Fifteen Years by Kendra Norman-Bellamy Read Free Book Online Page B

night that it was an honorary dinner specifically for you, it was a no-brainer. Tonight is your night, JT, and we want to celebrate it with you. Congratulations.”
    When Josiah looked at Danielle Brown, he understood Craig’s attraction. She was only five three, but what she lacked in height, she made up in intelligence and beauty. Craig and Danielle had been attending the same church for years, but it wasn’t until Craig took the teaching position at Chapel Hill High that they met. That was one of the drawbacks of being connected to a ten thousand member church like Living Water Cathedral. A man could be worshiping in the same sanctuary with his own barber and not know it.
    Danielle was already a guidance counselor at Chapel Hill High School when Craig joined the staff just over two years ago. They’d hit it off almost immediately and had been inseparable ever since. At first, Josiah had been a bit surprised that Craig was drawn to the freshman counselor. Danielle didn’t fit the mold of any of the women Craig had dated in college. His college sweethearts were tall, fair-skinned, and generally had chemically treated hair. Most wore silky weave that flowed down their backs. Danielle was none of the above. Except for her short stature, she was an India Arie look-alike. She was dark and very afro-centric, wearing her dark brown shoulder-length hair in sisterlocks adorned with small African shells and beading. All of her jewelry was authenticallymade in the motherland, and she wore little or no makeup. Not that she needed to. Her natural beauty was enough to turn any warm-blooded man’s head.
    “When I told Dani that this was your night to shine, she suggested that we alter our dinner plans and support you instead.” Craig slipped his arm around his fiancée’s waist and kissed her jaw. Then he turned back to Josiah. “So here we are.”
    Danielle shrugged like it was no big deal. “JT, I can’t believe you didn’t just tell me about this. Canceling our outing gave me the chance to go by and see my niece, anyway. You know she’s been going through therapy ever since the doctor gave clearance, and I don’t get around there to sit with my sister nearly as often as I should. Craig and I can go out again tomorrow night and make that my official birthday dinner, if necessary. There were definitely more important things to do today.”
    “I appreciate that very much.” Josiah couldn’t stop smiling. They had no idea what their presence meant. “And I’m sure your niece was just as thrilled to have you spend time with her as I am to have you here with me.” Turning his face from them, Josiah pointed toward the empty seats around the table. “Pick a seat and join me. There’s water, tea, and bread already on the table, as you can see. The waiter will bring a plate once he notices you sitting here, I’m sure.”
    The elevator music that had been playing at a lowered volume over the speaker system suddenly hushed, and when the floor lights dimmed to make the front of the room the focal point, the chatter in the rented hotel space quieted too. In Josiah’s tenure at Mac-Gyvers, he had done everything from one-on-one training sessions with entrepreneurs of home-based businesses to teaching systems orientation workshops to groups of more than a hundred employees. Standing in front of the scrutinizing eyes of people and havingthem size him up as he addressed them wasn’t something that Josiah wasn’t accustomed to. As a matter of fact, it was one of his strengths. One of the assets that elevated him to the place he was today.
    So why—as the program got under way and Mr. Mickey Colt was giving his grand introduction—did Josiah’s stomach muscles feel like they were having grand mal seizures? Was it because as one of only a small handful of black executives in a company with a sea of executives, he knew that he still had something to prove? If that was his biggest worry, then this would be a piece of cake. Josiah