Hawk grabbed her and wrapped her up. Not to hug her, but to prevent her from hitting him anymore. But she started crying in his arms and, instead, hugged him.
Even Janita could tell there was more to it for Kemberly than it was for Hawk. Was she in love with him? Was that what her outburst was really about?
But as she hugged him, she looked over and saw Janita standing beside the Mercedes. And that set her off again. She frowned. “Thatbitch?” She removed herself from his grasp. “You tripping over me to get tothatbitch? You done lost your damn mind. I’m everything, you hear me? I’m everything and she ain’t nothing! She ain’t shit! And that’s who you want?Her? You bastard!” she said even more fiery than she said it before and began hitting him again and telling him how much she hated him all over again.
Until he’d had enough. He grabbed her by her arm this time and began dragging her to her SUV. He threw her inside the open door and then slammed it shut. “Get the fuck off my property and get off now!” he ordered her.
Janita was ready for whatever because that woman looked like she wasn’t about to go peacefully. But then she looked at him as if she knew it was useless. That man didn’t want her and didn’t want her talent if she didn’t agree to his terms. She looked as if she knew it was never about her. It was all about him.
She was still crying, but her rage lost its edge right before their very eyes. And then she made a U-turn without trying to run anybody over, and sped away. She drove over the gate that she had knocked down, made a sharp right, and floored it.
The groundskeepers were staring as the entire scene unfolded. It was as if they had the best seat in the house and wished they had popcorn. But Janita looked at Hawk. He was a man, she could tell, who did not like drama.
He despised drama. And he hated that Kem had spoken about Janita so shabbily when she had nothing to do with it. He walked back over to the Mercedes looking defeated. Even hismother didn’t jump down his throat. She was too worried about him.
She leaned out of the open Mercedes door. “Are you okay, Hawthorne?”
He nodded. “Yes, Mother, I’m fine.”
“And don’t you tell me it goes with the territory.”
It did, but he didn’t tell her that. “I’ll see you around,” he said.
“I’ll see you next month,” Reecie reminded him as Janita closed the door and hurried to get in on the front passenger seat.
As she moved past Hawk, she did everything in her power to avoid making eye contact with him. But it didn’t work. Their eyes met anyway. And Janita hated herself for staring into his adorable, sugary-brown eyes like she was some lovestruck teenager. That man didn’t want her. Especially after she turned him down. She was nothing in his eyes, just like Kemberly said.
But Hawk’s heart didn’t see her that way at all. Just looking into her eyes again gave him a strong desire to protect her from the likes of people like Kem, not feed her to them. He opened the front passenger door for her.
“Thank you,” she said.
But before she could climb in, he spoke up. “What she said about you,” he said, and then waited until she stopped her movement and looked at him. Then he finished his statement. “Reverse it,” he said.
Janita’s heart soared when he said those words to her. Because he didn’t have to be so kind. “Thank you,” she said with a smile this time. She wanted to say more, but knew it wasn’t the time nor place. She was on the clock. She got into the car, and he closed the door.
But as their driver began driving them away, Reecie saw that Janita was looking at Hawk through that side mirror as if she didn’t want to leave him. And it warmed Reecie’s heart.
That was why she turned around to see if he was watching Janita leave too, and was regretful. But to her dismay he had already turned his back on them and was heading back inside his house.
Which just angered Reecie. She looked at Janita. She wanted to encourage her to never give up hope. But she knew that would only embarrass the poor thing. So she didn’t say a word about it.
But she was still upset with Hawk. That son of hers would be the death of her yet! Didn’t he realize he had a gift delivered straight to his front door? Or were those fast-tail girls like Kemberly more his speed? She didn’t believe so. She knew Hawk to be deeper than that. But she’d done all she could do. Now the ball was firmly in his court.
CHAPTER SEVEN
ONE MONTH LATER
Janita, along with her younger brother Von, sat anxiously in their SUV. It was the day of the wedding rehearsal and their job was to collect Mrs. Webster and get her to the venue on time. But she was late as usual.
“She’s late, Neet,” Von said as he sat behind the steering wheel strumming it with his fingers. “That woman is late once again.”
Janita looked at the clock above the infotainment screen inside the SUV. They were supposed have her at the wedding rehearsal by noon, but it was already ten after twelve and she still hadn’t bothered to come out of her mansion. Which left them stuck on her horseshoe driveway, sitting in their SUV, still waiting on her. It was disheartening to Janita too, but she knew it went with the territory. “She’ll be out soon.”
But Von wasn’t so forgiving. “If we keep getting her to these events late like this Mr. Webster is gonna start blaming us.”
Janita frowned. “How’s he gonna blame us, Von? We can’t make that lady be on time. That man knows his wife by now.”
“You mean like he knows his mistresses?”
