Butch was waiting curbside with the same smile on his face. They climbed inside the car and Troy told him they were going to the Standard Hotel. Butch nodded and headed for the Meatpacking District.
Before long, they arrived at the venue and walked inside together. Troy summoned the elevator and stood back while she stepped inside. She couldn’t help noting that this was the infamous elevator where Solange had kicked Jay Z’s ass. Again Troy admired her hourglass figure in the curve-hugging Chanel.
“I love this place,” Crystal said.
He followed her in and eyed her as the elevator doors closed. He felt an indescribable attraction to her that had him standing there doing his best to resist the urge to pin her to the wall and stick his tongue in her mouth.
He cleared his throat. “Thanks for joining me tonight,” he said.
She looked at him at last. “I’m glad I came.”
Troy watched her hungrily. She fidgeted a bit, unnerved a bit by his clear attraction toward her. She tingled under his gaze. There was so much unspoken passion and intensity bubbling between them.
The elevator finished its ascent to the top of the eighteen-story building, and they stepped out into the bustling activity of the Boom Boom Room. Crystal looked around and was visibly fascinated by what she saw. The invitation-only event was packed with fabulous, seemingly wealthy people. As she looked around, she caught sight of a few celebrities. Singer Andra Day, stylist and fashion maven June Ambrose, and all around Mr. Entertainment himself, Nick Cannon. The whole venue felt sexy and it pulsated with the presence of important people. It was clear that Dru had pulled out all the stops for this party. The band was going hard and Crystal began to dance without realizing it. She was shocked to see that the Roots were playing, one of her favorite bands. They had the crowd on their feet, dancing, laughing, and enjoying themselves. It was hard not to stop and stare as they entered. But Troy made a beeline for Dru, who was standing at the far end of the room. Impressed, Crystal followed.
The crowd cheered as the legendary Roots crew went in, playing their hearts out. The event was littered with famous names in the fields of publishing, music, sports, and politics. Everywhere their gazes fell, a cluster of established household names mingled with more obscure media professionals. It was an exclusive gathering of their counterparts in the magazine and news fields as well as well-known celebrities and their handlers. She and Troy greeted Dru and he introduced Crystal to his wife, Lisa. He also introduced them to two other men nearby who turned out to be the investors he was trying to impress.
“I’ve been telling Mike and Alan here about the plans we have to take Stuart Mitchell even higher. We have a lot of growth opportunities on the table. If we take advantage of the right ones, the results could be staggering.”
Troy nodded. “I like to think of myself as a numbers guy, but Dru makes me look like an amateur. Since he came on board, Stuart Mitchell has already profited. He delivers.” He shook his head. “But I’m sure he don’t need me to sing his praises. Dru does a good enough job of that all by himself.”
The men all laughed, aware that there was some truth in Troy’s joke. Dru smiled at his friend.
“Troy’s dad is about to run for city council. I think Troy should follow in his footsteps. He could make it all the way to the White House.” Dru chuckled.
Troy laughed hard at that. “Too many skeletons in my closet. I’m not a Boy Scout like Barack.”
Crystal raised an eyebrow.
Dru laughed. He looked at Crystal. “I’m sorry. How rude of me, Crystal. We should introduce you to these guys.”
Troy agreed. “This is the person you all need to get familiar with. Crystal Scott is editor in chief at Hipster magazine. She’s spent the past couple of days showing me why the magazine is leading the competition in newsstand sales, subscriptions, and in ad sales. If anybody is responsible for the profits investors like you have been enjoying, it’s Crys.”
She smiled, flattered. “Thank you, Troy.” Looking at the investors, she turned on the charm. “The best is yet to come. My team and I have some great ideas for how we can advance the brand. I think you’ll be pleased.”
The investors peppered her with questions about her experience as editor in chief. She answered them and asked a few questions of her own about their investment portfolios and their level of risk. She confessed that she was an amateur investor herself and was interested in learning more. Mike and Alan ate that up and their conversation was effortless.
Crystal was in her element. In her role at the magazine, she attended parties like this on the regular. She caught herself enjoying herself more than usual this time, though. As she chatted with the company’s investors and her new bosses, she felt more confident and comfortable in her own skin than she ever had before. She wasn’t sure if it was the music, the drinks she’d enjoyed earlier, or Troy’s company that had her feeling this way. At the moment, it didn’t matter. She felt alive.
Troy stared at her as she spoke. The moment there was a lull in the conversation, he pounced. “I’m gonna steal her away.” He took her by the hand. “Dance with me.” He smiled, his eyes sparkling in the light.
She followed him to the dance floor and two-stepped with him. He was playful and light on his feet. The Roots were on fire and the dance floor was crowded. His hands encircled her waist as he spun her around. She thought she felt his palm sweep across her ass as she turned, but she wasn’t sure. Then he was facing her and she was pressed close against him, their faces merely inches apart. He grinned.
“I like you.”
She could feel his hand tightly gripping the small of her back. She could also feel the girth of his woody. “I can tell.”
He smiled, encouraged by the fact that she wasn’t pulling away.
“Let’s get out of here,” he suggested. His voice was a husky baritone as his eyes bore into hers. He had a room key in his pocket that he was praying she would want to use.
She smiled at him. The offer was tempting. Troy was handsome, his body was right, and he had charm and power. Crystal found everything about him attractive. But he was her boss. And, even bigger than that, he was the type of guy who expected her to fall into his arms the way that all the other women had. She wasn’t about to play into his hands.
“No,” she whispered softly. “That wouldn’t be a good idea.”
He stared at her for several silent moments before his lips spread into a playful grin.
“But you want to. Right?”
She watched the way his eyes danced as he spoke. This was a game to him. A game that he was accustomed to winning. She smiled back at him.
“I want a lot of things,” she answered.
“Troy,” a voice called. Even with the party in full swing around them, the voice cut through the noise. There was a hint of alarm in its tone.
They both turned in the direction of the voice, and Troy’s eyes widened at the sight of his fiancée. Vanessa Nolan stepped toward them in a curve-hugging electric blue dress that revealed a flawless figure. She was gorgeous.
Despite her beauty, Vanessa’s expression was unnerving. She looked at Crystal icily, then turned her attention to Troy.
“Who is this?” she asked, nodding in Crystal’s direction.
Troy let go of Crystal then and instinctively took a step back. Crystal smiled at Vanessa, despite the fact that she looked pissed.
“Vanessa, this is Crystal Scott. She’s the editor in chief at Hipster magazine.” He cleared his throat. “We’re working together now. So I brought her here to meet some of our investors.”
Vanessa’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she said nothing.
Crystal extended her hand and waited for the woman to take it. Reluctantly, Vanessa shook it.
“Troy has told me a lot about you,” Crystal lied. “Congratulations on your engagement.”
Vanessa seemed to relax then. “Thank you.”
“Dru didn’t tell me you were coming.” Troy seemed genuinely confused by her presence there.
“He didn’t invite me.” Vanessa gestured toward the bar. “I came with my mother. Your dad told her there was a party here tonight. And you know she loves a party.”
Troy and Crystal looked in the direction of the bar and had no problem locating her. Roxy Nolan stood with a drink in one hand and some man’s tie in the other. She seemed to be telling a story, demonstratively, evidenced by the small crowd gathered around her. Roxy appeared to be reveling in the attention, laughing giddily at her own tale. She spotted her daughter with Troy and a mystery woman and headed in their direction. Her audience seemed disappointed as they watched her go.
Troy smiled at his future mother-in-law as she headed in their direction. “I thought your parents were flying to L.A. tomorrow.”
“They are,” Vanessa said. “But not until the afternoon. Daddy is meeting with your uncle in the morning. Then I’m taking them to Teterboro.”
Roxy was at their side in moments. Crystal thought she looked even more beautiful than she did in all the magazines she had seen her in while growing up. She had thought Roxy Nolan was the most gorgeous woman alive. Seeing her now, well into her sixties, not much had changed.
“Troy! We were wondering where you were.” Roxy planted a big kiss on Troy’s cheek and linked her arm through his. She turned her attention to Crystal, flashing her beauty queen smile. “Hello,” she sang.
Troy chuckled a bit. “Crys, this is the infamous Roxy Nolan, Vanessa’s mother.” He looked a bit embarrassed at the moment. “Roxy, this is Crystal Scott, editor in chief at Hipster.”
Roxy looked impressed. “Wow. Pretty and smart, huh?”
Crystal smiled. “Mrs. Nolan, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve followed your career for years.”
Roxy beamed. “How sweet. You can call me Roxy, darling. Everybody does.”
Crystal was smiling so hard her cheeks hurt. “Actually, Roxy, I was just speaking to my creative director, Oscar Beane, about featuring you in Hipster next year. We prepare our issues months in advance. So we would need to get started soon. But we’d love to have you come in and do an interview and a fashion spread.” She noticed the questioning look on Troy’s face and hoped that he had no objection to the idea. She couldn’t see why he would.
Roxy waved her hand modestly. But Crystal could see the delight she was trying her best to cover up. “Oh, please. I’m just an old lady now, out here trying to hold on to my husband. You should feature Vanessa by herself,” she said, nudging her daughter forward subtly. “She’s got a new swimwear line.”
Crystal feigned interest. “That’s great. Maybe a mother-daughter spread then.”
Roxy smiled. She loved that idea. “Yes! Vanessa and I can model her swimwear.”
Crystal smiled graciously. But the last thing she wanted to see was Roxy Nolan’s old ass in swimwear.
Vanessa was practically leaping with joy. “Mom, this is gonna be so much fun!” Vanessa looked at Crystal. “Thank you. We’ve been trying to convince Fox to let us do a feature in one of his magazines. But he said he doesn’t have…” Her eyes wandered skyward as if she expected to find the words floating there. She looked at her mother for help. “What did he call it?”
“Creative control.” Roxy adjusted the strap on her dress.
Vanessa nodded. “Yeah. So, thank you.” She smiled, her gorgeous dimples on display.
Roxy looked Crystal over from head to toe, silently sizing her up. She made a mental note to look into the background of this Crystal Scott. “How soon can we get started?”
Crystal shrugged. “I leave that sort of thing to Oscar. I know he’ll be excited to work with both of you. I want you to meet him.” She fished around in her bag and produced a business card. She handed it to Roxy. She reached back inside her bag and retrieved one for Vanessa, too.
Troy stepped forward as Vanessa reached for the business card. It seemed like he wanted to intercept it, but Vanessa was too fast. She snapped it up before he could reach for it.
“Wow,” he said, watching Vanessa tuck the card into her bag. “Yeah, Crys has a lot of good ideas.”
Crystal looked at him and smirked. His tone of voice said that he didn’t like the idea one bit. She decided that it was probably time to go.
“Listen, Troy,” she said. “Thank you for inviting me tonight. It was great to meet the investors and to talk about the magazine’s future. I’m going to head home and get ready for a full day tomorrow.” She smiled at both ladies. “It was wonderful to meet you both. I look forward to featuring you in Hipster!”
Roxy showered Crystal with air-kisses. She closed her eyes behind the older woman’s back.
“Lovely meeting you, dear! Let’s do lunch soon!” Roxy sang.
Vanessa was far less dramatic. “Nice to meet you, Crystal,” she said simply.
Crystal nodded. She looked at Troy and saw the look of disappointment on his face. She wondered again what was really going on in his personal life. It was clear that his pretty fiancée didn’t have his full attention. Crystal told herself that it wasn’t her business. She plastered on a smile, bid them all good night, and headed toward the infamous elevator. She had a lot to ponder on the way back to Brooklyn.