What The Heart Wants

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Blurb

A forbidden, bad boy, urban, Black romance story. Successful lawyer Paula is beginning to believe she’ll never fall in love. Even when her coworkers attempt to play matchmaker, she’s always left alone in the end! However, her world takes a dramatic turn when bad boy, Jackson, seeks her legal assistance for a grand theft auto charge!

Jackson is giving off all the warning bells, but Paula agrees to take on his case. After all, she’s completely infatuated with him! But having feelings for a client is a recipe for disaster, and their relationship is starting to get very personal…

Will falling in love with someone like Jackson ruin everything that Paula has worked for in her career? And can love truly exist between herself and a possible criminal? Find out in this African American romance book by Simone Iwu.

Chapter 1

The sky grew dark while Paula Maxwell sat at her desk at Clementine & Percy Legal Associates. She’d been working there for a few years and truly enjoyed her job. She enjoyed it so much that she often neglected her life outside of work. It was on nights like these, when she was one of the few people left in the office after a long day that she was painfully reminded that all of her hard work had gotten her plenty of accolades but still left her a bit lonely.  She tried to convince herself it would all pay off, especially when it came time for a promotion. The reputation she set forth would set her apart from the competition. And yet here she sat with all of her success and no one to share it with.

Paula shook away her misgivings to finish up her last report of the day. As soon as the last word was typed, she’d be ready to go home and let her hair down. Her thick, black, curly hair was often pulled back into a tight bun as she strived to maintain the most professional appearance possible. Her goal in her presentation was the same as her work ethic; it was to set her apart from the others. She continued to scribble on her notepad, and typed away for a few more minutes when she heard someone approaching her office.

Paula was sure that she was the only one left on the floor. Staring around the large space, she waited anxiously to see who was coming her way. Her anxiety was getting the best of her. She was left frozen, unable to work, but not as brave as to where she would check to see who it was herself. She would wait for whoever was coming to show their face. She glanced nervously around the room as she began to wish that her friend and office mate, Rebecca, had stayed behind. Her desk faced hers from the opposite side of the office.  They had been sharing an office since the beginning of them being employed there. The higher ups thought it would be great to cut costs, and the two of them working together actually increased their efficiency, so it was a win-win situation all the way around. 

Just before her nerves sent Paula into a panic attack, a face finally came in to match the footsteps. A huge sigh of relief escaped her lips as Rebecca Cornish swung into the office with a burst of energy. Her ebony skin glistened against the satin emerald-green evening gown. She desperately fought with it to keep it from dragging across the floor while she rummaged through her desk in search of something. She kept mumbling to herself completely unaware that she wasn’t alone.

“Do you need any help?” Paula volunteered as she watched Rebecca work herself into frenzy.

“Holy sh*t!” Rebecca exclaimed clasping her heaving chest. “You scared the crap out of me, Paula! What are you still doing here?”

“I had to finish my notes on the Hansen case,” Paula told her. “You look amazing! Where are you headed to on a Thursday night?”

Rebecca’s smile could have lit up the room. “Well thank you, my dear. I’m actually headed out to the opera… as soon as I find these damn tickets!” She went back to searching her desk until she’d found what she was looking for. The small envelope was as thin as a piece of paper and sat in the top drawer of her desk. She exhaled, deeply appreciative to have found it in such a short amount of time. Since her task was complete, she shifted her attention back to Paula. “Wait a minute. The Hansen case was closed. I know because we filed a motion to get it dismissed and the motion passed. What else was there to be done?”

“I like to be thorough,” Paula retorted. “You never know when someone wants to reopen a can of worms.”

“Imagery, I could have done without,” Rebecca giggled. “Why can’t you save your notes for tomorrow and go out to celebrate? You never go out for victory drinks or anything!”

Paula rolled her eyes. “Victory drinks have never won a case for me.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hard work and discipline. But hard work and discipline doesn’t get you tickets to an opera on a Thursday night, a date with a multimillion-dollar client, and all on the company’s dime. You need to get out once in a while and network. It takes one thing to do everything the clients need without them having to ask, but it’s a whole different kind of monster when you have to bring in new clients. No one cares how hard you work if you can’t bring in new revenue streams.” Rebecca hated to lecture her friend, but she knew no one else would tell her those kinds of things. “Listen, I know it’s not your thing, but just think about it. Don’t stay in here too late.”

“I won’t, Becs,” Paula promised as she mimed a cross over her heart. Rebecca blew her friend air kisses as she left for Thursday night opera date. She didn’t even like the opera, but if the company was paying for it, she guess she’d be willing to give anything a try. Paula shrugged her shoulders as she finished up her work, powered down, and gathered her things to leave for the night.

The elevator ride down to the lobby of the high rise was a long silent one as she reflected on her life as it was in this moment. Her only true friend at work thought her staying so late all of the time wasn’t enough to get her into the position she wanted to be in. Paula seriously began to consider if Rebecca was right. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gotten dressed up for anything, let alone been taken out on an actual date. Times like this usually warranted a girl’s night out, but her girl was already out.

Heaviness settled upon Paula as she made her way home. Everything in her life stuck to a routine, and despite the praises and success of her job, they weren’t going to hold her in bed at night. So, she strolled down the street to her usual food spot, ordered her usual meal for one, and continued her trip home. She was in the middle of the crosswalk when she heard an engine revving not too far from her. The car was approaching fast and there were sirens following behind it. The horn blared as she screamed and jumped out of the way of the speeding vehicle. Her heart raced almost as fast as that car that nearly took her out. Luckily for her, she was able to get up from that near-miss with a few minor scrapes and scratches.

*****

Jackson Davis had no intention of mowing down civilians as he fled for his freedom in the brand new Mercedes Benz he’d just stolen. The cops were gaining on him as he leaned on the horn letting people know to get out the way. This was a bad night for him as he swerved in and out of traffic and up and down side streets. The cops were gaining on him. He refused to be arrested on this job. This car was too important to him. He needed it.

Once he’d gained some distance between himself and the police, he whipped into a parking garage and shut the engine off. The adrenaline was coursing through his veins as he hopped out the car. He went around to the back of the car to strip the plate off. Jackson swapped the owner’s plate out for a fake one he’d doctored at his chop shop just in time for police to drive into the garage. He ducked down between the cars waiting for the cops to pass.

Hours seem to go by as Jackson waited for the heat to die down. It was a mystery to him how the cops knew he was going to steal that car, and they were on him minutes after he pulled off in it. But the how was a distant memory as the temperature rose inside that garage. The sweat dripped from his pores as he sat quietly against the car’s front bumper. The vibrating in his pocket startled him as he realized his phone was ringing.

“I’m busy right now,” he spoke without looking to see who it was.

“I know, asshole,” a familiar voice spat on the other end. “Pigs are back in the blanket, man.”