“We share this building with four other companies. Who are you looking for?”
“Danetta Harris.”
The pink roses in the man’s hand told Marshall that this visit had nothing to do with Windham business. “Danetta works on the same floor I do. I’ll take you to her.” Marshall hit the up button for the elevator and waited.
“So, how long have you and Danetta worked together?”
“Danetta and I have been partners for seven years.” Marshall said the word ‘partners’ with extra emphasis and deliberately left out the fact that they were partners in business only. Marshall didn’t know why he’d done that, except that something about this guy, with his confident swag and flowers in hand, bugged him.
The man pulled a business card out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Marshall. “My name is Darnell Hinton. I’m Vice President of Sales at Paper Works. So, if you don’t have a company handling your paper products such as business cards, invoices, envelopes and such, I could set up some time to go over our product line.”
Marshall stuck out his hand. The lost boy with the expensive suit shook it. “Nice to meet you.” They stepped into the elevator; Marshall took the card and then asked, “How do you know Danetta?”
“I’m taking her to dinner tonight. I just wanted to stop by this morning and give her these flowers.”
He could only hope that Danetta would knock him over the head with those lame pink roses. “Is it a blind date or something?”
“Not really. I did see her profile on BlackPeopleMeet.com and was going to introduce myself through that dating service, but then I received an invitation to the Valentine’s Day party you threw last week. I decided to attend and we hooked up there.”
The elevator stopped and the door opened. Marshall was too stunned to move. Danetta had gone out on a lunch date last week with some dude she’d met on Facebook, she’d signed up for some internet dating service and now she was making dates at their business functions, even though she acted as if he’d committed a carnal sin whenever he tried to mix a little pleasure with business. He didn’t want to say that Danetta was a hypocrite, but he was sure thinking it.
“Is this our floor?” Darnell asked.
Snapping out of his trance, Marshall stepped off the elevator. “Let me show you to Danetta’s office.” As they walked down the hall, Marshall glanced at Darnell. The brother didn’t look like the type of guy who had to pay dating services to get a woman. That thought caused him to worry that Danetta might be hooking up with some Jack the Ripper...meeting lonely women online so he could take them back to his place and slice them up. He might even be a Jeffrey Dahmer who likes dark meat. “What gives, man, why are you looking for women online? Seems to me a guy like you should be able to find a woman with little effort.”
“I didn’t become vice president of my sales department by chasing the ladies 24-7. I travel a lot and work long hours. The internet just makes dating easier for me.”
Okay, Marshall could get with that answer. Neither he nor any of his boys would go lurking around the internet to find a woman, but he wasn’t going to throw salt on this man’s game. Monica was seated at her desk outside Danetta’s office. Marshall handed the man off to her and then told Monica, “Please remind Danetta that we’re supposed have drinks with a client at McCormick & Schmick’s tonight.” He glanced over at Darnell and then back to Monica. “She evidently has dinner plans, but this client is important.”
Monica picked up the phone and dialed into Danetta’s office. After a pause, she said, “A Darnell Hinton is here to see you.”
Darnell turned to Marshall and said, “I love that restaurant. I can cancel our reservations and make dinner reservations at McCormick’s.”
With a raised eyebrow, Marshall asked, “You’d do that?”
He nudged Marshall with his elbow like they were conspirators of the same game. “Yeah, man. There may come a time when I need to mix a little business with pleasure. She can’t complain if I let her do it first.”
This guy was a real romantic; no wonder he had to prowl the internet to find a woman.
Danetta opened her door and walked out of her office. She was wearing a pantsuit today. But it wasn’t like the pantsuits she used to wear...with the long jackets hanging well below her backside. No, this suit jacket cut off just above where her extremely formfitting pants began. The suit didn’t hide one bump or curve. The woman had been holding out on him all these years. Never once had she worn anything that made him believe that she was rocking an hourglass body like the one she obviously had.
Darnell stepped forward, grinning from ear to ear. Marshall wanted to trip the man, take those flowers out of his hand and give them to Danetta himself. When Danetta started grinning at her internet-lover, Marshall had witnessed all he could stand. He turned and walked back to his office and slammed the door shut.
* * *
“Thanks for agreeing to have dinner here, Darnell. I really appreciate that you were okay with my meeting with some clients for a few minutes.”
“It wasn’t a problem at all. I have my BlackBerry with me, so I got a little work done while you networked with your clients.”
Danetta was really feeling this guy. He was cool about the demands of her job when most men would feel neglected by a woman trying to take care of her business and her man, too. He also brought her flowers at work for everyone to see—that was the first time something like that had ever happened to her. She was in no way counting that single rose Marshall sent her every year. Everyone in the office knew it was nothing more than a friendship rose. And she certainly wasn’t thinking about those roses Marshall tried to give her at the Valentine’s party. Thank God Darnell had some sense. He was professional, kind and, judging by the flowers he brought her, Danetta thought that Darnell could probably be quite romantic.
“Are you ready to order dinner, or do you think you’ll need to go back over there?” He pointed at the table where Marshall sat with two other men and a woman whose eyes had been glued on Marshall the entire time Danetta sat with them.
Danetta turned toward the table. She watched Marshall hold court for a moment and then turned back to her date. “No, Marshall has it under control.”
“All right then, let’s get our party started.” He lifted his hand signaling the waiter. They placed their orders and then he said, “I have been waiting for this date ever since our dance the other night.”
“Well, thanks for asking me to dance.” Danetta batted her eyes, enjoying the flirt game they had going on.
He reached across the table and put her hand in his. Rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb, he asked, “So, are you looking for a serious relationship or just something casual?”
She pulled her hand away and leaned back in her seat a bit. For some reason, she got the distinct impression that Darnell was hoping she’d say that she wanted a casual relationship. He probably was hoping that she’d say something like, just take me to the hotel, have your way with me and then call me when you get time. Not.
“I’m interested in developing a serious relationship.” She was actually interested in marriage, but why scare him off on the first date?
He leaned back in his seat and studied her for a moment. “You know, you really are a beautiful woman, Danetta.”
She blushed.
“Look at you. You’re COO of a major corporation and you’re blushing because some guy thinks you’re beautiful.”
She didn’t say anything. Danetta had vast business experience and was comfortable in board meetings and corporate settings, but she didn’t have a clue about being coy.
“Yeah,” Darnell finally said, “I think I’d like getting serious with you.”
Danetta smiled. It was nice to be wanted; however, she hadn’t yet decided if this was the man she wanted. But, after her last date, Dar
nell was hitting a home run. “Let’s have dinner first; we can worry later about where we want to go from here.”
“I like your style.” He leaned closer to her, tried to grab her hand again.
Danetta was enjoying the flattery and wanted to give all her attention to Darnell, but her eyes drifted toward Marshall as he stood up, shook the hands of their clients and began walking them out of the restaurant. Trying to get Marshall’s image out of her mind, she turned back to Darnell and flirted with her eyes again. But that’s when she heard some commotion going on toward the entrance. The waiter was headed for them with the food they’d ordered, but someone else was barreling down on them, and she looked angry.
Darnell’s hands flew under the table as the woman approached them. Danetta watched as he fumbled around under the table and then suddenly his hands were back on the table, with an added gold band on his I’m-spoken-for finger.
“Well, isn’t this cozy,” the woman said as she glared at Darnell and then turned her venom on Danetta. “So, I suppose you spend your free time stealing men, huh?”
“Excuse me?” was the only comeback Danetta could think of.
The woman pulled up a chair and sat down.
The waiter brought the plates to the table, but Darnell waved the man off.
The woman turned to the waiter. “Oh, please give them their plates. And I’d like the most expensive meal on the menu. I don’t care what it is, just bring it to me.”
With a smirk on his face, the waiter put the salad plates and bread on the table. “One expensive meal coming up,” he said as he walked away.
“We just ordered, honey, so your meal should come out with ours,” Darnell said as if an angry woman had not just sat down at their table.
The woman rolled her eyes at him and then turned to Danetta and said, “I just want to thank you for this little date or whatever. Because I haven’t been on a date with my lousy husband since I married him.”
Danetta stood up, finally understanding what was going on. She might be a little slow sometimes, but she wasn’t that slow. “Hold up,” she began.
“Sorry I’m late, baby. I just couldn’t get away any sooner.”
Danetta heard Marshall’s voice behind her, then she felt his arm around her waist as he pulled her into an embrace and kissed her. The kiss was soft, sweet and quick, but it sent a jolt through Danetta’s body and left her speechless.
“Sit back down, baby. We can handle this bit of business and then be on our way. Did you order me anything to eat?”
Danetta fell back into her seat, eyes on Marshall, not understanding the game he was playing.
“You didn’t order for me?” Marshall continued when Danetta didn’t respond. He put his hand over hers and said, “That’s fine, I don’t think this meeting will last that long anyway.”
“What meeting?” the woman asked.
Marshall ignored her and turned to Darnell. “Look Mr. Hinton, we might as well cut to the chase. I reviewed your proposal, but we’re just not interested in what you’re selling.”
“This is a business meeting.” The woman clasped her hands over her mouth as she looked from Danetta and then back to her husband. “Oh my God, I’m so embarrassed.”
“Don’t worry about it, Mavis.” The same hand Darnell had used to caress Danetta’s hand, he now used to caress his wife’s. “It was an easy mistake.”
“I was confused because of the way she was looking at you when I walked in.” Mavis pointed at Danetta. “She didn’t seem like she was interested in just business.”
Darnell tsk-tsked and shook his head, as if to say, poor him, he was always having to fend off women and their advances. “I didn’t pay it any attention. You know how some of these women are.”
“Now just wait a minute,” Danetta said, beginning to rise from her seat again.
Marshall gripped her hand tighter. Danetta got the message and kept her seat. She looked into Marshall’s eyes and saw that he was ready to let this jerk get away with his charade. She was about to snatch her hand from his, but Marshall gripped her hand tighter.
He stood up and said, “Well, I hope you and your wife enjoy your dinner.” Pulling Danetta with him as he continued holding on to her hand. “We’ve got to go, because I am taking my baby dancing.”
The waiter came back to the table with the food. Marshall told him, “Put hers in a to-go bag. We’ll pick it up at the hostess desk.” He then walked Danetta away from the table and stood at the front waiting for her food to be brought to them.
“Why didn’t you let me tell him off?” Danetta fumed.
“Because I didn’t want you to have to deal with his wife. That woman looked like she came in here to fight.”
Danetta looked back at the table. The woman had about thirty pounds on her, and Danetta wasn’t sure she would have been able to win that fight. She turned back to Marshall. “Thank you, Marshall. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come over there,” Danetta whispered as she grabbed her to-go bag from the waiter.
As they walked outside, Marshall said, “Don’t worry about it, I’m happy to be your knight in shining armor any time you need me.”
She nudged him with her shoulder. “It’s always nice to have a knight at my disposal.”
“But Danetta, for real, you are a beautiful woman, why on earth are you trolling the internet looking for men?”
“What are you talking about? I didn’t meet Darnell online.”
“Darnell said that he saw your profile on BlackPeopleMeet.com. Why would you sign up for some internet dating service?”
Because you don’t want me, she wanted to scream at him. But instead she just lifted a hand and said, “Not right now, Marshall, okay?”
Her pride had taken a beating with ol’ flower-toting Darnell. She didn’t need a lecture right then. She needed a friend. He put an arm around her waist and walked her to his SUV. “All right, come on woman, let’s go.”
“Where?”
“I’m taking you dancing, just like I told Darnell and the Mrs. Now, get in the car and let me make a quick call to reserve our table.”
Chapter 9
He took her to Sullivan’s Steakhouse. Marshall ordered the lamb chops with asparagus and white cheddar au gratin potatoes. While Danetta ordered the pan-seared sea bass “Hong Kong style” with three cheese mac with garlic butter crust and sautéed green beans. Marshall and Danetta savored each mouthwatering morsel as they listened to the soulful, uplifting sounds of the live jazz band.
“Are you enjoying yourself?” Marshall asked.
Danetta picked up her napkin and dabbed around the corners of her mouth as she glanced around the restaurant. She had never dined at Sullivan’s, but was loving the ambiance...the dimmed lights, black tablecloth with the glowing candle. Her fantasy about having a candlelit dinner with Marshall was coming true. Although she was sure Marshall hadn’t intended to bring her to such a romantic place. “I am enjoying myself. I love jazz bands. But I thought you were taking me dancing?” she needled him.
“Oh baby, if it’s dancing you want, then that’s what you’ll get.” He held out a hand for her as he stood up.
Danetta shook her head. “Nobody else is dancing. Everybody is just sitting and listening.”
“We don’t have to be like them. Come on, let your hair down.”
She gave him a sorrowful look as she said, “The last time I let my hair down, some man’s wife was about ready to pull it out.”
“You know that I wouldn’t have let that happen.”
Nodding with assurance, she said, “I know that. But I still don’t want to dance. I really don’t like for people to stare at me.”
Marshall sat back down. He put Danetta’s hand in his and waited until she looked him in the eyes. “You’re beautiful, Dane
tta. Why are you so afraid to let people see that?”
Was she afraid? “I don’t know. My aunt always told me that beauty is from the inside out. So, I’ve never really worried much about how I looked on the outside until recently.”
“Yeah, well, I normally agree with most things Auntie Sarah says, but people see the outside before they ever figure out what kind of a person you are. So, it’s best to let a man see what you’re working with right up front.”
“Did I miss something? What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about you...that dress...your hair.” He stared at her lips as if he wanted to kiss them as he said, “And this new lipstick you’re wearing. You look good, Danetta. I just don’t understand why you’ve been hiding your true self for so long.”
Marshall was still holding her hand and Danetta was speechless. It felt so good being with him like this. She wondered if he could feel what she felt, but she didn’t dare ask. Marshall had never said anything like what he’d just said to her before. She just couldn’t find words to respond.
A waiter came to their table carrying a dozen long-stemmed red roses. He had a wide grin on his face as he told Danetta, “I was told to bring these roses to the loveliest lady in the room.”
Danetta looked around as if the waiter had somehow slipped up and walked over to the wrong table.
“He’s talking about you, D,” Marshall told her before she managed to direct the man to another table.
Danetta reached out and grabbed the roses as her eyes widened with the revelation. “You got me roses...a whole dozen?”
“Since you’re obviously the loveliest woman in this restaurant, I must confess that I felt compelled to buy you some roses.”
“But when did you do it? I don’t understand... I rode here with you and I never heard you say anything about flowers to the waiter.” Danetta was practically giddy. Tomorrow morning, she was going to throw those tired old pink roses Darnell brought her in the trash and replace them with her beautiful red roses.
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