Jail's Bait: Parole's Victim (Book 4)

Chapter 7

The next evening at HT, Lamar and Malik were sitting at a little glass table with padded chairs, on one of their white-washed rooftop terraces overlooking the North Pacific, as the sunset lit a yellowing shade of purple and crimson fire on the horizon just where the Pacific ended and the Artic Zone began. It was a spectacular view (There was a telescope area built near the railing), yet neither one was watching the skies.

Malik, who was peering at his work through his Gucci-tinted prescription shades, had on his customary white linen suit and was sporting an open-collared pale blue button-down shirt, along with his white Timberland half-sandals. Malik was wearing a loose-fitting white body shirt and cream dress slacks with a pair of cream Stacy Adams on his feet. Both were deep in separate conversations on their cell-phones while simultaneously typing away on their personal lap-tops, which were propped up against each other on the little glass table:

 “…I’ll try to be there on time as always, Treddman- but you know as well as I do you’re your fiancée Winifred Harpo is the one who is always late, staying behind on-set trying to put out fires herself and not letting her staff handle…”

 “…I’ve heard the demo, Cuffy- I don’t know if I want to sign him, however. Why not take a chance on him? You don’t have any real R&B solo male artists on your Mad-Boy label at the moment, and Wusstin Jr. IS your grandson…”

 “…Tredd, my man, you HAVE to get her to the meeting ON TIME for once. I can’t get any deeper details than what I already have if I’m compartmentalized into less time than she promises… you don’t want me to get my info from the Barbie Halters interview, do you..?”

 “…Well what’s WRONG with nepotism..? Look at Master Kee, Homeo and Homeo’s son Skeet-Skeet..? There’s three generations of rappers with major hits… well, ALMOST major hits, but you know what I mean…”

 Suddenly they were both interrupted by a tinkling chime coming from an old-fashioned sailor’s brass wind whistle that sat on the little glass table in between the laptops. As one they both glanced at their highly expensive watches: it was 6 p.m.

 “…Say Cuff, we’ll have to finish this tomorrow, I’ve got other matters to attend to…”

 “…Tredd, I’ll call tomorrow to agree to a time with Winifred, but right now I’ve got to go…”

 -And with two simultaneous clicks of closing their cell-phones, they looked at one another, saved whatever they were working in on their laptops, closed them; and both men leaned in over the table top until their lips reached each other. Each time Malik and Lamar kissed was like the first time for them both- a thrill that was half excitement, half wonder- making both of their hearts race.

“How’s the Hip-Hop mogul this evening,” Lamar said, giving his lover a grin, taking Malik’s glasses off and laying them on the table.

“I was just fine, until I kissed you- then I got even better than ‘just fine’,” Malik said softly, returning the grin. “How about you, writer..? What’s the word on Karl Khronic’s soon-to-be-sizzling best-seller on talk-show host Winifred Harpo’s life-story?”

 “Well, if I can get her fiancée Treddman to stop Winifred from running around like a Hebrew slave trying to build Egyptian bricks without straw all by herself, it might be a little smoother,” Lamar said, shaking his head humorously.

 Malik laughed. “This was a good move, you buying this old sailor’s time-piece to remind us when to stop working for the day,” he said, indicating towards the shiny clock sitting on the table. Malik stood to his feet and held out his hand to Lamar.

 “Don’t you think we needed it..? Otherwise we would be working around the clock and never getting any alone time,” Lamar said as he got to his feet as well and came around the table to grasp Malik’s hand in his own.

They moved over to the railing and stood there, Malik maneuvering himself behind Lamar and wrapping his arms around Lamar’s waist, leaning in to kiss the nape of his neck and staying that way, the scent of Malik’s favorite cologne embracing Lamar just as tightly. Something seemed to relax in them both as they stood silently at the railing, looking out at the vast expanse of ocean sky which had turned a deeper bluish-purple since the sun had finally gone down. At this time of day the colors blended so well it was almost impossible to tell where the ocean ended and the horizon began. Whenever they worked at home together Lamar and Malik tried to keep to this same schedule of letting the wind-whistle remind them to put the world away for the rest of the night. So far it was working quite nicely for them both.

 “I love you, Mar,” Malik murmured into the back of Lamar’s neck, tightening his embrace.

 Lamar said in dreamy response, “Let’s have a baby, Malik…”

 Malik didn’t respond for a couple of seconds. Then he loosened his hold on Lamar and turned him around so they were face to face. “Whuchutalkinboutwillis?” Malik said in a slur, his face frowning in confusion as to what he’d just heard.

 Lamar stood firm, a north wind rising to whip around them both. “Yes, I did say ‘let’s have a baby’ just now, your ears aren’t stopped up. But before you say anything else,” he added, seeing the responsive reflex in Malik’s dark eyes, “hear me out.” He sighed. “You know that we’ve discussed doing this a few times, but we put that conversation away to help out with Marquis until he was grown up.”

 “I thought you loved raising Marquis,” Malik said, his eyes growing dark.

 “Don’t get me wrong, Malik,” Lamar said; “I love Marquis like he’s our own… but he loves ME like a younger brother would love one of his older brothers,” he pointed out. “And he loves you like a second father figure, we all see that.”

 “Well, he’s MY cousin, of course he might feel a little more attached to me,” Malik defended himself.

 “That’s what I mean, Malik,” Lamar sighed again. “No matter how close he is to us, we’re only just family- in every way that matters, but only just extended family. He’s got a mother, your father is his great-uncle and MY father is his legal Godfather. All legal and necessary decisions about his welfare come from Marquette and Dad, when there’s something parental to be done. All we did was be nice to him, give him a room here at HT, pounds of toys and his own keys to the grounds. That’s not being a PARENT, Malik. We should be able to raise our own child.”

 “Are you sure about this,” Malik said seriously.

 “Absolutely,” Lamar said. “I want us to have a baby.”

 “Okay- but we’re both men, so I don’t think any of my money is going to make one of us able to give birth,” Malik said with an arch look. “Also, if we go the DNA route it would wind up being either your biological child or mine- which means we might one day have to deal with the mother…”

 Lamar thought about that. “You have a point,” he conceded. “Legal adoption is the only choice we have, I guess.”

 Malik stared at Lamar a second, apparently thinking. “Hold that thought,” he finally said as he went over to the little glass table and picked up his cell phone. Dialing, he held the phone to his ear. “…Yes, Mr. Carsen, this is Malik Hill… you guys found us such good staff here at HT with the right… discretionary qualifications, I just wanted to say thanks for that… yes, I’ll be sending a very generous contribution to your agency. …oh, it’s no trouble… I do need another favor, if you don’t mind.”

 Lamar smiled as Malik talked on. He knew that there were only three of what Malik called his ‘discretionary qualifications’ for the staff at HT, whether male or female: one, that the applicants for staff sent over were extremely attractive and fit; and two, that both the male and female staff, were DL and totally un-clockable… everyone on staff at HT. Each new staff hire was sat down let in on the secret and sworn to silence…

 Malik slammed his cell phone shut and turned to smile widely at Lamar, ending his reverie. “Well, come on then, let’s go..!”

 “Go..?” Lamar said, perplexed. “Where are we going?”

 “Donna Lei’s Adoption Agency,” he replied as Lamar followed him off the terrace. “She’s expecting us to be there in a half-hour..!” And with that Malik bounded down three staircases to the elevator lift which carried them the rest of the way to the ground floor. Dashing across the foyer, Malik headed for the nearest car- an antique white 2006 Jaguar, and jumped in, Lamar following him.

They settled themselves in the car and Malik gunned the motor. Lamar straightened in the passenger seat and looked over at Malik. “Wait a minute- who’s Donna Lee, and how did you get us an interview so fast..?”

 “Well, as I hear it her real name isn’t Donna Lei, she just uses it for the initials,” Malik said as he backed out of the parked space with a peal of tires.

 Lamar remembered his seat belt- he might be going by the name of Malik now, but whenever Malik was behind the wheel of a car, Joop was the one actually driving. “I don’t understand- what’s going on..?” Lamar said, buckling the strap closed.

 Malik stopped backing up the car, released the brake and turned to Lamar. “Don’t you get it, writer..? The Donna Lei Adoption Agency… the D.L. Adoption Agency..?”

 Lamar opened his mouth in surprise, and shut it again without saying anything.

 Malik grinned as he pointed the car towards the distant black gates. “Carsen set it up for me. There are celebrities who secretly adopt and even give their unplanned babies up, under the radar- and they needed a discrete way to keep all this out of the papers. DL Adoptions has been around since the 1940’s, when they catered to stars like Rock Hudson and Errol Flynn. Carsen is in the discretion business, which is why I called to see if he could connect me with someone- and by chance he is actually having dinner right now with Donna Lei herself over at the Palisade down by the marina- when I asked if he knew of any such thing as a DL adoption agency he just handed the phone over to her, and she set up the meeting for right now, she’s meeting us at her office.”

 “You don’t waste any time, eh…? I guess this was really meant to be,” Lamar said excitedly, “us getting a baby..!”

 “And maybe sooner than we think,” Malik agreed amicably, revving down the long, curved driveway, out through the opening black gates, which automatically closed again with a clang as the car snaked though.

 Lamar sat back in the passenger seat, excitement racing across his face. “This is great, us going to an adoption agency instead of getting an egg donor or a surrogate mother or something,” he exulted. “If the baby was already given up the birth parents cant come back to claim him, so they won’t be a problem; at least, they wont be until our little boy is ready to go find them- supposing he ever does.”

 “HE..? Ahhh, so, it’s a boy, then,” Malik said with a grin. “You’ve made up your mind that we’ll adopt a boy, not a girl..?”

 Lamar looked incredulous at Malik. “A little GIRL..? In OUR house..? Can you imagine having to explain to a seven year old girl why she’s got two daddies and no mommy..?”

 Malik thought about that as he effortlessly guided the car pell-mell down the Rainier Mountain Roadway. “Now YOU have a point,” he conceded. “It was easier to talk to Marquis about us than it would probably be with a girl. We don’t want to confuse her about men before she can decide for herself about them.”

 “Exactly,” Lamar agreed. “We’re adopting a boy.”

 Malik raced around a sharp turn, tossing Lamar to the passenger side window. “I never realized that there would be a D.L. adoption service right around the corner- this town has got-damn EVERYTHING,” he remarked in wonder.

Lamar, tossed once again to the side of the car, straightened up in his seat, thinking to himself that he’d better be the one to drive their son… anywhere. “I’ll bet there are places like that everywhere, it’s just no one knows where to look,” he speculated. “But I think this time, it’s more about YOU being able to have anything you want, Mr. I’m-King-Of-The-Hill…” Lamar laughed at the pun.

 “Now don’t tease the name, I’ll have to stop the car and spank you,” Malik threatened playfully.

 Lamar threw a sidelong glance at him. “Promise..?”

 “Now see, when we get back home you better be in bed buck naked and ready to be spanked by my big ol' DICK,” Malik snickered.

 “Man, you did this for me, set this adoption meeting up for me so fast, you better be prepared to spank me with your big ol’ DICK until it spills lots of wet stuff all up inside me,” Lamar whispered in Malik’s ear, running his hand up his lover’s leg.

 The car swerved, throwing Lamar back into the passenger seat, once more disheveled. “HEYYY!!! Are you trying to make me crash up the car? We’ll never get that baby then, not if we’re both dead… but damn you’re sexy,” Malik grumbled at a smiling Lamar as he got control of the wheel again.

******

 Ten minutes later they were both sitting in the D.L. Adoption Agency, before the desk of Donna Lei- a young Asian woman, perhaps in her mid-thirties, with dark, shiny tresses streaming down her back. She was still in her dinner dress, a black number that left very little to the imagination, for she was very attractive. “My great-grandfather, David Lei, started this agency to help celebrities with… delicate matters,” she was saying to them in a slightly Korean accent. “It was passed down to my grandfather, Daniel Lei, then to my mother, Delores Lei-Tong, and then to me. In my grandfather’s time there was just the one branch in Hollywood. Now there are branches in most major cities in America.”

 “Shouldn’t your name be Donna Tong, then- unless you’ve married,” Lamar asked curiously.

 “I did get married, but I keep the business name of Lei to keep the initials current,” she said. “To the world my agency is respected and honored, known by my full name- it is our family tradition. And yet, we are also known in select circles by our code- the initials of the agency. At first the DL initials meant Discrete Lives, but when the late 90’s and the turn of the millennium created the catch phrase ‘on the down-low,’ to keep up with the times we amended the code but still kept the name, to let all those desperate for celebrity secrecy know and be assured that we can provide services for them that other agencies simply cannot guarantee.”

 “Like allowing two very known male celebrities to adopt a child together as a gay couple..?” Malik asked shrewdly.

 Donna’s smile was immediate. “Just like that… and don’t believe that you two are the first super-celebrities to show up at my door to adopt a child together, either.”

 “Of course, you must have a few White guy couples coming in… MTV Stars, of course,” Malik smirked.

 “Actually, I have seen more African American rap artists enter these doors to adopt a secret child together than any other kind of gay couple- well, there are the NBA DL couples and a few NFL sets of DL lovers, but of course, that information is kept discreet, as you are aware,” she added with a secret smile as she watched both Malik and Lamar’s mouths drop wide open with surprise.

 “Did one of these NBA couples ever have a …public falling out while they were both still playing the same team and then one of them got traded to a team on the other side of the country..?” Malik wheedled. “We wont tell, I promise.”

 Donna pretended not to notice his question. “I see from the application you filled out that you are looking for a boy,” she noted. “DL men always want to raise a boy… well, we really don’t have any baby boys at this time, and there is a waiting list you’ll be put on, of course.”

 “Of course, that’s all we could ask for at such short notice,” Lamar assured her. “We totally understand.”

 Just then came a knock on the side door behind Donna’s desk. “I’m in a meeting,” she replied loudly.

 “I’m sorry, ma’am, but this cannot wait,” a pale voice replied on the other side of the door. It sounded almost British.

 Donna sighed. “Please excuse me,” she indicated to Malik and Lamar. “Come in then, Sophie,” she sighed.

 The door opened, and Sophie came wobbling in, a young Caucasian girl, lanky and stringy-hared, holding on to a pink blanket in her arms and both hands, with what was obviously a cranky baby struggling inside the covers. The tiny cry of the frustrated infant touched both Malik and Lamar as Sophie trudged over to Donna and handed her the quivering form. “No one else is here mum, and I can’t get her back to sleep, I don’t know what’s wrong with her,” the young girl cried, the slightly British accent stronger now she was in the room proper. “Please, can’t you help her?”

 “Did you make her bottle,” Donna asked directly.

 “She’s so fussy tonight, I couldn’t put her down long enough to prepare the bloody formula,” Sophie said, heading for the door again. “If you could hold her for just a snitch, I can fix the bottle and maybe she’ll settle down. I’ll be right back!” -and she dashed out the doorway, leaving the crying baby with Donna, who looked like a seasoned vet while holding her and trying to bounce her a bit to calm her down, but seconds later it was apparent the bouncing did nothing for the child, who wailed louder.

 “That’s Sophie, my assistant,” Donna explained in between cajoling the baby to calm down. “She’s from Seattle but her family lives both here and in London. Barely an adult, a bit light-headed at times… but she’s faithful and discreet to the end… Where IS that girl,” Donna said minutes later, frustrated herself. “I do apologize for this,” she said to Lamar and Malik, the both of whom sat there transfixed by the crying baby. “It’s so unprofessional.”

 “May I see her,” Lamar said, holding out his arms.

“Sure,” Donna replied, placing the baby in his outstretched hands.

Lamar crooked the baby in his arm and pulled back the covers with one finger, saw her perfect little face, the curly hair on top, the pinkish lips and balled little fists, tears streaming down her rosy cheeks- and he fell in love. “Look, Malik,” Lamar said in wonder. “She’s Black..!”

 Malik leaned over to see the baby- and he too fell head over heels in love with her. What cinched it for both men was when Lamar held her to his chest, for that was when she stopped crying.

 Donna Lei raised one eyebrow in wonder, and peering closer saw tears shining in Lamar’s eyes as he stared at the peaceful child.

“She’s beautiful,” Lamar said. “What’s her name..?”

 “She hasn’t got one,” Donna said softly. “She was given to a local hospital almost a year ago by her mother when she was first born… The mother gave her to the ER nurses and then left the hospital. She apparently had no extra means of support and she didn’t want to terminate the pregnancy. That’s all I know about the mother.” Donna sat back down. “To keep infants from being killed off or abandoned in alleys, any worker in any hospital ER is authorized to take an unwanted baby when the birth mother comes in and signs off on it, but its still one of the dirtiest jobs in the ER, or so they say. The nurses then hand those babies over to an adoption agency like this one, and then that’s basically the end of it. It’s just sad that this one hasn’t been adopted yet, as beautiful as she is- but, as she’s technically not a newborn anymore, most couples don’t want her.”

 “I want her,” Lamar said softly, looking down at this baby’s sweet face. Donna and Malik both looked startled.

 Tears were streaming down Lamar’s face in sympathy for this child’s lonely past, mixed with such an instant yet intensely powerful emotion for her, like she was only just born to him and Malik. He couldn’t let her go, not ever…

He looked over at Malik and saw the same tears, the same pain, the same neo-parental force gripping him as much as it gripped Lamar. He silently handed her over to Malik, who cradled the pink bundle like she were a precious piece of glass- and held her to his heart, closing his eyes from the feeling that swept through him.

 Malik opened his eyes again, looking silently at Lamar. In that mutual glance they both knew that they had just held their baby girl for the first time- this baby, not belonging to just Lamar, not belonging to just Malik- in essence had just been born to them both; no one else would, could claim her but them.

 Lamar looked back at Donna. “Please. We want her. I know why she was fussing so much- we didn’t come looking for her, SHE came looking for us.”

 Donna remained quiet, yet her eyes shone with approval.

 In rushed Sophie just then, the bottle of formula finally made. “Here it is, maybe she’ll calm down-” and then she stopped in mid-sentence as she realized she’d obviously intruded on a private moment.

 Lamar looked at Sophie, and smiled through his tears. “You’ve made the first bottle that she’ll drink as our daughter,” he said to the girl, who opened her eyes in shock.

 “You’ll take her then,” Sophie asked with a wide smile, handing the bottle over to Malik, who started feeding the baby like he’d been doing this all along. “That’s wonderful, sirs..! She’s been here and alone for so long-” and her eyes brimmed with tears. “I’ll miss her terribly,” Sophie finally said after clearing her throat.

 “You won’t have to,” Malik said. “She sort of knows you, and I’ve got the room… would you consider being our daughter’s nanny- as long as your boss doesn’t object, of course..?”

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly-” began Sophie, but Donna interrupted. “It’s not a problem, Sophie. That would make me feel great if the baby had someone around that she already knew a little, since she’s been through so many changes this past year. Let me introduce you- this is Malik Hill.”

“THE CEO OF HILLTOP RECORDS..? Wow, you’re one of the Hill Family- you live in that mansion on top of Mt. Rainier,” she gushed, making everyone in the room laugh.

 “I see you’ve heard of me,” Malik replied with aplomb.

 “And wait a minute… you’re- YOU’RE KARL KHRONIC,” Sophie went on, her eyes widening with fresh shock towards Lamar. “I just finished the ‘Gangsta Bourgeois’ series, for the third time..!!! Wicked..! Karl Khronic and Malik Hill are a DL couple..! How perfectly amazing… and the two of you are adopting the baby together, eh..?”

 “I trust that you can remain as discreet with us as you’ve been while working here,” Lamar said then with an amused look on his face.

 “Well, sirs, I say ‘live and let live’, I do,” Sophie replied honestly. “Love is love, and you two certainly have it in spades. My boss’s secrets are mine.”

 “I think she’ll work out rather well, don’t you?” Donna smiled.

“I do part-time volunteer work for the sick; it’s a couple of nights a week, I hope that won’t be a problem,” Sophie said then. “It’s to do my part, as it were.”

“I have no problem with that,” Malik said, smiling at her and looking over at Lamar. “Do you?”

“It’s a good thing that you do for the less fortunate,” Lamar agreed, reaching out and shaking Sophie’s hand. “We won’t interfere with that, keep up the good work; you’re hired, go home and get your things, we’ll need you to move into HT- that mansion on the mountain you’ve heard of.”

Sophie’s eyes opened wide as if she couldn’t believe her good luck; then she squealed and ran out of the room. Amazingly, the baby resting on Malik’s chest didn’t budge from all the caterwauling.

 “This was the fastest adoption on record, I believe,” Donna said then, rummaging through her desk. “Too bad we can’t alert the Guinness Book of World Records… So, now the two of you are parents,” she added, handing a stack of adoption papers over for Lamar to sign. “And the processing of these papers will be suspended, of course, until you can provide a legal name for-”

 “Her name is Jamara Hill,” Lamar said, bent over the papers and busily scribbling where the signatures were to go. “My dad doubles as our personal lawyer, so he’ll look over these once we can get a copy, just to make this completely legit. Malik, I’ll take her so you can sign,” he remarked as he finished, sliding the papers over to Malik and holding his arms out.

Malik put the finished bottle down and placed the baby in Lamar’s arms, and as Lamar adjusted her to his chest little Jamara looked up at him, burped and apparently went to sleep. A wave of love swept over him once again.

“Why, what a pretty name,” Donna said admiringly. “Where did you get that from?”

“I get it,” Malik said, as he signed his name below where Lamar’s signatures were throughout the documents. “The J comes from my old nickname, Joop…”

“…And the Mar part is from my name,” Lamar finished the sentence, crooning softly to little Jamara. “Now if we had adopted a boy, his name would have been Jamar, but Jamara is just as fitting…”

“So you guys already had worked out that part, eh,” Donna smiled at them.

“Actually,” Malik said, looking over at Lamar and the baby, “this is the first time we’ve discussed it. We only came up with the name sitting here.”

Donna showed surprise and awe. “But neither one of you spoke about it before now- well, I’m impressed that you two have such a connection. Jamara will be very well brought up.”

“It was Joop and Lamar that first fell in love, so it’s only right that Joop gets his name added into our daughter’s name, you see,” Malik said as continued searching the papers for missed places to sign.

“But,” Donna said, perplexed, “I thought you ARE Joop…!”

“Exactly.” Malik finished signing and, giving Donna a grin, handed back the papers.

Donna shook her head a second, trying to comprehend that, then apparently decided to let it go. “Well, at any rate, congratulations,” Donna said, the three standing to their feet, “you are now the proud fathers of a beautiful baby girl.”

Lamar, standing there with little Jamara sleeping in his arms, felt Malik come around him and wrap his arms about them both. For the first time, Malik, Lamar and Jamara stood together as a picture-perfect family. Donna turned away, almost embarrassed by the very intimate scene.

After a minute Malik looked over at Donna. “Now that that’s done, about the… NBA couple you mentioned,” he began.

Lamar interrupted. “Never mind- we don’t need to know anything about that, Miss Lei.”

“It’s fine. It’s not like those two didn’t ask about YOU two at one time,” she replied sweetly.

Again, two sets of mouths fell open.

“Was it something I said..?” Donna inquired mildly.