The Savvy Sistahs

by Brenda Jackson

  Knowing his way around the apartment in the dark, Cord strolled down the hall and through the living room—his destination was the terrace. Opening the glass sliding door, he stepped out and inhaled the scent of orange blossoms and realized that it was Amber’s scent that filled his nostrils.

  He leaned against the wall and watched as a full moon lit the predawn sky. Satisfaction filled him that the woman he’d been thinking about for the past three weeks, literally nonstop, was sharing his home, asleep in his guest room. And she had agreed to get to know him.

  But for some reason he felt as if he had known her for years and the next two weeks of getting to know her were just a formality. There was something between them and whatever it was, it bound them together. If he had his way he would be in bed with her this very minute, between her legs, planted firmly inside of her, thrusting in and out until—

  “Cord, are you all right?”

  Her voice startled him. He hadn’t heard her approach. He half-turned to find her standing in the doorway wearing a full-length robe. The moonlight reflected the smooth curves of her voluptuous figure and his body hardened even more. “Yes, I’m fine. I couldn’t sleep.”

  She walked toward him and when she stopped in front of him, her incredible amber-colored eyes scanned him from head to toe while a concerned frown touched her brows. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Oh, yeah, I’m okay, but this hard-on is something of a nuisance, he thought, but instead he said, “Yes, I’m fine. Like I said, I couldn’t sleep.”

  She worried her lips nervously. “I shouldn’t have let you kiss me. You were already exhausted and needed your rest.”

  He reached out and took hold of her hand and a heated sensation tore through him, but he refused to let her hand go. “Hey, we said no regrets, remember?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “No buts, Amber. I wanted that kiss. Hell, I needed that kiss. If anything that kiss relaxed me in a way bed rest never could have.”

  She searched his face uncertainly. “You mean it?”

  He smiled. “Yes, I mean it. Come here.” Before she could stop him he pulled her into his arms, needing to hold her.

  She tipped her head back, her expression guarded. “I’m usually a very level-headed person.”

  Cord smiled. “And you think being here with me means that you’re not?”

  “I really don’t know you.”

  “And I don’t know you and that’s why we’ve agreed to get to know each other. But in a way I think that we do know each other, Amber. We know each other in a way that truly matters right now, and one thing I do know is that you cared enough for a virtual stranger to be here with him to make sure he got well, and to me that says a lot.”

  She frowned and stepped back from him, pulling herself from his embrace. She had to be completely honest with him. “I’m not here out of the goodness of my heart, Cord. I’m here because I want you. The woman in me is attracted to you. I haven’t been with a man for over two years. I guess you can say I’m about at the end of my rope.”

  Cord stiffened in surprise. He wasn’t shocked at the fact that she wanted him, he’d picked up on that, but he was surprised that she hadn’t been with a man in over two years. “Why?”

  She arched a brow. “Why what?”

  “Why haven’t you been with someone in over two years? Weren’t you lonely? Didn’t you date any after your divorce?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  Amber leaned back against the railing and rubbed her arms. “Mainly because I didn’t want to. I needed time to get my head on straight and once I moved here I got caught up in getting my business up and running.”

  He nodded, remembering the number of hours he had spent in those early days getting his business off the ground. But still he had dated. Spending time with the opposite sex was something a person made time to do. “Men asked you out?” He was pretty sure that they had. Men didn’t routinely ignore women who looked like Amber.

  “Yes, guys asked me out.”

  “And you turned them down?”

  “Yes. Like I said, I wasn’t ready to devote the time it took to build a relationship with a man.”

  His gaze narrowed on her face. “And do you have the time to build a relationship with a man now, Amber?”

  She met his gaze and again decided to be honest. “No.”

  Cord’s body tensed. “So being here is only about sex to you, is that it? You need someone to take off that two-year edge?”

  The tone of his voice had gone as cold as ice. Amber looked at him steadily. “I thought so in the beginning but now I don’t know. I’m confused. I guess you can tell that I’m not good at any type of a casual relationship.”

  Cord let out a silent sigh of relief. He was glad she wasn’t. It appeared she was just as confused about what was happening between them. Initially, the thought that she’d intended to use him just for sexual pleasure had made him angry, but now he saw hope.

  What he saw was a chance to show her that there was more between them than sex, although as fiercely drawn as he was to her, he’d do just about anything to get her into his bed now. But he was willing to wait it out and let that part come later. He wanted to get to know her in all the ways a man got to know a woman. He would take things slow with her, build her trust then capture her heart, the way he could now admit she was beginning to capture his.

  “So you agree that getting to know each other is the best approach, no matter what our hormones are saying?” he asked hoarsely, reaching out and covering her hands with his. He waited for her response. Every muscle in his body tensed.

  Amber pulled in a deep breath. Should she even think about pursuing a serious relationship with Cord like he wanted, instead of something more casual? She had been so wrong about Gary and had put her heart and pride on the line. Could she do so again? For the past year she had been living under the concept of “conditional growth.” One of the principles for that growth was to grow and work on yourself as long as you remained in your comfort zone. Getting seriously involved with Cord would take her out of the comfort zone she’d been in for over two years. Maybe it was time for her to realize that when you grow conditionally, you run the risk of robbing yourself of many opportunities and blessings.

  She didn’t want that. She had to believe that all growth and accomplishments involved taking risks. Sometimes it meant finding the courage to leap into the unknown. Hadn’t she done that when she’d left Nashville and moved to Orlando, and again when she’d taken out a small business loan to open her bookstore?

  She met Cord’s gaze and finally gave him her response. “Yes, Cord. I agree.”

  Book Four

  Let us not love merely in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth—in practice and in sincerity.

  I John 3:1

  Chapter 25

  Carla entered the crowded board room and inhaled deeply when she saw the look of anxiety on a number of her employees’ faces. Today would be the day that Jesse played his winning hand if he had succeeded in obtaining all the outstanding stock he needed.

  “You’re all right, Carla?”

  She smiled when Stanley Jerrott approached. Even now, he was more concerned with her well-being than his own. No matter what, she would land on her feet even if she had to relocate elsewhere to find a job. But at sixty-two it would be almost next to impossible for Stanley to start over someplace else unless he went into private practice.

  The lump in her throat thickened at the thought that she had let her employees down. They had given her their confidence and loyalty by making her their chief executive officer. But now most of them would probably be losing their jobs. She had phoned Jesse’s attorney that morning asking that Jesse meet with her before today’s board meeting. She had wanted his assurance that her employees would be dealt with fairly when the merger went into effect. The attorney, surprisingly, had been rather pleasant and had stated that Jesse would get back in touch with her. She wa
s disappointed but not really surprised that Jesse had not.

  Speak of the devil, she thought, when she turned the moment Jesse and his attorney walked in. She didn’t see the slightest flicker of emotion in his features and thought how much different he appeared today than last night. Emotions of joy and love had shone in his face each and every time he had looked at Craig. They had been so openly displayed it had taken her breath away.

  And they had been genuine.

  She had seen it and felt it. In a way her heart went out to Jesse. With all his wealth, he was still a man with no one, but last night he had been a man with a son and she couldn’t help but marvel at the difference. Craig had brought laughter and warmth to Jesse’s hard, cold eyes. And at that moment she was hit with something very elemental, an eye-opener.

  Jesse needed his son in his life.

  No sooner than that thought came to her mind, Jesse’s eyes met hers and held, and something she saw reflected in their dark hazel depth made her breath catch. She wasn’t certain but she could swear she saw pain and regret. She shook her head and almost chuckled to herself. Jesse Devereau had no reason to be in pain or regret anything. He was getting his wish. He had wanted to teach her a lesson and he was about to do just that.

  “I think we should go ahead and get started now that everyone’s here,” Stanley said, recapturing her attention.

  “Yes, of course.” Carla took her place at the head of the long oak table. Smiling sadly, Michelle sat next to her with her steno pad ready.

  The first thirty minutes or so passed in a nervous haze for Carla as she went through the routine of calling the meeting to order and asking for the reading of the last minutes. She then gave her report that showed the increase in profits for Osborne Computer Network and how their recent expense management campaign had already saved the company well over a half a million dollars that year. She tried not to notice that every time she looked around the table, Jesse’s gaze was glued to her, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he was deliberately trying to make her nervous.

  With all other business matters aside, the next item on the agenda was a list of nominations for officers for the coming year and of course the first office was that of president. Stanley immediately stood and cast out Carla’s name and some other person in the room, someone that Carla figured was from Jesse’s group nominated Jesse. She was about to request that someone offer a motion to close the nominations on those two names when Jesse’s attorney raised his hand asking to be recognized.

  “Yes, Mr. Kline?”

  “Ms. Osborne, I know this is breaking procedure, but my client, Jesse Devereau, wishes that his name be removed from the list of nominees.”

  A murmur of voices swelled around the room and Carla had to regain order. She restated Mr. Kline’s request to make sure she had heard the man correctly.

  “Yes, and I have a statement that Mr. Devereau would like me to read which I believe will speed things up a bit.”

  Trying not to show her startled expression, she nodded, giving her consent.

  Mr. Kline opened an envelope and took out a legal document. “What I have is a stock transfer. My client is transferring ownership of all the stock he has obtained by legal acquisition to his son, Craig Osborne, upon the changing of his son’s name to Craig Osborne Devereau. Carla Osborne, mother and legal guardian of said child, is to have total control of these transfers to handle as she sees fit in the best interest of Craig Osborne Devereau until his twenty-first birthday.”

  Murmured voices, louder than before swept around the room. Mr. Kline had just announced to everyone present that Jesse was the father of her son and a quick glance indicated their shock. None of them had been aware of her past relationship with Jesse. But at the moment, she was too overwhelmed to care about any of that. She was in a daze over the fact that Jesse had transferred all of his stock over to her to control until Craig turned twenty-one. That meant the company remained hers. In fact, things were better than before since she now had in her control all outstanding stock including that which her mother had owned. Why had Jesse done such a thing?

  The rest of the meeting moved rather quickly after that. With no one opposing she was again named as president of the company. Once she had adjourned the meeting, Jesse and his attorney walked out with the same air of calmness they’d had when they’d walked in.

  Later that night Carla was strolling around her home, still overwhelmed with what had transpired in the stockholders meeting earlier that day. She’d been more ecstatic for her employees than for herself, and the moment the meeting was over she’d had Stanley look over the stock transfer papers to make sure everything was legitimate.

  “Yes, everything seems to be as it should be,” Stanley had said, smiling from ear to ear, clearly astonished and just as elated as her other employees. “The only glitch is that everything hinges on you agreeing to give your son Devereau’s last name.” Stanley raised a dark, bushy brow and asked, “Do you have a problem doing that?”

  She had let out an unconscious sigh and replied that she didn’t have a problem with it. She had denied Jesse his right to be Craig’s father long enough.

  The ringing of the doorbell caught her attention and she quickly moved toward the door thinking it was Sonya, Brandy, or Amber. She had called all three earlier to share her good news and plans were made for them to get together later that week to celebrate.

  She looked through the peephole and was surprised to find Jesse standing on her doorstep. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. “Jesse, what are you doing here?”

  He was leaning against the doorjamb with his suit jacket thrown over his shoulder and his free hand stuck into the pocket of his slacks.

  The first two buttons of his shirt were undone and his tie was hanging loosely around his neck. Carla quickly concluded that of all the times she’d seen him, this was the only time he’d looked so unkempt.

  “Carla, may I please come in?”

  Something inside of her made her hesitate.“If you want to see Craig, I’ve put him to bed for the night.”

  Jesse shook his head. “No, I’m here to see you.”

  Carla met his gaze. The look she’d gotten a glimpse of earlier was again there in his eyes and even though she didn’t want to feel anything for him, not anything at all, she did. Standing before her was the one and only man she had ever shared her body with, and the man who had given her the most precious gift she possessed, her son.

  “All right,” she said as she stepped back. The scent of his aftershave, a very manly, seductive scent, lingered in the air when he walked past her. She closed the door behind him.

  “We can sit in my living room or you can join me in the kitchen for a cup of coffee.” Initially, a part of her wanted him to say whatever it was he had on his mind and leave, but then she decided she had a few questions she wanted to ask him. If they were going to have to deal with each other on a pretty regular basis because of Craig, then they needed to get a few matters straight.

  “Although the offer of coffee sounds good, I think it would be best if I said what I have to say then leave.”

  She nodded then walked over to the sofa and sat down. For some reason it seemed that he preferred standing. She watched as he removed his jacket from across his shoulder and the tie from around his neck and placed them both on a chair. He then surprised her by crossing the room and coming to sit next to her on the sofa. He leaned back, tilted his head to one side, and met her gaze.

  “I wanted to hate you when I found out there was a possibility that I had a son. Mainly because family means a lot to me, which is one of the reasons I’ve made sure I never engage in unprotected sex. Because I was given up for adoption and went from foster home to foster home, it had always been my intent to be married to the mother of my child. I never wanted my child not to know me as their father. I wanted to always share with my child all the things that I never had: male guidance, love, protection, support, and a number of other things. It’s always been
my belief that any man could be a daddy. But being a father took work— work that I’d always looked forward to doing.”

  He sighed deeply before he continued. “And when you refused to be cooperative and tell me what I wanted to know, what I needed to know, I wanted to lash out and hurt you, the same way you had hurt me, and was still hurting me by not telling me the truth. But then I discovered you thought you had a good reason. Thanks to your friend Sonya who came to the hotel to see me, I know you thought I’d lied that night about not being involved with anyone. But I had told you the truth, Carla.”

  Carla frowned as she recalled reading the newspaper article Sonya had brought back from Los Angeles. It had detailed Jesse’s trip abroad to Paris with a much older woman. Carla stood and silently crossed the room and opened the drawer to her curio and pulled out a section of a newspaper she hadn’t been able to throw away.

  She returned to the sofa and sat down. “Then how do you explain the article about you and this woman, Jesse?” As much as she had tried to keep the anger out of her voice, Carla knew she had failed to do so when she saw Jesse lift his dark brow and look at the paper she held in her hand. Moments later he eased back so he could look at her at an angle that had direct eye contact.

  “And just what did you read, Carla?”

  Carla broke eye contact with him and looked down at the paper in her hand, seeing a photo of the beautiful blond-haired older woman over whose shoulders Jessie had draped his arms. “It doesn’t matter,” she said quietly.

  “Yes, perhaps it does,” he said softly. “Especially since you think I did lie to you.”

  Carla swung her gaze back to his. “According to this article you were involved with her for about six months, which meant you were also involved with her when we slept together.”

  A short, potent silence hung between them for a moment as they looked at each other. Carla was about to break eye contact with him again when he suddenly reached up, caught her chin, and forced her to look at him.