Betting on Love by Cheris Hodges

Author:Cheris Hodges [Hodges, Cheris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, African American, Contemporary Women, General
ISBN: 0758231474
Google: duNMMIPwl1AC
Amazon: B006H6D4VS
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2009-11-01T04:00:00+00:00

When morning came, James nearly expected to find Jade wrapped in his sheets. All night he’d dreamed that they were doing all the things they’d talked about over the phone. Looking over at the alarm clock, he realized that if he didn’t get out of bed soon, he was going to be late getting into the office. He and Amber had a new project to start working on with the city of Charlotte and one of their clients who had valuable land in the Fourth Ward. The real estate market in Charlotte was booming, and James couldn’t be happier, but his real thrill came from Jade.

After showering and getting dressed, James headed to Starbucks to get a cup of coffee and a muffin. Then he dashed to the office. Amber met him at the door, with a worried look on her face.

“What’s wrong, sunshine?” he asked his trusted assistant.

“There’s a man here demanding to see you,” she said in a hushed tone.

“Who is he?”

“Says his name is Stephen Carter, and he wants to talk about that restaurant we just sold.”

James sipped his coffee. Stephen Carter was the last person he wanted to see, and he damned sure didn’t want to give him an audience about the restaurant that Jade and her friends had outbid him on.

“Get rid of him,” James said.

“It’s not going to be that easy, Goings,” Stephen said, appearing behind Amber. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Amber, excuse me for a moment,” said James.

Amber quickly ducked out of the way, as if she could feel the sparks shooting between the men.

James brushed past Stephen, set his coffee and muffin on the edge of Amber’s desk, and then he focused his gaze on Stephen. “Hell of a nerve coming here,” James said.

“You’re one to talk about someone having nerve. Chasing my sloppy seconds these days?”

“Five minutes, dude, and I’m not going to be able to control what happens to your punk ass.”

Stephen stepped back. “Why don’t you let go of the past? You sold my future to that bi—”

Before he knew it, James had reared back and clocked Stephen in the jaw with a right hook.

Stumbling backward, Stephen held his jaw. “You son of a bitch,” he spat. Then he lunged at James, grabbing him around his neck.

James countered the move with a knee to Stephen’s midsection. Stephen fell backward, clutching his stomach in pain. James stopped himself from stomping him while he was on the floor. He yanked Stephen up by his lapels.

“Get the hell out of my office, and don’t show your face around here again,” James hissed.

Stephen shook free of James’s grasp. “You will be hearing from my attorney.” He straightened his jacket and headed out the door. James looked down at his hand and saw that his knuckles were starting to swell. Amber returned to her desk and balked at the mess she saw.

“Are you all right?” she asked, her eyes wide in disbelief that James had gotten into a fight. “Who was that guy?”

“Someone who doesn’t need to come in this office ever again.

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