Authors: Angie Daniels

When It Rains... (31 page)

BOOK: When It Rains...

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Natalia whizzed back to her office and was sitting behind her desk trying to return several phone calls when her secretary buzzed. The candidate had arrived.

“Where's the file?” she asked with exasperation.

“It's sitting on the middle of your desk.”

“All right,” Natalia grumbled. “Give me a minute.” She'd been so wrapped up in a conversation with one of their designers that she'd forgotten about the interview.Crossing her legs, she reached for the folder. Her eyes went straight to the work history before they rose to the top of the page. Staring down at the name, she felt her heart sink.
Oh, hell naw!
Sterling Mann! She hissed the name as if it were an obscenity, then slammed the file shut. Why hadn't Terraine warned her? But he wouldn't have known that the two had a history. Although she had little reason back then, she still couldn't stand his ass. She had thrown her weight around because she knew she could, and had behaved childishly. But she would never admit itânot to him, not to anyone.

“When it rains, it fucking pours!” she hissed under her breath as she reached in her drawer for a Tic-Tac.

Twirling in her chair, she decided to get the interviewover and done with, then send him back on a plane to wherever he came from.

Her stomach clenched despite her resolve to numb her emotions. Glancing quickly in the mirror, she raked her fingers through her hair. Then, after straightening the lapel on her salmon-colored suit, she buzzed for Tiffany to send him in.

Before she had a chance to relax in her seat, the door swung open and there he stood. Conscious of a sudden dryness of the mouth, she fixed her brown eyes on the tall, athletic physique she had hoped never to see again.

Natalia instantly noted that Sterling still prided himselfon his good looks. He was something no woman could ignore. Dressed in an expensive suit tailor-made to fit comfortably over his broad shoulders and massive legs, he glided through her office with an air of self-confidence.Once again, he commanded attention. A ray of sunlight from the window glimmered across his clean-shaven head and revealed the smooth-caramel face he held elevated with pride. He was still sexy as shit. How could she have forgotten the round face that was the home of a pair of compelling pecan-colored eyes and full, supple lips?

Sterling's eyes traveled to several cover shots of Nataliataken while she was modeling that now adorned the walls in her office. “I see you're still as vain as ever.” His deep voice sliced through the silence.

Realizing she'd been holding her breath, Natalia releasedit slowly, then rose from her chair. Arms folded in front of her, she strolled from behind her desk. “Sterling, what do you want?”

Tilting his head, he met the vixen's ginger gaze head-on. He was tempted to tell her exactly what he wanted from her fine ass, but decided there was plenty of time for that later. Wearing an elegant suit that revealedthe contours of her voluptuous figure, Natalia still moved with arrogance and the seductive grace of a queen. Her auburn hair was shorter than he remembered;instead of reaching the center of her back, curls tumbled around her shoulders, framing a stunning mahoganyface.

“Didn't your boss tell you?” he responded in a mockingtone. “I'm interviewing for the marketing position.”

At his taunting remark, she compressed her coral-paintedlips and tried to think of a snappy retort, but couldn't find one. She couldn't think clearly with her heart beating against her ribs. Sterling made her nervous.She had never before been nervous around a man.

She looked at him with narrowed eyes filled with dislike. “You're gonna make this difficult, aren't you?”

Her reaction to him was amusing to say the least. Moving closer, he smirked. “Of course.”

She laced her fingers together. “Then let's get somethingstraight from the beginning. I don't like you.”

“That's good, 'cause I don't like you either,” he countered. He moved closer, then paused long enough to give her a dark, dangerous look before the sliver of humor returned to his eyes. “See, the problem with you is that you've never taken the time to get to really know me. You've based your decision solely on my irresistiblecharm.”

She was appalled. “I think it has more to do with the fact that you fucked half of our models that summer.”

He gave her an incredulous look. “I was only eighteen!I was experimenting with my sexuality.” He shrugged. “I allowed my little head to think for the big head.”

Trying to ignore the strong bones of his chiseled face, Natalia snorted. “You haven't changed a bit.”

“Neither have you.” He moved in closer. “Still the ice princess.” His hot, sweet breath fanned her nose. “I want this job, Natalia. My bags are packed and I'm ready to start on Monday.” He shot her a twisted smile before adding, “And I'll do whatever it takes to get it. Even bring up the fact that I wasn't the only one sneakingoff behind the stage that summer.”

Her eyes grew wide with alarm. Was he bluffing, or had he really seen her with their production assistant?

Leaning closer, he whispered near her ear, “I never knew they could put tattoos there.”

The fact that he'd seen the small red strawberry tattooon her inner thigh caused Ms. Kitty to gasp.

“Talk about the pot callin' the kettle black!” He barked with laughter.

He
had
seen her. She was silent as humiliation flushed her face. That summer she had had a fling with a man ten years her senior. If her godfather had found out, he would have kicked her ass. “Shit, I was a kid then.”

“And so was I. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, are you gonna interview me or not?” Sterling stared down at her with laughter burning in his eyes as he waited.

Natalia clenched her teeth together in an ill attempt to stifle the rage that burned within her. She wanted to drop his ass out her window. She cleared her throat and said, “This won't take long, so we might as well get it out of the way.” Rounding the conference table, she gestured for him to take the seat across from her.

“That's more like it.” He strolled to the end of the table and extended his hand. “Sterling Mann, pleased to meet you, ma'am.”

With a flash of horror, she stared down at the hand as if there was a big juicy booger on his index finger.

“Are you gonna just leave a brotha hangin'?”

His eyes gleamed with the love of combat, as if he was waiting to see how she would react to his peace offering.Shaking his hand would be like accepting defeat.Natalia stared at him, torn between rage and an inexplicable desire to touch his tantalizing mustache to see if it felt as soft as it looked. His supple lips were curled upward, causing dimples to appear in his cheeks. She swallowed. His aura of arrogance fascinated her. Heat stole into her face as she tried to put out the fire his presence caused to burn inside her. Ms. Kitty liked what she saw, which was rare because she was a tough bitch to please.

Natalia shook her head, trying to rid herself of the thoughts as well as Ms. Kitty's pleas. Ignoring his hand, she lowered herself into her seat. “I have more important things to attend to. So let's get this interview under way.” She dropped her eyes to the table and admitteditâseeing Sterling again left her panties wet and a sour taste in her mouth.

Somehow Honey had managed to stay calm while she spoke with Jay over the phone. After changing into sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt, she had just slipped on her house shoes when the doorbell chimed.

“Hey, boo,” Jay said.

Oh, he was gorgeous. He was standing outside the door wearing a brilliant smile and dressed in her favoritepair of jeans that molded his firm ass. Honey stepped aside and said, “Come on in.”

He moved forward, trying to kiss her, but she pulled away. Jay frowned. “Is somethin' wrong?”

Honey walked to the kitchen and didn't respond until she heard him follow. “How come you didn't tell me about Kendra?”

His heart skipped a beat. Shit, he had fucked up big time. “I can explain.”

Clutching a dishrag, she turned to face him, her jaw tightening. “Don't waste your breath. She already told me.”

“She told you?” He should have known that bitch was likely to do anything.

Honey nodded, eyes narrowed with irritation. “She waddled into my salon, accusing me of stealing her fiancÃ©.”

“She's not my fiancÃ©e.”

With as much defiance as she could muster, she said, “Then what is she ... your baby's mama?”
Please tell me she's not carrying your child.
She waited for him to object. He didn't. And her world crumbled. “I saw the ring.” She paused to swallow. When she spoke again, her voice had dropped an octave. “I saw her stomach.”

While gazing deeply in her eyes, Jay placed a gentle hand on her arm. “If you give me a few minutes, I'll explain it all to you.” He wanted so desperately to hold her and kiss the pain away.

“What is there to explain?” Honey said, her anger flaring. “She looks ready to pop any day, which means she's due any day now.” She paused, waiting again for some kind of denial. When Jay remained silent, Honey opened her mouth wide with disbelief. “So you were with her the same mothafuckin' time you were trying to fuck me on my living room couch?”

Nodding, he raked a nervous hand across his head. Damn, he had fucked up. “It happened the night you threw me out.”

Looking at him, she shook her head in dismay. “BecauseI wouldn't give your black ass none, you ... you left me to find someone up for the job.” Her heart was breaking in two. She had never expected him to remain celibate, but she hadn't expected this either.

“It was nothing like that,” Jay said, rushing his words as his hand slid down her arm and latched on to her wrist. “I was hurt ... wasn't thinking straight. I made a mistake.”

She jerked her arm away. “You should have trusted my ass enough to tell me the truth!” Chest heaving, she glared up at him with tearstained eyes. “How could you do this to us? How could you do this shit to me?”

“I'm so sorry. I fucked up by not telling you about the baby.” There was nothing more he could say. Now it was too late to undo the damage.

For a moment, time stood still as she watched him, her gray eyes stormy with anguish and streaming tears. He reached for her but she swatted his hand away. If she allowed him to touch her, there was no way she could remain strong. Jay had played her ass like a violin.She'd thought he was different. She couldn't believeshe had allowed herself to believe that he truly loved her.

Jay sighed heavily. “I didn't want you to find out this way. I was waitin' for the right moment.”

“And when would that have been? After the baby was born? When he started school?” she cried. Not waiting for an answer, she continued, “Get the fuck out.”

He moved forward and grasped her shoulder. “All right, I'll call you toâ”

“No!” She jerked away, folded her arms across her chest, and turned to look out of the back window. She didn't want him to see the fresh tears spilling from her eyes. “Just get the hell out,” she croaked. “Go home to your family. Go somewhere, anywhere, I don't give a flyin' fuck, just don't ever call me again.”

After he left, all she could see were the clouds overhead.It was raining on her world again.

“How could you?”

Kendra gave a nonchalant shrug. “I thought she should know I'm carrying your child.”

Jay was so sick of her playing games with his life. The only thing stopping him from choking the shit out of her was the fact that she was pregnant.

“You had no right!” he said as he dropped into the recliner across from her.

“You're wrong,” Kendra huffed. “I have a right to know who's gonna be around my child.”

“What does it matter, Kendra? You don't want the baby. You made that perfectly clear. I also made it clear that you and I are through. Why do you keep making this situation so damn difficult?”

Kendra leaned against the couch and scowled. Why couldn't he fuckin' cooperate? She was getting sick and tired of his shit. Nothing she was doing seemed to work.
First, he takes a seat across from me as if he can't stand being in the same room with me, and then he wants to get in my ass over his Tinkerbell-lookin' girlfriend.Well, I ain't having it.

“I'm tired of trying to prove how much I love you,” she said.

“You don't love me, Kendra, you never have. You only love the concept of being in love. It's not the same thing.”

“You're one to talk ... I thought you didn't believe in marriage and babies!”

BOOK: When It Rains...

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