Ebony Angel Read Online Free Page A

Trae’s time for change would come soon.
    “I’ve never seen you so worked up over a man before. This isn’t like you.” She held Ebony’s chin with her fingers, examining her closely. “You’re glowing, girl. You could actually fall in love with this guy. Trae didn’t have anything to worry about with the others.”
    “Trae knows I’ll never be his woman . Someday I’ll marry. I don’t know who, but you better believe it won’t be a drug dealer. I need to shower before I head downtown.” They walked along the hallway toward the locker room.
    Jessica looked up at Ebony. “So when you gonna hook me up with Skeet?”
    “He’s a playa. I’m not hooking up my best friend with a playa. That’s final.”
    “I’m grown. I can handle him.”
    Ebony opened the locker room door. “You’re not blaming me for his playing you. Nope. This ain’t that kind of party. Ask him out on your own. You need to stop thinking you have the power to change people.”
    Jessica tsked . “Why do you insist on playing this tired, old record?” She spun the combination on her lock.
    “Because I don’t want you hurt—again.”
    “Instead of saving me, you need to worry about Richie Rich hurting you. Hook me up. We can double date.”
    “You have issues.”

CHAPTER THREE
    Richard glared at Clark, his work associate and longtime friend. “Don’t ever call her ghetto-fabulous again.” He spun his chair around and looked out the window at the plaza parking lot.
    “We didn’t move to this God-forsaken tundra for you to ruin everything for a ghetto-fabulous piece of ass.” Clark snatched Richard’s cell phone off the desk and scrolled through to Ebony’s number. “How could you show me this crap? How could you get so serious about any woman so fast?”
    Richard regretted telling Clark about Ebony. In his excitement, he hadn’t thought clearly. He wanted to announce to the world that he had found Miss Right. He vowed to be more careful in the future. “Ebony won’t ruin what we’ve set out to do.” He understood Clark’s confusion. Before today, Richard had appeared to be all business. In reality, Richard worked so hard to keep loneliness from consuming him.
    Clark walked around the desk to face Richard. “You know I’m not prejudiced. Some of my best friends are black. But you also know the old white men who run businesses have different beliefs. They want a certain image for their company. A CFO with Slamquesha for a wife doesn’t fit the bill. Yes, you need to find a wife, but she needs to at least be white. If you must go slumming, pick a trailer-park tramp and clean her up. Make her look the part.” He pressed the delete button then, handed the phone to Richard. “Bye, bye Slamquesha.”
    “What have you done?” Richard snapped, scrolling through the numbers.
    “I’m saving you from yourself.”
    Richard stood quickly and grabbed Clark by the collar. “I suggest you get out of my office before I kick the tar out of you.” He pushed him away. “You better pray she has a listed number.”
    Straightening his suit, Clark retreated to the opposite side of the office. “Can you take her to business dinners? Okay, so I shouldn’t have erased the number. We’ve worked to hard for this. Keep her on the side. Or, if you must have a black woman, find one who comes a hell of a lot closer to fitting into corporate America.”
    “Goodbye, Clark.” He sat at his oak desk. “If you ever cross me again, you’re fired. Close the door on your way out.”
    Clark stood in the doorway, glaring at Richard, then left.
    Richard hit speed dial on the speakerphone.
    Nonno’s deep voice and thick Italian accent filled the office. “Boy, why you keep calling me? I’m trying to get a woman of my own. What do you want?”
    Richard drew his jittery hands through his wavy, black hair. “I’m so angry, my hands are actually shaking.”
    “What happened?”
    Richard related his argument with Clark.
    “I’ve never known