The Savvy Sistahs

by Brenda Jackson

  “Carla? I wasn’t expecting you back so soon,” Mrs. Boston’s whispered voice floated across the room.

  Carla smiled softly over at the woman who had awaken. “Yes, well it’s been a very tiring day. Come join me in a cup of coffee before you leave. I need to talk with you about a few things.”

  Mrs. Boston had to make a stop at the bathroom and Carla used that time to call Amber’s bookstore to see if there was any update on the condition of the man who had passed out in Amber’s shop.

  Brandy’s bodyguard had swung into action and had done what was necessary while someone had the good sense to call 911. Amber had gotten so upset that she’d left the anniversary celebration to follow the ambulance to the hospital. Brandy and Grey Masters had followed in their car. Carla hoped the guy was okay, especially after finding out that he was the same man Amber had talked to her about that night. It was plain to see that Amber didn’t consider him just an ordinary customer.

  By the time Carla had the coffeemaker going, Mrs. Boston walked into the kitchen with a concerned look on her face. “You look tired, child. You need to get more rest.”

  Carla nodded. If she looked tired now she didn’t want to think how she would be looking a few weeks from now while standing in the unemployment line. “I’ll be fine Mrs. Boston, and thanks for your concern.”

  “Well, the way I see it, your mama should be here with you. That’s what family is for at times like these. I still can’t believe she turned her back on you that way by selling that stock. I read the article in the newspaper this morning and then watched you at that press conference on television. My heart just wanted to bleed. Your daddy has probably been rolling over in his grave all day.”

  Carla couldn’t help but smile because she had thought the same thing several times today. In fact she had thought of her father a lot lately. She missed him so much and always would. She reached out and gently touched the other woman’s hand.“Well,no matter what,I believe everything will be okay. But Jesse Devereau is making it difficult and that’s what I want to talk with you about.”

  Mrs. Boston nodded as she took a seat at the table while Carla poured them both a cup of coffee. Carla glanced down at the older woman who had always been there for her. She then thought of her friends who were there for her now.

  Carla joined Mrs. Boston at the table. “If you read this morning’s paper and saw my news conference then you know that this wealthy industrialist has acquired all the shares he needs to take over Osborne Computer Network.”

  The older woman nodded. “Yes, and I can’t believe your own mother sold him those shares to help him do it.”

  Carla inhaled deeply. She still was having a hard time accepting it herself.

  “And who is this man who’s taking over your company?” Mrs. Boston asked, interrupting Carla thoughts. “Where on earth did he come from? And for him to have that much money, why haven’t I heard of him before? He certainly hasn’t been featured in Jet magazine.”

  Carla’s couldn’t stop the small smile that touched her lips. Next to the Bible, Mrs. Boston considered Jet magazine as gospel. But to be quite honest, she hadn’t known Jesse was all that rich either.

  “He does all of his business mainly on the West Coast.”

  Mrs. Boston frowned. “The West Coast? Well, as far as I’m concerned he should have stayed out there. The nerve of him coming south and messing with your company.”

  Carla took another sip of her coffee before saying. “Mr. Devereau has what he considers a good reason for what he’s doing.”

  Mrs. Boston lifted a brow. “And what reason is that?”

  “Anger. He’s pretty upset with me right now.”

  Mrs. Boston’s brow lifted even higher. “And why is he upset with you?”

  Carla sighed deeply. “Because I refused to tell him what he wanted to know about Craig.”

  The other woman leaned closer. “And what did he want to know about Craig?”

  Like her mother, Mrs. Boston had no idea who had fathered Craig. The only persons who knew were Sonya, Brandy, and Amber. “He confronted me on two different occasions and asked if Craig was his son.”

  Mrs. Boston’s other brow lifted and she sat back in her chair. “Is he? Is that man Craig’s daddy?”

  Carla moistened her suddenly dry mouth before saying, “Yes.”

  “Then why didn’t you tell him?” Mrs. Boston asked softly.

  Carla lifted her chin. “Because he doesn’t need to know. He lied to me that night.”

  Tilting her head to the side, Mrs. Boston smiled sadly, knowingly. “And you’ve hardened your heart.”

  Carla closed her eyes for a moment, knowing that she had. From that one night she had fallen hard for Jesse, and then to find out he’d lied to her had hurt. To him it may have been just a one-night stand, but to her it had been more until she’d discovered he had lied. A wave of pain swept through her and tears she couldn’t contain any longer clouded her eyes.

  Mrs. Boston reached out and captured Carla’s hand in hers. “I believe in my heart that everything will work out for you, Carla. I do believe that.”

  Amber paced back and forth in the hospital’s waiting room while Grey and Brandy sat on the sofa and watched her. It had been two full hours since Cord has been admitted and they still didn’t know how he was doing.

  “Are you sure she just met this guy?” Grey leaned over and whispered to Brandy.

  Brandy nodded as she continued to watch Amber’s agitated pacing. “Yes. According to Carla, he’s someone who started coming into the shop a few weeks ago. Evidently, he’s a valued customer that she’s really concerned about.”

  Grey chuckled. “Yeah. Right. There’s concern and then there is concern. If you ask me, she’s taking this particular customer’s well being to a whole new level.”

  Brandy nodded. Grey was certainly right about that. She had never seen Amber this upset over anyone—especially when that person was a male. Like her and Carla, Amber had placed her full concentration on establishing her business and making it successful than on building a relationship with a man.

  A few minutes later, a doctor in a white coat came through the double doors that separated the visitors from the hospital employees. “Who’s a relative of Cord Jeffries?”

  Amber immediately stepped forward. “I am.”

  The doctor nodded and then asked.“And what is your relationship?”

  Amber blinked. “Excuse me?”

  The doctor raised a brow. “I asked what is your relationship to Mr. Jeffries. Are you his sister, wife, cousin, fiancée…?”

  “Uh, I’m his fiancée.” As soon as Amber said the lie, she turned and met Brandy’s shocked expression and decided she couldn’t worry about that now. She quickly turned back to the doctor. “How is he?”

  “Nothing that a few days of rest won’t cure. It seems your fiané passed out from sheer exhaustion.”

  Amber raised a brow. “Exhaustion?”

  “Yes, he’s evidently been working himself to death and hasn’t been eating properly. Your man needs to take better care of himself.”

  Amber nodded. “And you’re sure that’s the real reason he passed out?”

  The doctor looked at her confused. “Yes. Why? Do you have another diagnosis that you want me to share with me?”

  Amber shrugged. “Well…he was eating a cookie at the time he passed out. One that I baked.”

  The doctor looked at her for a long moment as if expecting her to tell him more and when she didn’t he said. “And your point?”

  “I can’t cook.”

  The doctor chuckled. “Don’t feel bad—neither can my wife, but it hasn’t killed me yet. Your cookies had nothing to do with him passing out. In fact, from the look of things, your cookie is probably the only meal he’s had all day. He hasn’t been doing a good job of eating the right foods and what happened today is his body’s way of telling him that he needs to make an improvement. Things might be worse for him the next time. If I were y
ou, young lady, I would make sure he does whatever he has to do to improve.”

  Amber nodded. “Is he awake? Can I visit him?”

  “I gave him something to make him sleep for a while. Forced rest you might say. And I’ll be releasing him in the morning if his regular doctor, Dr. Phillips agrees. It’s my understanding that Dr. Phillips is of town on business but will return later tonight.”

  “Can I see Cord now?” Amber asked, hopefully.

  “Like I said, he’s sleeping, but I guess you won’t be satisfied until you see for yourself that he’s fine, right?”

  “Right.”

  The doctor smiled. “It’s refreshing to see a woman who’s concerned about the man she loves. I’ll make sure the nurse knows I’ve given your permission to see him for as long as you want. I’ll even have the nurse bring a cot in for you in case you want to stay all night. That way you’ll be there whenever he wakes up. I’m sure he’ll want to see you.”

  “Thanks, Doctor.”

  “You’re welcome and good luck to you and your young man,” the doctor said. He then asked, “Have the two of you set a wedding date?”

  Amber swallowed as she felt her nose getting longer with each lie she told. “No, sir.”

  “Well, don’t wait too long.”

  “We won’t.”

  As soon as the doctor was no longer in sight, Amber glanced up and saw Brandy and Grey Masters approaching.

  “Excuse me and Amber for just a minute, Grey.” Brandy then firmly took Amber’s hand and pulled her to the other side of the waiting room. “What’s going on? Why did you tell the doctor that you’re Cord Jeffries’ fiancé? I almost choked on my Coke when you said that.”

  Amber shrugged. “That’s the only way he was going to give me any information, and I needed to make sure the reason Cord is here isn’t my fault.”

  Brandy raised a brow. “You mean that thing with the cookie?” she asked, since she’d heard every word of Amber’s conversation with the doctor. So had Grey.

  “Yes. And I’m still not sure my cookie isn’t what did him in. You know that I can’t cook.”

  Brandy nodded. Yes, she did know that. “Yeah, but only because you’ve never had a reason to try. There was no reason for you to learn how when your mom enjoyed doing all of the cooking, right?”

  “Right.”

  “And cookies are rather easy and you did follow the recipe, right?”

  “Right.”

  “And the doctor did say Jeffries passed out from exhaustion and not from eating your cookie, right?”

  “Right. But I have to make sure, Brandy. I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight if there’s still doubt in my mind. And that doubt won’t be erased until I can speak with Cord’s own personal physician tomorrow.”

  Brandy crossed her arms over her chest, determined to make Amber see reason. “And what if, in the meantime, his family shows up? How will you explain your existence?”

  “That won’t happen. In an earlier conversation we had, he happened to mention he has no family.”

  “What about a girlfriend? What if he really does have a fiancée and she arrives and finds out that you’re impersonating her? Hell, she might be ready to kick your butt and not only are you not a cook but you’re also not a fighter.”

  Amber hadn’t thought of the possibility that there might be a woman in Cord’s life and she really should have. Men who looked like him normally wasn’t footloose and fancy free. “That’s a chance I’ll have to take.”

  Brandy shook her head. “And you’re actually going to spend the night?”

  “Yes. Please give Jennifer and Eileen a call and let them know I’m still at the hospital and to close things up for me.”

  Brandy took a long, hard look at her friend. “Are you sure about this, Amber?”

  Amber didn’t hesitate in answering. “Yes, I’m sure. Just be here to give me support, no matter what.”

  “Oh, girl,” Brandy said, giving her friend a sistah hug. “You know I will. And I’ll call Carla when I get home to give her another update. But Lord knows she has enough troubles of her own to deal with right now. Looks like we all do. But we shall overcome won’t we?”

  Amber smiled as she clasped Brandy’s hand firmly in hers. “Yes, we will certainly do that. We have to keep the faith.”

  Chapter 16

  Carla’s doorbell rang as she began turning off all the lights for the night. Mrs. Boston had left over an hour ago and Brandy had called to give her an update on Cord Jeffries’ condition and to let her know that Amber would be staying all night at the hospital with the man.

  It had taken Carla a full hour to explain to Brandy what was going on with Amber and Cord Jeffries. Talking about Amber’s problems had momentarily taken her mind of her own.

  She headed for her front door and paused before answering it. “Yes?”

  “Carla, it’s me, Sonya.”

  Carla quickly opened the door and was immediately engulfed in her best friend’s embrace. “What the hell is going on, Carla? I just got back to town and Mama told me everything. What is Jesse Devereau trying to pull?”

  Carla led Sonya into her living room. “He’s asking questions about Craig,” she responded.

  Sonya frowned. “Craig? How does he know about Craig?”

  Carla sighed disgustedly. “Someone sent Jesse an anonymous letter in the mail telling him that he was Craig’s father. He confronted me on two different occasions wanting to know the truth and I refused to discuss it with him.”

  Sonya shook her head. “But that doesn’t make sense. Who would send him a letter? The identity of Craig’s father is a closely guarded secret.”

  “I thought it was. The only persons who knew were you, Brandy, and Amber.”

  Sonya blinked when something suddenly stuck out in her mind. One night several weeks ago when she’d been more than slightly smashed, she’d run into Dalton Gregory. Somewhere in the back of her mind she remembered that in addition to giving her the best lay of her life, the man had also tried to pump her for information. She remembered not telling him anything at the start of the night, but hell, the only thing she remembered about the rest of the evening was reaching orgasm after orgasm after orgasm. Now she wondered if perhaps she’d flapped her jaws.

  “Uh, Carla?”

  “Yes.”

  “I need to go.” Sonya quickly stood.

  Carla lifted a brow. “But you just got here.”

  “Yes, but I just thought of something important,” Sonya said, quickly heading for the door. “Look, I’ll call you tomorrow. In fact, let’s do lunch. By then I may have something to tell you.”

  Before Carla could ask her what, Sonya was out of the door.

  Grey inhaled a calming breath and willed his body to relax as he entered the suite with Brandy. When that guy had dropped to the floor at the anniversary party, Grey had reacted, and immediately had been impelled into action to protect Brandy. Not knowing why the guy had passed out he had immediately thought the worst. He had sighed a deep relief when the doctor had reported that the man had passed out from exhaustion and not poison. But still the incident had reminded Grey of his purpose for being there which was to find the person who intended to do Brandy harm.

  “You were awfully quiet on the ride from the hospital, Grey. Is anything wrong?”

  He glanced over at Brandy as she tossed her purse on the table. “No, everything is fine. I’m just glad that guy is going to be all right.”

  Brandy smiled. “Well, yeah, he will be all right if he follows the doctor’s orders and get some rest. He sounds pretty much like a workaholic, but then I’m sure most of us have been there before.”

  He nodded. He knew he sure had. He then watched Brandy as she moved toward her bedroom. “You’re going to bed?”

  She turned back around. “Yes. This has been a very busy day and hopefully a good night’s sleep will cure everything. Good night, Grey.”

  “Good night.” He watched as she went into her bedroom
and closed the door behind her, thinking it was best that they had distance between them tonight. Even with his affirmation that he would keep his attention focused on what he was supposed to be doing, the fact remained that he wanted Brandy Bennett with a vengeance. He hadn’t been aware of just how much he wanted her, how much he’d begun to care for her until that incident tonight.

  Damn.

  He didn’t want to be, refused to be, and absolutely would not be another Masters that fell for a Bennett. Quinn had fallen and had fallen quite hard, but Grey Masters had no intensions of falling for anything or anyone. He didn’t care one iota that he felt a connection to her that he didn’t understand. Nor did he care that he thought she was the sexiest woman alive. The point remained that the woman had issues; she had parents who had issues; she had two girlfriends who had issues and she had cousins who were questionable, since he knew without a doubt that they would take certain matters into their owns hands if they felt they had to. Brandy Bennett was definitely not the type of woman he wanted to get involved with.

  Too late. They were involved.

  “Hell, no we aren’t,” Grey growled in a low tone as he quickly crossed the room to her office. He needed to check his laptop to see if there had been any new developments while they’d been out. He immediately noticed the blinking light on the phone, which meant someone had tried calling him. Closing the door, Grey sat down behind the desk and became absorbed in what he needed to do.

  “Hell, don’t break the damn doorbell, I’m coming.” Dalton Gregory snatched opened his front door to find Sonya Morrison standing there. The one thing he remembered about the gorgeous woman was that when it came the sex, she was utterly insatiable.

  “Hi, Dalton.”

  His face lit up into a wide smile. “Sonya, this is a surprise. Please come in.”

  Sonya smiled and sashayed into his home knowing that he was getting an eyeful from behind. She hadn’t bothered going home and changing since the hour had been far spent already. She had decided that the short dress she was wearing would do the trick. It wouldn’t take much to seduce a man like Dalton, and tonight without the impairment of alcohol, she intended to have the upper hand.