The Old Maid of Atlanta

By Antoinette Henry

Hardworking doctor Dana Elyot was tired of feeling like the old maid of Atlanta. But when the successful lawyer James Bette literally falls on top of her, Dana thought he was the man of her dreams.
After a shocking incident, Dana suddenly realizes that she would be out of her mind to fall for him. But could she resist her burning desire for him and be the one that got away? Or should she kiss the frog in hopes that he will become her prince?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Antoinette Henry
• Release date: Oct 23, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463667996

Antoinette Henry

Antoinette is an award winning Jamaican novelist that has always had a passion for the arts, whether it is writing in all its forms, painting, designing or sewing. Her goal is always to entertain and inspire her readers. Antoinette is also a trained Educator as well as a Hospitality professional.

Book preview

The Old Maid of Atlanta

Copyright 2015 Amina Rey Published by Antoinette Henry at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Dear Reader,

Exciting experiences await you in this book.

Enjoy!

CHAPTER ONE

The Semi-Annual Harriet Charity Luncheon was rich with colorful dresses and brand name handbags. As usual, the polished women were conversing with plastered grins on their tightened faces. They were all wealthy women. Some accrued their status through inheritance or marriage and the rest were career women trying to prove they can add as much as a man can to the workforce. Who am I to talk? I am one of them after all, Dana thought. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sight of her friend, Jessica, waving at her from across the room. Dana smoothed her dress over her thighs and headed over to Jessica’s table. ‘It’s so crowded in here.’ Dana commented, looking around and waving to her frenemies.

‘I know right. I don’t know why we can’t just give the money and skip all this.’ Jessica said with lips stained bright red. ‘But if they did that you wouldn’t get all that attention you love.’ Dana replied. ‘That’s so true.’ Jessica smiled as her eyes fluttered with approval. Dana raised an eyebrow. ‘Well, I am a socialite after all. What would I be without attention?’ Jessica continued before she sipped her champagne. Dana was on the planning committee of the Semi-Annual Harriet Charity Luncheon which was held twice a year to raise money for the less fortunate citizens of Atlanta. The event itself was a superficial parade of affluent women showing off what they had and making various fashion statements.

‘You’re still single right, Dana?’ Jessica asked, her head tilted with a smile. ‘Well, is that going to be a problem for you? ’ ‘Oh, of course not, I just have good news for singles like you.’ Jessica continued before Dana could argue about her ‘singles like you’ comment. ‘We have decided to invite men to the luncheons to get more funding, obviously, and to do a little match making. You know we have to ensure that we have future generations to carry out events like this for the less fortunate in our society.’ Dana nodded, rolling her eyes on the inside. Sounds more like a speed dating experiment to me, she thought. ‘After all, you’re not getting any younger and those crossword puzzles you like to do at home can’t keep you warm at night or marry you and get you pregnant. You know?’ How did she know that I do crossword puzzles? ‘Excuse me? What makes you think you have the right to-’ ‘I didn’t mean to be rude but you know I like to be blunt. Don’t be mad, you may just meet the guy of your dreams at one of these events. I can tell you I did.’ She flashed her large wedding ring, moving her fingers so that the diamonds gave off an extra sparkle. ‘I’m doing just fine thank you.’ Jessica jerked her head back and creased her brows slightly. ‘Really? How so?’ Dana was not in the mood to argue. She hated the thought of chasing a man. She wanted to be pursued. Jessica was on Mission Marriage and she was not going to stop until she found a wealthy man she could settle down with. ‘Will you excuse me for a second?’ Dana took up her clutch bag and backed out of her chair to head out of the luncheon before she said something to Jessica she may regret. She walked briskly through the crowded room, squeezing between the women and the eligible bachelors or prey as Dana liked to think of them. She passed a woman and accidentally knocked the woman’s purse from hand.

‘O, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to-’ ‘Dr. Elyot? Hi. I thought I’d see you here this time.’ ‘Why is that?’ ‘Because bachelors are invited and I know you must get tired of delivering babies and not having one of your own.’ Dana stood in shock. Are these women insane? What gives them the right to meddle in my life? ‘I’ve only been working at John Benjamin for six years, and I have been attending this luncheon every one of those years.’ ‘Yes I’m sure you always receive invitations to gala events, conferences, luncheons like these and other social events but wouldn’t you want to attend with a companion? I think this is the first time I’m seeing out of your scrubs.’ Maybe you need to get your vision checked. ‘O, how rude of me. This is Richard Beaudairre, an accountant at a very lucrative company.’ Carmen winked and beckoned to the man she was talking to. Dana’s brows furrowed and she suddenly felt very hot. ‘I come to this luncheon every year, Mrs. Reese and I do not-’ Dana was interrupted by a force that shoved her forward, knocking Carmen’s drink onto Dana’s chest.

Dana turned her head slowly and narrowed her eyes at the culprit. ‘I’m so sorry.’ It was a man, presumably the one who ruined her dress with Carmen’s red wine. Dana was so angry she couldn’t utter a word. Her chest heaved as she stood gritting her teeth. ‘Could you come with me? I can try to get your dress cleaned.’ He urged her, holding her elbow and ushering her through the crowd. ‘If only I could find the restrooms.’ He looked over his shoulder and spoke in a more hushed tone. ‘You seemed to be in quite a heated conversation.’ Dana looked at her dress to assess the stain. ‘If that was your way of rescuing me, it could have been avoided. I can get myself out of tricky situations without ruining my dress.’ ‘I really didn’t mean to bump into you. I only knew you were upset because you were yelling.’ ‘I wasn’t yelling.’ He held up his hands in surrender. ‘The music is loud,’ she defended. ‘Okay,’ he smiled. ‘I’m fine,’ she replied, raising the stained fabric from her chest to prevent the wine from seeping into her bra. I just want to leave this luncheon before I go postal. ‘I know where the bathroom is.’ Dana said before going down the hall and into the bathroom which was surprisingly sparse. She dabbed some paper towels under the tap and rubbed the stain to no avail. Hilary, another one of those man crazy predators walked in. ‘O, wow. The crowd out there is phenomenal. You know it’s because the men are here this year right?’ Hilary asked, looking at her reflection in the mirror and reapplying her lipstick. ‘Have you ever seen such a crowd?’ Dana asked, chirping sarcastically. Hilary glanced at her. ‘Sarcasm isn’t cute. You need to go out there and grab one before they’re all taken. I mean it’s a total jungle out there.’ ‘My dress is ruined so no hunting for me.’ Dana threw the damp hand towels into the rubbish bin and quickly left the bathroom.

Dana’s eyes darted around in search of the nearest exit. She could no longer withstand being verbally attacked by another predator in stilettos. ‘I was wondering if you were coming out.’ Dana turned raising an eyebrow, ‘You again? If you spill more wine on my dress it may look like a fashion statement.’ She started off and he followed. ‘I’m immensely sorry for bumping into you like that. It’s just that the crowd was getting a little rowdy and-’ ‘You’re at a luncheon not a bar.’ Dana said. ‘You could have fooled me. There are so many people here I have to keep checking for my wallet when they bump into me.’ He chuckled and Dana raised her eyebrow once more.

‘What kind of neighborhood did you grow up in?’ she asked curiously. ‘A very nice one actually. I’m not uptight but the last time I was in a large crowd like this was when I went to a huge keg party and my wallet fell out. I had a heck of a trip trying to get home afterwards.’ he replied. ‘Thank, God!’ Dana exclaimed as she spotted the exit sign above a door. ‘Give me a chance to make it up to you. I feel very sorry about what happened.’ ‘I think we already established that you’re sorry because you apologized twice already.’

‘Allow me to introduce myself. I’m James Bette.’ He reached out for a handshake. Dana looked at him blankly. She was not in the mood for this. ‘I’m Dana Elyot. I’d say nice to meet you but I’d be lying.’ She smiled tightly before she shook his hand. His hands enveloped hers with sweet welcoming warmth that made her whole body tingle. She broke the handshake quickly and smoothed her stained dress to keep her hands busy.

‘I can pay for your dry cleaning.’ James offered breaking the sudden awkward silence between them. ‘It’s the least I can do.’ ‘It’s okay. I didn’t like this dress anyway. It was a gift from my mom. At least now you’ve given me a reason to get rid of it.’ Dana smiled and looked briefly into his eyes. For some strange reason he made her nervous. Then she realized the reason was not strange at all. It was because he was handsome. He had a strong jaw line which he subconsciously twitched as he looked around the parking lot and he had the most arresting brown eyes. ‘Well, I don’t know about you but I’m hungry.’ James said. ‘I am not going back in there.’ Dana protested. James held up his hands. ‘Not what I meant. I was actually thinking we could go down to the restaurant around the corner.’ Dana looked around the parking lot trying to think of a reason not to go. What am I going to say? I really enjoy being single, and dating is something I have no interest in at the moment, but he didn’t say it was a date did he? ‘Fine, just so you can feel better.’ Dana took a deep breath trying to quell the twinge of anticipation that was creeping up her body. ‘I’m-’ ‘Don’t apologize again or I’m going to have to kill you,’ she cut in. ‘I wasn’t going to apologize. I just have to call my friend who I came here with,’ he replied, punching numbers in his phone as they started down the street.

The restaurant looked like a diner from the outside with a vintage welcome sign but the interior was much more modern with waitresses that wore traditional white shirts and black skirts complimented by green vests. James pulled out her chair and they browsed through the menu. Dana liked that the menu was divided by the country the dish is originated from. They placed their orders and Dana sat in silence waiting for their meals to be prepared. She was good at small talk but not with him. ‘Funny story about this restaurant, the old owners agreed to sell the diner on the condition that their diner’s logo remains. The new owners were not deterred. They thought it could be a pleasant surprise for persons coming in from the street expecting a regular BLT.’

‘How do you know so much?’ ‘The new owners are my clients. I could have gotten them a better deal with the branding but they insisted on signing the agreement.’ Dana smiled. ‘I guess they were just showing respect to the previous owners. They probably couldn’t stand the idea of driving by a place they used to own looking completely different. It would be like their diner never even existed.’ ‘That’s the way life goes. Things change and some things are forgotten. That is why I believe us humans should live in the moment more often, because a time may come when you wonder where your life has gone and you’re full of regrets because you spent your life doing something that didn’t make you happy.’ ‘That would be a nightmare.’ James looked into her eyes before he continued, ‘So you have any regrets?’ ‘A few but nothing I can’t live with.’ She forced a smile and averted her eyes to her hands. She regretted that she wasn’t married yet but she had went on date after date with different men but didn’t feel a connection so she gradually gave up trying.

‘I’m not so sure how true that is.’ ‘Why?’ ‘I’m a lawyer. I’m pretty good at reading body language.’ She glanced at him. His black curly hair and his straight nose intrigued her. ‘All I can say is whatever it is that you regret, you should do something about fixing it or making amends. As long as you’re breathing you can keep trying.’ ‘I’ll think about it,’ she smiled. His phone alarmed. He rubbed his chin as he studied the screen of his phone. Dana looked at his hand, thinking about the electricity that ran from it during their hand shake. She bit her lip as she thought about his hands all over her body. ‘You know you could have taken advantage of the situation?’ James broke her away from her thoughts. ‘What situation?’ Dana asked in a strangely high pitch.

Get a grip Dana! She cleared her throat and tried again. ‘What situation?’ she asked in a quieter tone. Not dating must really be taking a toll on me. ‘All those women, like vultures, and I literally fell on you. I was easy prey for you,’ he smiled. James was very attractive and he knew it. He was tall and he smiled not only with his lips but with his chocolate brown eyes. ‘I went to donate money and show my support, not be a part of their speed dating setup,’ Dana sighed. ‘That’s the same thing I thought and I was looking for my friend who totally ditched me but as fate would have it I bumped into you,’ he smiled again, looking into her dark brown eyes.

The waitress brought the plates to their table, breaking their eye contact. Dana stared at her plate hoping that her cheeks were not red. ‘That’s a pretty nice suit you’re wearing. I probably should have gone straight home to change instead of coming here,’ Dana said before she munched on the vegetables in her Caesar Salad. ‘Live in the moment remember?’ he smiled. ‘I live in the moment often enough. I’m a doctor at John Benjamin.’ ‘Sounds exciting.’ ‘It is. What about you?’ ‘I’m a partner at the Lee, Borough and Bette law firm.’ ‘Your last name did sound familiar. One of the top law firms in the state. You must really love what you do.’ James leaned back with a huge grin, ‘It was always my dream. What about you? Do you like being a doctor?’ She smiled, ‘Most of the time, I guess.’ She shrugged. Their eyes connected again and she shifted in her chair. She stared at her salad and continued to eat quietly. ‘I’m sorry