THE VIXEN

Chapter One

"Jesus, I am so exhausted", Vixen was thinking as she put the key in the front door of her Hammersville City condo. She was looking forward to climbing under the covers with a chicken, mozzarella and tomato salad she had picked up from The Honey Pot on her way home from the office. "I think I may be addicted to these things, but that is tomorrow's problem", Vixen thought. She had been on a diet for three months and these salads were healthy and delicious. Vixen was not the conventional person you would think of as a female CEO of a lingerie corporation. She was not now, nor had she ever been, a super model. Being five foot tall, she got comments often from people about her height. She had always been a plus-size woman except maybe for one year but at this point, with the diet she was on, she had lost enough weight to be a size fourteen. She had milk chocolate colored smooth skin with deep brown eyes that she had been told were shaped like almonds. She had the typical look with an African American nose and lips that were soft, luscious and kissable. She had never thought of herself as anyone's dream woman but she knew she was sexy in her own right.

Just as she was about to sit her Louis Vuitton briefcase and purse on the table she kept in the foyer, an alert from her phone indicated that she had a new text message. She looked at her screen and her heart fluttered; the message was from Daniel! Daniel Howard was a man that she had met on a dating site that her friend Camille had signed her up for. He was the personification of tall, dark and handsome. Daniel was Italian so he had olive colored skin. He was six foot, three inches tall with broad shoulders, emerald green eyes, a groomed goatee, and short cropped black as coal hair with a small gray patch at each temple. The epitome of sexy with a long powerfully toned and muscled body complete with six pack abs. He is forty five years old but does not look a day over thirty. When he smiles he could melt the ice burg that hit the Titanic in a matter of seconds!

The text read "How was your day, gorgeous?" It had been six months since they had met and Vixen was still in shock from the connection that they had made from the very beginning. "It was crazy, hectic and frustrating, how was yours?" Vixen replied.

"I am sorry you had a rough day, love. Being the CEO and girl of the year can make the days long but I know you can handle it" Daniel replied. Vixen had been on the cover of five magazines in the past two months. Being named Business Woman of the Year was a huge step in her career.

"Listen I have been thinking and I think it's time that we meet. What do you think about that?" Vixen's heart skipped a beat as she stared at her cell phone. She sat down hard on her five thousand dollar Cleopatra Neoclassical Chaise, which she never did. Vixen's condo was her pride and joy. It was the one thing she had splurged on when her company had gone public on the NASDAQ. Her fifteen million dollar home was immaculately decorated in Euro Egyptian style and she was very particular about it. She and her decorator had meticulously chosen each piece. She was very particular about the care and cleanliness of her home. But what she was reading had made her forget where she was and what she was doing.

Including remembering to breathe, she had been waiting anxiously for this moment for a long time. She knew one day it would come. How could their "relationship" become real if they did not meet?

"Vixen, did I lose you?" When the text came through she was startled into realizing it had been eight minutes since he sent his last text and she still had not responded.

"Yes, I am here. What made you decide this today?" Vixen replied.

"Well, I was thinking a lot about you today and I wanted to see my girl. I want to wrap my arms around her and kiss her. I don't want to wait anymore."

Vixen's heart rate kicked up at least fifty more beats per minute, she was panicking. I can't believe this; I am panicking. I built a plus-size lingerie company from the ground into a multi- million dollar company. I don't panic, what the hell is wrong with me? You think he is not going to like your size fourteen body because the only pictures you have been willing to let him see have been headshots and your photo shopped magazine covers don't count, that's what.

"I am excited to meet you, too. When do you want to do this", Vixen replied before she lost her nerve. As she was sitting there holding her breath waiting for his response, she realized it was like waiting for the verdict of a trial.

"How about tomorrow night at 9 p.m.?" Daniel said. "We can meet at The Honey Pot. I know you love their salads... LOL".

As she sat there reading the text, she realized Daniel knew her better than most people that saw her every day. She had opened up to him so much more than she had anyone else. They had shared so much in the past six months. He had been supportive in her decision to go public and had been there to listen the nights she was terrified that she had made a terrible mistake in the one thing in this world that meant the most to her, other than her girls.

"I was going to work late tomorrow but for you, I will take some time off and come and meet you.... LOL", Vixen replied.

"Really? Oh WOW, I am so excited to see you, I just knew that you would say no or have a meeting!"

Vixen literally laughed out loud at that comment. Daniel made her laugh a lot and she had to admit that she had managed to be "busy" the other times he had wanted to get together!

"Well, the other times you asked you didn't say I was your girl. It's all in how you phrase the question!" Vixen replied sarcastically.

"Smart ass" Daniel replied.

"Yes, and you love every minute of it, don't you?" she said giggling.

"I do, I do and I cannot wait to see that entire smart ass in person" Daniel said.

"Well you know I am a lot to handle so put your seat belt on! LOL"

Vixen had a fast mind and a fast mouth. She was not ashamed to use either of them. She had been the shy, smart fat girl that no one really knew. She has four very close friends; Phoenix, Nya, Jacqueline and Camille that she had known for a number of years. Her inner circle was just that - a circle that she did not want to open up to anyone new. She respected these women and their opinions and knew they had her back and she had theirs. Although they were all as different as night and day, it worked in a weird way.

One of the first men to send a message from her profile had been Daniel, letting him into her "world" had been hard for Vixen but there was something about him that had spoken to her from the beginning. She still wasn't sure what it was about him but he made her feel warm and safe to be herself, which was new to her. The only thing he still did not know about was her weight.

Vixen was not a woman that was ashamed of her curvy figure. She had been the size two and was now a size fourteen and was very happy with her current figure. She was a diva from the top of her well-weaved head to the tip of her exceptionally manicured toes. And she knew it! However, with Daniel she had hid her size. And if she was honest about her weight that was the only reason she was concerned about meeting him.

Daniel was a man's man. He was "sex on a stick" with the gorgeous hair and the twelve pack abs to boot. He was a health fanatic that worked out every day and was always active. Vixen was not a "sit on the couch and eat a pint of ice cream and a bag of chips" kind of girl. But she was nothing close to Daniel's level of health. So she had done something that she would tell her girls to never do; she hid her size from him for so long that now she didn't know how to tell him other than to just let him see.

"Listen, baby I need to get back to work. I am meeting up with Randy for a workout in a couple of hours. I will talk to you later and I cannot wait to see you" Daniel messaged.

Vixen was grateful for the time to fully freak out so she said. "Ok, love.... have a good work out and I look forward to seeing you too!"