Tiffany quickly entered the office, her dark brown eyes shining. She was young, and the daughter of a good friend of Terraine’s. Initially, Natalia resented that she was forced to hire her, but as they continued to work together she realized Tiffany was quite qualified, and an asset to the office.
“You need something?”
“Yes,” Natalia said. “I have a candidate coming in this afternoon, and I can’t seem to find his resume.”
“I’m sorry,” Tiffany said. “I forgot all about the interview.I’ll call Geri right away and ask for one.”
“Thanks,” Natalia said, and gave her a forgiving smile.
After she left, Natalia’s stomach began to growl. Now was a good time to escape for lunch.
Sterling Mann stopped at the security cage and gave his name before pulling his rental car into the lot and parking on the third level. He took a few minutes to relax before climbing out of the car, then strolled to the elevator.
He hadn’t had much time to enjoy being back in St. Louis again. His plane from San Antonio had been delayed, leaving him just enough time to check into his room at the Ritz Carlton and quickly change for his two o’clock interview. As he moved through the double doors, he was stopped at a security desk where he had to show his ID again. He wasn’t surprised; Terraine had warned him that security had been tightened in their building since someone attempted to sabotage the corporation last year.
Exiting the elevator on the fifth floor, he entered the plush hallway and allowed his eyes to travel around the office space. He grinned, impressed by what he saw. Diva Designs had changed quite a bit since he’d worked as a college intern for Richard Andrews. It was then he had had his first encounter with his goddaughter, Natalia Bonaparte.
He winced at the memory. “Bitch” was the best way to describe her. Born into money, she probably never lifted a finger in her life. Richard had also given Nataliaa job as an intern in the marketing department. She’d considered herself superior over everyone else, reveling in her position as the boss’s goddaughter. Sterlinghad his concepts, she had hers, and the two never seemed to see eye to eye. They clashed on ideas with Natalia sulking, kicking, and screaming to her godfather. Richard had tried to be a mediator between the two, but nothing seemed to work. So Sterling worked as quickly as fuckin’ possible to complete the project, and was relievedto take the next plane home.
Sterling sighed. He was back, and couldn’t wait to see Natalia’s face again. Their meeting would be a challenge, but he wanted this job and was willing to do anything to get it. Working for Diva Designs would finallyput him on the map, and even closer to starting his own design label. The only thing standing in his way of making it was Natalia.
Even with that test in front of him, Sterling smirked with confidence. He’d have to see about that.
As Honey stared at the sunny sky outside her office window, she felt her lips curl into a dreamy smile.
She was in love. Now that she could admit it, love bubbled in her laugh and shone in her eyes. There was no rain in her forecast, only sunshine and warm weather. Being in love felt so damn good.
After their weekend, they’d spent almost every evening together. Last night Jay took her dancing, then to his condo, where they made love until sunrise. Honey had been certain she’d be exhausted this morning, but insteadshe felt more alive than she had in years.
Jay was an excellent teacher and she tried to give as much as she took. When she held the reins, she rode him as if he were one of those mechanical bulls. And when she took his dick in her mouth, she sucked it like a fuckin’ Blow-Pop.
Exhaling a long sigh of contentment, she moved to her desk and looked at the huge arrangement of long-stemmedroses that were delivered this morning. Her belly fluttered with delight. She felt whole, complete. Jay had fucked dozens of women in his life, but even with his experience, he never made her feel inadequate.Instead, he made her feel like their lovemaking was just as fulfilling for him as it was for her. Jay was a wonderfully compassionate man and a gentle lover. To think that she’d almost ended things between them becauseof her fear!
Her lips turned slightly downward; he still didn’t know she couldn’t have children.
Honey ignored the ringing phone, not wanting to lose her train of thought, and took a seat in her chair. She was scheduled to leave tomorrow evening for Minneapolis, where she was attending a two-day convention.
Bolstered by her newfound love, she had finally summonedenough courage this morning. She would tell him tonight. That way, he’d have time to think it over while she was away. The mixture of uncertainty and anxiety was driving her stir-crazy. But as soon as she bared her soul, she would finally be able to put the past to rest.
What would he say? The question stabbed at her heart. But she was tired of not knowing. She had to finallyknow. Despite her apprehension and no matter how he reacted, she needed closure.
“Honey, someone’s out front to see you,” Candy said as she peeked inside the office.
Honey smoothed out her blue button-down blouse and khaki slacks and strolled out into the lobby. Standingat the front counter was a very pregnant woman. Honey felt a pang of envy as she admired her. Her skin glowed, and her hair, pulled back into a bun, was shiny and healthy.
Honey greeted her with a friendly smile. “May I help you?”
The lady turned malicious eyes on her and assessed her from head to toe. “Are you Honey?”
Puzzled by her expression, Honey raised a brow beforenodding. “Yes, I am.”
Kendra was fuming. She had hoped the petite beauty she watched sauntering gracefully from the back of the salon wasn’t Honey. But as soon as she saw her long brown curls and large gray eyes, she knew it couldn’t be anyone else. Her lips curled in a sneer as she stood face-to-face with the woman who was fuckin’ her baby’s daddy.
“I would appreciate it if you’d leave my man the fuck alone!” she spat.
“Excuse me?” Honey gasped with surprise. Who the hell was this woman?
“You heard me, bitch!” Kendra said, loud enough to draw the ears of all the patrons in the waiting area. “I’m tired of you runnin’ after my man.”
Honey blew out a ragged breath, trying to keep her composure. Sista girl was obviously trippin’. But in her pregnant state, she was drawing sympathy from her audience—Honey’s staff and clients. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said. “But if you’d like to go into my office, we can discuss this in private.”
“Don’t play dumb with me,” Kendra hissed. Glancingaround, she made sure there were plenty of listeners,then rubbed her hand across her stomach for added emphasis. “My name is Kendra Johnson, and I want you to stay the fuck away from my fiancé!” Kendra chuckled inwardly when she saw Honey’s gaze fall to the diamond sparkling on her finger. Thank goodness she’d been smart enough not to send Lawrence’s engagementring back to his bitch ass! It had definitely come in handy.
Honey was growing irritated. “Like I said before,” she said, working to keep her tone even, “I have no idea who your fiancé is. And unless you want to discuss this like two adults, I advise you to get the hell out of my salon.”
No, that bitch didn’t try to make me look like a fool. Kendra’s expression suddenly saddened as she pretendedto be choking over tears. “Stay away from Jay! I love him,” she begged between sniffles. “My baby needs her daddy.” She then turned to walk away. Once she reached the door, she swung around and grinned wickedly before retreating from the building.
Hearing his name fall from the woman’s lips, Honey gripped the counter for support; her legs felt like they would give out. One quick glance told her that several customers were whispering among themselves. She turned and headed toward the back, with Mercedes close on her tail.
“Girl, you need me to get you anything?”
Honey shook her head, still in shock. “No. I just need to be alone.”
Mercedes squeezed her shoulder, then went back out to try and clear the air. “
Damn!” she mumbled under her breath. “And I thought I had drama in my own life!”
Terraine completed his interview with Sterling and was very impressed with his credentials. He was definitelya top pick. Even though he was sure he’d found their man, he would wait until he received the opinions of his managers before making a definite decision.
He dropped Sterling’s file in his out-box. When Geri returned from escorting him down to Natalia’s office, he would have her schedule an appointment for him with personnel.
Terraine rose, smiling with satisfaction. He knew Natalia was against hiring someone, but she really didn’t have much say in the matter. He was the CEO, after all. Natalia was very territorial, and even though she would never admit it, he knew she was overworked. She would thank him later.
He moved to stare out of the floor-to-ceiling windowat the overcast sky. His grandfather was probably turning over in his grave. Richard Andrews would never have agreed to Natalia taking on such a load. He never could understand the relationship between the two. Terraine had even learned to love her over the years despiteall her flaws, and even forgiven her after she had tried to destroy his relationship with Sasha. Terraine grimaced at the memory of that.
Yet despite their differences over the years, he had to admit Natalia was good at what she did. The fashion world was in her blood. Nonetheless, he needed to hire someone dominant enough not to be easily intimidated by her. Terraine knew Natalia had a tendency to act like a spoiled-ass brat, but he could handle her. Years of knowing her and the bullshit she pulled made that possible.Chuckling, he returned to his desk. He had a strong suspicion Sterling would know how to deal with her, too.
Natalia whizzed back to her office and was sitting behind her desk trying to return several phone calls when her secretary buzzed. The candidate had arrived.
“Where’s the file?” she asked with exasperation.
“It’s sitting on the middle of your desk.”
“All right,” Natalia grumbled. “Give me a minute.” She’d been so wrapped up in a conversation with one of their designers that she’d forgotten about the interview.Crossing her legs, she reached for the folder. Her eyes went straight to the work history before they rose to the top of the page. Staring down at the name, she felt her heart sink. Oh, hell naw! Sterling Mann! She hissed the name as if it were an obscenity, then slammed the file shut. Why hadn’t Terraine warned her? But he wouldn’t have known that the two had a history. Although she had little reason back then, she still couldn’t stand his ass. She had thrown her weight around because she knew she could, and had behaved childishly. But she would never admit it—not to him, not to anyone.
“When it rains, it fucking pours!” she hissed under her breath as she reached in her drawer for a Tic-Tac.
Twirling in her chair, she decided to get the interviewover and done with, then send him back on a plane to wherever he came from.
Her stomach clenched despite her resolve to numb her emotions. Glancing quickly in the mirror, she raked her fingers through her hair. Then, after straightening the lapel on her salmon-colored suit, she buzzed for Tiffany to send him in.
Before she had a chance to relax in her seat, the door swung open and there he stood. Conscious of a sudden dryness of the mouth, she fixed her brown eyes on the tall, athletic physique she had hoped never to see again.
Natalia instantly noted that Sterling still prided himselfon his good looks. He was something no woman could ignore. Dressed in an expensive suit tailor-made to fit comfortably over his broad shoulders and massive legs, he glided through her office with an air of self-confidence.Once again, he commanded attention. A ray of sunlight from the window glimmered across his clean-shaven head and revealed the smooth-caramel face he held elevated with pride. He was still sexy as shit. How could she have forgotten the round face that was the home of a pair of compelling pecan-colored eyes and full, supple lips?
Sterling’s eyes traveled to several cover shots of Nataliataken while she was modeling that now adorned the walls in her office. “I see you’re still as vain as ever.” His deep voice sliced through the silence.
Realizing she’d been holding her breath, Natalia releasedit slowly, then rose from her chair. Arms folded in front of her, she strolled from behind her desk. “Sterling, what do you want?”
Tilting his head, he met the vixen’s ginger gaze head-on. He was tempted to tell her exactly what he wanted from her fine ass, but decided there was plenty of time for that later. Wearing an elegant suit that revealedthe contours of her voluptuous figure, Natalia still moved with arrogance and the seductive grace of a queen. Her auburn hair was shorter than he remembered;instead of reaching the center of her back, curls tumbled around her shoulders, framing a stunning mahoganyface.
“Didn’t your boss tell you?” he responded in a mockingtone. “I’m interviewing for the marketing position.”
At his taunting remark, she compressed her coral-paintedlips and tried to think of a snappy retort, but couldn’t find one. She couldn’t think clearly with her heart beating against her ribs. Sterling made her nervous.She had never before been nervous around a man.
She looked at him with narrowed eyes filled with dislike. “You’re gonna make this difficult, aren’t you?”
Her reaction to him was amusing to say the least. Moving closer, he smirked. “Of course.”
She laced her fingers together. “Then let’s get somethingstraight from the beginning. I don’t like you.”
“That’s good, ’cause I don’t like you either,” he countered. He moved closer, then paused long enough to give her a dark, dangerous look before the sliver of humor returned to his eyes. “See, the problem with you is that you’ve never taken the time to get to really know me. You’ve based your decision solely on my irresistiblecharm.”
She was appalled. “I think it has more to do with the fact that you fucked half of our models that summer.”
He gave her an incredulous look. “I was only eighteen!I was experimenting with my sexuality.” He shrugged. “I allowed my little head to think for the big head.”
Trying to ignore the strong bones of his chiseled face, Natalia snorted. “You haven’t changed a bit.”
“Neither have you.” He moved in closer. “Still the ice princess.” His hot, sweet breath fanned her nose. “I want this job, Natalia. My bags are packed and I’m ready to start on Monday.” He shot her a twisted smile before adding, “And I’ll do whatever it takes to get it. Even bring up the fact that I wasn’t the only one sneakingoff behind the stage that summer.”
Her eyes grew wide with alarm. Was he bluffing, or had he really seen her with their production assistant?
Leaning closer, he whispered near her ear, “I never knew they could put tattoos there.”
The fact that he’d seen the small red strawberry tattooon her inner thigh caused Ms. Kitty to gasp.
“Talk about the pot callin’ the kettle black!” He barked with laughter.
He had seen her. She was silent as humiliation flushed her face. That summer she had had a fling with a man ten years her senior. If her godfather had found out, he would have kicked her ass. “Shit, I was a kid then.”
“And so was I. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, are you gonna interview me or not?” Sterling stared down at her with laughter burning in his eyes as he waited.
Natalia clenched her teeth together in an ill attempt to stifle the rage that burned within her. She wanted to drop his ass out her window. She cleared her throat and said, “This won’t take long, so we might as well get it out of the way.” Rounding the conference table, she gestured for him to take the seat across from her.
“That’s more like it.” He strolled to the end of the table and extended his hand. “Sterling Mann, pleased to meet you, ma’am.”
With a flash of horror, she stared down at the hand as if there was a big juicy booger on his index finger.
“Are you gonna just leave a brotha hangin’?”
His e
yes gleamed with the love of combat, as if he was waiting to see how she would react to his peace offering.Shaking his hand would be like accepting defeat.Natalia stared at him, torn between rage and an inexplicable desire to touch his tantalizing mustache to see if it felt as soft as it looked. His supple lips were curled upward, causing dimples to appear in his cheeks. She swallowed. His aura of arrogance fascinated her. Heat stole into her face as she tried to put out the fire his presence caused to burn inside her. Ms. Kitty liked what she saw, which was rare because she was a tough bitch to please.
Natalia shook her head, trying to rid herself of the thoughts as well as Ms. Kitty’s pleas. Ignoring his hand, she lowered herself into her seat. “I have more important things to attend to. So let’s get this interview under way.” She dropped her eyes to the table and admittedit—seeing Sterling again left her panties wet and a sour taste in her mouth.
Somehow Honey had managed to stay calm while she spoke with Jay over the phone. After changing into sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt, she had just slipped on her house shoes when the doorbell chimed.
“Hey, boo,” Jay said.
Oh, he was gorgeous. He was standing outside the door wearing a brilliant smile and dressed in her favoritepair of jeans that molded his firm ass. Honey stepped aside and said, “Come on in.”
He moved forward, trying to kiss her, but she pulled away. Jay frowned. “Is somethin’ wrong?”
Honey walked to the kitchen and didn’t respond until she heard him follow. “How come you didn’t tell me about Kendra?”
His heart skipped a beat. Shit, he had fucked up big time. “I can explain.”
Clutching a dishrag, she turned to face him, her jaw tightening. “Don’t waste your breath. She already told me.”
“She told you?” He should have known that bitch was likely to do anything.
Honey nodded, eyes narrowed with irritation. “She waddled into my salon, accusing me of stealing her fiancé.”
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