“Sure, Janiyah,” he said as if placating a child. “I see someone I need to speak with. Liz, Diana, Marlena it was good to see you.” He looked at Janiyah. “Make sure you don’t break too many hearts here tonight.” He patted her shoulder, and then walked away.
No he didn’t just act as if her working for him was silly! Freddy knew she was a good virtual assistant. He had no reason to just brush off her suggestion. Even if she wasn’t serious.
Diana and Marlena gushed about how great he looked as soon as he left. Liz must have noticed the funky look on her face, because she excused them and led Janiyah to the bar.
“Why’s your face all screwed up?” Liz asked after they ordered drinks.
“Did you see how Freddy just brushed off my suggestion?”
Liz’s hand froze halfway to the peanut bowl. “You were serious?”
“No, but that didn’t mean he had to brush it off.”
“Come on, Janiyah, we both know you couldn’t work for Fredrick.”
“Oh really? Why?” She turned in her chair and propped a hand on her hip.
Liz grabbed a handful of peanuts and laughed. “Okay … number one, you and he are constantly at each other’s throats.”
“Friendly banter, that’s all.”
“And Fredrick is too structured. You’d drive him crazy in two days.”
“I’m structured. I am responsible.” Man, she sounded like a teenager protesting that she could stay home alone for the weekend.
“In your way, you are. You’re just not … office material.” Liz cracked a few of the peanuts. “I love you to pieces, Janiyah, but let’s be real. You’re not the nine to five, navy pant suit type.”
“Then why do you invite me here?”
“Because, you’re my best friend and you make everything fun,” Liz said, reaching over to place her arm around Janiyah’s shoulder and giving her a quick squeeze.
She really wasn’t in the mood to make tonight fun.
There came another tap on her shoulder. She glanced over her shoulder to find Mr. T.D.H. standing behind her, an inviting smile on his handsome face.
“I hope you don’t mind, but—”
She spun her barstool around, cocked her head to the side, and gave him her practiced, yes I’m interested smile. It was what she was here for anyway. Break the funk that she’d had ever since the asshole ex called her a joke. “Janiyah Henderson. Five, five, five, six, seven, six, five.”
His eyes widened, and his smile softened at the edges giving him a seductive air. “Gerald Westlock, and I’ll remember that.”
“I hope you do.” She gave him as thorough a once-over as he’d given her before turning back to the bar. She’d guessed correctly that he’d seek her out. She gave it three days until he called.
“That was a record,” Liz said after he walked away.
“He took longer than I expected,” she said with a wave of her hand.
Liz laughed and popped peanuts in her mouth. Janiyah caught Freddy’s gaze from across the bar. She could almost hear the disapproval running through his head. She wouldn’t be surprised if he called Aaron to tattle on her. So what if part of her reason for coming tonight was to find someone to snap her out of the dry spell she’d willingly entered after her last breakup. There was nothing wrong with that. But Freddy’s stare made her face burn as if she’d done something wrong.
He didn’t have to look so upset. With just a word, he could end her single girl status. The thought brought her up short. Where in the world did that come from? Freddy was not interested in her, and thoughts like that were nothing but a big ole shoe box of trouble.
The bartender handed Freddy a glass with cola in it. She knew without asking that there was no alcohol in it. Freddy didn’t drink. He raised the glass her way when Marlena came up behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder. Janiyah ignored the clench in her stomach and turned to Liz.
“Let’s find something to get into.”
CHAPTER 3
A familiar knock on the door—one, two and, three, four, one two—interrupted Fredrick’s plans to relax after the mixer with a new book. He hated the networking events. He’d rather spend his time away from the office not thinking about work. And especially not listening to idle chit chat disguised as work in an effort to snatch up a new date. They served their purpose though. It was at a mixer he’d first learned that Nebulas Pharmaceuticals was on the lookout for an accounting firm to handle their books, leading to him landing the biggest client of his two-year-old accounting firm. And tonight he’d met the head of a local restaurant chain looking for someone to handle the audits of their books and possible payroll. He didn’t need it, but he wanted the restaurant’s business. His dream of laying the foundation for a stable future was finally in sight, something he’d vowed at the age of thirteen when he started screening calls from collection agencies for his dad.
The knock came again, followed by “Come on, Freddy, I know you’re in there.” With a sigh, he put his book face down on the coffee table and got up from the couch. No surprise Janiyah had decided to pay him a visit after the mixer. Most nights she stopped by his apartment for something, mostly food, before going home for the night. He opened the door and gave her a smirk. “Is there no one else you can bother?”
Despite his words, she smiled. Like she always did whenever he hinted around that she should find another person to hang around. He’d bet money that if she didn’t find some way to get under his skin during the day she considered it a failure.
She cocked her head to the side, a teasing glint in her brown eyes. “You know you love my visits.”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “Yes, the younger sister I always wanted who comes over to watch my television, eat my food, and pester me.” He turned and walked into the apartment.
“Ha, ha.”
Janiyah popping in on him had been a given from the moment he’d moved in across the hall from her. When Janiyah returned to Columbia after college, she chose to live forty-five minutes away from her family. Not far really, but enough to make her dad worry about her being too far away for anyone to help if she needed it.
When the lease to his old apartment was up, his plans were to move to this side of town. He had never planned to move so close, but she’d not so casually mentioned in front of her father that the apartment across from her was available, and since Freddy was looking for a new place, he might as well move there. The solution had brought immediate relief to her dad, whom Fredrick admired almost more than his own father. So here he was, unofficial brother/watcher of Janiyah Henderson.
Too bad he was very aware that Janiyah wasn’t his sister.
They went into the living room where he sat on the couch. She plopped down beside him. The too short skirt of her red dress billowed out then settled high on her thighs. She’d kicked off her shoes somewhere and tucked her legs beneath her on the couch. She smelled like vanilla, reminding him of cake and making his mouth water way more than it should.
“I can’t believe you wore that tonight.”
“What’s wrong with my dress?”
Not a damn thing. No man in his right mind would be able to concentrate on anything but seeing her out of that dress. Which was exactly why she shouldn’t have worn it to a professional event.
“It was a business mixer.”
She blew air between her lips and waved a hand. “Bullcrap! Call it what you want; that was a meat market for the nine to five crew. I was hit on at least six times.”
“Wasn’t that the intent of the dress?”
“No.” She grinned when he raised a brow. “Okay, yes. But I’ll try to wear something less eye catching next time.”
“So how many numbers did you come home with?”
“None. My mood was off.” Her pensive expression said there was more behind that story. Then she smiled and waved a hand. “But I did give one guy my number.”
He remembered the tall, dark skinned guy she’d made eye contact with all nigh
t. “I bet I can guess who.”
She sighed all girlie like and leaned heavily into the couch. He’d seen that look before. She’d set her sights on that college professor. He felt slightly sorry for the guy. Janiyah made it easy for men to fall in love with her. She loved new things and a new boyfriend was like a new toy. Fun, shiny, and exciting, until the newness wore off. As soon as the poor schmuck fell in love she lost interest, usually leaving the guy scratching his head and wondering what he did to lose her so quickly.
He knew from experience, though he’d never really had her. The summer before she was to go to college she’d kissed him, and tempted him far more than he cared to admit to take it further. Common sense kicked in and he’d pushed her away. But it didn’t stop him from wondering about maybe, after she’d experienced college and grew up a bit, asking her on a date. That plan was quickly shot to hell when a few weeks later he and her brother Aaron found her wrapped up in the arms of some wannabe thug.
“His name is Gerald Westlock,” she said, oblivious to his trip down memory lane. “Doesn’t that sound so dignified? Tall, dark, handsome, and since he was at that thing tonight, gainfully employed. You guys were talking. What do you know about him?”
“Not much. He’s a new professor at the university. I met him briefly at the last networking mixer. I’m surprised you’re so interested. Are you growing tired of starving artists, struggling musicians, and wannabe businessmen?”
“Don’t hate because I date interesting people. You, on the other hand, must meet your women at stuffy women dot com.”
“Stuffy?”
“Yes, stuffy. Remember that … what, dental hygienist you dated a few months ago?”
He’d noticed she never would call his ex-girlfriend by her name. Janiyah hadn’t liked her, said he needed someone less stiff. He’d brushed it off, until he’d caught Desiree alphabetizing his canned goods. But he wasn’t going to give Janiyah the satisfaction of knowing her observation had led him to break things off. “Desiree wasn’t stuffy.”
“I wanted to go to sleep after two minutes of listening to you two talk about some rebellion overseas.”
“You’d do better to pay more attention to those rebellions. Libya’s the country and the citizens were—”
She held up both hands. “Not now.”
“Fine. But it’s not as if I enjoyed listening to you and that music teacher talk about what Dwayne Wade wore during the NBA All-Star Weekend.”
Her chin lifted. “Remember, we’re not talking about him anymore.”
Anger flared inside, which he swiftly tamped down. He hadn’t liked that guy from the start, and didn’t know what he’d said or done to hurt Janiyah. Her assurance that it wasn’t physical was the only thing that kept him from going down to that music studio and beating the crap out of him until he found out.
“Fine, I won’t mention him. But I did want to fall asleep while listening to you two.”
She reached over to tug the collar of his shirt. Her small fingers brushed the underside of his chin and caused an unwelcome tightening in his groin. He pushed her hand away.
“You’d do better to know more about men’s fashion,” she said. “D-Wade is fly.”
“I dress conservatively. It never goes out of style.”
She waved her hand. “Look, I didn’t come here to talk about the sticks in the mud you date—FYI, stay away from Marlena.”
He cocked a brow. “What’s wrong with Marlena?”
“I don’t trust her.”
“Why not?”
“She’s just not right for you. A gold digger.” She pointed and tried to look stern. “Stay away.”
It usually worked his nerves when she tried to give him love advice like she did her brothers. In this case he agreed with her, but wouldn’t let her know. She already thought she had to put her seal of approval on the women he dated in the same way she did her brothers.
“Stay away from Gerald Westlock,” he said, knowing she didn’t like getting relationship advice from him any more than he liked getting it from her.
Janiyah grinned; she was always pretty, but beautiful when she smiled. “A stalemate then.”
He shook his head. “Can we get to the point of your visit, Janiyah?”
“Fine. Why did you brush it off when I mentioned hiring me as your assistant?”
Fredrick picked up his book. “Because it’s not happening.”
She scooted closer and grabbed his arm then squeezed his bicep. He tried to ignore the satisfaction the movement caused. He accepted that most women viewed him as the quintessential good guy. Always delegated to the friend zone. Hell, that’s where he was firmly stuck with Janiyah. And exactly where he needed to remain. On the rare occasions he thought about having more, he only had to remember her tendency to change boyfriends like shoes and get over it. But he did enjoy the rare moments when Janiyah noticed there was something beneath his sweater vests and oxford shirts.
“Oh, come on, Freddy! Give me one good reason why you wouldn’t hire me.”
“Number one, I won’t have you skipping around the office in party dresses and calling me Freddy.”
“I wouldn’t skip in the office. And, again, you like my dresses.”
“Forget the dresses. It wouldn’t work out.”
“Do you think I can’t do it? You know I’m a good virtual assistant.”
“Virtual assistant and real assistant are two different things. You set up meetings and work on presentations in your Hello Kitty pajamas with infomercials playing in the background. You can’t do that in the office.”
“I know that. I’d buy work appropriate clothes.”
“Is that it? A job in an office means you can buy a new wardrobe?”
She glared. Her nose crinkled and her mocha colored eyes flashed with irritation. “You’re not as funny as you think.”
“And you’re not as cute as you think.” He got up and went into the kitchen. The sound of her sucking her teeth followed him.
He tried to imagine Janiyah getting up every morning to go to work. She was an early riser, but he never saw her in anything other than pajamas before noon. He grabbed a carton of vanilla ice cream out of the freezer.
“No, Freddy, no ice cream,” Janiyah said, rushing into the kitchen.
She reached for the carton and he held it out of her reach. She glared and jumped for it. “You shouldn’t eat sugary snacks after eight.”
He held it higher. “You sound like a mother.”
She jumped for the carton again. Her body bumped against his. Electricity sizzled over his skin when her breasts brushed against him.
“Okay, that’s enough.” He took several steps back.
She planted her hands on her hips and pouted. Janiyah was as cute as she thought. Cuter. Smooth cinnamon skin, soft brown eyes swirled with darker hints that reminded him of espresso. A heart shaped mouth that could keep a man up for hours imaging it doing all types of inappropriate things. With perky breasts that often didn’t require a bra—something he wished he’d never noticed—and a perfect backside and thighs. She was a sexy, tempting—high maintenance and flighty—ball of fire.
“You don’t need the ice cream,” she said.
“Don’t you know you can’t order your boss around?”
Her arms dropped to her sides. “You’re not my boss.”
“Just pointing out another reason why I wouldn’t hire you. You don’t listen.”
“I listen to you. I would make a good administrative assistant, or associate, or other similar professional title.”
“Where is this coming from? I thought you liked the freedom of being a virtual assistant.”
Her pretty pout transformed into a frown. “I’m tired of people thinking I can’t take care of myself. I’m smart enough to do the nine to five thing like everyone else if I needed to.”
The steely determination in her voice surprised him, but not as much as the slight hesitation. Almost as if she were uncomfortable making the dec
laration.
“I know you’re smart, Janiyah.”
“Well, today you and a few others made it pretty clear the idea of me working is funny.” She slapped her hand on the counter. “I’m tired of being considered a joke.”
Her uncertainty was unsettling. She was always the first to dive headfirst into any situation. Janiyah might be carefree and impulsive, but he never doubted her intelligence.
“The only way to change the way people think is to show them something different,” he said. “If you want to prove that you’re ready for a real,” she cut her eyes at him, “sorry, regular job, then prove it.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips as she thought about what he said. “I need to let that idea roam around my brain for a while. Time to go home, take off this dress, and get in the tub with the newest issue of OK! Magazine.”
“How is that going to help?”
She grinned. “It’s where I do my best thinking. Which reminds me, I need to clean the tub. You got any bathroom cleaner?”
And just like that, she was off to another topic. As exasperating as it was, he could never view her as predictable.
He took a big bite of vanilla ice cream and enjoyed the creamy goodness more than he should. “In its usual place.”
She breezed out of the kitchen and down the hall. A few minutes later, she returned with the bathroom cleaner he kept under his sink. She walked over and poked him in the side. “Put the ice cream down or you’ll gain twenty pounds.”
Instead of answering he put another huge spoonful in his mouth. She rolled her eyes and headed for the door. “Whatever, Freddy. You won’t stay sexy sitting up eating ice cream every night.”
The door shut behind her. He stood there, breathing in her vanilla perfume, and staring in the direction she’d gone for several seconds. “Damn, Janiyah,” he mumbled before throwing the ice cream in the trash.
CHAPTER 4
It took five hits of the snooze button before Janiyah could drag herself out of bed. Getting up early wasn’t new, but the night before she’d stayed up way too late in order to finish a project for a client. It was all Freddy’s fault. She’d lounged in the tub for over an hour thinking about what he’d said. She did need to prove that she wasn’t a joke, or a tragically single woman. She’d only been out of college three years.
Just My Type Page 3
