A test of Love - Navaura Campbell (best management books of all time .txt) 📗

Jordan."
He nodded, "No prob."
Glancing down at her watch, Neema cleared her throat, " I have a class that's starting in Ten minutes, I'll see you later."
"Yep, later." Jordan whiped greasy hands off on the towel he had. Turning around, he made his way to his vehicle.

Denise stared at the picture again. It was then that she noticed. Right there on the cufflink of a sweater the guy was wearing were the initials, TL. Denise laughed, well, if that wasn't a link. She flipped through another picture. She now knew that whomever this guy was, it could not certainly be 's initials were JW and she couldn't imagine Jordan wearing any of these clothing. This was not his style. He was too laid back. This guy looked like he may have had money or expensive taste. She studied another picture in depth. Who was this guy and the girl, Carrine. Denise knew Carrine was crazy, there was no doubt about that. The question was how crazy? Denise glanced at pictures with a critical eye, trying to spot any other clue that she could.
Jordan rapped on the door outside of Denise's dorm, a towel hanging from his shoulders. It was a good thing that he had only been checking a specific area in Neema's car, otherwise, his hands wouldn't have been the only source that needed cleaning. When the door opened, he saw that she had the photo album in her hand and was still staring at it intently.
"Still where I left you this morning are we?" He watched her make her way back to the same spot she'd somehow made an area of comfort. As of lately, she'd become obsessed with those pictures. Closing the door behind him, he said, "De-De, don't you think you're going a little overboard here?"
"No, not really, Jordan. I found a clue this morning."
Jordan sighed and sat on the wall opposite her, observing the way her fingers slid over the pages. "And what might that be?"
"The guy has initials on the cufflinks of a sweater."
"Come again?" Jordan raised a brow. Could you have cufflinks on a sweater? As if answering his question, Denise pushed a photo up to his face and allowed him to glance at the small gold attachment on the neck of a grey men's cashmere sweater. Jordan stared at the picture, the man's attire making him shiver. He could not see himself wearing anything so fancy. She pointed to the tiny letters engraved on the gold pendant. TL. "How do you know that those are his initials? TL could stand for anything."
"Like what?" Denise inquired, her gaze moving to his face.
"Um...a girl's initials."
"The girl in this pic, doesn't have TL as her initials."
"How do you know that isn't a mother or sister initials, or he could be swinging it both ways."
Denise raised a brow at him, "Swinging it both ways? Jordan, come on now, that doesn't make any since. Why would he wear his lover's initials on his sweater? Most guys like to be discreet about such a thing. It's not like they're going to broadcast it."
"What would you call this then ma'am? It took you a whole day to even find the cufflinks."
"The cufflink was overlooked thank you very much."
Jordan smiled at her sassiness. "Well then, maybe you should let an expert handle this."
Eyes were cut at him, "Sure. I don't think we're doing anything wrong here." She stated.
"Ok, say these were the guy's initials, how would we determine who he is?"
"When we go visit the apartment complex she lived in, we can ask the manager if they know anything about Carrine's social activities."
Jordan raised a brow, "Denise, they're not allowed to disclose that kind of information to civilians."
"We will find a way to get it." She stated, her tone determined. Jordan rolled his eyes as her gaze went back to the photo albums. Once she made up her mind, there was no changing directions. "Besides," She began, "We have their pictures. There is no law against neighbors divulging information."
"That's if any of the original neighbors still inhabit the place."
"There's got to be an old lady or someone that will be able to give us another clue, Jordan."
Jordan sighed, changing the topic. His eyes lowered to the ring that was on her finger. "Denise, how's the ring?" Denise cleared her throat. "It's great, thank you."
"So you like it?"
"Why wouldn't I? You gave it to me." She flipped another photograph.
Jordan scooted closer to her, till he was sitting directly in her line of shadow. "Does that mean you are still going to marry me?" Denise glanced up at him and after a minute of contemplation, put the album on the floor. "Maybe."
"Maybe?" This brought a smile to his face, "Maybe when?"
"Maybe when you and I decide on a date."
"Oh really?"
"Yep."
"When do you want to get married?"
"I've always wanted a spring wedding." She answered. By now, Jordan had taken her hand in his and was twisting the ring around her finger.
"Details please."
Somewhere between her describing her plans and the animated tone in her voice, he lost the words she was speaking and was enthralled with the animation aspects of conversation. The way her eyes lit up when she talked about the flowers. The glow in her cheeks when she spoke about the wedding gown she wanted and overall, the shyness her eyes held when she talked about her nervousness at going down the aisle. He thought it was all adorable and when she finished, he smiled and said, "That's nice." She cleared her throat and was about to go back to the photo album but he grabbed her face and pulled it into alignment. With her brown eyes glowing with radiance, he felt his blood began to pump furiously in his veins. His eyes captured hers in a fiery battle of admiration. When she tried to look away, he held her gaze there. Running his fingers along her face and down to her neck, he felt the tenderness of skin there, enjoying the rapid increase in blood flow.
Taking a deep breath, his fingers trailed a path down to her collar bone and then even further to her breast bone. Just as quickly as it had before, her pulse quickened even more. He said, "Hmmn, we know about the wedding. What else do you see in our future, Denise." She swallowed softly and tried her best to concentrate. His fingers were undoing the buttons on her blouse. "I...Well, I..." Her mind was blank. She couldn't think straight. After the buttons were undone, fingertips began a slow dance over her chest. The blouse was taken off and she was pulled up onto her feet. Jordan's fingers tapped underneath the edge of her bra, making their way to the back. "Tell me what else you see in our future Denise." He whispered. Her mouth was frozen as deft fingers slid underneath the clasp and undid the three rings that held it together. Why was it so hard for her to even gather an intelligible sentence? Her brain was moving but the words wouldn't communicate to her lips. A deep sigh escaped his lips as he pulled her closer to him and locked her lips in a passionate kiss with his. The bra fell to the floor and his fingers made their way back around to her chest. She ran her fingers along the side of his face and felt the texture of skin underneath her palms. As if strumming music, the tips of his fingers ran over taught nipples. When the kiss broke, Denise felt her head begin to drift. She closed her eyes and took in the feel of his mouth going over her neck, laying delicate kisses on the quickened pulse.

Later that evening, after Neema finished her last class for the day, she trekked her way to her dorm. Although it was only six p.m., the skies had already taken to a brilliant dark evening that hadn't it been for campus lighting, would have been a black enshroud over the campus. Sighing, she unlocked her building and quickly made her way inside. Once the doors closed behind her, she ran upstairs to her room and put her books in the closet. Heading straight for the kitchen, she proceeded to gather water into the coffee pot and turned it on. Once the water heated up, she opened two packets of cocoa and in the largest mug she could find, mixed the contents together, adding a little milk and cream to the brew. Grabbing a chair at the table, she pulled it out from the table and sat down.
Sometime later, after she'd finished her cocoa and was about to go take a shower, the door opened and her beloved roommate entered the room.
"Today was a rough day," The young girl stated. Neema sighed, "I'm sure it was."
"I have so much homework, I'm not sure..."
Neema cut her off, "You know, you can stop with the bull-shit, Carrine, I know you don't like me."
Carrine, who'd been putting her things in her closet located at the base of her bed, glanced up at Neema. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me, Carrine. I know you don't like me and I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to play pretend."
Carrine stared at her perplexed, "What are you talking about? Why wouldn't I like you?"
Either this chick was a great actress or Neema was jumping to conclusions. She didn't want to be called a bluff though. "Because you know that I'm friends with Denise."
"Denise?" Carrine squinted her brows in confusion.
"Jordan Williams fiancee. I know that you hold a grudge against him for not being with you and you hate her for being with him."
Despite the blood that began to boil in her veins, Carrine cleared her throat. "What does that have to do with you?"
"Maybe you could tell me. Someone cut the gas line to my vehicle last night and the only person who could've done it is you, because we are the only two here for christmas break."
Carrine raised both brows, "What? Why would I do something so trivial? I'm not crazy."
"I beg to differ. You can fool whomever you want Carrine, but I know your type."
"What do you mean my type?" Now Carrine was starting to get furious. It was beginning to surface.
"Your type, the type that is so deranged that you think that Jordan is someone he isn't. That's what I'm talking about."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Carrine managed to feign a seriously confused look.
"Those pictures Carrine. The guy in those pictures is not Jordan and you know it."
"What pictures?"
Neema was starting to doubt herself just a second. "Don't act stupid, Carrine." She walked up to the girl, her face inches from hers. "I know that you're up to something, i just don't have a clue what. Those pictures and now cutting my break line."
Carrine furrowed her brows. Giving the girl a light shove, she said, "First of all, get the hell out of my face and second of all, I don't know what you're talking about. I showed you those pictures with Jordan and me together. They were taken when we were together in chicago, back when he claimed he loved me." Carrine glanced down and touched her hand to her belly, "I mean us. When he claimed to have loved us. I may be angry at him for deserting me and his child but I'm not so sick as to cut the break line in your car. Why would I do that? Neema, I don't have anything against you." Carrine stated, her tone growing calmer. She rubbed her belly again and took a step away from Neema. "I was in good mood and actually decided to be nice to you for once, since I know it's not your fault he's a liar and a schemer, but I see that's not working." Grabbing her jacket again, Carrine sighed, "I'm sorry about your car Neema. I really am, but I really didn't have anything to do with it." With that,