One of the teens peeked inside. His eyes darted back and forth between Coco and Ransom suspiciously for a moment.
“What do you need, Benjamin?”
“Uh…Mr. Winters, I wanted to let you know that I finished my math. Can I get on the computer? We’re supposed to get the information on the history projects. Since I’m not there, I wanted to see if she posted it on the Web site.”
Ransom nodded. “That’s fine, Benjamin. I’ll be out there in a few minutes to check your math assignment.”
His eyes traveled once more to Coco and his mouth curved upward. “I’m sorry for disturbing y’all.”
“It’s all right,” Ransom said. “Back to work, Benjamin.”
“I just want to say one thing, Mr. Winters. You got great taste.” Grinning from ear to ear, the teen closed the door and was gone.
“Wow,” Coco said with a smile. “He’s good for my self-esteem.”
“Benjamin is a good kid. His father left when he was six years old. He’s the oldest of four and his mother is sick. He works nights and takes care of the family.”
“He’s how old?”
“Sixteen. He’ll be seventeen next week. He’s here because he mouthed off at one of his teachers, who was ragging him about homework.”
“Does she know all this?”
Ransom shook his head. “She’s never asked Benjamin about his life. She’s never inquired why sometimes he falls asleep in class or doesn’t have all of his homework done. She assumes that he’s just lazy and doesn’t want to be in school. She has no idea that Benjamin sees getting into college as his only way to a better life for him and his family.”
“Does he have the grades to get into college?”
“He could,” Ransom said. “He’s certainly smart enough. He is a phenomenal basketball player, too, but because he has to work and doesn’t get off until midnight, he has no time for sports or any other school activities.”
“Is there anything that can be done to help him?” Coco asked. “He needs to be able to focus on his academics if he wants to get into college. What does he want to study?” “Mechanical engineering.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “Really?”
“He can do it,” Ransom said. “I’m looking into what services are available to help his family. I’m also trying to figure out a way for him to make some decent money and not have it interfere with his schoolwork. I’m afraid he’ll start looking for ways to make a lot of money in a short period of time, and if that happens…”
“I don’t even want to think about it,” Coco said. “Wait a minute! Maybe Michael can help. Benjamin could work at the plant after school and on the weekends, but he’d still be able to get off in time to do homework and spend time with his family. I’m sure we pay more than what he’s making right now.”
“He makes minimum wage.”
“Yeah, we definitely pay more than that. Let me talk to Michael and I’ll give you a call later.”
Coco was about to walk out of the door, but Ransom pulled her back into his arms and kissed her.
She returned his kiss with a hunger that belied her outward calm. Burying her face in his neck, Coco breathed a kiss there.
“I’d better get out of here while I still can,” she whispered. “I want to catch Michael before he leaves. He has a meeting sometime this afternoon.”
“Thank you,” Ransom said when they parted. “Benjamin deserves every chance he can get.”
Coco waited for her breathing to return to normal. “I’ll call you after I speak with my brother.”
An hour later, she and Michael walked back over to D-Unit.
Ransom met them at the door.
“Coco told me about Benjamin,” her brother told him. “I’d like to speak with him, if you don’t mind.”
“You can use my office.”
While they were in the back talking, Ransom introduced Coco to the other teens and his staff.
“You the lady that owns the chocolate bar over there?” the one named Jerome asked.
“Yes, I am,” she said.
“I bet you have some real expensive candy in there—it looks like it from the outside. I only peeked in once and I felt like I couldn’t afford to even walk in the place.”
Coco wasn’t sure how to respond to his comment.
“I like to see my people do good,” he told her. “It inspires me.”
She smiled. “Jerome, what is it that you’d like to do?”
“Stay alive, for one thing, and then go to college so that I can have my own business one day.”
“From what I’m seeing, you are on the right track, Jerome.”
He gave her a genuine smile.
Coco turned to Ransom and said, “I know what’s missing over here. You need chocolate. Michael and I will get together and send over a nice selection of chocolate snacks.”
Before he could respond, her brother and Benjamin strolled out of Ransom’s office. From the big grin on the teen’s face, Coco knew that Stanley Chocolates had a new employee.
She wished there was something more she could do to help Benjamin.
Ransom took Coco to a Christian hip-hop concert on their second date. Initially, she wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but as she listened to the words, she found herself warming up to the music.
Coco could tell that Ransom was thoroughly enjoying himself. He caught her watching him and flashed her that sexy smile that caused a shudder to pass through her. When she closed her eyes, she could see him covered in body frosting lying in the middle of a bed.
Oh no, I’m at a Christian concert. Please forgive me, Lord. Okay, I need to really get a grip on this lusting.
Coco crossed her legs and focused on the music. She didn’t dare look at him until it was time for them to leave.
“So what did you think?” he asked her afterward.
“Huh? Oh, I had a great time,” Coco told him. “I actually surprised myself because I really enjoyed the music.”
He broke into a grin.
“Okay, you were right. There, I’ve said it.”
“Hey, I’m just glad you had a good time,” Ransom stated. “Coco, thank you for coming with me. I didn’t want to go alone. Concerts are no fun when you’re by yourself, in my opinion.”
I’d go anywhere with you. Well, not really anywhere, but most places.
She caught Ransom staring at her. “What is it?”
“Sometimes you have this look of pure amusement. It’s as if you’re hearing something no one else can hear.”
Man, he’s good.
“No, it’s not that,” Coco said. “Ransom, we’ve only known each other for a very short time, but there are moments when I feel as if I’ve known you forever.”
He nodded. “I feel the same way. Maybe it’s because I really enjoy your company.” She smiled.
“Coco, I’m not a man to beat around the bush. I’m very interested in you and I would like to pursue a relationship with you. I’d like to see where this road takes us.”
“I feel the same way,” she said.
“Then that means another date has to follow, hence the whole dating thing.”
“Just tell me when and where,” Coco responded with a chuckle. “Actually, I have it. Ransom, my parents are having a dinner party on Saturday for some of our VIP clients. I’d like for you to be my date.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said.
Ransom met Coco at her parents’ Century City home. She had gone over there earlier to help her mother with last-minute details.
A woman dressed in a black-and-white uniform greeted him and directed him to the back of the house, where everyone was gathering. As he passed by the kitchen, the smell of freshly sautéed garlic and herbs tantalized his senses, causing his stomach to growl in protest.
Coco saw him and navigated through the sea of guests toward him. “I’m glad you made it. My mom’s dying to meet you.”
“Where is she?” he asked.
“She went upstairs for a moment, but she’ll be back.”
Ransom chuckled. He silently noted the muted gold walls and deep emerald green tones displayed throughout the furnishings. He was still in the process of decorating his new house, so he looked to pick up tips wherever he could.
Coco led him over to her father.
“This is my date, Ransom Winters.”
“It’s nice to meet you, son.” After a brief pause, he added, “I apologize for staring. You look familiar to me and I was trying to figure out if we’d met before. So your name is Ransom Winters, huh?”
“I’m afraid we haven’t met until now, although I grew up with Stanley Chocolates,” Ransom said.
“Well, it’s a pleasure to have met you, Ransom. A real pleasure.”
There was something in the elder Stanley’s eyes—a flash of recognition…. What was that about? Ransom wondered briefly. He gazed around the room, taking in the dining guests and the ambience.
Coco introduced him to her brother Daniel and his wife. Then her mother approached them. “This must be Ransom,” she said.
“He is,” Coco replied. “This is my mother, Eleanora Stanley.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Stanley.”
Smiling warmly, Eleanora nodded in approval. “He’s a very handsome man, Coco.”
“Thanks for pointing that out, Mama.” Coco took him by the hand and said, “Will you please excuse us?”
Ransom burst into laughter. “I like your mom.”
“Yeah, I guessed you would.”
A waiter walked up to them carrying a tray of wineglasses. Ransom took one and handed it to Coco. He then got one for himself.
“Just so you know, my mother is not ashamed of her quest to have me married and pregnant. She fully believes that I should have a husband and that Michael needs a wife. Actually, I think my brother needs one, too.”
“So you’re not looking to get married?” Ransom murmured. He was more than ready to settle down himself and start a family. It was all he really wanted in life, since he had achieved everything else.
“I’d like to get married one day,” Coco admitted. “I’m just not obsessing over it.”
Everyone gathered under the huge white tent that had been set up in her parents' backyard. After her father said grace, the guests formed lines for the buffet.
“Everything on the menu is delicious,” Coco whispered to Ransom. “But one of my personal favorites is the prawns with sun-dried tomatoes, roasted peppers and spinach. The other is the lobster tail soaked in a lemon-butter sauce. And the baked chicken is really good. We use this catering company all the time. If you’re ever looking for a caterer, you should try them.”
Ransom filed that piece of information in the back of his mind.
They sat down at the table that had been reserved for them.
He sampled the food. “I’ll definitely give these folks a call when I’m looking for a caterer,” he told Coco.
Her smile warmed him. Ransom had no idea why Coco affected him the way she did, but instead of dwelling on the thought, he pushed it to the back of his mind and prepared to enjoy the rest of the evening.
Chapter 5
Jerome surprised her when he walked through the doors of her shop. Coco checked the clock and noted that it was after three.
“I just stopped in to say hello before I took the bus home,” he told her.
“How was your day?” she asked.
“Okay,” he responded with a shrug. “I got all of my class work done and I’m almost done with my homework.”
Coco smiled. “That’s great, Jerome.”
She watched as he walked around the store, looking at everything, but touching nothing.
He turned to her and said, “Miss Stanley, since I met you and your brother, I…I started reading up on making chocolate.”
She was surprised by this. “Really?”
He nodded. “I wanted to know what all it took to make it. I didn’t know that you had to roast cocoa beans.”
“It’s a long process,” Coco told him. “But before you even get to that point, the beans have to ripen and that usually takes five to six months. Then they have to be fermented.”
“Why do you do that?” he asked.
“To make them less bitter and to darken the color.” Coco went on to explain that after fermentation, the beans were sun-dried for several days to bring out the aroma, then packed and shipped to factories that would sort and clean the beans. “Roasting the beans helps the flavor come through,” she finished.
“I like knowing how things work,” Jerome stated.
“It’s good to have a curious mind,” Coco responded. “I was like that in school. Actually, I’m still that way.” She paused for a moment. “Jerome, can I ask how you ended up suspended from school?”
“Miss Stanley, I have a sister. She and I are twins, and there’s this dude at school who’s been pushing up on her. Jeri doesn’t like him like that, but he keeps trying to get with her. Anyway, he had her in the gym and was trying to force himself on her. I couldn’t let nothing like that go down, so I jumped the dude.” His hands curled into fists as he talked. “I’m not gon’ let some dude rape my sister.”
“And they suspended you for that?”
He nodded. “They suspended the dude, too, because we were fighting.”
“Didn’t you tell them what happened? What about your sister? Did she come forward?”
“Miss Stanley, they don’t care. All they see is a black boy who lives in a place they never been.”
“Jerome, I hope you know you’re much more than that. You have a curious mind that needs to be fed. I know there are teachers in schools who are doing more harm than good, but it’s up to you. You have to take control of your education.”
“How can I do that?”
“First, let me say that I don’t believe you should’ve been suspended. You were trying to save your sister and I find that admirable. Before this, what were your grades like?”
“I got two A’s, two B’s, one C and a D last semester.”
“That’s not bad, but I have a feeling you can do much better.”
“I could, but I don’t have a computer at home,” Jerome said. “We don’t have any encyclopedias either. For some of my stuff, I need a computer. Both my math and science books are on a CD. I can’t study at home.”
“Do you live near a library?”
“Not really,” he responded. “But Mr. Winters told me that I can come to the center after school and do my homework.”
Coco walked around the bar and sat down in one of the chairs. She gestured for Jerome to sit beside her. “Are you struggling with any of your subjects?”
“Just math, but Mr. Winters is going to tutor me so I can pull up from a D.”
“What classes were the two A’s from?” Coco asked.
Jerome smiled. “One was in P.E. and the other in history. I love history, especially African-American history.”
“I love African-American history myself. In fact, I recently acquired a couple of copies of The Underground Railroad Records by William Still. It chronicles the runaway slaves who traveled the Underground Railroad to freedom.”
Jerome’s eyes lit up like stars in the sky. “Man, that’s nice. I’d love to read that.”
Coco gazed at him. “If I gave you a copy, would you read it and take care of it? It’s a rare edition now.”
He blinked twice. “Miss Stanley, I’d treat it like gold. It’s our history. You don’t just throw it away—even though they tried to dismiss all we’ve done. I want that book to stay in my family and be passed down to my children. I can’t believe you’d give something like that to me.”
The expression on his face almost brought Coco to tears. “As you said, this is our history.”
She got up, walked back around the bar and reached under the counter. “Jerome, this is yours,” Coco told him. “As you read these stories, purpose in your heart that you’re not going to
let what those people fought so hard for just fall to the wayside.”
A tear slipped from his eye. “Miss Stanley, you don’t know what this…how much this means to me. You and Mr. Winters—y’all are some really good people. You care. I ain’t never…I haven’t had that. I’m not gonna let ya’ll down.”
She wiped away her own tears. “Jerome, I want you to care, even when you feel others don’t. You have to care what happens, and strive to be the best you can be.”
He nodded.
“I look forward to hearing great things about you in the future.” She pointed to a machine and asked, “Would you like a cold chocolate soda?”
Jerome gave her a sheepish look and said, “I don’t have any money.”
His stomach growled loudly then.
“I was just about to eat my sandwich and I have an extra one,” Coco said. “How about you have a late lunch with me? It’s my treat.”
“Miss Stanley…you don’t have to do tha—”
She cut him off. “Great! I hate to eat alone.” He laughed.
They made small talk while they ate. Afterward, Jerome said, “Where’s your broom? I’ma sweep up before I head home.”
Coco pointed to the small closet in the corner. “It’s in there. Thanks, Jerome.”
“I just want to show my appreciation,” he said.
Coco watched him grab the broom and begin sweeping. Jerome was thorough. He didn’t rush, but took his time, making sure that he didn’t leave an inch of flooring untouched.
Ransom strode into the shop with purpose, pausing briefly when he saw Jerome. “Hey, man, I thought you had gone home.”
“He stopped in to say hello and we got to talking,” Coco interjected. “Then we had lunch and he offered to sweep up.”
Ransom went over and patted him on the shoulder, saying, “Jerome, I’m proud of you.”
The teenager shrugged. “She’s real nice and I wanted to do something for her.”
Ransom sat down at the bar. “Exactly what happened here between you two? I haven’t seen Jerome this engaged since he started the program. I can hardly get him to talk.”
“He told me why he was suspended,” she responded in a low voice. “Which I think is wrong on so many levels, Ransom. He should not be suspended. Jerome was only defending his sister.”
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