Part Five

            Ezekiel really had no intentions of going after her. So what he felt good when she was touching him and how her mouth seemed to relish the taste of his skin. He had been enthralled in what she was doing to his body to pay too much attention to her face. True, she had been a beauty and calling her a queen had just been in his habit when he did this with women of her type.

            Damn! No woman had ever thrown him completely off like that.

            It had been the reason why he had stopped the game. He knew if he went any farther he would want more than just touching and tasting. And he knew damn well if she had answered his rhetorical question positively, he would have practically dragged her back in the bedroom and tossed her in the center of the bed.

            Just thinking about it aroused his manhood again and Ezekiel took a second to calm his libido down. Don’t lose control. Don’t ever lost control again. She was just a hooker, he told himself. His fear… he just couldn’t get over his fear and he didn’t want anyone to know about it EVER!

            But how had she known that information about him?

            Going into the bedroom, he was slightly amused knowing she had made up the bed, but then he saw the pile of torn up money.

            No hooker would tear up money!

            A panic overwhelmed him. Damn! Damn! Damn! She was not a hooker.

            Then who was she?

            It took two minutes to get his clothes on and then another two minutes to get the elevator back up.

            A provocatively dressed, dark skinned woman with bleach blonde hair and too much makeup stepped out the elevator, but Ezekiel ignored her and stepped on the elevator going down.

            Leon was standing in the front of the elevator looking confused when Ezekiel stepped off.

            “Damn man, you’re done already?” Leon asked surprised. “I just sent her up there.”

            “Who was that girl you sent?” Ezekiel demanded to know.

            A little fear passed through Leon’s beady dark eyes and he licked his crusty lips before answering, “Dee. Was something wrong?”

            Ezekiel couldn’t explain it, but the urge to see the interesting woman again was all too consuming. “No, was she from the class?”

            “You told me not to pick from the class. I ain’t stupid man. Was there something wrong with her? I just sent her up.”

            “No, I mean the other girl you sent up an hour and a half ago.”

            Leon looked confused as if Ezekiel was speaking Japanese. “I didn’t send up any girl, Zeke. I’m good, but not that good. You requested freshly washed.”

            Turning to the elevator valet looking very put out, Ezekiel asked, “Did a young lady come down about five or ten minutes ago?”

            “No, sir,” the attendant answered.

            Ezekiel was almost starting to believe he had imagined her. “Are you sur?” Frustration was clearly in his voice.

            “Yes sir.”

            Leon interrupted the question by asking. “Where do you think this girl came from?”

            “If I knew that, Leon, then I wouldn’t be down here asking stupid ass questions,” Ezekiel barked, losing his patience.

            “Look man, don’t get high and mighty on me. We go back too far for some shit like that,” Leon snapped getting offended.

            “Right now, Leon, I could really give a rat’s ass about how far we go back. I had no intentions of even coming to this stupid reunion with you people.” Ezekiel really had no intentions of bringing private mess out like this either, but Leon was pushing his buttons. “I wanted to forget each and every one of you. And the only reason I am here is to tell you face to face you better not ever call me, blackmailing my ass about helping you with any business dealings. If you wanted a favor all your black ass had to do was ask.”

            “What you mean by you people?”

            “If you’re going to try to take offense at every fucking thing I say, then just fuck off, Leon, and I’ll just forget about doing any favor for you at all.”

            Leon calmed himself down and changed the subject carefully, “Okay, man… well how did she look?”

            Ezekiel had to get himself to calm down so he could remember how she looked. “Medium size, medium build with these sensual eyes, long thick dark hair and…” A worshipful mouth and hands that made him feel like a damn king.

            “That is not Dee, Zeke and you damn well almost describe every black woman in the class. You gotta be a little bit more specific.”

            Never having to describe a lover, Ezekiel couldn’t form the words in his head to even come close to the exotic beauty he had the honor to be with.

            Leon noted his frustration and asked, “What do you want me to do?”

            Reaching in his pocket, Ezekiel pulled out a couple of bills, “Pay the girl you sent up and get her out of here,’ he ordered Leon just as the elevator doors opened up.

            Just as the elevator closed with Leon ensconced inside, the elevator attendant cleared his throat nervously. “Mr. Chambers, there was one thing I didn’t mention though.”

            Turning his attention on the attendant, Ezekiel folded his arms over his massive chest and looked upon the young black man warily.

            “Ya gotta understand that it was pretty busy around here ‘bout and hour and a half ago, so your boy was nagging me ‘bout girls and stuff, so I might have directed some people to the wrong elevator.” He began to sweat. “A girl – woman came over to me about an hour and a half ago looking for the party in the penthouse.” He wiped the sweat off his brow, but more immediately returned. “I was really busy, like I said before and it was so many people… well, I think I sent her up the wrong elevator – your private elevator.”

            “So I’m not crazy?” Ezekiel asked in relief just to be sure he heard right.

            “Sir, I really need this job. I got a new wife and a new baby. I can’t afford-“

            “Did she come down?”

            “No sir, I was absolutely honest about that. When I realized she had gone up, I really expected you to come down screaming and shouting about how some stranger was on your floor, and dragging her behind you. But she never came down because I was just waiting for her. I even accepted over time, even though I know my wife’s gonna kill me ‘bout that, because I wanted to make sure I was here when that woman came down.”

            Ezekiel cursed under his breath.

            “But,” the attendant said hesitantly. “About five or ten minutes ago, the elevator came from your floor and stopped on the third floor suites, which I thought was rather strange, cause like I said, I was watching it carefully.”

            So elated, Ezekiel almost hugged the attendant.

            Going over to the front desk, he demanded, “I need the listing of everyone on the third floor suites on my side of the penthouse I’m staying.”

            The desk clerk looked enamored by his commanding tone. “As much as I would like to help you, Mr. Chambers, I must respect our clients privacy.”

            Ezekiel put some twenties on the counter. “Now.”

            The clerk didn’t hesitate to print it out after taking the money.

            All he needed was to find a familiar name from high school or match it to the list of women at the reunion. This mystery woman had to have come from here. Her knowledge of him was just too personal.

            He would find out who she was and damn his own code, morals, ethics or fear, for just one more time in his life, Ezekiel would do what he wanted to do with her without his fear.

            Once he had the list, he called up Sheila Vance, who was in charge of this damn reunion.

            “I didn’t know you had arrived, Zeke,” she said elated. “You know everyone’s just really excited about you being here.”

            “Yeah, whatever.”

            “Especially me. You know we could … you know, relive old times, whenever you want, or do you still like to tease.”

            He really didn’t want to relive anything with Sheila Vance, no matter how pretty everyone thought she was. “Can you help me get a list of everyone attending the reunion?”

            She sounded slightly disappointed that he didn’t want to play word games with her. She wasn’t worth his time. “Sure, Zeke. Would you like me to bring it to your room late tonight?” I could sneak out just for you.”

            “You can leave it at the desk,” Ezekiel said brusquely. “Talk to you tomorrow at the ceremony.”

            He hung up before she said another word very glad to get off the phone with her. Yeah, he’d use her to get what he wanted. That’s how most women in his life had always been, all except ‘Brandy.’

            This chit had used him. But why? She was a horrible liar and she didn’t need the money. She knew who he was. And she didn’t want to be found out by him. What kind of shit was that.

            His cell phone went off, but it was a text message.

            Call me!

            That was an order, but Ezekiel had a feeling that it was work. It was always work from his estranged father. The man wanted to work him to death and if Ezekiel allowed him to, the man would.

            ‘Sleep is for fools. You can sleep when you die.’

            Ezekiel had tried his whole life to please this man, but then came to the conclusion there was nothing he could do to please Wrothrex Chambers. The man had been so dissatisfied with his own life that he had gone so far as to drop his family name’s make a million dollar business for himself and vowed to have nothing to do with his own family. The only reason he put up with Ezekiel was that his son was his only blood benefactor and had to deal with Grandmother Chambers’ estate to bequeath to Ezekiel’s wife. Or whomever Ezekiel decided to choose – if he even chose because every potential woman Ezekiel brought to Wrothrex was a disappointment and could not bare that old man’s acidic tongue.

            Which left Ezkiel, womanless, but that was fine with Ezekiel for now. Except deep inside he knew Grandmother Chambers would not be happy knowing Ezekiel was turning thirty and there would be no grandchildren before that time.

            Yet, what had his grandmother expect to accomplish allowing Wrothrex to be the determining factor of who should receive her estate?

            Did she really thing that somehow this would bring her son back to the family?

            Wrothrex would be a complete ass until the day he died. And Ezekiel wanted nothing to do with his father.

            Getting back up to the room, he tore the clothes off his body exhausted from the day’s events.