“Hey, I got you. Are you sure you’re okay?” Chris said, holding her around her waist. Dee was so out of her league right now that the last thing she needed was for her knees to prevent her from moving the way she knew she needed to go.
“I’m so embarrassed,” Dee said, hanging onto his shoulder. “It’s the shoes. I just bought them a few days ago and I’m not quite used to walking in them yet. Why don’t I just come back a little later? My office is not too far, and I can grab another pair of pumps and get some work done while you and the posse hang out.”
“Well, do you want to take them off?”
“Take what off ?”
“Those sexy stilettos, silly. There’s no reason for you to just drive back for another pair of shoes. It’s cool. Just take ‘em off.”
Okay, that excuse will not work, and I definitely don’t do barefoot in public. “Ah no, Chris. Just let me sit down for a moment over there in the corner. Over there by the door.”
Chris’s arms were still around her waist as he escorted her to the chaise in the corner. “Hey, I’ll be right back, okay?”
Frantically, Dee started planning her escape. Chris, I’m not feeling well, all of sudden. Maybe I need to go home and just lie down. Or maybe I’ll say, “You know? This might take a little longer than I expected and since you’ve got all of these people here, let’s just reschedule it for another— ”
“Yo, yo listen up everyone!” Chris said at the top of his voice as he pointed to Dee in the corner. “Over there is the one and only Counselor Desiree Bradshaw!”
What in God’s name is he doing? No. I was just about to sneak out of here! All eyes were on her as she clutched her briefcase even tighter. She felt like her heart was about to leap out of her chest and onto the floor.
Dee managed to get the strength back in her knees to walk back to the table. She extended her hand politely and briefly surveyed the room, the same way she did on an airplane when she was trying to locate her nearest exit. Unfortunately, there was only one and she had walked away from it.
She glanced over at the three women seated next to T. They looked like last month’s pin-up girls. Their breasts were oversized and overexposed in tight-fitting micro fiber material that looked like knockoffs from Barbie’s Closet.
“Hi,” said the streaked blonde haired woman putting her hand out to Dee.
Dee shook her hand. “Hi there.”
The young woman threw her hair back over her shoulder and eyed Dee up and down again. Dee smiled at the other two ladies who were both wearing too much weave that they’d paid too much for. They reminded her of the characters in her favorite children’s book, The Cat in the Hat. Thing 1 and Thing 2.
“How ya doing, Counselor Bradshaw,” T said. All thoughts of Thing 1 and Thing 2 vanished from her mind when T came toward her. He was finer than Chris. How could that be possible? Dee thought.
“Please just call me Dee. I mean Desiree,” she said as she extended her hand, trying not to stare at his firm chest and full biceps that were enhanced by his silk shirt. He shook her hand firmly, smiled, and teasingly gave it back to her. Dee glanced toward the floor trying to avoid the obvious, but her eyes couldn’t help wandering back up the leg of his trousers that fit his firm thighs perfectly. She cleared her throat and blinked her eyes, trying to maintain some type of self-control. But it was obvious to him that she was feeling him and that the sensation was mutual.
T couldn’t stop staring and was glad to know no one could hear what he was really thinking. His thoughts were running rampant. Chris told me she was fine. But damn, she’s got me on fire, he thought, eyeing Dee seductively from every angle and pulling out the chair next to him. “All right, then. Dee would you like to order a drink?” Before T could get the chair out from underneath the table, Chris tapped him on the shoulder.
“I got this. Down, boy. Let’s not forget why she’s here, man, okay?” Chris joked, knowing full well where T’s intentions were going.
“Oh, my bad, man. I was only trying to be a gentleman.” He grinned and raised his hands in surrender. “You know me.”
“Yeah, I know you, aight!” he said, slapping T’s back. Dee laughed while she watched Thing 1 and Thing 2 look at each other as they watched the other men seated at the table eye her like she was their last supper.
As Dee composed herself, a tall, thin, fair-skinned black man walked into the room. He looked to be in his early thirties and was neatly dressed in a dark double-breasted custom-tailored suit. Dee sucked in her breath when she saw him make his way to the table. She recognized him as a passenger on her flight from just a few weeks ago. He had ordered two rum and cokes with a twist of lime and lemon. She had overheard his conversation and found out that he was a sports agent, traveling to see a prospective jock. She closed her eyes briefly and prayed. Lord, please don’t let this guy have as good a memory as I do.
“Hey, what’s up, T?” he said, leaning in to give him a pat on the back and a quick handshake.
“Hey, Quint! Man, glad you could make it!”
“How’s it goin,’ Chris?” Quint said, giving him a high five.
“Can’t complain, can’t complain. I hear you’re about to sign the twenty million dollar rookie right out of high school.”
“We’ll see, we’ll see. His mom’s not feeling me. She wants him to go on to college.”
“What? He’s got a guaranteed twenty mil, and she wants him to go get a piece of paper?”
“Hey, some people are just like that, ya know? And it’s my job to show them otherwise,” he said with a sinister laugh.
“Well, if anybody can do it, you da man!” T laughed and punched him lightly in his shoulder.
Quint turned and saw Dee. “Hey, you look familiar.”
Dee’s nerves were coming unraveled. If Quint figured out where he knew her from then she was finished before she could even get started.
“I know this is going to sound corny, but don’t I know you from somewhere?”
“It’s quite possible. I do get around,” Dee joked, trying to shrug off her inner fear. He kept looking at her face, snapping his fingers like he was trying to jog his memory.
“Hey, this is going to be my attorney, Counselor Desiree Bradshaw,” T jumped in proudly. “Counselor, meet the one and only Quinton Richardson. We call him Quint.”
“Nice meeting you,” Quinton said shaking her hand.
“Same here.” Dee nodded.
“Counselor Bradshaw here is goin’ to get me straight with this skank who is tryin’ to make me her baby’s daddy and take my fuckin’ money!” T interrupted.
“My heart goes out to ya,’ brotha. Desiree, what’s the name of your firm?”
“Sterling, Mathis, and Silverman,” Dee announced before she could stop herself.
“Really. SMS, huh?”
Dee did her best to look self-assured as she nodded affirmatively.
“I didn’t know they hired another sista’. When did you start working there?”
“It hasn’t been that long.”
Quinton kept shaking his head and giving her a puzzled look. “It will come to me sooner or later, ‘cause I never forget a face. Especially someone who looks like you.”
Dee could tell that his brain was working overtime to figure out who she was. Her only saving grace was that she was dressed in business attire and not in her uniform. That was the only reason he was having difficulty making the connection.
“Hey, tell Counselor Madison I said hello.”
Great, he knew Pam. What in heaven’s name was she thinking when she said she worked at her firm? Smart move, Dee, real smart move.
“Now, Pam Madison, that’s a heavy sista’ right there,” Quinton said as if he knew her style all too well.
Feeling her throat starting to close up, Dee sipped on her glass of water. She had to remain calm. “I will,” she nodded.
Quinton turned toward T. “Hey, T! Stay strong man, I’m out.”
“You leavin’ already?
You just got here.”
“I know, I just stopped by to say hello. I’ve got some business I need to handle on the home front.”
“You mean the Kelly front, don’t you?” A boyish grin spread across Quinton’s lips. “She’s still got you whipped, I see,” T teased.
“Hey, don’t hate me, playa’. Just ‘cause you wish you had somebody at home waitin’ on you!”
T laughed. “Yeah, now you know that’s a damn lie!”
“Listen, hang in there, man. You’ve got a sista’ workin’ from SMS. You gon’ be aight!” He gave him a high-five and a fist bump. “Besides, you need someone to whip yo’ wannabe playa’ ass into shape!” He laughed.
T grabbed his shoulders and pretended to escort him out of the door. “Now it is time for you to go. Talk to you later, man.”
“You do that,” Quinton said walking over to Chris. “Hey, Chris, talk to you later. Give me a call when you guys are ready to have me come and see you get beat by the Falcons.”
“Aight. Man, we gon’ have to call security up in here!” Chris yelled.
“I’m out…I’m out!”
“Yeah, you betta’ be! In here talkin’ trash like that!” T joked as he and Chris watched him skillfully work the room with his usual grace and charm.
As the posse thinned, Quinton lingered. He worked the room, hugging and kissing every single woman in the dining area, and exchanging high-fives with the guys like he was the host of the party. He kept eyeing Dee from across the room. The more he looked at her, the calmer she tried to appear. She felt like a pawn in a chess game waiting for the inevitable capture.
Quinton finally said his last goodbye and left from the private dining room. As he turned the corner, he noticed two familiar faces seated at a corner table feeding each other bread sticks.
“Amanda and Melvin!”
“Quinton?”
“Hey, how are you, Amanda?” He bent down to give her a hug.
“How you enjoying that sauna, man?” Melvin said, wiping his hands on his napkin as he stood up to shake his hand.
“Me and the old lady are lovin’ it. I’m about to get home right now and get in it after I take a few laps around that pool you put in for us. Man, you sure know how to do some home improvements,” Quinton laughed.
“He is really good. I keep tellin’ him that. You ought to see my basement he finished,” Amanda chimed in.
Melvin felt himself blush. He tried to hide his embarrassment by wiping his face with his napkin. “All right, ya’ll stop it now. You gon’ make my head bigger than what it already is.”
Quinton laughed as he pointed to Melvin’s head. “Well, I’m sure it can’t get no bigger than that fat wallet you makin’ off of all us po’ people.”
“You hardly po’, man. I heard about that twenty-million dollar man you ’bout to sign up.”
“Man, I need somethin’ to pay for all of them bills I accumulated with you,” he said, laughing again as Melvin nodded in agreement. “So, what are you two doing on this side of town?”
“We’re celebrating,” they both said in unison.
“Hey, you two are finally getting hitched, huh?”
Amanda blushed. “No, not this go round.”
“It ain’t cuz I don’t want to, either,” Melvin chuckled.
“Stop it, Melvin,” Amanda said lightly tapping Melvin on the thighs. “We’re celebrating me quitting my job.”
“And then them calling her back again to rehire her!” Melvin laughed.
“What? You quit SMS?” Quinton sat down in the vacant chair at their table. His eyes bulged in disbelief.
“Yeah, I did,” Amanda said proudly.
“But why? I mean, they’re one of the top law firms in the country, if not THE top one. And rumor had it that you were the number one paralegal.”
“Let’s just say that Amanda got tired of a little someone running a power trip on her all the time,” Melvin said defensively.
Quinton laughed. “You’ve got to be talking about Pam Madison.”
“Yep, the one and only,” Amanda sighed at the thought of her.
“I remember when she represented our firm two years ago. She was somethin’ else then.”
“Yes, I remember that case. I worked on it. And I never will forget it. Pam had me there to almost one o’clock in the morning many times.”
“Daaamn! She’s a kick-ass, huh?”
“That’s an understatement. But your firm did win, didn’t it?”
“Oh, yeah, and we had a wind fall.” Quinton laughed. “One of our clients was in breach of contract and let’s just say, Pam got it all worked out and then some.”
Amanda shook her head at the thought of her. “You know, she was beyond herself back then. But now…wooo weeee! She really thinks she’s Miss Thang, as my daughter would say!”
“So you just got fed up and up and quit?”
“Yep, my baby just got tired of the bullshit,” Melvin chimed in. “She and Pam go way back, man. Amanda and Pam went to Spelman and some of law school together.”
“Damn, I never knew that.”
“A lot of people don’t. Amanda and Pam wanted to keep it like that too, right baby?”
Amanda took a long sip of her water. “It doesn’t matter anymore,” Amanda said, patting Melvin on his knee.
“’Sides, it ain’t like she needs that job anyway,” Melvin said as he gently squeezed her hand and kissed her on the cheek.
“So, what do you think about the other sista they hired?” Quinton asked.
“What other sister? Pam’s the only black attorney there, unless somebody got hired between last week and now when I quit.”
Confused, Quinton stroked his chin and thought about Dee. “Well, I just met this young woman over in the private dining area who said she works for SMS.”
“Really? What’s her name?”
“Desiree or something like that. I can’t remember,” he said, snapping his fingers.
Melvin looked at Amanda curiously. “That name don’t sound familiar,” he interjected. “I don’t ever remember you mentioning a Desiree before.”
“That’s because I don’t know anyone by that name that works at SMS, unless of course she was just recently hired.”
“Well, she’s over there in the private dining room helping out one of my buddies with a case.” Why don’t you go over there and take a peek at her?”
“Well, I am a little curious.”
“Go on baby, do your detective work. I’ll order for you,” Melvin teased. Amanda playfully rolled her eyes at him as she followed Quinton back to the private dining area.
“Hey, Quint’s back!” T yelled. “I thought you had to get back and report to Kelly.”
“Aight, man, I done told you before, stay OUT my business! I want you to meet a personal friend of mine. Amanda, this is T. T, this is Amanda.”
“Nice meeting you, Amanda.”
“Same here.”
“Amanda used to work at SMS as a paralegal and I wanted her to meet your friend.” Quinton looked around the room, “Where is she?”
“Hey Chris, where’s your girl?” T yelled across the room.
“I think she went to the ladies’ room.”
“You want to wait on her, Amanda?” Quinton asked.
“No, that’s okay. Maybe I’ll catch her coming out of the ladies’ room. What does she look like?”
“She’s about 5‘10”. Long brown hair. She’s really attractive.”
“So are a lot of women in here. What’s she wearing?”
“Now, you know me, I ain’t too good with women’s clothing,” Quinton said, trying to remember Dee’s attire. “I think it’s a skirt and blouse, maybe silver or gray. Yeah, that’s it.”
“Hey, that’s pretty good. I’ve got to go in there, anyway. I’ll introduce myself. It was good seeing you, Quint. Tell Kelly that Melvin and I said hello.”
“I will.”
Amanda entered the blue marble restroom, admiring the
circular stepped basins that adorned the bathroom when she noticed a woman, who, from the back, bore a striking resemblance to Quinton’s description.
“Hi. Are you—oh my God! Deirdre?”
Dee’s mouth dropped open and she felt her breath stuck in her throat. “Amanda!”
Amanda and Dee stood frozen for a moment. Neither of them knew what to say at first, but instinctively they raised their arms and embraced each other.
“How have you been?” they both asked at the same time.
“It’s been such a long time. I just can’t believe this!” Amanda said, still giggling.
Dee raised her eyebrows. “Well, you stopped taking my calls, remember?”
“I know. I feel really bad about that, too. I’ve wanted to call to apologize, but I just couldn’t find the words. Tracey’s been asking about you, too.”
“I had her recently on a flight. She’s growing up too fast!”
“She is and she told me. Melvin and I are both really proud of her.”
“I bet your parents are proud, too,” she said trying not to slip and mention Tracey’s father.
“They are ecstatic! Before I forget, I ran into Quinton Richardson in the restaurant and he told me you were working for Sterling, Mathis, and Silverman. I mean, I’m sure Pam told you that I quit the firm. When did all of this happen? Pam didn’t hire you as my replacement, did she?” Amanda laughed sarcastically.
Dee suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. She felt like she was about to drown in it. This was not happening. She needed to think fast. “Really? Quinton must have misunderstood me. People were kind of loud in there. He probably just didn’t hear me when I said Steinman, Madison, and Estervan,” Dee said quickly.
Amanda looked at her suspiciously. “I’m not familiar with them. Where are they located?”
“In New York.”
“Really? Wow! So, you passed the bar and now you’re moving to New York? ”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“So, what about your job with the airline?”
“Like I said, I haven’t thought this all through, but I’m thinking I’ll work during the week and fly out on weekends.”
Destination D Page 15
