After All Read Online Free PDF

another year
before we get to that point but I'll certainly keep you in mind. So
how have you been, Michelle?”Anthony wore a stony expression as he
looked at her.
    Michelle stood awkwardly between the
two men. She twisted the long strap of her purse.”Good. And
you?”
    “ Just fine.”
    “ You two practically grew up
together I hear.”Keisha grinned. Suddenly the light went out of her
face as she looked from Michelle to Anthony.
    “ We've known each other for
a long time, yes. Michelle and I met in the seventh
grade.”Anthony's gaze wavered from Michelle to the scene outside
the window. A moment of uneasy silence followed.
    “ It was nice meeting you,
Ms. Grant.”Michelle nodded at them both before moving away ahead of
Dosu.
     
    ***
     
    Anthony was lost in thought for the
rest of their extended lunch. Keisha vainly tried to engage his
attention, but his conversation was perfunctory and distracted. So
Dosu Lemotey was the reason Michelle had given him the cold
shoulder. Apparently getting over him had been easy. When they
pulled up in front of the office, he got out of her Volvo without
speaking.
    “ Goodbye,” he waved to her,
a vacant look in his eyes.
    “ Hey, is that all?”Keisha
pouted.
    “ Humm? Oh, sorry. Thanks for
lunch. It was nice. I better get going. It's almost two and Cedric
will be waiting for me.”Anthony seemed to shake himself
awake.
    “ Okay. See you
tonight?”Keisha's voice dropped low.
    “ I'm going to be working
awfully late. I'll call you later.”
    Anthony left before Keisha could say
anything more. In the mood he was in, he did not think he could
stand too many questions. He was angry that seeing Michelle with
another man could shake him so. Not seeing her at all was bad
enough, but now he knew there was someone else in her life. Anthony
plunged into work for the rest of the day in an attempt to wipe the
picture of Michelle smiling at another man from his
mind.
     
    ***
     
    “ How long were you
together?”Dosu spoke softly breaking into her thoughts.
    “ What?”Michelle blinked. She
realized that she had hardly spoken since they had left
Angelle's.
    “ The way you so carefully
avoided paying very much attention to him was very revealing.”
Dosu's handsome face wore a gentle, wise smile.
    “ We’ve known each other
since we were about fourteen.”Michelle tried to dodge the real
question.
    Dosu cocked his head to one side.”The
tie between you is strong.”He seemed to be looking straight into
her heart.
    “ Anything we had ended some
time ago. He stabbed me in the back.”
    “ I think maybe you and he
have hurt each other yet would like to mend that hurt. It is in his
eyes, and yours.” Dosu parked in front of the station.
    “ Our... problem is much
deeper than you think, Dosu. It was more than a quarrel. We've both
moved on since then, believe me,” Michelle said in a firm
tone.
    “ There is an African
proverb, `Love is like young rice: transplanted, still it
grows'.”
    “ Love? No way. More like
contempt. He defends and supports a man that tried to hurt my
family. A man who has the morals of a vulture. Anthony Hilliard is
beneath contempt. Be careful doing business with him.”Michelle's
voice rang with animosity.
    “ I will remember, Michelle.
But you remember what I said also.”Dosu gave her a brotherly kiss
on the forehead.
     
    ***
     
    Michelle sat at her desk going over the
old notes, or least she appeared to be. Dosu had become a good
friend whose counsel she greatly respected. That he saw something
in her that reached out to Anthony filled her with anxiety.
Thinking back she still felt the burning pain that seared through
her six years ago. A pain caused by Anthony's betrayal. She
remembered the look on his face as he defended Ike Batiste. As
things became increasingly worse for her father, there was a
distance in his voice and manner whenever they met. No, she was not
that green college girl anymore. Anthony would never worm his way
back into her life