Page 30 of Desire
Chapter Ten
After a moment of silence, I allowed Kylie to change the subject. I would eventually get to the bottom of her motives. But my ability to prioritize whenever I was overwhelmed by too many subjects at once helped me put Kylie at the bottom of the list. First, I neededto figure out who the mystery woman was and come up with an effective way to broach the sexual misconduct allegations.
For the next three hours, Kylie and I talked about moving to New York, how she and Rachel had pitched the new show to the executives at BCN, and all the highs and lows of that. The more she talked about the ins and outs of dealing with TV execs, the less sure I was aboutmy decision to take the job. Regardless, time zoomed by. But before Kylie and I parted ways, she assured me that she and I would be seated at the same table.
As soon as I made it back to my suite, I tried calling the mystery woman’s number but received a recording telling me that the number was no longer in service. I called Alexia and received the same recording.
I flopped downon the sofa. “Fuck!”
The plot had just thickened, and I was more determined than ever to figure out the story. Due to the sloppy way in which I’d handled my trip to Chattanooga, I had forgotten to get Nel’s phone number. I wouldn’t have called her tonight. I would’ve waited until tomorrow after Alexia and I met. Then I would have informed Nel that her daughter didn’t show and that her numberwas out of order. If Nel knew nothing about Alexia’s change of heart, she would’ve been extremely worried, and I would’ve been able to ease her fears. I would’ve offered to check on her daughter since I was already in the city. However, if Nel knew her daughter was shirking me, then she would’ve made some asinine excuse and eventually changed her own phone number.
My mind raced as I triedto figure out what to do next. I got up and raced to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I realized I had to let go of the investigation for the night. The sources that could help me would be out of commission until the next morning.
My cell phone rang, and I darted into the bedroom to answer it. I hoped it was the mystery woman or even Alexia, but it was Rod Huff informing me that I was elevenminutes late for meeting him in the lobby at eight p.m.
I quickly pulled the phone away from my ear and looked at the time on the screen. My mouth fell open.Shit.The time changed to 8:12 p.m. before my eyes.
I gushed with apologies and told Rod I would be downstairs in less than fifteen minutes after admitting that time had gotten away from me.
“Working on a story?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said.
“Then you’re excused. Take your time.”
Rod was a good guy, and from what I remembered, he was handsome as well. Too bad I would never be attracted to him, not as long as Jasper Christmas was alive.
I took a quick shower. After the day I’d had, it was imperative that I washed before putting on such a beautiful gown. Once my body was clean, I dressed, applieda light dusting of makeup to make it look as though I had tried, and swept my noncompliant hair into a back bun while leaving soft hairs cascading along the sides of my face. A glance in the mirror nearly took my breath away. It had to have been the combination of the dress, red lipstick, and the way I’d fixed my hair.
My mind betrayed me as it pictured Jasper ceremoniously loosening myhair and sweeping my tresses to one side so that his tongue and lips could fervently but delicately taste my neck.
“Stop, Holly,” I whispered then took a deep breath.
Since I’d vowed to compartmentalize in order to get through the night without being stressed out by all my worries, Jasper had to remain banished from my thoughts.
I rushed into the living room to grab the cocktailpurse that matched my dress. I plucked it off a chair and my room key off the coffee table. Then I stopped in front of the door and looked around to make sure I hadn’t left anything.
“My coat!” I ran as fast as I could into the bedroom area and snatched the gold trench coat that had come with my dress. After I put it on, I still felt as if I were missing something even though I had everythingI needed.
I feltlike a ball of mess when I saw Rod in the lobby. His eyes went from his cell phoneto me. By the way his gaze devoured me, I was pretty sure I didn’t look like it. I was getting more attention than I’d expected, not only from my escort but from whomever else I passed. People’s gazes made me want to shrink to the size of an ant and scamper away.
I pressed my lips together and breathed deeply through my nose.Here goes nothing.I smiled at Rod, who smiled back. He was stilltall, blond, and in good shape. The dimple on his chin still made him look like a movie star. It was obvious two and a half years had done him well, being that he looked more like a man.
“Wow,” he said when I reached him. “You look amazing.”
We hugged.
“So do you,” I said after we let go of each other.
He curled an arm around my waist. “We should go.”
I was mildlytaken aback by the ease with which he made such an intimate gesture. However, I felt obligated to allow him the freedom to make us appear as if we were a real couple. After all, I was almost forty-five minutes late, which I apologized for again.
He tightened his hold on me as we made our way through the lobby.
“It’s no big deal,” he said. “I’m just glad to be with you.”
Ilooked at him with wide eyes, hoping he meant that in a way in which two people were friends and not lovers.
