by Major, Laura
Her loft came out better than she could have hoped for considering the collaborators involved. The color scheme was chocolate, raspberry and mint green. The hint of cream coloring throughout the loft toned down Suzy B’s punker ambition. Mia knew that had been Nate’s touch. She’d never dealt with such a complicated man in her life—at least one who wasn’t black.
After finally getting out of the car, Mia walked across the crunchy grass oasis set within the gravel landscaping. Hmm, maybe we should be doing an outside renovation as well. With the front yard in such disrepair, Mia held little hope for what she would find inside. She wouldn’t have to wait long as she gripped the door handle to find that it opened with ease.
“Hello? Nate?” Mia was startled by the sound of her voice echoing in the foyer. The house wasn’t particularly big but the concrete floors and the lack of previous décor caused every sound to bounce amid the four large outer walls of the house’s open two-story floor plan. More disturbing than the gang symbols sprawled on the far wall was the stench of bleach, ammonia and a sickeningly sweet orange scent that permeated the house. When she thought she would faint from the overwhelming odors colliding in the space within her nostril, she heard heavy footsteps approach from the recesses of the house.
“Oh, you found it. I was beginning to think I was going to have to remodel this one on my own.” Nate leaned against the wall that exhibited a large green tag with its symbolism landing somewhere between a middle finger and a huge phallus, Mia wasn’t sure which.
“What kind of house is this? Where’re all the homeowner’s belongings? This looks like some kind of former gang hideout or an illegal alien flop house? And that smell…do I even want to know about that?”
“I have to admit, Jimmy was having a little trouble finding our next project. So I called my buddy Sam and he did me a solid.” Nate flashed that grin Mia had come to know so well. She hated how she suddenly became unable to comprehend a word that was coming out of his mouth when he was flashing those perfect teeth, which complemented those luscious pink lips. This time the state of this project was a perfect antidote to Nate’s usual charms.
“I’m afraid to ask what your friend Sammy does.”
“Oh, Sammy? Crime scene clean-up.”
“Lord have mercy. You mean someone died in here?”
“Don’t worry, Sammy is the best in the county. The trick is, he’s not an overworked city employee. He’s an independent working on a government contract.”
“Even if I wasn’t completely outraged and disgusted right now, how the hell are we going to design and remodel this entire house in a half hour show? Hell, we couldn’t do this in a week-long special.”
“Well my Mia, you don’t eat an entire 13-course meal all at once. You take it one course at a time.” Mia watched as Nate’s eyes roved over her body as he spoke.
“That’s a great idea, Nate.” Jimmy walked in nearly hitting Mia in the back with the front door as he swung it open. “I would have never thought about decorating an unsold new build.”
“A new build? What is he talking about?” It was obvious to Mia that Jimmy had literally come in on the tail end of this conversation.
“That’s one way to look at it Jimbo.” Nate replied as Mia watched his grin spread so far across his lips she thought his face would split in two.
“Look here Nate, this is ridiculous and James you can’t possibly…”
“Are you afraid you can’t handle it, Mia?” Nate walked up to Mia and stood toe to toe with her.
While she felt a bit intimidated, she found it sent fluttery sensations from the pit of her stomach straight to the seat of her khaki pants. “I can, if you can.”
“Glad that’s settled. A little healthy competition is good for the show. Now Nate, where do you think we should begin?”
Jimmy suddenly seemed to be playing up to Nate and Mia didn’t like it one bit. I’m the host, shouldn’t I be deciding how this unfolds if Jimmy was too chicken to call the shots?
“You know Jimbo, I think the idea of teamwork is great, but why don’t we change it up a bit.”
“In what way?” James put his thumb and forefinger to his chin like some overstuffed Sherlock Holmes.
“Well, how about we have a design-off of sorts. Mia can redesign the kitchen and the attached family room while I work on the master suite.”
Now Mia’s stomach was performing acrobatics for a very different reason. She knew that Nate had been the brains and the brawn behind the impeccable redesigns that have resulted in the show’s success and her new beloved persona. It’s none of my business as to how I came to this arrangement, right? Mia couldn’t let Nate propose a show segment that would surely expose her as a fraud.
“Again with you and the games. You can’t be serious. It is my job to show that anyone with a little interior savvy can redesign their home.” Mia turned to Jimmy, “Nate would have an unfair advantage.” Mia felt like a wildcat clawing her way out of a pet carrier.
“Fine, we’ll work from an identical budget and we can’t solicit additional help.” Nate shrugged his shoulders as he crossed the entry way and stood next to Mia. “If you’re up to it, it would be great for your career. We’ve been working with each other for months now. My design of your loft has earned it the main spread in all the design magazines for weeks. Surely you’ve learned something in all that time.”
Mia wasn’t buying the ‘I’m on your side’ tone. She knew a backhanded compliment when she heard one. After all she’d dished out her fair share of them on all those reality shows.
“I don’t know why we’re still talking about this. The more you talk, the more I like it. I already said it was a go. Now let’s go check out these rooms.” Without waiting for a response, James began to wander the house aimlessly.
“I hope your buddy Sam remembered to remove the crime scene tape.” Mia felt her new light-hearted persona fade.
“Oh sure, but I told him to leave the chalk outline, it gives the kitchen some character.” Nate laughed.
“I bet you told him to leave that universal ‘screw you’ symbol in the hall too, huh?” Nate just flashed her that damned grin. “That just ain’t right.” Mia said under her breath as she tried to force her legs to move in the direction of the kitchen.
“Ready…Action,” the director called.
“You’ve been with us for three days now, Eye Design viewers and I must say that this kitchen is really coming along.” Mia stood in the middle of the room leaning up against the island. “We selected the new appliances for the kitchen and the furniture for the family room. Now just like a puzzle, it’s time to put everything together. Before we move in all the new equipment we’re going to paint these walls. Since we’re in the eating room and keeping with the ‘eye’ part of Eye Design, I selected all my colors based on warm foods that would complement each other on the plate.”
“Well, that’s an interesting technique, Mia. Do you dress yourself in the same manner?” Nate leaned into the open doorway from the hall to sneak a peek at Mia’s progress. If he had to play to her on camera he had every intention of being her foil.
Mia looked down at her attire of jeans, a white t-shirt with lace accents and a floral linen vest. “Well, I suppose I do”
“I guess so, if you’re like fruit salad.” He laughed as Mia rolled her eyes and without much regard for him she continued with her monologue. Nate took the hint, exited the shot and headed to his project upstairs. After taping his portion of the segment in the master suite, Nate continued to loop the floral material through the valance above the picture window seat. As he worked with his back to the door, he got the sense that he wasn’t alone. He turned to find Mia watching him from the open doorway. “No peeking.”
“What are you still doing here? No unfair advantage, huh?” Mia stood with her arms crossed.
“Don’t let me stop you from continuing to work. Besides, we agreed on a budget and no outside help, not much else.” Nate smiled. He watched as Mia inch
ed further and further inside the room. Her eyes panned the room like a star gazer mesmerized by the big dipper in the night sky.
When she got close to him, Mia punched him in the arm. “This is turning into such a romantic suite. How does a guy biker, who wears no socks, think of something so beautiful?”
“For the record, I’m a rider. Bikers belong to motorcycle gangs.”
“Oh, is that right? What if I told you my father was a biker?” Mia asked as she lightly jabbed Nate in the ribs backing him up against the overstuffed pillow top mattress. Nate fell back and Mia mounted him. “Is this how you sit on your piece of machinery, Nate?”
“Maybe. Did you always take your daddy’s bike for a ride without permission too?”
“Why ask for permission when you can ask for forgiveness…” Mia began to grind her hips into the restricting bulge in Nate’s khaki pants.
Flipping her on her back, Nate hovered over her taking in every inch of her face with his eyes before landing a kiss on those plump lips of hers. Like a sticky translucent pink candy, Nate wanted to kiss and suck those lips all night long. Hypnotized by the glare coming off her lips, he began nipping each one before dipping his tongue in her mouth like a guided missile in search of its target. He finally ended the oral tango and looked into Mia’s eyes which were a bit glazed over.
“You know what, Mr. Long?”
“What?”
“I think you like fruit salad.”
***
“Oh no, it’s ruined.” Mia screamed. She walked around the kitchen and the attached family room. She envisioned the new reputation she worked so hard to build over the last several weeks washing down the kitchen drain. As she stared at the paint job on the walls, tears brimmed on her eye’s edge.
Nate came in to the room with very little acknowledgement of the harshly colored walls.
“What did you do?” Mia charged over to him and leaned in pointing at Nate’s nose.
“What? You said you wanted food-like colors. You said you wanted to use appetite- stimulating colors like yellow saffron and paprika for the kitchen and oregano and cream of tartar for the family room. That’s what I picked up. You know it always looks darker on the walls than on the paint chips you pick up at paint store.”
“You did this on purpose. This looks like ketchup not paprika.” Mia jabbed her thumb toward the east wall. “This house sits facing north; can you imagine the sun hitting this wall during the day?” Mia continued her tirade without noticing Nate’s weak attempt to explain. “And this wall, it’s not saffron, it’s mustard?”
“It’s bold, but I’m beginning to feel hungry in this room. Isn’t that what you want?” Nate shrugged.
“Are you hungry? It must be because this kitchen reminds you of a hamburger joint.” Mia had her hands on her hips and her waves flew as she screeched. Then Mia crossed her arms in silence. Nate attempted to approach her. “If you’re going to step closer, I hope you’re wearing a cup.”
“We can fix this.” Nate grabbed Mia’s shoulders and turned her toward the family room. “The colors are perfect in the family room aren’t they?”
“Yes, they are.” Mia spun around to face the kitchen again. “But what are we going to do about this?” Mia’s shoulders slumped as she let out a long breath.
“Well, luckily the appliances will cover up most of those walls and we’ll use dark wood for the cabinets. It won’t be so bad.” Nate tilted his head in an obvious attempt to catch Mia’s eyes.
“You better be right.” Mia only made eye contact briefly.
“I am, trust me. If that fails we’ll get into the filming room and get production to put a soft tint on your segment of the show.” Nate started to head for the exit. “Look on the bright side.”
“Yeah, what’s that?” Mia watched as Nate began his retreat from the room.
“Did you hear yourself just now? You’re beginning to sound like a real interior designer.” Nate called over his shoulder as he exited the room.
While she was still angry, she sensed that Nate genuinely wanted to make things right. I should have seen this coming. I’ve been taking credit for his work for weeks. Remembering that the paint was purchased before they had blessed the master suite, Mia’s heart began to warm at how sweet Nate looked as he worked to convince her that her project could be saved. It’s time I made things right too.
Chapter Seven
“Congratulations Mia. You really are a shrewd woman. I don’t know how you pulled it off.”
“Oh Sandy, I’ve learned a lot from watching you and let’s just say that my experience on all those reality dating shows didn’t go to waste either.” Mia laughed as she ran her fingers along the black lacquer desktop.
“Well, let me know if there’s anything you need, I mean it.”
“Thanks Sandy, I will.” Mia hung up the phone and swiveled the back of her chair toward the office door.
Upon entering the reception area, Nate’s heart was thumping so hard, he could feel it between his ears. He came up to the little blond receptionist and only paused briefly before deciding to by-pass her entirely.
“Nate, you can’t just walk in there.” The receptionist darted for the executive’s office door but Nate was faster.
“Other than your rear-view, nothing good has ever come out of walking behind you.” Nate twisted the knob and stomped up to the black lacquer desk.
“I’m sorry. I tried to stop him.” The receptionist called out.
After a long pause that made it apparent that no reply was forthcoming, Nate saw his chance. “It’s obvious your boss has no intention of throwing me out, so why don’t you do us the honors and close the door behind you when you leave?” When the door was safely closed, he turned back to stare at the back of the leather chair sitting behind the executive desk.
“Look Jimmy, I’ve been doing your job and mine for weeks now. I’ve arranged the projects and I let Mia take credit for all my interior design work. Karma has come to collect.” Nate waited for a response. When his words were halted by the chilly silence in the room, his chest began to tighten and he quickly squeezed and released his fists. “So you have nothing to say about that? What do you have to say about me going to the media with the story that U-Design has been making money off the broken dreams of families in foreclosure and violent crime scene victims?”
“I’d say that’s a major PR issue for the show and you’d better figure out how to fix it sense Eye Design has named you the winner of its design-off and the new host of the show.”
Nate shook his head knowing he didn’t hear what just emanated from that black overstuffed chair back. Even Jimmy’s voice sounded familiar but different. Just as he began to recognize the voice as Mia’s, the chair glided around to reveal her sitting before him. “What are you doing here? Where’s Jimmy?”
“Jimbo, as you so affectionately call him, has been relieved of his duties. You’re threatening the new executive director of programming and owner of the U-Design Television Network.”
“How? I don’t understand.” Nate collapsed into the visitor’s chair that stood behind him.
His eyes rose with her as Mia stood from the chair and walked around to Nate’s side of the desk. “A few tosses of these waves and a flash of my own version of the mesmerizing Long smile, I learned all I needed to know from your buddy Sam and your brother Mitch. Then I had a very productive working lunch with Jimmy, Sandy and the owners of the network, which resulted in Jimmy being sent to camp out at the unemployment line in some Midwestern town somewhere?”
“Why the Midwest?” Nate couldn’t take his eyes off her silhouette underneath the thin black halter dress Mia was wearing.
“It’s the only region of the country where he has yet to make any enemies.” Mia moved closer to perch herself on the arm of Nate’s chair.
“Ok, but how did you become owner?”
“The owners aren’t capable of handling the bad publicity that was sure to rain down on the network when you finall
y set off your info bomb. Nor did they want to, they’d lost so much money as a result of Jimmy’s dealings and lawsuits, they were ready to claim their losses and move on.” Mia slipped right into Nate’s lap and began kissing and sucking on those lips that have been tempting her for weeks since they last kissed.
“I’d hate to cut your celebration short, but how are you going to fix the publicity issue?” Nate asked not taking his eyes off Mia’s lips.
“I was thinking we could give the challenge house away to a underprivileged family, mortgage paid. Then we can raffle the other homes off and donate the proceeds to charity. After that, no one will care how we attained those questionable properties we redesigned.” Mia turned in Nate’s lap, dropping her legs between his before slowly swerving her hips in a semi-circular motion.
“What are you doing?” Nate asked breathlessly.
“This is my way of asking you for forgiveness. So, tell me Nate, am I forgiven?”
“Not so fast, Mia. You’ve got a lot of deceit and deception to atone for,” Nate replied as he wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her neck.