Read Not a Day Goes By for Free Online Page B

split had been a hit with several men attending the party, but it didn’t get her closer than a hundred feet to the CEO of one of the country’s top labels. Yancey had only planned to stay about thirty minutes, come back home, get out of the gown, and return it the next day. She ended up staying three hours, and leaving the price tags on the dress couldn’t disguise the fact the gown had been worn in a smoke-filled room.
    “The store was D’Anita in New York City.”
    “I had my assistant take it back,” Yancey declared. She had asked Windsor to drop the dress off, which she did. But a couple of hours later, the dress was returned to Yancey by messenger with a note saying the dress was soiled under the arms and could not be returned. The gown was still in the garment bag hanging in her closet.
    “We talked to the merchant, and they told us it was returned after it had been worn.”
    “I never wore that dress. Besides, I thought you guys had some type of buyer’s protection plan where you would take my side in a matter like this,” Yancey said.
    “We do, but just looking at the data I have here, I don’t think we can help you, Ms. Braxton. So we have to request your payment in full immediately.”
    This is what Yancey hated about credit card companies like American Express and Diners Club. They gave you sky-high credit limits but expected their money every month. She had long maxed out the three Visas she had, so Diners Club was the last card she could use. She knew she had to pay the bill, even though she didn’t have the money.
    “I’ll send you a check today,” Yancey said. She was thinking about sending an unsigned check, which would give her a couple more weeks to get the money, but remembered she’d pulled that trick a few months prior.
    “Will you be sending the full amount?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Well, this month’s balance is also due. With the $9,800.00 return and an additional $5,559.67 in new charges . . .” She paused for a second and Yancey figured she was adding the two numbers so she said, “You don’t have to tell me the total amount. I can add.”
    “Is there any way you can send the payment with one of the overnight delivery services? Your account is in jeopardy of being sixty days past due. In that case your account would be subject to review, and we might have to pull a current credit report.”
    The mention of her credit report made Yancey’s body warm. “No, I can’t send it overnight! I’ll send it via U.S. mail the way I always do. If that doesn’t work then that’s too damn tough,” Yancey said. She slammed down the phone and began thinking about who she was going to call—Ava or Basil?
    DAMN, girl, you look good,” Basil said in a seductive murmur when Yancey walked into his bedroom wearing nothing but some red caviar–beaded ankle-strap pumps. Basil was already under the covers wearing nothing but a smile. They’d just returned from the opening night performance and party for the Dance Theater of Harlem, and watching the taut bodies of the dancers had set their hormones in full gallop. Not that Basil and Yancey needed human stimulants to aid their very active sex life. Basil was a supreme lover who had taken time to take her places no man had gone before. Basil loved the fact that Yancey could perform with the sexual confidence of rap star Li’l Kim and carry herself with the regal beauty of Halle Berry the moment her feet reached the floor.
    The clear and melodious voice of Brian McKnight, one of their favorite singers, was spilling into the room from the strategically placed speakers. They shared a small snifter of cognac and then made love for hours, caressing and kissing until a stillness fell over them and the room. Basil was enjoying the smell of Yancey’s body mixed with the lingering trace of perfume, and Yancey loved the tenderness he showed after making love.
    When Basil thought Yancey was asleep he gently moved her head from his chest and went