You're All I Need. Karen White-Owens
me check my schedule.” Frowning, Tia returned to her desk and checked hers and Adam’s calendars.
Chris stood and watched the pair. He smiled and then said, “Oui. Two for the price of one.”
“Cute, Chris.” Tia waved a hand in his direction. “This is my sister, Nia Edwards. Nia, this is Christophe Jensen. He’s an attorney from France and working in this office for a while.”
Turning on the charm, Nia sashayed across the floor and stopped in front of Chris. With a smirk on her face, she gave Chris a thorough once-over before offering her hand. Chris took it and kissed the back of it.
“Nice to meet you,” Nia said.
“Pleasure,” he replied in his lightly accented voice.
Nia looked past him and gazed inquiringly at her twin. “What about lunch? My treat.”
Surprised, Tia blinked back at her sister. She placed the palm of her hand on Nia’s forehead. “Wow! No fever. This must be important. You never pay.”
“Ha-ha! You’re so funny.” Laughing, Nia sank into the guest chair next to Tia’s workstation. “That’s not true. I just let you pick up the tab when we’re out because it makes you feel important.”
“I’ll remember that the next time we’re out together,” Tia promised. “It’s a little early, but I can swing it. Give me a minute to let Adam know that I’ll be out of the office for a bit and to turn on my voice mail. Then I’ll be ready to go.” Something was brewing inside Nia’s head. She rarely dropped by the office. Tia could count on one hand the number of times her twin had bought lunch.
She headed for Adam’s office, ready to knock on the door, when it opened unexpectedly and Adam and JerrDan Hill, the director of Engineering Operations, stepped out. The two men stood in the doorway shaking hands.
“Let me have one of the clerks do a little investigation and research. I’ll get back to you with the results,” Adam promised.
JerrDan folded his arms across his portfolio. “Sounds good. What time frame are we working with?”
Adam stroked his chin. “Give me a couple of weeks.”
Nodding, JerrDan added, “I’ll send you all the info I have.”
“Good.” Adam glanced past JerrDan. “Excuse me.” He strolled to the trio standing at Tia’s workstation. “Nia! How are you?”
Nia turned to Adam with a smile of pleasure on her face. “I’m good. What about you?”
“Fine. I’m fine. Oh, I’m sorry.” Adam turned to the other man. “This is JerrDan Hill. JerrDan, Nia Edwards.”
From the sideline, Tia watched JerrDan reach for Nia’s hand. Her twin smiled shyly back at the man as they shook hands.
“Nia,” JerrDan said as if he were savoring the taste of a fine, expensive wine. He smiled, revealing even white teeth that must have cost the world. “It’s nice to meet you.”
JerrDan’s smile must have flustered Nia, because she stood there without a comeback. Tia’s twin was never without a sassy phrase or comment.
Awestruck, JerrDan stared. The strong, silent hunk of a man stood riveted to the spot, staring starry-eyed at Nia. Tia felt as if she were in the middle of one of those teen sex farces where hormones ruled and common sense flew out the window.
Although Nia would never admit it, she had the same expression on her face. Tia lowered her head, hiding her face from JerrDan and Nia. She didn’t want either person to see her laugh at them.
Interesting, Tia thought. It will be fun to see where this goes. Nia shielded her heart from emotional bumps and bruises. She never allowed any man to get close to her. Yet, the chemistry that sizzled between JerrDan and Nia was unmistakable. JerrDan seemed like an upstanding, honest, hardworking guy who knew what he wanted from life and went after it without hesitation. Would he take the same approach with Nia?
At Coach Insignia, the hostess escorted them to a table overlooking the Detroit River and the distant downtown Windsor shore. Nia ordered a shot of cognac straight while Tia requested a glass of cranberry juice. They perused the menu and settled on their meals. When their drinks came, Nia sank back into her chair and watched sailboats crawl down the river.
Tia waited. After a moment, she said, “You didn’t bring me here to spend your time looking out the window.”
Nia asked softly, “So how’s Darnell?”
“Okay,” Tia answered. This didn’t feel right. Nia disliked Darnell with a passion that surprised Tia. “Why?”
Nia shrugged. “Just wondering how things are between you two. You didn’t seem all that happy the last time I saw you together.”
Tia wet her dry lips and brushed her damp palms against her skirt while trying to come up with an appropriate answer. “Wait a minute. You hate Darnell. Most times you want him to drop off the end of the earth. Why the concern?”
“You’re right. I don’t like him,” Nia snarled. “Trust me, my concern isn’t for him. My concern is, and always will be, for you. Not him. Never Darnell.”
“You’re not the only one.” Tia’s hand flirted nervously around the bottom of her glass. “Junior can’t stand him.”
“I’m not surprised. Older brothers tend to be protective of their sisters.” Nia reached for a slice of French bread and buttered it. She tore off a corner and chewed on it. “The difference between Junior and me is that he doesn’t try to hide it. I always did for your sake.”
Tia chuckled sadly. “No. Junior doesn’t, and neither did you.”
“True.” Nia sat quietly, nibbling on the buttered bread and munching on her tossed salad while Tia enjoyed chicken and pasta soup. If Nia was waiting for additional info, she’d be waiting a long time. Tia planned to keep her problems to herself.
The server arrived with their next courses. Relieved to have something to do, Tia dug into her crab and shrimp salad, glad to focus on her meal. “Mmm. Good.”
Nia took a bite out of her club sandwich and slowly chewed. After several sips of cognac, she leaned back in her chair, tented her fingers, and said, “A couple of the stylists from the shop invited me to Sips last night.”
“Really?” Tia muttered politely, wondering where this conversation was headed.
“Have you ever been there?”
Tia shook her head, spearing a cherry tomato with her fork. “No. I heard about it on the radio.”
“It’s pretty nice. Great dance floor. Entertainment. Good food. Fun place to go. It’s a safe, comfortable crowd. A lot of black professionals hang out there on the weekends.”
“What’s this got to do with anything?” Tia sipped her cranberry juice.
“You know I love you? That you’re my girl?”
“I know you’re making me nervous with this.” Tia ran a shaky hand over her forehead. “Say what you have to say and then I’ll deal with it.”
“Okay.” Nia sat straighter in her chair but focused on the tablecloth. “I saw Darnell at Sips last night.”
Tia’s limbs stiffened. Darnell had been partying while she sat at home waiting for his call? No. There had to be some mistake, some logical explanation for the situation. “It may have been him.”
“No.” Nia rolled her eyes and stated firmly, “It was Darnell.”
Still in denial, Tia added, “He had a couple of clients he needed to see on Sunday. They might have met at the club.”
Nia shook her head and added, “He was with a woman. I didn’t see anyone else.”
“Again,”