Page 17 of All Out of Love

“Yes sir,” Lois said, and Grayson, knowing word would get around that the boss had the hots for the temp girl, turned and walked away.

He took a different route, walking down different corridors, back to his office.

By the end of the second month on the job, and after that last encounter with him in the hallway, Latoya didn’t see him at all.

It concerned her. She wondered if she had done something or said something wrong. But she got over it. Especially when she finally saw him, going into month number three at the end of the work day, as she and a group of ladies were walking out of the side servants entrance to their parked cars. Grayson was driving up in a big, black Mercedes Maybach. Toya was too busy listening to a janitor as he was telling her and the rest of the girls some silly joke she didn’t get, and she didn’t see Grayson at all.

But Grayson saw her as soon as he drove around the side of his home. And when he saw her walking across the driveway to where the employees parked their cars, and she was looking kind of sad even though everybody else she was walking with were laughing, his whole being reacted to her again. It felt as if a part of him was walking across his driveway. And this time he couldn’t help himself. That look on her face concerned him. It had been months. He hardly worked at home at all lately, which happened sometimes. He hadn’t seen her. He had to know for himself that she was okay.

He pressed down his window and called out to her. “Miss Morgan? Miss Morgan?”

When Latoya, and everybody else, heard her name, she turned and looked in his direction. When she saw that it was Mr. Carrington, her heart leaped with joy. She didn’t mean for it to leap at all. But that was exactly how she felt: joyous. So joyful that she hurried to his car.

She moved so quickly that one of her co-workers, who had heard rumors that he favored her, yelled after her: “Don’t trip and fall, you hear?” And all of the other employees laughed. Although every one of them would have loved to be in her shoes. Many, in fact, didn’t like her because of her perceived relationship with the boss.

When Toya made it up to the Mercedes and looked inside, she was impressed by the sheer elegance of it. She’d seen those Mercedes that didn’t cost that much more money than any other car, but this wasn’t one of those. “Hello, Mr. Carrington,” she said happily to him.

He was pleased to notice that just seeing him again seemed to lift her mood. “I was wondering how things were going with you on the job?”

“Things are going really well,” Toya said. “You’ve been out of town again?”

“No, I’ve been working at headquarters most of the time.”

“You’re gone by the time I get here, and still gone by the time I leave.”

“Right.” His heart was pounding for some reason. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. He was looking so hard that she even caught him glancing down at her breasts.

Which only made him feel even more exposed. “Keep up the good work.”

“I wish I could, but I heard yesterday that the girl who was out on maternity leave was coming back in a few days.”

“She’ll be back, but I’ve made your position permanent. She’ll be placed in housekeeping. They always need another maid.”

Toya was overwhelmed with joy. “But what if she doesn’t want to be a maid?”

“I’ve ordered Miss Javits not to cut her pay. She should be happy to have a job. If she isn’t, then I don’t want her in my home. Her work contract states that she will be moved from position to position from time to time. Has Miss Javits given you our benefits package?”

“No sir. I guess she’s waiting until the other lady gets back.”

His jaw tightened. “She’ll give you the package to sign first thing tomorrow morning.”

Toya smiled. “Yes sir. Thank you so much, sir.”

Exposed again. “Don’t mention it,” he said. “Have a good evening.” Then he pressed up his window and drove toward the back side of his home. Ready to spend another night alone.

Toya never liked the way he was always so abrupt with his goodbyes, but she didn’t care. She was on permanent with Carrington Capital. He could be as abrupt as he wanted to be. She had a job!

She hurried back across that driveway. And although her coworkers were mostly gone, she was too happy to speed. She hopped into her car, put on some gospel, and took her time to drive back home.

Now she could start thinking about finding her own place to stay. But not before she saw her first paycheck as a permanent employee. Then it would feel real to her. She didn’t want any replays of what happened to her, on her first day of her promotion, in Ocala.

She wasn’t counting any eggs until they hatched.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

That same evening she went home, changed clothes, and was heading back out to go get her something to eat. Her mother had cooked, but nobody had bothered to save her anything. Which was fine by her. Her mother was giving her a roof over her head for free, and she was grateful for that. The least she could do was feed herself.

But as soon as Toya sat down in her car and was about to pull out, Keisha’s boyfriend Bam ran out and jumped off of the stoop. “Toya,” he was yelling. “Toya wait!” He rushed up and tapped on her window.