Free The Savvy Sistahs by Brenda Jackson

although she tried shaking it off.
    It wasn’t until she was inside her suite with the door closed and locked behind her that she finally breathed a relieved sigh. No matter what, she couldn’t let this thing with the note get to her. There was no doubt in her mind that someone was playing with her. When she heard a sound outside her door, her heart quickened and she leaned up and tried to take a look out of the peephole, but she saw nothing. But she was more than certain that she had heard footsteps.
    Checking her door again to make certain it was locked and the security chain was in place, she crossed the room and paused by the phone, thinking that maybe she should call security. But it was late and Perry Hall, her security manager, had left to go home hours ago; she didn’t want to deal with his assistant.
    She wrapped her arms around herself, thinking that she wouldn’t be getting much sleep tonight.

Chapter 5
    A s she had expected, Brandy lay awake that night unable to sleep. Each time she closed her eyes she swore she heard something and each time she got out of her bed to investigate she found nothing there.
    She had tried doing everything including counting sheep, and here it was nearly two in the morning and her eyes were still open like she didn’t have a busy day tomorrow. Before going to bed she had reread the note again, and like before a creepy feeling had escalated up and down her spine.
    And she didn’t like it. She didn’t like it one damn bit.
    A few months ago, at one of the their sistah-circle dinner meetings, Carla had brought to the table the principle that fear would steal your livelihood, so the thing to do was to make your courage bigger and stronger than your fear. Well, tonight while quivering in bed Brandy was doing a piss-poor job of following that principle, mainly because she’d never had to encounter anything like this before.
    Even after her decision to take over the running of the hotel, Kathie had warned her of the challenges she would face as a female hotel manager and that at all times she needed to walk a straight line with her male employees, not ever letting them make the assumption that she would cross over the line in her role as their boss.
    Brandy sighed. She felt she had done a good job of keeping things strictly business. Oh, she was certain a number of her male employees found her attractive, since she’d caught a few of them checking her out from time to time, but she’d always maintained a high degree of professionalism between them. She had no intention of getting involved with anyone who worked for her and had sent out that message real quick. Kathie had commented to her once that she’d heard through the grapevine that some of them considered Brandy an ice princess and a couple of them had even questioned if she was gay since she never dated. But Brandy knew that most had heard the scandalous story of her and Lorenzo’s wedding and brief marriage, and felt the reason she wasn’t dating was because she was licking her wounds. She couldn’t help wondering if that’s what the person who called himself “The Man” thought? In his sick mind did he somehow think she needed him?
    Brandy rolled over in bed. Tomorrow she would meet with her secretary, Donna Fields, to find out who had dropped by her office to deliver the rose. The older woman in her late fifties was sharp as a tack and her eyes didn’t miss much. Until this mystery was solved, Carla and Amber were right. Brandy needed to watch her back.
    Brandy was at her office before Mrs. Fields arrived. Her heartbeat escalated and she stopped when she saw her office door open. She distinctly remembered closing and locking it the night before.
    Passing her secretary’s desk, she took a deep breath and silently walked to the door and looked inside. Her security manager, Perry Hall, was standing at her desk with his back to her as he lifted the single rose to his nose to take a sniff.
    She knew from reviewing his