Diary of A. . . (27 page)

I couldn’t believe my blessings. I would
have been crushed if I had taken Mackeroy’s advances seriously, but
I was somehow spared.

“Are you sure you’re all right, Sheryl?”
Theo asked again.

“I’m fine,” I assured him, after taking a
long swallow of water. I was still trying to wrap my head around
everything.

I let Theo order our food, pretending not to
know what was good to eat. The truth was, I didn’t want to stretch
his wallet too much.

“What would you like to drink?” the waiter
asked.

I wanted the most expensive thing on the
menu, but I knew I couldn’t do that to a brotha, so I just said,
“Water.”

Theo frowned and told the waiter to give us
a minute.

“Is there a problem?” I asked.

“I should be asking you that.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” I said
innocently.

Theo looked displeased. “Are you worried
about my money?”

I didn’t want to admit this out loud, but
damn the brother was putting me on the spot! “Shouldn’t I be? You
are a security guard.” I clearly indicated this by perusing his
uniform with a little bit of disgust.

Right about now, I figured we were going to
have our very first fight. I knew my snotty attitude could rub
people the wrong way.

Theo looked down at himself as if he had
forgotten what he was wearing. “Well, if you want to be smart about
it, Sheryl, I quit my job this morning.”

Oh lawd! A fine broke brother.

It took everything I had not to just fall
out my seat and cause another scene, but this Negro was really
asking for it. How dare Theo do this to me? Did he not know how
deep I was feeling him? Did he not know I can’t be supporting his
ass?

Damn! Damn! Damn!

Entry Forty-Eight

“Aren’t you going to ask me why I quit my
job?” Theo asked after they brought our appetizers.

“Tired of working for the man?” I asked
sarcastically.

Theo had the damn nerve to chuckle when I
didn’t find shit funny. I wanted to reach over and slap some sense
into his head. “I figured it would get in the way of my goals and
dreams.”

Oh that’s just fucking great. Now I got a
man with dreams and goals. He ain’t nevah gonna go to work at this
rate.

“I figured by next year,” Theo continued.
“I’ll be just as successful as you.”

Negro, please!

“And how do you suppose that will happen?” I
asked as I popped one of the delicious mushroom appetizers into my
mouth.

“Well, the business I bought today is
already worth over a million dollars. And with the contracts I have
been talking over, I’m sure once I get them all signed I can look
at a modest income of two hundred and fifty a year.”

My ears must have heard wrong because no one
just buys a million dollar company in one day with no damn money.
“Two hundred and fifty dollars?” I asked.

“Sheryl, are you all right?”

“Why do you keep asking me that?” I
snapped.

Theo rested his big arms on the table and
leaned closer to me. “Because I don’t think you’ve been listening
to a word I’ve been saying.”

“You’re jobless and you’ll be making
two-fifty a year? Is that from unemployment?”

Theo pulled out some papers from his back
pocket that were folded up. It was an agreement to change ownership
of Heart Security Division to Wicked-Heart Security Division, with
Theopolis Thornton as the CEO of the company.

I had to look over the papers several times
to see if they were real. Although it was a copy of the official
document, if it was a fake, it was a damn good one.

“You bought the company just like that?” I
asked.

“I showed Lethal the divorce papers and he
pulled out the company papers, just like that. I had paid for it
twofold with services and jobs that I’d done for him over the
years, but we just never finalized anything until he knew none of
the company would be divided in the divorce.” Theo smiled to
himself. “I’m a free man and I still get what I want.”

I was really happy for him. Knowing he
wasn’t broke was a damn good relief, too.

“I want to apologize for all that shit with
Erin and hurting you like that,” Theo went on to say.

“No apology needed,” I replied. “It wasn’t
your fault. She was deceiving you.”

“So you think I can set a date for us in a
couple of years?” he asked.

I frowned, popping another mushroom in my
mouth. “Date for what?”

“To marry you,” Theo said obviously.

The mushroom flew out my mouth and hit him
in the shirt, leaving a greasy trail.

“I hope you weren’t turning that in to them
today,” I said apologetically.

“I hope that wasn’t a no.”

My ears were not working right at all. “Did
you just ask me to marry you?”

Theo went into his front pocket and pulled
out a one-carat diamond ring. There were mini-blue sapphires in a
half circle at the top of it and mini-topaz at the bottom of the
diamond.

“I had it specially made after our cabin
trip,” Theo said. Gently picking up my limp hand, he slipped it on
my finger. “When Erin gave me the news about the baby, the thought
of you not being in my life was the hardest decision I ever had to
make. I want to make you the happiest woman and be the only man you
want to be happy with.”

I wasn’t hungry anymore – well, at least not
for food. “I think my father still has his room at the Athenaeum
around the corner.”

“Only if you’ll be my wife, Sheryl,” Theo
persisted gently.

“No damn doubt about that,” I said. Then I
leaned over to kiss him to seal the deal.

The End

66358-121407-1449

To read more on the Heart family, check out
the following novelettes & novels by this author:

• Stealing Innocence I
  

• Road to Freedom
  

• Stealing Innocence II: The Ravishment
  

• The Diary of…
  

To get the print edition of this book, go to
the author's website at:

http://sylviahubbard.com/diaryofa

If you would like to sign up for the author’s
online live story blogs, please go to:

http://sylviahubbard.com

And don't forget, she is always available for
speaking engagements, book club talks and more!

WANT MORE OF THE HEARTS?

Author’s Addendem’s

Heart Family Tree
http://sylviahubbard.com/?attachment_id=560
(Before characters from Diamond in the Rough was added)

Currently, there are four other books in the
Heart of Detroit Series:

Red Heart

Diamond In The Rough

Cabin Fever

Baby Doll

Throughout these books you’ll meet other
cousins and see how the story line you’ve read connects to all of
them.

HINT TO READERS:
Keep up with the
Bellini series too to find out what’s going on in this family.

Support this author, by downloading or
purchasing more books from her, reviewing this book from place of
purchase and/or then sharing this author on your social network to
encourage your reading friends to purchase her work. Thank you in
advance for your support.

Connect Online to Sylvia Hubbard:

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/SylviaHubbard1

Website:
http://SylviaHubbard.com

My blog:
http://SylviaHubbard.com/blogs

Happy Reading.