Man at Work (11 page)

“
It’s true, but I was
attracted to you before I learned your true identity.”

“
You had a funny way of
showing it.”

“
I was fresh off the heels
of a breakup. Not that it’s any of your business, but I wanted to
take things slow. Protect myself from getting hurt. I…” She
abruptly stopped. She couldn’t divulge all of her business. How
pathetic she must look. “It’s not what you think, Gabe.”

Even when his lip curled into a half sneer
like it was doing now, he still looked damn sexy. “I thought you
were different, Candace.”

“
Me? What about you?” She
stood and tossed her cloth napkin on the seat of her chair. “Hiding
the fact that you own Sampson’s. I asked you for nothing but
honesty, and you couldn’t even give me that. I guess money can’t
buy integrity.”

“
Oh,” he threw his hands
up. “Now, you’re questioning my integrity?”

“
Yes! If you’d simply been
honest from the start, things would be a lot different
now.”

“
Would you have given me
the time of day if I wasn’t rich?”

“
Who knows? I’m not
perfect, but you never gave me the opportunity.” Suddenly,
understanding dawned on her. The silent treatment was his way of
punishing her for finding out about his background. “Is this the
reason you’ve been M.I.A?”

Gabe gave some sort of reply, but Candace
didn’t hear a word he said. She was focused on a familiar face that
had just entered her peripheral vision. Grey eyes. Wavy curls
pinned up. Denim dress and heels.

“
Toye, what are you doing
here?” Candace asked.

“
Meeting with
Gabe.”

Candace took in her cousin’s appearance.
Clearly, Toye had taken her time getting dressed. Realization
dawned on her. These two were on a date! It cut like a knife—one
that was now twisting in her back.

How could Toye do this to me?

“
So that’s how it is,
huh?” Candace asked.

“
No, Candace. Let me
expl—”

Without waiting for Toye to reply, Candace
turned to Gabe. “You’re punishing me. You made your point. But to
involve one of my family members...”

Gabe objected. “Don’t try to pin this on
Toye. If not for her, I wouldn’t have known about you. Now you’ve
moved on to your next victim.”

Candace glanced at Roland. He sat watching
the byplay with a dumbfounded look on his face. Jeez! She forgot he
was sitting there.

“
This is my client, Roland
Edwards,” Candace gritted through her teeth.

Gabe was unconvinced. “I guess there’s no
limit to your ambition.”

That hurt. He knew how important this client
was. Did he actually think she would prostitute herself? She wanted
to slap his face. Instead she stood and clutched her contracts to
her chest. She had to get out of there.

“
Mr. Edwards,” she told
Roland, “I’ll be in touch.”

She wished she could forget this
conversation ever happened. But she would remember it for the rest
of her life. She left the restaurant feeling a level of betrayal
she hadn’t felt since the contractor ran off with her money. Only
this was worse. Two people she cared deeply for had betrayed her.
She pushed back tears. She never wanted to lay eyes on either of
them again.

# # #

Gabe stared after Candace’s retreating back.
He itched to go after her, to ease the pain in her eyes, but he
stood rooted firmly to his spot. She was in the wrong. Not him.
Realizing he still stood in his defensive stance—arms crossed
defiantly over his chest—he let out a deep breath and shoved his
hands into his pockets. He was still recovering from the shock of
seeing Candace. He’d barely walked into the restaurant five minutes
earlier. The waiter had ushered him to his table, but on the way,
he’d recognized the graceful line of Candace’s neck and her slanted
signature bob.

Seeing some strange guy’s hand atop hers set
Gabe’s blood boiling. He’d tried not to make a scene, but the fire
in his belly engulfed his good sense. He’d ignored the way his
heart pounded against his ribcage at the sight of her in a black,
slinky dress. All he could think of was who was this guy she
preferred over him?

As if sensing his thoughts, the man stood
and said, “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea, man. This dinner
was strictly business.” Roland tossed his cloth napkin into his
chair, buttoned his suit coat and made a swift exit through the
front door.

Gabe turned to find Toye standing at his
elbow. She was the reason for this confrontation. She’d invited him
here tonight on the premise that she had something important to
discuss. After the last conversation they’d had, he should have
told her to go to hell, but something in her tone made him want to
know more.

“
Well, Toye. What was so
important I had to meet you here tonight? Or was this a rouse to
get me here so I’d see Candace with another man?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

His jaw clenched. He had no time for games.
“Listen—”

“
No, you listen,” Toye
demanded. “I knew Candace would be here tonight. She was picking up
her contracts from Leap of Faith. That guy you accused of being her
date, was actually one of their senior account reps. Thanks to your
help, Candace completed the flip, passed inspection and met the
deadline. She should be happy, but she’s miserable,
Gabe.”

“
Not my problem.” His eyes
bored into hers as he looked down on her. His tall stature
intimidated most people, but Toye didn’t flinch.

“
Let me clarify. She’s
miserable without you. And it’s all my fault.”

“
You did the right thing.
You were honest.”

She frowned. “Only after you’d rebuffed me.
I was bitter.” She closed her eyes, the long sweep of her lashes,
brushing her cheeks before she looked at him again. “I owe you an
apology. What I did was wrong. I should have never stepped to you
like that. And I should have never revealed Candace’s secret. That
was for her to do when she felt the time was right. You think she
wants you only for your money. That couldn’t be further from the
truth. She thinks you wanted her only for…”

Her eyes met his with an unspoken
accusation. Candace thought he wanted her merely for sex? What kind
of guy did she think he was? Did she have any idea of how he felt
about her? She was the only woman who’d held his interest in
years.

“
That’s not my
style.”

“
Well, when you didn’t
call her, she assumed the worst. And maybe I encouraged it,” she
added.

“
Oh, this just keeps
getting better.”

“
I’m not perfect, Gabe.”
Toye’s bottom lip trembled for a moment before she regained her
composure. “It took a lot of courage for me to show up tonight. I’m
trying to fix my screw up.”

“
I’m sorry, Toye. You
don’t need balls to talk to me. I’m really harmless.” He couldn’t
believe he was apologizing to her. How had she managed to turn this
around?

“
I was hoping when you and
Candace saw each other, you would realize how much you missed each
other.”

“
Well, you got that part
wrong.”

“
Did I?”

Her grey eyes locked with his. The impact
was more forceful than any words she could have uttered. He
shrugged. His head wasn’t ready to admit what his heart already
knew. Yeah, he missed Candace like crazy. It had only been a few
weeks, but he was having withdrawal symptoms bad. Even his reaction
to seeing a man he thought was her date told him all he needed to
know. He still had feelings for Candace. The question was, what was
he going to do about it?

“
So, what’s the next step
in your plan?” he asked Toye.

She huffed. “My plan ended the moment you
walked through the door. If you want Candace back, the rest, my
friend, is up to you.”

Candice groaned into her pillow. Her skull
felt like it had been bashed with a sledgehammer. She squinted at
the beams of sunlight filtering through the blinds of her living
room. She’d fallen asleep on her sofa, still fully clothed. Old
photo albums surrounded her. Snatches of memories stared back at
her. Marlowe, Ronnie, and her posing in their Easter dresses. Mama
and Daddy’s wedding picture. Toye sitting on Santa’s lap. The four
of them roller skating. Those were better times. Where had they all
gone?

Last night, she’d sat here, crying her heart
out. She’d been so angry, heart-broken, and frustrated. Crying
seemed like the only option left. Betrayed by her own flesh and
blood. How many times had Mama said never choose a man over your
family? Too bad Mama didn’t follow her own advice. She’d brought
home too many losers to count.

Candace’s heart still ached from the
betrayal. Was there something going on between Gabe and Toye? She
tried to be mad at him. She tried to hate him, but those feelings
wouldn’t come. She wasn’t a hateful person. Worse, she still wanted
Gabe. She missed him. His smile. His touch. His sense of humor. She
longed to talk to him again. Longed to have him look upon her
without an accusatory glare. What made him so damn
irresistible?

What’s wrong with me?

I’m back on the dick-whipped
merry-go-round.

The worst part was Roland Edwards saw the
entire confrontation. That shit was so embarrassing. She would have
to call him today and try to explain what happened. She couldn’t
have him thinking she was bringing a bunch of drama into the mix.
Yeah, she would call him—as soon as she thought of a lie to cover
what happened. ‘Cause she damn sure couldn’t tell him the truth.
Her cousin and her man were sleeping together. She shook her head.
She could hardly believe it herself.

The sharp barking of vicious dogs
interrupted her pity party. The doorbell was Marlowe’s idea of a
joke. Whenever someone pressed the button, sounds of ferocious pit
bulls resonated in the air, scaring the shit of any wanna-be
burglars. Candace had no pets, but she’d kept the doorbell as a
crime deterrent. A woman living alone could never be too
careful.

She glanced at her reflection in the hall
mirror.

I look like hell on a good day.

Eyes smeared with mascara stared back at
her. She spit into her palms, rubbed them together and then
smoothed the wild tufts of her bob back in place.

Whoever was on the other side of that door
would be smart not to tangle with her this morning.

When she opened the door and saw Toye
standing there, Candace was tempted to slam it in her cousin’s
face. She would have done it if she weren’t concerned that the
force of it would shatter the oval, frosted glass panel nestled in
the wooden slab.

“
What do you
want?”

“
I’m sorry,” Toye said
simply. “I was wrong. I was stupid. I have no excuse for my
behavior.”

Candace stared back at the woman she’d grown
up with, shared secrets with, laughed and cried with. A cyclone of
emotions stormed through her. “What do you want me to say, Toye? I
forgive you? Everything’s gonna be all right? Even I have my
breaking point, cousin.”

Toye gave a helpless shrug. “I don’t know
what I expect. I messed up, I know that.” Her gray eyes were a
stormy sky, glossy and full of unshed tears.

Candace had learned a powerful lesson in
life—if she didn’t say what was on her mind when the opportunity
presented itself, it would haunt her forever. But at the same time,
she didn’t want to say something she would regret later.

“
I’ve been screwed over by
a few people in my life, Toye. But I never thought it would be a
member of my own family. I never thought it would be you. All that
bullshit you fed me about him just wanting me for sex, when you
were screwing him the whole time.”

“
No!” Her mouth dropped in
shock. “Nothing happened. I swear. He turned me down, Candace. It’s
you he wants.”

“
He has a funny way of
showing it. He never called after he got what he
wanted.”

“
Um, about that…” Toye
stared at her shoes for a few moments before meeting Candace’s
eyes. “I told him you knew his true identity and you were only
using him for his money. That’s why he stopped calling
you.”

Candace choked back the anger and sadness
lodged in her throat.

Please Lord, don’t let me kill her. Don’t
let me scratch her eyes out. Let me maintain my dignity.

“
I’ve treated you with
love and affection, Toye. My sisters and I took you in when your
mother overdosed, and you could barely look after yourself. I never
said an unkind word to you. Now, you’ve got me wondering, what did
I ever do to you to make you turn on me?”

A single tear fell from Toye’s right eye and
trickled down her carefully made-up face. “You didn’t do anything,
Candace. It was me. All me. I saw you so happy with Gabe, and I
wanted some of that happiness. I wanted to be made love to the way
you described. I wanted to be wanted that way, just once in my
life.” She sniffed. Her lip trembled. “I was selfish. I was evil. I
was…envious. I knew you were going to be at Area 31 with Roland
last night. I invited Gabe there hoping you two would run into each
other and make up. I was trying to fix things.”

“
Well, you made it
worse!”

“
I know. I hope you can
find it in your heart to forgive me. Please don’t hate me,
Candace.”

Candace didn’t hate Toye. She felt sorry for
her cousin. What she’d done was pathetic. This was what happened
when jealousy reared its ugly head.