The Savvy Sistahs (10 page)

“Do you have this bellman’s name?”

“No, but I know he’s one of our college students who only work part-time. I’ve seen him around several times and noticed that he’s a hard worker.”

Grey nodded. “Have any idea which college he attends?”

Brandy had to think for a minute. Then she said. “I believe the University of Central Florida. We had a masquerade party last October for Halloween and he came pretty well made up, dressed in a vampire costume. I recall someone saying he was a makeup artist in UCF’s movie and production program.”

“Have you fired anyone lately?”

Brandy told him about the two employees who’d worked in housekeeping that had been terminated for taking some of the guests’ belongings.

Grey sighed and jotted more notations on his pad. “I think everything you’ve told me is worth checking out, some things more than others. And as for the way we intend to present our relationship to everyone, I suggest we do just as I planned. As far as anyone is concerned, except your two friends Carla and Amber since you’ve told them too much already, I am your ex-lover looking for a comeback. I will become your shadow and when the investigation is over and I leave, you can claim that things didn’t work out for us because I was too dom ineering, jealous, and possessive and you couldn’t handle that sort of relationship with me any longer. That should be simple enough.” Brandy breathed in deeply. She had a gut feeling that nothing about her association with Grey Masters would be simple.

Chapter 8

Los Angeles

G
ood morning, Mr. Devereau.” Jesse Devereau looked up from the newspaper he was reading when he stepped off the elevator. “Good morning, Kitty, and how are you this morning?”

“I’m doing fine, sir. I’ve placed your mail on your desk and Edward Shingles called twice already.”

Jesse nodded, thinking what else was new? Edward Shingles had been trying to run him down all week, and he had already told the man that further discussion about the matter would be pointless. He was not interested in buying the man’s company, especially after the discovery that the older man had doctored his accounting books to make it appear that Shingles Industries was in better shape financially than it really was.

“If Mr. Shingles calls back, put him through to me right away. Evidently he needs to hear the words
I’m not interested
another way.”

Kitty Perkins tried hiding her smile but failed to do so. She watched as her boss entered his office and closed the door behind him. She had come to work for Jesse Devereau when he’d first started his business over eight years ago and thought he was a wonderful boss.

In a little over four years, the name Jesse Devereau spiked fear in a vast number of corporations on the west coast. Hailed as something of a corporate marauder, he had built his empire by doing whatever it took to get in on the action, whether by forcing a takeover of some successful firm that caught his eye, or going so far as to do whatever he had to do to get a seat on the board of some particular firm. He did it all and without shame, making him one of the most wealthiest African–American men on the west coast.

A few years ago, there were those who’d thought he was a gigolo when he had become the constant companion of wealthy California socialite Susan Brady, a woman twenty years his senior. They had accused him of trying to take advantage of Brady for her money since it was a known fact she had terminal cancer. But those same individuals had been shocked right out of their socks when, right before her death, Susan Brady announced publicly that Jesse Devereau was the illegitimate son she had given up for adoption. It seemed that while in college at Harvard some thirty years ago, a young Susan had fallen in love with an African-American law student and their secret affair had resulted in pregnancy. Therefore, no one was surprised at the reading of Susan Brady’s will when it was announced that she had left all her money and worldly possessions to her son.

Mrs. Perkins sighed. Those who didn’t really know Mr. Devereau considered him ruthless, unbending, and hard. But she saw beyond all his roughness. What she saw was a man who had achieved all of his accomplishments the hard way, and deep down beneath that tough exterior he still wanted to belong and be accepted, not as the illegitimate son of Susan Brady, but as a man who had become highly successful in his own right. But one thing she’d discovered about Jesse Devereau was that he was also a man who didn’t like to be crossed. He selected his friends and business associates carefully and anyone who betrayed him had hell to pay.

The ringing of the telephone interrupted Kitty’s thoughts and she quickly went about doing the work her boss was paying her a very good salary to do.

Jesse tossed all his other mail aside while studying one envelope in particular. It was postmarked from Orlando, Florida. He would never forget the last time he’d been in Orlando almost three years ago, and the woman he’d met there. Occasionally, he would allow his mind to drift back to a Thanksgiving he would never forget. Pushing aside the memories, he quickly opened the letter and read the document that was contained inside.

A frown marred Jesse’s forehead as he reread the letter. A few minutes later, he leaned over and punched the intercom button on his telephone.

“Yes, Mr. Devereau?”

“Kitty, please contact Mike and tell him I need to see him immediately.”

Mike Kelly watched as Jesse paced back and forth within the confines of his office. The two of them had been friends since their foster home days and Mike could claim to be the one person who knew the real Jesse Devereau.

“Stop wearing out the carpet, Jess, because it won’t change a thing. As you can see from the report I gave you, you’re listed as the father on Carla Osborne’s child’s birth certificate.”

Jesse stopped his pacing and met Mike’s gaze. “If I’m the child’s father then why wasn’t I told? I had every right to know about it.”

Mike shook his head. “Look, you did say it was a one-night stand, so maybe she thought she was doing you a favor by not telling you. And there’s the possibility that you would not have believed her if she had.” Jesse inhaled deeply. He would have believed her. The one thing he would never forget about that night was that Carla Osborne had been a virgin.

“And,” Mike continued, “although your name is on the child’s birth certificate, there’s still a question as to whether the child is yours since you said that you used protection.”

Jesse leaned against his desk. “Yes, but I’m not stupid enough to think a condom is a hundred percent safe,” he said. Especially when he remembered the number of times they had made love that night. Somewhere in the process he could have gotten careless. He picked up the report Mike had delivered over an hour ago. Mike was not only his best friend but also his right-hand man who owned a private investigating firm in L.A.—one of the best. His clients usually included people in the entertainment industry, politicians, and other well-known individuals. As well as being someone he trusted implicitly, Mike was also someone he could always count on to bring him the facts and nothing but the facts.

“And the child’s birth certificate was not part of the public records?”

“No, which I found unusual. Ms. Osborne had a special filing done by her attorney to keep the information concealed, pretty much the same way some adoptions are done.”

“I want to know if the child is really mine, Mike.”

Mike nodded. “If he is, then what?”

The answer to that question came easy. “If he’s mine I want to be a part of his life.”

Mike wasn’t surprised that Jesse would feel that way, since he knew just how much family meant to Jesse. He had been given up for adoption at birth but had found himself bounced from foster home to foster home instead. “At least there’s one thing you do know about Carla Osborne.”

Jesse lifted a dark brow. “And what’s that?”

“She’s not a money grabber. If her son is really yours, she hadn’t planned to use him to get to your bank account. I know a number of women who would have quickly stepped up and claimed you’re their baby’s daddy if they thought doing so would get them hefty child support payments each month. Evidently Ms. Osborne didn’t think that way.”

Jesse leaned against the desk, frowning. “Regardless, that doesn’t erase the fact she didn’t tell me about a child that I would have given anything to know I had. Before we parted ways, I did leave my business card with her so she knew how to contact me if she needed to.”

Mike chuckled. “A business card? Oh, how romantic, Jess.” He knew at the moment Jesse was too upset to see reason, but Mike had a few questions of his own, like who had sent the letter to Jess? Evidently Carla Osborne had acquired an enemy who’d known that upon receiving the letter Jesse would do one of two things: something or nothing, and they had counted on him doing something. Most men would have tossed such a letter in the trash and counted their blessings that they hadn’t known about the child, but not Jesse Devereau.

Although some considered him ruthless and hard, there were those who didn’t know the other side of him. It was the side that strongly believed in the principle that a man shouldered the responsibility of taking care of any child he brought into the world and should be an integral part of his child’s life—from start to finish. Susan Brady’s emergence into Jesse’s life had come too late, although the woman had tried to make up in four months what she’d failed to do in thirty-six years.

“So what’s your plan?” Mike asked, meeting Jesse’s gaze.

Jesse sank slowly into the chair behind his desk. “I plan to leave for Florida immediately.”

Chapter 9

Y
ou’ve resorted to making office calls,

Dev?” Dr. Devin Phillips set his black bag in the middle of Cord Jeffries’ desk and gave his friend a stern frown. “Yes, if that’s what it will take, Cord. Janelle phoned earlier, concerned about you, and since you’re determined not to keep your appointments, you left me no choice.”

Cord pushed the papers he’d been working on aside, not appreciating the interruption even if it was a visit from his closest friend. “Look, Dev, Janelle had no business calling you. I’m paying her to keep my office running smoothly, not to play mother hen.” “

Somebody needs to do it, Cord. You’ve been working too hard, nearly driving yourself into a state of exhaustion over the past six months. If you don’t let things go I hate to think what might happen. Need I remind you how Dad died?”

The mention of Walter Phillips’s death from a heart attack over a year ago caused a lump to form in Cord’s throat. Dev’s dad had been the closest thing to a father that Cord had had. The widowed man had taken him in after Cord’s grandmother had died, leaving him with no other relatives at seventeen, but with a best friend who had taken him home after the funeral and said, “You might as well come live with me and Dad. He won’t mind.”

Not only did Walter Phillips not mind, he made things legal when he applied to become Cord’s guardian through Childrens Services. Cord would always keep a special place in his heart for both Dev and his father.

“I wouldn’t give Diane the satisfaction to know she’s driven you to this.”

The mention of his ex-wife’s name reclaimed Cord’s attention. He met Dev’s gaze and frowned. “She hasn’t driven me to anything.”

“Dammit, yes, she has, Cord, and at this moment I would love to know where she is so I can forget my medical oath and put my hands around her deceitful little neck.”

Cord couldn’t help but replace his frown with a smile. Dev was overprotective where he was concerned. Always had been and probably always would be. And it didn’t help matters that Dev had never liked Diane. In fact, he had suspected something was up long before Cord had had a clue. A year ago he had come back in town from attending the national CPA convention only to discover his wife had cleaned out every cent out of their bank account—his business account as well— and had left town with some guy she’d been having an affair with for over three months. Within a month of her departure, he had received divorce papers in the mail. He had quickly signed them and went about doing what needed to be done to get back on his feet financially. Dev, as always, had been there for him and had offered him a loan to tide him over. But he knew he had to rebuild his accounting firm to what it used to be. If word had gotten out that his wife had embezzled all of his funds, he would have lost clients for sure. So for the past year he had been working practically day and night, taking on as many new clients as possible. And with the tax season fast approaching, it seemed everyone wanted to make sure their financial books were in order. He was working even longer hours than before and had been for the past six months.

“Janelle said you’re not eating properly, Cord.”

Cord leaned back in his chair. “Janelle talks too much. I think I’m going to fire her.”

Dev chuckled. “Yeah, right. You wouldn’t know what to do without her.”

Cord inwardly admitted Dev was right. His secretary was so efficient that one could look beyond her fault of having such motherly instincts. She had been a godsend when she had answered his ad for a secretary the same day it had appeared in the newspapers. For the past six months together they had rolled up their sleeves to tackle the mess Diane had left behind. Luckily, Diane hadn’t had access to any of his clients’ accounts or Cord would have been faced with an even bigger mess and possible jail time, all because of a greedy ex-wife.

Now he’d become a workaholic, not by design but by necessity. He usually got to work at five in the morning and didn’t leave until way past seven or eight at night. Those times when he did remember to eat lunch were on the run at some fast food place, but most of the time he’d found himself skipping lunch all together. Dinner for him was even worse. When he got home he usually popped in a microwave dinner but more times than not, he was too tired to eat it and he would find the meal sitting in the microwave the next morning when he got up.

“I hope you’ve changed Diane as the beneficiary on your life insurance policies. Otherwise at the rate you’re going you’ll make her and that jerk she ran off with a happy couple, because you’re definitely working yourself into an early grave.”

Cord’s frown returned. “You won’t let up, will you?”

“Where you’re concerned? No. Especially since you broke your promise to relax some.”

“I have been relaxing. I’m even doing some pleasure reading like you suggested.”

“Oh, and what do you think?”

Cord smiled as memories he couldn’t let go of filled his mind. “I think she was something else.”

Dev frowned, wondering what book Cord had read to put that sort of look on his face. “Who was something else? Just what book did you read?”

Cord met his friend’s curious gaze. “I’m not talking about the book. I’m talking about the woman who sold me the book. She owns the bookstore. There was something about her that really turned me on, man.”

Dev laughed. “Hell, you may be tired, but I see your libido is still kicking and in damn good working order.”

Cord grinned. “Yeah. She’s the first woman to pique my interest since Diane left. I hate to say it but my ex definitely left a bad taste in my mouth. A woman can really do something to a man after taking over three hundred thousand dollars out of his bank account.”

Dev chuckled. “Yeah, I can imagine. But tell me some more about this woman, the one who sold you the book.”

Cord smiled as he remembered. “Like I said, she owns the bookstore around the corner in the Florida Mall. It’s a real nice set-up with a vast number of things, mostly books. But there was something about her, something different, and I felt it the moment I saw her.”

“What? Lust?”

Cord couldn’t help but chuckle, since Dev was well aware he’d gone without sex for over a year. Not only had Diane left a bad taste in his mouth but she’d also wiped clean any desire he’d had for another woman. “No, it was more than lust. At least I think it was. I admit her body turned me on and then there were her eyes. She has the most gorgeous pair of eyes I’ve ever seen on any woman. They’re amber in color, just like her name. I bet she was named Amber because of her eyes. But her body and eyes weren’t the first things that captured my interest.”

“What was?”

“Her smile. And I was able to pick up two different women inside of her. One side of her seemed like a woman who got it going on, a woman who was sure of herself, someone who could probably motivate the hell out of somebody.”

“And the other side?”

Cord sighed. That was the side that had him slightly confused, the side he wanted to discover. He’d detected a passionate side that was clouded by pain. She had been as aware of him as he had been of her, and he also had a gut feeling that she’d been as attracted to him as he’d been of her, but she had held back. “We were attracted to each other, Dev. I felt it. I also felt her holding back, pushing it away.”

Dev nodded. “She could already be seriously involved with someone.”

That comment brought a frown to Cord’s face. He had thought of that, too, although she hadn’t been wearing a wedding band or an engagement ring. “Yes, that could be the reason.”

Dev lifted a brow. “But knowing just how tenacious you are, I guess you’re going to find out the real reason, right?”

Cord smiled evenly. “Yes, that’s my intent.”

Dev shook his head. The woman had made one hell of a first impression on Cord. Dev didn’t know whether he should be worried about Cord working himself into an early grave or him getting into something he might not yet be ready for. But he quickly decided the first was far worse than the second. After Diane, he had to trust Cord’s instincts about being cautious about another involvement with a woman. He’d known that Diane Martin had been bad news from the start, but Cord had gotten caught up in her sultry voice and centerfold body before he could even blink good, and within months had announced he was getting married. It took less than a year for her to take him to the cleaners.

“All right, man, roll up your sleeve,” Dev finally said, opening his black bag.

Cord sat up straight in his chair. “Ah, come on, Dev. You aren’t serious, are you?”

“As serious as a heart attack, which you may eventually have if you don’t slow down. But since you seem determined to work yourself to death then I guess the task of keeping you alive falls on me. First, I plan to take your blood pressure. Then I’m going to give you a blood test since I can just about bank on you not eating anything this morning anyway. If I recall, the last time I gave you a blood test, the results showed you were anemic and I bet you haven’t done anything to rectify the problem. You look like you’ve lost a few pounds since I saw you last.”

“Hell, Dev, I’m fit as a horse. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with me losing a few pounds. Once I get back into the gym, I’ll have more muscles on my body than you do,” he said, knowing how much time Dev spent at the gym when he wasn’t at the hospital. Dev wasn’t married but he did have a steady girl. Briana was everything Dev needed and Cord was expecting them to announce an engagement real soon.

“Roll that sleeve up, Cord, or do I have to call Janelle in here to hold you down while I do this?”

Cord frowned as he began rolling up his sleeve. “You’re getting to be a downright pain in the ass, Phillips.”

“Yeah, so take care of yourself and I’ll leave you alone.”

Cord’s frown deepened as he said, “Not damn bloody likely.”

Thirty minutes later Cord stood in front of the window of his office building and looked out at Interstate 4. As usual it was backed up with everyone heading east toward Disney World. Glancing at his watch he saw it was the noon hour and Janelle would be leaving for lunch shortly.

He thought of the scolding Dev had given him and decided he may as well go out and get a bite to eat as well. But at the moment, his mind was not on food. It was firmly attached to the woman he had talked about with Dev, the woman who owned the bookstore. The woman with the beautiful eyes.

Amber.

She had been on his mind a lot lately, even during those times when he’d needed his full concentration on debits, credits, and balance sheets. In less than ten minutes she had blown him away and there had to be a good reason other than he was hard up. And just like he’d told Dev, the attraction he felt for her went beyond sex, although he had to admit he had placed her and sex in the same thought more than once. There was just something about her full curves, rounded hips and voluptuous thighs that really turned him on. And then she had such a strikingly beautiful face. It was the kind that would catch any man’s attention. And added to that was her smile. He could have talked to her all day just to see her smile. It had been a long time since a woman’s smile had done anything for him but hers had done a hell of a lot.

Quickly deciding his reaction to her that day had been nothing more than a fluke, he decided to test that theory by paying another visit to her store. There was nothing wrong with telling her he had enjoyed the book and letting her know his secretary had enjoyed the romance novel as well. And it also made perfect sense for him to buy two more books: one for himself and one for Janelle.

He turned and eyed all the paperwork that was stacked on his desk, visible evidence that he would be working late again tonight. He shrugged as he headed for the door. No big deal, since it was becoming the norm anyway.