Sighing, Nina wanted to tell her sister that she had been fooled, but she didn’t say anything because she didn’t want to be judged by Almighty Alex, who would say something along the lines of you’re not the only woman who’s been unlucky in love.
“Can we just go see Daddy?” Nina asked.
“What did he do? And you know it was probably a bad idea to be personally involved with a coach when you cover sports. How would that look?”
“Just stop it. I made a mistake. I’ll deal with it.”
Alex stopped and placed her hand on her shoulder. “But you keep making the same mistake. Some man is always breaking your heart.”
Nina narrowed her eyes at Alex. Mad that her sister was right, but she wasn’t going to admit that right now. “I tell you what, when you stop sleeping alone in that big cold bed of yours, then I’ll take your advice on men.”
Alex inhaled sharply as she strode off to the elevator. Nina nearly had to run to catch up with her sister. “Alex, I’m sorry.” Nina grasped her sister’s elbow. Alex whirled around and focused a cold stare on her little sister.
“You, Yo-Yo, and Robin have run off and lived your dreams, but I stayed here to help Daddy, so excuse me if I don’t have a full social calendar. Maybe if you’d clear yours, you’d go further as a journalist.”
“I’m paying my own way, aren’t I? You’ve always wanted to mold me as a little Alex. I’m my own woman and maybe if you had a man in your life you’d feel more like a woman instead of a businessman.”
“How’s that working out for you and Lamar?”
Nina glared at Alex as they stepped on the elevator. “I deserved that, but let’s not tell Daddy about any of this.”
“I try to keep the tawdry details about your life away from Daddy. He worries about you enough as it is.”
Nina pressed the emergency stop button on the elevator. “You got one more insult before I run out of here and throw eggs on your precious Mercedes.”
Alex pulled the button to start the elevator moving again. “Grow up, Nina.”
“Keep playing with me.”
The sisters broke out laughing and hugged each other. “I’m not judging you,” Alex said. “I just want the best for you. If I ever meet this Lamar person, I’m going to tell him a thing or two.”
“That’s all right, Lamar and I are over.”
“Until you have to cover one of his games. Why would you get involved with someone you work so closely with? That’s not a judgment, it’s just a question. Wasn’t that whole relationship unethical?”
“Maybe I’ll come back here and cover sports here,” Nina said in a small voice.
Alex shook her head. “Richardsons don’t run. You won’t be the first to be a coward. Do you think you’re the only woman who’s had her heart broken? Besides, one thing I know for sure is that you love Charlotte. Are you going to let that fool run you out of town? And there isn’t a professional football team here.”
“You’re right. I bow to you, ma’am.”
Alex narrowed her eyes at her sister. “I’m not that old.”
I can’t tell, Nina thought but didn’t dare say. “I know.”
Alex knocked softly on her father’s office door.
“Come in,” he growled. Nina smiled. Her daddy always pretended to be in a bad mood to keep salesmen away.
Alex opened the door. “Look what I found in the lobby,” she said, then stepped aside to let Nina come into view.
Sheldon leapt to his feet and rushed from behind his big oak desk to embrace his youngest daughter. “I’m so happy to see you,” he said as he swept Nina up into his arms. “And this mess will blow over. Don’t worry about what Internet trolls say. Everybody is brave behind a computer screen.”
Nina waved her hand. “Definitely not worried about that. Next week they will be on to something else that doesn’t involve me.” Her phone buzzed and she inwardly hoped it was Lamar texting to apologize. Instead it was her editor from Sports Illustrated. Her new assignment was going to be on the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive shortcomings, particularly their star cornerback. Though she hoped during the Monday night game the defense would pound Cody Cameron into the turf. She shot her editor a quick reply, letting him know that she’d received the assignment.
She looked up at her dad and smiled. “At least I won’t have to talk to Cameron on Monday. My story is going to be about the Cowboys’ defense.”
“Good. That’ll be a better story anyway. When I told the boys at the barbershop that my baby wrote the Sports Illustrated cover story on the Carolina Panthers, you should’ve seen their faces,” he said proudly. “They always tease me because Nora and I ended up with a houseful of girls and I never had a son to cheer for on the football field. Those players don’t try to put their grubby hands on you, do they?”
“No, most try to run away when they see me coming,” Nina said. “But Daddy, enough about me, how’s business and who’s Clinton Jefferson?”
* * *
Lunch wasn’t fun for Clinton. He’d dropped mustard on his red silk tie and poured his cola on an elderly woman who’d bumped into him as he tried to rush back to his car. He was off his game because he’d never seen a woman more beautiful than Nina Richardson. Her black eyes sparkled like rare diamonds, she had the perfect button nose and thick pouty lips. But it was her body that made his tongue thick and words fail him. She was shaped like an old-school glass Coca-Cola bottle with curves that went on for days and days. Nina and Alexandria could not be related, one of them had to be adopted. Nina had a smile that brightened rooms and Alex just scowled as if she tasted sour milk.
Nina was tall, not as tall as her sister, but still a brick house Amazon.
Wonder Woman, Clinton thought as he got into his 1969 baby blue Ford Mustang. Looking down at his watch, he realized that he was going to be running five minutes late and Alex was going to have an attitude. He didn’t care, though. She was his boss but she needed to treat him with a little more respect. Today was his first day, and he thought she’d be impressed with the amount of work that he had done. Instead, he was greeted with nit-picking and complaints. He had to wonder how much she really knew about marketing, since the plan that they had been using was older than either of them.
Then Nina walked in and he couldn’t help but smile. Was she going to work at the bed-and-breakfast too? He pulled into the parking lot and dashed inside the building. Luckily, Alex wasn’t in her office and she didn’t know he was late returning from lunch. Taking his seat at his desk, Clinton pulled up his marketing and publicity plan to review it before Alex arrived for their meeting. He knew that she was going to rip it apart no matter how brilliant it was. As a safeguard, he e-mailed a copy of his plan to Sheldon; after all, it was his company. Though Alex liked to consider herself the queen bee, he knew all final decisions rested with Sheldon Richardson.
The sound of heels clicking across the marble floor caused him to look up from the computer screen. He’d expected to see Alex, but to his surprise and delight, Nina was standing in his doorway looking sexy and innocent at the same time.
“She’s really not that bad,” Nina said. Her voice had a singsong quality that Clinton could feel himself being hypnotized by. Then he imagined her whispering his name while lying across his bed.
What am I thinking? Clinton blinked, forcing himself to focus on Nina’s conversation. “Are you talking about Miss Richardson?” His mouth felt as if it had been packed with cotton as he eyed Nina’s physique. He couldn’t help but wonder if she had on bikinis or a thong underneath her skinny jeans.
Nina walked into his office and took a seat on the edge of his uncluttered desk. “Alex, and please call her Alex, is territorial. She doesn’t want other people to come in and take her shine away. She’s in the office with Daddy right now talking about how she thinks you’re going to fit in well here. That means he wants you here and she’s going to have to deal with it.”
“Has she always been so . . .”
“Bossy, pigheaded, and demanding?” Nina finished. She ran her tongue over those ripe lips and so many erotic thoughts ran through his mind. “Well, she’s the oldest so, yes. Just let her get her way every now and then. If she thinks she’s the boss, she’ll calm down a bit. Also, prove her wrong.”
“Meaning?”
“She doesn’t trust you. Make sure she can.” Nina crossed and uncrossed her legs as she smiled at him.
Clinton couldn’t take his eyes off the leggy beauty. Thank God she has on jeans, because if she had on a skirt, I would be tempted to touch, he thought as he smiled tightly. “Thanks for the insight.”
Nina bounced off the desk. “Don’t mention it.”
“So, will you be working here as well?”
Nina threw her head back and laughed. “God, no,” she said. “I’m a writer. Working here would drive me absolutely crazy. Alex has always thought she was the boss of me.”
It would drive me crazy to see you walking in here every day, especially if all of your clothing fit as well as those jeans. “A writer, huh?”
“Maybe you’ve read some of my stuff. Do you subscribe to Sports Illustrated or ESPN the Magazine?”
“I’m not a big sports fan,” he said.
She raised her perfectly arched eyebrow. “Really? Why not, if you don’t mind me asking.”
“Watching grown men run around and play with balls has never done anything for me. At my last job, people went crazy over fantasy football leagues and whatnot.”
“I can respect that. Just for the record, you’d better hop on the football bandwagon if you want to make it around here. My father, my sisters, and I love football and we have a huge Super Bowl party every year. The whole staff comes and we have a great time. And even better food.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said. And if you’re going to be there, count me in.
Nina headed for the door, giving him a bird’s-eye view of her shapely hips and ass. She turned around before leaving. “Don’t tell Alex I gave you the skinny on her, she’ll accuse me of flirting and that’s the last thing that I’m doing.”
“All right, young Miss Richardson.”
“Please call me Nina,” she said, then smiled at him so brightly he thought she’d swallowed the sun.
“Nina, it was great meeting you. I hope to see you again.”
She waved and sauntered down the hall. The next time he looked up, he saw Alex standing there. “Have you forgotten about our meeting?” she asked like a schoolteacher demanding an overdue assignment.
“No, Alex, I haven’t forgotten. I was just sending some documents to your father and printing my plan out for you.”
She snarled at him, then beckoned him into her office. “Do yourself a favor, remember that Nina doesn’t work here nor does she make employment decisions.”
Just let her get her way every now and then, echoed in his head before he said, “Yes, Miss Richardson.”
Chapter 4
Nina sat in her old room in the family section of the B&B, which was a four-room house behind the main building, and smiled as she thought about Clinton. So, she had been flirting with him. And maybe it wasn’t her best idea right now. As much as she hated to admit it, Alex had a point about her choice in men. Lamar was just another loser in a list of heartbreaks. First there had been her high school sweetheart, Marvin Ware, who’d promised her devotion if she made love to him on their prom night.
She hadn’t been ready for sex at age sixteen and turned him down. He’d left her standing outside of the Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina in the pouring rain. She’d never been more embarrassed to call her sister Yolanda to pick her up and take her home. Alex had been ready to find Marvin and beat him to a bloody pulp.
“No one treats my little sister that way,” Alex had proclaimed that night.
When she’d gone off to Clark Atlanta University, a charming junior football player, Chad Allen, wooed her during freshman orientation and this time, Nina thought she had been ready to give up her heart and her virginity. Little did she know, Chad had a girlfriend who was due to return to school a week later when the upperclassmen moved back to campus. As quickly as he’d wooed her, he’d dumped her in favor of Diamond Turner. Nina had vowed to give up on men after that experience.
Robin had been the one who’d told her not to give up on love and that her time for romance was coming, but she needed to focus on her studies. That’s what she’d done, carving a reputation as a smart student and talented writer. She had been such a star on the student newspaper staff that she’d had no problems getting an internship at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper where she’d covered the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta Hawks, the first female intern to ever do so. Nina’s editors had admired her maturity and offered her a job when she graduated. But after a few years at the newspaper, Nina decided she wanted a change and wanted to work for herself. She spent the next few years building her reputation as a freelance sports journalist. She’d had the opportunity to cover several Super Bowls and NCAA Final Fours. She made Charlotte her home base because she was close enough to most major sports towns and not that far from her family in Charleston.
She’d done a great job of focusing on her career until she met Lamar. Thinking that she had learned her lessons in love, she’d given Lamar a chance. They hadn’t rushed into sex and she’d thought they’d gotten to know each other pretty well. When things did turn physical, Nina believed that he was the one and he’d love her the way she deserved to be loved. Maybe, she’d thought, he’d fall in love with her over a plate of baked chicken and macaroni and cheese. Or maybe, she’d dreamed, he’d fall head over heels for her as they cheered on the Dallas Cowboys together.
Am I really that stupid? she thought as she hugged a pillow against her chest. I was a booty call and a free meal. How could I allow myself to be used that way? It’s like I keep making the same mistakes over and over again when it comes to men. Here I am thinking about him and he hasn’t even bothered to call me and apologize for hurting me.
Nina didn’t want to become bitter, but she was starting to feel that way. Stretching out on her bed, she felt the sting of tears in her eyes, but she was tired of crying. She knew that she couldn’t make anyone love her and she knew she was a damned good catch. All she wanted was someone to hold her on rainy nights, someone to snuggle with on a rare Carolina snow day, and someone she could share her life with. Was that too much to ask?
Just as she was about to drift off to sleep, her cell phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Nina, where are you?” Yolanda Richardson asked. “I hope you reconsidered doing SportsCenter. I’ve been out here trying to fight these Internet trolls. Hell, I even called a local radio station to cuss—”
“I’m in Charleston. Stand down with the cussing people out on the radio.”
“What? Why? Is Daddy okay?” Her voice was frantic with concern.
“I needed a break from . . . everything.”
“I’m surprised you’re not relaxing with Lamar.”
Unable to hold back her tears and hurt feelings, Nina began to sob and told her sister the story that sent her running home to their father like a little baby.
“Damn. So, he just sat there with another woman and said you should be cool with it? He’s lucky you didn’t stab his ass with a steak knife.”
“Yeah, because what I needed that night was more attention. I was already trending on Twitter. Do you think I wanted to add a mug shot?”
“I guess you’re right. Do I need to drive down to Charlotte and stick a banana in his tailpipe? Slash his tires? Throw a brick through his living room window?”
“No, that’s childish and he lives in a gated community.”
Yolanda laughed. “Thought about doing it yourself, huh?”
“Only every hour on the hour.” Nina wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
“How long are you going to be in Charleston?”
“I don’t know.”
> “Why don’t I take a few days off and we can terrorize Alex like we did when we were younger. That should lift your spirits a little.”
“Alex has her own problems, mainly Clinton Jefferson.” Nina closed her eyes and envisioned the sexy Denzel look-alike sitting across from her, whispering all the right things in her ear. Bring it down.
“The ice princess has a man?” Yolanda asked incredulously. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Now I know I’m coming down to see this.”
“No, he’s not her man. Just a new employee. I get the feeling that he’s not bowing to her every demand and that’s not sitting well with her.”
“I will be there this weekend, for sure.”
“How are you going to leave your boutique when it’s back to school time and then the holidays?”
“Because I got it like that, baby. I’m the boss. And, I miss my jet-setting little sister. Nobody ever sees you anymore, Nina. This is a rare opportunity.”
“I miss you too, Yo-Yo. Daddy’s going to be too happy to see all of us.”
“Not all of us. Robin probably won’t be able to come down from Richmond. I think she and Logan are having some problems, but don’t tell her I said anything.”
Nina didn’t want to hear that her sister, the only Richardson sister who’d gotten married, was having problems. If Robin couldn’t make love last, then what chance did she have of finding Mr. Right? “I won’t say a word. But why do you think something’s wrong?”
“Well, Robin hasn’t been her usual perky self and every time I ask about Logan, she changes the subject. Logan’s putting in more hours at the hospital and he’s rarely around when I talk to her. That’s not like him.”
“That’s terrible. She was my relationship role model.”
Yolanda sighed. “And that’s probably why she isn’t telling us what’s going on. Besides, Robin has always tried to be Little Miss Perfect. She’ll talk when she wants to. Listen, don’t tell Alex I’m coming. I want to surprise her.”
Owner of a Broken Heart Page 3
