Sensational

by Janet Nissenson

  Aware that five pairs of eyes were watching this exchange between her and Franco with great interest, Lauren shook her head with regret. “Not this trip, I’m afraid. I fly home in two days, and after work tomorrow I’m having dinner with my aunt. But I’ll definitely stop by the next time I’m in town, okay?”

  “Okay. Say hello to your Zia Madelina for me, will you?”

  Lauren nodded as he gave her a farewell hug and another peck on the lips. “I will. Give my love to Aricella and the kids, not to mention the rest of the family.”

  Franco raised a hand in farewell to the others. “Enjoy your evening.” He gave Lauren a little chuck on the chin. “Ciao, bella.”

  Elle was staring in mingled bewilderment and shock as Franco sauntered off with that tall, long-legged, and supremely masculine stride he’d possessed since the age of twelve. Lauren smiled a little to herself to note that even the buttoned-up Elle wasn’t immune to the overtly masculine charms of the brawny, tattooed Franco.

  “Is that your boyfriend?” asked Elle after Franco had left the bar, her brown eyes still wide with both disbelief and unwilling attraction.

  Lauren shook her head as she took another shot of tequila. “Not in the least. Franco is happily married with two small children.”

  Ben’s eyes had narrowed dangerously, and there was a tight, rather unpleasant set to his mouth. “He’s happily married and still goes around kissing other women on the mouth?”

  She shrugged, telling herself that Ben couldn’t possibly be jealous, and especially not with his girlfriend sitting right next to him. “It’s not a big deal. I’ve known him since I was a little girl. His family lived near my grandparents on the upper East side, and my sister and I would play with him and his siblings when we visited. He’s always been like a big brother to me.”

  Ben didn’t appear to be mollified by her explanation. “That didn’t look like a brotherly kiss to me. And I can’t imagine his wife would think so, either.”

  Lauren chuckled as she prepared another shot. “Considering that Aricella and their kids all kiss me on the mouth, too, I’d say she doesn’t give it a second thought. The Di Nardos have always been a very affectionate family, and Aricella fits right in with them. Besides,” she added with a wink, “Franco knows she’d gut him like a fish if he ever looked seriously at another woman. Not to mention the fact that he’s more than got his hands full keeping her happy.”

  Elle looked distinctly uncomfortable at this topic of conversation, and subtly changed the subject. “What sort of designer is he? I must say he really doesn’t dress the part, so I’d have to guess he designs jewelry. Or maybe shoes.”

  Lauren choked a little on the shot she’d just swallowed, and raised a grateful, watery gaze to a smirking Karl as he patted her on the back. “Uh, Franco isn’t that sort of designer,” she told Elle in a hoarse voice. “He actually owns a tattoo parlor. Those were the new designs he was referring to.”

  “Oh.” Elle’s distaste at this revelation was obvious. “I suppose that makes more sense, given his appearance and all those tattoos on his arms. But what did he mean about lucky number seven? Do you have tattoos, Lauren?”

  “Six of them,” she replied matter-of-factly. “Here. I’ll show you a couple.”

  She proudly displayed the Gemini mark on her left wrist, explaining about her twin sister. “I have another tat on my left ankle – the Japanese letters for bravery in honor of my first judo teacher. Then there’s a little seahorse on my right foot to remind me of the ocean no matter where I might be in the world. And this one I got as a congratulations present to myself when I landed this job.”

  She slid off the barstool and casually lifted the hem of her long T-shirt before presenting her back to the others. The shooting star tattoo at the small of her back was easily visible above the low-rise waistband of her jeans.

  “That’s only four,” reminded Chris as Lauren slid back onto her stool. “And Karl and I have seen those dozens of times. How come we never knew you had two others?”

  Playfully, she pinched his cheek. “Because those are private ones, Christina,” she teased. “Or at least they’re in private places. Places that no one at this table is ever going to lay eyes on.”

  She drank down another shot just as she caught Ben’s eye, the expression on his handsome face downright ferocious. In response, she merely wrinkled her nose at him and glanced away, satisfied that he’d gotten the message loud and clear that he would never get so much as a glimpse of those other two elusive tattoos. And especially not when the lovely Elle was sharing his bed.

  George seemed oddly fascinated by the subject all of a sudden. Karl and Chris also had a couple of tattoos each, leaving him as the only member of the crew without one.

  “So has this Franco guy done all six of your tats?” asked George. “Even the, um, private ones?”

  “Yes. Franco’s one of the best known tattoo artists in the entire city. And when I had the so-called private ones done, his wife was in the room both times.”

  Ben sipped his beer quietly but couldn’t quite keep the sarcasm from edging into his voice as he inquired, “Is she a tattoo artist as well?”

  “Nope. Aricella does piercings. In fact, that’s how she and Franco met. His shop wasn’t offering piercings at the time, so someone referred him to Aricella. He walked into her place, told her he wanted his dick pierced, and the rest is history.”

  “His – what?” breathed Elle in disbelief, the shock evident on her face.

  “Lauren.” Ben shook his head in admonition.

  “Oops, sorry,” she apologized sheepishly. “I didn’t mean to offend you, Elle. I guess that’s what comes from working exclusively with men for more than four years.”

  “Yeah,” agreed George with a guffaw. “Lauren’s spent so much time us with that she’s practically one of the guys now. Little wonder she has no idea how to act like a lady. In fact, some of the really raunchy things that come out of her mouth have made me blush.”

  It took a few moments before George realized he was the only one at the table laughing. When he did, he stopped abruptly and glanced around the table in confusion. Chris was staring at him in wide-eyed horror, Karl in disgust, while Elle gave him a tiny smile, and Ben’s displeasure was more than a little obvious. And then George’s gaze shifted cautiously over to Lauren, whose expression was surprisingly but still terrifyingly impassive.

  “Well, Georgina,” she said in her most scathing tone as she slid off her barstool, “that’s because you’re a fucking pussy. And now, before I say anything else to offend the ladies at this table, I’m going to take off. See you in the morning.”

  Karl grabbed hold of her arm before she could storm off. “Hang on a sec, kiddo. You’re leaving two shots behind. Not like you to waste top shelf booze.”

  Lauren shrugged as she pulled on her quilted down coat in preparation for the near freezing weather outside. “Give them to Georgina. Maybe having a real drink will finally help him grow a pair. And you should know by now, sweetie,” she added smugly as she gave Karl a farewell kiss on the cheek, “that I won’t have any problem at all getting as many free drinks as I want. In fact, think I’ll go find myself one now.”

  She stepped out of the way before Karl could take hold of her arm again, ignoring the pleading look on his face, just as she didn’t pay the slightest bit of attention to the way George sputtered and twitched with outrage, or the way Elle’s mouth was gaping open in shock. And she especially didn’t let herself speculate as to why Ben looked so furious as she turned and walked out of the bar without a backwards glance.

  Chapter Ten

  March

  Ben sighed. “Can you get me Lauren’s number¸ please? Evidently she’s forgotten our video chat this morning and needs a little reminder.”

  “Of course, Ben. Here it is.”

  He jotted down the number that his assistant Kym read off to him, then stared at the notepad for long seconds. The very last thing he wanted to do this m
orning was place a call to his very volatile and unpredictable photographer out in Big Sur.

  That was how he’d been forcing himself to think of her these past couple of months – as strictly his employee and not as the woman he’d once loved to distraction. And most of the time he did a decent job of convincing himself that he and Lauren were definitely a thing of the past. She had quite obviously moved on, treating him as distantly and impersonally as she would the FedEx delivery guy.

  But there were other times – far too many for his liking – when he was either morose as he remembered their time together, or teeth-clenching jealous of every single man she flirted with or smiled at – including the very same FedEx guy.

  It helped – as Lauren had pointed out during their initial one-on-one – that they saw each other so infrequently. Even when she was in the office during wrap-up and planning sessions, he wasn’t involved in every phase of the production. And he was being kept very busy at the job that was proving to be far more demanding than he’d first believed, too busy to spare a lot of time pining for what was no longer his.

  But when she was in town, and they were obliged to interact, it seemed at times that she went out of her way to antagonize him. Lauren argued about almost everything, nearly always had a different idea or approach than the rest of the team, and wound up getting her way at least eighty percent of the time.

  After one such grueling session where she’d triumphantly emerged the victor – having bullied, badgered, and cajoled the team into tackling their next story from her perspective – Ben had shook his head in exasperation, watching with mingled annoyance, admiration, and amusement as she’d strutted out of the conference room.

  “Jesus, I’d rather cage fight a live tiger than negotiate with her sometimes,” he’d confessed to Karl, the only other team member remaining in the room. “Has she always been so stubborn? Such a - ”

  “Pain in the ass?” finished Karl, nodding. “Yep, and from day one. I still remember the very first time Chris and Stefan and I met her. Here she was, this little girl just out of college, not even twenty two years old, and she swaggered through that door like she owned the place. And from the first time she opened her mouth, it was obvious that she was going to be the leader of the group. She might have had the least experience, been the youngest and the only female, but there was no denying she was in charge.”

  Ben regarded him curiously. “And none of you minded? I never had the chance to meet Stefan, but I understand he wasn’t anything like George. The producer is unofficially considered the team leader.”

  “In most cases,” agreed Karl. “Poor George there couldn’t lead an army of ants no matter how hard he tried. We all know he got this job because of family connections, and Lauren in particular rarely lets him forget that. Stefan was great at his job, but even he recognized that spark in Lauren right away, and he was content to let her boss everyone around.” He gave Ben a reassuring pat on the back. “And before you ask your next question – the answer is yes. Her Majesty also defied Quinn all the time. But then he had the hots for her big time, and let her wrap him around her little finger without even blinking an eye.”

  Ben frowned. “Are you trying to tell me they were involved? Quinn’s a hell of a lot older than Lauren. Or was he just harassing her?”

  Karl gave a shout of laughter. “Try to imagine anyone actually harassing Lauren – and living to tell the tale. And no, they were definitely not having a thing. Quinn’s almost twenty years older, for a start, and has a longtime girlfriend for another. And while Lauren flirts like crazy, she has a strict hands-off policy once she learns a guy is married or involved. Besides, the very last thing Lauren would do is date anyone who could be considered her superior. She’s not about to let anyone think the reason she’s been so successful is because she boinked her boss. Not that anyone would have the balls to go spreading something like that around.”

  “Yeah. I get all that.”

  In fact, nearly everything Karl had just told him made a lot of sense, made several missing pieces of the puzzle click into place. It explained perhaps why Lauren kept such a distance between them these days, why she rarely asked him a personal question, or was even alone in the same room with him. And the fact that he was living with Elle would have only added fuel to that fire, would have given Lauren further incentive to keep their relationship strictly on a professional level.

  But Ben knew it went beyond all of that, too. The mere fact that she’d adamantly refused to let him even attempt to explain or apologize told him that he’d ruined any chance of ever getting her back. He’d hurt her too deeply, crushed her pride too thoroughly, and Lauren was definitely a woman who could hold a grudge. It was good, therefore, that he’d finally begun to move on with his life, just as she had with her own.

  “Is that why Quinn got transferred to another division?” asked Ben. “Did Lauren finally blow the whistle and file a harassment complaint against him?”

  “Christ, no,” denied Karl emphatically. “Lauren’s too proud to let someone else fight her battles. She, uh, took care of the problem by dumping a cup of coffee on Quinn’s crotch. She made sure it was extra hot, too, heated it up in the microwave until it was boiling over. You should have heard the fucker scream – it was very emasculating. But he left Lauren alone after that, pretty much let her do whatever the hell she wanted. And he got that promotion because he kissed a lot of asses. None of us were too sad to see him move on.”

  Ben had shuddered at the very thought of having scalding hot liquid poured in his lap, and silently vowed never to piss Lauren off to that extent. “I, uh, can’t imagine she dates a lot then, given the extreme measures she uses to ward off unwanted advances.”

  Karl grinned. “She draws guys in like a magnet, and flirts more than a whole roomful of Southern belles. But, personally, I think she’s a lot of talk and not much action. At least not around us. For someone who has little to no filter about most everything else, Lauren keeps her private life – correction, her sex life – very private. She’s never once mentioned a boyfriend. Chris and I think she had her heart broken once and that she’s determined never to let that happen again.”

  Ben had wondered for days after that conversation if he’d been the one to break her heart, but after considering the indifferent way she treated him nowadays, had decided that she certainly wasn’t pining after him anymore.

  He continued to stare at the phone number in front of him, then looked around the small conference table at Chris and George. Since they both lived in New York they always participated in the video chats in person, while Karl and Lauren joined in from their respective homes. Karl had already called in, and was now waiting along with the others for Lauren to connect.

  “You want me to call her, Ben?” offered George. “She must have overslept. Probably had a late night and now she’s nursing a nasty hangover.”

  Chris looked at George scornfully. “I doubt that. Big Sur isn’t exactly the most happening spot on the map, and as much booze as Lauren can put away I’ve never actually seen her drunk or hungover.”

  “Well, whatever her excuse is, she’s late and holding all of us up,” declared Ben impatiently. “So let’s wake Sleeping Beauty, shall we?”

  He dialed the number determinedly, drumming his fingers on the table irritably as the phone rang and rang. With each ring he began to grow a little more impatient, become a little angrier, and if that infuriating little minx was in the room right now he’d be sorely tempted to shake her or. Or spank her. Or –

  “’Lo?” grumbled a husky, sleepy voice.

  It was exactly the way she’d always sounded first thing in the morning, when he had been impatient to have her again and couldn’t wait a minute longer to sink himself deep inside her tight little body. And because it pissed him off to recall just how quickly she’d woken after his first hungry kiss of the day, Ben didn’t even try to couch the sarcasm in his voice.

  “Well, good morning to you, too, Lauren,” he dr
awled in a not so pleasant tone. “I assume your hot date last night distracted you from setting an alarm clock. Or did you just forget the video chat you were supposed to have called in for fifteen minutes ago?”

  “Huh?” she mumbled, clearly disoriented. “Who is this anyway? And why are you calling in the middle of the night?”

  Ben’s irritation was increasing with each passing second. “This is your boss. Remember me? And the rest of your crew is waiting none too patiently for you to drag your ass out of bed and join us.”

  “Ben?” Lauren’s voice was clearer now, but she still sounded confused. “What – no, I didn’t forget. I even set my alarm for eight o’clock so I’d have plenty of time to get ready. What time – Jesus, it’s six-fifteen? What happened to the nine a.m. call we agreed on?”

  He closed his eyes, counting to ten. “That would be nine a.m. Eastern time, Your Majesty,” he replied acidly. “If you’re going to insist on having a West coast base, then you need to start adapting your schedule to my time zone. Got it? Now, drag yourself out of bed and connect in to the call.”

  He expected her to grumble or cuss or flat out defy him. What he didn’t expect was to hear a throaty chuckle, almost a purr, as she replied teasingly, “Aw, come on, Blue Eyes. You of all people should remember that I’m not a morning person. And you don’t have to be so mean about it. Just give me a few minutes to get dressed and grab some coffee and I’ll call in.”

  He grit his teeth, fighting off his mounting irritation, not to mention the growing arousal that her deliberately seductive teasing had triggered. “No. Now. You’ll have to make do without coffee. And nobody gives a crap what you’re wearing. Get your butt on this call now.”

  “Fine,” she spat. He could practically see her green eyes spitting like a cat’s as she spoke. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you. Asshole.”

  She muttered that last word under her breath, but just loud enough for him to hear. His reply was cut off by the chime that indicated someone else had joined the video chat, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He’d expected Lauren to put up more of a fight, to give him shit for waking her up so early. He remembered how much she hated getting up before sunrise, how she’d always declared no sane person would ever willingly leave their bed at such an ungodly hour of the morning.