Caress (8 page)

“Can you try to be a little less stubborn?” Lysette rested her arms on the desk. “I just figured for once you may have gotten your mind off the company. God knows you need to. And Michael Harrison just might be the one to divert your attention. I know if I wasn’t already married to the greatest guy this side of heaven, Mr. Harrison could sure get mine.”

“Lysette, must I remind you that this guy has everybody in the Greater Birmingham area and beyond thinking we steal candy from babies? I know you’ve become Miss Happy Bride U.S.A., but I, personally, don’t have time to think of anything else besides work right now, now more than ever with Daddy leaving and all. I just don’t have the time, and you know that. I barely noticed him,” Nya said, though it just wasn’t true. Yes, she certainly had noticed Michael. In fact, the only thing she could think about was how his sheer masculinity had seemed fill her office. Not to mention the warmth suffusing her body when she momentarily gazed into his eyes. She conceded only to herself that that might have had a little to do with just how big the chip on her shoulder grew while in his presence. The last thing she needed was a wild and random attraction.

“What about the plane?”

Nya’s gaze whipped around to Lysette. “What?”

“Okay, so you barely noticed Harrison. What about the guy on the plane that you were telling me about? The good-looking guy? Didn’t he get your mind off work for even a little while?”

Nya stared at her friend. She didn’t know how to tell her. The question had caught her completely off guard.

“What’s that look for, Nya?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try me.”

“No, I don’t think I will. It would serve you right if I never told you anything again. This whole office knew Harrison was here before I did.”

“Oh, come on, I’m not that bad,” Lysette whined.

“You certainly are.

“You know, it occurs to me just now that Michael said he’d just gotten back from the islands this weekend. It’s weird you never came across each other.”

Though it had been just an innocent observation, for once, it took only a glance at Nya for Lysette to smell blood in the water. Nya could almost see her ears perk up. “You didn’t meet him, did you?”

“I’m not saying anything.”

“That means you did see him down there. Why didn’t you tell me?” Then, as if a light had been turned on in her mind, she guessed, “Or, did you tell me? Hmm, Nya? Are you
not
telling me that he was the guy on the plane?”

That woman was too smart for her own good. When Nya finally broke down and confirmed her suspicions, Lysette acted shocked, as if she hadn’t already jumped to that conclusion. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. For a moment, she started to speak but was stunned all over again. But then, much too suspiciously, Lysette closed her mouth and began to stroke her chin. She crossed her legs and a slow smile curled her lips.

“Oh, no,” Nya moaned, covering her eyes with her hands. She knew exactly what was running around in that finely coiffed head. “Lysette, I will never forgive you if you do this to me. Listen, I’ll never forgive you.”

Lysette gave a broad smile and a blank stare. “What? Oh, I’m not going to do anything.”

“Lysette!” Nya squealed and felt something open up inside of her that she hadn’t felt since high school. But then the reality of the situation sank in and she knew the absolute impossibility of it all, especially considering who he was and what he had done. And even if he hadn’t done the article, her work was the most important thing in her life. Nothing could interfere with that. She hadn’t met a man yet that understood it or would stand for it. Forget that, she hadn’t met a man yet her father couldn’t intimidate.

h

An hour later Michael tossed a wadded piece of paper into the trash and glanced at the clock again. It was one o’clock and he hadn’t accomplished anything at all. He hadn’t produced a single page or answered a single call. Nya Seymour had been so angry and so cold. More surprisingly, she had seemed almost unreachable, untouchable. He knew in his heart that she had every right to be angry. In her position, he’d have been the same, but her curt attitude had thoroughly unnerved him. He thought of the wide eyes, the berry-colored and pouty, kissable lips. He thought of how dark and smooth her skin was. And her voice, though she didn’t have the island accent as he’d imagined, was deep and clear.

Shaking his head, he picked up the phone and considered calling Tamitra. She was a vivacious, bronze sweetheart, but for the life of him he couldn’t ever find anything to talk to her about. The girl knew her fashion but rarely thought about anything beyond that world. Though she pretended otherwise, she was bored half to death when he talked about his work. Tamitra was… kinda vapid. There, he’d finally admitted it. It definitely hadn’t been her brain that attracted him. He put down the phone. Even if she was good to look at, he didn’t need that kind of distraction in his life.

He heard a knock on his office door and Claudia appeared. She glanced down at the wadded pieces of paper beside the wastebasket. “So,” she asked, “the meeting didn’t go well?”

“No, it didn’t.”

“She sounded tough on the phone. What’s she like?”

“Oh, she’s tough. And she’s smart. And she’s pretty damn single-minded. But she’s obviously unforgiving because there I was trying to apologize and she wasn’t having any of it. I don’t know what more I could have done to—”

“Was she pretty?”

“Oh
hell
yeah,” Michael answered before he could catch himself.

Claudia’s eyes bugged before she coughed out a loud laugh. “Wow, I wasn’t expecting that. So was she a candidate for that alleged Harrison charm of yours? That could be a great out for us!”

Michael refused to let his sister see him blush. He would never live it down. Time to shift the discomfort. “You know what, Claude? I’ll make you a deal. I’ll tell you how my visit went as soon as you tell me what Derrick told you and how you ended up having dinner with him.”

To her credit his sister didn’t let on that he had unsettled her as she made a smooth exit, but Michael knew her well enough to know that he had.

Wednesday night Nya rifled through the stacks of papers surrounding her on the floor in her den. She was slowly beginning to suspect that the three months’ worth of Norfolk shipping invoices were either misplaced or just plain lost. They had to be somewhere, but in spite of scouring everything she’d been sent, they were still yet to be found. She grabbed her calendar, searching for a time when she could go to Norfolk and check everything out herself. They would have those files there and she could remedy the problem as soon as she found it.

The phone rang and she picked it up, still staring down at the dates. “Hi, Nya,” Lysette said.

“Just the person I wanted to talk to. I think I’m going to Norfolk. I think my schedule is clear. I’d like to go as soon as possible. Would you book me a flight?”

“You know, for a person who said they would never need anything, you’re very pushy. Remember that I’m not
really
your assistant and slow down. If I remember correctly, you only have tomorrow morning’s meeting with Harrison. After that, I think you’re right, you could head out. When do you have that consult call?”

“With the hotel chain?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s Friday afternoon. I can take that from anywhere.”

“Right. I’ll make your reservations tomorrow, that is, when I am at work. Currently, it’s almost seven and I am
not
at work, rather down at Cold and Hot’s having dinner. I think you should come down and have some with me.”

“I don’t think so. Unlike you, I’m still up to my ears in files. I plan to work a couple more hours.” Nya paused.

“You can’t work all the time. Besides, you don’t even get overtime. Come on, you don’t have to stay long. Please. Jamie just got back and we’re here, and so are a lot of other folks from the office. We’re having a good time. Come on.”

Now this was strange. Cold and Hot’s was a place where many people from Hatsheput went to unwind most nights after work, but Nya rarely went. Lysette asking her to go that night was a sure sign something was amiss.

“It’s just that I know how hard you’ve been working and I worry about you. I’d really like to see you have some fun.”

Even though she knew Lysette was up to something, she couldn’t help being pulled in whenever her best friend chose to say something nice out of concern for her well-being.

“Fine, I’ll come down. But I have to change first.”

“Nya!”

“No, I promise. I’m already home, I just need to jump in the shower. I know what I’m going to put on, too. I’ll be there in forty-five minutes.”

h

Nya smiled at her reflection. She stood before her mirror in a long, batik sundress with a halter that tied behind her neck—it was early fall and still very warm in Birmingham. The bold purples and blues accentuated the warm, provocative tones of her skin. She let her heavy twists tumble down her back, tied back with a blue chiffon scarf. Nya then complemented the ensemble by slipping a pair of large gold hoops into her ears. She sprayed her favorite perfume onto her arms and neck and applied a dark wine lipstick. If she was going to fall into Lysette’s trap she was certainly going to look good when she did it.

Cold and Hot’s Clubhouse and Restaurant was housed in a sprawling, century-old brick building surrounded by thick perennials and other greenery. Nya could feel the excitement coursing through her veins the closer she got to the club. She crossed the lighted walkway and entered elaborate oak double doors. She stood for a moment studying the dark lobby, which was lit only by dim chandeliers with rich, smoked glass and candles placed on cherry coffee and sofa tables around the room. There were a few people conversing quietly, but she didn’t see Lysette. Nya knew exactly where she was. She sauntered down the steps, then maneuvered through the lobby and soon entered the Cold Room. The Cold Room was the dining area where diners could get ribs and collards and beer to boot while sports were broadcast on a big screen. Nya enjoyed the atmosphere of the Cold Room with its constant bustle and laughter. She looked over and was not at all surprised to see the most uproarious table was the one where Lysette sat next to her basketball player husband and a couple of other friends. Nya was always amused by the sight of her five foot, two inch friend and her six foot, seven inch husband. Lysette had always liked big men, but Jamie took the cake.

“Nya,” Lysette called, waving her arm vehemently, motioning for her to come join them. “We were just talking about you.”

“I hope not. You were laughing way too hard to be talking about me, I’m sure.” Nya slid into the seat next to Lysette.

“No, we were just saying how much we loved you and how absolutely lovely you look,” Jamie returned with a broad smile.

“You’re a rotten liar,” Nya responded, though she kissed him on the cheek.

Jamie said, “No matter what
anyone
says, you’re a sweet woman.”

“You mean that
anyone
?” Nya asked incredulously, pointing to her best friend.

He draped his long arm protectively around his wife. “This is a sweet, kind woman, Nya. She wouldn’t say anything unkind, sarcastic, nasty or insulting. She wouldn’t dare ridicule me in front of my friends and all the world or even call me ‘baldy’ on national television.” Lysette slugged Jamie in the stomach and he feigned hurt. “She wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

Nya laughed and ordered her food. It was feeling good to be out with them again, without work or the investigation on her mind. Her last social outing before the wedding had ended up with her reviewing a sales proposal in the boardroom at Hatsheput Galleries. She looked over at her friend staring up at her husband with adoring eyes. Nya knew Lysette had finally found all the happiness she’d ever longed for in this man.

Lysette turned to Nya and whispered into her ear that she wanted to go to the ladies’ room. Nya got up and headed toward the nearest restroom, but was tugged in the opposite direction. “It’s not working, I don’t think. I saw a sign on the doors when I tried to go earlier.”

“Well, we can at least see if they’ve fixed it,” Nya said and turned back towards the bathroom. The other one was in the Hot Room, all the way on the opposite side of the restaurant.

Lysette grabbed her arm again. “No, I just checked before you came in and they said it wouldn’t be ready until tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Nya acquiesced, wondering what could have been so wrong with the restroom. She followed Lysette out of the Cold Room and back through the lobby to the Hot Room. Each time she saw it, Nya appreciated the splendor and elegance of the place. It was a luxurious four-star restaurant with the looks to go with its superb cuisine.

As they walked, Lysette looked up at Nya and said, “You do look nice. And perfume, too. Why?” Nya shrugged her shoulders in as honest an answer as she could give. Something had made her want to feel feminine and beautiful that night. Something she couldn’t explain. She decided that it must have been her stressful work. She hadn’t given herself enough time to feel attractive in at least a year.