Business of Love

by Hodges, Cheris

  Jill watched him as he dug into the food. Obviously the man liked fried chicken, and she liked watching him work on the chicken leg. She was mesmerized by him; it was as if his eating hypnotized her, making her wonder how those lips would feel on her most tender spot, his tongue teasing her throbbing feminine desire. She inhaled sharply at the thought of it, his head between her thighs, and the roughness of his hair rubbing against her smooth skin.

  “Jill,” Darren said, his voice filled with concern. “Are you all right?”

  “Wh-what?” she said, flustered by her thoughts.

  “You were breathing kind of funny, like you were having an asthma attack.”

  She stood up to hide her embarrassment. She was having an attack of lust. “I’m fine,” she replied, unable to face him.

  He placed his hand on her shoulder. “If hospitals affect you this much, you can leave, and I won’t feel bad. I appreciate you coming.”

  She spun around, her forehead brushing against his lips. The slight touch sent a tingling sensation down her spine. “I’m okay.”

  Darren took her hand and helped her into a chair. “This was really nice of you,” he said.

  “I try to do nice things, especially if I like someone.” Did those corny words just come out of my mouth? I sound like a desperate troll!

  “I like you too, Jill. I can tell already that you’re special,” he said. “It’s hard to find honest and considerate people to deal with these days.”

  The smart thing to do right then would have been to tell him the truth. She should have told him that she wasn’t exactly honest with him about what she did at DVA, that she wasn’t in marketing, that she was the CEO. But Jill was silent. Words, which had never failed her before, weren’t her friend. She opened her mouth but nothing came out. And to make matters worse, Darren gently kissed her bottom lip, making her nearly swoon.

  “Thank you for lunch and for being here.”

  “You’re welcome,” she replied with a smile on her face. “I think I’d better head back to the office.”

  “Not just yet. I can’t eat that hunk of red velvet cake by myself.”

  Darren and Jill shared the moist cake and she crumbled inside as she thought about how she was fooling him.

  * * *

  When Jill left the hospital, she headed to Lenox Square for some retail therapy. As she shopped, looking at the latest in haute couture, she wondered how Darren would react to her if she told him that she wasn’t a marketing researcher. Maybe he would understand. After all, it wasn’t a huge lie. It wasn’t as if she were hiding a husband and three children or the fact that she was a transvestite. But that didn’t matter. A lie was a lie and Darren had said that was the one thing he couldn’t handle. But Jill wasn’t ready to risk her budding relationship. Not just yet.

  Chapter Six

  Cleveland Alexander was the talk of Piedmont Hospital. Not only was he in the hospital for a mere three days, but he walked out when he was released, despite the fact that the nurse wanted to wheel him out.

  “I don’t care about hospital policy, I’m walking,” he’d told the short brunette before kissing her on the cheek flirtatiously.

  Darren and his mother, Margaret, watched him with tears in their eyes.

  “He looks so much like your father,” she whispered in Darren’s ear.

  “Tell me about it. Acts like Pops too.”

  “Y’all gonna talk about me or help me in the car?” Cleveland asked jovially.

  Darren took his brother’s arm and helped him into the car. “Remember, the doctor said you have to take it easy. No running and jumping.”

  “That’s right,” Margaret said as she slid in the back of Darren’s SUV. “That’s why I’m staying with you until your rehabilitation is over.”

  “Ma, no, I’ll be fine.”

  Darren playfully slapped his brother’s cheek. “Shut up, baby boy. Ma is staying and there isn’t anything you can do about it.”

  Cleveland glared at his brother, and then blurted out, “Ma, Darren has a girlfriend. She even sent me flowers.”

  Margaret kicked the back of Darren’s seat. “You’ve been holding out on me, Son? Why haven’t I heard about this or met her?”

  “First of all, she isn’t my girlfriend, but I am rather fond of Jill. She’s a nice lady and we’re just getting to know each other.”

  “The other one was nice too, at first anyway. Look how that turned out. Women nowadays want to act like men, so focused on a career and don’t care nothing about starting a family or anything like that. You’d better make sure this one is nothing like that other one you married. I’m not going to take too kindly to another woman trying to play you for a fool. If I could have gotten my hands on that other heffa…”

  “Ma, we just met.”

  “He saved her.” Cleveland ribbed. “She was in a fire New Year’s Eve and since then, he’s been sniffing around her like she’s just hot potatoes.”

  “Well, she’d better not break your heart, or she’s going to have to answer to me.”

  Darren drove off and turned his music up to drown out the same tired conversation he and his family had been having since Rita’s abortion. His mother was never going forgive Rita for what she did. Darren wouldn’t exactly say that he had forgiven her, but it was time to move on. He couldn’t be bitter, distrust every woman he came across because of what one had done.

  And though he loved his mother dearly, Darren was happy to drop her off at Cleveland’s townhouse in Lithonia. He was glad that his mother was there for Cleveland and ecstatic that she wasn’t staying with him.

  “Don’t let that woman trick you,” Margaret warned as she got out of the car.

  “Ma, I love you, but I think I’m old enough to take care of myself.” He kissed her on the forehead and got back into his truck.

  Darren had to force himself not to peel out of the driveway. After all, he did have a date to prepare for, and he wasn’t going to let his mother’s notions put a damper on his evening with Jill.

  * * *

  “Shari, thank you for coming here with me,” Jill said as she and her friend walked into Neiman Marcus.

  “I don’t know why you need me to help you get ready for tonight. You have impeccable style.”

  Jill lifted her eyebrow. “Yeah, if I’m going to a business meeting. I want tonight to be special.”

  “I hate to beat a dead horse, but have you told him that you are DVA and not just an employee?” Shari asked as she flipped through the latest Carmen Marc Valvo dresses.

  “With everything that happened with his brother, the time was just never right.”

  “And every day that you spend with him is going to make it harder and harder to tell him the truth.” Shari placed her hand on her hip. “I want you to be happy, Jill, I really do. But you can’t get happiness from a lie, no matter how hard you try.”

  Jill picked up a black and white Marc Jacobs dress with a flirty hemline, quarter-length sleeves and a red stripe running down the center. She had the perfect shoes to match it.

  “Jill, you’re going to show up for a date with this man in a $500 dress and expect him to buy that you are a marketing researcher?” Shari said, shaking her head as Jill picked up the dress.

  “Men don’t notice stuff like that.”

  “But they read the business section of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.”

  Jill sighed heavily. The paper had just written a feature on DVA. Though she hadn’t seen it, she was sure there was a photo of her included with the article. “One more date, Shari, and I will tell him the truth. But tonight, I want to feel like a real woman, a woman a man is attracted to because she’s beautiful and fun. Not because he wants to make a business deal or wants me to further his career.”

  “I understand, but if you feel like Darren is going to be a leach, why even deal with him?”

  That was a question she didn’t have an answer for. Honestly, she didn’t feel that way about him, but it was impossible to
know what someone was going to do before getting to know them. Jill just wanted to get to know Darren without the trappings that went along with being Jill Atkinson. She’d had men romance her and slip her a business plan all at the same time. She didn’t think Darren was like that, but before she told him the truth, she had to be sure. In a way, she was approaching the romance the same way she approached a business deal. Before she invested her total emotions, she was going to get all of the information she needed. There was nothing wrong with that, at least that’s what she thought.

  After shopping with Shari, Jill headed home to relax and prepare for her date. She popped in a John Coltrane greatest hits CD, lit a gardenia-scented candle and drew a warm bath. Easing into the water, she imagined Darren sitting across from her, drawing her into his arms. Did he have a hairy chest, she wondered. If he did, she’d twirl his damp curly hair around her finger as she brushed her lips against his. Darren would slip his hands underneath her thighs, spreading her legs apart and stroking her softness with his thumb. Her body throbbed at the thought. Jill couldn’t remember the last time her body had been caressed and touched by a man. She’d become skilled in the art of pleasing herself, so skilled that without realizing it, Jill inserted her finger in the realm of her sexual heat, stroking her pleasure and making her legs shiver with delight. Though it was her own hand bringing her to the brink of an orgasm, in her mind it was all Darren. Would he use his tongue or his finger to warm her up? Maybe both as he pushed her back against the wall of the tub, diving into her face first, tasting her sticky sweetness. She rubbed herself harder and faster. Her nipples hardened as she took her free hand and ran it across them. Every nerve in her body stood on end as she reached her climax. And when she opened her eyes, part of her expected to see Darren there. All she saw was her satisfied reflection in the mirror.

  Quickly, she washed her sensitive body, got out, and smoothed an apple-scented lotion over her damp body. It was nearly time to meet Darren, though she wasn’t sure if she would be able to look at him without blushing this evening. They had made plans to meet for lunch, but since Cleveland was being released from the hospital, they had turned their date into dinner and a movie. She didn’t care what they went to see as long as she was with Darren. Jill was falling for him hard and fast.

  By the time Jill had dressed in her new Marc Jacobs dress, bumped the ends of her hair and wrapped herself in a full-length leather coat, she was ready for Darren. Instead of going to the Three Dollar Café, they had decided to go back to Red and sample their dinner menu before going to Phipps Plaza to catch a late movie.

  Fortunately, Red was still a low key spot. The last thing Jill needed was a business associate to walk up on her and blow her cover before she told Darren herself.

  Taking a cab to the restaurant, she ended up stuck in a traffic jam and she was late. If she hadn’t had on a pair of three-inch high heels, she would have walked the four and a half blocks to the restaurant. When she arrived, Darren was standing out front looking at his watch. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him. She wondered how many women he’d had to fight off standing there looking like at Twenty-first Century Billy Dee Williams in his navy blue slacks, cream turtle neck and brown leather bomber jacket. She hopped out of the cab almost before it came to a complete stop.

  “Darren,” she said as she strode over to him. “Sorry I’m late. You know how traffic can be.”

  He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “Could have been avoided if you’d allowed me to pick you up. They’re holding our reservation.”

  The couple scurried into the restaurant, and the maitre d’ led them to a secluded table in the back of the restaurant with a bird’s eye view of the dance floor, bar, and front door. Out of habit, Jill reached into her purse and tipped the man twenty. Darren raised his eyebrow but didn’t say anything.

  “This is nice,” Jill said as the maitre d’ started to pull her chair out.

  “Thanks, guy, but I got it from here,” Darren said possessively.

  “All right,” the man replied. “I’ll send a waitress over right away.”

  Jill sat down, smiling at Darren. “You wanted him to leave, didn’t you?”

  He answered by gently kissing her lips. “I didn’t need an audience for that.”

  Warm from the burning desire inside her, Jill took a sip of the water.

  “How’s your brother?” she asked when she found her voice.

  “Great, but a little upset that Ma has moved in with him for a while. He values his independence.”

  “Most people do.”

  Darren shook his head from side to side. “Cleveland was potty trained at two because he didn’t want anyone changing his diaper.”

  “Are you serious?”

  Darren chuckled. “No, but he was two and a half. I’m just glad his injury wasn’t more serious. I wish the city would realize that we need more money in the fire department budget. Maybe the right equipment could have saved him from this injury. Sometimes I wish the city would let some corporation underwrite us so we could get what we need.”

  “But what happens when that corporation tries to tell you what fires to fight?” she asked, thinking that some businesses would have the fire department running the hose at company picnics.

  “I know it isn’t realistic, but our budget keeps shrinking and shrinking.”

  “And what’s the money going to? Definitely not the roads,” Jill said, thinking about the huge pothole she’d hit the other day, which had bent the rim of her tire.

  Darren brought her hand to his lips. “That’s why I enjoy spending time with you. You’re just as cynical as I am.”

  Did this man understand what the feel of his lips against her skin was doing to her? Jill tried to downplay the rage of lust that came over her.

  Just then, a waitress, dressed in a red uniform, walked over to them to take their cocktail and dinner orders.

  When the waitress left, Darren inched closer. “So, Jill, tell me more about yourself.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Everything.”

  She smiled nervously. What should she say? “There’s really nothing to tell. I’m a simple person.”

  “That I find hard to believe. Where did you grow up?”

  “Macon. Told you, simple.”

  “I never would have guessed that. I thought you were from up north or something. How did you get into marketing?”

  “It was something that kind of fell into my lap. I really wanted to do something with computers and marketing so DVA was a natural fit. Computer consulting, you know.”

  “I knew it had something to do with computers. I’ll never forget the way you gripped that laptop the night of the fire.”

  She blushed as she thought back to the night that had changed her life. “Well, all of my important files were on that laptop and I couldn’t let it go up in flames.”

  “Did your place get damaged any? What floor do you live on?”

  “Uh, no, no damage. I live on one of the higher floors.”

  Darren reached out and grabbed her hand. “You can tell me where you live. I’m not a stalker or a killer.”

  “I know that. All right, I live in the penthouse on the fifteenth floor.”

  Darren’s face registered shock. “Maybe I should get into marketing if you can afford the rent on that.”

  “Actually, I own it,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper.

  Still looking surprised, he didn’t say anything and Jill offered no explanation. She prayed that he wouldn’t question her on how she could afford such a lavish home.

  Jill gripped the bottom of her water glass and tried to think of something to say to change the subject. Luckily, the waitress returned to the table with their drinks.

  “You orders will be out shortly. Can I get you anything else?”

  “I’m fine,” Jill said as she turned to Darren.

  The waitress looked at Darren. “And you, sir?”

  “Ever
ything is fine, thank you.”

  When the waitress left, Jill started talking about the Atlanta Falcons and their playoff chances.

  “As long as Vick stays healthy, we should make it to the Super Bowl,” Darren said. “But I’m not too concerned about the Falcons right now.”

  “Really?”

  “What are you hiding, Jill?”

  “Hiding? What do you mean?”

  “I feel like you’re holding something back. Or are you afraid to let me get to know you?”

  This is it, Jill, just tell him the truth. “I am afraid,” she said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you’re a bad guy, I think the opposite, but when you’ve been burned, it’s a little difficult to jump back in the fire.”

  Darren nodded, showing his understanding. “Even though I know how you feel, you can’t judge everybody by a sorry standard. Whatever that other man did to you, know that I won’t.”

  “Is that a promise?”

  Darren made the Boy Scout sign. “I never make a promise that I don’t intend to keep.”

  Tell him, her conscience screamed. You know he doesn’t want anything from you. You have no reason to keep up this lie. Jill formed her mouth to say the truth but the words wouldn’t come out.

  “I’m going to hold you to that,” she finally said.

  Darren reached across the table and stroked the back of her soft hand. “You don’t have to be afraid with me. After my divorce, I never thought I would let another woman get close to me again. I thought all women were evil, but meeting you blew that theory out the water.”

  She blushed like a school girl being told by the high school quarterback that she was pretty.

  “But,” Darren said, “you have to let me in. I want to get to know you from the inside out.”

  “Okay,” she said. “Because I want to get to know you, too. So far, so good.”

  When dinner arrived, they ate in a comfortable silence, stealing glances at each other and sharing warm smiles. After they ate, Darren suggested that they go dancing instead of going to the movies.