Recipe for Desire Read Online Free PDF

fool,” he snorted.
    “Excuse me?” Marie said. “Did you just call me a ‘damned fool’?”
    “Yes, I did,” Rodricko said as he led her over to the shampoo bowl. “From the moment you announced you were engaged to Willie the Leech, I knew it was a mistake. You’re free now and you should celebrate that with a new haircut, color, and dance a jig. And if you have to celebrate with some spirits, you got enough in the bank to call a whole car service.”
    “But he embarrassed me and I’m not going to take that lying down.”
    “So, taking bullshit standing up is supposed to do what? Marie, you’re being stupid. The next thing I know, you’re going to be telling me that you want that Rihanna redness in your hair or some Lady Gaga-esque hairstyle.”
    Marie leaned back and folded her arms across her chest. “Well, I thought that red would look good on me.”
    Rodricko threw his hands up. “Lawd, child, you need more than a hairdo!”
    “But, no, no,” Marie started, “removing William from the equation, Adriana is tripping, too. We lost Mez, and she thinks that I should take a step back.”
    Rodricko sighed as he massaged a deep conditioning serum into Marie’s hair and scalp. “Well, if you were the client, what would you tell yourself?”
    Marie wiggled her nose and exhaled. “Maybe I would suggest lying low for a little ...”
    “Marie, I hope you know this isn’t going to be as easy to get out of as when you and your girls got naked in the Square for PETA or whatever fake cause y’all had gotten involved in. Daddy might not be able to fix this.”
    Marie crossed her ankles and smiled. “One thing about having a name in this burg is that it never lets you down.”
    As Rodricko slapped a plastic conditioning cap on her head, he had a feeling that things were going to get a lot worse for Marie before they got any better.
     
     
    So, the pie wasn’t restaurant quality, but it was damned good, Devon thought as he sampled another one of the pies from the women at My Sister’s Keeper. These women had talent, and all he had to do was teach them not to be afraid of spices.
    “How did we do?” Shay asked Devon, looking hopefully at him for a critique on the pies.
    “The pies were good, but we can make them better. We have to get our spices down,” he said. “That’s going to come with timing and more practice. I wanted to talk to you ladies this afternoon because the restaurant where I work, we’ve decided to host a fund-raiser for this place. I wanted to know how many of you wanted to help me with this. We can find out where you’re strongest and ...”
    “Hold up,” Shay said. “You’re talking about that restaurant where all the crazy stuff keeps happening?”
    Loriene nodded. “First it was Solomon Crawford’s stalker–business partner, then the movie producer tried to choke one of the women, and ...”
    Devon waved his hands. “That’s neither here nor there. This is going to be a chance for you all to learn some life skills, and those psychos you named won’t be on the guest list,” he said. “But, here’s a chance to get your face out there to some employers and possibly make some connections with people who can help you prepare for the future.”
    “We don’t want to be looked at as if we’re a charity case, either,” Shay said.
    “I don’t want to be a part of this,” Bria said as she rose from the table where she and the other women from Devon’s class were sitting. “I know we’re in a bad situation here, but it’s not as if we haven’t tried to help ourselves.”
    Devon threw his hands up. “And I understand that, but this place here is special, and so are every last one of you. All I want to do is let other people in the city know what I already know.”
    “That’s not a bad idea,” Shay said. “But why don’t you and your rich friends just write a check if you want to clear your conscience so badly.”
    “It’s not about that,” Devon said. “When I