worry about it. Sister Pauline got this, baby! Now you finish up in here and get down to session as soon as you can, you hear?” She immediately focused her stare on Davis. “Aren’t you that Angelica’s daddy?”
“Yes ma’am. Angelica is my daughter,” he said in a respectful tone, no doubt taking his cue from the way Candy spoke to the woman.
“Hmm. She a little hellion, that one. You might want to have Miss Thang hang around Miz Candy. Miz Candy is a good woman. She can teach your little bad as—behind,”—she caught herself when Candy coughed—“chile some manners.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m in total agreement.”
Pauline narrowed her eyes even more when he docilely agreed. Candy gave him major kudos for not squirming under the old woman’s piercing stare.
With a satisfied look she nodded her head.
“I’ll get the girls rounded up ready for you, Miz Candy. But don’t be too long finishing up here.”
Pauline popped her tongue against the roof of her mouth and gave Candy the look. Whenever Pauline did that, Candy felt like one of the young girls she mentored, all of ten years old.
“You might want to lock the door if you plan on having any more in-depth meetings. Understand?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Candy and Davis replied in unison.
Pauline withdrew the whistle she kept buried deeply in her bosom, and left the room, firmly closing the door behind her.
Seconds later they heard the shrill whistle and Sister Pauline’s booming voice. “Time for session! Don’t make me have to find y’all! You don’t want me to come and hunt your little narrow behinds down, trust Sister Pauline on that! If you’re in this session, saddle up, it’s time to roll!” Her heavy footsteps faded away as she stomped down the hallway.
“Who was that?” Davis’ voice was hushed as though he was afraid Pauline would overhear him and return.
“Um…that’s Mrs. Rogers, she’s my assistant.”
“Your assistant?” His deep voice held a discernible squeak. “Didn’t you call her Sister Pauline? Is she a nun?” he asked, horror in his voice, forcing a laugh from Candy despite the tension in the air.
“No. We all grew up calling her that. She’s one of the mattrons at the local church. It’s a sign of respect to call her Sister,” she explained. “Sometimes she’s a little gruff, has a tendency to quote biblical passages in one breath and well, say a mild curse word—or two—in the next. But she has a heart of gold.” Candy straightened her clothes and moved toward her desk, gathering what she needed for the session.
There was a strained moment before Davis spoke again.
“Look, I don’t know what came over me. I didn’t plan for that to happen,” he said, running his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry—”
“Please, don’t.” Candy held up a hand, forestalling him from continuing.
She didn’t know what to think, much less what to say, in reaction to what had just happened between the two of them. What she didn’t want was for him to apologize.
To tell her it was something he regretted wasn’t what she wanted to hear.
“I wasn’t exactly pushing you away.” She straightened her back and looked him in the face.
Davis’s eyes blazed before his expression shut down.
“I don’t know what came over me. I’m sorry that happened. It won’t happen again. I’d better go,” was his stiff reply.
His next words banished any desire she had for him to pick up where they left off before Pauline’s interruption.
“In case you get busy or lose track of time, I’ll have my secretary call you.”
Without waiting for a reply, he turned and left her office, closing the door quietly behind him.
Candy didn’t know whether to laugh, cry or throw something at her closed door.
Damn.
Just like that, he’d brought back to mind why one minute she wanted to jump his bones and strip off her clothes, and the next she wanted to hurt him. Badly.
After the intimacy of what they shared, she didn’t know what she expected to happen.
That odd exchange had not been it.
One minute he ran hot for her, giving her what she’d been dreaming of for longer than she wanted to admit, and the next, he insulted her by suggesting she was so feeble-minded she’d forget something that was so important.
They both were a crazy mess of contradictions, she thought, and gathered her things, preparing for the session with her girls.
Her mind was a chaotic jumble. Angrily, Candy threw her notebook into her bag, tossed it over her shoulder and left her office.
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