This Tender Melody Page 5

  “And what’s your excuse? You don’t meet any successful, eligible men in the world of law?”

  She rolled her eyes. “No, that’s not it. Everywhere I turn, there’s some fine man in a suit. Judges, other lawyers, that fine-ass bailiff down at the courthouse...” Her words trailed off, and she appeared to be imagining said bailiff in her mind’s eye. “But unlike you, Ms. Executive, I have to be very careful not to violate ethics codes.”

  “I could understand that. But is there really a law keeping you from getting busy with the bailiff?”

  “Shut up!” Lina shouted with mock irritation, tossing one of her silver stilettos at Eve in a playful manner.

  At that moment, the waiter approached with their drinks. After almost dropping the tray down on the cocktail table between their two chairs, he left. Eve and Lina continued giggling as he moved away, and then went back to gossiping.

  * * *

  Darius strolled into Tibbs Music and More, maneuvering the large protective case holding his bass around until it was safely inside the store. He let the door swing shut behind him and made his way over to the counter. As he walked, he bopped his head to the strains of Esperanza Spalding’s “Little Fly,” which played on the store’s PA system. He enjoyed the music of the young bassist, and also found her wild mane of curls to be very sexy.

  Behind the counter, Murphy Tibbs stood, rifling through a box of receipts. “Hey there, Darius. Time for Miss Molly’s tuning and maintenance, eh?”

  He nodded as he lifted the case up and set it carefully on the counter. “Sure is, and you know I don’t trust anybody with her but you, Murph.” And that was the truth. Miss Molly was a G. B. Rogeri upright bass, a copy of an instrument originally played by its famous Italian namesake. The bass was top quality, fashioned of hand-planed, hand-varnished maple and spruce. Though Miss Molly was a bit deeper than the average bass, she was an absolute dream to set up and play on stage, and she still fit into a standard case. The one he’d purchased for her, made of Kevlar, had set him back two grand on top of Miss Molly’s $4,500 purchase price. But when he was on stage, jamming with the band and getting lost in the magic of the music, he knew it was money well spent.

  “I’m sure you know I value that trust.” Murphy slid the case closer to himself, then carefully moved it to the floor behind the counter. “I’ll have her ready for you bright and early tomorrow morning. Stop back in around nine.”

  Darius took his wallet out from the pocket of his khaki trousers and extracted six twenty dollar bills. “Thanks a lot, Murph. See you tomorrow.” After passing the money to the shopkeeper, he turned around and left the store.

  Outside, a few clouds passed over, temporarily dimming the bright sunlight streaming from above. He strode to his car, parked a few feet from the door of Tibbs, and slipped inside. Soon he eased his car into the traffic, joining the citizens of Charlotte rushing around to grab their lunch before their breaks expired.

  As he sat at a red light, he pondered his current situation. He had a standing appointment, every second Thursday of the month, to drop Miss Molly off for maintenance and tuning. Other than that, Saturday basketball games and band practice, and the Gents’ regular twice monthly gig at the Blue Lounge, he had no other demands placed on his time. Now, however, that was all about to change. Accepting the job as CEO at Franklin Technologies meant doing a favor for his old mentor, but it also meant giving up a lot of the freedom he’d come to enjoy over the past several years.

  Taking the ramp onto I-74, he mused on his other problem—Eve. She was obviously none too pleased with him, since she seemed to think of him as an interloper, interfering with her family’s business. He could understand that; after all, he’d warned Franklin that his daughter’s reaction to losing out on the CEO position might be negative. Still, now that he’d reconciled that gorgeous, smoking-hot woman he’d shared the elevator with a few days ago with the snapping, angry-faced daughter of his mentor, he had another dilemma on his hands. How could he convince her to go out with him without further complicating an already awkward situation?

  He was thinking so hard about it that the ride to his town house seemed to speed by faster than usual. Pulling into his garage, he entered his home through the kitchen door. No sooner than he’d stepped inside and closed the door, Chance bounded across the tile floor and jumped up to greet him. Giving the dog a good rubbing behind the ears, he smiled. “Missed me, boy? I’ve only been gone a couple of hours.”

  In response, Chance lapped at his face.

  Shaking his head, he continued patting his furry buddy until he was content enough to get down and dash off to his doggie bed.

  A bit later, Darius sat down at his kitchen table with a bottle of Corona and his MacBook Air. Opening it up, he booted it and surfed the internet for a few moments before landing on the Google search page. Curiosity about his new coworker got the better of him, and he typed “Eve Franklin” into the search box and hit Enter.

  He heard someone banging on the door while he waited for the search results to populate. “Who is it?” he called out, the standard response to a door knock, even though he knew who it was.

  “The police!” Rashad shouted the reply from the other side of the door.

  Shaking his head, Darius got up and crossed through the dining room and the living room to get to the front door. Swinging it open, he stepped aside to allow Rashad in. “Hey, doofus.”

  “Hey, yourself.” Rashad trudged in, his face twisted up into a frown like he’d recently sat on a tack.

  Darius felt his brow furrow. “What the hell is wrong with you? You look like you got your dick caught in your zipper or something.”

  Rashad pursed his lips. “Don’t even joke about that shit, man.” He followed Darius to the kitchen.

  “Want a beer?” Darius sat back down by his laptop, gesturing toward the fridge with his head.

  Rashad nodded, flung open the door. “I could sure use one, but I’ve gotta be back at the courthouse in forty-five minutes.” He grabbed a can of soda instead, and joined him at the table.

  “Sorry. Forgot you’re still on the clock.” He took a swig from his bottle as he scrolled through the search results on his screen.

  “You’re searching somebody on Google? A woman?” Rashad peered at the screen from his seat next to Darius.

  “Yeah, nosy.”

  “Hmph.” Rashad popped the tab on his soda and took a long draw. “I’ll grill you about that later. Right now, I got my own problems.”

  Darius clicked on a result from Grambling State University’s website, identifying Eve as the valedictorian of the class of 2003. “What’s up, fool?”

  Rashad leaned back in his chair. “One of the employees in the records room is suing my office for some so-called grievances he has.”

  Darius looked up from the screen. “Oh, shit. I bet the mayor ain’t too happy about that.”

  “You better believe it. She’s on my ass about this like a pack of hungry monkeys on a banana tree.” He ran a hand over his face, and tugged the ends of his locks, bound in the ponytail he was forced to wear at the courthouse. “If I can’t bring this to a swift conclusion, I can kiss my job goodbye.”

  Darius shook his head slowly. Rashad could be very silly when he was with the fellas, but he took his job as register of deeds seriously. He had always performed his duties with honor and professionalism. It made him genuinely sorry to hear about his friend’s troubles at work. “I don’t know what to say, man. But I hope things work out.”

  Rashad scratched his chin. “Me, too. I’m the first black man to be register of deeds for Mecklenburg County. If I fuck up, who knows how long it will be before we get another brother in this position?”

  He could only shrug in response. He went back to the article on his screen. He continued to read the impressive details of Eve Franklin’s academic car
eer at Grambling State while Rashad drank his soda in sullen silence. She’d been a stellar student at GSU, and the article mentioned her going on to pursue an advanced degree. Everything he read about her confirmed the perception he’d gotten from watching her present the financial reports at the board meeting. Eve was intelligent, accomplished and most of all, capable. Again he wondered why Joe Franklin didn’t trust his daughter to take over the CEO position. Something wasn’t adding up, and he planned to get to the bottom of it all as soon as he could manage.

  Rashad cleared his throat. “So, the chick you’re snooping on, who is she?”

  He rolled his eyes. “I’m just looking into the particulars on my new coworker.”

  “Really. So is this the lady from the elevator, the one with the...” He made a gesture with both hands, tracing the outline of an hourglass figure.

  “Yes. Turns out she’s Joe’s daughter.”

  “Damn.” Rashad’s eyes widened. “The way you described her, it’s gonna be mighty hard to concentrate on anything while you’re working.”

  Darius nodded. “You’re right about that. But she’s determined to deny the attraction between us. Something about an antifraternization policy.”

  Rashad set his empty soda can on the table. “Dude, don’t get mixed up in something that’ll get you in trouble. You don’t want to have to deal with lawyers and all that shit.”

  “You’re right, I don’t.” Darius knew there was truth in his friend’s words, and he definitely wanted to avoid getting into any sort of sticky legal situations.

  Still, he couldn’t just pretend that Eve didn’t set his blood on fire. There had to be some way to work around the rules at FTI; some kind of loophole that would allow him to pursue her.

  Because at this point, no matter how much she tried to deny her feelings, pursuing her was a foregone conclusion.

  Chapter 5

  Uncrossing her legs at the knee and recrossing them at the ankle, Eve shifted on the stiff cushion of the chair. Why doctors charged so much to see patients, and then forced them to wait in hard, uncomfortable chairs, she couldn’t fathom. All she knew was that she wanted this to be over as soon as possible, so she could get out of there.

  Her mother and father had gone back into the examination room to see the doctor a while ago. Eve felt as if she’d been sitting there for ages. But the time on the wall clock across from her told her it had only been about an hour and a half. There was only one other person sitting in the waiting room. The old lady sitting several seats over had fallen asleep, her white-haired head resting on the wall behind her as she quietly snored. Beyond her, a wall of frosted glass windows revealed the shadows of people walking up and down the hospital concourse outside the office.

  Reaching over to the small glass-top table next to her, Eve picked up an issue of People magazine. She flipped through the pages for several moments before realizing she didn’t give a crap about what so-called celebrities were up to, then tossed the magazine back on the table.

  A chill snaked up her legs, and again she wished she’d worn pants. In her haste to get out of the house this morning and beat the traffic, she’d put on a soft yellow skirt suit. Had she been thinking clearly, she would’ve remembered that she’d be accompanying her parents to Dr. Crump’s office today, where the air-conditioning seemed perpetually set on Arctic, and dressed appropriately. Already worried about what the doctor would report on her dad’s health, she shut her eyes and let her head drop back against the wall. Maybe she could catch a nap like her white-haired companion.

  A few minutes later, she felt someone tapping her on the shoulder. Opening her eyes, she saw the scrub-clad receptionist smiling down at her. “Sorry to disturb you, Miss Franklin, but Dr. Crump would like to speak with you.”

  Getting to her feet, Eve smoothed her hand over her hair, grabbed her purse and followed the receptionist through the swinging door behind the desk. They traversed a long corridor, passing several closed doors and cheerily dressed nurses before they came to the exam room where her parents were. The receptionist directed her inside, then stepped back and closed the door, leaving Eve in the small room with her mother, father and the doctor.

  Dr. Cecelia Crump, her father’s cardiologist, extended her hand. “Eve. It’s good to see you again, dear.” Her porcelain face barely showed her fifty-plus years, but the streak of gray running through her dark brown hair gave some hint of her age.

  “Good to see you too, Doctor.” Eve shook the woman’s hand before taking a seat in the empty chair next to her mother. Her father sat on the exam table, wearing his trousers and shoes, but with a check-patterned hospital gown in the place of his shirt.

  Dr. Crump seated herself on a swiveling stool that sat between the exam table and two chairs. “We’ve run a full workup on Mr. Franklin today, to get an overall picture of his cardiac health.” She scooted over to the desk in the corner of the room and moved the computer mouse, bringing some charts and figures to the screen. “Some of the tests had to be sent out, and we won’t get results on those for a few days. But the one’s I’ve seen results for, I can’t say I’m all that pleased.”

  Joseph’s mouth dropped into a frown. “Oh, boy.”

  Eve could feel her heart pounding in her chest. “How bad is it, Dr. Crump?”

  The doctor scrolled through the facts and figures on the screen as she spoke. “Your father’s cholesterol is up, his blood pressure is way up and his arteries are showing signs of some plaque buildup. All this adds up to an above-average stroke risk, if he doesn’t slow down.”

  Eve was no cardiologist, but she didn’t like the sound of any of this. The word stroke in particular gave her a bad feeling.

  Louise shook her head slowly, her face lined with worry. “I’ve tried to get him to do a little less, Doctor, but he’s so stubborn. What are we going to do with him?”

  Joseph grunted. “I am in the room, you know.”

  Dr. Crump wagged a finger at him. “And it’s good that you are, Joseph, because I want you to hear this. I’m putting you on a strict diet to get these cholesterol and blood pressure levels down. And beyond that, you are not going back to work tomorrow.”

  Joseph cocked his head. “How long will I be out of commission, Doc?”

  Dr. Crump’s expression was serious. “I’m afraid this means retirement, Joseph. I think it’s time to focus on taking care of yourself for a change.”

  He pressed his hand to his temple. “This is rough, Doc. I’ve been putting my all into FTI for the past forty years, and I can’t believe it’s ending like this.”

  Dr. Crump stood from her stool, placed a hand on his shoulder. “You had a good run, Joseph, and your accomplishments are to be respected. But now it’s time to guard your health so you can enjoy the fruits of all that hard work, all right?”

  Joseph nodded, a crestfallen look on his face. “I understand.”

  Louise dashed away a tear. “We knew this was coming, but I didn’t think it would be this soon.”

  Eve drew a deep breath, trying to hold back the tears threatening to spill. So this was it—her dad was finally retiring. She’d always thought that when the time came, she’d step into his role and run the company, maintaining the same high standards he’d upheld all those years. Now, things were so different from the way she’d thought they’d be, and she didn’t know how to handle it. She looked at her father’s face, and could clearly see how upset he was. Giving up control of FTI was obviously not going to be easy for him. The company was his baby, his life’s work. She wanted to comfort him, but with the bitterness she felt inside, she didn’t know how much help she would be to him.

  She stood. “Thank you so much, Dr. Crump. I appreciate your taking the time to explain all of this to us.”

  The doctor offered a solemn nod. “No problem. I’m going to write up a few prescriptions for him,
and then you and Louise can take him home.”

  Eve nodded.

  Louise looked just as worried as Eve felt.

  “Honey, do me a favor, call Darius Winstead, please.”

  Eve’s eyes widened at her mother’s words. “What for?”

  Louise jotted a phone number on a slip of paper, then handed it to her. “To let him know we need him to start on Monday, instead of in two weeks the way we planned.”

  She took the slip of paper her mother held out and nodded. Part of her wanted to ask why she had to be the one to make the call. But she knew better than to ask. Her mother had made a request of her, and she’d do what she was asked regardless of her personal feelings. She slipped from the room and made her way to the waiting area. Extracting her phone from her purse, she dialed the number her mother had given her, bracing herself for what she knew would likely be a difficult conversation.

  * * *

  His left hand gripping Miss Molly’s neck, Darius’s fingers meandered over the strings of the bass as he plucked out the bass line to “Take the A Train.” The song was a popular request during the Gents’ gigs at the Blue, and he often practiced it when his bass was newly tuned. They played it so often he didn’t need the sheet music.

  He was so lost in the music that it took a few moments for him to become aware of the vibration on his hip. Setting Miss Molly gently in her stand, he reached to his left to turn down the stereo, then slipped his phone out of his jeans’ pocket. “Hello?”

  “Darius?” The sultry voice on the other end caught his attention.

  It was Eve. Though their conversation had been brief, he’d recognize the distinct, melodic drawl of her voice anywhere.

  “This is Darius.” He listened for her response, curious as to what she might want.

  “Oh, hello. Are you busy?”

  “No.” He knew he could go back to plucking the bass later. “What can I do for you?”