The Right Woman

By Margy Millet

Steve’s life changes the moment he becomes the police captain of the substation at the Curtis Apartments. His unquenchable appetite for sexual pleasure and pain forces him to hide his lifestyle. He isolates himself at work while he leads a wild life with a different partner every night. Soon he grows tired of these empty experiences, and he’s ready for something deeper.
Jackie finds fulfillment working with local youth for the summer, but she’s lonely—something is missing. Her life takes an exciting turn when she befriends four young brothers who live in the projects.
When Steve sees Jackie rush out of the building, he’s instantly captivated by her beauty and her bright red hair. Suddenly, he forgets why he had been yelling at the boy crying on the ground in front of him.
Jackie hurries out of the building to find out what all the noise is about. The moment she sees him, her body tingles all over. His strong, rough voice makes her body feel alive.
Will Steve finally find what's missing in his life? Will Jackie be able to give him what he asks of her? Can they keep their passionate relationship a secret?

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jul 31, 2019
• ISBN: 9781532078910

Margy Millet

Margy Millet was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, and she moved with her family to Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1973. She holds an associate’s degree from Quinsigamond College, and she and her husband, David, have three children and five grandchildren. Her passions include writing, Latin music, dancing, reading, and sports. She currently lives in Massachusetts.

Book preview

Prologue

Steve walked out of the bathroom rubbing a small towel on his wet hair. He dropped the towel and looked down at the clothes he had laid out on his bed. He dressed slowly. There was no rush; he had plenty of time to get to the club. Once he was dressed, he went over to the closet and pulled out a pair of shoes and slid his feet into them.

He pulled his phone out to make sure he hadn’t missed any messages from his buddy, Luke. He and Luke had been best friends since grammar school. Their families were neighbors. There were no messages, so he tucked his phone into the inside pocket of his blazer. Soon he was backing his bike out of the garage. He closed the garage and drove off to the club. He was feeling happy because tonight he was celebrating his promotion to captain and an assignment to his own substation in the Curtis Apartments.

Fuck, he growled, staring at the long line outside the club’s main entrance. Luckily for him, there was an exclusive entrance for members only.

He drove around to the back of the club and found an empty parking space. Walking fast, he went up to the door and slid his keycard through the slot on the console. The door clicked open immediately. He could hear the music booming as he walked down the long hall to the main club. It took a minute for his eyes to adjust to the dark room. He stood by the far corner of the bar, scanning the crowd room for Luke.

He signaled for the bartender as he continued to look around. The bartender put Steve’s favorite beer on a coaster in front of him. Thanks, Steve remarked, picking up the glass and taking a sip. He nursed his beer while checking out the variety of gorgeous ladies walking around the club. Several of them made eye contact with him and smiled at him flirtatiously.

He was almost done with his beer when he spotted Luke moving toward him. They spent the rest of the night drinking and dancing with as many women as they could. They partied all night until last call, and that’s when everything went rapidly to hell. A woman showed up whom he had been seeing casually months ago. He wasn’t interested in seeing her any longer, and she was taking it badly. She had already put him through several ugly scenes in the club over the past few months. His only recourse had been to call his father for help.

Five Years Later

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At seven o’clock on a Tuesday evening in the Curtis Apartments Project, Captain Esteban Giordano was getting ready to start his night shift at the police substation. He sat down and logged on to the desktop computer and checked the reports from the previous shift for any unusual situations that he needed to be aware of. He checked his work e-mail and responded to some of them and logged off his computer.

He moved away from the desk and went to the kitchenette and put on a pot of coffee. When it was ready, he took a cup from the cabinet and poured himself some of the bitter brew, wishing silently that someone would buy a better brand.

He turned off the brewer and went back to the front of the station. Steve glanced at the clock and saw that he had another ten minutes before it was time to start his rounds. He sat sipping his coffee and let his mind wander. He had woken up with a hard-on for the third morning in a row. He guessed that this was partially because he had been steering clear of the club. Steve had grown tired of the place and the crowd that hung out there. He wasn’t sure why, but he just wasn’t into the scene anymore. His father would be happy to know that, but he and his father didn’t discuss such matters. The fact that his career as a police captain could have been over if it weren’t for his father was a blow to Steve’s ego. He and his father had never seen eye to eye on anything, including Steve’s choice of career, but especially his sexual lifestyle. But if it weren’t for his father all those years ago when Steve was experimenting and trying to understand his sexual desires—if his father hadn’t taken care of a sticky situation with a very obsessive woman—it would have been a disaster. Steve knew his father was also covering his own ass; the scandal would have hurt his political career in the senate too. Steve shook his head to clear his thoughts. He sat back down at his desk and logged back on to his computer.

Across town, just a few miles away, Jackie Ramirez was working on a proposal for an after-school program for the next school year at the community college where she worked as the director of community relations and development. She was just finishing up with the form that outlined the projected costs of the program. In the box labeled Additional Funding Sources, she typed in the name of a community grant she had been researching. She saved the document and closed it.

She opened the cover letter and went over it one more time. That sounds pretty good, if I do say so myself, she thought as she closed the document. Next, she wrote an e-mail to the dean of the department, attached the proposal and the cover letter, and pushed send. The e-mail flew off with a swish as she stood up to stretch her legs.

That evening, Jackie walked out of the community hall refreshed and smiling after three hours helping out at some of the booths for the summer workshops. She loved working with young kids, and it gave her great satisfaction to help them. The night was beautiful; it was a perfect summer night with a gentle breeze. The warm air wrapped around her body like a cozy blanket. She stood by the stairs enjoying how the breeze caressed her face as she watched the parents picking up their kids from the summer workshop. A group of four boys came out of the hall last.

She waved to the boys and thought about how glad she was that the college had agreed to do these summer workshops. Once she was sure all the kids had been collected, she stepped down the stairs and walked over to where her car was parked. She got in the car, and as she drove slowly out of the parking lot, she saw the same four boys she had waved to earlier walking along on the campus sidewalk.

The oldest boy looked to be about twelve years old. She remembered his face from the workshop. She slowed down the car and pulled over next to them. She lowered the car window and spoke to them. Hi boys. Is anyone coming to pick you up? she asked with a friendly smile on her face.

The oldest boy recognized her from the workshop and came over to the car. No, he answered without offering an explanation.

Why don’t you all hop in the car and I’ll give you a ride home, she said, still wearing the big smile. She knew it was a risk to let the boys get in her car. There were rules against that kind of thing–rules that she definitely agreed with. But these boys were too young to be walking home by themselves. If something happened to them on the way home from her program, she’d never forgive herself. She decided she would risk it and talk to a parent as soon as she got to their home.

By now, the other three boys were standing beside the first boy by the open window of Jackie’s car. Not one of them moved or answered her.

What’s your name? she asked the oldest boy.

Mike, he answered. What’s yours? he countered.

My name is Jackie, she replied.

I know you. I saw you walking around the halls, he commented looking her straight in the eye.

Good. Listen Mike, it’s getting late and I’d like to see that you boys get home safely. She waited a few seconds for a response, looking from one to the next; the younger ones smiled at her.

Finally, Mike answered her. We’ll be fine. We just live about fifteen minutes from here, in the projects, he said.

The other three complained to Mike that they were tired. She watched him turn around and give them a hard look. Quickly, they all stopped except for the youngest boy. Clearly, Mike’s word was law.

Mike, c’mon, let’s just take the ride, okay? The smallest boy dared to suggest.

Mike gazed at them long and hard before bringing his attention back to Jackie. She gave him an encouraging smile, and at the same time, unlocked the doors of her SUV. The three younger boys quickly opened the doors and jumped in the back seat, while Mike walked around the front of the car and sat in the front.

I’m Jon and this is Sammy, said the boy right behind her as he pointed to the boy next to him. And this is Tommy, he said pointing to the youngest boy sitting on the right.

Hi, I’m Jackie, she repeated, adding lightly, Everybody buckle up. Jackie drove off campus onto the main street and toward the projects.

She knew where the Curtis Apartments were located because she passed by them every day on her way to work. As soon as she was sure everyone was buckled up, she drove off. She looked back through the rearview mirror to see the three younger boys chatting with one another.

Steve rode his bike through the streets making his nightly rounds. He felt restless tonight; not in a bad way, but it was as if something was about to happen—something unexpected. He thought about what had been going on these past two weeks. Two weeks—it’s been two weeks since I got laid. I can’t believe it. No wonder I keep waking up with a hard on, he thought as he rode along.

It was unusual for him to go this long without sex because he was constantly consumed with sexual thoughts. Women were often attracted to him, so he had plenty of opportunities. He couldn’t explain why, but the club scene was no longer satisfying to him. He wanted more; he wanted a partner who would understand his needs–he wanted love. Keeping his sex life a secret from everyone except his best friend Luke was challenging, and he was getting tired of the subterfuge. Also, the fact that he didn’t feel a deep connection with any of his club partners was making him a bit depressed.

Steve shook his head and brought his attention back to patrolling the streets. He had dreamed of being a police officer since he was little, and now after so many years on the force, he was a captain and in charge of running the new substation at the projects. Steve knew his father was disappointed at his career choice, but politics was never his thing, so he left that to his father, also known as Senator Giordano.

He continued riding slowly around the streets of the complex looking for trouble that might be happening or about to happen. He slowed down as he approached a group of men who were gathered at the front of a building. When the men saw him coming they immediately dispersed. He stopped his bike and watched them walk off in different directions, then he promptly put the bike in gear and drove away from the area. He rode at a steady pace, never rushing. He had been overseeing the substation for five years, so he knew these streets like the back of his hand; he was aware that a group like that might just go and gather on another corner.

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Jackie could sense the closeness of the younger boys who were chatting away in the back seat. She wondered if they were all brothers. Mike gave her directions as they drove. She recognized the area, so she knew that she was about two minutes away from the projects, and she also knew that the main entrance was just around the corner.

Don’t go into the projects. Keep going straight. Drive past the entrance and park in the convenience store lot, Mike directed, pointing toward a store farther up the road.

Okay, she agreed hesitantly as she drove past the entrance and another 500 feet into the store parking lot. Jackie was still planning to speak to a parent—or parents, plural, if they turned out to not be all brothers—but she didn’t want to make a big deal about it with the boys. She didn’t want to give them the idea that they were in any kind of trouble. She parked the car and shut it off. Wait! she said as the boys quickly opened the doors and started to get out of the car. I’ll walk you home, she said opening her car door.

You don’t have to do that. We’ll be fine, responded Sammy, who had one leg out of the car already.

I’ll feel better if I see you to the door, okay? Please? She gave them another big smile.

Okay, agreed Mike while the others nodded their heads in agreement.

They all got out of the car and she clicked on the car alarm while they waited for her. Together they walked through the entrance of the project, which was very close to the store. The boys moved at a lazy pace. She laughed out loud when Jon told her a joke as they walked along.

It was clear to Jackie that Mike considered himself an adult. She could tell by the way he kept up the small talk with her about the buildings they walked by and some of the people who lived there. After walking for about ten minutes and crossing a couple of streets, the boys stopped in front of a building that didn’t look much different from the others.

C’mon, said Sammy, pulling at her hand. I want you to meet Mom and Grandma.

She smiled and replied, Okay. She let him pull her along as the others followed behind them.

They walked up a set of stairs, then turned right and stopped in front of a door, which Mike opened with