Читать книгу You're All I Need - Karen White-Owens - Страница 11

Darnell never called. Tia never called him when he was making cold calls. She learned a long time ago to not disturb him while he worked.

Sunday dragged by without a word from him. After waiting most of the morning, she decided to get on with her day by doing a little grocery shopping. To top off her evening, she selected a light dinner of tuna salad, wheat crackers, and sliced tomatoes. She planned to watch a movie and then head to bed.

While preparing her meal, Tia debated calling Darnell. At least three or four times, she picked up the phone but returned it to its cradle without dialing. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand and doubted Darnell was working this late.

Besides, she really needed time to consider what she wanted to do. Should she and Darnell stay together? Were they at the end? Or did they still have some life in their relationship? Were they worth saving? Tia didn’t have any answers. She just had this nagging feeling that they were close to splitting.

Monday morning presented a welcoming distraction from the troublesome issues of Tia’s personal life. A surprise waited for her when she arrived at the office. One long-stem yellow rose floated in a vase with a fresh, steaming cup of Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce Latte and a strawberry croissant.

A note sat under the coffee:

Thanks for giving up your Saturday to help me. I really appreciated and enjoyed the afternoon. Chris.

“That’s so sweet. Chris is such a gentleman,” Tia cooed softly, taking in the gentle fragrance of the flower. He didn’t have to do this.

She locked her purse inside her bottom drawer and headed for Chris’s office, tapping lightly on the door. After several seconds without a response, she peeked inside and found the room empty. The lights were on. A briefcase sat open on his desk. It looked as if he had dropped everything and hurried away. Tia shrugged. He must be in an early morning meeting.

Unable to thank him properly, Tia returned to her workstation and enjoyed her impromptu and delicious breakfast. I’ll thank Chris later, she thought, biting into the buttery croissant. After finishing her meal, she got to work.

The morning flew by as she focused on her assignments. Near noon, Chris stepped out of Adam’s office. He approached her desk with a warm smile on his face. “Good morning,” he greeted in that sexy, accented voice that never failed to stir her blood and make every nerve ending tingle with awareness.

“Good morning to you. Thank you for my breakfast and the flower.” She smiled broadly.

“You’re welcome. I wanted to give you a little something special. I know your life is busy and your time is precious. I don’t want you to think that I’m ungrateful for your efforts on my behalf.”

“I didn’t mind. Actually, I had a good time. You’re a lot of fun. That wicked sense of humor of yours really tickles me.”

One blond eyebrow arched into a flirtatious curve. “Does it, now?”

Giggling softly, Tia answered, “Yes.”

“Since you enjoyed my company so much, what about this Saturday? Do you have time to look at a couple of apartments with me again?”

“Certainly.”

“For all of your efforts, I promise to feed you again. Maybe I’ll provide a little dinner this time.”

“A full meal! Wow! Be still my beating heart.” Tia patted her chest.

He winked at her. “Stick with me. There’s more to me than you know.”

Laughing softly, she touched his hand. Something warm and inviting sizzled between them. For a moment, the endless possibilities flashed through Tia’s head, paralyzing her. Instantly, she shook off the sensations. “I don’t doubt it. How was the rest of your weekend?”

“Uneventful.”

Pretending to be surprised, she opened her eyes wide. “What? No late-night hallway parties?” Tia enjoyed this little flirtation with Chris. It meant nothing, just a way to pass the time. It was fun and harmless.

“No. I don’t think I could take two weekends back-to-back.” He perched on the edge of her desk and picked up her pen, twisting it between his fingers. “What about you? What did you do with the rest of your weekend?”

“I went to a concert Saturday night. I spent Sunday grocery shopping and watching a movie.” Tia shrugged. “Nothing big.”

“Concert?”

“Eminem.”

“Rap.”

“Correct.”

“Sounds like fun,” Chris replied with a sarcastic edge to his voice.

“Part of it was,” Tia replied. “There were way too many people, which made it difficult to see anything. Plus, the people seated in front of us stood on their chairs throughout the whole show. We couldn’t see a thing.” Tia opened her mouth to add more when her twin turned the corner and headed straight for her desk.

Nia strolled up to Tia’s workstation dressed in a dramatic, white off-the-shoulder crepe dress. The fabric cupped her body and emphasized the curve of her breasts. Slits in the long sleeves revealed trim arms. White stiletto heels adorned Nia’s feet, and she carried a matching white leather clutch under one arm. “Hey, Tia-Mia.”

Surprised, Tia rose from her desk and met her sister in the center of the room. “Hi. What are you doing here?”

“Don’t look so surprised. I do know where you work. Want to do lunch?”

“Um. I don’t know. Let me check my schedule.” Frowning, Tia returned to her desk and checked hers and Adam’s calendars.

Chris stood and watched the pair. He smiled and then said, “Oui. Two for the price of one.”

“Cute, Chris.” Tia waved a hand in his direction. “This is my sister, Nia Edwards. Nia, this is Christophe Jensen. He’s an attorney from France and working in this office for a while.”

Turning on the charm, Nia sashayed across the floor and stopped in front of Chris. With a smirk on her face, she gave Chris a thorough once-over before offering her hand. Chris took it and kissed the back of it.

“Nice to meet you,” Nia said.

“Pleasure,” he replied in his lightly accented voice.

Nia looked past him and gazed inquiringly at her twin. “What about lunch? My treat.”

Surprised, Tia blinked back at her sister. She placed the palm of her hand on Nia’s forehead. “Wow! No fever. This must be important. You never pay.”

“Ha-ha! You’re so funny.” Laughing, Nia sank into the guest chair next to Tia’s workstation. “That’s not true. I just let you pick up the tab when we’re out because it makes you feel important.”

“I’ll remember that the next time we’re out together,” Tia promised. “It’s a little early, but I can swing it. Give me a minute to let Adam know that I’ll be out of the office for a bit and to turn on my voice mail. Then I’ll be ready to go.” Something was brewing inside Nia’s head. She rarely dropped by the office. Tia could count on one hand the number of times her twin had bought lunch.

She headed for Adam’s office, ready to knock on the door, when it opened unexpectedly and Adam and JerrDan Hill, the director of Engineering Operations, stepped out. The two men stood in the doorway shaking hands.

“Let me have one of the clerks do a little investigation and research. I’ll get back to you with the results,” Adam promised.

JerrDan folded his arms across his portfolio. “Sounds good. What time frame are we working with?”

Adam stroked his chin. “Give me a couple of weeks.”

Nodding, JerrDan added, “I’ll send you all the info I have.”

“Good.” Adam glanced past JerrDan. “Excuse me.” He strolled to the trio standing at Tia’s workstation. “Nia! How are you?”

Nia turned to Adam with a smile of pleasure on her face. “I’m good. What about you?”

“Fine. I’m fine. Oh, I’m sorry.” Adam turned to the other man. “This is JerrDan Hill. JerrDan, Nia Edwards.”

From the sideline, Tia watched JerrDan reach for Nia’s hand. Her twin smiled shyly back at the man as they shook hands.

“Nia,” JerrDan said as if he were savoring the taste of a fine, expensive wine. He smiled, revealing even white teeth that must have cost the world. “It’s nice to meet you.”

JerrDan’s smile must have flustered Nia, because she stood there without a comeback. Tia’s twin was never without a sassy phrase or comment.

Awestruck, JerrDan stared. The strong, silent hunk of a man stood riveted to the spot, staring starry-eyed at Nia. Tia felt as if she were in the middle of one of those teen sex farces where hormones ruled and common sense flew out the window.

Although Nia would never admit it, she had the same expression on her face. Tia lowered her head, hiding her face from JerrDan and Nia. She didn’t want either person to see her laugh at them.

Interesting, Tia thought. It will be fun to see where this goes. Nia shielded her heart from emotional bumps and bruises. She never allowed any man to get close to her. Yet, the chemistry that sizzled between JerrDan and Nia was unmistakable. JerrDan seemed like an upstanding, honest, hardworking guy who knew what he wanted from life and went after it without hesitation. Would he take the same approach with Nia?

At Coach Insignia, the hostess escorted them to a table overlooking the Detroit River and the distant downtown Windsor shore. Nia ordered a shot of cognac straight while Tia requested a glass of cranberry juice. They perused the menu and settled on their meals. When their drinks came, Nia sank back into her chair and watched sailboats crawl down the river.

Tia waited. After a moment, she said, “You didn’t bring me here to spend your time looking out the window.”

Nia asked softly, “So how’s Darnell?”

“Okay,” Tia answered. This didn’t feel right. Nia disliked Darnell with a passion that surprised Tia. “Why?”

Nia shrugged. “Just wondering how things are between you two. You didn’t seem all that happy the last time I saw you together.”

Tia wet her dry lips and brushed her damp palms against her skirt while trying to come up with an appropriate answer. “Wait a minute. You hate Darnell. Most times you want him to drop off the end of the earth. Why the concern?”

“You’re right. I don’t like him,” Nia snarled. “Trust me, my concern isn’t for him. My concern is, and always will be, for you. Not him. Never Darnell.”

“You’re not the only one.” Tia’s hand flirted nervously around the bottom of her glass. “Junior can’t stand him.”

“I’m not surprised. Older brothers tend to be protective of their sisters.” Nia reached for a slice of French bread and buttered it. She tore off a corner and chewed on it. “The difference between Junior and me is that he doesn’t try to hide it. I always did for your sake.”

Tia chuckled sadly. “No. Junior doesn’t, and neither did you.”

“True.” Nia sat quietly, nibbling on the buttered bread and munching on her tossed salad while Tia enjoyed chicken and pasta soup. If Nia was waiting for additional info, she’d be waiting a long time. Tia planned to keep her problems to herself.

The server arrived with their next courses. Relieved to have something to do, Tia dug into her crab and shrimp salad, glad to focus on her meal. “Mmm. Good.”

Nia took a bite out of her club sandwich and slowly chewed. After several sips of cognac, she leaned back in her chair, tented her fingers, and said, “A couple of the stylists from the shop invited me to Sips last night.”

“Really?” Tia muttered politely, wondering where this conversation was headed.

“Have you ever been there?”

Tia shook her head, spearing a cherry tomato with her fork. “No. I heard about it on the radio.”

“It’s pretty nice. Great dance floor. Entertainment. Good food. Fun place to go. It’s a safe, comfortable crowd. A lot of black professionals hang out there on the weekends.”

“What’s this got to do with anything?” Tia sipped her cranberry juice.

“You know I love you? That you’re my girl?”

“I know you’re making me nervous with this.” Tia ran a shaky hand over her forehead. “Say what you have to say and then I’ll deal with it.”

“Okay.” Nia sat straighter in her chair but focused on the tablecloth. “I saw Darnell at Sips last night.”

Tia’s limbs stiffened. Darnell had been partying while she sat at home waiting for his call? No. There had to be some mistake, some logical explanation for the situation. “It may have been him.”

“No.” Nia rolled her eyes and stated firmly, “It was Darnell.”

Still in denial, Tia added, “He had a couple of clients he needed to see on Sunday. They might have met at the club.”

Nia shook her head and added, “He was with a woman. I didn’t see anyone else.”

“Again,” Tia rationalized, although her voice wobbled a bit, “it was probably a client.”

“I don’t think so.” Nia swallowed the last of her cognac, and then captured and held her sister’s gaze.

“How do you know?”

“They were all over each other, on the dance floor and at their table. They never noticed me because they were getting busy.”

Suddenly, Tia’s belly twisted into a thousand knots. She tried to breathe but failed miserably. Tia knew deep in her heart that Nia was telling the truth. Tia always knew when Nia was lying. She couldn’t hide from Tia her little telltale gestures that others overlooked or failed to notice.

What could she say? There wasn’t an excuse she could make for Darnell or his behavior.

As if Nia needed to close the deal, she added, “It’s not the first time I’ve seen him out and about, Tia. Darnell is never alone.”

Tia pulled herself together, and over her pounding heart asked, “If you’ve spotted him out with other women at other times, why haven’t you said something before now? What were you waiting for? What made you decide to tell me this time?”

“I’m sick of him thinking he can do what he wants.” Nia reached across the table and took her sister’s hand. Tia tried to pull her hand free, but Nia refused to let go. “He’s a no-good piece of crap. I hate the way he treats you. Tia, you are a beautiful, intelligent woman who deserves a whole lot better than this idiot can give you. I want that for you. I’m sick of him messing over my sister.”

Tia’s head was swimming with images of Darnell with other girls. Nia’s confession supported the idea that things were not going well between her and Darnell, but she never really expected him to be involved with another woman. Infidelity never entered her head. She’d always believed they would talk things out and then agree to go their separate ways. Theirs would be a cool and civilized breakup. Damn him! Now he’s put her in a position where she’ll have to confront him and put her emotions out there for him to tramp all over.

“Tia-Mia, I’m sorry.” She swallowed hard and then continued. “At first, I wasn’t going to say anything, but the more I thought about it, the madder I got. I realized you needed to know what was going on around you. Enough is enough.”

“You’re right. It is enough. Thank you for telling me.”

“What are you going to do?” Nia asked. A worried frown had taken over her face.

Tia shrugged and answered in a dead tone, “Confront him.”