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  “And look at all the fine sistahs in here,” Kevin said, while ogling a couple of women that passed by.

  “You behave,” Marshall told him. “I’m going to go find Danetta.” Marshall turned away from Kevin on his way over to the display table to ask if anyone had seen Danetta when Kevin tapped him on the shoulder. “Man, I don’t have time for you and all your drooling. I’ve got business to take care of.”

  Kevin tapped his shoulder again and said, “I think I found Danetta.”

  Marshall turned back around. “Where?”

  Kevin pointed toward the dance floor. Marshall looked, but didn’t see Danetta. So he asked again, “Where?”

  “Man, open your eyes. She’s right there, shaking her moneymaker with that short rainbow swirly dress on.”

  Short wasn’t the word for the dress the woman at the edge of the dance floor had on. The woman was jiggling and wiggling in ways that made Marshall want to snatch her dance partner off the floor so that he could make a move on that disco goddess. The woman on that dance floor was not Danetta. He was about to tell Kevin as much, but just then, another man whispered in the woman’s ear and she turned away from the guy she’d been dancing with in order to dance with the new guy.

  As the woman turned and gave Marshall a clear view of her face, he sucked in his breath. He’d never expected to see his Danetta in something so risqué. If she did so much as a half bend, he and everyone else would be able to see all of her glory.

  “Man, Danetta is hot,” Kevin said.

  “Used To Be My Girl” by the O’Jays started playing. Marshall saw the way Kevin was looking at Danetta. He glanced back at the dance floor and noticed how the two men Danetta was dancing with were ogling her. He strutted toward the dance floor with one thought in mind: he needed to rescue his girl from all of these wild-eyed men.

  Chapter 7

  Marshall’s blood was boiling as he marched over to the dance floor. Danetta was dancing, laughing and having the time of her life. But as she turned from one man to the next, Marshall saw the way the man dancing behind her would stare at her backside, and he didn’t like that one bit. Nobody was going to treat his girl like a piece of meat.

  As he stepped on the dance floor the lyrics “used to be my girl” blared through the speakers. Marshall used to love that song, but as he tapped Danetta on the shoulder, he wondered if those lyrics might be telling him something...like that this was a new Danetta, bouncing around on the dance floor, looking all good in a dress so short that it must have been bought in the girls’ department. Danetta was no longer his girl.

  “Hey you, you’re late,” Danetta said as she turned toward Marshall, grinning like she knew she was the queen of this prom.

  “I had to pick up Super Fly,” Marshall said while pointing at Kevin and wishing he had on a jacket, so he could take it off and cover her up with it.

  Danetta took one look at Kevin and burst out laughing. “Why did you let that fool come here dressed like that?”

  “You know I can’t control Kevin.” Danetta was still dancing as she talked to Marshall. He put his hand in hers and began walking her off the dance floor.

  “Hey,” one of the men protested.

  “Sorry,” Marshall said without looking back. “We have some business to discuss.”

  “The song isn’t over yet,” Danetta said.

  “Don’t worry about the song; I just want to talk to you for a second.” Used to be my girl...

  “What are you up to, Marshall?”

  Most of the round tables seated eight people, but there were a few tall, round tables throughout the room that only had two tall chairs with them. This type of seating was meant more for one-on-one communications. If clients or anyone else wanted to have a semiprivate conversation during the party, he or Danetta would always walk them over to one of the taller tables. That’s where Marshall took Danetta now.

  Once they were seated at the table, Marshall moved the vase of multicolored flowers to the side. Then he remembered how mad Danetta had gotten about receiving his single red rose, and at that moment with her sitting there looking all good, Marshall wanted nothing more than to please her. He pulled the half dozen roses out of the vase, wiped some of the water off with the napkins that had been placed on the table and handed them to Danetta. “Happy Valentine’s Day, boo,” he said with a smile.

  She took the roses out of his hand and then hit him upside the head with them. “I oughta boo you. How you gon’ give me flowers that have been sitting on any random table and then have the nerve to say, ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’? And anyway, Valentine’s Day was two days ago.”

  “Hey, I bought the flowers that are on all these tables.”

  “Windham Enterprises bought the flowers,” Danetta countered.

  “I am Windham Enterprises, so what’s the difference?” Marshall was truly clueless about Danetta’s response. If he had brought a date to this event and handed her the roses out of the vase, his date would have smiled and thanked him for being so sweet, but not Danetta.

  “No, you are Marshall Windham. Windham Enterprises is a company. Corporations aren’t people, my friend,” Danetta singsonged her backward imitation of a silly remark Mitt Romney said while campaigning for the presidency.

  He’d handed her the flowers as an icebreaker. She’d been mad at him lately and he had just wanted to see her smile at him again like she used to. But now he didn’t know what to do, so he changed the subject. “I guess you were right about having Ryla plan the party for us again this year. Our guests seem to be having a good time.” He squinted his eyes at her as he added, “It looked like you were having a good time, too.”

  “I am thoroughly enjoying myself. And I have you to thank for that.”

  Uh-uh, he wasn’t about to take credit for the way she was flaunting herself in front of all of these men. “Don’t thank me, you and Ryla planned most of this event.”

  “Yeah, but you’re the one who suggested that we do it up old-school style.”

  That was when I thought you’d be wearing that ’70s flower child dress, he thought but said, “Yeah, but look at you... I never thought you’d wear a girl’s shirt to one of our parties.”

  “Me? Look at you,” she said with a bit of indignation.

  “What’s wrong with what I have on?” He looked down at his clothes. “It’s perfectly respectable.”

  “I guess so, if you’re Mr. T.” Danetta shook her head, as she asked, “Why on earth do you have ten pounds of silver around your neck?”

  Marshall looked down at the dollar-sign medallion around his neck. In truth, he’d forgotten that he put the thing on. He took the chain from around his neck and placed it on the table. “This was part of Kevin’s mack daddy look. I put it on as a joke. I forgot to take it off before we stepped onto the boat.”

  “Thank God that was just a joke. I was getting worried about you, for a minute there.” She smiled and it seemed for the first time, Marshall realized what a beautiful smile she had.

  “What about you,” Marshall said as he eyed her from head to toe and back again. “Coming in here in your go-go boots and your...shirt. Showing our clients everything your mama gave you.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with what I have on.”

  Sulking, Marshall said, “You told me you were going to wear that long dress you had on at that costume party we went to a few years back.”

  “Yeah so, I changed my mind. What’s the big deal?”

  “Love Train” by the O’Jays started playing. Ryla began hustling everyone into a Soul Train dance line. Danetta popped up out of her seat and headed for the dance floor. Marshall grabbed her arm. “Hey, what’s the rush? We were talking.”

  “I know Marshall, but I love this song and they’re doing a dance line. Just meet me on the stage in a few minutes for the
presentation.” With that, Danetta was back on the dance floor. Marshall began rubbing his temple as he once again caught several brothers with their eyes on her. He was ticked off that Danetta would wear an outfit like that to a company event. But the thing that bothered Marshall most was that he couldn’t figure out whether he was ticked because of the attention she was getting at a company event, or because of the fact that she was getting the attention, period.

  When the Soul Train line stopped Marshall found himself in the back of the room, watching as Danetta walked onto the stage with an oversized ten thousand dollar check in her hands. He was supposed to be on the stage with her, but he was afraid of what he would do standing next to her with their clients and friends watching.

  So, he stayed in the background, admiring this beautiful, creative and brilliant woman who was so caring that she had the foresight to turn their business party into a fundraiser, just so she could give back to the community.

  “What’s up Marshall’s butt?” Surry asked as she came off the dance floor with her latest dance partner and stood next to Ryla and Danetta.

  “What are you talking about?” Danetta asked.

  “He’s been frowning ever since he got here. And I’ve noticed him watching you like a hawk,” Surry said.

  “Now that you mention it, I’ve noticed Marshall’s bad mood, also,” Ryla said.

  Rolling her eyes heavenward, Danetta said, “He’s mad because I’ve been dancing, so he’s had to man the product table, I guess. I’m normally the one manning the table while he dances with his date and networks with our current clients.”

  “That doesn’t sound like Marshall...to be mad about doing a little work,” Ryla said.

  “He didn’t even help me give the money we raised to Destiny Home for Girls.” Danetta shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “Maybe he’s busy chasing behind some woman.”

  Surry said, “I don’t think he brought a date with him this year. At least I haven’t seen a woman around him that looks as if she was trying to mark her territory, like his women normally act.”

  Danetta was shocked by that revelation. Marshall always had a woman dangling on his arm. She had never dreamed that Marshall would show up empty-handed. That’s why she had almost asked Mark, the guy she’d gone to lunch with a couple of days ago, to attend this event with her. But by the end of the date, when she’d ended up paying for lunch before Mark had the audacity to ask her for gas money, she knew he wasn’t the one.

  When she noticed Marshall standing by the product table, she told her friends, “Let me go over there and check on Marshall.” She walked over to Marshall she asked, “How is business?” When she really wanted to ask, How come no date?

  “Business is good. I’ve talked us up to a few interested people, handed out some brochures and even managed to eat a couple of roast beef sandwiches in the process.”

  “Busy man.” As she said this, she put her hands behind her back and eyed the product table, because looking at Marshall was causing all sorts of thoughts to roam through her mind. He was standing there looking so fine, that she wanted to lay hands on him in the worst kind of way. She took a deep breath and as she turned back to him, her mind was back on business. “Look, if you want to go and enjoy the party, I can stay here and talk to anyone wandering around our product table.”

  He put his hands in his pockets. “Naw, you go ahead and enjoy yourself. I’m going to do some more mingling in a minute.” He picked up the brochures and told her, “Anyone interested in our company can read about us in this pamphlet. No reason for you to be stuck at this table.”

  “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” burst through the speakers and a wide smile spread across Danetta’s face. “All right, you convinced me, Marshall. I’m going back to the dance floor. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Okay, hon, enjoy yourself.” But not too much.

  Popping her fingers, Danetta headed back to her girlfriends. She was hoping that Ryla and Surry would go onto the dance floor with her. They were grown women now, and no longer had to worry about teenage boys making snide remarks about girls dancing together because they couldn’t get a guy to dance with them. Unfortunately, Ryla and Surry were already on the dance floor while she was left without a partner. Just as she was thinking about dragging Marshall onto the dance floor, someone whispered in her ear.

  “Waiting for someone?”

  Danetta swirled around to see the face that belonged to the baritone voice that had just whispered in her ear. And all she could think as she stood staring was OMG, because God must have sent this chocolate delight her way. And she was going to snatch him up before Surry got a good look at him. “I think I was waiting for you,” Danetta said, trying to sound as if she had game to match his game.

  “Is that a fact?” He smiled, and then asked, “Would you like to dance?”

  “Love to.” She walked onto the floor with the gentleman and began dancing and having a good time.

  When one song ended and another began, her dance partner showed no signs of being tired. He leaned into her and said, “My name is Darnell Hinton. I wanted to thank you for sending an invitation for this event to my company.”

  “You’re welcome. I’m glad you could come. So, is your company interested in doing business with us?”

  With a raised eyebrow, Darnell said, “I’m sure we can do a little business, but right now what I’m interested in is something very personal with you.”

  “Is that right?” Danetta asked, enjoying the game that she and Darnell were playing.

  Darnell nodded. “I’d like to take you out to dinner, if that’s okay.”

  Another fast song was playing, so they were a little too close for the dance, but Danetta didn’t care. This brother was feeling her and she was definitely feeling him. “Dinner sounds good.”

  Someone tapped Darnell on the shoulder and asked, “Can I cut in?”

  Darnell looked back at Danetta and asked, “Can I get your number?”

  “My telephone number is in the brochure on the display table.” With that said, Darnell walked off and another man took his place.

  “Yo, I’m gon’ have to hire Danetta’s friend for my birthday bash,” Kevin said as he walked over to Marshall carrying a heaping plate of food.

  “Yeah, they’ve done a great job with the whole event. I just wish I had brought a date. Then I’d be having just as much fun as Danetta is having.”

  “Don’t playa hate. Your girl is working this room, and I say ’bout time.”

  Was Danetta still his girl? “I’m just tired of all these men trying to push up on her. Danetta isn’t used to this type of attention. I just don’t want her to get caught up with the wrong somebody, if you know what I mean.”

  Kevin gave Marshall a look they normally reserved for fake brothers trying to act brand-new when they were yesterday’s news. “Mmph, I know what you mean all right.”

  Before Marshall had time to ask Kevin about his sarcasm, the music changed from fast to slow. He turned toward the dance floor and the sucka that Danetta had been fast dancing with started whispering in her ear. Uh-uh, not on his watch...it just really wasn’t that type of party. Marshall stalked over to the dance floor, tapped the guy on the shoulder and said, “It’s my turn now.”

  The guy looked at Danetta, hoping she would object, but she smiled sweetly and then turned to Marshall and said, “Are you sure you want to dance to this song?”

  As an answer, Marshall took her in his arms, pulled her close, so that they were chest to breast, as they moved to Otis Redding’s “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long.” He twirled her around and brought her back to his chest as Otis belted out “...can’t stop now”. Marshall closed his eyes as Danetta rested her head on his shoulder. The music was so intoxicating, it had Marshall rethinking this whole ‘friends but not lovers’ thing he had going on wit
h Danetta. Dancing with her, having her in his arms felt right to him. At this moment, Marshall wanted to hold Danetta like this forever. He opened his eyes and looked down at her. She smiled up at him and just before he got lost in those beautiful brown eyes of hers, he reminded himself that this was Danetta... She was not just his friend, but the only friendly relationship he had with a woman not in his family. Did he really want to mess that up?

  Before he could answer his own question the music changed and some guy was tapping him on the shoulder. He didn’t mind relinquishing the dance because the DJ was now playing “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and no one was slow dancing anymore.

  But as he moved away from the dance floor and turned back to see Danetta smiling at the man who’d taken his place, he realized that he didn’t need the grapevine. He was seeing it with his own two eyes. He was losing his best girl, and he desperately wanted to turn back the hands of time.

  Chapter 8

  “Excuse me, aren’t you Marshall Windham?” A well-groomed man with pink roses in his hands asked as he looked around the building with confusion etched across his face.

  Marshall stopped in front of the man who, despite obviously being lost, had a confident air about him. He looked like the kind of guy Marshall would hang out with. “The one and only,” Marshall said.

  “Thank God, I think I’ve gotten turned around in this building.”

  “What can I help you find?”

  “I’m trying to find someone who works at Windham Enterprises. The security guard isn’t at the desk and the information board next to the elevator shows that Windham Enterprises is on the fourth and fifth floors.”