The city of romance …
Lake sipped his café au lait while eating his croissant and watching the tourists and Parisians walking by. Maybe it was his imagination, but everyone seemed to be in couples; not only that, but they were also hugged up, snuggled up close, even in the warm weather as they maneuvered through the maze of streets. Paris was a city used to celebrating love and romance. It set the mood, opened the doors to passion.
He was still thinking about Courtney Andrews. He had yet to officially meet her, but he couldn’t dismiss her from his mind. The very idea that after a full week he would be sitting at a café with thoughts of one particular woman was simply startling. And so unlike him.
Of course, he was practically married to his business,
but that hadn’t stopped him from seeking out female companionship when there was a need. Most of the women he dated found his personality challenging. He knew what he wanted in life, and no feminine wiles could steer him from his goal. Numerous had tried. All had failed.
The thought that he was fast approaching forty and not involved in a committed relationship didn’t bother him. The fact that he was the only one of his four brothers without a wife meant nothing. He operated on a different drive, his own unique way of both doing and looking at things. If he wanted something, he got it. He didn’t waste time analyzing, dissecting, or evaluating. Once he made his mind up about something, that was it. And he was not the nitpicky type. He was a person who didn’t mind being tested. To his way of thinking, that only sharpened his predatory skills.
Smiling, he thought he could definitely come up with his own ideas about any given subject, which was probably why the advertisement business was his calling. Being creative, he’d discovered very early in life, was his forte. More often than not, he had to tamp down his enthusiasm and remind himself he had a very skilled and experienced team that he had groomed to take Masters Unlimited just where he wanted it to go.
But still, he enjoyed getting back into the thick of things every once in a while. Check out the market to see where it was going and to make sure his company was right there in the forefront, no matter where it led. And when it came to acquiring accounts that were as significant as Falconer Cosmetics, he couldn’t help but take a personal
interest, which was why he was in Paris. He glanced at his watch. It was time to take care of business.
A few hours later, he was sitting in the office of Tammi Grier, one of Falconer’s top executives. Tammi was intent on mixing business with pleasure. He figured that out the moment she’d accepted his handshake. There had been something about the way she gripped his hand, hesitated in letting it go with a keen look of interest in her ebony eyes. She was about thirty-six, tall, attractive, shapely, and from all accounts, a dynamic force when it came to the cosmetics business.
There was no doubt in his mind she was an easy mark and wanted him to know it. If he were to take her up on what she was offering, he would be relieving himself of eight months of going without. And he bet she had no qualms as far as him taking care of the matter right here in this office, probably right smack on her desk if he so desired.
He didn’t.
Although he had a sharp sense of the sexually charged air surrounding them, he had a rule not to mix business with pleasure. And it was a rule he stuck to. It could be costly if things didn’t work out the way one of the parties thought they should. He’d rather make deals in the office, not the bedroom. Besides, with Tammi he was being hunted, and he much preferred the role of the hunter.
That made his thoughts shift to Courtney Andrews again. He had considered finding out her address and sending her flowers with a card that would simply inform her that she had a secret admirer. But instead he decided
to wait until he returned to Orlando for them to be introduced properly before making his interest known.
He leaned back in the chair and turned his attention to the matter at hand. “So, what do you think of the proposal?” he asked Tammi, mainly because the room had gotten quiet. She had stopped reading the documents a while ago and had begun studying him instead with the intensity of someone trying to acquire his innermost secrets. A trace of her perfume hung on the air, a sensuous scent, and no doubt one of Falconer’s own brands.
The company she represented had expanded to include a clothing line, a designer label Falconer wanted to promote worldwide. Masters Unlimited had been hired to take them to that level. Already the tone of the ad had been set for something sophisticated, edgy, and in your face. The target market was women of all ages, but the prominent hit was women between the ages of twenty-five and forty. The Falconer Woman was to become as popular as the Marlboro Man had years ago.
“I think it’s more than we anticipated,” she responded in a sultry voice. “But then I’m not surprised. I’d heard you were a man known to deliver.”
Lake took in her meaningful expression, along with her suggestive words and shrugged. “I try. I don’t believe in giving any less than one hundred percent.” And to let her know he was speaking strictly of business, he added, “And I expect the same of anyone who works for me.”
She nodded. “I understand you’re related to Alexia Bennett-Masters.”
She had shifted topics on him, which was fine, since
he intended to keep up with her. You could never let a woman of Tammi Grier’s caliber think she had your mind screwed up or your reasoning twisted into knots. “Yes, Alexia is married to my brother Quinn.”
“And what does he do for a living?”
He wondered why she wanted to know, but decided to answer anyway. “He’s an entertainment attorney in Los Angeles. In fact, that’s how they met.”
Her eyes raked over him slowly, as if she was still looking for a crack in his armor. “Did you know she’s here in Paris performing?”
No, he hadn’t known that. Alexia was a nationally known recording artist whose songs were legendary in becoming number-one hits on the R & B charts. The last time he’d talked to Quinn, his brother had mentioned she would be doing an international tour but hadn’t said in what countries Alexia would be performing.
“No, I didn’t,” he finally answered, and hoped she wasn’t fishing to accompany him to one of Alexia’s concerts on a date. And just in case she was, he added, “In that case, I need to find out what hotel she’s staying at and invite her to have dinner with me.”
He watched her purse her lips. Even with her boldness, she wouldn’t lower her pride to include herself in a threesome. She had too much class for that.
“Can I interest you in a drink after we finish up business here today?”
Her question made him smile. She was determined not to give up, and he was just as determined that she do so. But still, to maintain a smooth working relationship
and not ruffle her feathers, he decided sharing a drink with her wouldn’t hurt matters. In fact, it might help them. Even with her man-eating demeanor, she was still good at what she did at Falconer. The old man was her uncle. Family ties, he knew, were what they were.
“Yes, you can interest me in that,” he answered smoothly, with a smile.
A grin touched the corners of her lips, and her hot-and-heavy gaze was still intent on him. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that she thought them sharing a drink would be just the beginning. She had two weeks to break down his resistance before he returned to the States. There was no doubt in his mind that she was determined to work it with everything she had.
The corner of his own mouth twitched. She could definitely take pleasure in trying.
“You were wonderful tonight, Alexia,” Lake said as his eyes roamed over the strikingly beautiful woman who was married to his brother. He had been escorted backstage to her dressing room the moment she performed her last song.
“Thanks, Lake,” she said, leaning up and kissing him on the cheek. “Quinn didn’t mention you would be in Paris.”
“Only because the last time we talked, our conversation was rushed. I think he was trying to get the boys out of the house to day-care.”
Alexia laughed, and Lake thought the sound was just
as smooth and silky as what came out of her mouth whenever she performed. “Bennett and Blake are handfuls and keep us on our toes. But then Quinn is such a wonderful father. I wouldn’t be able to go on tour like I do without him. It’s good knowing how well he can hold things down on the home front, but I miss my guys, though.”
Lake heard the profound love in her voice for her four-year-old twin sons and for his brother, as well. Considering what she did for a living, she and Quinn had a good marriage, a sturdy one. For years, long marriages never seemed to work in the Masters family. His paternal grandmother had been married three times, and his paternal grandfather was on his fifth wife. That’s why his generation of Masterses had vowed not to marry until they were sure they had found the right mate. He was proud to say that his brothers had married wisely.
“So when are you coming back out to L.A.? Your nephews are dying to see you again.”
Alexia knew the best way to get to him was through the kids. He was considered the fun uncle to all his nieces and nephews because he knew how to do magic tricks, something he’d picked up from one of his roommates in college who had a knack for it. “Once I’ve come up with a few new routines. Don’t want to bore them with the old ones.” He laughed. “Last time I think Bennett was on to me.”
“That wouldn’t surprise me,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “Blake sleeps through anything, but Bennett misses nothing. Now, how about joining me in a late dinner? I’d love the company. Besides, I want to hear about all the things you’ve been doing since I last saw you.”
“You’ll be bored to tears.”
She smiled and patted his arm affectionately. “I’ll take my chances.”
He couldn’t hold back his grin. She intended to pump him for information she could pass on to his other two sisters-in-law, Faith and Brandy. The three of them thought his days as a single man were numbered—or should be, anyway. “Are you sure about that?”
“I am.”
“Then I’d love joining you.”
“Why me, Toni?”
Peggy Morrison stopped pacing the office of her boss and friend, Antonia Siplin, not sure she could handle what she was being asked to do.
“Because you are the logical person to do it, Peg. We both know you’re here, working away in the media office, getting lost in the shuffle when your real level of expertise lies in public relations. And I need to utilize that expertise to make sure Willie Baker understands just what we’re all about.”
Feeling a headache of defeat coming on, Peggy dropped into a chair across from her best friend’s desk. Her friendship with Antonia went back a long way, all the way to their high school days. Toni had been there for her through thick and thin, had given her a shoulder to cry on when Joe asked for a divorce to marry a younger woman, had been the one to convince her to join Dropped Wives Anonymous when her self-esteem had plummeted so low,
she’d nearly driven everyone around her crazy. Now almost three years later, she had finally gotten her act together. She no longer blamed herself or everyone else for the breakup of her marriage. The fact that her husband had left her for a younger woman didn’t rush her to tears and bouts of hysteria as it once had. Her support group of women who’d gone through the same thing was wonderful, and because of them she now thought of a brighter future and new beginnings.
And Toni had been instrumental in hiring her when she’d been out of the workforce for more than twenty years, to take charge of the media department for Making Dreams Come True, a nonprofit organization that granted dreams to terminally ill kids.
She turned her full attention back to Toni and said, “But everyone knows what we’re about, Toni. Why is this donor being given special treatment?”
Toni flipped a mass of blond hair from her face, and her blue eyes shone with determination and dedication when she said, “Because we’re not talking about the sponsorship of a dream trip for a few of our kids. I’m talking about him footing the money to build our own amusement park here in Orlando. Can you imagine such a thing?”
Peggy smiled. Yes and no. Yes, she could imagine such a park and knew how instrumental one would be for the kids. And no, because the very thought that a single person would consider solely footing the bill for such a place went beyond her level of comprehension. “That’s a lot of money.”
Toni nodded. “Yes, and it’s either going to come to us or our sister organization in Atlanta. We want it here, and it’s important that while I’m gone Mr. Baker gets a special tour and breakdown of our facilities by someone with exemplary charm, grace, and style.”
Peggy rolled her eyes, knowing Toni was laying it on thick, or at least trying to. “There has to be someone else you can get.”
“But there’s no one else that I’d trust. My first grandchild picked the worst possible time to be born, but nothing is going to keep me from being there to see it happen, and I want to arrive in Detroit knowing everything is under control back here. So please tell me that you’ll do it.”
“Toni, I—”
“Please. Pretty please.”
Peggy released a long slow breath and then said, “Okay, I’ll do it, but you knew that I would. Didn’t you?”
Toni smiled, satisfied. “Yes, I knew that you would.”
Barbara locked her office door and went back to her desk to open the package that had been delivered to her. It was in a plain wrapper so she figured it was the video she had ordered a few weeks ago titled, Improving Your Sex Performance.
She knew she was one of those women who had sexual hang-ups. The therapist had assured her she wasn’t alone. A lot of women much preferred traditional when it came to sex, but she knew she had to change her thinking about a lot of things.
One day while at the dentist’s office, flipping through a magazine, she had come across an ad for the video and ordered it. Now it was here and she was determined to be open-minded. She would do whatever it took to spice up her performance in the bedroom if it would help keep Ron from straying.
After opening the package she saw the book that accompanied the video. She blushed after flipping through the book and seeing all the different positions for making love. Did couples actually try them? Well, she hoped to find out one day.