Healing Inc. Page 5

  Although they had many employees, few people were privy to Evy’s role in Healing Inc. or her net worth that totaled close to a half a billion dollars. Now she was facing the unknown again, just as she had finally started to feel safe and enjoy life. Who waits fourteen years to get revenge on somebody? That’s just stupid.

  Pushing her anxiety to the back of her mind, she leaned over to retrieve her notebook and pen from her backpack. She was still distracted for the time being, not giving much notice to the person taking the seat next to her. Looking up to greet her fellow classmate, she came eye to eye with the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen. They were familiar. She sat unmoving, her mind trying to figure out why those familiar eyes were here, in the place she had come to know as somewhat of a sanctuary. Those lustful eyes were doing things to her, making her ache and want to feel the touch of the one they belonged to. You have got to be kidding me! rang through her head as the realization of whom they belonged to set in. She could feel her temper rising, growing angry at the power they held over her and the person behind them for invading her space.

  Tyler stared in amusement as the range of emotions played out on Evy’s face. He thought it best to take advantage of her silence before she found her voice. “Hello, Evy,” he began with a cunning grin on his handsome face. “Nice to see you again. What a coincidence we should end up in the same class.” He flexed his eyebrows up and down.

  “What are you doing here?” she bit out, unable to hide her annoyance.

  “I remembered what you said about taking classes to continue expanding the mind and becoming a better person. The more I thought about it…well, the more it occurred to me how right you are.” The satisfactory grin on his face could no more be mistaken than the scowl of disdain held on hers.

  While sitting in the office of the consignment shop last week he had asked Shelly one question and one question only, “Where would you recommend I go if I wanted to sign up for a humanities class?” Feeling that this was not really giving out any of Evy’s personal information, she had advised him to try the same university that Evy attended. He left the shop, making a bee line for the university. He hadn’t considered the fact that he would have to provide transcripts and fill out a plethora of forms in order to complete this task. It took a lot of his time and every ounce of his charm to get into the same class as Evy but he had been determined to do it. As far as he was concerned, she had stepped up the challenge when she instructed Shelly to give away the flowers instead of calling him and he was more than eager to meet her there.

  Although he missed Cecile, her absence conveniently freed up time for him to take the class and pursue Evy. He still had to make sacrifices such as having to rush through a meeting with an important client that afternoon, barely making it to class on time. The look on Evy’s face made it worth it.

  He now sat looking out of place and uncomfortable in the small hard chair, the desk barely fitting over his lap. He was wearing some of his expensive attire, having only removed his tie and suit jacket in an effort to blend in as much as possible. He wasn’t blending. The others in the class, especially the young males, couldn’t help but snicker at his awkward state of affairs. Despite his discomfort, he managed to maintain a cool demeanor, even though seeing her again was making his heart do crazy flip flops in his chest. He was fighting hard to regulate his breathing.

  She looked different this time. Her attire was still casual, jeans and a long sleeved aqua blue v-neck tee which was better suited for her gorgeous body than the last outfit he’d seen her in. She wasn’t wearing glasses, allowing him to feel the full impact of those beautiful almond shaped mahogany eyes. Her hair was out, parted on the left side with waves from having been braided hanging to the sides and down the back. The massive bulk of course hair stopped just above the nape of her neck like a bob, framing her lovely face. It was almost the same style she had worn when he first saw her on stage last March. What really made his heart race were those thick lips, currently covered in cranberry lipstick. Maintaining eye contact with her became a chore as those lips silently pleaded for his attention.

  Before she could respond, Professor Cane entered the classroom. He was a tall thin white male with light brown eyes and sandy blond hair that he wore in a long ponytail. He looked to be in his mid-twenties with his round gold rimmed glasses that he wore on the bump of his long nose adding a couple of years to his otherwise youthful face. His dress was overly causal with faded jeans and a wrinkled heavy metal t-shirt covering his ultra-thin body. He ran his class in the same manner in which he dressed. Seeing how there were only six people in the class, now seven with Tyler joining them, he had the freedom to do that.

  “Yo ya’ll, before we get going I would like to welcome Tyler Moriatti to the class. Man, you feel like sharing anything?” All eyes shifted to Tyler.

  Tyler was caught off guard, which was unusual for him. “No, man… I’m good,” he said with a nod as he slid down a little in the too small chair.

  Evy decided she’d try to ignore him for the time being. She couldn’t be mad at him. He had just as much right to be there as she did. She just couldn’t understand how he was able to get into this class so late into the semester. Just as this question entered her mind Professor Cane answered it.

  “For those of you who might be wondering, Tyler is taking this class as a refresher. He should have no probs with the help of our magnificent tutor.”

  Evy’s head shot up from her notebook. “Professor Cane, that’s me!” The words came out a little more high pitched than she expected. When she volunteered to be a tutor she had no idea it could land her in the conundrum she now found herself in. Had Tyler known she was a tutor? Was this some part of some plan of his? She couldn’t help but let the cloud of suspicion permeate her thoughts as to how this had happened.

  “Yes, Evy. I know. Is there a problem?” He stared at her, pushing his glasses back up on his long nose.

  “Yeah, Evy. Is there a problem?” Tyler echoed, the humor never leaving his face.

  She opened her mouth to protest then closed it. A second later she repeated the gesture. All eyes were on her now, reiterating the chore before her. She knew there was no way out of this. Letting out a big sigh, she gave in. “I guess not.”

  “This outta be good,” Tyler teased, with a big clap followed by rubbing his hands together. Without warning, she growled at him bringing her more unwanted attention.

  Professor Cane’s eyes grew big. “This may be none of by business but…did you just growl at him?”

  ***

  Class was long. Tyler was fidgety during most of it. Everyone kept looking at him as his massive body made his chair squeak, disturbing those who were trying to concentrate on the lecture. At one point he got up and left the room. He appeared to be a little less agitated when he returned. Evy felt sorry for him, assuming his long day at work and the discomfort of his attire were the root of his behavior.

  Now the two of them sat in the student cafeteria with the clock on the wall reminding them that it was just past nine-thirty pm. They had the place to themselves as most students chose to study at the library or in their dorms.

  Tyler didn’t want to wait to get started on tutoring, his way of spending more time with her. He sat with his book open, head resting on his hand, watching admiringly while she went on animated about the topic of study. Whenever she would turn her notebook or textbook so that they both could look at it, he would seize the opportunity to move closer to her. He nodded his head at the appropriate times so that she wouldn’t think him completely mad.

  “Have you listened to a word I’ve said?” she probed, breaking through his stupor. He had failed to answer the question she asked before her outburst. She started to feel like he was wasting her time, giving her more reason for resentment.

  “I’m sorry I’m so easily distracted by a beautiful woman,” he confessed, capturing her eyes with his own.

  Evy didn’t know how to respond to that. She swallowed
hard, trying to ignore the heat building in her cheeks from his compliment and to stifle her physical response to the lustful gaze he now gave her. “Tyler,” she began, “these classes mean a lot to me. If you’re serious about this class and truly need my help, by all means I’m yours.” Oh shoot! she thought, her eyes widening. The double meaning of her last comment could easily be taken the wrong way. She hoped that he wouldn’t acknowledge that.

  “You’re mine, huh? That doesn’t sound so bad. Does it?” A soft smile played on his lips but his eyes told her he wasn’t kidding.

  “That’s not why we’re here!” She felt frustration setting in and knew she needed to calm down. She closed her books and gently laid her hands palms down on top of them. Her voice softened. “Look, if circumstances were different I would be willing to give things a chance,” she admitted. “But, I have a lot of baggage to carry and I don’t think it would be fair to share that with anyone at this point in my life. Haven’t any of your friends warned to you about dealing with damaged goods?” The light of her circumstances brought moisture to her throat but her eyes did not waver from his.

  Drawing his face in closer, he rested his hands on top of hers. She visibly stiffened from the action, and then relaxed as the chemistry that passed between them was undeniable. “Evy, I’m forty years old and have traveled extensively. I’ve seen and met a variety of people during my lifetime. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t carry their share of baggage. It’s how they carry it that distinguishes some from others. I know I haven’t known you for long but as far as damaged goods…if this is you damaged I can only wonder how much more awesome you would be if you were perfect.” His words surprised her. “I believe I have five more tutor sessions after this and I do plan on using them.”

  “Tyler, please don’t take advantage of this. I tutor for a reason.”

  “And I requested to be tutored for a reason. This stuff makes my brain hurt.” They both laughed. “I really do need your help.” His expression was genuine.

  “Okay,” she laughed. “We’ll finish out our sessions.”

  “Will you let me buy you dinner?”

  “Uh–um. No way!” she replied, shaking her head for emphasis.

  “What! Come on Evy.” He chuckled at her stubbornness.

  “Noooo…sorry, I never date anyone I’m tutoring.”

  “You just made that stuff up,” he accused.

  “It’s true. Otherwise, I’d have little horny eighteen and twenty year olds running around here trying to play Mrs. Robinson with me. Sorry, that’s not my style.” Tyler almost fell out of his seat laughing, the scenario she mentioned playing out vividly in his head.

  She couldn’t hold back the smile that his laughter brought to her lips. She really liked being with him but she wasn’t ready to drag another person into the ludicrousness that her past forced on her present life. She already felt as though she was keeping Nita from greater things. It bothered her to no end that Nita was still single and showed little sign of having a man permanently in her life. Evy’s guilt made her secretly glad when Nita would take those trips back home without her and wished that she would do it more often. She kind of suspected that seeing family wasn’t all Nita was up to during her trips to Chicago since she always seemed to glow upon return. Evy couldn’t have asked for a better friend but she wanted her friend to have a life outside of worrying about her. Tyler hadn’t said that he wanted to be a part of her life but he didn’t have to. All of his actions to date said it for him.

  “We probably should wrap this up.”

  She looked down to see that he was still holding her hands. She gently broke contact with him but the warmth of his hands lingered on hers. They exchanged contact information even though she was a little reluctant to give it but knew that it was necessary for the tutoring. He was elated that he finally had her full name; the tutoring board only had her listed as Evy. Now he had a means to reach her whenever he wanted.

  Ever being the gentleman, he walked her to her car as it had grown dark outside. They stood by it, facing each other as a few scattered people passed by. He was hesitant to open her car door but kept his hand on the handle to keep her from doing so. He didn’t want their time to end. He wanted to kiss her but knew that would end all that he had worked so hard for up to this point. Finally, he opened the door to let her in.

  “I guess I’ll see you on Wednesday.” His voice was almost a whisper.

  “See you then,” she replied, just as softly. She then turned and got in her car with him closing the door behind her.

  Again, he watched as she drove away from him but felt a lot more secure in the knowledge that he had her phone number. Unless she decided to drop out of class or off the face of the Earth, he knew he would see her again. He walked over to his car where his driver sat waiting. He was thankful to have him open the door for him, allowing him to continue basking in the feeling of Evy’s hands on his, which lingered. He didn’t want anything more to interfere with the sensation.

  As he rode home in the back of the limo, he couldn’t help but go over the events of the evening. This is going to be harder than I thought. Watching Evy in class had set him on fire. She would listen intently to Professor Cane and respond with the cleverest answers. There were a few times that Professor Cane had sparked a debate on a hot topic. In response, the whole class would liven up with everyone shouting their opinion and showing their passion for the subject. Evy would always join in but managed to maintain a maturity and poise that the others lacked.

  From the time line she gave him about her life, he guessed her to be in her late thirties, early forties but her appearance stated otherwise. Her features and skin were flawless, making her appear much younger than she could possibly be.

  He had caught the young bucks in the class, three in all, gawking at her with a little too much interest when she wasn’t paying attention. He could only imagine the concupiscent thoughts going through those young college boy minds. It had irritated him to the point he had to step out of the room or risk bodily harm to someone. Am I he actually jealous? He couldn’t believe himself. I’m a millionaire for goodness sakes! Why should I be insecure about such a thing? Then it dawned on him. She wasn’t officially his yet. He couldn’t even get her to agree to have dinner with him.

  There was also the situation with his ex-wife. Being a man, it was inevitable that having a woman leave you would bruise your ego. While not as wealthy during their marriage as he was today, he wasn’t exactly in the poor house when she left him either. At the time Ralph was worth more, had come from a well-established line of money and was a lot more polished than he. However, he wasn’t the self-made man that Tyler was.

  Abby was a snob, the complete opposite of Evy. No way would she ever volunteer her time to tutor a bunch of college students, let alone work in a capacity that allowed dirt to touch her expensively manicured hands. At that moment, he resolved to defeat whatever it was that was standing between him and the potential for happiness with Evy. First he had to get her to let him buy her dinner.

  ***

  That Night in Chicago State Penitentiary….

  Detective Marcus Cole did his best to ignore the swearing and threats thrown his way by the men, once considered human beings. Being reduced to their present state behind bars brought out an animalistic quality in them that would be utterly impossible to bury again and make them viable members of society. These were the worst of the worst, forced to live out the last of their days incarcerated as punishment for their heinous crimes. Being a fairly new detective, he wasn’t completely prepared for the encounter. Luckily for his ego, most of them were asleep with it being so close to midnight.

  He silently followed the guard to his person of interest. The prisoner, Thomas Ratcliff, had specifically requested to see him. Marcus found that odd seeing how he had never encountered the man before tonight. However, he was willing to grant a dying man his final wish.

  Reaching their destination, which was in a secluded porti
on of the prison, the guard called out to Thomas, “Hey, buddy, your visitor’s here. Anything else I can get for you?”

  “Naw. Thata be all. Thanks.”

  Marcus couldn’t help but be a little surprised at the polite exchange that had just occurred between the two men. He observed Ratcliff as he sat in his cell eating his last meal consisting of a porter house steak, a baked potato and green beans with a Budweiser to wash it all down. He was thankful for the steel bars that separated them. Swastikas adorned his large biceps with the message “kill all niggers” under the symbol on his left arm and “white power” under the other on his right. His knuckles had yet more ciphers across them.

  Years of being in prison had done nothing to diminish his muscle mass. At six feet, he was a solid frame of ripped muscle. His long narrow nose, bald head and piercing steel gray eyes made him all the more menacing. He had been sentenced to death for killing thirteen black men in the name of white supremacy. The bodies had been hidden so well that he probably would have gotten away with it if he hadn’t grown a conscience and turned himself in. Both the guard and Marcus were black.