Earning Yancy (NSFW #2) Read online

  He tossed the phone on the table and I couldn’t hold back any longer. I laughed, big deep belly laughs.

  After a few moments, I finally calmed down. “I’m sorry,” I gasped, “but that was funny.”

  It was also enough to make the last of my nerves disappear. Charles might be extremely handsome, enough so that it made me tongue tied, but he was also a nice guy with what appeared to be a nutty family and he liked Twilight. I no longer had a huge crush on him, I genuinely liked him.

  Charles apologized for the interruption, which I told him not to worry about, and we began to talk again. He told me that his dad had died from a stroke a few years before and that his mom was finally returning to her old self, bit by bit. I also found out he had an older sister and a niece and a nephew that he seemed to dote on.

  Elaine brought our food, including two enormous slices of strawberry pie, and stayed to chat a bit before she kissed Charles on the cheek and said she’d see him at Sunday dinner the following week. I was surprised that he didn’t say anything to her about the phone call, but it was none of my business so I kept my mouth shut. He seemed amused by her behavior rather than annoyed.

  The rest of the meal, we didn’t speak much, but I did tell him a little about my parents, my two sisters, and my assorted nieces and nephews.

  After we ate (the strawberry pie was even better than Charles led me to believe), it was time to head back to the office. As we strolled back to work, full of good food, Charles surprised me by reaching down and taking my hand in his. We walked the rest of the way, holding hands the entire time. It wasn’t the kiss I’d been hoping for, but it was sweet in a way that was far more dangerous to my heart.

  When we reached our office building, he walked with me to the stairwell and stopped me on the landing between the third and fourth floors. I didn’t think of it at the time, but there were probably cameras somewhere.

  Charles surprised me yet again when he leaned back against the corner and slid his arms around me. As before, the kiss began gently, almost chastely, but Charles took things a step further. His mouth opened over mine, his tongue tracing my bottom lip. When my lips parted, his tongue met mine and didn’t retreat.

  My hands gripped his shoulders as I rested my body against him. He took my weight easily, his arms tightening around my waist, lifting me to my toes, and bringing me closer until I could feel every ridge of muscle from his chest to his thighs.

  When he finally lifted his head, we were both breathing heavily.

  I stared up at him, trying to get my brain to function properly. “Wow.”

  “Wow is right.” Charles gave me another quick, light kiss. “We should get back to work.”

  “You’re right,” I sighed. I stepped out of the circle of his arms. “Thanks for lunch. It was great.”

  He snagged my hand, toying with my fingers. “I want to see you again.”

  My heart leapt. “Okay.” I licked my lips. “How about lunch on Friday?” I wanted to keep things simple for a little while and the casual meal we had today was perfect.

  He winced. “You’re going to make me wait that long to see you again?”

  Laughing, I said, “Sorry, my schedule is full Wednesday. I’m having lunch with some friends.”

  “What about dinner?” When I hesitated, Charles squeezed my hand a final time. “I guess I’ll survive until Friday then.”

  We headed up the final flight of stairs to the fourth floor and went our separate ways. Friday couldn’t come fast enough.

  Chapter Nine

  THE WEEK PASSED with both excruciating slowness and light speed. While my days were busy and seemed to fly by, the evenings felt long. I almost regretted turning down Charles’ dinner invitation.

  Charles sent me texts and emails throughout the week, and we talked on the phone a couple of times. Once again, I felt like I was back in high school, but not for the same reasons. I liked Charles, I liked him a lot, but real life meant that I couldn’t see him as much as I might want. I realized that it was probably a blessing in disguise.

  Cooper had swept me off my feet and we were married within a year of our first date. Now that I had the advantage of hindsight, I realized there were signs of his true character all along. I allowed my infatuation with him to override my common sense and I’d jumped into a relationship that had ultimately failed.

  Taking things slowly with Charles would prevent me from possibly making the same mistakes. Now that I had Carolena, I couldn’t afford to continuously date new men. I had to make good choices for my daughter and myself. I had also decided Carolena wouldn’t spend a lot of time with Charles until I was more certain that things were going well.

  Finally, Friday arrived. As I had on Monday, I took a little extra care when choosing my clothes, styling my hair, and applying my make-up. It felt nice to have a reason to primp a little. When I got to my office, I found a caramel macchiato sitting next to my keyboard, a sticky note stuck to the side.

  Had a meeting at 8. It should still be warm when you get here.

  C

  I sipped the latte and found it was the perfect temperature. I knew I must be grinning like an idiot. The three days I came in to the office this week, Charles had brought me a macchiato each morning. It was as if he knew the quickest way to my heart was through caffeine.

  Still smiling, I booted up my computer and got to work, already counting the hours until lunch time.

  AT TEN TO noon, I looked up from my computer to see Charles standing in my open door. His arms were crossed over his chest, a coat folded over them, and he was smiling at me.

  “Hi. Is it time for lunch already?” I asked.

  Charles nodded. “Yeah. It’s 11:50.” He took a step forward. “I didn’t know you wore glasses.”

  I realized I was wearing my reading glasses. I loved them because they had rectangular black frames that I thought looked stylish. I only wore them when I sat at the computer for long periods or had a lot of reading to do. I reached up to take them off.

  “I like them. You look like a sexy librarian. Or maybe a hot nerd just waiting to let out her inner bad girl.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, right. That sounds exactly like me.” I took the glasses off and tossed them onto my desk. “I only wear them if I’m going to be reading for long periods of time.”

  “Too bad.”

  I rolled my eyes then saved my work and logged off my computer. “Are you done drooling? Because I’m hungry.”

  “Whatever you like.”

  I stood up and grabbed my purse and coat. “Then let’s go have lunch.”

  As soon as we got downstairs and outside of the building, Charles reached over and took my hand. We held hands as we walked down the block to a small Chinese restaurant that I recommended. He asked me about my week, I asked about his. It felt so easy and natural.

  I learned more about Charles at lunch. Little things, like stories about his childhood and how his niece and nephew seemed to be mirror images of he and his sister at those ages. He also talked about how his mother moaned he would never give her grandchildren and she would get pissy every time he pointed out that his sister, Sherri, had already given her two.

  I found myself telling him about my own high school years and how I’d always been the studious, shy girl. My two older sisters had done everything they could think of to bring me out of my shell before they both graduated and left home for college. College had been better. I told him about my first party, which had been a rather pathetic, unfortunate experience that ended with me throwing up on the shoes of the cutest boy there.

  Forty-five minutes seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Charles waved me off when I tried to pay.

  “No way. I don’t want there to be any confusion over this being a date. I asked you to lunch, which means I pay.”

  I gave up trying to grab the ticket, but I couldn’t resist teasing him a bit. “So, if I invite you to dinner or a movie, I can pay?”

  He took out his wallet and stuck some mo
ney in the little black folder that held the receipt. “You can try.”

  I shook my head and stood up. “We’ll see.”

  Charles let me have the last word, though I did get a smirk in response. We left the restaurant and headed back toward the office at a brisk pace. This time, I reached for his hand first. He squeezed my fingers gently. I noticed he did that every time we held hands and I liked it. It was affectionate and….intimate.

  Charles stopped me in the stairwell as he had Monday, and he kissed me. It was short, but thorough enough to leave me panting.

  When he lifted his head, he said, “Please say you’ll go out to dinner with me tomorrow night? Instead of making out in the stairwell like teenagers, I’d rather make out in a car.”

  I smiled. “Okay, dinner tomorrow but I can’t be out too late.”

  “I’ll pick you up at seven.”

  I nodded.

  We walked up the stairs together, still holding hands, but releasing them before we entered the office. Somehow, we had an unspoken understanding not to flaunt the change in our relationship at the office.

  Before he walked away, Charles glanced down at me. “I enjoyed lunch today.”

  I felt my face heat and cursed my fair skin. When I was around him, I seemed to blush at the drop of a hat and my pale face showed the faintest change in color. “Me too.”

  “I’ll talk to you later.”

  Again, I nodded in response and turned to go to my office. I felt his eyes on my back the entire time. I glanced over my shoulder as I unlocked my door and he was still standing in the hall, watching me. Then he smiled and sauntered away.

  After I entered my office, I sat at my desk and wondered what I was going to wear tomorrow night. When I realized I’d been sitting there, daydreaming, for the last five minutes, I shook my head and got back to work. There would be plenty of time tonight for me to figure out what to wear on my first dinner date in over three years.

  LATER THAT AFTERNOON, I realized my only issue wouldn’t be picking an outfit. I texted all three of the teenage girls who usually babysat for me, but they were all booked. I wouldn’t ask Kathy because she worked enough hours during the week.

  I sighed when I realized I had two options and neither of them were my idea of great. I could call my mom or my sisters, who would be ecstatic I was dating again and completely, infuriatingly nosy. Or I could call one of my girlfriends. All four of them were great and I knew I could trust them to take wonderful care of my baby. They were also nosy, just in a less annoying way.

  I decided that my friends were the lesser of the two evils. Knowing my mother and sisters, they would grill Charles as soon as he arrived to pick me up then turn their hoses and lights to me after I came home. My girlfriends would only grill me once Charles dropped me off and wouldn’t get offended if I told them I had enough.

  I assumed Lucy would have plans with Chris, so I didn’t bother to call her. I knew she would cancel her plans for me and I didn’t want to piss off her brooding boyfriend. I called Chelsea, but she had a date. Then I called Grier, who was inexplicably out of town. She was on vacation a couple of weeks ago, so I was surprised to hear that she was gone again. I had a feeling something was going on with her, but I would have to wait until she was back to find out what.

  That left Tanya. I loved Tanya, but even she said that kids were not her thing. I hated to ask, but I would definitely call her before I called my sisters.

  I selected her name on my phone and waited as the line rang.

  “Hey, Yancy. What’s up?” Tanya seemed cheerful, but it sounded forced.

  “Hi, Tanya. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m just tired. I’ve got this case that’s keeping me up late. What are you doing?”

  Now I felt guilty about asking her to help me out. She worked too much as it was, sometimes sixty hours a week. I shouldn’t ask her.

  “Ah, nothing, just calling to see how you were.”

  There was a pause. “You do realize I’m a lawyer and I hear lies enough to know when you tell me one, right?”

  I chuckled but didn’t answer. Maybe if I played dead…

  No such luck. “Spit it out.”

  I sighed. “I need someone to watch Carolena tomorrow. All my back-up babysitters are booked and none of the other girls are free. I really don’t want to call my sisters or my mom because they’ll start asking Charles questions about his education and life goals before he even gets me out the door.”

  “No problem. What time do I need to be there?”

  “No, no, it’s okay. You’re swamped right now and I can tell you’re tired. I’ll just call…”

  Tanya snorted. “Shut up about that and tell me what time to be there.”

  “6:30. He’s picking me up at 7:00.”

  “Okay. Have you figured out what you’re going to wear?”

  I laughed. “Not yet. I’ll figure that out when I get home.”

  “I’ll be there at 5:30. You’re going to need my help.”

  “I think I can pick out my own clothes for a date, Tanya,” I said dryly.

  “Maybe, but I have a feeling you’ll go for the dress that looks nice and sweet rather than the sexy number you should be wearing to keep his attention completely on you.”

  I hummed quietly. She was right. I chose flattering clothes, but nothing overtly sexy or revealing. “Okay, fine. Come over early and help me, but I reserve veto rights.”

  “You only get two vetoes.”

  “Three,” I fired back.

  “Deal. Now, it’s almost the end of the workday, so I need to get back to work because I refuse to be stuck here after 5:30 for even one more day.”

  “Thanks for this, Tanya. I really appreciate it.”

  “You’re welcome. However, this means that I expect to be maid of honor when you marry Mr. Wonderful.”

  I laughed. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind if Charles happens to propose to me on our third date. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Damn straight. See you then. Bye!”

  I disconnected the call and winced when I saw the time. I didn’t have a great deal of work to finish, but I needed to get my ass in gear if I wanted to finish up by five. I put thoughts of my date tomorrow out of my mind and got busy.

  Chapter Ten

  BY 5:30 THE next evening, I was running after Carolena in my robe with my wet hair hanging in stringy chunks around my face.

  “Get back here, you rascal!” I shouted.

  She laughed and kept up her mad dash from the living room to the dining room, my ringing cell phone in her hand.

  I should be frustrated, but she was so cute with her chubby little legs pumping and her gut-busting giggles that I found myself smiling as I finally caught up and scooped her up into my arms.

  “You little stinker, give me that phone.”

  She grinned, her dimples popping and her little teeth gleaming, and handed me the phone. It was no longer ringing. It beeped and I saw I had a new message. I squeezed Carolena tight, making her squeal, peppered her face with kisses, and set her on her feet with a little pat on her diapered butt. She wheeled out of the dining room, squealing and yelling incoherent babble.

  I laughed and listened to my voicemail, following her into the living room. It was Tanya, letting me know she was on her way but running a bit late. Considering I was still in my bathrobe with wet hair, I couldn’t complain.

  I had just finished putting on my underwear and slathering lotion on my skin when the doorbell rang. I threw on my robe again and carried Carolena downstairs with me to answer the door.

  Tanya stood on my porch in black skinny jeans, a black long sleeved shirt, bright red ballet flats, and a matching red bag on her arm. She looked exactly like what she was; a worldly, stylish woman. I wondered how long her outfit would stay pristine.

  “Hey! Come on in.” As she entered, I saw the label on her bag and my brows rose. “You might want to put that bag in a place where Carolena can’t reach it. She has no
respect for Louis Vuitton.”

  “Noted.”

  At that moment, Carolena decided she’d been ignored long enough.

  “Tata!!” Her arms flew up and she lunged toward Tanya.

  “Oof! You’re getting so big!” Tanya said as she hitched Carolena on her hip. “Are you gonna help Mama and me pick out her dress for tonight? She needs to look pretty.”

  “Yaaawww!” Carolena raised her fist up in the air as she yelled.

  I shook my head at their antics. “Okay, well, it’s 5:45, so we better get started.”

  We all trooped upstairs and I settled Carolena on the floor in my bedroom with some toys. Tanya shooed me into the bathroom with instructions to dry my hair while she picked out my outfit. I was certain she wanted me out of the room so I wouldn’t start nixing her choices as she went through my closet, but I let her shove me into the bathroom anyway.

  I took the time to smooth in product and use a large round brush as I dried my hair. I stepped out of the bathroom to find three dresses on the bed. I looked in the walk-in closet, where Tanya was going through my shoes, muttering to herself.

  When she saw me, she pointed to the bed. “Pick one. If you veto all of them, I have a dress in mind for you.”

  I knew then and there it would be wise to choose one of the dresses on the bed. I only had three vetoes, then I would have to wear whatever she picked. I gave her a sidelong look when I realized that all three were outfits I hadn’t worn since before Carolena was born. I chose a black dress with a low, narrow V-neck. While it showed quite a bit of the skin from my chest and arms, there was very little actual cleavage. The top of the dress bloused over a gathered waist and the skirt fell almost to my knees. It looked like the type of dress a Greek goddess might wear, only black instead of white. I figured it was the outfit most likely to fit me since having a baby had changed the shape of my body completely.

  “Good choice,” said Tanya.