Ivy's Twisted Vine Redux by Latrivia Nelson (books to read for beginners .TXT) 📕

“Well you only have a few months to go, and then you’ll be back to your regular size,” Sadie said kissing her on the cheek.

“Where are you going looking like GQ Smooth?” Grey asked noticing Emerald as he came out of the back room.

“I’ve got a little job interview in an hour. I need to get moving now that I’m back home.” Emerald looked over at his mother.

“Well, we’ve got always got a position open if you’re interested.” Grey knew that Emerald would appreciate the offer, plus this would give him the opportunity to win him over again. He saw how Emerald had warmed up to Nicola the other day at Ivy’s place. And the last thing he needed was her family thinking good of the Italian.

“I’d be more than interested,” Emerald said setting his briefcase down. Maybe he needed to look no further. “When are you available to talk?

“How about tomorrow afternoon? We can meet for lunch?

“Sounds good to me,” Emerald said knowing what Grey had in mind. He had been around the block more than enough times to see that Grey was trying to win him over, but he wasn’t about to stop him.

“Alright, I’ll call you later with the specifics,” Grey said grinning to himself as he caught a glimpse of the proud look on Sadie’s face. Nicola didn’t have a chance.

“Thanks, baby,” Ivy said impressed with Grey’s kind gesture.

* *

Down at City Hall in the Mayor’s office, Nicola and Brooks sat with their team quietly as Mayor Henderson reviewed their report. Looking around the oval table, Nicola was extremely relieved to see that his nemesis, Grey, had not been invited or declined the invitation to attend.

Focusing back on the meeting, Nicola squirmed in his seat as Mayor Henderson put down the report and buzzed the secretary for more coffee. There had been a dramatic increase of gang-related and drug-related arrests since the new Special Forces team had been developed. Under the team’s constant watching eye, the streets of Memphis were starting to rest easier at night. But Nicola questioned whether or not his team would be fairly judged considering his relationship with Ivy.

“Well, men…” Mayor Henderson said nodding at the Director of the Police Department and old time friend. “These are the kind of results that I am looking for in our police department.” He smiled reassuringly at Brooks and Nicola.

Relieved the men exhaled. “Thank you, sir,” Nicola said trying to keep his composure.

“So, my biggest question is are we ready for the next step?” Mayor Henderson asked pulling his seat away from oval table.

“Absolutely,” Director Billings said looking at Brooks and Nicola. “We have the most capable men and women this department has to offer working on phase two as we speak.”

“Well, then, I look forward to seeing the results on my next report and all over the news,” Mayor Henderson said standing up to take his leave. “Gentlemen, well done.” Shaking the director’s hand, Mayor Henderson looked over at Nicola for a brief moment. “As professionals, I’m glad to see that all of you are maintaining control of this situation. We must remember that we are first servants of the City of Memphis. All other things come second, as far as I’m concerned.”

Nicola was glad that Mayor Henderson had given him some kind of indication of where he stood. If the mayor stayed impartial to the department and more importantly to his team, then the growing animosity between he and Grey would controllable. He simply could not afford for this thing with Ivy to affect his men or his ability to do his job.

**

After dropping Ivy off at her mother’s house, Grey headed to his four o’clock appointment on the other side of town. He hadn’t seen his old flame Tracy in nearly a year. After the pregnancy scare he had with her, she had become quite distant in their communication or maybe he was the distant one. It didn’t matter to him one way or the other.

In Grey’s quest to find dirt on Nicola, however, he and Tracy had crossed paths again. It seemed that a nurse at Dr. Tracy’s abortion clinic could help him out tremendously. The doc had set up a cloak and dagger meeting at her house as a favor to him. And to his surprise, the woman wanted nothing in return for her cooperation. It seemed that her animosity for Nicola grew out of his inability to call the morning after. He laughed at the circumstances. Nothing was worse than a woman’s scorn, which is why he sought to keep his women happy at all times.

Grey pulled up to her home with minutes to spare and was led to her office by the maid. He entered with a smile on his face. The two women sat on the couch drinking wine and talking under their breath. Tracy turned to him and smiled. She was a beautiful woman. Tall and statuesque. She bore a great resemblance to Ivy. Since the last time that he’d seen her, she had cut her hair off and sported a chic little do that brought out her prominent cheekbones and long swanlike neck. He liked that on her and planned to tell her later. But for now there was business to handle.

Tracy stood up and leisurely went to him. He hugged her amicably and looked over at the nurse, who sat nervously awaiting his arrival.

“So good to see you again, Grey,” Tracy said putting down her glass. “This is Amber. She’s the nurse in my office I spoke with you about over the phone.”

“Yes. Amber, it is nice to meet you,” Grey said offering his hand.

“Nice to meet you too,” she said in a soft, whispery voice.

“Before we begin, let’s just make this clear that you never heard any of this information from us,” Tracy said with her hands on her hips.

“You have my word on it,” Grey