“A good man,” Kandace said. “I like James. I feel like he’s a good guy for you.”
“That’s good to hear. I’m glad one of my friends is happy for me,” Jade said as they headed out the door.
Kandace and Jade made it to the MARTA station just as the train was pulling in. “Perfect timing,” Kandace said as she paid their fares.
They got on the train and took the first pair of empty seats they found.
“So,” Jade said, “have you found Devon?”
“Yes,” Kandace said. “Or I found his people, who are giving me the runaround. I can’t help but wonder if he’s just avoiding me.”
“Maybe you should let Serena try and get in contact with him.”
“And mix oil and water? I thought we wanted the man to run our kitchen. You know what? You’re going to be the general manager. You get in contact with him. I’ll give you his contact information, and you handle it.”
“Fine,” Jade said. “I’ve always liked Devon. What ever happened between you two?”
“I really don’t want to have this conversation. Especially on the train.”
Jade looked around and noticed that an older man in a seat near them was hanging on their every word. She nodded at the man, who quickly turned forward in his seat. Kandace and Jade broke out laughing.
“Too funny,” Jade said.
“It’s the South. People listen and voice their opinions, especially on the train.”
“Well, we’re not going to be on the train forever, so you buy the sweets, I’ll buy the coffee, and you spill your guts.”
“How about no to the gut spilling, but yes to the coffee?”
Jade shook her head and silently vowed to get to the bottom of Kandace’s situation with Devon.
“Well, this is a surprise,” Maryann said as Maurice and Kenya walked into the bakery. “What brings you two to Atlanta?”
“I’m working on a case here,” Kenya said as she hugged her mother-in-law.
Maurice hugged his mother when the two women stepped apart from each other. “And you know, I wasn’t going to let her come here alone,” he said after kissing his mother’s cheek.
“It’s good to see you two, together and happy,” Maryann said, with a wide smile on her face. “Mo, since you’re here, why don’t you take over the register for me so Kenya and I can talk?”
“I already know about the party this weekend,” he said as the women headed for a table near the window.
“He’s so nosy,” Kenya said. “Can’t keep anything from him.” She gave her mother-in-law a wink.
Maryann scrunched up her face, and Kenya leaned into her. “He doesn’t know about the baby yet,” she whispered.
Kenya shook her head.
“Good.”
Seconds later, after Maurice had taken his spot at the register, the bell chimed as Jade and Kandace walked into the bakery.
“I love this place,” Kandace said. “In the morning you can barely get ...”
“What?” Jade asked as she followed her friend’s gaze.
“Isn’t that your man’s brother at the register?” Kandace whispered.
“Let’s go someplace else,” Jade said.
Before they could leave, Maurice spotted them at the door. “Jade?” he called out. “What a surprise.”
Jade and Kandace walked to the register and smiled at him. “It’s more of a surprise to see you working,” Jade said.
“My mother and my wife wanted to talk about me without me hearing it,” he said.
Kandace grinned. “Your mother? Wow, I never had a clue that this was your mother’s place. I come here all the time.”
“These pastries are addictive,” Maurice said. “I’m sorry. What’s your name?”
“Kandace Davis,” she said, extending her hand to him. “It’s nice to meet you, but I got to tell you, I can’t stand the way you light up the Falcons’ secondary.”
Maurice laughed. “Just doing my job,” he said. “What can I get for you ladies?”
“Where’s James?” Jade asked.
“In Charlotte,” he said. “He was talking about you this morning.”
Jade wanted to ask Maurice why he was being so nice to her, but she figured that he was just trying to put on an act for his mother.
“Can we get two of those big cinnamon buns?” Kandace asked. “And my girl is paying for two large cups of coffee.” She nudged Jade in the ribs.
“All right,” Maurice said. “And I’ll take care of this.”
“No, we’re going to pay our own way,” Jade said as she reached into her purse and pulled out her credit card. “This is for the buns and the coffee.”
“Jade,” Kandace said in a whisper. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing,” Jade said as Maurice ran her credit card through the machine.
Maurice fixed their orders and handed them to the women. “Here you go,” he said, then handed Jade the receipt for her signature.
She signed it quickly and offered Maurice a plastic smile. Gold dig that, she thought bitterly.
“Hey, Ma,” Maurice called out. “Come meet James’s girlfriend.”
“What?” Maryann said, looking at the counter. Jade’s face heated up, as if someone had lit a match underneath her chin. “Maurice,” she growled.
Maryann walked over to the counter and stood in front of Jade and Kandace. “Hello, ladies,” she said.
“Hello,” Kandace said as she broke off a piece of her pastry.
“Hi,” Jade said.
“So,” Maryann said, rocking back on her heels, “who’s dating my son?”
Jade laughed nervously. “That would be me. I’m Jade Christian,” she said.
“You’re very pretty,” Maryann said. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Kandace laughed. “Mrs. Goings, I love this shop, and these buns are just divine.”
“Well, thank you, and you can call me Maryann,” she said, but her eyes never left Jade’s smiling face.
“I had no idea that you owned this place,” Jade said. “I was hoping that James and I would see you together.” She turned and shot an evil look at Maurice, who was smiling like the cat that ate the canary.
“Let me tell you something about my boys,” Maryann said. “They like to tell each other’s business. Do you know how I found out that Maurice and Kenya were back together? James came in here and told me over a batch of blueberry muffins.”
Jade laughed, still nervous that she’d met James’s mother without him. What if he didn’t want his mother to know about them? And did James really call her his girlfriend, as Maurice had said?
Kenya walked over to Jade, with a smile on her face. “Don’t let Maurice bother you,” she said. “He’s harmless.”
“If you say so,” Jade replied. “Are you here about the case?”
“Yes, I’m filing it with the clerk today if things don’t go right with Stephen’s lawyer. I’m going to try and broker a settlement. One thing I’ve learned about people is that they don’t want a lot of bad publicity.”
“Stephen probably isn’t going to care,” Jade remarked.
“You aren’t talking about Stephen Carter, are you?” Maryann asked.
Jade nodded.
“That is one misguided cookie,” Maryann said as she stepped behind the counter, relieving Maurice from his duties. “Can I get you ladies anything else? Kenya, you want to try one of my new creations, lemon-blueberry tart with vanilla icing?”
“That sounds good,” Kenya said as she walked to the counter.
Jade and Kandace took a seat at an empty table near the window. “So, you really don’t like Maurice, huh?” Kandace asked.
“He doesn’t like me, either. Do you know that he had us investigated?”
“Investigated?” Kandace flashed a look at Maurice and shook her head. “What did he have us investigated for?”
“Because he thinks we’re a band of gold diggers out to steal his brother’s money and use the Going
s name for our own purposes. That’s why I didn’t want to get these cinnamon buns for free. However, you will be giving me my money back,” Jade said.
“Whatever,” Kandace said as she took a big bite of her bun. “I don’t turn down free food, so you’re out of luck this time.”
Jade rolled her eyes and took a small bite of her bun. The sweet pastry melted in her mouth, and she took an even bigger bite. “This is great,” she mumbled between bites.
Kandace nodded. “That’s why I’m a size ten now.”
“And there’s nothing wrong with your shape. What’s really going on with you right now?” Jade asked.
“Nothing,” Kandace said. “As a matter of fact, we’d better get going so that I can give you Devon’s contact information and before I order another bun.”
“I’m getting one to go,” Jade said. “By the way, does this whole ‘I hate my body’ kick have anything to do with Devon?”
“Did I say anything about Devon? You go say good-bye to your ‘mother-in-law,’ and I’ll meet you outside.”
Jade drained the remainder of the coffee and headed to the register. Kenya was sitting at the counter, devouring a slice of tart and sipping a glass of milk.
“Leaving so soon?” Kenya asked.
“Yes, Kandace and I are trying to line up a celebrity chef for the restaurant. What we really need is to bring Mrs. Goings back with us,” Jade said.
“My sons have been trying to get me to Charlotte since Maurice was picked by the Panthers, but I love Atlanta too much to leave,” Maryann said. “Want to try my tart?” She held a slice of the golden pastry out to Jade, who happily accepted the sample.
“This is delicious,” said Jade as she chewed the crisp pastry.
“Thank you. I love baking and making new flavors,” Maryann said. “So, how did you and James meet?”
“We were both on vacation in Las Vegas and ran into each other,” Jade said, saving the more salacious details.
“Oh, well, that’s interesting. My son hasn’t told me a thing about you, though,” Maryann confessed.
“Are you surprised?” Maurice asked as he fixed himself a cup of coffee. “James doesn’t share anyone’s business but mine. And he’s been busy at work. You know, Jade is a businesswoman. She and her friends are opening a restaurant in Charlotte.”
Jade shook her head as she looked at Maurice.
He continued talking. “Our company helped Jade and her people find a restaurant in the Cherry community.”
“Maurice,” Maryann said. “Boy, hush.”
Jade was glad his mother had quieted him because she was a little afraid of what was going to come out of his mouth next. “Well,” Jade said, “I have to get going. But I’d love to get a few of those cinnamon buns to go.”
Maryann boxed up three buns for Jade and threw in two slices of the tart.
Jade looked at Maurice. “Why are you being so nice to me?” she whispered.
“Because my mother’s here,” he joked. “No, I can admit that I was wrong about you. Anyone that can beat Stephen Carter at his own game is all right in my book.”
Jade folded her arms across her chest and eyed him suspiciously. “Really?”
Maurice leaned into her and whispered, “I hate that man more than James does, and my only regret is that I wasn’t the one who kicked his ass this morning.”
“What?” Jade asked.
“Jade,” Maryann said, “here’s your order.” Jade headed to the register, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that James had gotten into a fight with Stephen. What in the hell was Stephen doing in Charlotte, anyway? After paying for her order, Jade headed outside.
“Took you long enough,” Kandace said. “They grilled you, didn’t they?”
“No,” Jade said. “I’ve got to call James, though. You go back to the office, and I’ll meet you there.”
“Is everything all right?” Kandace asked.
Jade nodded as she reached into her bag and pulled out her cell phone.
James leaned back in his leather chair, with his eyes closed and his hand buried in a bucket of ice. When his cell phone rang, he nearly turned the bucket over to grab the phone from the center of his desk.
“Yeah?” he said.
“Hello to you, too,” Jade said.
“How are you doing?” James asked, sticking his hand deeper into the ice bucket.
“The question is, how are you doing? I heard that you were playing Mike Tyson today,” she said.
“You heard what?”
“I was down in Sweet Auburn and ran into your mother and your brother, who told me that you and Stephen were fighting today.”
“That damned Maurice,” James muttered. “So you met my mother?”
“She’s a nice woman and I love her cinnamon buns.”
“What did Maurice tell her about you?”
“Only that you want to marry me and have lots of babies,” she joked.
“What?” James grunted, sitting up in his chair and overturning the ice bucket.
“I’m joking,” Jade said. “But did you really get into a fight with Stephen?”
“Yeah, and I have a swollen fist to prove it,” he said. “The dude showed up at my office and ...” James didn’t want to tell Jade that the fight had been over her and the disrespectful things that he’d said about her.
“What?” she asked.
“We just don’t get along, and some old feelings came up that caused me to deck that dude,” he said. “I hate that I didn’t get to introduce you to my mother.”
“Your brother was nice about it. A little shocking, though.”
“Maurice was nice? That’s a first,” James said, with a laugh. “We’re still on for Saturday, right?”
“I wouldn’t miss it, because I can’t wait to see you. Just promise me, there will be no more fighting.”
“As long as your boy stays in Fulton County, I won’t be throwing any more punches.”
“Good,” she said. “Oh, and you should’ve told me that your mother is such a great baker. I’m going to be coming down to Auburn Avenue every day for these cinnamon buns.”
“Those things are good. Mo and I used to fight over them all the time. I tell you what. See if you can bring some of the cinnamon drizzle with you this weekend. I have an idea as to where it would taste delicious.”
Jade laughed. “And just how am I going to ask your mother for that?”
“Easy,” he replied, with a laugh.
“I’ve got to go. The train will be here soon.”
When James said good-bye to Jade, he picked up his office phone and dialed the bakery so that he could take his lumps from his mother like a big boy. He knew that when his brother came back to town, he was going to get him for telling his mother about Jade.
CHAPTER 20
Two days after Kenya filed the lawsuit against Stephen, Jade was getting ready to head to Charlotte, armed with the icing from Maryann, confidence that Devon Harris was going to meet with her on Sunday, because he was in Charlotte with celebrity chef Marvin Woods, and a smug feeling, knowing that Stephen had been served and he was losing. Just as she packed her last piece of lingerie in her overnight bag, the intercom buzzed.
“Yes?” she said into the speaker, expecting to hear one of her girlfriends on the other end.
“Jade, it’s Stephen. We need to talk.”
“I have nothing to say to you,” she barked into the speaker. “You can talk to my attorney.”
“This is madness,” he said. “If anyone should be suing someone, it should be me.”
“What?”
“Do you really want me to stand out here talking about our business, or are you going to be mature and invite me in?”
“I’ll come down there, because I’m on my way out.” Jade smoothed her hand across her black leather dress, which skimmed her knees; then she grabbed her bag and purse. She glanced at herself in the mirror as she headed for the door, then shook her head. She didn’t give a dam
n what Stephen thought about her outfit or anything else. Why was he even here?
When she got out to the street, Jade was shocked to see Stephen with a black eye; then she remembered that he and James had fought earlier. She didn’t hide her smug smile as she walked up to him.
“You have five minutes to say whatever you have to say,” she spat.
“I don’t even need that much time. I’m willing to give you the fifty thousand dollars you claim to have invested in my company in exchange for the property in Charlotte, and we’ll be even.”
“You’re insane,” Jade said, then attempted to push past him. “I’ll see you in court.”
Stephen grabbed her arm. “I have lawyers, too, and your little boyfriend isn’t going to like it when I have him locked up for assault. It’s funny that he was trying to defend your honor when you have none. But that’s just like James. Always trying to play Captain Save a Ho.”
Jade snatched her arm away from him and was tempted to punch him in his other eye. “You’re such a sleazy bastard. I don’t know what I ever saw in a slime like you.”
Stephen shook his head. “You thought I was your meal ticket,” he said. “You and that crew of yours are nothing but gold diggers. I know it, and that’s why I got rid of you.”
“The only gold digger I see is your thieving ass,” Jade said, then stomped on his foot, putting all her weight on the stiletto heel of her boot. Stephen doubled over in pain, and Jade pushed him to the ground. Then she walked away as if she hadn’t done anything wrong.
Stephen was going to be a problem, and as much as she didn’t want to admit it, she had opened this can of worms when she decided to go after him. James was right, she thought as she climbed into her car. It was never worth all this.
James walked into the hotel ballroom where Kenya was decorating for Maurice’s party. When he saw his sister-in-law standing on a stepladder, hanging a banner, he rushed to her side.
“What are you doing?” James asked as he lifted her from the stepladder.
“Decorating, since you’re late.”
“Super woman, you know you could’ve waited.” James hopped up on the stepladder and slapped the HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAURICE banner in place.
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