Tantalizing in Stilettos

by Nana Malone

  Ryan’s sneering face, his hands all over her, the smell of tequila on his breath. She shook her head to clear it. No. She’d found a way to deal with that night. She wasn’t going back.

  Besides, Griffin was his protégé and bosom buddy. She made it a point to avoid Ryan when she could. The rest of the time, she was cold and aloof. And she carried pepper spray with her wherever she went. She wasn’t getting caught off guard by that asshole ever again.

  Griffin held the door open for her and gave her a dazzling smile. "Ladies first. I can’t wait to hear what Ryan has in store for us."

  Jaggar swallowed hard. She could not fail at this. Not when she was this close. Her mother couldn't be right.

  Griffin was fucking with her of course. He had no idea why Ryan wanted to see them both. Maybe news of their one-up-manship and pranks had gotten to his boss. Though that was unlikely. Competition in newsrooms was fierce, and their little battle wasn’t nearly as epic as some he'd seen before. Besides he and Ryan had been friends for years. At most, he’d get a slap on the wrist.

  Fucking with her was par for the course. Hell, she'd fucked with him on that elevator. He was still hard. And probably would be every single time he thought about her bending slightly forward, her ass rubbing against his dick, intentionally making him insane in the membrane.

  When she'd first bumped into him, he'd held it together by a thread, but then she'd been pushed further into his chest and well, she had an ass made for sin. But then she'd started to move and... well ... that happened. He didn’t even know what to call that. All he'd known was he'd gripped her hip and for one long minute on the elevator, he'd felt like they were alone in there and he'd ached so bad to just have her once and get it out of his system. Thinking maybe he'd be able to focus and be able to keep it together. But no. They'd been in public, so all he could do was hold her hips as she made his dick harder than a titanium-enforced, diamond drill bit. He wouldn’t be able to walk right for a month thanks to that stunt.

  But neither one of them spoke about what had just happened. As if it was just a figment of his imagination. But given the state of his erection, it had happened. He didn't imagine that.

  He let her into Ryan's office first. He might despise her, but he was a gentleman ... somewhat. Ladies first ... and second ... and if he was really on that night then ... fuck, focus.

  Ryan stood when Jaggar walked in. "Jaggar, Griffin. Thanks for coming."

  He and Jaggar took their seats and resolutely kept their eyes off of each other. Griffin spoke first. "What's up, Ryan? What are we both doing here?"

  The Senior Manager of Programming of TVN studied them both with a smile. "So as you know we've been looking to do an offshoot off our primetime news slot. A segment that focuses on interviews of high profile individuals. But this would be a more regular segment instead of just airing assignments as we have them. Twice a week for an hourly spot. The executives would like to have the two of you cohost it."

  The blood rushed through his head. Holy shit. He'd done it. His own show. Just like he'd always talked about. He'd done it. His father would have been so proud. But then his mind caught up with what Ryan had actually said. "What do you mean the two of us?" There was no way he was letting Little Miss More-Tits-Than-Brains encroach on his dream. He'd worked hard to get here and there was no way he was letting her in on it. "You're shitting me right? We talked about me getting my own segment. Not sharing one." Instead of getting rid of her, she was taking more and more of his pie.

  4

  Jaggar stared at first Ryan, then at Griffin. Ryan had just offered her the job of a lifetime. At least that’s what it sounded like. And Griffin had just refused to work with her. Well, the feeling's mutual. "How would this work? Would you want Griffin and I to develop the segments together or would we both get our own interview segments?"

  She was this close to the dream. She could show everyone that had ever rejected her, ever said she wasn’t good enough. If she pulled this off …

  Every moment she'd been trying to prove herself would have finally paid off.

  Ryan's gaze shifted to her. "Well, as Griffin is more senior, he'll handle the political interviews and things like that."

  She frowned, “And me, what will I handle?"

  "The human interest angle, getting to the heart of the matter."

  Her temper flared. "So, while Griffin does his hard hitting stuff, I'll ask some pop star about her love life? Is that what you mean?"

  Ryan opened his mouth as if to protest, and then shut it. "Well, not exactly, but there will be some entertainment interviews. And no one is saying you can't do the big pieces. This is just going to be more collaborative than usual. There is a seniority."

  She knew enough to read between the lines. To listen to what he was actually saying. "So Griffin is in charge and gets his pick of assignments? How is this different from the usual?"

  "For starters, it's your own show, Jaggar." He glared at her and a chill ran down her back.

  She was probably putting her career in danger, but she wasn’t just going to accept scraps. "I recognize that this is a huge opportunity, but there is no point in doing something if I don’t get to do it right. If I'm not equal partners then why bother even having me? Just keep me where I am. It doesn’t make sense."

  "Well, there's no doubt that the two of you have onscreen chemistry. We don’t even have to do a chemistry test since that interview with Moira."

  Oh brother. That had been nearly a year ago that she'd cheekily wrangled herself a spot on Griffin's stage. She’d managed to do it twice more. She loved it. But she loved it more when it made him crazy. Her gaze flickered to his handsome profile and she was relieved to see she wasn’t the only one angry about the prospect. Griffin's jaw flexed and he leaned forward in his chair, his hands clasped. "This isn’t going to work out, Ryan. We need to go back to the drawing board with an offer."

  No way she was letting him leave her out of the negotiations. "For once I agree with Griffin. It doesn’t work for me if we're not equal partners."

  Griffin snorted. "I have more seniority than you. Deal with it."

  "You might have been here longer but I have plenty of experience. This show is more mine than yours."

  Ryan put up his hands to silence them. "I realize Griff that this isn’t what you wanted or thought you were getting, but the higher-ups have been watching. Jaggar, they want to see more of you. See what you can do to work together. Look at it as a challenge."

  She avoided his gaze. "Well, I'd love it if you actually gave me a challenge so they can see what I can do." She wanted this on air job, but she'd rather show what else she could do. It would be nice to know that Senior Management believed in her, thought she could do it. You’ll be Griffin's glorified secretary. And then she did the one thing she knew she had to do, even though it broke her heart a little. "I'm sorry Ryan, I need to turn down the offer too."

  Ryan sighed. "I should have known the two of you would be stubborn. You have twenty-four hours to make your final decisions."

  She wanted this, but not like this. If they didn’t believe in her enough to make her an equal, then she didn’t want it at all.

  Griffin forced himself not to look at Jaggar as she walked away. Once he had Ryan alone, he turned to his one time mentor. "What the fuck, Ryan?"

  His friend shrugged. "I don’t know what to tell you. She’s caught someone’s eye. And you have to admit, the camera loves her. And you two do have the chemistry. Granted, you're the golden child. You should be able to fake chemistry with anyone."

  Griffin ignored the golden child comment. "This was supposed to be my job. That was the deal. I sign on to be here three years and that was what was going to happen. There was a plan."

  "I know the plan." Ryan tugged him back into his office where they couldn’t be overheard. "Look. She won’t be here long. She's right. The plan was to give her the fluff assignments. Either she runs with that, or she can stay on her current show. She won’t want
to be on your show. She'll be so miserable, she'll quit. And you know, I want her gone as much as you do. What’s good for you is good for me. If she steps a toe out of line, I'm firing her."

  Something ugly settled in Griffin's gut, weighing him down. It was one thing for he and Jaggar to undercut each other. He wanted her gone, but on her own steam. It was something else entirely if Ryan went after her. "Ryan, I don’t want the show that way."

  Ryan frowned. "You want her stealing the spotlight?"

  "You know it's never been about that for me. I've put in the work. I just thought I'd be doing it myself."

  “I know. And that was the plan. But you've always liked a challenge; you can do this. It's a test case. If it doesn’t work, you go to your usual jobs. You just have to put in some time. She won't be able to hack it and we can show insubordination and get rid of her. It's perfect. Almost as good as operation Tiffany. Remember that? Who’s always got your back, man? Forever your wing man. Not that you need me. You’re you after all."

  Griffin ignored the subtle jibe. That was just part of who Ryan was. He portrayed confidence most of the time, but Griffin knew he resented some of the automatic advantages Griffin had. It had never gotten in the way of their friendship. And once he saw how much work Griffin was wiling to put in, that resentment dissipated … mostly.

  The problem was, Griffin did remember Tiffany. She’d been a sweet girl but overly clingy. And Griffin was too young and self absorbed to know how to cut her loose without hurting her. Ryan had jumped in with a whole plan to make her walk away from him. Griffin shuddered at the thought. Ryan had always said he wasn’t behind the nasty rumors that circulated about her after a kegger where she’d had too much to drink, but she’d eventually taken the semester off, choosing to take some time off from school. Griffin had taken Ryan at his word.

  But now deeper doubt set in. This show would be a challenge, everything he dreamed of, but working with Jaggar might prove to be a problem. At the same time he didn't want her fired. Just … away. Far away. And he didn’t want any inferences to get her gone. No need for a sledgehammer when Griffin could get the gig on his own.

  He scrubbed his hands down his face. The kicker was, he didn’t even blame her for being pissed. To finally get on this level and to have everyone treat her like she didn’t deserve to be here. Even though she was less experienced, it only made sense. "Look, if I do this, know that it's because I'm looking for my own show. My own platform." He cleared his throat. "Leave Jaggar out of it. If she screws up, fair enough. But let's not go looking for reasons to fire her. No interference from you, okay? I’ve got this. On my own."

  Ryan rolled his eyes. "You blow this assignment out of the water and you can have all that. Right now, this is the show they want. Can you pull through and do that? I know it's not what you want. You let me deal with Jaggar. Don’t worry about what happens in the background. I’ve got your back."

  Griffin frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"

  His friend shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

  Except, Griffin’s nature wouldn’t just allow him to let it go. There was a part of him that didn't want her gone. He mostly just wanted her out of his head. “Ryan, do—”

  “Look, let’s agree that I’ll do what’s best for you. You’re my boy. You trust me right? You know I’m not gonna do anything that’s going to jeopardize your career.”

  “Ry—”

  His friend held up a hand. “Trust me?”

  Griffin studied his friend. They’d gone to college together, started at TVN together. Ryan had aggressively gone after a management position and he had the ear of the executives, mostly because he’d charmed the pants off of the Vice-President of Programming in the early days. She’d rewarded him, handsomely. Thing was, Griffin might not agree with Ryan’s methods, but Ryan did bust his ass. He deserved where he was as much as anyone. “All right. I trust you. I’m putting all this shit in your hands.”

  His friend nodded. “You won’t be sorry. I have a plan.”

  He ignored the gnawing in his gut. This was a stepping-stone and everything was moving in the right direction. He could do this. He could make it work. You sure about that? He could work with her. She might make him crazy, but he'd keep his eyes on the prize. Besides, Ryan had a point. She was out of her depth in a position like this. He'd have his own solo show in no time.

  Jaggar didn't waste any time. Directly from Ryan's office, she went to see her boss, but this time she took the stairs. No need to get locked in with Griffin again. Right now she needed clear focus. Thankfully, her boss was in her office.

  "Barbara, what the hell? I thought we talked about me getting some juicier stuff."

  Barbara sighed. "I take it you've spoken with Ryan?"

  "Yeah, I just left his office. I mean, he seems to think he's doing me a favor. Can you explain why that is? I was offered the same gig on Music Mayhem when I was fresh out of college. But I wanted to be at a serious network. And I didn’t want to get pigeonholed into only doing entertainment. I did that because you told me I could grow here and spread my wings. Why do I feel like they're being clipped?"

  The older woman stood, and then hit the button for her doors to close automatically. "Jaggar, look, they didn’t even want to give you that position. You have to understand that so much is still a boy’s club."

  "But that’s sexist."

  "Welcome to reality."

  Some days she was so damn tired. She downplayed her body as much as she could, but damned if there wasn't always some leering guy around a corner trying to get a better look at her boobs. Everyone seemed to forget that she had a master’s. Which was better than what Griffin Styles had. They all cited experience, but she'd had a lot of it when she interned during her master’s program. But they didn't respect her.

  "I mean, why even give me the gig if they're just going to attempt to demean me? What’s the freaking point?"

  Barbara folded her hands. "Jaggar, you have to remember how to do this. We talked about it when you came on board. You play the game."

  Jaggar forced herself to breathe. "It sucks that I have to. Being born a woman doesn’t mean I was born with less brain cells. They didn’t magically migrate to my boobs."

  "I know you’re frustrated. I get it. But if you take the job, it’ll open doors."

  "I can open my own damn doors." She had never considered herself a hardcore feminist. She'd believed that if she did the same work and did it better, someone would notice. Well, that was apparently wrong.

  "Why do they want me anyway? It seems like what they want to do is hire Griffin, the moron, then have me be his secretary or his foil."

  "Two reasons. One of the execs was searching the talent pool for the new show and he saw the reel of you and Griffin last year. And the other, is that like it or not, when you're on, men and women watch. You're beautiful, so the men tune in. And you’re relatable, so the women like you too. In other words, you're ratings gold. All you need to do is do what you do best. They see that they can’t shove you aside. But I think saying no to the job would be a mistake. At least if you want to stay here at TVN."

  "I want to do a good job. I just want people to take me seriously. I just want them to believe in me."

  "I believe in you. That's what matters. Take the job, Jaggar. You’ll be kicking yourself if you don't."

  "I told Ryan I wanted to think about it." Not exactly true, but close enough. She mostly wanted to tell him to go fuck himself with his scraps. But again, not really a good idea to say that to the Senior Manager of Programming.

  She managed to avoid all sightings of Griffin when she took the stairs all the way down until the third floor. But not all disaster could be avoided. The moment she sat down, her mother called. "Jaggar, sweetheart."

  Immediately the hairs on the back of her neck stood at attention. Those were her instincts telling her to prepare for a fight because her mother was in a mood. "What’s up, Mom?"

  "Is that how you’re suppo
sed to answer your mother when she calls?"

  "What do you need?"

  "I want to know why, when I come all the way to DC to see you, you can’t be bothered to make time for me?"

  Jaggar bit off a groan. She'd known last week’s avoidance of her mother, only seeing her for a quick breakfast, was not going to cut it. Alexa Stratford Jakes was not accustomed to not getting her way. Years as a movie star had just fed into the aura of grandeur. Years as an alcoholic had also made her belligerent about it. "Mom, I told you. I have a job, I couldn't really just take off."

  "You do realize if I put in a call to the studio execs at TVN, I could have gotten you freed from your obligations."

  "Yes, mother. But we discussed this. I don’t want you doing that." Besides, her mother's movie star cache had long since worn off once she started preferring vodka tonics to actually doing her job, and once she'd become so belligerent that no one wanted to work with her. The studios eventually stopped calling her back. As well as her own daughter.

  "I mean, I watch your segments."

  The rush of excitement was the first to come. Even if Jaggar knew better. The happy wash that her mother followed up with what she was doing. Even if they weren’t exactly close. Then the shattered, scared little girl inside made the desperate wish for her mother to be proud of her. Jaggar kept her voice neutral. "Oh yeah, which one?"

  "The one where you looked like a whore, spinning around that pole. You look like you’ve put on a few pounds too. You'll need to get to the gym. What have I told you? This business is fickle. You have to take care of yourself.”

  Somewhere between that morning’s airing of their segment and then finding out about the job thing, she was done and had zero fucks left to give. "That’s great, Mom. Glad you liked it, I have to go now."