In my world nothing is ever random even when it seems to be, because random in my world leads to chaos, uncontrollable chaos which seemed to follow me despite how cautious I could be at times both personally and professionally.
Chaos which I usually have to find my way out of, or at least a creative way to make the sudden chaos whatever it may be ,work in my favor and so far I had been lucky .
I had been in South Beach for nearly two weeks now, winding my way back and forth between the Bahamas, and Jamaica mapping new routes and working new schedules for pickups and drops of stolen cars, drugs and whatever else was to come my way in the coming days and months.
I was walking out the elevator of the Avalon Hotel a little past five in the afternoon just like I had in the days past, followed closely by Buzz as usual when I caught a glimpse of my gorgeous brunette banker Rachael Harris, a fleeting glimpse of her as she stepped into the other set of elevators just across the narrow hallway from me, our eyes locking instantly as the heavy chrome doors slid closed.
She was a vision of sensuality and power in a tailored black suit, the sight of her sent my mind reeling as I stood there for just a moment trying to figure out what she would be doing here , before Buzz ushered me on, oblivious to what had garnered my attention.
What was my gorgeous banker doing here; it had been weeks since I'd seen her, weeks since I'd had to deal with my growing addiction to her.
I had stopped our affair suddenly, with barely a reason and no intention of changing my mind because I thought it was the smart thing to do at the time, but my need for this woman ran deep, it had been near consuming and I had balked which was something I rarely did when it came to something I wanted or needed. Rachael hadn't understood , and never missed an opportunity to try and convince me to change my mind and I wasn't sure how much longer I could avoid the inevitable , how much longer I could avoid the pull of her and the chaos that will surely come from having her .
I was leaving the hotel and headed to a salsa club in Coconut Grove, another meeting, another long night, only now I had the added distraction of my gorgeous brunette banker lingering through my mind.
Images of our short, yet torrid affair began to flash through my mind, bombarding my senses and making it difficult to concentrate on my night ahead.
My evening was going to be routine enough, a meeting in the backroom of the Sky Club with Armando Reyes the head of the Reyes family and the largest supplier of cocaine in the south.
We had a long standing business relationship, one that we both planned to continue and with my recent agreement with Agent Emilee Welsh that was sure to happen.
I had acquired new territory for my all business associates through my deal with the stunning red head Federal Agent, and that meant more business for both Armando and me.
More territory meant more product , more product meant new distributors, new dealers and new enemies, which also meant heavier security and that was why we were meeting tonight.
We needed to plan security for drops of cocaine heading into Brownsville Texas, something that I could easily handle , except Armando had insisted that he supply me with half of the muscle I would need and of course I wouldn't disagree with him , I never did.
I met with my old friend in his office at Sky, leaving Buzz just outside the door diligently, this would only take a few hours and then I could get back to the hotel and possibly find out why Rachael was there, not that it was any of my business, but it would be the only way to get her off my mind, the real question would be, could I do that without letting her get under my skin.
I had managed the meeting by sheer routine I was sure, my host as commanding as ever as we laid out plans for the coming few months, Armando funneled cocaine into the states from south America , from there I moved it across the states from Texas to the Midwest until finally flooding through the eastern seaboard.
I sat over the next four extremely boring hours trying not to be distracted by the sight of Rachael earlier, tried not to be distracted by the thought of her gorgeous body , or how she could make me feel. Armando and I sat plotting and planning for as much as we could until my handsome Latin host suggested we go to a late dinner, that he was starving and needed a break.
I of course agreed, and along with Buzz and a few other well-armed guards we left the packed salsa club and headed to the marina back in South Beach, to Armando's favorite steak and seafood restaurant.
I was the only woman in this mix of varying criminals and had no problem with that, Becca was usually with me but she had stayed in Savannah for this trip taking care of things at the shipping company and our dance club while I was gone.
In the morning Buzz and I would leave for the Bahamas one last time to wrap up a few things before heading back home to Savannah , back to my other life of Savannahs social elite and my ruse of legitimate business woman and philanthropist.
We dined on rock lobster and steak and reminisced about the many years we had known one another, my father Jack and Armando's father Javier had started their business partnership from just a small dope run to Columbia in the late eighty's and it had eventually grown into what Armando and I controlled now.
An ever growing network of thieves, drug dealers, numerous suppliers, politicians and corrupt law enforcement, which had spread over a good part of the southern United States and parts of South America which kept the machine rolling freely, and the money flowing into both our pockets.
Armando's work ethic was a little less strict than mine, as I had wanted to go back to the club and finish our plans after our dinner so I could get back to the hotel, he on the other hand had a different idea, ever the classic Latin playboy he suggested we go to the new strip club recently opened by his oldest son Frankie.
Who was I to disagree, maybe a strip club would be just the thing to take my mind off Rachael, because I hadn't stopped thinking about her the entire night and could certainly use the distraction.
We had left the marina headed to Miami Beach and had put our meeting on hold for the moment as I rode in Armando's black Mercedes with him followed closely by Buzz behind us and his bodyguards in front of us.
The club was lavish, and packed for so late in the evening; it was midnight as we headed inside past the still waiting line of grumbling people wanting to get in before the club closed.
I must have been too quiet in the car on the way because Armando had immediately pulled me into the VIP lounge telling me that we were going to party like we normally did to celebrate our newest business venture.
It only took moments for the small VIP section to fill up with beautiful women and numerous bottles of champagne, music thumped and lights flashed as an array of near naked women danced on the stage in front of us.
I slipped easily into the moment welcoming the familiar distraction , which would keep me from thinking about my gorgeous brunette banker , the liquor would take my mind off her and I was sure I could find someone to occupy the aching need I had growing in me.
Armando sat across from me regaling the two busty blondes on his lap about the times we had shared over the years and the sometimes comical situations we had always managed to get out of.
The crowd was slowly growing by the minute, people coming and going, stopping to say hello to Armando and to pay their respects to someone who they clearly admired.
Champagne flowed and the women came and went , a steady stream of beauty moving in and out of the small roped off area, my eye was caught suddenly by the stunning brunette walking toward me in the swirling lights and I smiled as she approached , she looked almost like my brunette banker, but not quite .
"Hi my name is Maya... Frankie thought you might like me?" she purred, smiling at me as she slid into my lap with a soft kiss to my lips.
Her eye color was wrong but for the moment she would do, to quell the ache I was fighting, to keep me preoccupied, to keep me from going back to the hotel and finding Rachael to give in to the urge she had created earlier simply in our brief passing.
