SASSY IN STILETTOS ARe version (2 page)

Micha dragged her tired, aching feet into the
office. Her body still hummed with sexual energy. Sparring with Caleb could do
that to a girl. He made her so edgy. Maybe she needed to start scheduling
massages after every dance lesson. Absently, she rubbed her butt. He’d dropped
her on purpose, she knew it. And she would eventually make him pay for it. Right
now, she still had an ad meeting to prep for, models to select for the bikini
week photo-shoot, and the features articles to select and proof.

She shouted for her assistant before the door to
San Diego Magazine even opened. Sailing through the lobby with a smile to the
receptionist, she called out, “Allison, can you move my two o’clock to tomorrow?
I really don’t think I can stay awake for a budgeting meeting. And while we’re
at it, move my eight o’clock tomorrow morning to later. I want to see if I can
squeeze in a massage with Samantha, and I want to see Erik and Kelli in my
office ASAP. I’m having problems with both their articles and…God, I need a coffee…”
Her voice trailed off as she entered her office. She still hadn’t seen hide nor
hair of Allison.

Micha hung up her coat and purse and felt like an
Anna Wintour reject. She was pretty sure the legendary Vogue editor’s
assistants hopped-to when Anna came calling. Frowning, she stared at her desk. A
coffee container from Roberto’s coffee cart sat on the corner, the notes from
Erik’s and Kelli’s articles sat on her chair with a memo that they would be in
her office at 2:30.

Huh? Had Allison been reading her mind?
Wow
. Who said pregnant women had pregnancy brain? Alli
wasn’t set to go on maternity leave for another three weeks and already Micha
was going to miss her. Who was going to take care of her? Alli was more than
her assistant. They were partners and occasional girlfriends. Though Micha had
learned the hard lesson once before that employees can seldom be friends unless
they have the same work ethic and countenance.

She scooped up the two features articles and
gasped with surprise as she noted a foot massager under her desk. What in the
world? “Alli, what is this thing doing under my desk?”

She already had her three and a half inch
stilettos unstrapped at the ankle when a thin, fastidiously tidy man walked in
with a tablet at the ready.

He halted suddenly when he saw her. “Oh, Miss Bennett.
You’re twenty minutes early. I was hoping to complete set up before you
arrived.”

Micha studied him. He was slight. Maybe her
height. His hair was cropped short at the sides and left a little longer on top
and artfully styled with hair gel. His suit slacks, paired with a cuff-linked
shirt and sweater vest, conveyed effortless style. His features were delicate,
almost feminine, except for the side burns and dusting of five o’clock shadow. His
voice was modulated and even, but strong. Not particularly deep; he spoke with
the articulation of a theatre actor.

She raised her eyebrows. “Who the fuck are you? And
where is Allison? Blonde girl, about yay high. Looks like she’s smuggling a
beach ball in her stomach.”

He smiled sheepishly. “Allison went into labor around
lunch time. So she’s been taken to the hospital. I’m Ryan Jeroh, her
replacement.”

Micha stood immediately. “Shit, why didn’t anyone
call me? I need to send flowers. Maybe get over there. Does her husband know to
call me when the baby’s born? An—”

He tapped his tablet. “I’ve already ordered
daisies to be sent to Mary Birch Hospital with your name on them. The card
reads, ‘When does the rug rat start working for me? Love Micha.’ I spoke to her
husband personally to see if there was anything else she needed, and he will
contact us as soon as the baby is born, at which point I’ll order balloons. I
have an order on for unisex balloons, but I understand you like to be precise,
and since they wanted to be surprised by the sex of the baby, we’ll all have to
wait.”

Micha’s mouth went a little slack. He was well
prepared. Allison was thorough. She’d gone through the list of temps herself
and selected who she thought was the best. They’d been training for weeks. When
Micha had asked to meet him, Alli said it was best that she was surprised. And
her assistant had been right. Micha didn’t generally like male assistants. Sexist
stereotypes or not, she often thought of men as linear thinkers and not great
at multitasking. Maybe she was wrong.

She sat back down. “I see you went to Roberto’s.”

“Yes. Gingerbread Latte with extra whipped cream.”

Even though it wasn’t the holiday season, she
couldn’t help herself. She loved gingerbread and peppermint lattes all year
round. “So you know my coffee order.”

He nodded brusquely. “I also plugged in the foot
massager. Allison made it clear that your feet often hurt after your dance
classes, so I had one ordered and brought in. And your meeting documents are
already on your chair. I know you like to review everything ahead of time.”

She smirked. “Ryan, I have a feeling we’re going
to get along fine.”

He gave her a dazzling grin. “I’m excited for the
opportunity, Miss Bennett. Allison spoke highly of you and said she’d learned a
lot.”

Well, if that didn’t fill her with the warm
fuzzies, she didn’t know what would. “You have the job, kid. I’m not firing you
any time soon. Now, I’ll need you to move my—”

“Two o’clock? Yes, Ma’am. Already done. I figured
it was too close to cut it, with your anticipated one-thirty return hour.”

“Oh. Uhm, I also wanted to move my eight o’clock
tomorrow to later.”

He typed quickly on his tablet. “Done. Is there
anything you would like me to move into its place?”

That was disconcerting. Shit, he was more
efficient than Jaya. And to Jaya, organization was an art form. “Yes, uhm, I
wanted to get a massage.”

“With Samantha? I’ll call it in.”

“Jesus. Are you always so efficient?”

His brows puckered. “Yes. Is there a problem?”

She chuffed a breath. “No. I think we’ll get along
fine.” Between him and Jaya, they’d have every second of her day accounted for.

“This letter came for you.” He handed her a medium-sized
manila envelope.

Micha’s heart seized when she took the envelope
and noted the return address. Walker and Associates Adoption Agency. With her
thumb, she gently stroked the lettering of the address. Did the answer to
everything she’d been looking for lie in this envelope? Would she finally find
her family? She ruthlessly squelched the flare of hope. She would not get her
hopes up again. Likely this letter said the same thing as all the others. Basically,
GFY, go fuck yourself. Mommy Dearest doesn’t want to meet
you.
Micha was probably insane to keep trying, but that lost little girl
that no one wanted still lived deep inside her, no matter how hard she tried to
exorcise her. She wanted to find her mother, and she would keep pushing until
she did. She cleared her throat and dragged her attention back to Ryan. She’d
deal with the contents later.

“Oh, and one more thing,” he added. “There were
flowers delivered for you. Right now they are still on Allison’s desk. I wasn’t
sure if you’d want them in here immediately, or if you’d want them on display
for a day.”

She chuckled. “On display—you must know a lot of
women.”

“My girlfriend likes to make sure her birthday
flowers are on full display before they start to wilt. I’ll never understand
it.” He shrugged.

She could get used to him. “Nah, bring them on in.
I could use the pick me up.”

Ryan disappeared to the outer hallway and was back
a minute later with a gorgeous purple orchid that he placed on her desk. “Anything
else you need from me?”

Yeah, can you come over and
organize my shoe closet?
“No, not right now, thank you.”

Micha checked for a card and didn’t find one. Frowning,
she touched a delicate petal. Her mind immediately went to the one person who
would even dare to send her flowers.
Caleb
. A slow,
involuntary smile tugged at her lips. Infuriating, ridiculous man. Flowers
would not make up for him dropping her on her ass.

Micha picked up the adoption agency’s envelope
again and fingered it. She knew what it would say. The news would be the same
as it had been for the past ten years. Every year she petitioned to have her birth
records unsealed, and every year she’d been denied. Her birth mother wanted it
that way.

It didn’t stop her from wishing it would be
different. Her hands trembled as she picked up her letter opener and tore the
envelope open. She held her breath as she pulled out the letter, only slowly
exhaling as she read. The weight of disappointment threatened to crush her as
she scanned the page. She would not be meeting her mother this year.

Telling herself the rejection didn’t sting anymore,
she straightened her shoulders, checked the clock, and cursed. If she didn’t
haul ass, she’d be late for the staff meeting.

***

When Micha strolled in with a minute to spare, her
boss, Miranda said, “Nice of you to show up.”

Micha slunk into her usual seat and met the gaze
of each of the senior editors. Several of them immediately looked away. She’d
learned years ago that she could brazen herself out of most situations. “Sorry,
you knew I had an appointment until 1:30.”
Chew on that,
Miranda.
Her boss was great for the most part, but when she was under
pressure, she tended to want to place the blame on other people. Micha was in
no mood. She clicked her pen over and over again, her hand still tingling from
Caleb’s warm grasp. She really had to get a grip. If she kept this up, she’d be
pining for him, staring into his apartment with a boom box raised over her
head.
Pathetic
.

“So, as you know, the WST Entertainment Group, a
subsidiary of Westhorpe Inc., has a controlling interest in SDM.”

Micha forced herself to pay attention to her boss
and not let her mind wander to the feel of Caleb’s body against hers. She
shifted uncomfortably as heat pooled in her center.

“They’ve decided to launch an entertainment
network. They plan of giving Bravo and E! an actual run for market share. They
will be looking for on-air personalities.”

Every editor in the room leaned forward in their
seats, except Micha.

Fantastic
. Now everyone
would be posturing, trying to get noticed and selected for an online
personality job. Most of them had some experience. Many of them consulted and
did some pieces for the local news channels, but that was nothing like being
the consistent on-air personality.

The competitor in Micha stood at attention and
started cracking her neck and her fingers, shaking out her legs, preparing for
the race of a lifetime. But the practical woman in her knew better. A position
like that was too exposed, and she’d invite all kinds of hell back into her
life. She’d worked much too hard to keep her life nice and normal. If she went
on-air, someone would dredge up the past and find out about New York and why
she’d run. The gossips would pick and poke at her personal life. And worse, she’d
be opening the door for crazy to stroll back in.
No thank
you.

Her inner competitor scowled, but sat down. Self-preservation
was better than winning any day.

Miranda continued as if she didn’t see her senior
editors posturing for attention. “There is a short list for consideration,
based on the kinds of stories you’ve done, your exposure to entertainment
clients, and your history here. I don’t have to tell you how critical this role
will be. Once we prove ourselves with one show, there will be more.”

Micha raised a hand.

“Yes, Micha?”

“Is the position in San Diego or L.A.?”

“Both. Since we are stationed here, and there is a
cost benefit to dealing with permits in San Diego, as much that can be done
here, will be done here. Like production. Interviews and coverage will
obviously be in L.A.”

Her inner competitor pouted, but she accepted the
truth. Even if she wanted a job like this, which she didn’t, her past would
catch up to her, and she didn’t need that kind of hell.

“The producers would like to speak to Elena, Ryan,
and Micha for on-air testing.”

Micha shook her head to clear it and make sure she’d
heard correctly. “Say what?”

Miranda rolled her eyes. “Yes, you heard your
name.”

Inner competitor did a booty dance. “You can pick
someone else. I’m not interested.”

Miranda’s eyes went wide as she stared at her. “You
can’t be serious.”

Micha crossed her arms. “You heard me. Put someone
else in the running.”

Her boss scowled. “We can discuss after the
meeting.”

Fantastic
. Everyone
looked at her like she was nuts. Maybe she was, but she had her reasons.

***

Beckett Mills slapped Caleb on the shoulder. “I’d
say on a scale from one to dreadful that probably went over as well as a steak
in a dog fight.”

Caleb rolled his eyes as Beckett let go of Ricca
long enough to poke at him. “Relax Beckett, I’m wearing her down.” Caleb knew
how to be patient. Knew how to wait. He could wait Micha out.

“It’s only taken you two years.”

Caleb smiled. “It’s a slow burn.”

Beckett grinned. “Is that anything like the
heartburn I get when I eat at that diner around the corner? ‘Cause I have to
tell you—”

Caleb playfully nudged him out of the way as he
picked up his gym bag. “Don’t you have anything better to do? Maybe a job to go
back to?”

“Funny thing is, this is my week off. I’m free as
a bird unless Alec calls me in.”

Bemused, Caleb drew his head back. “You managed to
say that without any venom. Do I detect a hint of progress?” Alec and Beckett
had started off on the wrong foot when Alec had come into Jaya’s life, but now
that the two of them worked more closely together, they’d even started to
become friends. It made Caleb’s life easier not having to be in the middle all
the time.