Night Heat (Forged of Steele 2)

“Nothing major. Just the fact that you’re going to be an uncle…again.”

A huge smile spread across Bas’s face. His brother had remarried eight months ago after being a widower for seven years. “Hey, that’s wonderful. Congratulations. How do the kids feel about the upcoming addition to your household?” By kids he meant Kylie’s fifteen-year-old daughter, Tiffany, and Chance’s sixteen-year-old son, Marcus.

“They’re thrilled and already fighting over baby-sitting rights.” Chance laughed. “I’ll see how eager they are for the job when the baby arrives and they find out what changing diapers is all about.”

Bas talked to his brother for another ten minutes, filling him in on how things were going. “So, Jocelyn Mason wasn’t glad to see you, huh?” Chance asked.

“Nope, not that I figured she would be.”

“She sounds like a handful.”

Bas smiled. Yes, she was a handful all right, but at the moment he thought of her being a mouthful. At three in the morning he’d been wide awake remembering just how good that sassy mouth of hers had tasted. Even now the memory shot his pulse up a notch or two. And then there was the luscious scent of her perfume that he was convinced had gotten absorbed into his skin, since he could still smell her.

“Yes, she’s a handful for now, only because she sees me as a threat. Once she sees that I’m only here to help, she’ll be okay,” he said with more confidence than he really felt.

“I hope you’re right. The last thing you need is to get stressed about anything.”

“Trust me, Chance. The last thing I’d do is let any woman stress me out. You should know that about me.”

After a few more minutes of small talk with his brother and sister-in-law, who reminded him of the surprise party next month for his brother Donovan’s birthday, Bas hung up the phone then stood and walked over to the window and looked out. What he’d told Chance was the truth. He didn’t plan on letting any woman stress him out. If Cassandra Tisdale hadn’t done it during the six months of their engagement then such a thing wasn’t possible.

He smiled as he checked his watch. It was time for his workday to begin.

Jocelyn glanced over at the man sitting across from her and smiled. “I’m flattered by your interest in Mason Construction but it’s not for sale, Mr. Cody,” she said, sipping a glass of lemonade.

What she had told him was the truth. She was truly flattered. She had read enough articles in Black Enterprises to know that if Cameron Cody was looking at any company to add to his portfolio then there was a good reason for it, because he was fast becoming a powerhouse. He was a high-school dropout who had eventually gotten his act together to later graduate cum laude from Harvard Business School, and now, at thirty-four, he was one of the most success African-American men in the country.

Cameron Cody was a self-made millionaire who had a knack for investing in all kinds of profitable ventures. His latest was construction, after he, along with other noted celebrities, had combined their funds and formed a construction company to help rebuild communities in New Orleans destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The success of that venture had given him the idea to purchase a number of construction companies in various parts of the country to build low-income housing. Jocelyn thought his idea was good as well as needed. But as she’d told him, Mason Construction was not for sale.

“If you change your mind,” Cody said, going into his pocket to pull out a business card, “please let me know. The offer will stand. The task force I put together was thorough in providing me with the names of construction companies around the country that have good, solid reputations. You should be proud that your company is one of them. That speaks highly of your leadership.”

Jocelyn smiled, placing her glass of lemonade back on the table. “Since I’m sure your task force did a good job of investigating Mason Construction, then you’re well aware that my father is the one who ran things up until eight months ago, so he’s the one who should receive all the credit. And yes, you’re right, the success of Mason Construction speaks highly of his leadership skills. Dad was well liked and highly respected in this community.”