CHAPTER EIGHT
Once Jocelyn was home, she checked her mail and ordered some takeout. She was so tired and she swore that not only did her muscles ache but her bones ached as well. The phone rang.
“Hello.”
“Jocelyn?”
“Yes.”
“It’s me, Ramon. Do you have a few minutes to talk?”
“Sure.” Jocelyn’s heart sped up.
“Do you have plans for Saturday night?”
“No. Why?”
“”I’d like you to be my date at the Maryland Entrepreneurs Ball.”
“Well...”
Ramon heard her hesitation and rushed to say, “I still haven’t seen your place and I need to see it before we test Brilliance in your home. Let me thank you by taking you to dinner first.”
Jocelyn agreed to the date. “Okay, what time will you pick me up?”
“How about 7 p.m.? Give me your address and I’ll see you Saturday.”
Jocelyn gave him her address. She had decided they didn’t have to be in a relationship for them just to go out on a date. She would call Reese tomorrow and the two of them would shop for a new evening dress.
Meanwhile, Ramon was trying to figure out how to graciously give Jocelyn a gown that was appropriate for the ball. He knew that she no longer had a full-time job and what she made as a cleaner couldn’t possibly be very lucrative. He signed the checks for her sister’s cleaning service each month, so he knew she couldn’t be earning much.
He also hoped that she wasn’t planning to wear something hideous. His woman had no sense of style. His woman-He wondered where that came from.
Even though Reese was still on crutches, she and Jocelyn spent Friday evening traveling from boutique to boutiques looking for the perfect evening dress and shoes. After two-and-a-half hours of hobbling around, selecting, trying on, and rejecting, the sisters finally located a slinky dark blue number with matching blue shoes. It flowed like silk over Jocelyn’s body, hugging every curve. A deliberate dip in the neckline skimmed her full breast, and in the back was a slit to ensure she walked effortless.
Reese squealed, “Oh yeah,” when Jocelyn walked out of the dressing room with the evening dress on. “You look good. You’re going to knock that man to his knees when he sees you in that dress!”
Jocelyn grinned, “You like it, huh?”
Reese returned the grin. “Tell the saleslady to wrap it up with the shoes. You’ve found a winner.”
Jocelyn was putting the finishing touches on her makeup and attempting to zip up her dress when her door bell rang.
When Jocelyn opened the door, Ramon was rendered speechless. She looked gorgeous in the slinky blue evening dress. Every man and woman would stare when she walked into the ballroom on his arm.
Ramon was glad that he hadn't approached Jocelyn with the gown that he had stowed in the trunk of his car. Not knowing what to expect with Jocelyn's taste in clothes or the state of her finances, he had taken it upon himself to purchase a suitable gown for her.
The gown he had purchased was white and elegantly simple. He had wracked his brain trying to come up with a way to graciously present it to her without looking like a control freak but had failed. For once he was glad he failed and was glad he had left the gown in the trunk. He could return it tomorrow.
Jocelyn invited him in to her apartment. "Hi, come on in, have a seat. You look great in your tuxedo. Would you like something to drink before we leave?"
"No thank you. You look lovely tonight."
"Thank you. I just have to finish putting my lipstick on and I'll be ready to go. It won't take me but a moment. Have a seat."
Ramon took a seat on her couch and looked around the condominium. The place was quite nice; not at all what he expected. Everything was upscale. The decorator furniture and coordinating accent chairs looked expensive. The paintings on her walls looked original and there were real plants scattered throughout. He wondered how Jocelyn could afford such a nice place.
He thought anyone would be comfortable living in her condo. Still curious, he got up and walked around the living room. He saw framed photos on her fireplace mantle that featured the same group of people over and over. In each picture there was a Caucasian man and African-American woman along with Jocelyn, a younger African American woman and a younger Asian-American woman. Reese was also in the picture with her two boys.
By the time Ramon got to the last picture, Jocelyn appeared holding her shawl. “I see you’re looking at my family.” He looked at her closer. Her beauty must have come from the blend of her mother and father.
Her shawl was lovely. It was the only thing she had allowed to express her creativity. It was multi colored and beaded. It looked expensive and it exquisitely complemented her dress.
He gently guided her by the elbow as he escorted her to his car. While he was driving, he couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the cleaning lady with the bizarre taste in clothes. The blue evening dress looked perfect on her. It also looked very expensive. He sincerely hoped that asking her out on this date hadn't cost her too much money.
Although Jocelyn was sure Ramon liked the way she was dressed, she was a little nervous. She wanted to be on her best behavior tonight because she wanted him to forget she had come out of her shoes and actually tackled a young thief like a football defense team member to get her purse back on their last evening out together. Tonight she wanted him to see her as feminine and refined.
When they got to the hotel, Ramon was the perfect gentleman. He truly wanted Jocelyn to have a good time. A lot of influential people attended these galas. It hadn’t seemed to matter to the typical arm candy he usually brought to these functions. They knew their job was to smile, look pretty on his arm and not say much.
The maître`d escorted them to their table. He seated them at their reserved spaces. After being seated, Jocelyn took a moment to look around; the ballroom at the Windsor Hotel was magnificent. The chandelier hanging in the center of the grand room sparkled with its thousands of tiny crystals. Those sparkles made Jocelyn’s dress shimmer. Each table was covered with elegant white tablecloths; and a centerpiece of fresh cut flowers in crystal vases graced each table.
While his eyes darted around the room in search of a waiter to take their drink order, a strikingly beautiful woman approached them and introduced herself. She was one of the most stunning women Jocelyn had ever seen.
"Hello Ramon”, it's been a long time since we've seen each other. I hear that your company is doing very well and is about to come out with some new big breakthrough product."
Jocelyn saw Ramon’s surprise when he looked at the woman standing at his elbow. He finally said, “Hello, Juliette. It‘s good to see you. You are right; it’s been a long time. Are you here with your husband?”
“He’s at our table over there.” She pointed, her perfectly manicured hand gesturing toward the far corner of the ballroom. “He’s in the far corner busy talking off the ear of one of his vice presidents. I told him I was going to say hello to an old friend. He probably didn’t even notice when I left the table,” she added bitterly.
Hostility permeated from her body. Juliette was almost as tall as Ramon. Her lovely reddish brown hair fell to her shoulders and her makeup was perfectly applied. She looked as though she had spent the entire day at the salon. Jocelyn bet her weave had cost at least a thousand dollars. The pink strapless gown she wore draped her slim figure. Jocelyn wondered if the gown had come straight from the Paris runway.
Ramon didn’t appear to be affected by her beauty at all. He turned and introduced Jocelyn to Juliette. “Jocelyn, please meet Juliette. Juliette and I dated for a while back in college.”
Juliette let a smirk settle on her face. She turned to Jocelyn and said, “Oh Ramon and I did more than just ‘date.’ We were engaged to be married.”
Jocelyn tried to hide her surprise; Ramon had never m
entioned that he was once engaged to be married.
With slight annoyance in his voice to Juliette, Ramon replied, “That was a long time ago. Things just didn’t work out for us. You remember, you decided right after college that we weren’t right for each other. We said our goodbyes and it was over between us.”
Juliette said, “Maybe I was too quick to give up what we had.”
Ramon with no expression on his face said, “I guess we’ll never know. I do hope that you and your husband have a wonderful evening.”
Jocelyn was a little surprised at Ramon’s sudden dismissal of his former fiancée. She wondered if he still harbored some lingering regret over the end of his engagement.
Juliette seemed to get Ramon’s dismissal and said, “Well it was good seeing you again Ramon. Enjoy the evening,” and walked back across the ballroom to join her husband.
Ramon couldn’t believe Juliette had picked tonight of all nights to try to walk back into his life. When he had said goodbye to her, he meant it. His attraction to Jocelyn was much stronger than he ever felt for Juliette.
When the band started to play a slow song, Ramon asked Jocelyn if she wanted to dance. Dancing with her would give him just the outlet he needed to calm down from his run-in with Juliette, and also give him an opportunity to get closer to Jocelyn.
He put out his hand to the woman he wanted and escorted her onto the dance floor. Her body felt wonderful in his arms. He wanted to caress her, hold her tightly and kiss her, not dance.
Her dress was silky and smooth underneath his hands and when she put her arms around his neck and began to move gracefully to the music, he thought that he would embarrass himself right there on the dance floor. His erection was making him feel like a teenager again.
He was doing everything he could to keep himself from pulling her tight against him. He counted to one hundred, he thought about baby kittens, blocks of ice on his groin, anything to lower the heat flowing to his midsection.
He didn’t want to scare Jocelyn off or embarrass himself with his erection even though his goal tonight was for them to end up in a bed together. It could be his bed or hers, he didn’t care which. He just hoped that Jocelyn wouldn’t ask too many questions about Juliette. As far as he was concerned Juliette was a chapter best left closed.
Jocelyn couldn’t help herself. She glanced at Juliette’s table when Ramon danced them in the direction of his ex fiancée’s table. Juliette’s eyes were glued on Ramon. The older man sitting next to her was staring daggers at him. Yes, Juliette thought, not only did hubby dear notice you left the table, he watched exactly where you went.
Ramon and Jocelyn danced several slow dances before returning to their table. Dinner as she expected, was delicious. She was smart enough to have read online reviews about the hotel’s dining room, and hadn’t eaten beforehand. Dessert was raspberry cheesecake. The cake was so sinfully good; Jocelyn softly hummed with happiness while she was eating.
She caught herself in mid-hum when she saw Ramon staring at her. But the humming wasn’t what held his attention. His eyes were focused on her tongue. Each time her tongue licked the fork, he felt something tighten in his groin.
He was so engrossed in his own sexual thoughts; he didn’t hear his name announced by the emcee standing on the stage. Ramon shook his head to clear it and to pay attention to what the man with the microphone was saying.
“Tonight we are here to honor the members of the community who strive to make a difference. First we would like to honor Ramon Holliday tonight for turning around a struggling paint company. He is providing dozens of jobs and has made time to mentor other energetic entrepreneurs. Ramon, could you please come to the podium?” The room began to applaud.
Jocelyn clapped enthusiastically when her Ramon stepped the stage to receive his plaque.
After he adjusted the microphone, he said, “Tonight is a very special night because when I started out I only had a dream and very little money. No one believed that I could make Holliday Paints grow and make it profitable. Tonight I would like to thank the people who have worked for me over the years because without them there would be no Holliday Paint Company.” Holding up his plaque he added, “Thank you all for this honor. Enjoy your evening.”
Jocelyn embraced him and kissed him on the cheek when he returned to their table. She told him, “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thank you,” he replied, and returned the kiss. When Jocelyn’s head was turned toward his ex-fiancée table, she saw Juliette scowl.
After the dinner was over and Ramon was driving Jocelyn to her apartment, he put his hand over hers and said, “I want to spend the rest of the evening with you, so if you have questions about Juliette, ask me now, so I can clear the air.”
“What caused you two to break up?”
“When I graduated, I told Juliette I wanted to buy the paint company. She didn’t think I was serious. She couldn’t understand why I would buy a failing company and Juliette didn’t want to spend years struggling while I poured all the money I earned back into the business to build it up. So the first rich man who came along and showed interest in her, got her.”
Jocelyn removed her hand from underneath Ramon’s. “Do you still have any feelings for her?”
Ramon grabbed Jocelyn’s hand back and asked, “Does it matter to you?”
Jocelyn took a moment to decide how to answer Ramon. She wasn’t sure yet. So she just blurted, “Ramon, I’m celibate.”