Jonas forced out a laugh from his tight chest, but it only succeeded in widening his huntress’s smile. “I’m not afraid, but you have that look in your eyes again.”
“What look?”
“That I-can-eat-anyone-alive-and-still-have-room-for-dessert look.”
She stopped at his desk and set down her briefcase. “Relax. I’m not going to bite...unless you want me to?”
An image of a naked Toni crawling on top of him and nibbling at his bare flesh sent a delicious shiver down his spine.
“Ooh. Is that a spark I see?” she asked.
Horror of all horrors, Jonas felt an embarrassing heat rush up the column of his neck and then burst into his face. He was blushing. The woman actually made him blush.
Toni laughed and finally settled into a chair across from his desk. “All right, dimples. I’ll take it easy on you. As much fun as this is, I didn’t come here for a lunchtime quickie or even for a reunion.”
Still suffering from the room’s rising heat, Jonas leaned back in his leather chair, fingered his collar and wished the blood pulsing in both heads would ease. “What did you come here for?”
“Business.” She reached for her briefcase and pulled out some papers. “You’re being sued.”
Ophelia loved being married, but loved being a mother even more. As she strolled through the doors of T&B Entertainment, wearing a wide smile and bouncing baby Imani on her hip, Paula leaped up from behind the reception desk and led the charge to surround Ophelia and coo silly baby talk at the newborn.
“She’s so adorable. How old is she now?”
“Seven months,” Ophelia boasted proudly. “She’s looks more and more like her father every day.”
Paula leaned back and studied Imani cramming her fist into her mouth. “She might have his nose and cheeks but she definitely has your eyes.”
Ophelia flushed, but continued to beam at her bundle of joy while more women at the record label, which were most of the employees, tickled, pinched and kissed Imani.
“We’ve come to take my adorable husband to lunch, please tell me he’s not in some stuffy meeting.”
A few of the women gave cursory glances at each other that pricked Ophelia’s curiosity. “Is something wrong?”
“Oh, no,” Paula covered, but obviously no one ever told her she was a bad liar. “Um, he should be up in his office. I’ll just buzz Chelsea and let her know you’re on your way up.”
“Mmm. Okay.” Ophelia glanced to the other women; however, they all suddenly got very busy and had to rush off for one thing or another. None of this was a good sign and it instantly had Ophelia suspecting bad news.
And she was right.
“Jonas did what?” she thundered incredulously.
An angry Solomon paced the length of his office and Ophelia swore she saw steam billowing from his ears. “You should have warned me about how vindictive this man is. He can’t have you so he’s decided to go after my company!”
Hearing her father’s angry tone, Imani scrunched her face and began to cry.
Ophelia immediately huddled her daughter close to comfort her.
Instantly contrite, Solomon stopped his angry prowl and went to his favorite girls. “Oh, my baby.” He held out his arms and Imani reached for him. The moment she was in his arms, the crying stopped.
Ophelia rolled her eyes and pretended to be wounded. “She’s going to be a spoiled daddy’s girl.”
“Yeah.” Solomon grinned at his wife. “Just like her mother.”
After giving him a playful pop on the shoulder, Ophelia returned back to the business at hand. “Did he say why he bought shares of the company?”
Tensing but maintaining his smile, Solomon continued to bounce his daughter in his arms. “It’s pretty obvious why, don’t you think?”
“Well, I just can’t believe that he would be malicious about what happened...I mean we both stopped the wedding because I...” She sighed. “Maybe I should go talk to him?”
“Over my dead body,” Solomon roared.
Imani started crying again.
“Oh, Daddy’s sorry.” Solomon cooed, and kissed his baby’s forehead. Again, the tears stopped instantly. “You,” he said pointedly at his wife, “stay away from that jerk. Marcel and I will handle it. Hinton has another thing coming if he thinks this is just going to be another company he collects and plays puppet master.”
“He’s actually a pretty good businessman,” Ophelia said, and then realized her mistake.
“Are you defending him now?”
“Of course not.” She tried to win him over with an innocent smile. “I’m just saying...”
“What?”
Noticing the hardening of her husband’s jaw, Ophelia recognized a lost cause when she saw it. “Nothing. You’re right. Jonas has definitely crossed the line on this.”
Solomon didn’t respond. He just studied her as if he’d never seen her before.
Ophelia continued to smile to get back in his good graces. “Anyway, Imani and I were hoping you could join us for lunch. Diana had to back out to take her grandmother to a doctor’s appointment.
Solomon sighed with regret. “I wish I could but Marcel and I have a one o’clock conference call with Dawson Smith at Warner.”
“Oh. Well, okay. I guess it’s just you and me, Imani.” She reached for her daughter, but she turned away to stay in her father’s arms.
“I’m sorry, honey, but we have to get to the bottom of this and see what our options are.”
Ophelia clamped her mouth shut.
“Rain check?” he asked.
“Of course. Your credit is always good with me.” She kissed him soundly on the lips. “I hope this doesn’t mean you’ll be working late,” she whispered. “I have a little sumpthin’ sumpthin’ planned tonight.”
“Oh?” Solomon’s brows lifted. “Do I get a hint what this surprise entails?”
Ophelia slyly pecked his lower lip. “Well, it might involve cherries, whip cream and...” She nibbled on the side of his lips “...a blindfold.”
A wide smile slid across Solomon’s face as he covered one of Imani’s ears. “We shouldn’t talk of such things in front of the b-a-b-y.”
“Mum’s the word.” She winked. “I’ll see you at home.” She finally extracted her daughter from her cocoon and had to soothe her instant tears. However, during her exit out of T&B Entertainment, her mind wandered back to Jonas.
“Hold on, honey,” she told to her daughter as she strapped her into the car seat. “We have one more stop before we head out to lunch.”
Chapter 6
“What?” Jonas jumped to his feet, forgetting about his monster hard-on. “Who’s suing me?”
Toni’s gaze lowered to his impressive tented pants, and then climbed back up in time to see the blood drain from Jonas’s face. “You like me. You really, really like me.”
Jonas lowered himself back into his chair, shifting the power ball back into her court. “Who is suing me?”
“Actually the suit is against the owners of T&B Entertainment. Imagine my surprise when I saw your name listed on the suit as part owner.” She cocked her head. “I guess you couldn’t let sleeping dogs lie?”
Fascination shifted to irritation and Jonas’s eyes narrowed. “It’s strictly business.”
She smiled and called him on the lie. “No it’s not.”
“Then how about it’s none of your business?” he asked instead.
“Ah, just like a man. You reel me in and then you shut me out.” She tossed up her hands. “C’est la vie. But you’re still being sued.”
“And I’m still waiting to find out by whom.”
“An ex-employee of T&B Entertainment, Nora Gibson. She filed a wrongful-termination suit.”
Jonas rolled the name around his head. “I know her,” he said, thinking. “I met her at Marcel and Diana’s wedding. She sort of puts me in mind of a piranha.”
“I’d prefer if you would reframe from calling my c
lient names.”
Rolling his eyes, Jonas reached for the papers Toni had flung on his desk. “What? She filed this suit in L.A.?”
“No.”
He lifted a brow as he casually flipped through the pages. “Then how did she hire you?”
“Not that it’s any of your business but I live in Atlanta now.”
“Kaplan, Grey & Kaplan must be disappointed.”
“But I’m ecstatic, and that’s all that matters.” She took a seat in one the chairs in front of his desk and slowly crossed her legs.
Jonas watched her long limbs like a starved man before a Thanksgiving feast while a thousand questions raced through his mind. Were her legs as soft as they looked? What would they look like wrapped around his waist? His shoulders?
Toni’s light laughter snapped him out his daydream and for the second time, he blushed.
“One million to make the suit go away,” she said.
It was Jonas’s turn to laugh and he did so with a hearty gusto. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I don’t kid about such things,” she informed him with a leveled stare. “Believe me, you’re getting off easy.”
Jonas quirked his brow; but when the attractive attorney remained serious, his inner voice shouted for him to take the deal. “I’ll need time to review the case.”
“Certainly.” Toni climbed back onto her feet and wasted no time heading toward the door. “It was great seeing you again.”
“Same here.” With his pants still tented in high salute, Jonas remained seated, but experienced a rush of disappointment to see her leave.
“You know,” she tossed over her shoulder as she sashayed toward the door, “acts of revenge never pan out.” She paused after opening the door. “I thought you were over her?”
Just like that, Jonas’s irritation returned. “We went over this. It’s none of your business.”
Toni shrugged. “Good luck.” She glided out of his office with a nod toward Jonas’s assistant. However, on her way to the elevator bay, she grumbled about Hinton’s hardheadedness. This Ophelia chick must have really be something to work a number him like this. Actually, she didn’t know whether to admire or be jealous of the woman.
The elevator doors slid open and an attractive woman, pushing a baby stroller, emerged.
“Excuse me.” The woman stopped her. “Could you tell me which office is Jonas Hinton Enterprises?”
“Oh, yes.” Toni smiled. “I just left there. If you turn down that hallway over there,” she pointed, “it’s the last office at the end of the hall.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.” Toni turned back to the elevator, but the doors had slid close and she had to punch the down button again. A minute later, the second elevator’s door opened and she rushed to jump inside before the fast doors closed on her again. Unfortunately, she jumped right into the arms of a man, exiting.
“Whoa, there.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” She laughed and then glanced up. She gasped at the man who could have easily passed as Jonas’s twin, except for his thin, groomed goatee.
The elevator doors closed.
“No need to apologize,” he said; his gaze traveled down the length of her frame. “It’s not every day a beautiful woman leaps into my arms.”
“I find that hard to believe.” She flirted back.
“Going down?” he asked.
Toni’s brows rose.
“I meant, are you were going down to the lobby,” he clarified with a nervous laugh.
“Oh, well. In that case, yes, I am.”
He punched the L button and turned back toward her. “Sterling Hinton.” He thrust out a hand. “And you are?”
Toni eyed the hand and the man before deciding to roll with it. “Toni Wright.” She eased her hand into his just as the elevator jerked to a stop.
Toni dropped her briefcase and crashed back into Sterling. “What on earth?”
The lights flickered overhead.
“I think we have a situation,” Sterling announced, and proceeded to jab the lobby button again. “We’re stuck.”
A loud groan filled the small compartment above them and Toni’s heart leapt. “Please tell me that’s not the cable cords.”
To Sterling’s credit he remained calm during the crisis and looked her in the eye. “Actually, I’m embarrassed to say that it may be my stomach. I haven’t eaten today.”
Toni laughed, her fear dissipated. “It’s not wise to skip meals.”
“No?” he asked with a lifted brow. “Then I should definitely rectify the problem. Care to join me?” A deep smile stretched across his face. “You can make sure I eat all my vegetables.”
Her smile grew. “I think I can handle that.” She glanced at her watch. “If we get out of here any time soon.”
On cue, the elevator jerked.
Gasping, Toni clutched Sterling’s arm, but then sighed in relief when the elevator began its slow descent to the lobby.
“Well look at that,” he joked. “This must be a sign.”
She smiled and gave him another glance over. “Must be.”
Ophelia stopped in the restroom to give Imani a quick diaper change. After washing up and checking herself in the mirror, she realized she was nervous. The last time she’d seen Jonas was at the altar of their wedding.
He had looked so crushed and heart broken...but he let her go, even though she knew he didn’t want to.
She checked her appearance again, frowned at the extra ten pounds that hung around her waist but then chided herself before she started obsessing over it.
“All right,” she said to her reflection. “You can do this.”
But she didn’t move.
When Imani squeezed her stuffed Leap Frog and the alphabet jingle echoed off the bathroom tiles, Ophelia finally jarred out of her reverie and marched out of the bathroom. However, the moment her hand turned the office door, a nest of butterflies fluttered in her stomach.
Michelle sat at her desk, her fingers flying over her keyboard while she talked simultaneously into her headset. However, all movement ceased when she looked up at the office’s new visitor.
Ophelia fluttered a nervous smile. The two women were more than acquainted. Ophelia was Jonas’s employee before she was his runaway bride.
“Hello, Michelle,” she greeted, forcing more cheerfulness than was necessary. Her first sign that things weren’t going to go so well was when the woman didn’t respond. Instead, she just glanced her over her like Ophelia was some troublesome loiterer and she was debating whether to call the police. “Um, is Jonas in?”
“Tariq, let me call you back,” Michelle punched a button and removed her headset. “Actually, you just missed him.”
“Oh.” Ophelia glanced down at the stroller, reeling from the woman’s coldness. “Well, um, can you at least tell him that I stopped by?”
Michelle stared pointedly at her. “Sure thing.”
An awkward silence lapsed between the women before Ophelia maneuvered the stroller around and headed back out of the door.
“Michelle, contact Marcel Taylor...”
Ophelia froze at the sound of Jonas’s voice, and then slowly glanced over her shoulder. Not surprising, her ex-fiancé was as handsome as ever and his sudden presence dominated the room. She expected to experience a ripple of guilt when she saw him again, but what she got instead was a tidal wave.
Jonas’s shocked gaze roamed over her as if he didn’t trust his eyes.
“Jonas,” she whispered, and then shot an accusatory glare at Michelle. “You are here.”
Undaunted at being caught in a lie, Michelle returned her attention to her computer and gave a lousy performance of minding her own business.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, finding his voice.
Ophelia drew a deep breath and summoned a small batch of courage. “I came to ask you to back off.”
Toni rewarded Sterling with a smile when he held out her chair
for her at Houston’s. Chivalry should not be over looked in this day and age and so far Jonas’s younger brother had it in spades.
“This must be my lucky day,” he said, taking his seat. “A trip to one of my favorite cities and now lunch with a beautiful woman.”
“Handsome and charismatic,” she noted. “I must be experiencing a little luck myself.” When he flashed a smile, she experienced small jolt of disappointment that he didn’t inherit his older brother’s adorable dimples.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
“Um, no.” She made a half attempt to wave off his concerns. “I was just thinking...forgive me.”
Sterling grimaced. “If your mind is wandering then that means that I should double up on the charm.” He leaned toward her. “Has anyone ever told you that your eyes sparkle like diamonds?”
Cheesy but cute.
“And you’re even more beautiful when you smile?”
Toni marveled over the differences between the two brothers. Whereas Jonas was guarded and even a bit moody, Sterling was open and available. However, try as she might, she couldn’t get herself to stop comparing the two and preferring the eldest.
With Jonas she was boldly flirtatious, with Sterling she felt reserved and dared she say: stifled?
Sterling struck her more as a model Boy Scout-too good to be true.
After the waiter appeared and then reappeared with their drink order, Sterling continued to pile on the compliments and winning so many brownie points that Toni accepted a second date.
When one door closes another one opens, right?
Feel The Fire (Unforgettable Series) Page 4