Always Means Forever. Deborah Fletcher Mello
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served, she stepped back, pausing for just a brief moment. “Can I bring you anything else?” she asked politely.
Mecan shook his head. “No, thank you. I’m fine.”
She smiled at Darwin again, the look she tossed him a clear invitation for something more. “And you, sir? Can I do anything else for you?” she asked, an air of seduction coating her tone.
Darwin forced himself to return the smile, his expression pained. “This is good for now, Mina. Thank you.”
The young woman nodded as she moved to another station, tossing them both a quick look over her shoulder. Her expression was hopeful yet Darwin seemed oblivious.
“I don’t know what to do, Mac,” he said, his eyes skating over his brother’s face.
Mecan took a deep breath. He could only imagine the man’s frustration. He had never played the field the way Darwin had, and the day he’d met his wife, Jeneva, he’d fallen hopelessly in love. He’d known almost instantly that no other woman would ever be able to make him feel the way Jeneva did. As he thought about his wife and their family and compared it to his brother’s life, an idea suddenly crossed his mind. As if a lightbulb had gone off in his head, he smiled and nodded.
“You need to settle down. That’s what you need.”
“Excuse me?”
“You need to fall in love and commit to one woman. I’d bet my last dollar that would cure your problem almost instantly.”
Darwin rolled his eyes skyward. “You’re crazy.”
“No, I’m very serious. That love stick of yours is probably just tired of being shuffled from one bed to another. And I think your heart is, as well. I’m certain if your heart’s no longer in it, then you’re sure to have problems.”
Darwin pondered his brother’s comments. He shook his head and the two men locked gazes. Maybe, he thought. Just maybe his big brother knew what he was talking about.
The words out of his mouth, though, were pure denial. “I truly doubt that the only cure I need is to settle down with one female happily-ever-after. That fairy-tale crap may have worked for you, but I’m not buying it.”
Mecan shrugged, a wry grin returning to his face as the waitress approached with the first course of their meal. “Suit yourself, but don’t say I didn’t tell you so.”
Chapter 3
When Darwin finally made his way back to his office, there was a stack of legal documents lying in a neat pile on top of his desk. At lunch, he and Mecan had quickly changed the subject from his sexual problems to news of family members and their own recent exploits. Although they’d enjoyed an exceptionally good meal, Darwin had actually been relieved when it was over. His brother’s comments continued to haunt him, the idea having taken a firm hold in his consciousness.
He was desperate for an answer to his problem. The situation was really starting to wreak havoc on his personal life. Last night’s fiasco had left him wounded, his ego sufficiently bruised as he’d crept from his friend’s bed and out the front door as fast as he could run. The woman had professed to be understanding but her disappointment had been obvious. He could only imagine the tale she’d had to share with her friends once he was gone and she could get her hands on a telephone. Darwin cringed at the thought.
His new assistant, an intern named Rhonda Bishop, rushed into the office behind him, visibly flustered as she juggled a cup of hot coffee in one hand and more file folders in the other. She began talking at a rapid pace, words flying past her thin lips.
“Hi, Mr. Tolliver. Mrs. Scott asked me to give these to you. She said you need to have your personal attorney review them, then you need to sign where indicated and get them back to the legal department ASAP.” The young woman took a deep inhale of air to catch her breath. “Did you enjoy your lunch, sir?” she finally asked, setting the mug of hot fluid down in front of him as he took a seat. 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