Chapter 5

      “That was a beautiful toast, brother,” Jackson said once Donovan had taken his seat and the applause had subsided. They were seated on a raised dais facing the wedding guests seated at round tables of ten.

      “Meant every word. There was a time when I doubted whether or not you were good enough for my sister.”

      “And now?”

      “Couldn’t find a better brother.” Donovan felt his phone vibrate. His body instantly tensed as he pulled it from his pocket and discreetly held it under the table as he read the message.

      “Everything okay?” Jackson asked.

      Donovan sighed. “Get Diamond’s attention.” Jackson tapped Diamond and gave her a kiss as she turned to face him. Her lips met Jackson’s, but then her eyes were squarely on her brother. “Did they text you?”

      Donovan nodded. “They are scheduling another surgery first thing tomorrow.”

      “On a Sunday?” Diamond sounded shocked. “Donovan, I totally understand if you need to leave and go to the hospital.”

      Donovan slowly nodded, knowing the strain of the situation was showing on his face.

      “Oh, wow,” Diamond continued, as if finally understanding the gravity of the entire situation.“Your project! You’re supposed to be pulling it all together in the next two weeks.”

      “I know,” Donovan said, hating to bring such a topic into their wedding celebration but knowing that Diamond totally understood.

      “What are you going to do?”

      “I don’t know. I thought about asking Mama to help—”

      Diamond released an unladylike snort. “Good luck with that.” While Genevieve had worked in the offices during the first couple years, she’d been a stay-at-home and run-the-home mother for more than three decades.

      “What about Marissa?” Jackson asked, looking at Donovan. After not getting an immediate answer, he swung his head toward his wife. “What do you think, baby? There isn’t going to be anything major happening at my company while I’m away, and—” he turned and continued the thought with Donovan in his line of sight “—whatever your project entails, I’m sure Marissa can handle it. She’s an intelligent woman who catches on quick and has a knack for breaking the big picture into manageable bites. You know what, Donovan? I like the idea. Your project is of a sensitive nature, and I know that Marissa could be trusted with this confidential material. Right, baby?”

      Diamond looked at her new husband with a smile. “No doubt. Marissa seems loyal to a fault.”

      A scowl passed across Jackson’s face so quickly that Donovan thought he imagined it. “If you give her something to do, she’ll get the job done.”

      Diamond took a sip of her champagne. “What do you say, brother? I think Jackson has suggested a solution to your problem, and, while we’ll all not totally rest until Sharon is well, at least this part of your business will only be minimally affected.”

      Their conversation was interrupted as their father, Donald Drake, stood to make a toast. Several other toasts followed and the dinner service began. Halfway through the entrée, a delectable combination of Dungeness crab, Kobe beef tenderloin, Bhutanese rice and steamed vegetables, Jackson made a move that had it not been for the deliciousness of the food would have ruined Donovan’s appetite. He requested a pen and pad from one of the floating waiters, then quickly scribbled ten numbers onto the sheet of Drake Resort stationery. Above the numbers was one word: Marissa. And without even thinking about it, Donovan knew that the number on that paper was a game changer. He didn’t know the name of the game or the rules. But he knew who would be playing.

      * * *

      It was a shame to waste such delicious food, but Marissa couldn’t get a bite of the tender beef or a spear of the perfectly steamed broccoli past the lump in her throat. Didn’t matter. If she had, the food would have just collided with the knot in her stomach. She was seated at a table with other bridesmaids and groomsmen, including Reginald, one of Donovan’s first cousins, who’d been bugging her nonstop ever since they’d been paired up for the walk down the aisle. He wasn’t a bad-looking guy. In fact, he was fine: tall, butterscotch complexion, a pretty boy. Nice enough, too. Another time, another day and she would have been interested. But her thoughts, and eyes, kept shifting to Donovan, who for better or worse was seated directly in her line of vision. She’d watched as her boss conversed with him and Diamond, and she’d also noticed when one of the waiters was summoned. Unfortunately, Reginald, the determined groomsmen from New Orleans, chose this time to begin a lengthy conversation—translated, monologue, because “ums” and head nods could hardly be counted as contributions—about some type of business that was expanding in Asia that later, for the life of her, Marissa would not be able to recall. She tried to split her focus between what her tablemate was saying and what was happening on the dais beyond her but Reginald asked her a question and by the time she answered it and looked up, the waiter was leaving the head table, Jackson was talking to Diamond and Donovan was sitting there with a frown on his face. What had happened?

      “Should I take your silence as a no?”

      Marissa turned to Reginald. “I’m sorry, my mind—” attention, interest, focus, you name it “—was elsewhere. What did you say?”

      “I asked if you’d ever attended the Essence Music Festival.”

      “No, I haven’t.”

      “But you’ve been to New Orleans before, right?”

      “Actually, no.” And if there’s a chance I’ll run into your nonstop chatter, I probably won’t make it down there anytime soon! Marissa immediately felt bad at the thought. Considering that she’d been the oratorical fountain earlier in the