Key To My Heart (Love Conquers All) (15 page)

Still not sure how to go about making him, Ava, and Zoe a family, Langston dropped off Zoe at Ava’s home the following Friday, determined to spend the entire weekend in his hotel suite working on a case and contemplating his plan to make Ava his again. But when he did lift his head to catch some air for a couple of hours, he wished he’d stayed buried in the case he was working on.

Saturday evening Ava invited him to dinner at her parents’ home. Because of the workload he was trudging through, his first inkling had been to decline the offer. However, after much thought, he decided to take her up on the invitation. He figured sooner or later he would have to come face to face with her parents since he was planning on making himself, Ava, and Zoe a real family. There was no time like the present.

When he and Ava arrived at the Perettis’ home, they were greeted by Janet. Her welcome was warm and inviting as she accepted the bottle of Chianti Langston presented to her as a gift.
This just might not be all that bad,
Langston thought. But as soon as the thought popped into his head, it popped right back out as Dominic’s large, imposing frame came into view as he made his way into the living room from the kitchen.

The dishtowel he’d been drying his hands with was suddenly curling around his large fists as if he were about to strangle someone with it—that someone being Langston.

Standing to his full height, Langston squared his shoulders. He would not be intimidated by Ava’s father. Sticking out his hand, he offered it to the older gentlemen. Langston never wavered as Dominic stared at the proffered hand.

Finally Dominic gripped Langston’s hand. The pressure Dominic applied would have been enough to crush the bones in Langston’s hand if he had been a smaller man. Taking it all in stride, Langston maintained eye contact as he said, “Good evening, Mr. Peretti.”

He also took it in stride when the older man only grunted before asking, “Where’s my granddaughter?”

Ava told her parents that Zoe had wanted to stay over at Auntie Starr’s house for dinner. Once a month on a Saturday evening Starr, Karen, Starr’s sister who was raising two children alone after her husband passed away years ago, and Summer got all their kids together for pizza, ice cream, and a movie. No way was Zoe about to miss out on all the fun. She had settled herself on the carpeted floor with Kalvin in her lap as Starr was loading the Disney movie
Cars
into the DVD player.

Initially Langston had been a little perturbed with the idea of Zoe not accompanying them for dinner. He wanted her parents to see how he, Ava, and Zoe could be happy as a family. But when Ava explained to Langston that her friends had these gatherings monthly to foster a strong familial bond between their children, which now included Zoe, he no longer balked at the idea. If anything, it made him feel good that Zoe had other children she could call family. And when he saw her struggle to pick up the happy, gurgling baby and stagger with him to a comfortable position on the plush carpeted floor, a smile tugged at his lips. Perhaps one day it would be her little brother or sister she was holding in her lap while watching a Disney movie.

Despite the awkward, strained atmosphere, Langston enjoyed the authentic Italian meal that the Perettis’ served. Conversation was a bit stiff. And whenever Ava’s father was reluctantly drawn into the conversation, he only grunted his responses. However, Langston noted that whenever the conversation turned to Zoe, Dominic’s eyes lit up. The same happened with Janet. It was clear that Ava’s parents loved and adored Zoe. A wave of sadness washed over Langston as he thought of his own mother. Why couldn’t she feel the same way?

After dinner, Dominic stood. “I’m going to take Langston in the basement to show him my train set, Janet, while you and Ava get dessert,” he said.

Langston didn’t miss the nervous glance shared between Ava and her mom as he followed Dominic down the basement stairs. Langston’s eyes followed Dominic as the older man went over to a switch and flicked it on. He gazed at the toy train traveling around the track in amazement. Now he understood Zoe’s excitement every time she chattered about her grandfather’s train.

“If you hurt her again, I’ll kill you.”

Langston’s head snapped up at the threat that was issued. The murderous glare directed toward him would have sent a lesser man running up the stairs and out of the house. Langston knew Dominic was serious about carrying out his threat. He probably wanted to kill him now.

“Sir, that will never happen again. You have my word.” Langston would kill himself before he ever hurt Ava again.

“It better not,” Dominic all but growled as he hit the switch, turning off the train set. “Come on, let’s get back upstairs before my wife and daughter think I’ve already killed you.”

And as if Saturday night wasn’t bad enough, on Sunday morning he ventured out to church after Zoe begged him to go with them. If he thought Dominic was a piece of work, Nick Stiles and Kevin Dawson were running neck and neck with Dominic.

No sooner than introductions were made, both men wanted to know what his intentions were toward Ava.
Well dayum! Can’t a brotha catch a break!
Langston wanted to yell.

Cocking his head to the side, Langston flashed a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Only the best.” And with that simple response, the other men gave Langston a nod and another firm handshake.

Finally Langston could breathe a sigh of relief. All seemed to be understood between the men in Ava’s life.

Christina rushed around the small efficiency apartment she called home. Today was her first day of work at Warrington and Warrington. She didn’t mind that she would be starting in an entry-level position as a receptionist. The pay wasn’t bad, and at least she would
be getting paid. If she made it through the three-month probation period, she’d be eligible for medical and dental insurance as well. It had been years since she had a checkup. Her pride would not let her go to a public health center.

Working for her father’s crumbling law firm had taken its toll on her. The once thriving firm with six attorneys plus support staff had dramatically dwindled down to father and daughter. Christina was the receptionist, secretary, office manager, paralegal, and mail room staff. In short, she did it all. And what did she get for it? Five months worth of bounced paychecks that were written from her father’s personal bank account, because the firm’s account had been bled dry by years of mismanagement.

Christina had literally begged her landlord not to throw her out in the street for being several months behind in her rent. What little money she had was used to buy daily necessities like food and toiletries. To keep from being homeless, she pawned a family heirloom that had been passed down to the eldest daughter for six generations on her mother’s side of the family. Taking the beautiful, seven-carat emerald to a seedy pawn shop had been one of the lowest points in her life. And to add insult to injury, she’d gotten nowhere near the true monetary value for the precious piece of jewelry, which meant she hadn’t been able to get fully caught up on her rent. Her landlord had grudgingly taken what she had offered, but warned her that she only had until the end of the month to get the rest of the rent.

Telling her father that she could no longer work for him had been the hardest thing she’d done in her life. Growing up, he had thought the sun rose and set on her. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t give or do for his little princess. This made her guilt that much more piercing.

But what was she supposed to do? She couldn’t live with her parents. Their once spacious suburban home had been mortgaged to the hilt and later lost in foreclosure. Now the older couple lived in a cramped, one-bedroom apartment.

Christine cringed as she remembered her parents’ reactions to her leaving the law firm.

“You ungrateful little strumpet!” her father bellowed in a drunken slur. “I gave you my life, and this is how you treat me!”

Her mother hadn’t been any better as she hysterically fussed, “This is all your fault! I told you to marry that Warrington boy! But, no! You had to be stuck up and stuck on yourself! ‘He’s too black and ugly!’ you whined. Well now look at you! Alone and broke! At least if you had married Langston, your father could be working in his firm!” Waving her arms around, she continued to rant. “And we wouldn’t have to live like this!”

Heartbroken, Christina hung her head in shame and left her parents’ tiny apartment. Why couldn’t they understand that she had tried her best to help her father maintain the firm?

For years Christina had worked for her father, underpaid and never complaining. She had even been forced to cover for him when he failed to show up in court because he was in a drunken stupor. And when the other partners tired of her father’s mismanagement of the firm—leaving him to start their own—Christina had played the role of dutiful daughter and stayed behind in spite of being offered a position.

With only $32.67 in her bank account, Christina needed a miracle, and that was exactly what she got. The day Mrs. Warrington called her turned out to be her miracle.

After Langston left that evening after dinner, Christina broke down and told Beatrice about her current situation. Of course the scheming woman used this to her advantage. The following afternoon Beatrice contacted Christina.

“Christina dear, at three o’clock next Thursday you have an appointment at Warrington and Warrington to be interviewed for a receptionist position.”

“But what about Langston?” Christina asked.

“What about Langston?” the older woman replied, letting out a deep sigh. “I still own a portion of stock in that firm. I have a say so in who gets hired or fired.” Waving her hand as if the younger woman could see her over the phone, she said, “Besides, he’s in and out of court. I’m certain you won’t run into him.”

Upon her arrival for the interview, Grace, the office manager, asked her a few standard questions about her experience working in a law firm and then hired her on the spot. After filling out the necessary employment paperwork with human resources, Christina was told to report to work on Monday morning.

Now as she looked down at her three-year-old navy blue Ann Klein suit, Christina rubbed her hands over her skirt, trying to smooth out the fine wrinkles from the garment she hadn’t had dry cleaned and pressed in a long time. After she got caught up on her rent, the first thing she was going to do was buy herself some new clothes. Looking down at the scuff marks on the toes of her black pumps, she mumbled, “And a decent pair of shoes.”

Grabbing her purse and keys, Christina headed out the door, praying her future was taking a turn for the better.

As he stepped off the elevator, Langston nearly dropped his briefcase and choked on the sip of coffee he’d just taken. Christina was sitting in the reception area being trained on the phone system by Grace.

Both women immediately stopped what they were doing when they heard Langston coughing loudly and clearing his throat. Neither one of them missed the astounded look that crossed his features.

Walking past the desk, he clipped out, “Grace, in my office, now.”

Grace and Christina shared a nervous glance. “I wonder what’s gotten into him first thing this morning?” Grace asked as she grabbed her notepad and prepared to enter her boss’s office.

Slamming his briefcase onto the sturdy mahogany desk, Langston hissed an expletive. There had better be a damn good reason why Christina was sitting at his front desk.

Suddenly the rich Brazilian brew of his coffee lost its smooth flavor, turning sour as he attempted to take another sip. Hissing another expletive, he tossed the cup into the trash receptacle and dropped his large frame into the leather chair behind his desk. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he tried to stave off the headache that he was sure to come. This was not how he wanted to start off his Monday morning, especially not after the frustrating weekend he’d had in Philadelphia.

The soft knocking on his office door made Langston look up. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he said, “Come in, Grace.”

Slowing turning the knob, Grace timidly made her way to the twin chairs sitting in front of her boss’s desk. She only sat after given permission to do so by the nod of his head. She wondered what she had done to be summoned so gruffly into his office first thing on a Monday morning. She was about to find out.

“Who hired Christina?” Langston asked. His voice came out in a quiet, almost lethal whisper, causing Grace to shudder. Never in the years she’d worked for him had she been more afraid of him than right at that moment. Perhaps he did have some of his father’s traits, she mused.

Grace’s fingers nervously intertwined as she gazed wide-eyed at Langston. This could not be happening to her. She’d just been promoted to office manager. Her responsibilities consisted of supervising the secretarial staff of the other six attorneys, ordering office supplies, and hiring support staff, so technically she was the one who had hired Christina.

“Umm, sir, I hired her,” Grace answered, flustered.

“Didn’t I tell you I wanted to meet with the prospective candidate before hiring?”

Langston watched as his new office manager fidgeted in her seat. He’d always found Grace to be super efficient and dependable when she was his secretary, and thought she’d make an excellent office manager because of it. Now he was having second thoughts on promoting her. It annoyed him, no, pissed him off that she hadn’t followed a direct dictate. Although Langston wasn’t into micromanaging his employees, he made it a practice to meet with all of the support staff before hiring. If they met with his approval, and he got a good vibe, all was a go, and from that point on the office manager was responsible for managing them.