The plan since waking on Sunday was to do nothing but write for the next two days and make some leeway toward the deadline that loomed, but I couldn’t seem to focus on the story.
Well, that wasn’t entirely true.
Like an idiot, I thought rewriting one of the sex scenes into a fictional version of my night with Nate would squelch those memories. It didn’t. And when I kept envisioning my main character Samantha in other compromising sexual positions, some that wouldn’t push the story along in a way that made sense, I closed my laptop and gave up. I then proceeded to spend the rest of the time in my pajamas, bingeing on junk food and watching horror movies.
Today was my scheduled lunch with my agent. We tried to meet once a month, but I’d canceled on her last week, not in the right frame of mind to share details of the auction. And because I hadn’t written anything new, I dreaded today. There would be no way I would’ve gotten away with canceling again. Hopefully, the scolding I’d be sure to get from Janis would help set my thoughts back on my work.
“May I help you?” the host asked when I walked into the restaurant.
“I’m meeting Janis Steiner.”
He glanced down at his reservation book. “Ah, yes, your party is already seated. Please follow me.” We trailed our way through one side of the dining room, filled with a decent crowd for a Tuesday lunch hour, before he waved a hand at the table where Janis waited.
“Thank you,” I said, taking the chair across from her and accepting the menu he offered.
Janis raked her scrutinizing gaze over my unwashed hair, plain black top, and well-worn jeans. “You look like shit.”
I took no offense, mainly because that was how Janis was, and also because it was true. Janis and I weren’t the best of friends, but we had an honest relationship. “I didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Neither did I, but it doesn’t look like I just rolled out of bed.” When I merely blinked at her comment, she grinned. Even when Janis rolled out of bed, she was annoyingly put together. A perfectly coiffed blonde bob, expertly applied makeup, and a no doubt couture dress made me look even more homely. “Let’s order; then we can discuss why I haven’t received any additional chapters of Sinful Pleasures in two weeks.”
“Because I’m kind of stuck.”
“You need a hot man to unstuck you,” she said with her shrewd gaze skimming over the open menu.
If she only knew that was actually to the contrary.
“You ladies ready to order?”
Without asking me, Janis ordered a chicken harvest salad and an iced tea before I requested the same. No sooner had the waiter walked away than she leaned on her elbows and eagerly said, “So I saw the auction coverage on TV.” Having avoided it myself, I was afraid to hear the details. “Amazing turnout! They interviewed the Runnels, and they were extremely intrigued by a bid that was the talk of the night. Shit, Aim.” Her brown eyes bugged out inside their sockets. “Twenty thousand dollars? What the hell?”
“I know. It was unbelievable.”
“No names were offered for privacy reasons, but I recognized you immediately. Who was that masked hottie?”
“Just some guy,” I lied.
“Maybe he can be the one who will motivate you with Sinful Pleasures. When is your date?”
“Saturday.”
“Your birthday. Where is he taking you?”
“He left it up to me.” And I knew exactly where we were going, but I kept that to myself. I assumed she had paused the conversation while the waiter poured our water, but then her pale complexion reddened, and her eyes narrowed into evil slits. “What’s wrong?” I asked. Her silence forced me to turn, only to see the very man we were just discussing approach. “Fuck.”
“You know him?” Janis asked in a harsh whisper.
But before I could respond, Nate came to stand right beside me, placing a firm hand on my shoulder. I didn’t know what overwhelmed me more—his touch, the charcoal-gray suit that fit his sinful body perfectly, the amazing clean scent of his cologne, or the way he stared down at me like he could eat me for lunch. “Hello, Jersey.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Having lunch, obviously.” He dragged his gaze toward Janis and tilted his head. “Hello, Mrs. Steiner.”
She completely ignored his greeting to glare at me. “How do you know him?”
Leaving out the real connection between us, I shrugged while attempting a smile. “He’s, um… the bidder… ha ha, isn’t that funny?” My joke fell flat when her coral-tinted lips snarled as a response.
“He is who bid on you?”
“That would be me,” Nate said with conspicuous pleasure.
She leaned back and folded her arms. “I guess it makes sense, considering you have a reputation of being a pretentious prick.”
“Why thank you.” An easy grin spread before he added, “But I’ll assume you’d rather keep that assessment off the record, Mrs. Steiner?”
My focus bounced between Nate and Janis, and then it hit me. “Oh my God… he’s the lawyer Richard hired?”
I asked her, but Nate responded, “The very one.” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “And I assume Mrs. Steiner is your agent?” All I could muster was a pathetic nod.
Meanwhile, based on his smirk, Nate thought the entire situation was extremely amusing. “Well, I’ll let you get on with the bashing. Wouldn’t want to hear anything that I could hold against you, Mrs. Steiner. Enjoy your lunch.” He then moved the hand on my shoulder to the back of my neck and squeezed. A zap of electrical current reverberated directly between my legs. “I’ll see you Saturday, Jersey.” His green eyes slid over my stupid tight-fitting T-shirt before settling on my face, reminding me of what I looked like. “Let me know if it’s casual or not. I wouldn’t want to be overdressed.”
Fucker.
Janis waited until he was clear across the restaurant before hissing, “Why the hell didn’t you tell me Nate Navarro was your bidder?”
“I didn’t have a chance to. Besides, how would I know he was Richard’s attorney?” Janis had been very tight lipped over her divorce. To call their separation bitter was an understatement. She and Richard were at war.
Ignoring me, she shook her head a bit too frantically. “You need to get out of that date.”
I threw her an incredulous expression. “You know I can’t do that, Janis.”
After staring at me long and hard, thank God she finally nodded, coming to her senses. “You’re right.” I could literally see the wheels in her brain spinning. “But you can work this to our advantage.”
“How exactly?”
“A man who prides himself on his ruthless reputation when it comes to destroying marriages is a contradiction to a man who bids twenty grand on a date for a dating app’s charity auction. That’s where you come in.” The statement aligned perfectly with her devious grin.
“Janis, he doesn’t destroy marriages; he profits off ones that are in shambles. Big difference.” Her gape served only to confirm my own shock for defending him. “Forget that…” I raised both hands and shook my head, adding, “I really don’t want to get involved.”