Sophia’s brown eyes flared with anger and her face turned red as she said, “Well, Miss Dawson doesn’t know who you are related too, and I doubt Ric would like the fact that you were left alone unsupervised in his office.”
Outside at her desk, Mariah glanced at Edric’s office door hearing Sophia going off out Calida and the elevator doors opened letting Edric off just as Sophia started saying, “Do you really think that Ric trusts you enough to let you in his office when he isn’t here? You bake him a few things and you think that it will seduce him to let you in on his secrets.”
Edric frowned as he and Tomas walked over to Mariah who smiled at Tomas sweetly before she turned to Edric. “Calida arrived about twenty minutes ago with her daily sweets and I told her she could wait in your office. I didn’t know that she shouldn’t be in there, sir.”
Edric shook his head and waved for her to continue.
“Miss Jenkins arrived a few minutes ago and headed straight for the office before I could stop her,” she explained as Sophia started shouting now. “She started in on Calida the minute she saw her in your office.”
“Thank you, Mariah,” he stated starting for his office door. “Tomas, take your girl out for lunch.”
“My pleasure,” Tomas said giving her a roguish smile and Mariah blushed at the look as she gathered her things together shutting down her computer. Since the first time she met Mr. Walwyn’s right hand man, she had felt an attraction to him but she also knew that he was involved with a woman. Even though she knew she shouldn’t get involved, she couldn’t help the feelings he generated in her so she would take what he offered at the moment.
Tomas and Mariah said a quiet ‘goodbye’ before they headed out sensing that trouble was about to occur as Edric stood in his doorway watching Sophia lay into Calida who stood there watching her with shielded eyes.
After Sophia finished shouting and was breathing heavy, Calida said quietly, “Are you done shouting?”
Sophia’s mouth opened to start again when Calida held up her hand and said, “I didn’t come here to argue with you, or contrary to your belief, seduce Edric. I merely came to deliver these pastries from Mrs. Treston’s shop that he ordered and as I had an errand, I told her I would drop them off.”
Sophia’s face paled as she muttered, “Mrs. Treston’s bakery?”
“Yes,” Calida fibbed slightly although her eyes never wavered. Technically, she wasn’t lying because this batch she made at the bakery this morning after working overnight to help get ready for an inspection this morning. She had asked Mrs. Treston if she could bake a few things and who they were for, and Mrs. Treston had no problem as long as she made some for the others too. Calida had laughed and done just that telling Mrs. Treston to deduct the store ingredients from her next paycheck.
“So all this time he was getting deliveries from her bakery,” Sophia stated and Calida didn’t contradict her although she didn’t say that it was right either as Edric noticed.
“I will leave this here for Edric. Please let him know that Mrs. Treston says thank you,” she remarked nodding her head to the box sitting on the desk before she headed for the door only to stop her eyes widening as she met Edric’s green ones.
“Thank you for dropping them off,” he told her not moving from his position in front of the door.
“You’re welcome, sir,” Calida nodded her head but she didn’t move forward seeing the look in Edric’s eyes giving her the impression that he wasn’t going to move.
“Ric, honey, she needs to go back to work,” Sophia said striding over to him with a smile.
“I’m sure she does,” Edric replied as Sophia reached him and put her hands on his chest.
Calida turned her head away as Edric smiled down at Sophia while she bit the inside of her lips wondering why she felt so uncomfortable although she had been in situations more intimate than this in the last ten years between her friends and their boyfriends.
“Excuse me,” she said glancing back at them and startled to see Edric’s eyes resting on her. Confusion flickered in her eyes before she shielded them and said, “Mrs. Treston is probably wondering where I am at the moment so if you don’t mind, sir…”
“To be honest, I do,” Edric told her as he put a hand under Sophia’s elbow and glanced around spotting her purse on the chair in front of his desk. He turned to Calida and shifted his eyes to the chair, and she frowned but walked over and picked up the purse bringing it over to him.
“Ric,” Sophia began only to stop stunned when Edric took her purse from Calida and he nodded his head before walking her out of the office to the elevator.
“I will talk to you later, Sophia,” Edric told her as he made sure she got on the elevator and he noted the startled look on her face when the doors closed on her.
He turned around just as Calida walked out of his office telling him, “I really must get going…”
Edric grabbed her arm and pulled her back in the office where he pushed her into the chair in front of his desk. “Sit right there until I’m done,” he told her as he sat down and started working on some work that he needed to finish before he left.
“Edric,” Calida started, and Edric put up a hand to stop her.
“No talking. I will be done in twenty minutes,” he told her unconsciously listening out for the elevator. He heard it ding about fifteen minutes later and he immediately stood up gathering the work on his desk into a nice neat pile before he placed it inside of his briefcase.
Calida looked at him in bewilderment and if she asked him what he was doing, Edric knew he wouldn’t have an answer for her because he didn’t know himself. At that moment, he only knew that he wanted to be alone with her without any interruptions especially from Sophia.
“Ric,” Sophia’s voice rung out as she walked closer and Calida shook her head getting to her feet.
“She brought you lunch,” she told him softly, and he frowned at her wondering what she was talking about until he smelled the food. His jaw clenched in anger as Calida tilted her head and suggested, “I guess she knows what you like.”
“No,” he growled lightly. “She knows what she likes.”
He grabbed his briefcase and walked around the desk snagging Calida’s hand pulling her from the chair. “Let’s go,” he told her giving her a look before he walked out of the office holding tightly to Calida’s hand.
Calida looked at him in confusion as they came face to face with Sophia whose eyes widened and then narrowed at them.
“Ric,” she said in a soft voice holding up the bag in her hand. “I bought you lunch and thought we could share it together.”
The elevator dinged just then letting off Tomas and Mariah who were talking as they stepped off.
“I forgot…” Mariah began her eyes darting between the three people standing in the middle of her office.
“Mariah forgot her car keys,” Tomas finished for her looking at Edric.
Sophia smiled before suggesting, “I bought lunch for Ric and myself so maybe you can take the Calida with you.”
She nodded her head at Calida whose eyes flared with anger before she yanked her hand free of Edric’s saying in a controlled voice, “Unlike what you think, ma’am, I can buy my own food.” She shifted her angry eyes to Edric who had turned when she pulled away, “And I think I have overstayed my welcome so excuse me.”
She walked around Sophia and nodded her head to Tomas and Mariah before getting on the elevator just as the doors opened where she hit the button for the bottom floor.
“Have a good day,” she told them meeting Edric’s eyes with her own before she nodded her head once as the doors were closing.
Edric’s eyes hardened slightly before he remarked, “Mariah, I will be working from home for the rest of the day so if you would like you can call it an early day unless we have appointments that we can’t put off today.”
Mariah walked quickly to her desk sensing that her boss was in a hurry to catch up to a certain young woman as
she looked through the appointment book.
She scanned today’s schedule and looked up with a smile. “The only thing you have scheduled is the charity event this evening,” she told him, and Edric nodded his head.
“You two have a nice lunch,” he told them walking past Sophia who frowned and turned following him as he stepped on the elevator.
“Ric,” they heard her say as the doors closed, and Tomas shook his head with a slight smile.
“I guess the plan has changed again,” he muttered getting a questioningly look from Mariah.
“Tomas, what do you mean?” Mariah asked grabbing her car keys from her desk drawer looking over her desk before turning and taking a few steps to Edric’s office making sure that everything was in order before she left.
She nodded her head and turned back to Tomas as she repeated, “What did you mean by that statement, Tomas?”
“Nothing, Mariah, I was merely thinking aloud,” he told her as he put an arm around her waist walking her to the elevator. They locked the elevator as it reached the bottom floor so no one could stop at Edric’s office floor unless they had a key for the floor to open the elevator doors.
“I’m hungry. Let’s get something to eat,” Tomas hinted at her smiling as they walked out of the building and she nodded her head but in the back of her mind his words kept repeating.
Edric hurried out of the building in time to see Calida waving down a taxi and he hurried over to her catching her arm as the taxi pulled over.
“Sorry, she has a ride,” Edric told the driver when the driver rolled down the window.
The driver nodded his head before he pulled away from the curve and Calida said, “Hey, wait!”
Edric tightened his hold on her arm as Sophia called out in a breathless laugh as she approached them, “I guess there still more that you need to tell her.”
Edric watched as Calida turned narrowed eyes to her but before she could say anything he said, “Actually, she offered to be my personal baker and I’m going to take her up on that offer.”
Calida swung startled eyes to him as Sophia said sharply, “Why would you want her at your house? You know who are brother is.”
Edric smiled at Calida as he said, “Because I like her baking.”
“Ric,” Sophia said stomping her foot as he pulled Calida along with him heading for his car. He pushed her in the passenger seat closing the door before he walked around to the driver’s side.
“Did you need a ride, Sophia?” He asked opening the door and waiting for her response.
She nodded her head and said, “I can go with you to your house and have someone pick me up there.”
Edric didn’t respond as he opened the backdoor for her and she stared at him in shock as he said, “As you can see, Calida is already seating up front.”
Sophia gritted her teeth as she walked over their lunch still clutched in her hand as she slid in the backseat glaring at Calida while Edric closed the door before climbing in himself.
He glanced over at Calida who stared out the passenger window her hands clasped tightly in her lap and he reached over placing his large hand over hers giving them a light squeeze before he started the car and headed out.
“I will drop you off at home, Sophia,” he said looking in the rearview mirror.
Sophia shook her head before saying softly, “I can go with you it’s no trouble, Ric.”
Edric merely grunted as he continued on pulling up in front of his house fifteen minutes later with Sophia smiling in the backseat as he and Calida climbed out. He opened the door for Sophia glancing over at Calida who stared at him angrily.
After Sophia stepped out and he shut the door, he grabbed his briefcase and headed inside with Calida following as Sophia latched onto his arm.
As they walked in, Ms. Welsh who been with him before he even made a name for himself in the business world came out hearing the car and said in surprise, “You are home early today, Edric.”
He started to speak when Calida spoke first although she sounded like a child asking for permission as Edric glanced at her. “Hello, I’m Calida and I told Edric that I would bake something for him. Can you point the way to the kitchen?”
Edric went to say something but Sophia intervened and before he knew it, Ms. Welsh was leading Calida away to the kitchen.
“Ric,” Sophia said with a hint of a smug smile around her mouth that Edric caught as he turned to go to his office.
“I have some work to do so go ahead and make that call to have someone come pick you up,” Edric said in a hard voice heading straight for his office.
“Ric, the food…” Sophia called after him only to have the door shut on her words and she smiled with satisfaction as she turned and headed for the kitchen.
“Ms. Welsh,” she said walking in the kitchen and Calida glanced up from where she was setting up her ingredients before she started baking. “Please heat this up for Ric and me.”
Ms. Welsh nodded her head as she took the bag from her but Calida noticed the slight frown that crossed the older woman’s face. She shook her head as she mentally berated herself that it wasn’t any of her business what happened in Edric’s home being she was only here as his personal baker for the evening.
Sophia watched her a few minutes before she said, “I guess Ric found uses for you after all, but don’t get too comfortable. As I told you before, he likes to play around but he always comes back to me.”
With her repeat of those words to Calida, she turned and walked out of the kitchen, and Ms. Welsh glanced up from the food she was reheating to say, “That woman needs a reality check.”
Calida glanced over at her in surprise before she started laughing and Ms. Welsh started to chuckle liking the laughter of the hazel woman in her kitchen.
“Do you have a radio by any chance, Ms. Welsh?” Calida asked as she started adding the ingredients together for Edric’s sweets.
Ms. Welsh nodded her head as she pulled one down from the cabinet above her head and she said with a touch of humor, “I like to listen to it when I’m cooking and no one is in the house.”
“Well, we can keep it low so as not to disturb anyone else,” Calida suggested giving her a look, and Ms. Welsh laughed as she plugged it in turning it on.
When the music came on, she watched as Calida relaxed and started to hum along with the song playing while she continued doing what she was brought here to do.
The pastries were in the oven and Calida was starting on the third batch when Sophia stormed in the kitchen with the reheated food that Ms. Welsh had taken in some time ago.
Sophia threw the plate on the counter scattering food all over the counter and floor as she shouted, “It was ruined because of your damn clumsy ass.”
Calida glanced up from what she was doing as Ms. Welsh looked down at the food and then back up at Sophia before conceding, “I only reheated it, ma’am.”
Sophia reached out and grabbed her arm in a tight grip as she said, “You wanted to make me look bad in front of Ric. I know you don’t like me but when I’m mistress here then you are the first to go.”
Calida, not seeing Edric coming to the doorway, moved fast and grabbed Sophia’s arm. “Let her go,” Calida said bluntly. “I don’t think you have any right coming in her kitchen and telling her what she should do much less talking down to her like that.”
Sophia yanked her arm away leaving marks on Ms. Welsh’s arms as she sneered at Calida, “And what do you think you are? Ric’s next live-in lover?”
“A guest just like you,” Calida said without hesitation. “As for the food,” Calida looked over at the mess on the counter before she continued, “Ms. Welsh knew that the taste would be ruined if she reheated it but you didn’t give her a chance to explain.”
Sophia glared at her before she said, “Wait until I tell Ric how you spoke to me, he will throw you out faster than you can think.”
She spun around about to stalk out when suddenly she froze and her face paled as she w
hispered, “Ric.”
Calida and Ms. Welsh both glanced in his direction, and Calida felt her own face pale as Ms. Welsh stepped forward and said, “I apologize, Edric, if your lunch was ruined.”
“It’s not your fault, Ms. Welsh,” Edric told her not taking his eyes from Sophia. “Sophia, herself, assumed that it wasn’t good because I wasn’t eating it, but the truth is I’m not particularly fond of that restaurant.”
“Ric, you choose that restaurant whenever…” Sophia began and Edric stopped her by shaking his head.
“No, you normally pick that place and I don’t argue with you about it,” Edric told her gently although his green eyes were narrowed.
Sophia’s eyes widened and she stuttered, “But I thought…”
“Sophia, I will take you home,” Edric said moving slightly aside indicating her to move ahead of him.
Sophia nodded her head and walked out as Edric looked at them while Ms. Welsh stated, “Go ahead take Sophia home and we will clean this up, Edric.”
He didn’t comment but turned and followed Sophia, and a few seconds later they heard the sound of an engine.
“Let’s get started, ma’am,” Calida said going over to the radio and turning it up getting laughter from Ms. Welsh as they got to work
.
A few hours later, Edric let himself back in the house frowning at the silence in the house until he saw Ms. Welsh coming down the stairs.
“Edric,” she said giving him a smile. “I laid out your things for the charity event tonight and Miss Jenkins has already called to ask when you were going to pick her up as you didn’t mention it when you dropped her off.”
“Did Calida go home already?” Edric asked running a hand down his face before he stared at her with weary green eyes not commenting on what she just told him.
Ms. Welsh smiled and waved him farther in the living room where she pointed to the couch. “She is right there, Edric,” she told him. “After we finished cleaning the kitchen, and she finished your desserts, she almost passed out at the kitchen table so I told her to come out here and relax until you came back. She passed out ten minutes later.”
Past Sins Revisited Page 8
