‘About the room charges… can you just bill us? I promise we’ll-’
‘Tut-tut… all room charges have already been taken care of.’
Sia looks at Danny, then back at Merchant.
‘The two of you are lucky, very lucky indeed. It seems someone up there likes you.’ Merchant points a manicured finger toward the ceiling. ‘A guardian angel.’
‘I don’t understand,’ says Sia. ‘Who are you?’
‘The name’s Merchant, Benjamin Merchant, but you, dear Sylvia, may call me Ben. I have been and remain the private secretary and personal confidant of Mrs. Lucien Mabus, but for tonight, I’ll be your exclusive escort as you venture upward to Paradise Lost.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘Paradise Lost, darlin’. A wondrous place just north of heaven. Come, dear cherubs, your chariot awaits.’ Merchant leads them down a short hall to a private glass elevator. ‘This lift will take you straight to the penthouse. Mrs. Mabus’ll be waiting for you there.’
‘Mrs. Mabus wants to see us?’
‘Nothing to fear, Danny Boy. Like I said, this is your lucky day. All your financial woes are about to disappear.’
Danny looks at Sia, then back to Merchant, who is holding the elevator door open, beckoning them in. The couple enters.
‘Bon voyage.’ The doors close on Merchant’s smile, sealing them in darkness.
‘Danny?’ Sia grabs his arm as the lift races skyward.
The elevator stops before they can exhale. The doors part.
Sparkling before them-the Miami skyline-a tapestry of mirrored skyscrapers blazing in rainbows of neon beneath a clear autumn night. Mesmerized, they step out onto the polished onyx-marble floor.
The elevator door hisses closed behind them.
‘Hello?’ Uncertain, they leave the alcove and enter a living room, the plush carpet the color of sable, the leather furniture and wraparound bar done in various shades of red. Immense bay windows wrap around 360 degrees.
‘I’m Lilith.’
Danny turns to see a woman pouring drinks behind the bar. The vixen’s skin is chocolate, her hair the color of pitch, long and wavy, trailing down her back. ‘Lucien wishes he could be here to greet you, but he’s been sick lately, poor dear.’
Danny’s eyes widen as she walks around the bar, handing them each a glass. Lilith is wearing a see-through negligee, her dark breasts and shaved crotch pressing against the sheer fabric. She motions them to a couch. ‘So the two of you are newlyweds?’
‘Uh, yes. Just married three days ago.’
‘Four.’ Sia shoots him an elbow, disrupting his gaze. ‘How long have you and Mr. Mabus been married?’
‘Just long enough to want him dead.’ A high, piercing cackle as she turns her sociopathic gaze toward Sia. ‘Thank Satan for vibrators, eh girl.’
Danny focuses his attention on Lilith’s exposed brown nipple, drooling like an intoxicated mouse eyeing the cheese.
‘It’s late,’ Sia stutters, feeling out of her element.
‘The night is young,’ Lilith purrs, ‘but you’re worried about something.’
‘We lost a lot of money. Danny borrowed from his expense account.’
‘Sia!’
‘Now, now, we’re all family here at the Mabus. Tell me, Daniel, how much did you lose tonight in our little lion’s den of inequity?’
Danny breaks eye contact. ‘I don’t know. Everything we had left.’
‘Sia’s ring, too?’
Danny nods, his emotions welling.
‘And all of your savings?’ Lilith Mabus-so endearing-like a priest at confession.
‘The credit card. Our wedding gifts.’ Danny pinches tears from his sleep-deprived eyes.
Sia eyes shoot daggers at Lilith as the vixen circles the coffee table to sit next to her husband.
‘Daniel, scoot closer and place your hand on the coffee table’s access pad.’
He complies, the woman’s scent filling his nostrils, wondering what he’d do if Sia wasn’t in the room.
‘Computer, access the financial statement of Mr. Daniel Diaz.’
A holographic account ledger appears above the pewter coffee table. Danny’s eyes widen in disbelief.
The neon blue credit balance at the bottom indicates a recent deposit of $200,000.
‘I think that should more than cover your losses.’ Lilith sits back on the cushion.
‘This is… crazy,’ Danny says, ‘I don’t understand?’
Lilith smiles, her bleached white teeth bright against her Mesoamerican-African-American complexion. ‘A gift, Daniel. From one who has-to one in need.’
Emotion crumbles Danny’s face. Glee. Tears. Relief. Exhaustion. ‘I don’t know what to say?’
‘Just say thank you.’
‘Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you-’
‘What’s the catch?’ Sia asks.
Lilith smiles. ‘Maybe I’m just trying to buy my way into heaven?’
‘I doubt that.’
‘Sia!’
‘It’s all right, Daniel. Your wife is right to question my motives. I’ve heard it said that sin is the Devil’s daughter. Do you know what’s worse?’
‘No.’
‘Fear.’ Lilith stands, allowing her hand to casually tease Sia’s hair as she walks by. ‘I was raised by fear. For as long as I can remember, fear dominated my dreams and every waking thought in between. It robbed me of my childhood, stole my innocence, and left me its victim. Fear of death. Fear of abuse. Fear of being abandoned, of being alone. Fear of losing love.’
She settles on the sofa opposite Daniel. ‘You know what the worst thing about fear is? It keeps us from recognizing our one true power… that each of us possesses free will. Fear kept me in check for fourteen years, feeding off me, until it pushed me to the brink of suicide. And that’s when I grew angry. Anger mobilized me to take risks. From that moment on, I stopped being life’s victim. I learned to use the powers of the flesh to get what I want.’ She motions with her hands.
Danny nods, mesmerized by her words and his Ecstasy-laced cocktail.
‘You married wealth,’ Sia states. ‘What risks did you ever take?’
Lilith spreads her legs slightly and winks at Danny, offering him a tantalizing view of her crotch. ‘It takes talent to marry into wealth, Sylvia, especially when you come from nothing. Wealth must be seduced… teased. Power requires trust, trust-deception. Look at Daniel. He took a risk tapping into his company’s funds, no doubt seduced by your own greed and ambition. I admire that. The ability to seduce makes us powerful, don’t you agree?’
‘And thank God for it,’ Danny says, feeling giddy.
‘God may have given us our sex organs, Daniel, but it was Lucifer who taught us how to use them. Now show me yours.’
‘Huh?’
‘My presence makes your wife jealous. Use it to your advantage.’
Danny’s pulse throbs. ‘I… I don’t understand?’
‘Show me the new Daniel Diaz, the man you always dreamed you’d be. You have your money, now take control of the moment. Order Sylvia to perform oral sex.’
‘You’re nuts, lady.’ Sia stands to leave. ‘Keep your damn money, I’m nobody’s whore.’
‘We’re all whores, sister. Watch me, I’ll show you how it’s-’
‘No!’ Sia pushes Lilith aside. Quivering with anger and adrenaline, she stumbles around the coffee table to her husband. ‘Take off your pants.’
‘Sia-’
‘Shut up and do it. She paid for a show, we’ll give it to her.’
Danny moans as his bride takes control, burying her face in his groin.
Lilith moves closer. ‘It’s all about power, isn’t it, sister. Who controls who.’ She grabs Sia by her hair and yanks her face away before Danny can climax.
‘Hey-’
In Lilith’s free hand is a small box. Sia opens it.
Inside is her engagement ring.
‘Sisters share.’
Sia feels dizzy, lost, as if she is living the moment from someone else’s perspective. She watches as Lilith places her mouth against her husband’s erect organ.
Danny lays his head back and closes his eyes.
For Daniel Diaz, senior structural engineer at NASA’s Top-Secret Project: GOLDEN FLEECE, the night is indeed still young.