Page 131 of Drive
“That good, huh?”
“Yes, Nate, I think I may call Roger Morris. You think he would listen to me?”
Nate ran his fingers through my hair. “Baby, your opinion matters.”
I paused my fingers on the keys. I had waited five years to hear him say those words.
I looked up to him. “You’re an authority now. That’s whyLAcalled, Chicago called, and New York called. They want music’s new literary voice.”
My lips trembled as he leaned down. “It’s the truth. It’s not because I love you, or you’re the most beautiful woman in the world, or you make a mean pan of enchiladas, or you have a Midas pussy.” He grinned wickedly at his crassness. “It’s because you earned it. Your opinion matters—yours, Stella Emerson.”
“Midas pussy?” I laughed as happy tears flooded my eyes.
“Yes, shall we demonstrate its effects?” He glanced over his shoulder at the empty newsroom that housed over thirty employees.
I looked at the empty room behind him. “Did you ever think it would be this big?”
“God, I hoped,” he said, arms crossed as he stared at the room with a dreamy smile. “I think it’s time I gave it a rest.”
“Huh, that’ll be the day,” I said and cringed at the small amount of bite in my words.
“Well then, I guess you better get packed, because that day istomorrow.” He laid two plane tickets on my desk. I picked them up and saw our destination.
“OHMYGOD,NATE!”
“Seven days in Mexico, you, me, and Midas.”
All the promises he’d broken were swept away with this one grand gesture. I understood his drive, I let the needy girlfriend take a backseat to both our ambitions, but the paper was thriving and there was enough middle management to finally and safely escape.
I gripped him to me. “Thank you!”
“Let’s get the hell out of here.”
“Yes!” I said, beaming.
“We don’t leave until six tomorrow night, so let’s go have some fun. Jon Jon has us covered.”
“Where?” I asked, saving my article and throwing it into my flash drive.
“This week is all about Stella,” he said, his arms around my waist as he grabbed my blazer and held it while I slipped my arms through. I had on heels, slacks, and a blouse. I felt sophisticated and sexy, and it reflected in the eyes of my companion. “Let’s do aStellathing.”
Hand in hand with my man, we walked toward the packed bar. “You’re an old man. I’ll understand if you don’t want to stay all night.”
“I got your old man right here,” he said wickedly as he brought our linked hands briefly and discreetly to his crotch.
“How crude,” I mocked shock.
“You know you love it,” he said without expecting an answer, which I didn’t have to give.
I walked past the long line and nodded to the doorman, Gerry, who waved us in.
Nate whispered into my hair. “My woman is such a bad ass.”
“Damn right,” I said. “I’ve been sweating my ass off for years, earning shit pay for this privilege.”
Nate furrowed his brows, but his twitching lips gave him away. “I paid you decently.”
“It was enough to buy toilet paper, you cheap bastard. A trip to Mexico is a good way to start making it up to me.”
