Can't Stand the Heat by Shelly Ellis Page B

glanced nervously around her, hoping that James wouldn’t do anything to her in front of all these people.
    â€œI wonder if you could pass a message along to Lauren for me,” he whispered into her ear.
    â€œWhy don’t you tell her your goddamn self?” she snarled, trying to twist away from him.
    He laughed again and faced her. “Oh, you know how stubborn your sister is! She hasn’t been returning my phone calls or any of my messages. How could I possibly speak to her?”
    Soon after Lauren had left him, James had called her endlessly, leaving so many messages on her voice mail that he filled the message box to capacity. He had sent bouquet after bouquet of flowers and expensive gifts to Yolanda’s home, hoping that Lauren’s mother would pass them along. Finally, after months of Lauren’s silence, and after all the gifts were returned to his mansion, the calls had trickled off, then stopped completely. Lauren had assumed James had finally understood that she wasn’t coming back. But judging by the way he was behaving now, that obviously wasn’t the case.
    â€œWhy don’t you just leave her alone? Just move on!”
    â€œI’d love to do that, sweetheart,” he said tightly, “but you see Lauren and I have a few financial entanglements that need to be taken care of before I can.”
    Financial entanglements?
    â€œTell your sister to give me a call. It’s in her best interest to do so . . . in all your best interests,” he corrected and grinned. “Tell her I have something to give her.”
    He then walked off, leaving Stephanie standing alone at the party, completely dumbfounded.
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    â€œAll right! All right, everyone!” Tisha Baylor said, tapping on the edge of her water glass with a spoon. “Please gather around for the blessing!”
    Conversation throughout the first floor gradually quieted as everyone made their way to the living room. Tisha stood next to a baby grand piano that featured several framed photographs of herself and her family on its glossy ebony ledge. Her husband, Derrick, stood next to her with his arm looped around her ample waist. Tisha beckoned the crowd forward.
    â€œFirst, I would like to thank each and every one for coming today,” Tisha said as she gazed around the room. “We’re so honored that you would all attend our house blessing. Second, Derrick and I would like to thank our wonderful, fab ulous real-estate agent, Miss Stephanie Gibbons. Stephanie, please come up front and introduce yourself to everyone!”
    Stephanie set aside her wineglass and excused herself through the throng of people. She proudly walked to the front of the room where Tisha and Derrick stood. She turned back around to face the crowd and smiled.
    Stephanie noticed a few women in the crowd rolling their eyes heavenward or exchange a look as she waved, but she didn’t care. She knew she and her sisters weren’t going to have any fan clubs started in their honor among the women in Chesterton anytime soon. It was best just to ignore the other women’s looks and comments.
    â€œStephanie got us this lovely home, and we are ever so grateful for all her hard work!”
    â€œThank you, Tisha!”
    â€œNow, without further ado, we’d like the Honorable Deacon Montgomery to come forward and do the blessing,” Tisha said.
    Stephanie was astonished when the crowd parted and handsome Mr. Goatee from earlier stepped forward.
    So he’s a deacon, huh? Well, she hadn’t figured on that one. Interesting, Stephanie thought.
    Her eyes momentarily locked with his before his gaze shifted to Tisha and Derrick. He shook Derrick’s hand and gave Tisha a warm hug. He then gave one final heated glance at Stephanie before closing his eyes and lowering his head.
    â€œLet us bow our heads in prayer,” his baritone voice boomed to the room of people. He then began the blessing.
    Soon after the