After a few more
seconds of intimidation, Dalton released his hand.
 
Tom instantly started shaking it and
squeezed his way past us.
 
We had to
giggle as we heard him fumbling with his keys for a full five seconds before
finally getting his door unlocked.
 
I don’t think that he will be an issue going
forward.

Dalton

Four days after
Carter was arrested, I was finally beginning to relax.
 
Part of me had been expecting him to
retaliate against all of us, so I was nervous as hell.
 
By Saturday morning, I couldn’t take it
anymore, so I called J.O.
 
He
actually let out a belly laugh when I expressed my concerns.

“This guy has so
many bodies buried all over the place.
 
None of you are even on the radar,” he informed me.

“That’s a
relief.
 
I just got out of my
contract with him and didn’t want to end up back where I started.”

“Go enjoy your
life,” he said before hanging up.
 
“You guys have paid your dues.”

By the time
Jillian and I drove out of the city and into the rolling California hills, I
could feel the weight lifting from my shoulders.

“What have you
been up to?” Jillian asked, suddenly suspicious of my demeanor.

“I’m just relieved
to be done with Carter.”

“You and me
both!
 
I hope I never see that
fucker again.”

“According to
J.O., there is a good chance that you never will.”

I reached over and
took her hand.
 
“I’ve been waiting
for this day for a long time.”

“Me, too.” She
smiled.
 
“It’s kind of strange to
finally be alone with you.”

“Yeah, with no one
monitoring us.”

We both laughed
and simply enjoyed being with one another as we cruised down the highway toward
Napa.
 
I had lined up several
surprises for Jillian, and if all went well, our lives would change
dramatically over the coming months.

“You have a
beautiful little daughter,” I told her, angling to learn more about her
parenting ideas.

“Thanks.
 
She sure loves this car of yours.”

“It is pretty
shiny.”
 
I laughed. “I think your
mom likes it, too.”

“Yeah, they both
like shiny things,” she replied, shaking her head and smiling.

“So when does
Hannah start school?”

“She’ll be going
into kindergarten this fall.”
 
I
could see a look of worry instantly creep into her eyes.

“I’m sure it will
be hard to let her go.”

“I just wish
would’ve had this windfall of cash sooner.
 
Then I could’ve gotten her into a better program with a smaller class
size.”
 
She fell silent, staring out
the window.

“Relax.” I
squeezed her hand again.
 
“It will
work out.”

“I know.
 
I just need to focus on what I want,”
she replied sarcastically.

“Right, but
without the sarcasm.”

“Sorry… It’s just…”

“Just what?
 
Aren’t things turning out exactly how
you wanted them to?”
 

“So you think that
I was focused on you sweeping me off to Napa Valley for a romantic weekend?”
she asked with a smartass grin rising to the surface.

“I know that’s
exactly what you were focused on.”

“That and Carter
spending the rest of his life behind bars,” she replied with a slight twinkle
in her eye.
 
“You’re right; things
are turning out pretty good.”
  

“So, what are you
going to do about Hannah?”

She hesitated for
a moment, studying my expression.
 
“I’m going to relax and trust that everything will work out the way it’s
supposed to.”

I didn’t reply,
but simply nodded my head.
 
Even
though she underplayed it, everything had worked out about as good as
possible.
 
Suzanne would continue to
pay us any royalties that accrued, while freeing us from any further
restrictive contracts.
 
Going
forward, Jillian and I could do whatever we desired and my plans were already
in motion.

~~~

Jillian

Everything seemed
strangely backwards as Dalton and I held hands, driving through Napa.
 
After nearly two months of a purely
sexual relationship, we finally had our first real date.
 
He was so calm and relaxed that I found
it incredibly sexy.
 
Most of the men
that I had spent time with were anything but relaxed.
 
I
think I’m over my attraction to rich, powerful businessmen.
 
They seem to have their fair share of
issues, especially when it comes to relationships.

“Where are we going?”
I asked as we turned off the main road and headed north on Dry Creek Road.

“To a beautiful
little vineyard that I discovered a few months ago.
 
You’re going to love it.”

“As long as the
wine and scenery are good, what’s not to love?”

By the look in his
eyes, I knew there was something he wasn’t telling me, and it was starting to
drive me nuts.
 
He almost seemed
giddy as we pulled up to the rustic wooden buildings that were nestled between
a grove of trees and endless rows of green grapes.

“Is this place
even open?”
 
It certainly wasn’t the
most impressive vineyard that I had visited.

“It’s open just
for us.” He jumped out of the car and came around to my side. “I figured since
you are a self-proclaimed ‘wine
connoisseur,’ you would enjoy this.”

Walking around to
the front of one of the buildings, we were greeted by an older gentleman who
introduced himself as Chester.

“Come, sit,” he
said in a thick European accent.
 
“Who is this beauty?”
 
He
reached out for my hand and gave it a kiss.

“This is
Jillian.
 
She’s a huge fan of bold,
red wines, so I knew you would be able to accommodate her,” Dalton told him.

“Would a
Malbec
be okay to start with?” he asked me.

“That would be
perfect.”

While he went to
retrieve the wine, a younger woman came out with a basket of fresh bread, olive
oil, and a plate of various cheeses.
 
“This is Chester’s daughter, Syrah,” Dalton said, introducing her.
 
“She’s the one who showed us around last
time.”

“Hello, Jillian,
it’s nice to meet you,” she said, arranging everything neatly on the
table.
 
“It’s nice to see you again,
Sir.”

“It’s nice to see
you, too.
 
Your father seems to be
doing better.”

“Yes.
 
He’s been doing better since we decided
to move back to Italy,“ she replied quietly.
 

After she departed,
Dalton told me that he had recently lost his wife of over forty years.
 
The only relatives that he had other
than his daughter, were all back in Italy.
 
Syrah and her husband suggested the move, and Chester immediately agreed
that it was time to go back home.
 

He had come to
California on a business trip forty-two years earlier, fell in love with a
beautiful blonde, and stayed.
 
Together, they built a small winery and a house that was just up the
hill.
 
After her death, his health
and outlook had begun to decline.

Chester returned
to pour a generous glass of his 2011
Malbec
for each
of us, as well as a small glass for himself.

“You don’t use a
wine glass?”
 
I thought it was odd
that he gave us each an oversized Riedel wine glass, while he drank from
something that looked more like a juice glass.

“He still drinks
from the same type of glass that his father and grandfather used back in
Italy,” Syrah answered on his behalf.

“I talk with my
hands,” he added.
 
“I’d knock over
those big things.”

“A toast to Italy,
family, and tradition,” Dalton proposed, holding up his wine glass.

“Here, here,”
Chester agreed.

What a cute old man.
 
It’s sad that he lost his wife.
 
At least he gets to go home and be with
family.
 
My thoughts flashed back to my mother
and Hannah.
 
I hope they are having a good time.

Dalton

After enjoying a
delicious dinner of roast pork tenderloin, heirloom tomatoes, and fingerling
potatoes, Chester and his daughter departed, leaving us with two additional
bottles of wine.
  
He had told
me that he would spend the night in Napa with his daughter and son-in-law. That
way, we could enjoy full use of the property for the night.
 
I was looking forward to having the
house all to
ourselves
.

“Why did they
leave?” Jillian asked with a seriously confused look on her face.

“They wanted to
give us a chance to get comfortable and see if we like the place.”

She just sat there
staring at me for a moment.
 

“Do you see that
big open area to the right of the house?” I asked her, pointing to a thirty-acre
plot of land that had nothing but grass growing on it.

“Yes,” she replied
hesitantly.

“Would you
consider helping me develop it?”

“What type of
development?”

“Residential.
 
Condos or Townhouses, something along
those lines.”

“Are you going to
work for Chester and Syrah?” she asked, still not understanding where I was
going with the conversation.

“No.
 
I made Chester an offer on this place
last night, but I told him that I needed to spend a night or two out here to
make sure we liked it.”

“Wow, a winery?”
Her eyes suddenly widened. “What do you know about making wine?”

“Absolutely
nothing, but Chester assured me that the winemaker would stay.
 
He lives right over there,” I told her,
pointing to his house, which was just a half-mile down the road.

“I honestly don’t
know what to say.”

“Let’s take a
walk,” I suggested after seeing that she was a little overwhelmed by the
massive reveal.

“I’m thinking that
instead of making the wine and selling it to tourists like all of the other
wineries, we should develop housing for a few dozen couples who would all like
to be part of a winery,” I explained to her as we walked up the cobblestone
path to the house.

“That’s a good
idea.
 
I’m sure a lot of people
would like that.”
 
I could see her
wheels were already turning.

“Okay, stop,” I
told her as we reached the large wooden deck on the front of the house.
 
“I want you to open your mind to the
possibilities and then turn around.”

“Oh my god… it’s absolutely
beautiful,” she exclaimed upon seeing the view that had sold me on the property
months before.

“That’s exactly
what I thought when I first saw it for the first time.”
 
The way the rays of the setting sun
splashed against the green grapes and tan soil was almost majestic.
 
It was one of those scenes that could
never be truly captured by a picture or painting.
 
“Breathtaking” was the only way to
describe it.

“I want to share
this place with you and Hannah,” I told her, reaching once again for her hand.

“Wow, I don’t even
know what to say, Dalton.
 
We
haven’t even had a chance to really get to know each other yet,” she responded,
shaking her head as if shock was setting in.

“I understand,
Jillian.
 
You don’t need to commit
to anything right now,” I assured her.
 
“I just wanted to know whether or not you liked the idea.”

“I love the
view.
 
People would pay big bucks
for this view.”

“That’s why Carter
wanted to buy it,” I told her.
 
“He
planned on retiring here.”

“So you came out
here with Carter to look at it?” She asked with a glimmer returning to her
eyes.

“Yeah, he asked me
to ride along when he checked it out.
 
I was wishing the whole time that somehow I could buy it.”

“Now with Carter
in prison, you can.”
 
She smiled,
realizing what had happened.

“Exactly.
 
The day after he was arrested, I talked
to Suzanne about it.”

“And she told you
to go for it?”

“She even asked if
I needed help with the down payment.”

“You don’t need
her help.
 
I’m in!” she said without
a second of hesitation.

“Really?
 
I didn’t think you wanted to rush into
anything.”

“This is a real
estate joint venture,” she declared.
 
“Working together will give us a chance to see whether or not we can
really get along.”
 
She reached over
and gave me a slap on the ass.

“Good idea,” I
agreed, reaching over to give her one back.

“Fifty-fifty
partners?” she asked, squeezing my ass cheek in a gesture that has been called
our
Ass Shake
.

“Partners.”
 
My thoughts flashed back to the first
time I picked her up in the limo.
 
At that moment, I couldn’t have imagined standing here with Jillian at
my side.
 

“Look right over
there,” I said as the sun struggled to hold the horizon.

“Is that what it
looks like?”

“If you think it
looks like a grade school, the answer is ‘yes.’”
 
He smiled and pulled me tight.
 
“The average class size is less than
twenty and it’s practically in walking distance.”

“Well played,
Dalton.”
 
Well played.