Sensual Confessions - Brenda Jackson [28]
“I heard you’re nothing but a phony, Priscilla,” Sam said, as she moved her chair closer to her desk. “Mac and Sam told me all about how you carried on when the flowers didn’t come last week.”
“Okay, Ms. Di Meglio, I admit I’d gotten used to them,” Priscilla said, putting Sam’s mail in her in-box. “You still have no idea who’s sending them?”
A smile touched Sam’s lips. “Maybe and maybe not. We’ll just have to wait and see. Oh, I forgot to mention that when I saw FDR last week he told me to tell you hello.”
“Oh,” Priscilla said, her gaze quickly shifting away. “Well, I better get back to my desk. I have a lot to do before the end of the day.”
Sam watched her secretary scurry out of her office. Had she imagined it or had Priscilla acted kind of weird at the mention of FDR? She shrugged, certain that she had just imagined it.
She studied the beautiful arrangement sitting on her desk. Every week the mix of flowers was different. She wondered if the choice had been the sender’s, or just ones the florist had picked out. It didn’t really matter, since every arrangement was breathtakingly beautiful and brightened up her week.
Sam glanced at her watch. Her first appointment of the day would be arriving in less than an hour.
Blade’s meeting with Mosley lasted for a little more than an hour. The moment he walked out of the office building he was on the phone, returning his secretary’s call. “Yes, Claire, what do you have for me?”
“I did what you asked and was able to find something available in Windsor Park. The person I spoke with was extremely helpful. Once I mentioned your friend who’s already living there, they were able to locate a vacant town house right next door. In fact, the two of you will practically share the same driveway, since your garages are connected. The place is completely furnished, with two bedrooms and…”
Blade didn’t hear the rest of the details once Claire said how close his town house was to Sam’s. He looked up into the Oklahoma sky and thought that someone up there definitely liked him. And to think he’d even missed church the past few Sundays.
“So, is this a place you want us to sign a lease for, Mr. Madaris?”
“Yes.” He couldn’t say the words quickly. “How soon can I move in?”
“Today if you like, once we finalize the paperwork, which can be done by fax. I spoke with the utility company and put them on hold until you told us to move forward. Now that you have, we can do so without delay. The keys to the unit and the paperwork will be delivered to your hotel before three o’clock. Would you like me to order groceries and have them delivered, as well?”
A smile touched his lips. “No, that won’t be necessary, Claire. I’ll be eating out most of the time while I’m here.” That made him recall his dinner date, not that he’d forgotten.
“Will there be anything else, Mr. Madaris?”
“No, that’s about all.”
He hung up the phone, still smiling, and thinking now he was making progress in his goal to get Sam in his bed.
Felicia Laverne Madaris, matriarch of the Madaris family, leaned back in her chair and gazed at the woman sitting across from her. Dora had been her daughter-in-law the longest and was married to her oldest son, Milton. “So, Dora, what do you think? Is there another reason Blade is staying in Oklahoma City while all the women here are pining for him?”
Dora hunched her shoulders. “Who knows what that particular grandson of mine is up to? But I will tell you this—I pity any woman who gets mixed up with him, thinking he’s looking for something serious.”
Mama Laverne nodded in agreement and then said, “Mmm, I think he’s hot on the tail of one of Mac’s friends—the pretty one with all that curly hair. I saw him trying to talk to her at Mac and Luke’s wedding, but the chile wouldn’t give