Free Her Little Black Book by Brenda Jackson

given special treatment?”
    Toni flipped a mass of blond hair from her face, and her blue eyes shone with determination and dedication when she said, “Because we’re not talking about the sponsorship of a dream trip for a few of our kids. I’m talking about him footing the money to build our own amusement park here in Orlando. Can you imagine such a thing?”
    Peggy smiled. Yes and no. Yes, she could imagine such a park and knew how instrumental one would be for the kids. And no, because the very thought that a single person would consider solely footing the bill for such a place went beyond her level of comprehension. “That’s a lot of money.”

    Toni nodded. “Yes, and it’s either going to come to us or our sister organization in Atlanta. We want it here, and it’s important that while I’m gone Mr. Baker gets a special tour and breakdown of our facilities by someone with exemplary charm, grace, and style.”
    Peggy rolled her eyes, knowing Toni was laying it on thick, or at least trying to. “There has to be someone else you can get.”
    â€œBut there’s no one else that I’d trust. My first grandchild picked the worst possible time to be born, but nothing is going to keep me from being there to see it happen, and I want to arrive in Detroit knowing everything is under control back here. So please tell me that you’ll do it.”
    â€œToni, I—”
    â€œPlease. Pretty please.”
    Peggy released a long slow breath and then said, “Okay, I’ll do it, but you knew that I would. Didn’t you?”
    Toni smiled, satisfied. “Yes, I knew that you would.”
    Barbara locked her office door and went back to her desk to open the package that had been delivered to her. It was in a plain wrapper so she figured it was the video she had ordered a few weeks ago titled, Improving Your Sex Performance.
    She knew she was one of those women who had sexual hang-ups. The therapist had assured her she wasn’t alone. A lot of women much preferred traditional when it came to sex, but she knew she had to change her thinking about a lot of things.

    One day while at the dentist’s office, flipping through a magazine, she had come across an ad for the video and ordered it. Now it was here and she was determined to be open-minded. She would do whatever it took to spice up her performance in the bedroom if it would help keep Ron from straying.
    After opening the package she saw the book that accompanied the video. She blushed after flipping through the book and seeing all the different positions for making love. Did couples actually try them? Well, she hoped to find out one day.

7
    Could that have gone as badly as she remembered? Courtney wondered, thinking about her date with Harper and his subsequent arrest. A huge article had appeared in the newspaper the next morning about how an FBI sting operation had resulted in the arrest of five individuals, employed at three different banks, and how they had worked together to filter money from various investment accounts to a dummy one they had established.
    She thought about what a nice-looking brotha he was, how articulate he’d spoken, how well educated. What a waste—what a stupid mistake. What could he have been thinking to assume he’d get away with it?
    â€œIf you’re not going to pay me any attention, we can end this session.”

    Courtney glanced across the table at Jetrica. She was right. Courtney hadn’t been paying attention.
    â€œSorry about that, Jetrica. My mind wandered off for a second. I apologize.”
    The fourteen-year-old had been sitting in the office when Courtney arrived, not in anticipation of their meeting but because she had gotten kicked out of class for disrespecting a teacher. With a mass of shoulder-length dreads on her head, Jetrica was a pretty girl, if you could look past the bad attitude she displayed most of the time. But Courtney