She dropped the folders onto the other pile.
Darwin nodded, chuckling under his breath. “Lunch was very good. Did my esteemed producer leave any other instructions for me?”
Rhonda stared off into space, brushing a lock of red hair from in front of her eyes as she appeared to be searching her memory for a response. “Yes,” she suddenly answered, excited that she hadn’t forgotten something that was actually important. “Yes! She says she needs your final menus for the first week by end of business tomorrow. No exceptions.”
Darwin nodded. “Attorney and menus. Sounds easy enough. Do you know any good attorneys?”
The young woman shrugged, a frown crossing her face. “I don’t think so.”
Darwin thought for a quick moment, then suddenly smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I actually happen to know a woman who’s a very good lawyer.” He reached for his BlackBerry and did a quick search for a telephone number. When he found it, the grin painting his face widened. Bridget Hinton would surely give him a hand, he mused, thoughts of the exquisite woman suddenly erasing the tension that had been holding him hostage since he’d seen his brother. As least I hope she will help, he thought.
Bridget was his sister-in-law’s best friend. Darwin hadn’t missed the fact that Jeneva had been trying to hook the two of them up since he could remember, but he’d not given in to her exploits willingly. He’d not been looking for a relationship and it had been clear to him from day one that Bridget was a woman who wasn’t interested in being any man’s “sexual understanding.”
Bridget came to the table with high expectations, making it clear that a man had to match what she was putting down or step off. Her legal-eagle demeanor was cool and confident and she was clearly not a woman to be taken lightly. Darwin hadn’t been ready or willing to test those waters and so he’d ignored the more flagrant overtures that his sibling and her friends had exhibited in their matchmaking efforts.
But there was something about the woman that had held his interest, despite his unwillingness to act on it. Something in her deep black eyes that he’d found intoxicating. It had something to do with the way she looked at him, the way she smiled when he came into the room. How her presence made him feel. Darwin felt a quiver of heat shift in his abdomen. He bit down against his bottom lip as memories of the woman skated through his mind.
Rhonda cleared her throat, the noise pulling him back to the moment. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr. Tolliver?” she asked.
Darwin shook the clouds from his head, focusing his attention back on the young woman who stood staring at him curiously. “No, thank you. In fact, I think I’m going to get out of here early today. I want to work from home this afternoon. I have to get those menus together.” He smiled.
“Yes, sir.”
He watched as Rhonda made her way out of the room and back to her desk, then he reached for the telephone to make his call.
The ride home was too quiet for Darwin’s comfort so he fiddled with the buttons on his radio for some song to amuse him. With one eye on the road and the other on the scan button, he finally decided on a classic R & B station that was spinning an old Motown tune. His brother was more of a Motown fan, the style reminiscent of their late father and their parents’ Friday-night favorites. Darwin’s tastes tended to lean more toward rock and roll and alternative rock. At the moment his favorite group was the Gorillaz and he was kicking himself for taking their latest CD out of the car and forgetting to put it back in when he’d cleaned the vehicle earlier that week.
After a few minutes Darwin decided Motown wasn’t what he wanted at all and he switched the radio off, falling back into the silence that had annoyed him in the first place. He heaved a deep sigh, thoughts of Mecan’s comments and the frustration over his medical condition once again playing havoc with his nerves. Images of Bridget tottered through his mind, as well, and he couldn’t help but wonder if his needing her services and the remembrance of his attraction toward her was happening for a reason. His brother’s prediction seemed to be holding hands with his fate, spinning him in the direction of a new destiny.
Darwin knew that if there was any one woman he could see himself doing forever with, she would be a woman like Bridget. Bridget reminded him of his mother, and what man didn’t want a woman like the one who’d given birth to him and had loved him more than life itself? Frances Tolliver had a strength and fortitude that was uncompromising. She wore her emotions over her heart, loving deeply and standing on the power of her convictions. His mother was one tough cookie, with a chocolate heart of pure gold, the ability to laugh in the face of unfathomable challenges and a warm, gentle touch that instantly eased away any hurt. His father had been blessed beyond reason to have a woman like that at his side. Darwin could only begin to wish for half that in a companion of his own, and Bridget was a woman who came with an equally impressive list of attributes. Plus, the woman had the body of a goddess.
As Darwin’s thoughts lingered over each dip and curve he could remember, he was reminded of his impotence, the yearning in his mind not even igniting a flicker of warmth through his groin. Reaching for the radio a second time he found a station blasting Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama.” As the music vibrated out of the speakers, flooding the closed vehicle with a heavy bass, he thought about what a sweet home could possibly entail. Darwin suddenly found himself imagining the possibilities.
Bridget wasn’t at all prepared when her doorbell rang. Darwin Tolliver had called her out of the blue the day before, asking for her assistance with some business contracts he didn’t understand. She’d been surprised by his call, the sound of his voice reviving the more sensual thoughts she’d been having about him earlier that week, and the moment had unnerved her. There was something to be said for his timing, she mused, wondering if things really did happen for a reason.
She took one last glance in the foyer mirror to check her reflection, then reached for the door handle. As she pulled it open to find him standing confidently on the other side, she suddenly felt as if her knees would never stop quivering, threatening to send her straight to the floor. She was grateful for the linen slacks that shielded her shaking limbs from view.
Darwin Tolliver was one good-looking black man. Tall, like his brother Mecan, with the same blue-black complexion, brilliant white smile and dimpled cheeks, Darwin had a majestic presence. What woman could resist a man who carried himself like the emperor of his own private kingdom?
His Royal Highness greeted her warmly. “Bridget, I can’t tell you how much this means to me,” he said as he stepped over the threshold. He wrapped his arms around her torso and hugged her tightly as he kissed her cheek. “Are you sure it’s not a problem?”
Bridget could feel herself melting beneath his touch. “It’s not a problem at all,” she answered. “And it’s good to see you again.”
Darwin nodded. “When was the last time we saw each other? Christmas?”
She shook her head. “Thanksgiving, I think. At Mac and Jeneva’s. If I remember correctly, you were in Louisiana for Christmas.”
“That’s right. My sister did Christmas dinner.” He screwed up his face as though the memory had brought back a bad taste.
Bridget chuckled. “Was it that awful?”
He laughed. “No, not really. But cooking isn’t one of Paris’s stronger attributes and she wouldn’t let me help. We have to be nice, though, when she tries or Mama gets mad at us.”
“How is Mama Frances?” Bridget
