A/N Thanks so much for your reviews! I really appreciate it!

Manny's Determination

Manny returned to the office glad that the confrontation with Jenny was over. At least it didn't get too out of hand. As for Sid, he had to chalk it up to a lost friendship. Of course, the still had to work together, but that would probably be the extent of it. Then there was Sid's wife Cheryl. She had been friends with Annie…but she was also friends with Jenny. Well, he might as well write her off too. He knew that this would not be easy and he would have to explain to Molly why she wouldn't see them as much anymore.

Manny looked over the paperwork on the Mr. Bromide account. He was meeting with the executives next week and he wanted to be sure that his presentation was in order. He didn't want to give Mr. Thompson any excuses that would cause him to take the account away from him. Just then there was a knock on the door and Sarah, Mr. Thompson's secretary stuck her head in.

"Hi Manny" she said smiling.

"Hey Sarah" Manny said looking up. "What's up?"

"Mr. Thompson wants to see you when you get a minute" she replied.

Manny was surprised. "Sure…be right there."

Maybe he wanted to know how his presentation was coming along. He walked into Mr. Thompson's office and found him behind his big mahogany desk reading some papers.

"Sit down, Singer" Mr. Thompson said looking up. "And close the door."

Manny could tell from the sound of his voice that this wasn't good. He tried to calm the knots that were forming in his stomach.

Mr. Thompson took off his glasses. "Singer, you're a good worker. You've brought a lot of business to us with your writing and music."

Mr. Thompson leaned back and the chair and Manny could feel a 'but' coming as Mr. Thompson studied him a moment.

"I've just had a talk with Sidney Warren and he's a little worried about you."

Manny was shocked that Sid had ratted him out to their boss, but he didn't say anything.

"I believe, however, that he's more worried about his own job than he is about you." Mr. Thompson replied. He sat up and leaned forward on the desk. "Is it true? Are you going to marry a colored woman?"

"It's true" Manny replied. He wondered if he was about to get fired.

"You must love her to do this I gather. A lot of people are not so understanding about intermarriage." Mr. Thompson replied studying him. "You'll be giving up a lot. Have you thought about the consequences of such a union?"

Manny tried to hold his temper. "With all due respect Mr. Thompson, I don't see where this is anybody's business but my own. I lost my wife over eighteen months ago. It was devastating. My daughter became a mute. I didn't know whether I would make it or not. Corrina is a remarkable woman. I love her. Yes, I know it will be hard, but life is hard. I'll take my chances."

He stood up. "Is that all, sir?"

"Sit down, Manny." Mr. Thompson replied. "I'm not done yet."

Manny debated for a moment whether to walk out or not, but decided to hear him out.

"Look" Mr. Thompson replied. "I don't care who you marry. You're right. That's your business. I commend you for following your heart. I gave you our biggest account because of your work ethic and the fact that you're a damn good writer. Now I'm not throwing that away just because of your taste in women. Hell, at least you're up front with it. So, in light of all this, I just want to reassure you that I'm satisfied with your work and your personal decisions have not swayed me from that. As long as you continue to do a good job, you don't have anything to worry about."

"I appreciate that, Mr. Thompson" Manny replied.

Mr. Thompson smiled and stood up and Manny quickly did the same. He extended his hand. "I look forward to an invite to the wedding!" Mr. Thompson replied grinning.

"Of course." Manny said.

"Are you back to work so soon?" Mr. Thompson asked walking him to the door. "I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your father. I thought that you weren't coming in until next week."

"I just wanted to double check some things on the Mr. Bromide account" Manny replied. "I'll be leaving shortly."

"See that's what I like about you, Singer!" Mr. Thompson replied slapping him on the back.

"Thank you, sir" Manny said walking out of the office.

He noticed curious stares as he headed back to his office and then he saw Sid jump up and follow him in and closed the door.

Manny turned around. "You couldn't wait to rat me out to Mr. Thompson could you, Sid?" Manny snapped.

"Manny, I was just worried-"

"Yeah, you were worried about yourself, not me!" Manny replied. "I thought we were friends, Sid. I guess I was wrong!"

He sat at his desk and took out a cigarette and lit it.

Sid sat down in front of him. "I panicked, OK? What was I supposed to do? You dropped that little tidbit about marrying your colored maid putting both of our jobs in jeopardy!"

"You were supposed to be my friend, but I guess that was just too much to ask, right?" Manny snapped looking at him.

Sid sat there a moment and didn't reply.

"Look Sid" Manny said "I know this is hard for you to understand, but I love her. You and Cheryl were great friends when Annie was alive, but I realize now that's over. Let's just be work associates from now on. It'll be better for all of us."

"But I'm Molly's godfather! What about that?" Sid protested.

"I'm sure we can work something out at Christmas" Manny replied.

Sid stared at him a moment. "You're willing to throw our friendship away for this woman?"

"You threw our friendship away when you went to Mr. Thompson, Sid. Now if you will excuse me, I have some work to do."

Sid stared at him moment, but then got up and walked out the office.

Manny double checked everything on the Mr. Bromide account and then decided to leave. He hadn't planned on staying this late. It was almost 3 PM.

He drove home and found Al leaving the house.

"I'm about to pick Molly up from school, Sir." he said waving.

Manny nodded and walked up to him. "Can you pick up some steaks on the way back, Al? I think I'm going to throw them on the grill for dinner. You're welcome to stay too if you'd like."

"Thank you sir, " Al replied grinning. "But I have a date. Maybe some other time"

Manny nodded and Al got in his car and pulled off. He was hot and decided to take him a nice shower and relax a bit before Molly came home. He checked the grill and took out some hamburger patties and a few hotdogs to go with the steaks.

He quickly showered and wrapped the towel around himself and walked in the bedroom. He heard someone come in the front door and quickly peeked out of the bedroom door and saw that it was Corrina.

"Hey there" he said walking over to her.

"Hey there yourself" she replied.

He quickly pulled her into his arms giving her a kiss.

"Ooh! You're all wet" she said laughing. "You're a sexy looking thing all damp with only that towel on."

"I could take it off" he replied kissing her again.

"Molly will be here any minute, so you'd better behave" she warned.

He pulled her in the bedroom and quickly shut the door. "Al has to make a stop. We have a few minutes."

"You are very persistent, Mr. Singer" she replied evading his grasp.

"I know and it usually pays off" he responded grabbing her. "I'm horny. How about a little taste of what marriage to you will be like."

He had her against the back of the door caressing her buttocks with his hands.

"You had your taste last night, remember?" she responded somewhat breathless.

"You're addictive. I need another fix." he murmured in her ear.

Manny knew he shouldn't push her, but he couldn't help himself. His hands roamed freely over her and she did not try to stop him.

"Corrina, Corrina" he murmured against her neck. He could feel the towel loosening with their playful struggle. He could feel her passion and knew that she wanted him too, but she was holding back.

"Manny, you're making it hard for me" she admitted weakly. He had pulled her down on the bed and now she was lying on top of him. The towel had come loose and she was glad at least one of them had clothes on.

"Now you get to see what you're getting into" he teased as she got off the bed and looked down at his naked body.

Her eyes roamed over him. "I can see it's a pretty impressive package" Corrina responded.

Manny seemed surprised. "Really?"

Corrina sat back on the bed giving him a quick kiss. "Yeah, really. Now get dressed before your daughter walks in and sees you in your birthday suit"

Manny watched as she walked out the room. He wondered how she could be so cool. He was horny as hell and it was hard for him to keep his hands to himself. He quickly got dressed and walked in the kitchen where she was making a salad.

"Al's picking up some steaks for dinner" he said leaning against the door frame.

"That's nice." Corrina replied setting the bowl on the table.

Manny studied her a moment. "Is there something wrong?"

"No...but I did see Jenny today." she said coolly.

Manny was surprised. "I talked to her today myself. I told her that I was seeing someone else."

"I know" Corrina replied. "She offered me one hundred dollars to find out who it is."

Manny burst out laughing. "Did you take the money?"

"Of course not!" Corrina snapped sounding indignant. "I wanted to tell her where she could stick her money!"

"So how was the rest of your day?" he asked getting a beer from the refrigerator.

"Well I had an interesting conversation with my sister concerning you." Corrina snickered.

Manny walked over to her. "Oh really? What about?"

Corrina put her arms around his neck. "How white men are sexual deviants."

Manny raised an eyebrow. "Is that a complement of some sort? Why does she think that? Do I exude sexual magnetism or something?"

"She wanted to warn me that white men are different in bed than colored men. She wants me to be careful...see if you have any whips or extra women you want to bring to our bed."

Manny laughed. "Do you think I'll bring another woman to our bed?"

"You tell me. She's convinced that white men are different than colored men when it comes to sex."

He pulled her closer. "Are you afraid of me, Corrina? I promise you that I'm not all that deviant."

"You're not?"

"Depends on what you think is deviant" he whispered in her ear.

"If we have to talk about it...then it probably is" Corrina replied.

"That's a mighty closed minded answer" Manny replied. "I see you and I will have to have a talk"

Just then Molly came running in the house with Al.

"Hi Daddy!" she said throwing her arms around him.

"Hi Pumpkin" Manny said picking her up.

"How was school?" He swung her around and she burst out giggling.

"Boring! I'd rather help Corrina clean houses!" she said walking over to the salad bowl and popping a piece of tomato in her mouth.

"That's enough of that, young lady!" Corrina said laughing. "Now go do your homework!"

Manny started the grill and it wasn't long before dinner was ready. He put on some music to set the mood. Molly chatted about her day at school and Manny listened attentively. Finally she asked to be excused and ran off with Lois. Manny looked at Corrina who was watching her.

"Do you want babies?" he asked smiling.

"Maybe one...so Molly will have a brother or sister" she replied still watching Molly.

He lit a cigarette and handed her one. "I'd like that" he replied.

"Corrina, I've been thinking about what you said earlier, you know about your sister's concerns" He leaned closer to her. "Are you concerned? Is there anything you want to ask me?"

Corrina wouldn't look at him. "We'll talk about that later...after Molly's gone to bed."

Manny decided to let it rest. Obviously she had something on her mind. "We can also talk about a date for our wedding. Mr. Thompson told me today that he wants to attend."

Corrina looked at him surprised. "You told your boss?"

"No, Sid told him. We had a few words, and I think our friendship is over. He and Cheryl are Molly's godparents, but they are friends with Jenny so I think the ties have been cut. We'll just keep our working relationship."

Corrina looked concerned. "Oh Manny, I'm so sorry."

He leaned over and kissed her. "Don't worry about it. If he had been a true friend, he would have accepted us."

Corrina got up and began to clear the table. "I hate to tell you this, but there is more of that coming. It gets worse with family members."

Manny didn't reply but took another drag from his cigarette. She was probably right. His cousin was coming to stay with his mother, so that would be the next test. Regardless of what his family thought, his mind was made up. Manny got up and followed her into the kitchen.

"I think we need to set the date" he said putting the dishes in the sink. "School will be out in a couple of months. Let's get married in May."

"Corrina turned to him. May? That's only six weeks away!"

"So?"

"So Manny, I need to plan-"

"That's as long as I care to wait, Corrina. Pick a date in May and let's go for it." he replied his voice stern.

She looked at him a moment and then turned and flipped the calendar that was on the wall.

"Alright, Manny. Saturday, May 18th. We can get married at the church and have a reception there also. We don't need anything big. I'll have to check the date with the Reverend, but he'll want to counsel us. Are you up for that?"

He grinned at her. "Sure, after today I think I'm up to anything!"