Sinful Chocolate

“I’m flattered,” Gisella said, shaking her head. “But going national just seems so grand, oui? I just like things simple. I bake and make treats because I like making people happy. I don’t like making a big fuss of everything.”

“You won’t have to,” Isabella said. “You bake, and I’ll fuss over the big stuff.”

“Yeah,” Waqueisha said. “No one out-fusses our girl Izzy.”

Isabella frowned and Waqueisha shrugged. “What? I was just trying to help you make the sale.”

Isabella raced behind the counter and draped an arm around Gisella’s shoulder. “Just picture it.” She swept one hand up toward the ceiling as she described her vision. “Sinful Chocolate being packaged and sold in shops just like this one all across America, your grandmother’s recipes putting smiles on millions of faces,” she waxed enthusiastically.

“And depositing an insane amount of money into your bank account,” Rayne added.

Gisella smiled and shook her head. “Je ne pense pas. Money is not the most important thing in the world.”

Waqueisha and Rayne’s mouths fell open.

“What?” Gisella asked, frowning at the two women.

“You really aren’t from around here, are you?” Waqueisha said.

Gisella finally laughed. “Am I really all that different?” She glanced around. “I’ve seen you with your husband. Can you really tell me that the things that truly make you happy are attached to how much money he makes or what kind of car he drives?”

Isabella’s face flushed a deep burgundy. “No.”

“You see?” Gisella gave a smug smile to Waqueisha and Rayne. “Material things are what distract people when they’re not following their hearts. Things like family, laughter, food and love are the real keys to happiness.”

Waqueisha blinked. “Damn. That sounded like it should be on a Hallmark card.”

Charlie and his frat brothers soon discovered that the emergency room was no place for an emergency. Bored and in no hurry, the E.R. nurses were more interested in exchanging gossip than helping the sick and injured. Instead, Charlie was stuck watching a bunch of unruly children run around hyped up on sodas and vending machine snacks while a loop of the same news from T. J. Holmes and the rest of the CNN weekend crew played every fifteen minutes.

Finally, Hylan had to ask. “Man, what the hell were you thinking?”

Derrick, Taariq and Stanley all covered their mouths and snickered.

“Charlie, you were really feelin’ yourself,” said Hylan, continuing to tease.

Taariq jumped into the fray. “I tried to tell you those Air Jordans will get a brother caught up each and every time.”

Charlie rolled his eyes. “Ha. Ha. Very funny.”

Another round of snickering and elbowing ensued.

After two hours of waiting to see a doctor, Charlie’s patience neared an end. He’d almost convinced himself that he would rather go through life with a limp than to sit another minute in the E.R.’s hard plastic chairs.

“Charles Masters?”

“Over here,” he called, struggling to his feet.

A shapely Latina nurse smiled when her eyes landed on him. “The doctor can see you now. Would you like for me to get you a wheelchair?”

That was like asking a starving man if he wanted a cracker.

A few minutes later, Consuela, according to her name tag, wheeled him through the crowded hallway behind the reception desk. Getting a room was too much to hope for apparently. Instead, the nurse rolled him behind a makeshift divider and told him that the doctor would see him in a few minutes.

It was another hour.

“Well, well. Sorry to keep you waiting,” a voice boomed as the divider was pulled back, which jarred Charlie awake.

“Dr. Weiner?” Charlie asked, startled.

“Ah, Charlie!” A stunned smile spread across his personal physician’s face. “What a surprise.” He looked down at the paperwork Charlie had filled out at check-in. “I must be tired. I didn’t really make a connection when I read your name on the folder.”

Charlie squared his shoulders and felt a little better about being in the care of his primary doctor. “I didn’t know you worked here at the hospital.”

“Well, I fill in from time to time.” Dr. Weiner closed the folder and leveled a serious look at Charlie. “You know my office has been trying to reach you.”

Charlie instantly recalled the number of messages left on his home answering machine. But with all the trouble going on at the office, he kept putting off returning the doctor’s calls. Besides, they probably just wanted to give him the results of his lab work for his upcoming trip.

“Tell you what,” Dr. Weiner said after an awkward beat. “Let me take a look at your foot, and let’s just have you come into my office in the morning.”

“Tomorrow?” Charlie frowned. “Is there something wrong?”

Weiner hesitated again. “I don’t have your chart from my office with me, so let’s just go over everything then?”

Charlie’s gaze lingered on the smiling doctor. He didn’t like the sound of that at all.

Chapter 5

Charlie hated doctors. No doubt. His resentment went back to the day he was born, when some heartless doctor smacked him on the butt. Since then, he despised anyone wearing a white coat. Since that first day, medical professionals had put him through an endless ordeal of sharp needles, horrible-tasting prescription medicines, and as he got older, even subjected him to invasive finger-probing in unmentionable areas.

Now with an important business trip to South Africa coming up, Charlie had to deal with a lot of blood work, updating vaccinations and loading up on antibiotics. But it all needed to be done if he was going to save his company.

“Ah, Mr. Masters. You kept your appointment.”

Charlie gave an odd-angled smile as he strolled into Dr. Weiner’s office leaning on a cane to protect his sprained ankle. His brain quickly scrolled through his mental Rolodex for the name of the cinnamon-brown beauty at the check-in desk, but luckily he was rescued by her name tag. “Tammy, how are you?”

The roll of her eyes told him she knew he didn’t remember her. “So what’s the excuse this time? You lost my number? You had another death in the family—the dog, perhaps?”

“I don’t own a dog,” he said, unruffled by her irritation. He leaned over the counter and smiled into her eyes. “Besides I’ve been under the weather and have been laid up for a little while.”

A spark returned to her disbelieving gaze. “Then maybe I could come over to your place and play nurse?”

“Now that sounds like a plan.”

“Humph!”

Charlie glanced over his shoulder and then smiled at the nurse glaring at him. “Ah, Lexi.” Embarrassment heated his face. “I didn’t see you standing there.”

Lexi shook her head. “You’ll never change, will you, Charlie?”