The Best of All

Crossing her legs to get comfortable on the sofa in Ian’s office, she watched as he took his jacket off and slipped it around his high-backed chair. The man was a dream in motion. He was much lighter in complexion than any of the men she normally dated. The waviness of his hair also indicated to her that his parents were not of the same ethnic group. If she had to guess, she’d say one of his parents was white and the other black.

But none of that mattered to Surry. She was here in a strictly professional manner. She tried to turn her head away from the vision in front of her, because she truthfully couldn’t care less that with his jacket off she could see that the man had biceps, triceps, muscular pecs and... Watch yourself, she admonished herself.

“Do you have some water? My mouth is a little dry,” Surry said while scratching her throat and then coughing. It was getting hot in here. Surry felt like unbuttoning her top to get a little air, but decided against that.

“Sure.” Ian opened the small fridge he kept in his office and pulled out an assortment of iced tea, Coke, root beer and a simple Pure Life water bottle. “Do you need anything else?”

“I’ll just take the water.”

Ian handed it to her, held back the iced tea for himself and then put the other bottles back in the fridge. “So, how’s business at the new boutique?”

“How did you know I opened my boutique?” She hated the suspicious tone of her voice, but these days she didn’t know whom she could trust. She prayed that Ian would be in her corner.

“Noel told me.” He put down his drink and said, “I haven’t been checking up on you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Shaking her head, Surry waved the notion away. “I’m sorry about the way I sounded just now. I guess I’ve just become a little paranoid during these past few weeks. I’ve got too much going on.”

He sat down on the sofa next to her, giving her his full attention. “Want to tell me about it?”

“Where do I begin?” Surry was at her wits’ end. The expansion deal for her clothing line was about to blow up in her face. No one would want to carry Designs from the Motherland if they thought she stole any of her designs. She’d be forever branded a fraud, and what customer in her right mind would want to wear the designs of a fraud?

“I know you’re busy, so I don’t want to waste your time by beating around the bush.” Surry turned toward him and continued, “I was just about to sign a contract to have two very high-end chain retail stores carry my designs. In anticipation of this contract, I put all of my earnings into increasing production of my designs. Since John Michael started shooting his mouth off, the contract has been put on hold. And to tell you the truth, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“What kind of claims?”

“He says that the designs for my spring and summer collection were stolen from him.”

“Did you and he work on designs together?”

“Never! I don’t like John Michael’s designs, but we worked a few fashion shows together and split the cost of both rentals at two expos about seven years ago. But since then I haven’t collaborated with him or anyone else. To tell you the truth, I much prefer to work on my own.”

“A loner, huh?”

She didn’t like the way he said “loner.” He made it sound as if there was something wrong with a girl needing her space and preferring to work alone. But Surry saw nothing wrong with her choices. Besides her girls, Danetta and Ryla, Surry didn’t hang out with anyone. She had a business to run and that required most, if not all of her time. But that didn’t make her a loner, did it? She shrugged, “Okay, yeah, I like being alone. I do my best designs that way. No television, no music...just me and the chirping of the crickets.”

“That must be how you creative types like to do your work. Me, I’d go crazy if I didn’t have my iPod or my radio going most of the time. I love music and it helps me think.”

“To each his own, I guess.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Ian said, and then silence fell. After a few moments, he rubbed his hands together. “So, how can I help you?”

“Ryla says that you’re a good guy and the best when it comes to handling image problems.”

“Ryla said that, huh?” There was a slight smile on his face, as if he wanted to break out into a laugh from things he knew, but wouldn’t say.

“She sure did. So, after John Michael did this blog interview—” she handed him the interview that she’d printed off the internet “—and then his lies got reported in the paper this morning, I rushed over here, hoping that you could help me. I’ve never had to deal with anything like this before. So I didn’t know what else to do.”

* * *

Was he hearing her right? She hadn’t bothered to respond to his offer of dinner, and she was in his office at this moment only because she needed an image makeover? He stood, read the blog that she handed him and then turned back to her. “This guy obviously has a problem with the success you’ve had with your line of clothing. But I’m not sure how I can help you.”

Flipping her hair off her shoulder, she said, “I don’t know, either. I’m about to lose everything if John Michael gets away with the lies he’s spreading. Ryla spoke so highly of the way you were able to help Noel, that I just...” Her shoulders slumped as her voice cracked. Her eyes said that she’d rather be anywhere but here, dealing with this issue. “I just hoped that you would be able to do something to help me also.”

The woman he met at Noel and Ryla’s wedding was dynamic, self-assured, ready to take on the world. But Surry looked so helpless as she sat on his couch worrying about losing everything that he wished he could help. But how on earth could he help her and work his own plan?

Ian Duncan was nothing if not focused. He knew from the day he first interned with his father that he would be in the game of politics for the rest of his life. Even with the craziness now going on in Washington, Ian still desired this life as he desired his next breath. Thankfully, he’d never wanted the frustrating job of being a politician. He wanted to be the puppet master, the one behind the scene pulling all the strings, making kings of mere men. His father had become known as a kingmaker because he’d headed three campaigns that had catapulted two former governors and one former statesman into the White House.

It was now Ian’s turn to prove that he had what it took to be a kingmaker. Since his college days, Ian had vowed to let nothing stop him from achieving his goals. He’d loved playing basketball but had never been interested in going pro. He’d spent years giving all he had to the game of politics, and at the age of thirty-one he was about to reap the fruits of his labor. He couldn’t allow this thing with Surry to get him off his game. He’d be a fool to help her when the prize he’d strived for all this time was now waiting for him in Charlotte.

Looking at Surry was not helping him. He wanted to scoop her up and protect her from the storm. But to do that, he’d have to put his own dreams on hold, and Ian couldn’t do that. He averted his eyes. When that proved to not be enough, he went and stood in front of the window that overlooked the parking lot and then said, “I know politics. I don’t know the first thing about fashion. So, I’m not sure that I’m the one to help with this issue.”

Surry stood and walked over to the window. She put her hand on Ian’s shoulder and turned him to face her. Her eyes implored him as she said, “You don’t understand. If you don’t help me I could lose everything. I’ve worked so hard for what I have. I can’t lose it just because of a lie.”

He rested a hand on her arm as he leaned against the windowpane. This woman was so beautiful. She was everything he wanted in his personal life. But he was also a professional. “Surry, believe me, it’s not that I don’t want to help you. I can’t. I will be leaving the state in a few days to talk with a man who is interested in running for president. If he and I decide to work together, I’m going to be very busy trying to build a team to get his campaign up and running.”

Running her hand through her hair, she looked at him with determination in her eyes. “The sad part about it is that I was prepared to come over here and beg for your help if I had to, and you wouldn’t have been able to help me even if I had begged.” She patted him on the shoulder, stepped back and said, “Congratulations on the new client. I’ll find a way to resolve this issue.”

As Ian watched Surry walk away, he wanted to reach out and pull her back to him. Was he a fool? How could he let her walk away like this? The phone on his desk started ringing, jarring his mind back to the business at hand. As she closed his office door, he picked up the phone. “Ian speaking.”

“Well, my boy, what’s it going to be?”

Ian wanted to tell Governor Monroe that he was no one’s boy...had been his own man since he was nineteen and wasn’t trying to go back to school for nobody. However, this man might become the next president of the United States of America, so he’d hold off on telling him how he could and couldn’t address him. “Hey, Governor, I was just in a meeting. But if you hadn’t called me, I would have given you a call within five minutes or so.”

“I don’t have the patience of Job, my boy. I’m a man of action. I gave you the night to think about it, so what’s it going to be? Can I expect to see you in Charlotte on Monday or not?”

Ian went back to the window and watched Surry climb in her Mercedes C300. He didn’t know why, but Ian felt in his gut that he would forever regret not being able to help Surry. But he had a business to run, so he closed his eyes and took the plunge. “One question, Governor. Why me?”

“What kind of fool question is that? I was told that you are the best and I want to work with you.”

Ian had his answer and he was fine with it. “You can count on me, Governor. I’ll be there on Monday.”

“That’s what I wanted to hear. I’m looking forward to going over strategy with you.”

Surry was driving out of his life as he said, “Oh, and one more thing, Governor. You won’t ever have to doubt my loyalty to you. I live and breathe this job. So, I’m your man and we are going all the way to the White House.”

Chapter 3

On Saturday morning Ian went to the strip mall near his condo and purchased a few items for his upcoming trip. He then met Noel Carter at the Breakfast Klub for some waffles and wings. “Have you found a place to stay in Washington yet?” he asked his old friend.

Noel shook his head. “Ryla and I are going out there next week to look around.”

“I’m headed out of town next week myself. I can’t give you a name right now, but I’m meeting with someone who is thinking of running for president.”

Joy spread across Noel’s face. “That’s all right. I’m excited about that. You go handle his campaign, and then in about a decade or so, you and I will be working on my presidential campaign.”

“Now that sounds good to me. We will have another President Carter in the White House.”

“Yeah, but I’m going to be there for two terms.”

The men ate their food and then Noel put his fork down and said, “I’m not going to be able to go home if I don’t ask you something.”

“What’s up?”

“Ryla wants to know if you talked with Surry.”

“She came by my office yesterday. I feel for her, because this guy is trying to do a number on her. But I have to leave town on Monday morning, so I’m not sure I can help her.” Ian didn’t mention to Noel that he was also bothered by the fact that Surry couldn’t pick up a phone to accept his dinner invitation. But the moment she needed help, she came right over to his office. But he wasn’t bitter, so he was trying hard not to act like it.

After breakfast he went home and started packing for his trip to Charlotte, still trying to convince himself that he made the right decision. He was almost there, until he turned on the television and caught a glimpse of a tearful Surry on the six o’clock news. The reporter had obviously just asked her a question as he’d turned to this station. The microphone had been shoved in Surry’s face. Maybe no one else noticed, but he took note of the tears on her eyelashes as she declared, “My business means everything to me. I would never jeopardize losing it by stealing from a former colleague.”

Surry was going to be crucified in the media unless she did something to change the situation fast. She didn’t deserve what was being done to her. And Ian knew firsthand that once the media got hold of something, they wouldn’t let it go until they ruined the lives of everyone associated. He put a pair of pants in the suitcase and sat down on his bed, thinking about the pain he saw in Surry’s eyes as she talked about how much her business meant to her. Where did pain like that come from? Then he wondered if he was wrong about what he thought he saw in her eyes...maybe it had been passion for her business. Pain or passion, he wasn’t sure which, but he desperately wanted to find out.

Making a quick decision, Ian grabbed his keys and drove to Westheimer Road. He’d received an invitation to the grand opening of Designs from the Motherland from Ryla. Ian had been out of town handling some business in Washington so he hadn’t been able to make the opening. But he’d kept the invitation and therefore had the address.

Her shop was exactly twenty-seven minutes away from his condo. He parked next to the cute little Mercedes he’d seen her drive off in the other day and stepped out of his Range Rover.

Walking toward her store, Ian noticed smiling customers walking from one shop to another with their purchases. The area was vibrant and active. This was a good spot for business. Ian was admiring Surry’s business savvy as he watched her ring up a customer. At the front of the store he couldn’t hear what the customer said to her, but he could see Surry lean her head back and give a full-throated laugh. He could spend a lifetime with a woman who laughed like that.

Surry handed the customer her bag, and as she walked away, Ian stepped over, put his hands on the counter and asked, “Why does it matter to you so much?”

“Why does what matter to me?”

He waved a hand around, indicating the building they were standing in. “Your business...I saw you on the news this evening, and I remembered the way you looked in my office the other day. This whole thing has hit you really hard, and I want to know why you’re letting it get to you like this.”

Averting her eyes, staring at the cash register rather than Ian, she said, “My business means a lot to me. I’ve worked hard to get where I am. And it just bugs me that someone can lie on me, and I can’t even fight back.”

“Of course you can fight back. Why do you think I’m here?”

“I don’t know why you’re here, because the last I heard, you have a plane to catch. So, just go away and let me figure out how to deal with John Michael on my own. I never should have bothered you in the first place.”

“You are infuriating and stubborn, Surry McDaniel.” He walked behind the counter and pulled her close to him. “You need to understand that I don’t want to leave town without you.” She was so close that he was inhaling the vanilla scent of her perfume. He didn’t know why, but that sweet, welcoming fragrance made him want to put his face in the crook of her neck and sniff her like a lovesick pup.

“You have to leave,” Surry was saying. “You have an important client and I can’t stand in the way of that, no matter how dire my situation has become.”

“I want you to go with me.”

Surry stepped around Ian and sat down at the table in the back of her boutique. Ian followed her, and she said, “What are you thinking, Ian? I can’t just pick up and leave town with you.”

He pulled out a chair and sat down across from her. “Why not? Things aren’t going so good for you here.”

“I have a business to run, if you hadn’t noticed.” Surry stretched forth her hand, indicating the things that were in her boutique.

“You won’t have much of a business to run if the media start crucifying you. We have a limited amount of time to turn this situation around. And I can’t repair your image and provide damage control unless I spend some time figuring out who you really are and what makes you tick.”

“And just like that—” she snapped her fingers “—my problems will be over.”

“Well, not like that.” He mimicked her finger snapping. “I also plan to find out as much about your rival as possible. If we can dig up enough dirt on him, we’ll be able to change his tune pretty quick.” Ian might not know fashion, but he knew mankind. And in politics, avoiding scandal was the name of the game. So, if this John Michael had skeletons, he planned to find them.

“Oh, it’s ‘we’ now, is it?”

“Excuse me?” He was caught off guard by her attitude.

“When I came to you yesterday, you said you wouldn’t be able to help me. Now you’re sitting here making all these plans, even though you have a very important client to handle. So, I just want to know what gives. What’s in it for you?”

This woman was so stubborn. Ian almost got up and walked back out the door. He had a life and really didn’t need this right now. But the truth was, he knew that she needed him, whether she wanted to admit it or not. “I want to help you, Surry. But I’m scheduled to get on a plane first thing Monday morning. So, if you want the help, you’ll have to travel with me so I can figure out how we’ll fix this mess you’ve stepped in.”

She leaned back in her chair and stared at him.

It felt as if those hazel eyes were seeing into his soul. Ian squirmed in his seat a bit. “What’s with all the staring? Do I have food in my teeth or something?”

“I can’t date you.”

Ian looked around the room and then back at Surry. “Who asked you out?”

“You did—” she pointed at him “—you big goof. And now you’re asking me to go out of town with you. I just don’t want you getting the wrong impression.”

“You don’t have to worry about that anymore. I like my women a lot less obstinate than you are. I’m over you.” He lifted his hand like a man standing before a judge and pledging to tell the truth, and then he winked.

“I’m serious, Ian. Men are always acting as if they understand my reasons for not wanting a relationship, but everything changes after a few dates.”

He put his elbows on the table and leaned in. “So, men just can’t resist you, huh?”

“That’s not what I said.” She lifted a finger and then continued. “Men don’t like the word no, and they will chase after any woman who’s not chasing after them.”

Ian chuckled. “Is that right?”

“You know I’m right.”

Ian stood and pulled the keys out of his pocket. “Well, the offer stands. We can even get separate rooms.” He started walking away and then turned back and added, “Let me know by tomorrow and I’ll book you on the flight with me.”

* * *

After church, Surry, Danetta and Ryla went to a café for brunch. Surry ordered the fresh fruit platter with low-fat yogurt and a small coffee cake.

Danetta smiled at the server as she said, “I’ll take the full breakfast.”

Ryla licked her lips and set her menu down. “That sounds fab. I’ll have what Danetta’s having.”

Surry gave her friends a curious look. The three of them always got the fruit platter with yogurt for breakfast, unless one of them had a taste for a waffle with strawberries. But on no occasion had any of them decided to inhale eggs, bacon, hash browns, pancakes and fruit. Danetta used to eat a whole pan of brownies and a gallon of ice cream whenever Marshall started dating a new woman. But those days were over. She and Marshall were now married. Surry handed her menu to the server and asked her friends, “What gives? Why are you two ordering enough food to feed a family of five?”

“I just seem to be extra hungry these days,” Danetta said with a devious grin.

Ryla lightly punched Danetta’s arm. “Stop playing. Let’s tell her.”

With an eyebrow lifted, Surry asked, “Are my two best friends...or shall I say, my two only friends, keeping secrets from me?”

“No, girl. We just found out yesterday.”

Surry gave them a look that said “spill it.”

“Well, Ryla went to the doctor yesterday,” Danetta began.

“And when I told Danetta what the doctor said, she said she just had this weird feeling that something was up with her also. So she purchased a test, and wouldn’t you know, she passed it.”

“What are you two talking about?” Surry demanded.

“We’re pregnant,” the two said in unison.

She should have known this day would come, but honestly, Surry was shocked.

“Well, say something, girl,” Ryla demanded.

The waitress brought their drinks to the table and set a glass of orange juice in front of Surry and Danetta and then handed Ryla a glass of apple juice. Surry lifted her orange juice and toasted her friends. “Congratulations to both of you. Noel and Marshall must be over the moon.”

“They’re excited, all right. Marshall already went out and bought cigars.” Danetta laughed.

“And having the kids at the same time is going to be wonderful, because they will be able to do play dates together,” Surry said.

“We just need one more baby for the play date to be complete,” Danetta said with a pointed stare at Surry.

Shaking her hands vigorously, Surry said, “Don’t look at me. I don’t have time for a man or a baby. But I’ll tell you what Aunty Surry can do. I’ll design them some baby clothes.”

“Oh, Surry, that’s awesome! I’m picturing a whole new line of sleek and stylish Designs from the Motherland for babies.”

Surry held up a hand. “Hold on there, Ryla. I was just talking about a few outfits for Danetta’s and your babies. I have way too much on my plate to work on a kids’ line. If this new contract goes through, I will be working night and day finalizing everything.”

“Why are you even allowing if in your mouth? That is such a negative and faithless word. You need to take back your power on that one,” Danetta said.

“Everybody can’t walk on water, Danetta. Some of us normal human beings sink when we try that stuff.” In the past year, Danetta had been such a powerhouse of faith that she didn’t doubt God on anything. Surry was having a little more trouble. Her business was all she had, and if she lost it, she had nothing. She’d be just another loser added to the long line of losers in the McDaniel family.

“Did you call Ian like I suggested?” Ryla asked as she accepted her platter of eggs, bacon and hash browns from the waitress. The waitress then set a smaller plate of pancakes and a bowl of grits in front of Ryla.

Surry picked up her fork as her platter of fruit and low-fat yogurt was set in front of her. “Yes, I contacted Ian. I even went to his office and spoke with him face-to-face.”

Danetta received her food.

“What did he say?” Ryla pressed. “Can he help you?”

She hesitated and then said, “He would like to help me, but he has to be out of town for the next week or so, and then he’s going to be bogged down with the work he’ll have to do for his new client.”

Talking between bites, Ryla said, “But he told you he’d make time for you, right?”

“Yeah, if I decide to go out of town with him. But I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Surry bit into her pineapples and watermelon, loving the refreshing taste of the fruit. She looked over and watched as her friends gorged on carbs and fat. It was almost too much for her to watch. She pointed at their plates. “If you keep eating like this, you’ll be too big to fit in the delivery room.”

“Hush up, Surry. Just let me enjoy this for a week or two.” Ryla inhaled more of her food and then added, “How many times in life does God bless us with excuses to eat like pigs? And anyway, you’re just trying to change the subject.”

“Yeah,” Danetta agreed, using her fork to point in Surry’s direction. “You’re attracted to Ian. That’s why you don’t want to go out of town with him.”

“Oh, please,” Surry scoffed. “Ian is the one with the attraction problem. But I have told him that I have no time in my life for a relationship.”