Small Sensations

by Crystal V. Rhodes

  “We might as well be,” CeCe answered coyly. “We’re such close friends, we might as well be sisters.”

  That earlier look of confusion on Justin’s face surfaced again. “Oh, so you’re not in-laws?” He noticed that Davia actually looked him in the face this time. Progress was being made. Unfortunately, she was looking at him as if he were insane.

  “What would make you think that we’re in-laws, Mr. Miles?” She shot a glance at CeCe. What had the woman said to this man?

  CeCe looked confused until the reason for his question dawned on her. She gave a guilty chuckle. “No, no, no! You think that I’m Gabby’s mother, don’t you?”

  “Well, over there, you said…” Justin gestured to the spot where they had been standing when they had spoken earlier.

  “No, when I said my Gabby, I meant that Gabby was my girl. I mean, my girl.”

  CeCe became flustered. “Oh, you know what I mean. Gabby’s not my child. She belongs to her.” She thrust a thumb toward Davia. “That’s Grommy over there.”

  Confusion crossed Justin’s face once again as he turned to Davia. “Grommy?”

  Davia thrust her chin up proudly. “That’s what my granddaughter calls me.”

  She tightened her hold on her purse and further stiffened her body, transmitting that he was dismissed. His time was up. The only problem was that Justin Miles didn’t seem to get the message.

  “So what’s the word Grommy about? A combination of Grandma and Mommy?”

  The man was astute as well as nosey. She didn’t answer. It was none of his business.

  “How did you know that?” CeCe’s head swiveled between Justin and Davia. “Have you two met before on a personal basis?” CeCe grinned at Davia like a Cheshire cat, her eyes asking where the two had met and when. Davia’s body language made it clear that she might never know.

  “Ms. Maxwell and I certainly have met.” The twinkle in Justin’s eyes and the smile on his face transmitted a message that he made even clearer. “And I enjoyed the experience.”

  CeCe almost leaped out of her seat with joy. This man pulled no punches. He was interested in Davia. Maybe her friend had hit the jackpot! If only Davia was receptive. But it was obvious that she wasn’t. Her posture had gone from stiff to absolutely rigid. When Davia opened her mouth to speak, CeCe interrupted her effort.

  “There is no Mr. Maxwell, so I guess you could continue to enjoy it if you really want, Mr. Miles.”

  Davia wanted to sink into the floor. Her eyes radiated daggers of death at CeCe, who wisely chose to ignore her.

  Justin took advantage of the situation as he turned up the charm a notch. He addressed CeCe, recognizing that he had found an ally in his pursuit of the lovely Ms. Maxwell. “Please, call me Justin.”

  “Well, Justin, I’m CeCe.” They shook hands. “And my friend here is Davia.”

  Justin’s attention returned to the object of his pursuit. “Davia, what a beautiful name…” he paused, “…for a beautiful woman.”

  Davia was trembling, she was so angry. How dare these two! What was she, a piece of meat to be auctioned to the highest bidder? She would kill CeCe later, but right now she was going to get rid of this two-bit playboy. She had opened her mouth to do just that when the teacher announced the beginning of the children’s program.

  Reining in her temper, she resolved to nip his little game of flirtation in the bud as soon as the performance was over. She’d put an end to Mr. Justin Miles in—she checked her dainty gold watch—approximately thirty minutes. There was not a man alive that would ever get close to her again. That was an absolute certainty!

  Settling back in her chair she stole a glance at Justin. He sat beside her with a smug smile on his face. As he relaxed in his chair, his shoulder accidentally brushed Davia’s shoulder. Electric currents charged through both their bodies. Each of them snatched away as if they had been burnt, both surprised by the small sensation.

  * * *

  Davia shuffled into the kitchen of her home half asleep. Business at Small Sensations had increased 15 percent in the past few weeks due to a new ad campaign, and it meant late hours both in the corporate office and in her office at home. The long hours were taking their toll. She was exhausted.

  Sitting at the marble-topped table in the kitchen nook, Reba watched as Davia moved across the room toward the stove and the teakettle. Pouring the hot water into the cup, she dipped the tea bag, added a dash of honey, then came over to the table to join Reba. Settling on the cushioned chair, she offered a terse good morning.

  “Good morning!” Reba’s greeting was bright and cheerful.

  Davia scowled. She was in no mood for cheerful this morning. “Is Gabby still in bed?”

  “Uh-huh. After all, it is Saturday. I thought I’d let her sleep in.” She paused dramatically. “Like you should be doing.”

  Davia took a sip of tea, avoiding the accusing eyes that bore into her. She didn’t want to hear one of Reba’s lectures today. However, observing her body language and the set of her mouth, she knew that she was going to hear one anyway.

  Reba sat back in her chair, her arms planted firmly across her chest. “This does not make sense, Davia! You hired me to take care of that child, and here you are doing triple duty—super mom, super grandma and super nanny all at one time. You are needed at your place of business. You’re not neglecting Gabby if I pick her up from school, help her with her school assignments, take her to the park, tuck her in. I mean, my goodness! What are you paying me for, anyway? You go to the Buckhead office, do your thing there, dash to pick her up from school, spend every waking hour with her, put her to bed, go to the upstairs office, take care of business there most of the night, grab two…three hours of sleep and start all over again! And this isn’t the first time that this has happened. What’s this about? What are you trying to prove? You’re young and healthy, but even young and healthy wears out. ”

  Davia leveled her with one of her “I’m the boss, you’re the employee” looks. As usual, Reba wasn’t intimidated. She returned her look with a “so fire me” look of her own. It was a war of wills that each was determined to win. The thought drifted through Davia’s mind that even if she won, she’d still be the loser. Her health and her sanity were at stake at the pace she’d been going lately, and she knew that Reba’s admonishment was out of genuine concern. How could she be upset with her for that? However, what did upset her was what Reba said next.

  “You ought to give that Justin Miles a chance. You need a social life, and I think he’d be good for you.”

  Davia slammed her coffee cup down and pushed away from the table. She definitely didn’t want to hear this! Getting up, she stomped toward the stairs.

  “He sent another dozen roses today. They arrived this morning.”

  The amusement in Reba’s voice increased Davia’s anger as she left the room without looking back.

  “I put the newest ones on the dining room table in a vase!” Reba shouted after her. “I’m running out of vases!” Her words followed Davia up the stairs.

  She could hear the echo of Reba’s laughter as she slammed her bedroom door. It was a conspiracy! Everybody was conspiring against her in favor of that man. He had started his relentless campaign to get her to go out with him the day after the open house over a month ago. He had been annoying enough at that event. Every time she looked up he was watching her. With that toothpaste ad smile of his, the arrogance he exuded was sickening. Just because he put all of the other women in the room in catatonic states didn’t mean she was affected. At one point she had turned to him and whispered that she didn’t like being “ogled.” She had asked him politely to stop. He replied that he wasn’t ogling, he was simply “mesmerized.”

  Mesmerized! How corny! Even if she was attracted to him a tiny bit, after that pathetic line, forget it! The next day he’d had the audacity to call.

  “Hello, Ms. Maxwell. This is Justin Miles. How are you this morning?”

  She had been too flabbe
rgasted to speak at first. Why was he calling? The matter between the girls was settled. She had set him straight the night before about staring at her. Surely he had gotten the message that she wasn’t interested in him.

  “I won’t beat around the bush, Ms. Maxwell…Davia. I hope you don’t mind my calling you that?”

  Silence.

  “Anyway, I’d like to invite you to dinner tonight, if you’re not busy. I’d really like to see you again.”

  Her answer had been short. “I’m busy.” She had hung up.

  He hadn’t called again, but since then he had sent her roses every day. They filled the house with their delicious fragrance. Of course they filled the house, because Reba kept retrieving them from the trash, where Davia deposited them each time they arrived. He sent yellow roses. Yellow was Davia’s favorite color. It wasn’t difficult to track down the culprit who had provided Mr. Miles with that information—CeCe, although she adamantly denied it.

  Gabby was excited each time a new delivery of roses appeared, anxious to know why Grommy was getting so many flowers. Davia told her that they were from a friend and left it at that.

  She wanted the flowers to stop. When she threatened to stop the deliveries by calling the authorities, CeCe informed her that she had no case. Justin had never threatened her with harm. He’d only sent her roses. There was no law against that. Davia could have slapped that silly grin right off her friend’s face when she offered her that piece of legal advice. She still wasn’t sure it was true.

  She didn’t have time for this nonsense. Her life was too full, and she was exhausted. Davia lay in her unmade bed and pulled a pillow over her head. Closing her eyes, she quickly gave into sleep—a sleep that brought dreams interrupted by a pair of stunning gray-green eyes.

  * * *

  Davia Maxwell was on the run, and he planned on her running straight to him. Justin chuckled as he pulled his new Lexus sports car up to the front door of his mother’s home. Getting the elusive Ms. Maxwell to go out with him had become a challenge, and it was one that he was enjoying. The bombardment of flowers was a calculated ploy to keep him on her mind.

  She was adamant about not wanting to date him, and he wasn’t used to rejection. That made her all the more fascinating. But he knew that his attraction to her was more than that. He just couldn’t put his finger on what it was. No matter, they were going to get together one way or another. That he was sure about.

  Jauntily, he jumped out of his car just as a sleek black BMW came roaring down the driveway from the back of the house. The beep of the horn drew his attention as the car came to a stop within inches of his tuxedo-clad frame. Justin smiled as his best friend, Clark Gaston, rolled down a tinted window. Clark’s father, Henry, sat on the other side of him in the passenger seat.

  Not only did Henry work as the family chauffeur, but his wife, Pauline, had worked as the family’s housekeeper for almost as long as her husband. Clark was their only child, and at thirty-six, he was the same age as Justin. He and Clark had grown up together and had been inseparable since childhood. Social boundaries had never been an issue between them. Just as Henry was thought of as a second father to Justin, Clark was like his brother, and Justin’s father had seen to it that Clark had shared many of the advantages that his son had enjoyed. The two men had attended different graduate schools, but they had graduated from Morehouse together. Now both were successful entrepreneurs in fields that they loved. Clark was an architect and his firm was one of the fastest growing enterprises in Atlanta.

  Justin broke into a wide grin as he greeted Henry and then transferred his attention to the handsome brown face of his best friend. “Hey, my man, where are you off to?”

  Clark smiled up at him. “I should be asking you the same thing. Look at you, all dressed up like a penguin and sporting a new ride, too! Nice! Real nice! What’s the occasion? Another one of Katherine’s charity events?”

  Justin tugged at the onyx studs at the cuffs of his dress shirt. “Not this time. I’m escorting the prettiest little sister in town to some fancy awards dinner. What about you two?” His gaze took in both father and son dressed in matching Atlanta Hawks sweatshirts. “Aw, man, don’t tell me I’m missing the game tonight!”

  Henry’s square-chinned face, an older duplicate of his son’s, leaned across Clark and winked at Justin. “A true Hawks fan wouldn’t have to ask.”

  Justin and Clark chuckled, both recalling the many games they had attended with Henry. He was a basketball fanatic. The three of them had spent countless hours playing basketball on the small court Zachary Miles had built for his son on the Miles estate.

  Revving the engine, Clark gave Justin a “see ya” and left him standing on his mother’s doorstep staring after them as they drove out the iron gate and disappeared. Inside the house he found not only his sister, but also his mother; both were dressed to the nines in formal wear. Although standing a few inches shorter, Vanessa closely resembled their mother. She had the same cafe au lait complexion and heart-shaped face, which was usually framed in a mass of light brown ringlets that she wore tumbling past her shoulders. Tonight her hair had been styled into an elegant French roll that complemented her sharp features. Unlike her brother, she had not inherited their mother’s unusual eye color. Her eyes were a dark brown like their late father’s. Justin remembered that when she was a child they used to sparkle, but over time the sparkle had gone out of her eyes and that saddened him. He’d do anything to bring that sparkle back. Despite that, she looked lovely this evening in a blue sequinned gown.

  Justin greeted each woman with a kiss on the cheek, and then turned his attention to Katherine, who was dressed in a black, floor-length evening gown that fitted her shapely frame to perfection.

  “What’s the occasion? Are you going with us?”

  “No, darling. Your old mother has plans of her own.”

  Justin raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Dr. Collier?” Hastings Collier was a friend of his parents and a resident of Zachary Acres. He had been smitten with Katherine for years, and after the death of Justin’s father, he had often escorted the lovely widow to various affairs.

  Katherine gave a mysterious smile. “No, it’s not.”

  Justin glanced at Vanessa, who shrugged her ignorance. He grinned mischievously. “So there’s a new love slave in the mix?”

  Katherine took her son’s teasing in stride. “No, simply a new friend I met at the recent Boule Ball.”

  “I see. And does this ‘friend’ have a name?”

  Katherine smiled. “He certainly does, just like all of your dates that you never introduce me to.”

  Vanessa laughed. “She got you this time, Casanova. Come on, let’s go.”

  Hooking her arm through her brother’s, she guided him out of the room. The doorbell rang just as they reached the door. Justin opened it.

  Standing in the doorway, elegantly attired in a tailored tuxedo, was a man who appeared to be in his fifties. About six feet tall, his pecan-colored face was long and angular, framed by black wavy hair, salted with gray. His eyes were dark, almost black, and Justin could see no warmth in their depths. For a moment the crooked smile he bestowed on them seemed uncertain, but he quickly recovered.

  “I’m here for Katherine Miles.” He paused. The cool eyes grew warm and the crooked smile straightened. “You don’t have to introduce yourselves. I can look at both of you and tell that you’re Katherine’s children, Justin and Vanessa. Right?” He stuck out his hand. “I’m your mother’s escort for tonight, Charles Cash.”

  Vanessa smiled and greeted him with a polite hello. Justin shook his hand.

  The man’s handshake was strong, self-assured. Yet, for a brief moment Justin felt uneasy about this stranger standing in his mother’s doorway. Dismissing the feeling, he and Vanessa said their good-byes and left the house.

  CHAPTER 6

  The accolades had been bestowed, the awards presented and the acceptance speeches delivered. Rubber chicken, wild rice and asparagus tips w
ere the evening fare, and after dinner a band took over to provide the evening’s entertainment. The lights were dim and the dance floor was crowded as quiet conversation drifted throughout the ballroom.

  The band was good, dispensing an eclectic mix of soul music and jazz. The entire evening was designed for fun and relaxation but Davia wasn’t enjoying herself. She didn’t like formal business affairs and this evening’s event was made even more unbearable because of the presence of one man—Justin Miles.

  If she hadn’t known better, she would have sworn that CeCe had arranged his appearance here, but this was an annual event and invitations weren’t easily obtained. CeCe’s law firm and three other black businesses in Atlanta had received Business of the Year awards from the Atlanta Black Chamber of Commerce. It was an honor that Small Sensations had earned five years ago. But tonight was CeCe’s night, and she had been beside herself with excitement since learning that her law firm was to be honored. Davia knew that Justin Miles had been the last thing on her friend’s mind. Actually, CeCe seemed as surprised at seeing him here as Davia had been, but in less than an hour from the time Justin entered, CeCe had gathered information about him from her friends and acquaintances in attendance. Dutifully, she reported those findings to a seemingly disinterested Davia.

  It seemed that Justin’s date was his sister, Vanessa, whom Davia had still to hear from regarding the vampire incident. She wondered if Justin had told her about it. CeCe also reported that Vanessa was one of the interior decorators for Regal Designs, another of the evening’s award recipients. So, there seemed to be no ulterior motive for Justin’s presence at this affair.

  Davia had expected him to make a pest of himself, using this very public event to continue his pursuit of her, but she had been wrong. When he first noticed her, he smiled and nodded politely. A few minutes ago, as he passed her table leading his sister to the dance floor, he had introduced Vanessa to her, noting that Bianca and Gabby attended the same preschool. He had excused himself and continued to the dance floor, where he was now dancing with his sister.