The Heat Between Us. Cheris Hodges

to be done but it still wasn’t easy to do. Pulling out his cell phone, he called Brent.

      “What’s up, Jamal?” Brent asked when he answered.

      “I’m in trouble,” Jamal began. “Or potentially in trouble.”

      “What’s her name?”

      “Bruh, this is serious. First Line of Defense was the security company at that concert over the weekend.”

      “Oh, shit. And people are talking about suing you already?”

      “No, but it’s only a matter of time. This is America and after the tragedy comes the lawsuit.”

      “Yeah, but they will probably go after the promoter and the artist first. That’s where the money is.”

      “Still, my guys failed to do their job and I feel responsible.”

      “Don’t say that to anyone else. I know you take your job seriously and you have an impeccable reputation, but you can’t save everybody and no one is going to hold you responsible.”

      “That’s what you say until someone files a lawsuit.”

      “If they do, then you know I got your back. Stop borrowing trouble.”

      “You’re right, but I had one of my top guys running the point on this concert and I had to fire him today.”

      “Damn, that was harsh.”

      “So was not following my rules. But whatever. I’m going to go do some paperwork.”

      “Dude, this is not like you at all. What’s the real problem?”

      MJ.

      “Who said I had a problem?”

      “Your actions and your attitude. The last time I saw you act like this was during the... What’s her name?”

      Jamal groaned. “It’s MJ.”

      “I knew it. I thought you guys were just kicking it and having a good time?”

      “And I thought I could handle that,” Jamal said. “Any other woman, I would’ve been good with that, but there is something different about Michael.”

      “Yeah, she doesn’t want you. Forbidden fruit is always the sweetest.”

      “Says the man who married his former client. I guess you would know.”

      “I’m going to chalk that up to you not getting any and being jealous. You know nothing happened between Mimi and me before I settled her case. Not that it matters now, because she’s my wife and whatever I did worked.”

      “I know. As a matter of fact, I should send your wife a few dozen roses to get her to help me win MJ over.”

      Brent broke out into laughter. “You know if you ask Mimi for help, you might end up fodder for her blog.”

      “Umm, I forgot about that. You know my gran reads her blog. Still, I don’t know how and why Michael has gotten under my skin the way she has,” Jamal said. “I feel like I’m one step away from being Loony Lu-Lu.”

      “Is that woman still after you?”

      “Sadly. Like they say, it’s the ones you don’t want who are always chasing after you.”

      “That’s what happens when you have too many ones,” Brent said. “I got to go, but I can tell you this—I might be having lunch with my wife and her best friend at the new Sunshine Café in the West End around one thirty.”

      “You might be getting a six-pack of craft beer to relax with this weekend. I’ll see y’all at one thirty,” Jamal said.

      After hanging up the phone with Brent, Jamal felt a little better about everything.

      He glanced at the clock on the wall and realized that he had too much time on his hands to sit there and think about Michael. So, he logged on to his computer and pulled up his rules-of-engagement document for his employees and printed it out. He didn’t want any more excuses about not knowing what to do.

       Chapter 2

      Michael and Mimi were still sitting in her office when Brent called his wife. As she listened to Mimi cooing and laughing into the phone, Michael could only shake her head. But she had to admit, love looked really good on her friend. She couldn’t believe she’d ever thought that a narcissist like Nic was capable of making her feel like this. Get over it. Turning to her computer, she googled the lineup for the past New Orleans jazz fest and made notes of the artists who had performed there. She wanted to make sure they didn’t book the same people for the Atlanta event. Then an idea hit her. What if they used local bands? That would really give the Peach City its own thing. The food would have to be amazing as well. She then started searching some of the restaurants that Jamal had introduced her to that she enjoyed. As she thought about her dinner with him last week, she couldn’t help but laugh. They had been sitting on the patio at a new Peachtree Street eatery when a woman walked over to Jamal and threw a glass of water in his face.

      She’d gone off on him for not returning her phone calls and proceeded to call him every name in the book. Then Jamal had dried his face with a napkin and stood up and handed her a dollar.

      “Maybe this will help you buy a clue as to why I didn’t call.”

      It had been funny to Michael, even as a part of her wondered if this was what it would be like dating a playboy like Jamal.

      But they weren’t dating.

      “What are you giggling about?” Mimi asked as she dropped her phone in her purse.

      “Nothing as exciting as whatever Brent was saying to you.”

      “He was reminding me that we shouldn’t be late for lunch.” The smile on her friend’s face told Michael that was not all he’d said. “Come on, MJ. Leave those files and let’s get moving. You know how traffic is around here.”

      “Yeah. But you’re driving since you made me run this morning.”

      “And we’re running tomorrow as well, so get ready for it.”

      Michael groaned as she rose to her feet. “I never thought I’d say this, but I can’t wait for you to go back to New Orleans.”

      “Whatever. You know you miss me when I’m not here. And luckily for you, once my travel series is over, I’ll be back in Atlanta full-time. That means we can run every morning.”

      “No, ma’am.”

      Mimi rose to her feet and told her friend that she and Brent would see her at the restaurant in about an hour. Before MJ could tell her friend goodbye, her phone rang.

      Monday was actually turning into a busy day for her.

      Finally, after she wrapped up her calls and reports for her clients about their marketing campaigns, it was time for lunch.

      If it hadn’t been for the fact that Michael had been clamoring to try the new West End restaurant, Sunshine Café, she wouldn’t have agreed to be the third wheel on Brent and Mimi’s lunch date. She started to tell her friend not to become that married woman who was always trying to hook up her single friends.

      Mimi and Brent were the perfect couple, in her opinion. He was the calm where Mimi was the storm and it worked for them. Her friendship with Jamal was a bit like that. The more time they spent together, the more she found things to really like about him.

      The fact that he was a foodie and found the most off-the-beaten-path restaurants in the city always made her smile. She hoped that she could introduce him to a place for a change.

      If only he wasn’t such a playboy...

      Walking into the restaurant, she smiled when she saw Mimi waving for her.