by Donna Hill
Danielle and Savannah leaned closer, their expressions open and expectant.
“I don’t even know where to begin,” Mia said.
“Wherever you feel comfortable,” Savannah offered in that soft way of hers.
Mia lowered her gaze, trying to organize her thoughts. She looked into the eyes of her friends. “I’ve never told either of you this before. For that I apologize, but I think after I tell you everything you’ll understand why. At least I hope you will.” She swallowed. “When Jean gave me the assignment, it wound up being about investigating someone I knew…intimately…”
Mia poured out her story, from her shock at finding out that Michael was the suspect of the investigation, then traveling back to how they’d met, their torrid affair, his being married, him being her first true love, the guilt she felt about their affair, the breakup. She told it all: her visit to his house in Sag Harbor, the one he said he’d had built with her in mind, her growing feelings of uncertainty about her and Steven. She told them everything—up to and including the fact that Ashley was a Cartel operative and was at the moment tracking down Michelle Dennis.
By the time she’d finished, they’d consumed two drinks each and their dinner was halfway eaten. During the entire time, neither Danielle nor Savannah said a word.
Mia sat back, looked from one stunned face to the other, waiting for the verdict.
“You could have told me,” Savannah said, surprising Mia. She thought Savannah would have been appalled that Mia would have taken up with a married man. “I know I might come across as all straight-laced and whatnot, but those are my rules. I don’t put them on anyone else, especially my friends. Love comes in all kinds of packages and at all different times. I may not agree with what you did, but I admire how you finally took care of it.” She reached across the table and took Mia’s hand, which was balled into a fist.
“Girl, I would never have thought you had it in you,” Danielle said with her usual sarcasm. “But the real deal is not what happened then, but what is happening now. Do you still have feelings for him?”
“That’s just it. I don’t know. I’m not sure if the feelings are real or some kind of residue of the past.”
“You know you have to get that together,” Savannah said. “First, for the sake of your relationship with Steven and then for the Cartel. We both know what it’s like trying to manage a relationship and these assignments. We’ve been there.”
Danielle wholeheartedly agreed. “And so Ms. Girl is a TLC lady.” Danielle grinned. “I knew I liked her.”
“Jean is something,” Savannah said. “It’s really kinda scary how much she knows and how she puts people exactly where they need to be. She knew it was going to be Blake’s company that would be involved with the Tristan Montgomery investigation, and she knew that Dani and Nick’s relationship was going to be put to the test with her identity theft assignment.”
“She puts us in these kinds of emotional tugs-of-war situations to test our loyalty to the organization,” Danielle said. “I guess when she realizes that we won’t compromise ourselves, our relationships or the organization, we are truly Cartel-worthy.”
Savannah lifted her glass then put it back down. “Can I just say this? I’ve seen you and Steven together. I see how he looks at you and how you look at him. I hear how you talk about him—the joy in your voice.” She took a breath. “One thing I’ve learned is that you can’t go back. If Michael could cheat on his wife, what makes you think that if it was just the two of you he wouldn’t wind up doing the same thing to you?”
“And bottom line,” Danielle cut it. “If he’s under suspicion by Jean and the Cartel and you have come up with your own suspicions, chances are there’s something to it, sis. If you’re going to hinge old feelings onto this assignment, you’ll never see clearly and it could really get you hurt in more ways than one.”
“I don’t know Michael,” Savannah said gently. “But if you loved him, I’m sure at his core he is a decent man. You are the only one who can make the right decision. You know your heart and you know both of them. I know that you’ll do what is best for everyone involved, because I know you.”
“Exactly, sweetie. We love you and don’t want to see you hurt, but you know we got your back no matter what choice you make,” Danielle added.
Mia sniffed back tears of relief. These were her friends, her sisters in spirit through good and bad, and she should have known that they would understand and not judge her. Such a weight had been lifted from her soul after finally being able to share with them what she had been through and the situation she currently found herself in.
And, like the dear friends and fellow Cartel members they were, they were willing to help with the case in any way that they could.
As she drove home, Mia thought about everything that was said during their impromptu get-together. Of course they were right. Deep in her soul it was something she already knew. She could not remain torn. Too much was at stake, specifically her relationship with Steven.
Her heart twisted just a little in her chest. She was being so unfair. She’d begun to compare Steven to Michael. That wasn’t right. They were two different kinds of people and they showed their affection in different ways. Simply because Steven didn’t shower her with words of love did not mean that he didn’t love her. He showed her how he felt.
No more sitting on the fence. No more questioning her feelings and her relationship. She pulled into a parking space across the street from her condo. She loved Steven. True, she’d loved Michael, deeply. But loved was the operative word. Past tense. She must live in the now. And that was exactly what she intended to do.
When she put her key in the door, the soft scent of vanilla wafted to her nose. The living room was dim, apparently illuminated by candlelight.
Slowly she put down her purse on the hall table and closed the door. She distinctly heard the Luther Vandross classic “A House is Not a Home,” crooning softly in the background. What was going on? And was that veal parmesan she smelled?
“Steve? Honey…I’m home,” she said, and almost laughed at the oft-used one-liner.
Steven emerged from the bedroom, clad only in black silk boxers that hugged his chiseled chocolate skin. Her heart thumped along with the tiny bud between her thighs as he came toward her. Steven held their circular silver serving tray perched up on one hand with two long-stemmed wine glasses filled with something clear and bubbly. He had a white towel draped across his other arm.
“Good evening,” he said in a low voice, the inkling of a smile hovering around the corners of his mouth.
Mia moved in closer, her eyes full of questions. That’s when she spotted the huge bouquet of flowers in the center of the living-room table, bursting with color.
“What is going on?” she asked with a girlish giggle in her voice.
“You are being served,” Steven said. He waved his hand toward the dining area that was an extension of the living room closer to the window. “Please have a seat.” He went to the rectangular cherrywood table that sat six, set down the tray and pulled out a chair for her.
She looked up at him as he placed a glass of champagne in front of her. “Whatever you have on your mind, I’m loving it so far.”
“That’s the plan.” He winked then disappeared into the kitchen.
Mia thoughtfully sipped her champagne. What in the world had gotten into Steven? He was always sweet and willing to help out: cook, clean, whatever was needed. But this—even for Steven, this was taking it to the next level.
When she heard his footsteps approaching, she turned toward him and her mouth dropped open. He was rolling in their food cart, laden with piping-hot dishes of veal, linguini, shrimp marinara, hot buttered rolls and steamed vegetables that made her mouth water. Forget the fact that she’d just had a large Caesar salad and two drinks. Suddenly she was starving.
“Dinner is served,” he said with a slight bow, bringing the cart to rest next to her. He lifted one of the plates f
rom the tray and placed it in front of her.
She looked across at him as he took a seat opposite her, and her heart filled with love and lust for her man. “Steven…I’m speechless.” Her eyes sparkled and her voice kept getting caught in her throat. “What…a beautiful surprise. I…don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say anything. Just enjoy.” He smiled at her and she saw something in his eyes that she couldn’t describe.
She nodded, her lips pressed tightly together to keep from crying.
He’d set the CD player to play all her favorites, from Luther to Kem, Barry White to the Dells, Marvin, Teddy, the Manhattans, some old-time Ella with a little Miles mixed in. Steven was the music aficionado. He could talk about music from every genre and era and not miss a beat, no pun intended. And if he was coaxed enough, he’d even play a little alto sax when they had their get-togethers. Truth be told, he didn’t have to be coaxed hard at all.
And that’s what he did tonight. Standing right in front of the window, with nothing on but those silk boxers and satin skin, he brought the sax to his lips and blew out a soulful tune that vibrated through her insides, made her want to weep with the purity of the sound, the sweetness of it as he serenaded her.
She wasn’t sure how they made it into their bedroom, because the loving started from the moment she’d walked in the door, through dinner and a bubble bath that awaited her, to the satin sheets that they only used on “special occasions.”
Steven toyed with and played with her body as expertly as he played the sax, with artistry and precision, awakening every nerve ending until her entire body vibrated and trembled with desire.
When he parted her thighs and tenderly drank of her essence, she knew heaven. The roar and rush of sensations that jettisoned through her made her head spin. Her body was no longer her own. It belonged to him. She knew that. And when he slowly, deliberately, inch by taunting inch, eased deep inside her, tears of exquisite joy seeped from her eyes as they moved to the rhythm that was uniquely their own.
Steven’s heart and soul seemed to merge with Mia’s. When he was inside her, he felt protected and safe, believing that nothing could ever compare to what he experienced and felt when he was with her.
Women had always been a part of his life, yet more of an afterthought than an integral piece. But Mia was different. Since they’d been together, his world revolved around her, revolved around making her happy. He knew he still had that hard edge, still had that part of him that he was leery of exposing and releasing—his gentle side—the side that his mother nurtured but was beaten back by his father.
But Mia had cracked that door open, pushed it ajar, and he could see possibility on the other side and it scared him with its intensity—the valley of the unknown. Yet he knew deep in his soul that if he dared to cross the threshold, Mia would be there waiting for him on the other side, willing to embrace him so that he would not fall. She’d lead him out of that dark place and into the light of her love.
He felt all those things, one on top of the other as he moved within her and she held him, stroked his back, cried his name, wrapped him in her love.
And suddenly the words burst from his lips as the explosion fired in his belly.
“I love you,” he groaned in agony and ecstasy. “I love you.”
And when he said the words, the world seemed to open, but maybe it was his heart. The happiness that rushed through him made him dizzy and he shook violently with the force of verbal and physical release.
Mia held him, took him in, rocked him to greater heights and she cooed in his ear, “I know, baby, I know.” And she did.
As they held each other, drifting in and out of the sleep of the totally satiated, Mia heard the distance chime of her cell phone. Whoever it was would have to wait until morning, she thought, drifting deeper into sleep. Her man loved her, and for now that was all that mattered.
Chapter 15
The following morning, after Steven had left for work, Mia busied herself cleaning up from the dinner of the night before, then settled down to her own morning ritual. She’d sent Steven off to work with a Kool-Aid smile on his face, as she’d decided that what was needed to get their morning off on the right foot was a little change of venue.
Before the sun came up, like two kids, they took the elevator of their six-story building up to the top floor and locked it. Then they totally reenacted the elevator scene from Fatal Attraction.
Giggling like two teens, they returned to their apartment, to the glaring stares of a couple who’d been waiting for the elevator.
Amused, she thought about that as she checked out Page Six, circled some interesting articles and dug in to her omelet. Just as she was about to take her second bite, she heard the distinctive sound of her cell phone and suddenly remembered the unanswered call from the night before.
She hopped up from her chair and hurried out into the hallway, where she’d left her purse. She dug out her phone. Her heart thumped when she saw Ashley’s number come up on the caller ID.
“Hello?”
“Hi, did you get my message?”
“Actually, no. I haven’t checked. What did you find out?”
“I think we need to talk in person. What time will you be in the office?”
“I should be there within the hour.” Her chest tightened. “How bad is it?”
“Bad enough. Let’s just say that by the looks of things, Michael Burke is in deep. I’ll see you at the office.”
A sick sensation ran through her, souring her stomach. A part of her hoped that all the bad signals that they were getting about Michael would be wrong. She sighed heavily, stared at her omelet, her paper and her gun.
She could no longer push the inevitable aside. She had a job to do, and if Michael got caught up in the net, then so be it.
“It appears that this Michelle Dennis is on the payroll. She may be moonlighting at the bar but she definitely has another sideline,” Ashley was saying. “We got to talking while I nursed my drink. I told her that I sure could use some extra income and had been trying to find something. She told me if I was really interested and was willing to be friendly with some really wealthy men from time to time, she might be able to set something up for me.”
The more Ashley talked about her meeting with Michelle, the sicker Mia felt.
“I asked her what she meant by friendly. She was quick to tell me that you never had to do anything you didn’t want to. Mostly it was to be dates for businessmen, make them feel good and important, be seen with them at functions, things like that. And it paid very well. Now it was up to each girl what they were willing to do beyond that.
“Anyway, she gave me a number and told me to give this guy a call. The guy is Michael.”
Whatever hope Mia had that this was all some ugly mistake, some strange mixup, was now gone. She nodded solemnly.
“Okay,” Mia said on a breath. “Now we know. The next step is to get the goods on him and everyone he works with, and turn it over to Jean.”
“Exactly. But I think we’re going to need some help. Michael has already met me. No way can I turn up as a potential escort to get behind the scenes.”
That much was true. Mia thought about it for a minute. Now that both Savannah and Danielle knew about Michael and were both part of the Cartel, she might be able to call on them for assistance. Especially since Michael had never met either one of them.
“First things first. We have the red-carpet event for Raven. That will be a perfect opportunity to check out everything up close,” Mia said.
“Do you really think that he would risk something like that at a major event?”
“I know Michael. The challenge of pulling it off would be enough to make him do it. With the list of who’s who in attendance, I can pretty much guarantee that some of his ladies will be there.”
“Okay. We start there. Of course, I can’t chance being at the party now. If Michelle shows up, we’ll have a problem.”
That reality stru
ck Mia and momentarily dimmed the light in her eyes.
“As a matter of fact, now that I’m thinking about it, I know she will be there. While we were talking, she mentioned a major event coming up—something to do with some new singer, was the way she put it. She intimated that Michael might be willing to use some extra help.”
Mia was thoughtful for a moment. “We’ll find a way to work it out. We’re not superspies for nothing.”
Ashley grinned.
For the next few days it was a constant whirlwind of activity for MT Management. Putting in place all the intricate pieces for hosting this major blowout event took up all their time and energy, not to mention the other clients they had as well.
While Mia tried to stay focused on the red-carpet event, Ashley worked on the boutique grand opening. They barely had enough time to talk to each other in the office, between the phone calls, meetings and endless errands that they had to run in addition to dealing with the long list of vendors for each of the events.
Mia was seriously considering hiring a new assistant because the long hours were really beginning to take a toll. But as Steven had told her over lunch several weeks earlier, the last thing you want to do is hire someone only to find out in six months that you have to let her go. Perhaps she could advertise for a temporary position or just use one of the agencies. At least a temp could take calls and even do some of the running around.
She thought about it as she looked at her computer screen, which displayed the layout of the venue. With her luck she’d probably wind up hiring yet another Cartel member. She chuckled at the thought.
“It’s always good to see you laughing.”
She jerked up in her seat. Her eyes went to the door.
“Michael. What are you doing here?”
He stepped fully into the office and Mia silently cursed the fact that she didn’t have that third hand. Ashley was with the two sisters going over the menu for their opening, which left her alone in the office.