Carol Ann Culbert Johnson

A novel introducing Candy Thomas who thought she had found her soul mate in the name of Mace James.  When she meets the new attorney at her law firm, Jordan Hayes, Candy is beginning to wonder if Mace is her soul mate after all when he starts to take their relationship for granted. Who will Candy choose?

 PROLOGUE

 

Will it be Mace or Jordan?  I kept asking myself this question. I was so confused.  I had never before had two men after big old me at the same time. I thought I was dreaming, that this couldn’t be real, but it was.

Mace was my chocolate brother, fifty-three to my forty-two, a heavy-set, nice looking man who found the humor in every situation.  I was his opposite, a serious woman who viewed most things in a negative light, and it showed on my always-frowning face. Mace was not my type, but he continued to pursue me. Then one day when we were talking on the telephone, I realized I was laughing. He made me laugh every time we talked and I liked this new side of me.  I still couldn’t believe we were so hopelessly in love with each other.

Mace showed his love for me by cooking breakfast for me, cheerfully getting up an hour or so before me so that breakfast would be waiting when I walked into the kitchen. I showed my love for him by cleaning up the enormous mess he made when he cooked my breakfast. When he moved into my apartment on the lovely south side of Chicago, he took over the kitchen, cooking all of our meals.  For me, who hated to cook, this was wonderful.  I didn’t mind the cleaning at all. 

I was the luckiest woman in the world.  Who could want for more? As great as he was, let me tell you, Mace did have his faults.  He belonged to the school of thought that a man was king of the castle and the woman was his follower. Mace and I got into heated arguments when I refused to follow his orders. No one told this grown woman what to do and got away with it.  Despite our disagreements, we loved each other and were able to work past them. I was happy and felt blessed.

It seems that when things are going fine, something will always come along to turn your world upside down. I was no exception to the rule.  

I worked as a paralegal at a prestigious law firm on LaSalle Street in the heart of downtown Chicago.  I was still working on my associate degree in paralegal science at an online university and planned on going for my bachelor degree next.  I was lucky enough to find my job while I was training. My job title was legal secretary but I also functioned as a paralegal, getting billable hours and earning a generous check in the process.  I was a ‘floater,’ meaning I worked for any of the attorneys who needed me.  It wasn’t unusual for one of the senior partners to come and take me away from one of the associates when he had an urgent case.  My services were in high demand and I was proud of it, always taking the extra time to make sure the work I handed in was perfect.

It was a sunny Monday in April and Chicago was getting an early taste of summer, with temperatures expected to hit the mid-eighties by noon. Barnes, Taylor, Fries, and James didn’t have a strict dress code.  As long as we wore office appropriate attire, they didn’t bother us.  I was wearing a long black skirt with a gray blouse and white sandals as I sat at my desk typing furiously, trying to get a “Motion to Strike” ready for one of the attorneys, when there was a knock at my door.  

“Come in,” I said, not looking up.  “I’ll be with you in just one more minute.”

“Take your time,” replied a smooth male voice.  “I’ll just enjoy the view.”

Jordan Hayes was a newly hired associate attorney at the firm. I had seen him at a distance, but had not yet met him.  The women in the office were all abuzz about him, taking bets on who was going to get into bed with him first.  When they saw I was scheduled to work with him this week, they all teased me, telling me to remember Mace and not let my head get turned by Jordan’s pretty face.  Yeah, a man that good-looking was sure to want a fat forty-two year old instead of some of the young skinny booty strutting around this office.

I looked up into the most beautiful pair of green eyes I had ever seen.  The eyes matched the rest of him.  He wasn’t exceptionally tall, just about 5’9”, but he had a lean muscular body, surprising on a forty-five year old attorney.  Few of the other men in our office could boast of a body like his.

“Are you Candy Thomas?” he asked. “I’m Jordan Hayes.  I’m sorry to be so late but I’ve never worked in an office this large before.  It took me some time to find you.”

“Yes I’m Candy.  Don’t worry about being late.  Mr. James needed me to get this ‘Motion to Strike’ ready for him anyway.  I’m just finishing it now and I need to run it over to his office.”  I was surprised at how normal I sounded.  My insides were shaking and I felt like my body was burning up.  I had to get away from him for a minute to calm myself down.  All thoughts of Mace left my mind as I sneaked another peek at Jordan Hayes.  He had an olive complexion that went well with his dark blonde hair.  I didn’t know what was happening to me.  I’d never felt like this before, especially about a white man. 

“I’ll wait for you as long as you want me to,” he said.  “But once we start, we’re going to be glued to each other for at least the next twenty-four hours.  Do you need to let someone at home know you’re going to be working some serious overtime?”

“I will need to make a phone call later tonight, but my friend is a chef and he sometimes stays at the restaurant long after they close, trying out new recipes.  Sometimes he gets so caught up in his work that he doesn’t get home until sunrise.” Why was I babbling?  A simple ‘yes’ would have answered the question.  The man was going to think I was an idiot.

“Do you want to meet me in my office when you’re finished or should I wait for you here?

“How about if we stop by your office and I’ll get you set up with an office manual and a recorder and tapes?   Then I’ll be back to see you in about ten minutes or so.”

“Okay, sounds good.  I have a couple of letters that have to go out this morning and I’m hoping you can make some big inroads into a pile of research I need.  Mr. Taylor told me you were the best in the business and they were glad to have you.  I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but he said they paid you way over scale for your services and would be willing to pay even more to keep you.”

I was extremely flattered to hear that.  I worked my ass off and that’s how I kept my job, not by spreading my legs like some of the other women in the office.  I settled him in his office and left him there puzzling over the instructions for the recorder.  I shut the door and leaned against it.  Jordan Hayes was going to be a big problem for me, maybe more than I could handle.  What in the hell was I going to do?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

REVIEWS

Passion in all sizes and shapes, November 20, 2006

Reviewer:

Reader Views "www.readerviews.com" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

Reviewed by Beverly Pechin for Reader Views (11/06)

"Torn Between Two Lovers" is a moving story of three black women who share their lives and passions with each other, no matter what the outcome. As the author gives us an inside look at each of the women in the story, we begin to realize the ups and downs of relationships no matter who is involved. The plot is touched with a hint of reality that keeps the story down to earth and realistic, the author combines just enough romantic desire and passion to bring the characters into full light. Women who fit all shapes and sizes meet men of all categories, some to find love and some to find pain.

Candy has Mace, the man she knows she loves with all her heart, but something is very wrong. He no longer seems to care about her and doesn't complete her like he used to. But, he loves her without question and adores her plus size body. When she's confronted with a very sexy new attorney, Jordan, at the law firm she works for she knows she's gone crazy because she finds herself thinking about him non-stop. But Jordan isn't exactly looking for a woman like her. She's black, he's white. She's heavy and he goes for model types. But yet something is still there and both have to deal with their feelings. Will she give in to sheer sexual desire and lose the one man she knows she was meant to be with, simply to have a quick, explosive affair with someone she knows can never love a woman like her?

Helen has the man every black woman dreams of, handsome and rich but is that all she needs in life? She loves being a mother to her two kids but is it fair that she has to turn her head and dismiss all the affairs her husband has, simply to keep a marriage and family together? What about her? Is she strong enough to walk away and leave the life she dreamed of or is she really living a nightmare, putting up with the abuse by being the lonely wife left behind? She has to make decisions and stand up, but will her friends support her and will that be enough to keep her strong? Will there be someone else out there that will put up with her fat body or will she forever be alone?

Lisa's the woman every man dreams about. Unlike her two best friends she's hot and sexy and knows it. Thin and loving to play the field, she beds man after man to get what she wants in life. Now she lives a life of fame as a hot soap opera star, sleeping her way into the movie scene. Marriage and Lisa? Never! But can one man change that? Is there really a soul mate out there for her? And what does she do if she ruins the one relationship she's had that really was worth keeping, only to sleep around and get pregnant by another man? Being a mother is not in her plans and no matter how much support her two best friends give her, she's not going to do it... or is she?

You will find yourself secretly wishing for a certain outcome while often being surprised by the final ending.

These three women are the strength for one another as they go through everything from pregnancies to breakups, divorces to marriage. And just when you think you know who's ending up with whom, you find out you're wrong. Laugh at their antics, cry with their pain and grow with their knowledge as they find out what love is really about.

Touching, realistic and somewhat of a "Cinderella" story about what relationships are all about, no matter who you are. After reading "Torn Between Two Lovers" you'll walk away feeling even stronger as a woman... no matter what your race or size.

 Radio Interview about Torn Between Two Lovers (Click on link and listen)

http://www.letstalk honestly. com/page/ page/3935548. htm

 

 or purchase at www.lulu.com/jcarolannjohnson