by Zane
Rinaldo was quickly extradited back to California, bandaged balls and all. They picked up Sammie on another charge and Rinaldo was considering trying to plea bargain by spilling all the beans on his friends.
Tasha’s mother was the biggest shock of all. She was nice, extremely nice to Tasha. She stayed over for two nights and handled Tasha with kid gloves. It became so emotional that Tasha finally came clean to her mother about the night she’d lost her virginity to a teenage rapist. A boy she’d thought she loved and the first in a long line of men who had eaten away at her heart until it became cold and hard.
Allison refused to allow her daughter to give up on the pursuit of happiness. “Tasha, love is never painless sweetie. If you never take a chance, you’ll never be happy.”
“I’ve taken chances, Momma. Haven’t you heard all I’ve been saying?”
“Yes, I’ve heard every word. I don’t think the problem is you. I think the problem is the men you’ve deemed worthy enough to become a part of your life. If you really take a long, hard look at the past, you’ll see the similarities and learn to steer away from men like that in the future.”
“You really think I can be happy, Momma?”
“I’m sure of it.” Allison finished brushing Tasha’s hair and got up off her bed. They’d been held up in her bedroom for more than five hours. “You just need to decide what you really want in a man and refuse to settle for anything less until you find him. Chances are you’ve already crossed paths with him and didn’t even know it.”
Chapter Thirteen
“Mr. Montgomery, can you step out here for a moment?”
“Cynda, I’m in a meeting.”
“I realize that, but this is kind of urgent.”
Joseph Montgomery stepped out into the receptionist area of his accounting firm, wondering if his secretary had lost her mind. She wasn’t supposed to disrupt him during a meeting under any circumstances. He had one of his biggest clients in his office and couldn’t risk them accusing him of being unprofessional.
“What is it, Cynda?” Joseph asked angrily.
He followed Cynda’s eyes and spotted a chicken standing by the outer door holding a bouquet of roses, a box of candy, and a picnic basket.
“Hey, I remember you!” he exclaimed, his total demeanor changing.
“I remember you, too.”
“Tasha, right?”
“Yes, Tasha.”
“Interesting outfit.”
Tasha couldn’t believe she was actually standing there in a chicken costume. After the talk with her mother, she realized that Joseph was a man she’d like to get to know better. She hardly knew anything about him, but he had been friendly at the bus stop that day, despite her rudeness, and he was definitely sexy.
“I have a singing telegram for you, Mr. Montgomery.” Tasha pointed to the sofa on the left-hand wall. “Could you please have a seat right there on the sofa?”
“A singing telegram?” Joseph took a seat, forgetting all about his client. He’d thought about Tasha often since he met her, but since she said she was committed, he didn’t pursue her. “I can’t imagine from whom.”
“I can’t reveal the sender until I deliver the telegram. That’s like looking at the signature line on a greeting card before you read what it says.”
“Okay, okay, I’m sitting.” He smiled.
Tasha placed the flowers, candy, and basket on Cynda’s desk, pulled a harmonica out of the chicken suit, and huffed out a scale before clearing her throat and flapping her wings.
If you want good lovin’
Come and play in my coop
If you want some honey
Come and play in my coop
If you want something sweet
Come and play in my coop
If you want a special treat
Come and play in my coop
Cluck Cluck for you
Cluck Cluck about you
I’m clucking a’iry day
I’m clucking a’iry night
Clucking for you
Clucking about you
Clucking in hopes you’ll cluck toooooooooo!
Come on over and ruffle my feathers!
Once Tasha was done, Cynda and Joseph stared at each other, willing themselves not to burst out in laughter. Tasha sounded like an ailing hyena. She waited in the middle of the floor for their reaction.
“That was outstanding!” Joseph lied, standing up and applauding. “Wasn’t it, Cynda?”
“Oh yeah, outstanding and then some.” Cynda snickered.
Tasha blushed uncontrollably.
“So now will you tell me who sent it?”
“Your woman, perhaps?” Tasha giggled.
“I don’t have a woman. I thought I made that clear when we met.”
“When you met?” Cynda asked, being nosy. The fact that they already knew each other changed things. She went from slightly interested to enthralled.
“That was more than a month ago,” Tasha replied. “Things can happen swiftly in the game of life.”
“Well, not that swiftly. Since you shot me down, I’ve been shaking in my boots about approaching another woman. Not that any other woman have caught my eye.”
Tasha couldn’t prevent herself from blushing for anything. She was so turned on by him. His sexy smile. His bedroom eyes. His perfect skin. How could she have let him get away in the first place?
Tasha retrieved the items off Cynda’s desk and handed them to Joseph.
“These flowers and candy are for you, along with this picnic lunch.”
“Thank you, but who…”
“Me.”
Joseph was stunned. “You?”
“Yes, they’re from me.” Tasha glanced down at Cynda, who didn’t even pretend to be doing anything else but hanging on every single word. “Can we possibly go somewhere and talk privately for a moment?”
“Certainly. Cynda, could you please put these in some water?” Joseph asked, laying the bouquet on Cynda’s desk. “I’ve always wanted to say that. Never thought I’d get the opportunity.”
Cynda smirked at him. “Hmmmmmmm!”
After they were in a vacant office with the door closed, Joseph asked, “So Tasha, to what do I owe such a surprise?”
“I got your contact information from Michael. I hope you don’t mind me showing up out of the blue like this.”
“Not at all. In fact, I’ll have to send Mike a bottle of champagne.”
“I don’t really do singing telegrams.”
Joseph chuckled. “I kind of got that impression.”
“I borrowed this outfit from my friend, Angie. She delivers them part-time.”
“Hopefully, she’s got a better singing voice.”
Tasha couldn’t help but laugh. She knew she couldn’t sing worth a damn. “I guess I deserved that one.”
“Yes, you really put everyone in jeopardy.”
“How so?”
“One octave higher and all the windows would have crashed in on us.”
Tasha punched Joseph lightly on the arm. “Very funny!”
“So why all of this, Tasha? Don’t get me wrong. I love the attention, but what did I ever do to deserve it?”
“I wanted to apologize for the crass behavior I displayed when we met at the Metro station. It was totally uncalled for.”
“I wouldn’t label it crass. You just didn’t want to be bothered.”
Tasha stared down at the gray plush carpeting.
“I made a mistake. Several of them. I was totally delusional.”
“About what?”
“Men. One man in particular. I picked the wrong door.” She looked back up into his eyes. “Now, if it’s all right with you, I’d like to take a peek behind your door.”
Joseph grinned from ear-to-ear. “Peek away.”
“I was wondering if you’d like to get together sometime and do something.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“Well, I bought you that picnic lunch.
It would be a shame for it to go to waste.”
Joseph frowned. “I’m in the middle of a meeting.”
“Oh, I see.”
Tasha headed for the door. Joseph wasn’t about to let her pull a disappearing act on him twice.
“But, if you can wait about half an hour, we can go to the park across the street and have a long talk.”
Tasha swung around, her eyes lit up like moonbeams.
“I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.”
“Great! Why don’t you have a seat back out in the waiting area and I’ll wrap things up quickly.”
“Do you have somewhere for me to change?” Tasha asked. She’d brought a pantsuit along with her, just in case he agreed to spend the afternoon with her.
“Change?” Joseph asked sarcastically. “I hope you wouldn’t deprive me of a dining experience with a chicken. I’ll be the talk of the town after this.”
Tasha giggled. “Maybe we can be the talk of the town together.”
“Maybe,” Joseph said, taking her hand into his and intertwining their fingers. “After all, it’s a small, small world.”
About the Authors
Zaneis the national best selling author of Addicted, Shame on it All, The Sex Chronicles: Shattering the Myth, The Heat Seekers, Gettin’ Buck Wild, Nervous, Skyscraper, The Sisters of APF, Afterburn and Dear G-Spot. She is the publisher of Strebor Books International, and imprint of Simon & Schuster (www.streborbooks.com).
J.D. Masonis an accomplished novelist/playwright and lives in Denver, Colorado with her two children. She is the author of And on the Eighth Day She Rested, Don’t Want No Sugar, One Day I Saw a Black King, and The Fire Down in My Soul.
Shonda Cheekes, a native of Miami, Florida, lives in Atlanta with her husband and two children. She is the author of Another Man’s Wife and In the Midst of It All.
Eileen Johnsonis a graduate of the University of Southwestern Louisiana. Her obsession with fictional short stories began after reading “Pink Toes” by Chester B. Himes. She resides in southwestern Louisiana where she is a full-time mommy and is working on a full-length novel. She is a contributor to Zane’s Love is Never Painless.
Make sure you visit www.blackgentlemen.com!