Betting On Love

by Hodges, Cheris

  James closed the file and leaned back in his chair. Despite the fact that he was trying to get some work done, he drifted off to sleep and dreamed of Jade.

  CHAPTER 11

  Jade sat in Kandace’s downtown Atlanta office, reading the latest issue of Black Enterprise magazine, as she waited for her friend to set up a meeting with the Realtor in Charlotte. She’d only been back in town for three days, barely enough time to recover from jet lag. But time was of the essence when it came to getting this property out from underneath Stephen.

  “Yes, we can be in Charlotte tomorrow,” Kandace said in an ultraprofessional tone. “I look forward to putting a face with the voice as well.”

  She hung up the phone and turned to Jade with a wide smile on her face. “It sounds very promising. We’re soon going to be the owners of a restaurant in Charlotte.”

  Jade dropped her magazine. “Great. But why do we have to go meet with the Realtor?”

  Kandace shook her head. “No one does a million-dollar deal over the phone. You know what? While you and Serena were trying to line up funding with those bankers in Vegas, you should’ve hit up your new friend’s brother.”

  “No,” Jade said. “James doesn’t have anything to do with this, and I didn’t want him to think I was trying to get next to him to gain access to his brother.”

  “Oh my God,” Kandace said. “Serena was right. You really do think you and James have something more than a fling.”

  “Don’t go there. And just so you know, whatever James and I have is our business. You, Serena, and Alicia don’t have to approve.”

  Kandace held her hand out like a cat’s paw and hissed at Jade. “You don’t have to be so mean. Isn’t that guy from Charlotte? At least you will get to see him in his natural habitat, and you’ll see if this thing you’re trying to build is real. I’m all for love, unlike Ms. Serena. But do you think it’s wise to start something so soon after what went down with Stephen? You could be on the rebound and end up with—”

  “I can handle this,” Jade said firmly. “But it’s good to know that I have one friend in my corner.”

  Kandace leaned back in her chair. “Jade, you know I have your back, through thick and thin.”

  Jade smiled. “Well, hopefully, there’s going to be more thick than thin these days. Even if we don’t get this property, I hope the price goes up so high that Stephen can’t afford it.”

  “How are you going to get your money back?”

  Jade shrugged her shoulders. “I probably won’t get it back. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit by and watch him become a success when he knows that he wouldn’t have been able to do this without my dumb ass.”

  “You were in love. He made it seem as if you two were going to get married and run this culinary empire together,” Kandace said. “He’s a damned fool, because you have an amazing business mind.”

  Jade folded her arms across her chest. She didn’t feel as if she had a great business mind. Right now she was unemployed, because her last job had been as Stephen’s bookkeeper. “Maybe I should open my own accounting firm, since I don’t have anything going on right now.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Kandace said. “And I’ll be your first client. You know I need you to do my business and personal taxes.”

  “Normally, I would say I don’t need charity, but business is business,” Jade said.

  “Alicia and Serena are supposed to be meeting us for lunch so that we can go over our plan for the meeting in Charlotte,” Kandace said. “I’m feeling some Chinese. What about you?”

  Jade, who was staring out of the window, nodded absentmindedly.

  “Jade, are you all right?” Kandace asked, noticing her friend’s silence.

  “What if this isn’t worth it?” Jade said. “If I focused my energy on me, then I’d accomplish a lot more.”

  “And Stephen will get away scot-free. Jade, he can’t get away with what he did. This is more than just revenge. He needs to learn a lesson.”

  “Let me use your phone for a second,” Jade said as she reached for Kandace’s desk phone. Then she dialed the number of the Fulton County Department of Health. “Yes,” she said when someone answered. “I’d like to report some health violations at Chez Marcel. When I ate there two days ago, I found a live roach in my house salad.” After giving a few more bogus details about her dining experience, Jade hung up the phone with a promise that a health inspector would visit the restaurant in a few days.

  Kandace nearly fell out of her chair laughing. “My goodness, girl. Remind me not to get on your bad side. Stephen is going to flip.”

  “I hope he didn’t get his cooling system fixed,” Jade said, with a snicker. “At least there will be some sort of violation.”

  Kandace shut her computer down. “Come on. Let’s get to P.F. Chang’s before we have to wait two hours for a seat.”

  As they headed out the door, Jade couldn’t help but feel reenergized about giving Stephen just what he deserved. She could do that and start her firm at the same time. Kandace was right; he needed to learn a lesson and she had fifty thousand reasons to teach him.

  Kandace and Jade arrived at P.F. Chang’s at the same time as Alicia and Serena.

  “I can’t believe everyone is on time,” Jade said as they walked into the restaurant.

  “Some of us have jobs and only an hour for lunch,” Alicia teased.

  “Whatever,” Jade replied.

  Serena, who was sending a text message on her BlackBerry, looked over at Jade and shook her head. “I can’t believe you’re not somewhere talking to James. Have you heard from him since you’ve been back from Vegas?”

  “Wow! Are you still in my business?” Jade snapped.

  “Ladies,” Kandace said, “we’re here to talk about our meeting with the realty company in Charlotte. Can we keep the personal barbs to a minimum?”

  “Always the voice of reason,” Alicia said as the hostess led them to a table in the rear of the restaurant. “But for real, Jade, has Mr. Wonderful called you?”

  Jade rolled her eyes. “No. But I didn’t expect him to.” Jade wasn’t about to tell her friends that she was worried that James hadn’t reached out to her. She knew that he was busy with work, and she’d only been back in town for three days. Still, part of her had to wonder if James had even given her a second thought since he’d returned to his real life.

  James hung up the phone with the owners of the restaurant that the Atlanta-based investment group wanted to purchase. The price had risen considerably because the first buyer had matched the second offer that James had countered with.

  “Amber,” he called to his assistant. “What time is that meeting tomorrow?”

  Amber walked into his office with an electronic calendar. “Ten a.m.”

  “All right. Thanks for all your research on this project,” he said. “I can’t believe that the owners want to inflate this price even more.”

  Amber leaned against the door and shook her head. “Sounds like the beginnings of a bidding war to me. Aren’t there other restaurants these women could purchase?”

  “According to all the e-mails that I’ve gotten from them, they want this property. I know Cherry is undergoing a change, but it’s not happening as fast as people think it’s happening.”

  “At least the commission is going to be great,” she said, with a smile.

  “And ten percent of it is yours,” James said, then rose to his feet. “I’m going to head out for lunch. Maurice is allegedly coming by. If he gets here before I do, tell him to wait.”

  Amber smiled and nodded. “Do you think he’ll sign a football for my sorority’s charity auction?”

  “Ask him. I’m sure he’ll do it,” James said, then headed out the door. When he got to the parking lot, he pulled out his cell phone and scrolled down to Jade’s number. He wanted to call her, but what if she was busy? What if she’d moved on from their Vegas fantasy and back into Stephen’s arms?

  There’s only one
way to find out, he thought as he pressed the talk button.

  “Hello,” Jade said, with a singsong quality to her voice.

  “Good afternoon, beautiful.”

  “Hi, James,” she said.

  “I didn’t catch you at a bad time, did I?”

  “Kind of. I’m having a lunch meeting with my alleged business partners. Can I give you a call back?”

  “Sure,” he said. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  James couldn’t help but wonder if those business partners included Stephen Carter. She can’t be stupid enough to go back to a man who robbed her of fifty thousand dollars.

  As James got in the car, his phone rang. “This is James,” he said.

  “Hey, brother-in-law,” Kenya said. “I just called the office, and Amber said you were going to lunch.”

  “Yeah, what’s going on?” Even though Kenya and Maurice had a solid marriage, James still felt a little protective of his brother and sister-in-law.

  “Where are you eating? I want to join you because I need your help on something,” she said.

  “On what?”

  “A surprise for your brother.”

  “That man doesn’t need any surprises. He has everything.”

  “Almost everything. James, promise me that you will keep this to yourself, okay?”

  “I promise,” he said.

  “I’m pregnant.”

  “What?”

  “Yes, while you guys were in Vegas, I had my annual checkup and found out. But I don’t just want to tell Mo over dinner, especially since his birthday is coming up.”

  “Kenya, Mo is going to be so happy. He really wants to be a father, and thank God, you’re going to be this child’s mother.”

  “So, you’re going to help me?”

  “Yeah. Why don’t I pick up something and come by your office? Have you started having those crazy cravings yet?”

  “No. But I would like something cheesy.”

  “I’ll hit Fuel Pizza and get us a few slices.”

  “Don’t forget the hot wings,” she said before saying good-bye.

  About forty-five minutes later, James arrived at Kenya’s office with five slices of pizza and a large order of hot wings.

  He placed the pizza box on her desk and opened it. “I got cheese, barbecue chicken, Buffalo chicken, pepperoni, and the works,” he said.

  “Which one do you want?” Kenya asked as she reached for the cheese slice.

  “Thankfully not the cheese,” he said as he grabbed the works slice. “Any preference as to what you want to have?”

  “Are we talking about the baby?” she asked in between bites.

  “Yes.”

  “I’d love a little girl, but it doesn’t matter as long as the child is healthy.”

  James shook his head as he took a big bite of his pizza slice with the works. “I can’t have a niece that looks like you. Mo and I would never have any peace.”

  Kenya set her slice on a napkin and looked at James. “Excuse me?”

  “We’d be chasing the little boys away with a shotgun. Besides, the first child is always a boy. Little James.”

  She laughed and reached for the hot wings. “If I have a son, I pray he won’t want to follow in his father’s footsteps and play football. It’s hard for me to watch Maurice get hit, and if it’s my son on the field, I might be tempted to deck a kid.”

  “Come on. If you have a boy, he has to play some sport.”

  “There’s basketball, baseball, and track. Anyway, I want your mom to come to Mo’s party so that she can be there for the announcement. I was thinking about having two cakes. A birthday cake and a future daddy cake. What do you think?”

  “That’s a lot of sugar, and you know Mo is going to already be overstimulated,” James said, with a laugh. “But his birthday is next week. Are you sure he won’t find out about the baby before then?”

  “Find out what?” Maurice said from the doorway.

  “I guess he did,” Kenya said. “We were planning a surprise party for you.”

  Maurice walked into the office and kissed his wife on the cheek. “I don’t want a party.”

  “Why not?” James asked.

  “Because it’s just a reminder that I’m getting old,” Maurice said, then took a wing from the box.

  “Thirty-one isn’t old,” Kenya said. “And don’t go there about NFL age. You’re having a party, and you’re going to like it.”

  Maurice bit into his wing and shook his head. “I guess the boss has spoken,” he said after swallowing. “Can we at least keep it small?”

  Kenya wiped her hand on a napkin. “All right. But you’re really going to love this party.”

  James bit the inside of his cheek to keep from saying anything. He couldn’t wait until his brother found out the real reason behind the party. “Are you still coming by the office?” he asked.

  “Damn, I forgot all about that,” Maurice said. “I wanted to take my wife to lunch, but it looks like she couldn’t wait for me today.”

  Kenya rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Neither of you told me how Vegas was.”

  Maurice chuckled. “I know one of us had more fun than the other. Isn’t that right, James?”

  As if on cue, James’s cell phone rang. He looked down at the caller ID and saw that it was Jade. “Hello,” he said as he stepped out of the office.

  “Hi, James,” Jade said. “Sorry about earlier.”

  “You were on my mind, and I decided to call,” he said.

  “I’m glad you did. I was beginning to think that you’d forgotten all about me.”

  “How could I ever do that?” he said. “What did Nat King Cole say? ‘You’re unforgettable.’”

  “James,” she said, and he could imagine her blushing on the other end of the line.

  “Did you have a good meeting?”

  “Yes, and I’m going to be in Charlotte tomorrow. Do you think we can see each other?”

  “Sure. Well, I have a meeting in the morning, but I can clear my schedule in the afternoon.”

  “Good.”

  “Just good? I was hoping for great or you telling me that you’re jumping for joy,” James quipped.

  “I love how humble you are,” she shot back.

  “That’s just my way. How long are you going to be in Charlotte?”

  “Just for the day. I don’t want to spoil your trip to Atlanta. You know what they say about too much of a good thing,” she said.

  “That it’s never enough.”

  “You’re so funny. It’s really good to hear your voice,” she said in a serious tone. “Part of me wondered if Las Vegas was just a beautiful dream that I’d woken up from three days ago.”

  “It was no dream, because if it were, I’d still be asleep. We had fun in Vegas, but I’m looking forward to getting to know the real you and showing you the real me,” he said.

  “James,” Maurice called from the hallway outside of Kenya’s office. “We need to talk.”

  “Duty calls. I’ll see you tomorrow,” James said into his phone.

  “I’m looking forward to it,” Jade replied before hanging up.

  James turned to his brother. “What’s so damned important?”

  “Try and talk her out of this party thing,” Maurice whispered.

  “How about no?”

  “Come on, James,” Maurice pleaded. “I don’t feel like standing in front of a room of people celebrating my road to retirement.”

  “Where is all this coming from? You haven’t lost a step. You guys made it to the NFC championship game last season, and if it wasn’t for the quarterback getting hurt, y’all probably would’ve won a second Super Bowl.”

  Maurice leaned against the wall and looked at his brother. “We got a new coaching staff coming in, and from what I hear, Coach Lukeman runs the ball more than he passes it.”

  “All right, but everyone knows that you’re the star of this team,” James said. “There’s no way the new coach is going to
bench or trade you.”

  Maurice shrugged his shoulders. “There’s no way to know that. That’s the nature of the NFL. Kenya really loves it in Charlotte. What happens if I get traded?”

  “Did you see something on ESPN this morning that put you in this funk?” James asked.

  “Yeah. I saw who Carolina named as the head coach.”

  “You don’t know what that man is going to do. Don’t ruin this for Kenya. She really wants to give you this party.”

  “Why? You know what? It doesn’t matter. If she wants to give me this party, then I’m going to party. You bringing your Vegas babe to the shindig?”

  “Maybe,” James said. “And thanks for interrupting my phone call with your melodrama.”

  “Oh, you two have been talking since all that sex in Vegas?” Maurice grinned. “You know what they say. You can’t turn a—”

  “Don’t go there. Jade and I are getting to know each other, and I think I’m going to like her. Therefore, you’re going to have to respect her.”

  Maurice threw his hands up in surrender. “My bad, player. But let me speak from experience. Don’t let a big butt and a smile get you into something you can’t get out of.”

  “This isn’t Lauryn Michaels we’re talking about,” James said. “Jade doesn’t have a golden shovel in her hand.”

  Kenya walked out into the hallway. “Is this a meeting of the all-boys club?”

  “No,” Maurice said as he wrapped his arms around Kenya’s waist. “My brother fell in love with vacation booty.”

  “You married vacation booty,” James shot back. “No offense, Kenya.”

  “Totally different circumstances,” Maurice said. “We have history.”

  “Leave James alone,” Kenya said. “People find love in unexpected places. I have a meeting in Matthews. Will you guys lock up?”