Black Jewel

Chapter 3 - All About Lola

Lola Dominguez was an eccentric 25 year old Cuban-American born in Miami, Florida. She was what Cubans called "java" (pronounced "hava"). Java meant not having white or black skin color, but somewhere in between on the lighter side. It was unlike mulatos, who had that toasted caramel-colored skin. "Javas" usually had light colored hair with light-colored eyes while mulatos had darker hair and brown eyes. So aside from her piercing green eyes, she had long, wavy honey blonde hair, high cheekbones, full lips and a set of dimples. She stood 5'7" with a bad-ass body to match.

Lola was known to have a bold personality. For starters, she was feisty with lots of charm and sass. She was also educated, smart and business savvy. She went after what she wanted with confidence and didn't care what people thought. As this feisty Cuban girl, she could be a little hot-tempered, always said what was on her mind and stood up for what she believed in.

As for her softer side, she was down to earth, outgoing and very flirtatious. She loved salsa dancing, staying fit and having fun with her friends. One of her major weaknesses was men. The chase and challenge excited her and being the center of attention was always her goal.

She lived in one of the oldest parts of town nestled between Biscayne Bay and Highway U.S. 1 known as Coconut Grove. Its reputation for being "a village within a city" was due to its outdoor cafes and restaurants, great shopping, extravagant nightlife and waterfront communities unique to the city. It was also Miami's original art district and home to many famous tycoons, artists and musicians. Its laid back environment mixed with upscale living made it one of the most desirable places to live and visit.

Lola lived alone in a Mediterranean-styled, 5-bedroom waterfront estate. This multi-leveled estate sat on 1.8 acres of land and has just over 16,000 square feet of amenities, including banyan trees, coconut palm trees, lush gardens and a gated guard entrance in the front. Inside had a 23-foot Cathedral ceiling with breathtaking views of the bay through its floor to ceiling wall of windows. Crystal chandeliers, Brazilian cherry wood flooring, a grand staircase, custom lighting and two elevators were seen throughout the house. However, she was most proud of her state-of-the-art chef's kitchen she designed with a Tuscan theme, Italian marble countertops and stainless steel appliances.

Other rooms in the house included a home gym, billiards room and a twelve-seat theater with a top of the line surround sound system. The backyard had a mega bar with plenty of seating, a heated infinity pool with a waterfall and immaculate outdoor kitchen. Some of her toys were a yacht, six jet skis and a six-car garage that housed her custom pink Audi TTS roadster with suicide doors and white Cadillac Escalade with hues of pink.

Needless to say, she wasn't struggling financially.

As an only child, Lola inherited her wealth from her mother, Natalie. Natalie passed away right after Lola graduated from high school. But before Natalie died, she built an empire with her baby girl as the driving force.

Natalie migrated from Cuba when she was a young girl. She always dreamt of being a model. She was well on her way when she fell in love and became pregnant. Her modeling career didn't last long after that. However, she loved it so much that she decided to do the next best thing. Natalie started a modeling agency. Once it grew to be one of the top agencies worldwide, she designed a lingerie line. Once that exploded, she ventured into her own cosmetics line. It also did extremely well. And she topped off her portfolio with an exclusive skin care and two women's fragrances.

Natalie loved being a woman and all that it represented. So that meant fashion, beauty, perfume, sexiness and romance. She was obsessed with wanting women to look and feel their very best at all times. She worked hard for many years to create products that displayed her passions.

Other passions Natalie had were dancing and eating. She loved to dance and taught Lola everything she knew. And she loved great tasting Cuban food. So, it made sense to combine the two and open a nightclub with lots of Spanish flair, great tasting food and plenty of room for dancing.

Natalie, however, didn't do it alone. David and Ana were by her side every step of the way.

Aside from being Lola's godparents, Ana and David were Lola's guardians. Ana was Natalie's best friend since Cuba and her trusted confidant. She was also Natalie's right hand and second in charge. So, Ana stepped in and kept the entire operation functional after Natalie's death.

David was the CFO for Natalie's entire operation. He was very smart with money. He knew which business risks to take and where to invest financially.

Because Natalie passed away before she could see her last venture come to fruition, David made sure her dreams became a reality. He got the nightclub up and running just the way she'd always talked about. And Ana was busy adding to the company's success by introducing four more women's fragrances, three new skin care collections, five more cosmetic collections and was working on some new lingerie designs.

Because Natalie did well for herself, Lola pretty much got whatever she wanted. And although she was spoiled, she wasn't bratty. She wasn't one who took advantage of her mother's great fortune and didn't believe money grew on trees. Her mother taught her that hard work, dedication and having a vision would allow her to have the same opportunities.

Lola received a monthly stipend from her trust every month. But she also had other sources of income that she used for her spending pleasures.

Lola wanted to be like her mom and add to the empire. She too loved the fashion world and wanted to explore one of her passions. She loved accessories. One of her favorite things to do was to dress up and try on all kinds of accessories (different sizes, shapes and colors). The more, the better. And the more bling, the more fabulous. So, she started her own accessories line with jewelry, watches, sunglasses, shoes and handbags.

She also started a side business with Blair designing new flight attendant uniforms for U.S. airline carriers. As a flight attendant, she saw a need for better professional attire. She also wanted to accessorize with pizzazz and style.