Stormy Weather (7 page)

Sure, he was good-looking, and everything about him made her fantasize about so many naughty things. Why shouldn’t she, when Cash feasted on her mouth like it was an all you could eat buffet?

Wait a second. Was she actually sitting here in front of the fireplace torn about a man she had only met tonight? What was Cash doing to her?

God, she needed to talk to someone about this. She knew of only one the person who would give her an honest answer. Pulling her cell phone out of her skirt pocket, Rachelle’s finger hit the speed dial number for Sasha’s phone.

She loved all three of her sisters dearly, but she was closest with Sasha. It could come from them having such similar personalities. No matter the time of day, they could talk about anything, and right this very second Rachelle needed some advice about the distracting man downstairs working on the circuit breaker.

Chapter Seven

Rushing around her bedroom, Sasha searched everywhere for her lost high heel. If she spent any more time looking for the stupid thing, she was going to be late. Her boss, Sterling Hamilton, constantly drove her up the wall and she was tired of it.

Within a moment’s notice, she had to cancel all of her plans for tonight to accommodate his needs. Did he think that she didn’t have better ways to spend her free time? Why did he have to call her at the very last minute?

Two years ago, after a lot of soul searching and a long talk with Rachelle, she ended her acting career completely. The tiny jobs she had landed weren’t enough to make her mortgage payments. More than once, her big sister had given her money to carry her over to the next month.

Thankfully, Rachelle gave her more hours at
Luxury
to help her while she went back to college for a degree in business. Quitting one job after working there for a few years, she was lucky enough to get hired on as a management consultant for a local business, Comforts Sleep Company.

She wasn’t fond of dealing with some of the employees there, especially the ones who didn’t want to learn about team management and building diversity from an African American woman.

Most of the male employees made back-handed comments to see if they could rattle her. The female workers hated how she spent so much time with Sterling.

Honestly, she couldn’t blame them for being upset with her. The first time she saw Sterling walking out of his office, his good looks stopped her dead in her tracks. She almost embarrassed herself right then and there in front of him.

But, she quickly got herself together and back into a professional mode. She was there to train the employees to act in a more professional manner. She couldn’t blow it by drooling over her boss like all of the other female employees.

Yet, in a weak moment while drinking wine and watching her favorite show
Hell on Wheels
on AMC, she confessed to Rachelle she might be a little attracted to her handsome boss.

God, why did she ever tell Rachelle about Sterling? Her sister never needed to know how she was beginning to see her boss as more than a colleague.

Now, anytime she mentioned Sterling, Rachelle gave her this warning glare like she could look, but not touch because of a bad mistake from her past.

Yeah, she might have made the mistake of flirting with her professor a few years ago. However, the way things ended between them taught her to be more cautious. Now, she knew better than to jump into something without thinking it through first.

How was she supposed to know he was married with three kids? He
never
talked about his personal life. He hadn’t worn a wedding ring, and he found ways to get her alone in his office.

After a few study sessions, one thing had led to another and he kissed her. Kyler was an attractive guy. He was a pro at spreading on the charm pretty thick. She was so close to falling for his lies. Thank God his wife surprised him at his office one night and caught him sitting a little too close to her at his desk.

If she hadn’t, Sasha would have accepted a dinner invitation that could have changed her entire life. The next day she transferred out of his class and never ran into him again. She was just glad things ended before they had sex. The guilt she would have felt for sleeping with a married man would have been horrible.

Why couldn’t her big sister understand she wasn’t going to do anything to cause trouble at her job?

Sasha hoped to turn her position into a permanent job by landing the promotion Sterling brought up to her last month. Being paid as a full-time employee at Comforts Sleep Company would mean she wouldn’t have to travel between jobs anymore. She could just stay there and give training seminars to the new ninety-day hires.

Her sister had already lectured her earlier on the telephone about not losing this promotion. She couldn’t let her newfound attraction to Sterling cloud her mind. She needed this job because it would build up her bank account. Sasha hated to admit it, but Rachelle was right.

She couldn’t cancel her meeting tonight with her boss. There were a few other people at work trying to get the promotion, but she wouldn’t permit it to happen.

Even if she tried to date Sterling behind Rachelle’s back, it wouldn’t last long because somehow her sister would find out, probably from her other sisters. No, it would be better if she kept her fascination for Sterling buried deep and never mentioned him again.

Her little sister Akisha was the most loyal of her siblings. She was the family cheerleader. She would stick by her no matter what she did.

On the other hand, Genise’s jealousy would skyrocket since she had laid eyes on Sterling first. Her baby sister loved chasing after good-looking men, and Sterling being her boss wouldn’t stop Genise from flirting with him right in front of her.

Hell, Genise would date Sterling to push Rachelle’s buttons. She didn’t know what the deal between Rachelle and Genise was, but they were always arguing about something.

Sasha had to be honest and admit Genise manipulated any situation to get attention. But, in her baby sister’s defense, Genise wasn’t all that bad. She was one of the most engaging people she had ever known. She could draw you into any of her adventures with only a few softly spoken words.

She stopped searching around the room and finally admitted defeat. The shoes she was looking for were gone. She wasn’t going to find them. “Okay, I’ll have to dig out another pair out of the closet or I’m really going to be late.”

Sasha was halfway to the closet when Bruno Mars’s song “Grenade” went off on her cell phone. Spinning around, she headed back over to the bed and answered it.

“Hello?”

“Great! I caught you,” Rachelle said. “I thought I might have missed you.”

“Hey, Rachelle, how are things going at
Luxury
? Is there a problem and that’s why you are calling me? Do you need me to come over there? I can do it after my meeting.”

Sasha would love any reason to cut her meeting short with Sterling. It was getting harder and harder not to get lost in his eyes.

“Yes, there is a little problem with the lights,” her sister answered, “but Cash is downstairs in the basement trying to fix it for me.”

“What’s going on?”

“The lights flickered twice and then everything went completely black. I hope that it’s only the breaker because we don’t have any extra money to fix the wiring. One thing is for sure, I’m going to fire Douglas and hire a new electrician because he isn’t doing a good job and I’m tired of hearing his excuses.”

“Are you there in the dark?” Sasha asked, sitting down on the bed. She was worried about her sibling being in a dark hotel with Cash, who she thought could be interested in her sister. Rachelle was too trusting sometimes, which turned out to be a flaw. She was worried about her sister being there alone with Cash. She didn’t know anything about him. “I can come over and stay with you. I know how much you hate being in the dark after a while.”

“No, you aren’t going to skip out on your plans. Anyway, Cash is down there working on getting the lights back on for us,” Rachelle replied. “I’m sure he won’t be much longer.”

“Cash is who I’m concerned about,” Sasha admitted. “How are things going with him? He hasn’t made the moves on you or anything, has he?”

“That is why I called you,” her sister whispered into the phone like she had a secret to share. “I couldn’t call and tell Genise or Akisha about this. You know how those two are when it comes to me.”

“Tell me,” Sasha demanded, worried about her sister’s safety. “What in the hell did he try with you? Did you call the cops?”

Forget about her meeting tonight with Sterling. Hell, she didn’t care if not going cost her the promotion. Rachelle was in trouble! She was going to grab her siblings and then they were going to
Luxury
. This asshole wasn’t about to try anything with her big sister. They would kick his ass out of there so fast that his head would spin.

“Calm down. Cash isn’t trying to hurt me. I called you for a different reason.” Rachelle sighed. “Don’t get all protective on me. Remember, I’m the oldest, not you.”

“Fine,” she huffed. “If Cash isn’t trying to put the moves on you then why are you calling me?”

“I didn’t say Cash isn’t trying to put the moves on me. My problem is that he kissed me and I liked it. I mean it, was amazing. I didn’t want it to end. What is wrong with me? Is it wrong that I want a repeat performance?”

“What!” Sasha gasped, stunned. “Rachelle, you aren’t the one night stand kind of girl. You’ve
never
done anything in your entire life that wasn’t well-planned out. What is it about this guy that makes you want to jump into bed with him? You’re sounding more like Genise instead of yourself. You know that this is some of the crazy shit she would do just to piss you off.”

“I know that, but there is just something about him. You know how Mama always told us when we met the perfect man for us. We would know it, right?”

Sasha nodded and then realized that Rachelle couldn’t see her. “Yes, I know what you’re talking about, but you don’t know anything about this guy,” she warned. “He could be wanted by the F.B.I. or have an arrest record as long as your arm. Are you willing to hook up with him without even knowing if he’s married?”

“Sasha, you aren’t here with us. I mean, there is really this connection and I can’t explain the feeling. All I know is I liked what Cash was doing to me. I─”

“Are you really sure that he’s the one for you?” she questioned, trying to get to the bottom of what was going on with her sister. Sasha was thrown by this conversation with Rachelle. She had never heard her sister talk like this before.

“Maybe you’re just horny and want him to scratch your itch. I know it’s been a while since you’ve been in a serious relationship because of
Luxury
. I would hate for you to jump into something too fast and get burned.”

“Shit, Sasha,” Rachelle cussed at her. “I’m not attracted to Cash just to scratch my itch, as you call it. I feel a real connection with him. That’s why I called you. I wanted some advice from you.

“Do I take it the next level? The kiss we shared was hotter than a steaming cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. Is this what it’s like to want another person beyond distraction?”

“Okay, how about you just flirt a little more with Cash and share a couple of more kisses with him?” Sasha suggested as she worried how quickly she could make it to
Luxury.

“I don’t know how Mama would feel about you dropping your panties for one of our guests. She might even lecture you about controlling your need for sex.”

“Come on, Sasha,” Rachelle laughed. “You remember the story about how Mama got Daddy to fall in love with her.”

“Are you talking about how she invited him over to dinner for a home cooked meal and then at the end, when he was throwing the garbage away, he found several restaurant containers in the trash can?”

“You got it. I don’t believe Mama was thinking about taking it slow back then. She knew she wanted Daddy and went after him. I’m tired of being the good girl. I want to do something out of character once in my life.”

“Rachelle…” Sasha stopped talking at the sound of the doorbell.

Damn it. She didn’t even have to guess who was at the front door. Sterling was always so impatient. She was supposed to meet him, but she bet he had showed up at her house instead.

“I have to go. Sterling is at my front door. All I have to say is don’t get too crazy. I understand you want to break free from that reliable personality of yours, but don’t do too much at once.”

“Okay, thanks for your advice. I’ll take it into consideration.”

“Why don’t I believe you?” she asked as the doorbell chimed again. “God, he doesn’t have a patient bone in his body. I really have to get off the phone now. Sterling isn’t going to stop pushing that doorbell until I answer it. If he wasn’t so gorgeous, I would tell him to get lost.”

“How are things going between the two of you? Has he figured out yet that you’re in love with him?”

“I’m not…”

“Don’t try to deny it. I hear it in your voice every time you say his name. Just be careful. I don’t want you to get hurt. I still remember how you cried for months over Kyler and his lies.”

“Like I was trying to tell you, I’m not in love with Sterling. He hired me to do a job and nothing else. Now, let me get off this phone so I can handle him. I’ll call you back after we’re done. Bye.”

“Bye,” Rachelle said and then hung up.

Getting up off the bed, Sasha rushed out of her bedroom towards the front door.

“I’m coming!” she yelled, hoping her boss wouldn’t ring the doorbell again. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with any of his lectures tonight. She needed to get this meeting done as fast as possible so she could call Akisha and Genise about Rachelle. They weren’t going to believe that their straight-laced big sister was thinking about doing at the hotel. It was almost too shocking to be true.

Sasha made it to the door and opened it before Sterling touched the doorbell again. Her eyes froze on his long, lean form in the yellow Polo shirt and tight blue jeans. Sterling’s shoulders strained against the fabric, making them look a yard wide. His bare arms were silky with black hairs. The opening in his shirt revealed a muscular chest covered with crisp black hairs.