The Best Thing He Never Knew He Needed (12 page)

Sherita had just made a cup
of green tea when she heard knocks at her door. She wasn’t
expecting anyone else tonight. Emily had just left about thirty
minutes ago. Had she come back? Did she forget something? She
scanned the living room. She hadn’t seen anything Emily could’ve
left. Then again, maybe it wasn’t Emily.

Sherita walked up to the
door, peered through the peephole and saw Dante standing there. She
frowned.
Dante? What are you doing
here?
He’d never been by her apartment
before, not even with Emily, but now he was here, alone, suited up
like he’d just left the office. She glanced at her watch. It was a
few minutes after eight.

Opening the door, trying to
hide her disbelief, she said, “Hey, Dante.”

“
Hi, Sherita. Forgive me
for showing up like this, but I was wondering if I could talk to
you for a minute.”

“
Oh, umm…sure. Come on
in,” she said, stepping aside watching him walk inside of her
living room. He made her living space look small with his tall
stature and build.

“
I just made some tea,”
she said after watching him sit on the sofa. “Want
some?”

“
Sure. I’ll take a
cup.”

Sherita hurried back to the
kitchen, poured Dante a cup of tea and was right back in the living
room where he was sitting. “Here you go,” she said, stepping back
into the living room, placing the cup on the coffee table in front
of him. She joined him on the couch.

“
How was your day?” Dante
asked her.

Miserable.
“It was okay…Emily just left here about a half
hour ago.”

“
Oh, really?”

“
Yeah. We were just
chatting about things. Women things. And now, you’re here. What
brings you by my humble abode?”

Dante shot her a half
smile. He, too, realized this was the first time he’d ever visited
her apartment. “Well, I’ve found myself in a bind, and I need your
help to get out of it.”

“
My…you need my help?”
Sherita asked, confused. She had no ties to The Champion
Corporation. Why would he need her help?

“
Yes. I need your help. We
have a multi-million dollar deal on the table and it all hinges
upon Desmond.”

Sherita snapped her head
back. “And what does that have to do with me?”

“
Well, the client we’re
partnering with on this project is one of those old-school guys…you
know…he likes to do business with stable, family businessmen. I
think he’s been married for over twenty-five years, and he views
marriage as stability.”

“
And what does that have
to do with me, again?” she asked in an uncertain, uneven
tone.

Dante caught her gaze and
smiled. In his opinion, Sherita was perfect for Desmond. And it’s
not like he was playing matchmaker. Desmond already expressed
interest in her. He was just helping him along the way, thereby
helping her. “Wait…let me pause for a moment and ask this…what
happened between you and Desmond Friday night?”

“
As soon as you guys left,
we got into a rocky conversation, then later we went to a park.
After that, we came back to your house, fed the babies, ate
dinner…argued…I went to sit on the deck to relax…he came out there,
and we actually had a nice conversation for a change. Then, out of
nowhere, he gets up from the table and heads out the front door. We
argued more right before he threw on his helmet and took
off.”

“
Just out of the
blue?”

“
Yeah. Pretty
much.”

“
What were you guys
talking about? Do you remember?”

“
Umm…right before he stood
up and walked away, I had asked him why he’d never been in
love.”

“
Oh. I see.” Dante thought
about it for a moment. He hadn’t thought about it before, but he
couldn’t recall an instance where Desmond had ever been locked down
with a woman. Had Desmond really never been in love? “Well, here’s
the situation. If the deal is going to go through, we need Desmond
to be married.”

“
What?” she asked
frowning.

“
And since this
businessman in question saw you and Desmond together at a park on
Friday, he assumed you were Desmond’s wife, and I’m convinced it’s
the only reason we got the contract. Therefore, I need you to agree
to marry Desmond.”

Sherita stared at Dante as
if he was speaking another language, one in which she couldn’t
decipher. “You have got to be kidding me, Dante.”

“
Actually, I’m
not.”

She shook her head. “Well,
I’m sorry, but there’s no way I’m going to marry Desmond.
No…way.”

“
Sherita—”

“
No, Dante. I can’t, and
please don’t try to convince me otherwise. Desmond has some serious
issues, and I have enough problems in my own life to have to put up
with him. I can’t.”

Dante sighed heavily.
“Sherita, we’re talking fifty-million dollars here. Do you know
what that kind of money will do for The Champion Corporation? I
know Desmond can be difficult—”

“
Difficult?
That’s not a strong enough word to describe
Desmond.”

Dante sighed. “You’re
right, but we need this to happen.”

Sherita shook her
head.

“
I’ll even pay
you.”

“
Pay me?” she
asked.

“
Yes. I’m thinking a
million dollars should suffice.”

“
A million dollars,” she
said, taken aback at his generous offer. “Dante, I’m not taking any
money from you. You are like a brother to me. Emily is one of my
best friends…you guys are family to me.”

“
Then what do you want?
What will it take for you to say yes to this?”

Sherita thought about it
for a moment. What did she have to lose by helping her friend’s
husband out of a bind? If the tables were turned, Emily would
surely do it for her. “Did you already talk to Desmond about
this?”

“
I did. He’s on board as
long as you are.”

Sherita dropped her head
and after burying her face in her hands, she said, “I’m sure I’ll
regret this, but I’ll do it.”

Ecstatic, Dante leaned over
and gave her a hug. “Thank you, Sherita! I really appreciate
this.”

“
So, what do we need to do
to get this done?”

“
We’ll discuss it tomorrow
over dinner at my house. I have to make the family aware of what’s
going on, so they’ll all be there. Then we’ll lay out the details
for you and Desmond.”

“
Okay. What time
tomorrow?”

“
About 6:30 p.m. In the
meantime, if you could jot down a few things about yourself that
Desmond doesn’t already know, that would be great.”

“
What kind of things?” she
inquired.

“
You know…things that
someone you’re just meeting might ask over dinner, like where you
guys met…how long you’ve been married…that sort of thing. Oh, and
by the way, we’re going to say you’ve been married for two years,
so keep that in mind.”

“
Two years. Got
it.”

“
I have to run,” Dante
said standing, “But I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“
Okay, Dante. See you
tomorrow.”

Sherita shook her head.
What did she just agree to? How long was this
marriage
supposed to last? And would
she have to live with Desmond? The thought of it gave her a
nervous, unsettling feeling in the pit if her stomach.

CHAPTER 14

The following evening, the
family met at Dante’s house for dinner. While everyone was
assembling around the table, Emily brought over the food. Sherita
asked her if she needed help, but she insisted she
didn’t.

Sherita interlocked her
fingers. Her legs bounced up and down underneath the table. Desmond
had not yet arrived, and she was hoping he wouldn’t show up at all.
She sighed quietly. The babies were sleeping, so she couldn’t use
them as a distraction for her nervousness. So, taking out her cell
phone, she saw a voicemail from her mother. She pressed play, then
held the phone up to her ear:

Sherita, Thane tells me
he’s been trying to reach you, honey. Why don’t you give the man a
call? I’ll talk to you soon.

She felt numb. Moving away
from Asheville was becoming more and more appealing. After this
marriage nonsense was over, she would do just that.
Leave.

“
Where’s Desmond?” Melanie
asked Dimitrius quietly, but loud enough for Sherita to hear
her.

Dimitrius shrugged. “Not
sure.”

“
Okay, I think that is
everything,” Emily said, standing by the table, scanning the food
she’d placed there.

“
Smells good, baby,” Dante
told her.

Emily glanced at him and
smiled. Then she leaned down and left a kiss on his
cheek.

“
Smells like I got here
right on time,” Desmond said as he walked into the dining
room.

Sherita didn’t want to look
up, but his voice had commanded her attention. So, she slid her
cell phone back inside of her purse then looked up at him,
swallowing the lump in her throat. The man was so fine, he made her
squint. Made her body lock up. She didn’t know it was possible for
him to look any better, but every time she saw him, it seemed he
did. With his five o’clock shadow on deck, he sauntered into the
room wearing a white short-sleeve Polo, displaying his muscular
arms and a pair of dark-wash jeans.

Sherita’s eyes shifted to
the expensive-looking watch on his wrist that had her noticing the
hair on his arms and his large hands – hands that looked like they
could crush an aluminum can with hardly any effort. Yet, she
remembered those same hands resting against her face while he
kissed her. The memory flooded her mind and made her body
shiver.

“
Good evening, everybody,”
Desmond said, taking the seat across the table from
Sherita.

“
Good evening, Desmond,”
Melanie said.

“
How are you doing today
Desmond?” Emily asked her temperamental brother-in-law.

“
Doing good,” he
answered.

Sherita didn’t say a
word.

Desmond was well aware that
Sherita hadn’t spoken. Unfazed, he reached for the basket of
croissants.

“
Didn’t think you were
going to make it, Des,” Dimitrius said.

“
Had to take care of some
business,” Desmond said, then smirked. He was trying to imply that
he was with a woman just to keep up the appearance of a supposed
bachelor lifestyle he’d been telling his brothers about. In
actuality, what
taking care of
business
really meant was stopping by a
jewelry store where he purchased a wedding ring – a rare,
yellow-diamond platinum ring that had set him back eighty-two
thousand dollars. If he had to marry the girl, then he had to make
sure her ring was comparable to the ring a Champion man would buy
for his wife if this was the real thing. When the marriage was
over, he’d get it back.

Sherita felt her stomach
turn sour. How was she going to do this? She couldn’t even sit
across from the man without feeling nervous and jittery, like she’d
had too much caffeine on an empty stomach. Then there was the fact
that he hadn’t bothered looking at her. Acknowledging her. Then
again, she didn’t acknowledge him either. Anyway, she attempted to
try some of the salad and didn’t touch any of the lemon-pepper
chicken.

After filling his plate,
Desmond glanced up at Sherita for the first time. He took a bite of
chicken, then watched her open her mouth to receive a fork full of
salad. When she did, she looked up and her eyes caught his. He
knowingly and purposely held her gaze, looking at her as if he
could see through her. He chewed slowly, watching her chew. Slowly.
Then his eyes fell from her eyes to her lips, then back up to her
eyes again.

Dante nudged Emily
underneath the table and tilted his head in Desmond and Sherita’s
direction so Emily could see the two of them staring at each other.
Then he mouthed, “Told you,” to Emily and winked at her.

Emily smiled. She was
completely caught off guard when Dante had told her about the deal
with Victor and the marriage between Desmond and Sherita that would
help secure the deal. Emily told him she didn’t think it was a good
idea since Sherita was dealing with some personal problems that had
left her depressed and ready to relocate. But Dante assured her
that Sherita would be okay once she’d gotten to know Desmond. Once
they stopped fighting the inevitable, they’d be a happy couple for
sure.

Sherita swallowed hard,
breaking her gaze with him. She hadn’t even chewed her food enough
to swallow, but she did so anyway. If not, she probably would’ve
choked.

“
So, just to make sure
we’re up to speed on this marriage thing, I want to reiterate that
this is a fifty-million dollar deal we’re looking at here,” Dante
said. “I need everyone on board. We have dinner scheduled with Mr.
Westwood Sunday evening. Now, Desmond and Sherita, I’m going to
need you guys to get to the courthouse sometime tomorrow. Will that
be a problem?”