by Donna Hill
“What! Oh, my goodness.” She splashed water out of the tub scrambling to get to him. She squeezed his cheeks between her palms and kissed him sloppily on the lips. “That is so exciting. It’s what you wanted. I’m so happy for you. Tell me everything. What’s next?”
He grinned like a kid. “Well, we need to get a board of directors in place, start looking at teachers and location.”
The light dimmed just a little in her eyes. This was the hard part, she knew, the part that she’d dreaded but knew was coming. She drew in a breath and put cheer in her voice. “Absolutely. How long do you think it will all take?”
“Months for each step. If we work it right and the stars align in our favor, maybe, just maybe we can open our doors in a year and a half. Maybe a year.”
She nodded. “The main thing is that one big hurdle has been surmounted. The rest will be like rolling downhill.”
“We want to make sure we do everything right, from start to finish. Actually,” he said as he ran the loofah sponge gently across the crests of her breasts that bobbed above the water, “Carl is staying in a hotel in downtown Atlanta. He’ll be here for the weekend before heading back to New York. I really want him to meet you.”
“Of course. I’d love to. How about tomorrow? We can do brunch in the backyard. Or maybe you two manly men will want to barbecue.” She grinned.
“See, now that’s why I love you, you always know what to say.”
“Is Carl single by any chance?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Hmm, maybe I’ll invite Alexis, she’s been dying to meet you.”
“Do I hear a little matchmaker in your voice?”
“I’m happy,” she said, leaning forward to kiss him. “And I want everyone to be happy.” She reached down into the water through the bubbles and wrapped her hand around her prize. “Especially you,” she said in a throat whisper, as she began to stroke him to heaven.
“What do you know about this guy?” Alexis whispered, while she and Naomi prepared the grilled chicken salad.
“One thing, he’s fine. He’s smart. He’s Brice’s best friend and I think he likes you. The rest you are going to have to find out for yourself.”
Alexis put her hand on her well-endowed hip and looked askance at Naomi. “Somewhere, at some point when I wasn’t looking, our roles got reversed,” she said, bobbing her finger back and forth between them.
“What do you mean?” She added the diced cucumbers to the bowl.
“Once upon a time I was the one trying to find Mr. Right for you.”
Naomi turned and smiled at her friend, then looked out the window at the men at the grill. “I guess I’m finally growing up and finding my way and myself.” She inhaled deeply and turned back to Alexis. “I owe a lot of that to you.”
“Me?”
“Yes. If you hadn’t insisted that I go on the trip I would have never met Brice. I would still be living my same uneventful life, until you’d take me kicking and screaming to some club where I’d feel like a fish out of water.” She paused. “It’s not that way with Brice. It…everything just feels right, he makes me feel right and good about myself, and it has nothing to do with how smart I am or what my connections can do for him. To Brice, it’s all about me and my happiness.”
Alexis looked at her friend in awed amazement. Right before her eyes, Naomi had grown up and struck out on her own. Bloomed like a plant that was finally given some sun. And Brice was definitely her sun. “So you think I might have a chance with Carl?”
“Is this the Alexis Montgomery talking? The man-eater asking moi what she should do?”
“Yes.” She tugged on her bottom lip with her teeth. “I…want to get it right this time,” she confessed.
“How about starting with just being your fabulous, funny, witty, genuine self?”
“You make it sound easy.”
“It is. Once you pull back on the veils, being yourself is the easy part. Come on, I smell steak and I’m starved.”
“Seems like Carl and your friend Alexis really hit it off,” Brice was saying, as he smoothed Naomi’s damp hair away from her face.
“I think she likes him.”
“If it’s any consolation, he likes her, too. He told me as much when I walked with him to his car. He wants to see her again.”
“Really?”
“You sound doubtful.”
“No…it’s just that I’m wondering how all of that is going to work, with him in New York and Alexis here in Atlanta. Same problem we’ll have,” she said with an edge to her tone.
He pulled her close. “Why don’t we not worry about that and let things work themselves out? It may not be as difficult as it seems.”
“But—”
He cut her off. “Let me worry about it,” he soothed. “I promise you, it will be fine.”
She sighed deeply and relaxed against the comfort of his embrace. She'd let it go for now, but she knew at some point they were going to have to deal with the harsh reality of what would soon be a very long-distance relationship.
Chapter 21
Monday morning came much too soon. Naomi had barely slept throughout the night, and there hadn’t been much that Brice could do to help the situation except to be there for her.
“I’ll be right out in the quad, waiting for you,” Brice said as they left her house.
She squeezed his hand. “Thank you. Hopefully, this is some crazy mix-up and it will all be over in a minute.” But even as she said the words she didn’t really believe them.
They came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. Brice turned her toward him. “Just remember that no matter what, I love you, I’m in your corner and I will be there for you. Got that?”
She gave him a tight-lipped smile. “I love you, too.”
“It’s going to be fine. All of it. Trust me on that.”
“Okay. I better get going. I don’t want to add lateness to whatever they have on the table against me.”
He kissed her lightly. “I’ll see you in a couple of hours. Think positive.” He waited until she was in her car and ready to pull away before he did the same. As he drove, he sincerely wished and hoped that the big pep talk that he’d given her would all be true.
Naomi sat in the reception office in the administrative wing of the campus. The walls were lined with the portraits of the college’s past presidents, dating back to 1898 when the school was first founded by freed slaves. Atlanta College had a rich history, one which she taught in all of her freshman classes. She was proud to be a member of this talented and committed faculty. And it was something that she did not want to lose.
She glanced down and realized that she’d shredded the tissue that she had in her hand. She picked the pieces off her navy blue skirt suit and shoved them down into her purse.
The intercom on the secretary’s desk buzzed. She picked up the phone, said a few words and hung up. She looked toward Naomi as she rose from her seat.
“If you’ll follow me, Dr. Clarke, the board will see you now.”
Naomi’s heart was knocking so loudly that she was sure that the receptionist could hear it. She stopped in front of a heavy wooden door and knocked, turned the knob and opened the door for Naomi.
There were twelve men seated around the large conference table, and when she stepped beneath the threshold all eyes turned in her direction. Was this her jury, or the last supper? Her head spun with crazy thoughts
“Come in, Dr. Clarke,” said Mr. Hastings, the chairman of the board of trustees.
Naomi stepped into the room and looked around. She wasn’t surprised to see Frank Lewis sitting in a chair along the back wall, a smug look of satisfaction on his face.
She crossed the soundproof room with the intention of taking a seat in the back as well, when the chairman indicated a seat at the end of the table.
There was a knock and the door opened and Chairman Fielding walked in, gruffly greeted everyone and sat at the table with the others.
Something wasn’t right, Naomi thought, as panic and confusion battled in her head.
“Now that everyone is here,” Chairman Hastings began, “let’s get this business started and finished.” He bore in on Naomi. “Dr. Clarke, there have been allegations brought against you for impropriety by your colleague, Professor Lewis.” He opened a folder and took out what looked like photos. He passed them down the table until they reached her.
She didn’t realize she was holding her breath until her head started feeling light. She looked down at the pictures, not knowing what to expect.
Her heart stopped. They were pictures of her and Brice. With him in her driveway, kissing her, the two of them on the steps of her house, her looking lovingly up into his eyes.
She closed the folder and folded her hands on top of it.
“We’ve done some preliminary investigating, Dr. Clarke, and discovered, much to our dismay, that yes, this man in the photos with you is a student here. A blatant violation of this college’s policy and a clear reason for dismissal.”
She was about to interject and provide them with the information that Brice had given her, but decided to bide her time and see where this was going. If things went wrong, that would be her ace in the hole.
She couldn’t see Frank from where she was sitting, but she could feel his smirk.
“However, it seems that several weeks ago Mr. Lawrence had a meeting with the president of the college.” Naomi felt her insides smiling. She snatched a look in Frank’s direction and saw the look of satisfaction begin to dissolve. “The president validated what only a few of us were aware of, that Mr. Lawrence is a fellow, and that visiting fellows are not, according to our charter, considered students.”
Naomi wanted to leap up out of her seat, but she held herself in check.
“Therefore, the allegations of impropriety are dismissed,” he continued. “Which brings us to a greater question and a bigger concern.”
All eyes turned in Frank’s direction. “Any faculty member that would stoop so low as to set out to photograph and—for lack of a better word—attempt to blackmail a fellow colleague is not worthy of working in this institution. We will be taking steps in the next few weeks to begin disciplinary actions against you, Professor Lewis. And your niece, Pamela Phillips.”
Frank leaped up from his seat. “You can’t do this! I brought you evidence. She doesn’t deserve to be dean, I do!”
The door opened and two security guards came in. “Please escort Professor Lewis off the campus.”
Naomi looked around the room as if she was waking from a dream. It was surreal as the members of the board gathered around her with apologies and well wishes. As they moved away one by one, she found herself alone with Chairman Fielding.
“Maybe now I understand a little better about what was going on with you.”
She lowered her head a moment. “It was difficult.”
“You are certainly an amazing young woman, Dr. Clarke. You have men from all corners either wanting to take you down or be your hero.”
“What do you mean?”
“It seems that the other possible contender for Dean, Professor Lloyd, was the one who advised the board about Pamela’s role and that she was Frank’s niece.”
She frowned in confusion. “Trevor Lloyd? You’re kidding.”
He chuckled. “Have a good day, Dr. Clarke.” He walked out, leaving Naomi with her mouth open.
When she walked out of the conference room she didn’t know what to do first, find Brice or find a way to thank Trevor.
She went downstairs to the main office to see if they’d set up a sub for her first class. They didn’t, which meant that she had to be prepared to teach in twenty minutes. She smiled. The board knew all along how this was all going to go.
Naomi checked her mailbox and pulled out the plain white envelope. She frowned, turned it over and opened it. There was a handwritten letter inside.
Dear Naomi,
I’m pretty sure that everything turned out fine for you and you’re probably wondering how I know about any of it. Let’s just say, I still have friends, too.
I must confess that I actually stumbled on what was going on during the many nights I sat outside of your door, trying to dig up the nerve to ring the bell. (No, I wasn’t stalking you.) That’s when I kept noticing the same car, and the small flashes of light.
I decided to follow the driver one night, and I couldn’t have been more stunned to find out that it was one of your students. The last time I followed her she led me right to Professor Lewis’s front door, where he lives with his sister.
I thought if I came to you, with all the animosity between us, you’d think I was lying. So I decided to handle it and I passed the information along to the president, who handed it to the board.
I’m not telling you all this because I want your thanks. It is my way of somehow repaying you for all the crap I tossed into your life. I hope that it makes a difference.
By the time you get this letter I should be on a plane to the West Coast. I’m really going to start over and I have you to thank for that. I’m going to stick with rehab (pretty sure you didn’t know about that) and try to build a life. And you were right, I do owe you your happiness and I’m glad that you’ve found it. Maybe one day you can forgive me and tell me all about it.
You take care of yourself.
Always,
Trevor
Chapter 22
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Alexis said, chatting with Naomi a week later. “I still can’t believe that Frank would stoop that low and then involve his niece. But what really blows me away is Trevor. Who would have thought it?”
“I know. It’s been stranger than fiction, that’s for sure.”
“So now what?”
“Well, Frank will probably be dismissed. I have no idea what they will do with Pamela.”
“I mean with you and Brice.”
She drew in a breath. “The semester is all but over. He’ll be going back to New York.” She hunched her shoulders.
“And you’re just going to shrug it off like that?”
“What else can I do? I can’t make him stay here.”
Alexis grinned like she knew something no one else did.
“Maybe you won’t have to.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?’
“Ask your man. I asked mine,” she teased.
“Lexi! What are you talking about?”
“Ta-ta, chica. We’ll talk later.” She disconnected the call.
Naomi tossed the cell phone on the table and pouted. She hated to be the last one to know, and it had been happening more and more lately. She shook her head. The last person that she expected to actually settle down was Alexis. She was Ms. Footloose. But since she met Carl she’d been a changed woman. She was calmer, more centered and genuinely happy. A good man could do that for you, she thought, as images of Brice came to mind. And now without the shadow of Trevor looming over her, and the craziness of Frank she could actually think about her and Brice and what was next for them.
She’d never been in a long-distance relationship and didn’t see how they could work. It was too much stress and too much time spent apart, too much opportunity for things to go wrong and for someone else to step in and fill the empty hours.
But was she willing to simply let Brice go if they couldn’t work something out? And what could that something possibly be, she worried, with her in Atlanta and him in New York? They both had careers and dreams. The more she thought about it, the deeper her spirits sunk.
Well, Brice was supposed to stop by. And he was not getting back out of her front door until she had all the information that she wanted.
Naomi cut a new path across her floor as she paced and waited and paced some more. She could not imagine what was taking him so long. He said six. It was already five minutes after six! She huffed—just as the doorbell rang.
She darted for the door, then slowed down. She didn’t want to see
m too anxious. With as much calm as she could summon, she opened the door. She put a smile on her face.
“Hey, baby,” he crooned, sweeping her into his arms for a quick kiss.
“Hey baby yourself. You’re late.”
They walked inside. Naomi sat down on the couch, crossed her legs and her arms. “Alexis said you have something to tell me. And apparently she knows what it is and I don’t,” she blurted out without preamble.
Brice burst into laughter. “I told Carl not to say anything, but that Alexis has him wrapped around her little finger.”
“Apparently, I can’t say the same thing.”
Brice grinned. “Aww, baby, don’t feel that way,” he teased, reaching for her.
She slapped away his hand. He came and sat next to her, draped his arm around her shoulder.
“What would you say to helping me open a charter school for young African-American boys here in Atlanta?”
She blinked back her surprise. “What? Me? Here in Atlanta?” Her heart was racing. “But I don’t under stand…I thought you were going back to New York.”
“That was the original plan. I didn’t want to get your hopes up before I was sure about the new plan. It makes more financial sense to open a school here. We looked at the alternatives, worked out all the possibilities and Atlanta made sense.” He paused. “It would have had to make sense, because I can’t see myself moving through life day-to-day without you, Naomi.” He cupped her face in his hands. “I want you with me. I want your brilliant mind, I want your sexy body, I want your support, your guidance and your love. And in return, I promise to keep a smile on your face, stimulate your mind, challenge you to reach your goals. And I’ll spend every day of my life loving you and making the world better with you at my side.” His gazed dance over her face.