She cringed. Three years. When did that happen?
It seemed like she’d just graduated and still had the freedom to explore her interests and figure out what the hell she was supposed to do with her life. Everyone had expected her to have a plan the second the degree hit her hand. For the first six months, everyone was okay when she said she was taking time to figure out her next steps. A year later the questions came with a tinge of what’s the hold up. Eighteen months after that, what’s the hold up turned into she must not want to work. Until finally she was considered hopeless, regardless of the fact that she made enough money to cover the majority of her expenses from her virtual assisting clients.
Honestly, she didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life. She liked helping people, and working on a variety of projects. She was pretty sure she didn’t want to become one of those people chained to a desk, punching a time clock, and so accustomed to the mundane that being stuck in a routine was expected.
But as much as the idea scared her, if she wanted to prove that she was more than the pampered baby girl, she would have to come up with a plan, a serious plan, for her future.
She shuffled from the bedroom to the kitchen. Bypassing her pantry, she grabbed a bowl from the cabinet and a spoon from the drawer then left her apartment. She knocked once on Freddy’s door before opening it and walking in. He always unlocked it for her in the morning. It was either that or have her knock every ten minutes if she needed something.
The living area was empty, but his cologne mingled with the scent of coffee. She hated coffee, but liked his cologne. The comingled scents always energized her in the morning.
“I’m getting cereal,” she called.
His muffled voice came from the back, but she couldn’t make out what he said. She went into the kitchen and helped herself to a bowl of corn flakes. Taking a banana from the counter, she broke off a few chunks, dumped it in the cereal, then poured milk on it from the fridge.
She picked up the bowl and frowned. Step one for proving herself would be stocking her own pantry with food. Freddy would appreciate it. No matter how often she offered to repay him for groceries he refused, even though her food preferences frequented his grocery list. The man hated bananas. Which was crazy. Who hated bananas, honestly?
Stocking her pantry meant she needed to get a handle on her budget. She rarely overspent her income, but payments from clients were so sporadic she didn’t have a clear idea of what came in and out. She’d need to sort that out—along with refusing any more money her dad tried to give her.
Freddy rushed from the back into the living room. Janiyah walked over to lean against the bar separating the kitchen from the living area and watched him run around grabbing his watch, wallet, and other accessories. His muscles flexed and tightened beneath his dress shirt with his movements. She didn’t need to imagine what he looked like without the shirt. Thanks to her family’s pool parties, she’d had plenty of opportunity to silently drool over his washboard stomach, defined chest, and strong shoulders. But if he ever found out she appreciated his body, he’d laugh from here to California. Freddy made it perfectly clear she was the last woman he’d ever be interested in.
She didn’t know what she’d do if he ever became interested. Her warm and fuzzy feelings for Freddy were packed up, padlocked, and stored deep in her heart, all in an effort to accept that he only saw her as a friend. Daydreams of more led to impulsive decisions—and the last time she was impulsive with him it hadn’t gone too well.
“Someone else sleep late?” she asked.
He snatched his laptop bag from where it was propped against the couch. “Something like that.”
“You never sleep late.”
“I couldn’t sleep.” He nailed her with a penetrating stare. “Unwanted dreams.”
“Don’t look at me like that. I wasn’t running around in your head.” She slowly slid the other half of the banana into her mouth.
He cleared his throat and turned away. “No … you weren’t running.”
Now that was interesting. Heat crept up her face. Could he have possibly dreamed about her? She shook her head. Rein it in, girlfriend. No need for foolish fantasies to take hold. Any dream Freddy had about her would involve exasperation and scolding.
“Can you do me a favor?” she asked.
He bent over to pick his laptop bag off the floor. “Do I have a choice?”
“Not really, so go ahead and agree.”
The corner of his mouth lifted, she got a hint of the dimple, and it made her morning.
“Okay, what’s the favor?” He walked over to get his keys off the bar in front of her. He smelled nice. Acqua Di Gio cologne. She’d smelled it on other men; it was always better on him.
“I want to develop a portfolio or something. You know, show I can manage money and be responsible.”
He froze in the middle of putting the lap top bag strap on his shoulder. “Portfolio?”
“Don’t look so surprised. I can’t eat your bananas for the rest of my life.”
He looked at his watch. Freddy was the only guy she knew who still wore a watch. It was kinda cute. “You don’t need me to help with a budget.”
She could see the refusal in his eyes. She reached over to straighten his tie, and smiled prettily. “I know, but you’re apparently the best accountant in the area. I always want the best.”
He gently pushed her hands away, but smiled. Bingo, full dimple appeared. “Fine, we’ll create a budget.”
“Good. And to show my thanks, I’ll buy you dinner tonight.”
“I’m working late.”
“Then we’ll eat late.”
Another appearance of the dimple. She was on a roll today. He turned away from the counter. “Lock up after you leave.”
“Yes, brother.”
He shook his head and hurried out the door. Janiyah got up and went into the kitchen to pour coffee into the silver mug sitting beside the coffee maker. She put in three heaping spoonfuls of sugar and stirred. When Freddy burst back through the door, she was waiting on the other side with the coffee in hand.
“Thank you,” he said, grabbing the mug then rushing out.
Janiyah grinned and went back to finish her cereal. When she left a few minutes later, their neighbor Mrs. Driggers poked her head out of her door. Her blue-grey eyes brightened in her wrinkled face when she spotted Janiyah. It wasn’t even seven in the morning, but Mrs. Driggers was dressed as if she were going to church in a classic navy and white polka dot dress.
“Oh, good, you’ve had breakfast,” Mrs. Driggers said.
“I did. Do you need help with something?” Sometimes she helped Mrs. Driggers with odds and ends around her apartment.
“Actually, I do.”
Janiyah tugged on the corner of her boy shorts. “Give me a second to get dressed and I’ll be right over.”
“Oh, no need to get dressed up for me. Just come as you are.”
Janiyah pointed at her door. “How ’bout I brush my teeth first?”
Mrs. Driggers paused to consider then nodded. “That’s a good idea.”
Ten minutes later, Janiyah was settling in at the desk in the bedroom Mrs. Driggers had converted into an office.
“So what can I help you with? Are you having trouble with your internet connection again?”
“No.” Mrs. Driggers rubbed her hands together. She hurried to the bookshelf next to the door and pulled down a large box. “I need help with my business.”
“Business? I didn’t know you had a business.”
“Something I started a few months ago. I had some success, but I need someone to help me branch out.”
“Why would you think of me?”
“Because you’re an assistant.”
Janiyah scratched the back of her head. “Virtual assistant. I don’t work for people I know.” It was less pressure and fewer expectations when she worked for people she only knew online. People who knew her personally always expected her to scre
w up or not take things seriously.
“Well, now you can start by working for me. I really need your help, and I know you can do it, because I went to your website. And before you say no, remember that you’re supposed to mind your elders.”
Why not help Mrs. Driggers? For her to ask meant she wasn’t expecting Janiyah to screw up and that she viewed Janiyah’s abilities as useful.
“Okay, so what’s this business?”
Mrs. Driggers eyes sparkled with excitement. She held out the box. When Janiyah reached for it, she pulled it back.
“I don’t want to shock you.”
“I doubt you will.”
“We’ll see.” Mrs. Driggers handed over the box.
With a grin, Janiyah grabbed it and pulled off the lid. Her jaw dropped. She looked at the hesitant smile on Mrs. Driggers’s face, then back to the box.
“Not what you expected?”
“Not at all.” She’d expected makeup, Tupperware, or even crocheted scarves. What she got was mind blowing coming from her elderly neighbor—the box was filled with sex toys. Slowly, she took out one of several vibrators. The soft, purple shaft curved up to a long, tapered tip. She turned it to the left, right, then upside down.
“That’s the g-spot stimulator,” Mrs. Driggers said. “I’m selling sex toys through Nancy’s Naughty Novelties.”
“I’ve seen the infomercials.” Janiyah picked up another one. It was clear, with beads, bumps, and two different appendages. She flipped the switch. The toy vibrated, gyrated, and spun. Her eyes widened. Cool.
“I have a catalogue that customers can order from, and I’ve held a couple of parties for my seniors group. These are my samples, except for the lingerie. That’s in the closet. I’ve done pretty good, but my team leader thinks I’d do better selling online. They gave me a website, but I don’t know how to set it up. I figured you could help me.”
Janiyah stopped her head from spinning in tandem with the rotating vibrator. “I’d love to.”
Mrs. Driggers placed her hands on Janiyah’s shoulders and squeezed. “Good. My slogan is: ‘Let Lady Driggers show you how to be a lady in the street and a freak in the bed.’”
Janiyah spun in the chair to face her newly interesting neighbor. “What do you know about that?”
Mrs. Driggers laughed and picked up an anatomically correct red vibrator with what looked like bunny ears curved forward on the top. “Sweetheart, you don’t bury a husband after forty years of marriage being a prude.”
Janiyah grinned. “You’re my new favorite client.”
• • •
“Want to meet me for lunch?”
Janiyah turned off Harden Street onto Saluda Street in Columbia’s Five Points area. After getting Mrs. Driggers set up that morning, she’d held off on doing work for some of her online clients to spend the rest of the morning cruising through the racks at her favorite consignment shop.
“I can’t, I’ve got to get this project on my boss’s desk before two. What have you been up to all day?” Liz’s voice came through the speakers of her car via the Bluetooth.
“Playing with dildos.”
“Too much information.”
“Not playing with them for pleasure. Though it was kind of fun.”
“Janiyah!”
“Just kidding. It was for a client. She’s selling sex toys and needed help setting up a website.”
“I’m going to need more of that story later.”
“I’ll have a lot more to tell. Too bad you can’t meet me. I’m downtown, thought I’d try and meet up with you.”
“What are you doing downtown?”
“Consignment shopping.”
“Your favorite activity. Hey, I’m thinking of recommending my cousin for the administrative assistant job Fredrick has available. Do you think he’ll interview her?”
She didn’t immediately answer. Of course Freddy would interview Liz’s cousin, someone he’d never met, just because of a recommendation from Liz. He’d known Janiyah his entire life and laughed off her suggestion that he consider her. She shifted in her seat as annoyance bubbled up. He of all people shouldn’t have laughed. He’d helped her study for her final exams when she came home her senior year of college. He saw how dedicated she was to finishing projects for her business. If anything, he should have at least hesitated before turning her down.
“Janiyah, are you there?”
“Yeah, I’m here. Sure, he’ll interview her. Maybe we’ll interview on the same day.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Maybe not before, but I am now. I’m going to apply for his job.” And just like that she had step three in her process to prove people wrong: get a desk job.
“I really can’t imagine you working in Fredrick’s office.”
Janiyah pulled into a parking spot and jerked up her parking break. “So I can add you to the list of people who think I can’t handle traditional responsibility.”
“Don’t get upset, but yes. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. You’re great at what you do, but tight routines are not your thing. In college you could organize your notes so well that people paid for copies, but getting you to a class on time was another story. You do things in your own time and in your own way. Forget the crazy looks Diana and Marlena gave you last night. You’re great at what you do, and it works for you.”
Janiyah sighed and leaned back into her seat. “It’s not just that. Everyone looks at me as if I’m incapable of being a grown up. I’m honest enough with myself to know that on the surface it looks as if I don’t have much order in my life. I’m not going to change who I am. I’m just going to, I don’t know, give myself a bit of a makeover.”
“Or drive yourself crazy. Do what you want, but I think you’re perfect as you are. Besides, if you work all day, you’ll be too tired to help me unwind from my stressful day.”
Janiyah cringed, but laughed tightly. “I’m your go-to party friend. You wouldn’t want to lose that. Hey look I’m here, so I’ll call you later, okay?”
“Wait a second.” There was a long pause. “One more thing about Fredrick.”
“What about him?”
“I want to make sure you wouldn’t care if I hooked him up with my boss, Missy.”
Janiyah’s hands fell from the steering wheel. Liz’s boss was a petite, blonde haired, big-boobed bombshell. Even the starched suits she wore every time Janiyah saw her couldn’t hide that. From what Liz told her, Missy had been promoted to head of her department after working for the company for only a year. And she’d done it all through hard work and tenacity. In other words, she was just the type of put-together woman Freddy would go for.
“You do mind, don’t you?”
Janiyah shook her head to clear it. “Are you sure? I mean, he hasn’t dated anyone seriously … except that dental hygienist a few months ago.”
“Desiree?”
Janiyah frowned. “You remember her name?”
“They were getting serious, until you broke them up.”
She lifted her chin. “I did not. I only pointed out some of her less than stellar attributes.” Liz’s laughter filled her car. “Oh, come on. You know Desiree, or whatever her name was, was a serious buzz kill. She wasn’t good for him.”
“You scare away every woman he dates.”
“I do the same thing with my brothers.”
“He’s not your brother.”
Just because Freddy wasn’t her brother didn’t mean she couldn’t look out for his best interests in the same way she did her older siblings. She wanted him happy. He just hadn’t brought anyone around she thought would make him happy.
“Are you sure Missy would be interested?”
“Come on, Janiyah, Fredrick is good looking.” Liz said it with a bit too much appreciation for Janiyah’s liking.
“Yeah, but … he’s short.”
“Five ten isn’t short, and it’s taller than her.”
She frowned. “You know his exact he
ight?”
“I asked.”
“He’s so … staid.”
“He’s an accountant. One that owns his own business, I might add, and just landed a huge client.”
“Yeah. I heard last night. What’s up with that?”
“This deal with Nebulus is unprecedented for a firm as new as his. As soon as I saw the write up, I gave him a call to congratulate him. Didn’t you two talk about it?”
“We did, I just didn’t know everyone would go crazy over it.”
She scratched the back of her head. Freddy rarely talked to her about his job. The second he started talking numbers her eyes glazed over. Most of the time she didn’t mind their sparring matches about how disconnected she was from the real world, but the thought of him having those conversations with Liz—or Missy—made her queasy. It also made her want to shake Freddy for not making her listen to his good news.
“It’s a really big deal. Nebulus is worth a lot, and now he’s got a piece of that pie.”
Money would buy a blonde bombshell. But Freddy would see right through that. “You know what, if you think your boss would consider spending evenings talking numbers with Freddy remotely fun, fine. It’s no skin off my back.”
“She will. We ran into him in on our lunch break the other day. She’s interested. ”
Janiyah’s stomach clenched. “Really?”
“Really. I’ll call him after work.”
Janiyah straightened from where she was slumped in her seat. “I can bring it up when I see him.”
“No need,” Liz said in a hurry. “You’d turn him off before they got a chance to go out. I’ll handle it.”
She sat in the car drumming her hands on the steering wheel for several minutes after hanging up with Liz. Lying to herself wasn’t a habit, and she wouldn’t start now. She was pissed that Freddy hadn’t bothered to let her know his good news, but was willing to gab about it with Liz. It didn’t matter that Liz called him, he should have told her. They were friends and went further back than he and Liz ever did.
Just My Type Page 4