Just My Type

by Synithia Williams

  “Here I am.”

  Janiyah ducked under Fredrick’s arm into the hall. David’s frown turned into a full blown scowl.

  “You spent the night with him?” David’s free hand balled into a fist.

  “No,” Fredrick answered. “She comes over to steal my cereal in the mornings.”

  David’s eyes moved over his sister from head to toe. They narrowed before going back to Fredrick. Even though he’d done nothing wrong, Fredrick’s face burned with guilt. First he admitted to Aaron she was over there most nights, now David caught her leaving in her pajamas. He definitely needed to move before her brothers began to guess that too many times he had non-sisterly feelings toward her.

  “Quit, scowling, David. I just came over for cereal,” she said with a laugh.

  Fredrick hitched the strap of his laptop bag higher on his shoulder and glanced at his watch. “I’ve got to go.”

  “Bye, Freddy,” Janiyah said.

  He nodded at her, then David—who glared—and turned to march down the hall.

  • • •

  “What the hell are you thinking?” David said as soon as Freddy hit the stairs.

  “What are you talking about? I ran out of cereal. Apparently a box only lasts a few days. I’ll remember that the next time I go to the grocery store.” She pushed her brother out of the way and opened the door to her apartment.

  “You make it a habit to prance around his apartment in your pajamas? With no bra?”

  Janiyah frowned, looked down at her pajamas, then back at her brother. “Freddy doesn’t care about that. He probably doesn’t even notice.”

  “He’s a man. He notices. It’s making me uncomfortable. You do this to him every day?”

  Janiyah waved a hand. “I’m not doing anything to him. Like I said, he barely pays attention to me in the mornings.”

  “Not for your lack of trying.”

  She rolled her eyes and went down the hall to her bedroom. She grabbed her bathrobe off the bed and slipped it on. No need to make her brother uncomfortable. She paused on her way back. Did Freddy really notice? He never let on that it made him uncomfortable when she came over in her PJs.

  She went back down the hall. David stood in the middle of her living room, the basket he’d carried on her cluttered coffee table.

  “Are we done with the lecture?”

  David crossed his arms, stretching the material of his tailored tan three-piece suit over his wide shoulders. “Is there something going on with you and Fredrick?”

  “No, there’s nothing going on. And before you get your boxers in a knot, calm down. I met a very handsome professor the other day and we’re going out this weekend.” Gerald Westlock had called her after three days like she’d expected. They’d had a few phone calls, nothing exciting, but interesting enough for her to agree to a date.

  “You shouldn’t date so much.”

  “Neither should you, but I don’t see you stopping.”

  “It’s different for a man.”

  “Oh, don’t give me that crap. It’s not like I’m sleeping with tons of guys.” She plopped down on her couch.

  “You shouldn’t be sleeping with dozens of guys either.”

  “Oh, God, please save me that speech. Or better yet, give it to the women you sleep with.”

  David opened his mouth to reply, but a meow came from the basket. She pulled back the blanket covering it to find a small orange kitten.

  “She’s beautiful!” she said with a gasp.

  “How do you know it’s a girl?”

  “I think of all cats as girls.” She scratched the adorable ball of fur behind the ears.

  “Well, you’re right. She’s for you.”

  She looked up at her brother. “You got me a cat?”

  “You said you wanted one.”

  Janiyah laughed. “Yeah, six weeks ago. What gives?”

  David uncrossed his arms and sank down onto the chair beside her. “I need you to work your magic on Pops and convince him not to sell the business.”

  “Why would he listen to me?”

  “Because he always listens to you. Go over there and do your daddy’s girl smile and tell him that the best way to make sure you’re taken care of is if we keep Henderson Automotive.”

  “I can take care of myself.”

  “I see how. You walk around Fredrick’s apartment half-dressed and he gives you everything you want.”

  She frowned and gently put the cat back in the basket. Otherwise she’d throw her at David’s face. David’s request was more proof that her family thought of her as a kid. Pops won’t listen to reason, well let’s send in the eyelash batting, smiling baby girl.

  “Are you saying the only way for me to help is by going over there and acting like a five-year-old? That it wouldn’t work for me to talk with him like an adult?” Her irritation came through with each word.

  David gave her a look that said that was exactly what he meant. “Don’t get mad at me. You’ve played the daddy’s girl for years; now you’re upset because I’m calling you on it?”

  “For your information, I won’t be playing that anymore. I have an interview today. For a,” she made air quotes with her fingers, “real job. I’m working on my budget to start a portfolio and I’m planning for the future.”

  “Interview where, and why? You can always work for Henderson Automotive.”

  “Because you and the rest of the family think I’m a toddler instead of a grown woman. I don’t need a reason to look for a job. Nor do I need one handed to me. There’s more in my head than you all give me credit for.”

  “Hey, look, I’m sorry.” He took her hand between his and gave her the same sad eyes she’d perfected. “I’m the worst brother in the world, and you have every right to refuse to help me convince Pops from selling something so crucial to the family.”

  She shook her head and smiled. “Please don’t tell me this tired reverse psychology thing works on women?”

  “Let’s see, are you going to help me?” His face became serious. “All jokes aside. If asking you to do the daddy’s girl thing upset you, I’m sorry. I know Pops gives you a hard time, but I respect what you do.” His face twisted with a frown. “Except for the no bra thing around Fredrick.”

  She dropped his hand. “You can go now, David,” she said with a chuckle that he joined in on.

  “C’mon, sis, will you help me with Pops?” David said.

  She studied him. Behind the smile, there was actual worry in his voice. He really didn’t want the company to go. “I thought you’d be happy not working there.”

  His jaw hardened and determination filled his eyes. “I didn’t dedicate my life to growing Henderson Automotive only to watch him sell it on a whim. I’m going to fight to keep the business.”

  Janiyah placed a hand on David’s clenched fist. Out of her three brothers, she worried about him the most. Kareem, with all his faults, could take care of himself. Aaron might not be able to nail himself to one location, but he knew what he wanted in life and pursued it. David, on the other hand, had spent too much of his life trying to live their father’s dream.

  “I’ll help you. Daddy may not want it or think I can run it, but that doesn’t mean I want him to sell it.”

  He flipped his hand and gave hers a squeeze. “Thanks, Janiyah.”

  He stood and she did as well. She picked up the basket and gave it to him. “But you can keep the cat.”

  Something like panic came across his face. “I don’t want the cat. It’s for you.”

  “I’ve got a lot going on, and Freddy made a good point when I first brought up wanting one. I can barely remember to feed myself; why try to feed an animal?”

  “I’ll take it back to the shelter.”

  Janiyah grabbed his arm. “No, that would be cruel. Look, she already thinks of you as her daddy. You picked her out and took her away from that cruel shelter.”

  “I paid one hundred dollars for this cat and it was living in a padded ca
ge. It wasn’t a cruel shelter.”

  “Still, it’s wrong. Keep her, you need companionship.” She pushed her brother toward the door.

  “I have plenty of female companionship.”

  “Well, you need someone that’ll love you unconditionally. Tammy will do that.”

  “Who’s Tammy?”

  “Your cat.” She opened the door.

  “I’m not keeping the cat.”

  She pouted and turned pleading eyes on her brother. “Please, Davie, don’t send her back. I’ll come visit and she’ll be so upset if you take her back. Think of what all the other cats will say.”

  “Janiayah … ”

  “I’m pulling the baby sister routine on this. Promise me you’ll keep Tammy.” She gave the smile that always got her what she wanted.

  David grunted. “Promise to wear a bra every time you visit Fredrick.”

  “I promise.” She leaned up to kiss his cheek. “All bets are off if he comes to my apartment.”

  She pushed him out and shut the door before he could reply, but the angry way he growled her name on the other side of the door said enough.

  CHAPTER 8

  Janiyah wiped her hands on her dress, then cursed and smoothed over the material. She’d picked this outfit with the sole purpose of proving to Freddy that she would make a great administrative assistant—until the lady who interviewed before her walked out in a fitted black pant suit and perfectly cut hair looking exactly like what Freddy would want. Janiyah’s black pencil dress with red trim was supposed to give her a fifties secretary flair, while taking a jab at Freddy for teasing her about her red dress. Maybe it wasn’t the best way to prove she was the right person for the job.

  Phyllis came out of the conference room. She didn’t smile as she approached Janiyah. “Mr. Jenkins told me you were applying.”

  Janiyah stood and forced herself not to use her dress as a towel for her sweaty palms.

  “I’m sure he said it with a scowl.”

  “Not at all.” Phyllis straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. “If I would have known you were looking for a permanent position I would have recommended you myself. You were a life saver when you helped me organize my family reunion last year.”

  Janiyah’s shoulders nearly sagged with relief. Phyllis was a critic of everyone. Janiyah had only offered her minimal help with getting the reunion together. And Phyllis had complained about all the details that needed to be thought of the entire time. Yet, when it was all said and done, she stopped barking at Janiyah when she called the office and even threw her a compliment on her clothes the last time she saw her.

  “Well, that makes me feel a lot better.”

  “Yes, well, you still have to do good in there. We aren’t just handing out jobs to anyone.” And just like that, Phyllis was back to being a hard ass.

  Freddy came to the door of the conference room. He looked at Phyllis, then her, before checking his watch. “Are we ready?”

  Phyllis tugged on the jacket of her suit. “We are, Mr. Jenkins. Coming now.”

  They both walked to the conference room. Freddy gave her a sweeping gaze from head to toe. His expression didn’t change.

  She smiled. “Hi.”

  He stepped back so she could enter the room. “Nice to see you, Ms. Henderson. Please have a seat.”

  Ooohkay. Did this mean she had to call him Mr. Jenkins or—cringe—Fredrick? Her smile tightened as she passed him and went further into the small conference room. She recognized the other guy in the room as one of the accountants who worked at the firm. She couldn’t remember his name.

  Phyllis indicated the single seat on one side of the table. Freddy took the seat between Phyllis and the accountant on the other side. When his serious gaze landed on her, it was as if someone capped off the passage to her lungs. Never in her life had Freddy intimidated her, but seeing him on the other side of the table with his suit, serious eyes behind his glasses, and a packet of papers that must be the interview questions in front of her did. This was her chance to prove herself. The first step to showing her family that she was more than a pretty girl who needed taking care of.

  She straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath. Then Freddy gave her a smile. Not full blown dimple, but enough to make her stomach quiver and send warmth up her cheeks. An affection she’d felt for Freddy since she was nine years old overwhelmed her. No matter what happened, by giving her this interview he proved he believed she was capable.

  • • •

  Janiyah wanted to find the nearest couch to fall on when she left the interview. Instead she drove to her parents’ house. If she didn’t keep her promise to David while it was fresh in her mind, she’d forget all together.

  Her brain hurt after thinking so hard to answer the interview questions. She had no clue if she’d done well or not. Freddy’s face remained impassive during the entire interview. Phyllis and the other accountant, Larry, had given her one or two smiles and nods of encouragement. That was nice, but Freddy gave her nothing. She couldn’t have done too badly. She gave detailed answers, was fluent in many of the software programs they used, and had experience with web design—something she casually mentioned when pointing out that the Jenkins Holdings website could stand a few updates.

  She cringed and clutched the steering wheel. She shouldn’t have said that. No one wanted to hire someone who criticized their business … even if it was constructive, nicely given criticism. Freddy’s lip did quirk when she said it, but she wasn’t sure if that was in approval or disapproval. Probably the latter.

  When she pulled up to her parents’ house, the garage was up. Her dad was inside moving boxes off a shelf. He’d officially retired from actively running Henderson Automotive six months ago to give full control to David. He still served as chairman of the board, and president of the foundation he’d started that provided scholarships to students. But she knew that the extra free time was driving him crazy. Her dad was never one to sit around idle.

  “Hey, Daddy,” she said, after getting out of the car and sauntering over.

  Even messing around with boxes in a garage her dad wore an old pair of slacks and a polo shirt.

  Roger smiled at her and put the box in his arms on the pile by the door. “Hey, baby girl. What brings you by?”

  “Just stopping in to check on you and Mom.”

  “You’re really dressed up just to visit me and your mom,” he said, eyeing her dress.

  She smiled and brushed down the sides. “I had a job interview this morning.”

  “And you didn't wear a suit?”

  She forced herself to not roll her eyes. “No, I didn’t wear a suit.”

  “Well, things are different nowadays.” He went back to the shelf with the rest of the boxes.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Getting rid of some of this stuff,” he said. “I’m tired of the clutter. It’s time to get things in order.”

  He reached for another box then stopped. He rubbed his chest. Sweat beaded on his brow and he took a few deep breaths.

  Concern made her hurry across the garage to her dad. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, just winded.” He patted her hand on his arm and nodded. “That’s another thing I need to start doing, working out. I’ve got all this spare time on my hands. Might as well do something useful other than reorganizing the garage.”

  He took a deep breath and stepped away. He reached for a box on the shelf.

  Still feeling shaky, Janiyah took off her shoes and decided to help. He might just be winded, but the strain on his face had scared her. “You know the guys could have done this.” She took the last box off the shelf. It was heavy, but she managed to carry it to the pile he started and set it down with the others.

  “If I wanted it done in a year I would have asked them,” he said, a teasing glint in his eye.

  Janiyah laughed and dusted off her hands. “You’re probably right.”

  “Now your dress is dusty. You didn’t
have to help, I could have gotten it.”

  “Well, you looked about ready to keel over so I figured I had to help.” Her voice held some of the worry from earlier.

  Roger grimaced. “Sometimes I feel like I’m going to keel over.”

  Her humor died. Even though she was annoyed with him from the other day, she couldn’t stand thinking of her dad being sick. “Daddy, are you okay?”

  He met her eye and smiled, any traces of the grimace gone. “I’m perfectly fine. Why don’t you tell me about this job interview?”

  She took in his tired expression and frowned. “Only if we go inside and you forget these boxes for the rest of today. I’ll call Kareem and see if he can finish moving them.”

  For a second she thought he would argue before he nodded and headed for the door leading into the house. Once he was settled at the kitchen table, she went to the fridge and got both of them a bottle of water.

  “So, where did you interview? If you wanted a job, you could have easily come and work for Henderson Automotive.”

  Her scoff of disbelief was out before she knew it. “You’re seriously telling me that I could work there, when just last week you said I couldn’t handle it.”

  “I said you couldn’t handle running it, not that you couldn’t handle working there.”

  “Why can’t I handle running it? Because I don’t wear suits to interviews? Or because I was foolish enough to take the money you put into my account every month, or maybe it’s because I’m just a silly little girl and my head can’t handle the information.”

  “You’re overreacting again. Just like you did the other night. This is why you can’t run the business. You’re too impulsive. Too quick to go with the first thing that comes into your head instead of thinking things through.”

  “I know what I want and I’m not afraid to go after it or to try new things. In what world is that a bad thing?”

  The bottle of water in his hand hit the table with a clunk as he gave her a hard stare. “In the business world being impulsive can cost you everything.”

  “And sitting around waiting for things to happen means opportunity will pass you by.”