The Savvy Sistahs

by Brenda Jackson

  “Something’s wrong, Brandy?”

  She glanced up and met Grey’s gaze again. “I’m not sure but for some reason I’m getting a funny feeling about this one letter here. I’ve noted all the things you told me to watch out for. There’s no postage, no postmark and no return address.”

  Grey stood. “Let me see it.”

  She didn’t waste any time handing it over to him, and he quickly ripped it opened and scanned the contents. “Damn.”

  “What is it, Grey? Let me see it.”

  He hesitated a moment before passing it on to her. Brandy was visibly shaken while reading the letter.

  I don’t like that another man is getting what is mine. For that you will pay.

  The Man

  As Carla swung her car into Osborne Computer Network’s parking lot, the conversation she’d had earlier with Brandy was still on her mind. She hoped what she assumed was right and Jesse was in town on business and nothing more.

  Juggling her keys and briefcase in one hand she closed the door to her car, turned around, and froze in place. There standing a few feet away next to a Mercedes sports car was the one man she had hoped not to see…ever again.

  Jesse Devereau.

  And he was waiting for her.

  Seeing him again made her realize that he was the one and only man who had ever touched her body. And even now she could admit he was the one and only man who had once gone so far as to touch her soul as well as her heart within forty-eight hours of meeting him. But that had been before she’d found out just what type of man he was.

  Seconds ticked by and Carla was unable to move. She was surprised that she was capable of breathing. After the initial shock at seeing him she quickly surmised that he was still the most gorgeous man she had ever laid eyes on. But she didn’t want to think about that. What she wanted and needed to know was why he was here waiting for her.

  Taking a deep breath, she walked toward him, his eyes holding hers.

  He looked taller and darker, and his hair was longer and caught in ponytail at the back of his neck, Steven Seagal–style.

  As she got closer she tried not to look at his mouth. She remembered that mouth well and how he had put it to use on her. All over. She moved her gaze from his mouth and met his eyes. Like his son’s they were hazel, darkly intense and contrasted starkly with his dark almond complexion. But then so did the straight hair. She again wondered what he was mixed with? White? Hispanic? Some other nationality?

  Her attention slid past him to the entrance of the building. She saw Sam Barnes, Osborne Network’s security guard standing in front of the revolving doors, watching, looking, and making sure all was well and that the man waiting for her posed no threat and was safe.

  For some reason she felt Jesse wasn’t safe, especially to her peace of mind. She suddenly felt angry, annoyed that he was there. If he didn’t know about Craig that meant he’d sought her out for another reason. Did he think she was willing to give him a repeat performance of what happened over two years ago? If he did then he had another thought coming.

  Jesse’s gaze remained fixed on Carla’s face as she came closer. She was even more beautiful than he had remembered. He had thought about her often, sometimes thinking that the night they’d shared had not been real but a figment of his imagination.

  He inhaled as a deep, primitive ache spread throughout every part of his body. What had it been about her that had drawn him to her like a bee to honey? They had only spent two days together, less than that if you were only counting hours; yet from the first there had been something about her that had touched him, entranced him. In his heart he had believed there wasn’t a pretentious bone in her body and everything he’d seen about her that night was real and genuine. She had made an impact on him like no other woman and he’d let his guard down, which was why finding out about her betrayal had hurt tremendously, tarnishing the special memory he’d retained of her. Receiving that anonymous letter had been like a knife twisting in his heart. He didn’t want to believe that she hadn’t tried contacting him to let him know she’d gotten pregnant—even if their encounter had been for one night.

  He distinctly remembered how she had talked at dinner about her deceased father and how close they’d been and the special bond and relationship they’d shared. If her child was his then didn’t she think he deserved a chance to have that same bond and relationship with his child as well? What she didn’t know but would soon find out was that family meant a lot to him since he’d never had one, other than Mike, and he needed to know if he had fathered her child; if he actually did have a son as the birth certificate claimed.

  As she got closer still, he could see she looked annoyed, angry, put out, and the moment she came to a stop in front of him he could tell she was on the defensive already. The dark eyes holding his blazed and she lifted her chin. “Jesse.”

  He leaned back against his rental car. At least she hadn’t pretended not to know him. And for a moment he still wanted to believe there wasn’t a pretentious bone in her body, a body he had gotten to know quite well that night.

  “Carla,” he said returning a greeting just as somber as the one she’d given. He felt her discomfort, her nervousness. He also felt his blood stir and felt the blatant chemistry that flowed between them although he tried not to. Hell, he almost wanted to laugh out loud in startled disbelief. If what she’d done was true, he had every right to be angry, furious, but all he could think about was taking her into her arms and kissing her, tasting her.

  “Why are you here, Jesse?”

  Her question recaptured his attention. Since she’d asked he might as well get on with it. “I received a letter a couple of days ago.”

  She lifted a brow. “A letter?”

  “Yes. It was short and to the point. In fact, I think I’ll let you see it.” He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled it out. Without wasting any time he handed it to her.

  He watched as she opened the folded piece of paper and read it. She then read it again as a dark frown touched her face and her forehead bunched. She shook her head as if to clear it of the staggering effect it had on her. He watched as she finally took a deep breath before folding it back up, met his gaze, then handed it back to him. Then there was sudden stillness. Total silence.

  “Well?” he asked when she stood there and didn’t say anything.

  “Well, what?” she all but snapped.

  He reached out and lifted her defiant chin so their gazes could lock. “Did you have my child, Carla?” he asked softly.

  Carla swallowed deeply. Should she tell him the truth? What right did he have to know, considering everything? But the question that burned foremost in her mind was, who had sent that letter? She breathed deeply, unsure how to deal with this. She wasn’t even sure what rights he had where Craig was concerned, since she had listed him as her son’s father on the birth certificate. The reason she had done so was because she’d felt she had owed that much to her son when he got older and wanted to know the identity of his father. The complete truth.

  Truth.

  That was the one word she had thought she and Jesse had shared that night. They had been two individuals alone on a holiday set aside to give thanks. She couldn’t stop the pain she always felt when she remembered how he had lied to her, how he had looked her in the eye and told her he wasn’t involved with anyone and she had believed him. So as far as she was concerned she didn’t owe him anything. Not even the courtesy of answering his question.

  Clearing her throat, she removed his hand from her chin and took a step back. “I won’t answer that,” she said bitterly, stiffly.

  Jesse’s eyes darkened, narrowed. “I have ways of finding out,” he said curtly. He did and had thought of using those ways but had decided to meet with her first, hoping that she would admit or deny the letter’s allegations. And if it was true, explain why she hadn’t tried contacting him to let him know he had a son.

  “Then find out, because I’m not telling
you anything,” she said with a stiffened spine.

  “Don’t you think I have a right to know?” he asked, scowling darkly.

  In her mind’s eyes she saw the picture that had made front page of a Los Angeles newspaper. A photograph of him and a beautiful and elegant older woman—a white woman at that—as the two of them danced together at some social function. Sonya, who’d been on a business trip to L.A., had brought the article back to show her. Even now the headlines still glared out in her mind: heiress susan brady takes a lover.

  “No,” she said bitterly. “You have no rights and I don’t ever want to see you again.”

  Not waiting for him to respond, she rushed off and quickly went into the building.

  Amber was not having a good day. She hadn’t slept well last night but had come into the shop anyway only to find that a huge shipment of books that had been delivered were not the books she had ordered. That meant that the Reading for Fun readers group would not have their books by Saturday unless the distributor sent another order overnight.

  Then there was the fact that Cord Jeffries had unexpectedly shown up that morning. Unlike the other times, he didn’t have a whole lot to say. In fact, he barely said anything other than a quick hello. He had plopped down a copy of Black Enterprise on the counter with the correct change and before she could get the words “thank you” out, he had walked out of the shop. Well, that was just fine and dandy with her. After all, she barely knew the man…even if she did have a bad case of the hots for him.

  She glanced down at her watch. Carla had called a half hour ago sounding rather strange and saying she needed to talk with her right away. “Eileen,” Amber called out to the other woman who was putting up books. “I’ll be in my office for a while. If Carla shows up she can find me there.”

  Once inside her office Amber decided to make a fresh pot of coffee. Even if Carla didn’t want any, she sure did. She sat down, waiting for it to start brewing, and couldn’t help but think of her dreams last night. Boy had they been wild! In them she and Cord Jeffries had made love in every way known to man. Even a few ways man didn’t know about yet.

  She couldn’t help the wistful smile that touched her lips. In her dream the two of them had been so naughty, so downright sex-crazy. And then seeing him this morning, although he hadn’t been talkative, had done something to her. Just the mental image of him touching and kissing her all over, taking leisurely yet greedy licks of her feminine flesh almost sent her up in smoke.

  It was getting harder and harder to control her urges.

  “Amber?”

  Amber glanced up as Carla stuck her head in the door. “Carla, come on in. I made us a pot of coffee.”

  Carla came in and took the nearest chair. Amber sat up straight when she saw her friend’s distraught expression. “Carla, what is it?”

  Carla tried to smile. “I’m going to need something a lot stronger than coffee.”

  Amber raised a brow. “Why? What’s wrong?”

  “You know last night when I mentioned Brandy’s phone call telling me that a man by the name of Jesse Devereau had checked into her hotel?”

  Amber nodded. “Yes, I remember.”

  Carla leaned back in her chair. “Well, this morning I found out it’s him. He was waiting for me in the parking lot when I got to work.”

  Amber’s eyes widened. “He was?”

  “Yes, and he had a letter someone sent to him, telling him about Craig.”

  Amber looked at Carla. “A letter? Who sent it?”

  Carla sighed deeply. “I don’t know and neither does he, but there is a letter because he showed it to me.”

  “Did you recognize the handwriting?”

  “It was typed.” Carla’s throat tightened, wondering who could have sent it; the first person that came to mind was her mother, since she’d always been obsessed with having Craig’s father know the truth. But her mother never knew the identity of her baby’s father and the birth certificate was supposed to have been concealed.

  “What did he say?” Amber asked, reclaiming Carla’s attention.

  “He asked me if it was true.”

  “And what did you say?”

  Carla stood and began pacing Amber’s office. Moments later she came to a stop. “I refused to answer him. He hasn’t been a part of Craig’s life so why should he care?”

  Amber met her gaze. “But you know the reason he hasn’t been a part of Craig’s life, Carla. You never told him you were pregnant.”

  “Because he didn’t deserve to know. He lied to me.”

  “Yes, but he’s still Craig’s father and with that come certain rights.” Amber knew she wasn’t telling Carla what she wanted to hear but she, Carla, and Brandy had agreed to always be completely honest with each other.

  Carla grabbed her purse from off Amber’s desk. “Look, I need to go see my attorney and get legal advice. If Brandy calls looking for me, let her know that’s where I’ll be.” She then quickly left.

  Cord Jeffries felt ill. He had awakened that morning with barely enough energy to lift his head and somehow he’d made it to the bathroom to take a shower. Even now he felt weak as water and didn’t want to think about the phone call he’d received from Dev last night. Cord’s test results indicated his blood pressure was high and he needed to slow down and start eating properly. Or else…

  Cord didn’t want to think of the ‘or else’ that he’d been presented with. He wasn’t sure if Dev was kidding or just trying to scare him, but the thought of being confined in a hospital was not something he wanted. So he had promised Dev, who’d called from the airport on his way to a medical convention in Dallas, that he would take a couple of days off to relax and would start eating properly.

  And he had intended to keep his promise, but when one of his biggest clients, Fred Powell, had called and said he’d received a letter from the IRS, he’d had no other choice but to get dressed and go into the office.

  He had made a stop by Amber’s shop on his way in, needing to see her again, if only for a brief moment. But he hadn’t hung around for long, fearful that she would take one look at him and see he wasn’t feeling well. He’d heard women could easily detect that sort of thing.

  He looked up when a knock sounded at his door. “Come in.”

  His secretary stuck her head in. “I’m about to leave for today. Is there anything I can get for you before I go?”

  “No, Janelle, I’m fine.”

  “Well, you don’t look fine.”

  He glared at her. “Thanks for the compliment, now go and drive carefully.”

  “Thanks, and take my advice and stay home tomorrow.”

  “I’ll think about it.” He then thought of something. “There’s something you can do, but tomorrow will be soon enough. That bookstore that I’ve been frequenting will be celebrating their second anniversary next week. I want an arrangement of flowers sent to the owner. Her first name is Amber but I don’t know her last name.”

  Janelle nodded. “That won’t be hard to find out. Is there any specific type of flowers you want sent?”

  “No, just something nice that will last awhile.”

  “All right. Anything special you want on the card?”

  Cord leaned back in his chair. “No, just congratulations and my name will do.”

  “Okay, I’ll make sure it’s taken care of. Now, boss, I suggest you close up shop and head on out, too. Whatever you’re working on will be here when you return.”

  Cord forehead bunched into a frown. “Yes, but I don’t particularly want to see it. Good night, Janelle.”

  “Good night, Mr. Jeffries.”

  The minute Grey heard Brandy’s shower going he picked up his mobile phone and began dialing. The phone was picked up on the second ring.

  “Masters here, and I hope you got something for me. Another note was left today with her secretary,” he said, his tone curt and to the point. In the last week one of his investigators had been hired by the hotel as a bellman and another
, a female investigator, was hired to work in housekeeping. No one knew they’d been planted there to keep their eyes and ears open. He hadn’t even mentioned it to Brandy.

  He’d also solicited the aid of a couple of men that he knew who were special agents working in DC to run background checks on a couple of Brandy’s employees. The reports he’d gotten back earlier that day on her friends Carla Osborne and Amber Stuart were clean, and he expected to receive the report on Thomas Reynolds at any time.

  He listened attentively to what the man on the other end was saying. “Umm, I find that rather interesting as well. I appreciate you uncovering that information and it may possibly be the break I need. I’ll check back in with you on tomorrow.”

  After disconnecting the line he rubbed his chin at the information his friend, Ernie Baker, had uncovered. He found it rather interesting. It was definitely something that he doubted Brandy was aware of.

  He was just about to go into the room where his laptop was set up to check to see if there were any messages for him on his computer when Brandy’s phone rang. He could still hear the shower going and decided to go ahead and answer it.

  “Yes?”

  “Grey, this is Alexia. It’s been over two weeks and I thought you were going to check in and let me know how things were going.”

  Grey shook his head. His brother had definitely married an impatient woman. Beautiful, but still impatient. “There’s nothing to report yet.”

  “Oh. Well, how is she? Rae’jean and Taye will want to know when I talk to them later tonight.”

  “Brandy is fine but I haven’t figured out who’s sending her those messages, although I’ve been able to piece together a few things.”

  “Like what?”

  “That’s for me to know. Right now I need to keep a lid on everything.”

  “And you think I’ll talk?”

  Grey couldn’t help but laugh outright at that question. “Hell, yeah, I think you’ll talk. And anything that’s leaked could jeopardize this case.”