This Tender Melody

She nodded. “Yes, and I was so shocked I said that out loud and completely embarrassed myself.”

Her friend looked thoughtful for a moment, as if her lawyer mind was working a case. Then, she asked, “If this is the same brother in the picture, with the washboard abs...” She sucked air through her teeth. “Girl, I don’t know how you managed not to lay hands on the brother.”

Eve frowned, placed a hand to her forehead. “Well... I...I mean, we...”

Lina slid forward until she was perched on the edge of her seat. “Whatever it is, you better tell me.”

She hesitated for a moment, then caved to the scrutiny. “He hung around after the meeting. He boldly pointed out that he was attracted to me, and then...kissed me. I didn’t stop him, even though I could have.” Seeing the glint of mischief in her friend’s eyes, she shook her head. “No, Lina. Don’t start.”

“As an attorney, I can tell you that if there’s an antifraternization policy on the books at FTI, you’d better steer clear of him.” Lina leaned back in her chair. “As your girlfriend, though, I’d say you’d better take that stallion for a long ride, honey.”

Eve clamped a hand over her mouth to cover the peals of laughter, but they escaped, anyway. “Lina! You’re outrageous.” She found herself wondering if the company had such a policy, then quickly pushed the thought away. “It doesn’t matter if we have a policy against it or not. I’m not the type who can date someone I work with. It would ruin my focus.”

“Whatever. Like lusting after this dude is going to make you razor sharp.” She winked.

“I’m done talking about this with you, Lina. Now it’s time you told me about your drama.” She scanned the room, wondering where the waiter was with their drinks. All this talk about Darius had her craving the alcoholic beverage.

Lina scoffed. “You’re complaining that a good-looking man is after you. I’m not getting any play at all. Girl, I haven’t been on a date in two months.” She held up her forefinger and middle finger to emphasize her statement. “Two months! I’m about to go straight up crazy.”

“And what’s your excuse? You don’t meet any successful, eligible men in the world of law?”

She rolled her eyes. “No, that’s not it. Everywhere I turn, there’s some fine man in a suit. Judges, other lawyers, that fine-ass bailiff down at the courthouse...” Her words trailed off, and she appeared to be imagining said bailiff in her mind’s eye. “But unlike you, Ms. Executive, I have to be very careful not to violate ethics codes.”

“I could understand that. But is there really a law keeping you from getting busy with the bailiff?”

“Shut up!” Lina shouted with mock irritation, tossing one of her silver stilettos at Eve in a playful manner.

At that moment, the waiter approached with their drinks. After almost dropping the tray down on the cocktail table between their two chairs, he left. Eve and Lina continued giggling as he moved away, and then went back to gossiping.

* * *

Darius strolled into Tibbs Music and More, maneuvering the large protective case holding his bass around until it was safely inside the store. He let the door swing shut behind him and made his way over to the counter. As he walked, he bopped his head to the strains of Esperanza Spalding’s “Little Fly,” which played on the store’s PA system. He enjoyed the music of the young bassist, and also found her wild mane of curls to be very sexy.

Behind the counter, Murphy Tibbs stood, rifling through a box of receipts. “Hey there, Darius. Time for Miss Molly’s tuning and maintenance, eh?”

He nodded as he lifted the case up and set it carefully on the counter. “Sure is, and you know I don’t trust anybody with her but you, Murph.” And that was the truth. Miss Molly was a G. B. Rogeri upright bass, a copy of an instrument originally played by its famous Italian namesake. The bass was top quality, fashioned of hand-planed, hand-varnished maple and spruce. Though Miss Molly was a bit deeper than the average bass, she was an absolute dream to set up and play on stage, and she still fit into a standard case. The one he’d purchased for her, made of Kevlar, had set him back two grand on top of Miss Molly’s $4,500 purchase price. But when he was on stage, jamming with the band and getting lost in the magic of the music, he knew it was money well spent.

“I’m sure you know I value that trust.” Murphy slid the case closer to himself, then carefully moved it to the floor behind the counter. “I’ll have her ready for you bright and early tomorrow morning. Stop back in around nine.”

Darius took his wallet out from the pocket of his khaki trousers and extracted six twenty dollar bills. “Thanks a lot, Murph. See you tomorrow.” After passing the money to the shopkeeper, he turned around and left the store.

Outside, a few clouds passed over, temporarily dimming the bright sunlight streaming from above. He strode to his car, parked a few feet from the door of Tibbs, and slipped inside. Soon he eased his car into the traffic, joining the citizens of Charlotte rushing around to grab their lunch before their breaks expired.

As he sat at a red light, he pondered his current situation. He had a standing appointment, every second Thursday of the month, to drop Miss Molly off for maintenance and tuning. Other than that, Saturday basketball games and band practice, and the Gents’ regular twice monthly gig at the Blue Lounge, he had no other demands placed on his time. Now, however, that was all about to change. Accepting the job as CEO at Franklin Technologies meant doing a favor for his old mentor, but it also meant giving up a lot of the freedom he’d come to enjoy over the past several years.

Taking the ramp onto I-74, he mused on his other problem—Eve. She was obviously none too pleased with him, since she seemed to think of him as an interloper, interfering with her family’s business. He could understand that; after all, he’d warned Franklin that his daughter’s reaction to losing out on the CEO position might be negative. Still, now that he’d reconciled that gorgeous, smoking-hot woman he’d shared the elevator with a few days ago with the snapping, angry-faced daughter of his mentor, he had another dilemma on his hands. How could he convince her to go out with him without further complicating an already awkward situation?

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