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Ashley had about three more minutes. Mia began to breathe a little easier.
“I’m impressed,” Michael said when the screen went blank.
Brenda turned on the lights.
“How soon can you get started?”
“Michael—” Brenda cut in.
He held up his hand.
Mia and Ashley glanced at each other.
“As soon as you’re ready,” Mia answered.
“That’s what I like to hear.” He stood. “Let’s seal the deal over lunch.”
Mia tossed a triumphant grin in Brenda’s direction. Triumphant in more ways than one.
As they walked out, Mia hesitated. “I need to use the restroom.”
“I’ll take you,” Brenda offered.
“That’s fine. Just tell me where it is. I’m sure I can find it myself.”
“I’d love to see the rest of your space,” Ashley chimed in, hearing her cue.
“Sure,” Michael agreed. “Mia, we’ll meet you up front.”
“Down the hall, make two lefts,” Brenda reluctantly instructed Mia.
“Thanks. I won’t be a minute.” She walked in the general direction of the restroom. She decided it would be pointless to try to get in the control room, but Michael’s office was a different story.
She hurried down the hall, passing a few employees along the way, who didn’t pay much attention to her. She glanced at the nameplates on the doors. The offices were set up like a maze: short hallways that led to different departments, quick turns and dead ends. She felt as if she should have left bread crumbs so she could find her way back.
Finally, she found Michael’s office after following a sign for administration. She hoped that it wasn’t locked. She tried the knob and the door opened. Taking a quick look left then right, she stepped inside and shut the door behind her.
Mia was pretty certain that if Michael were involved in anything, the last place he would have microphones and cameras would be in his office.
The rectangular office screamed masculine. Brown leather furnishings, vertical floor-to-ceiling blinds in a bronze color that gave the room a warm glow. An antique oval rug covered the center of the wood floor. His desk was pure Michael—rich and dark. His mantra screen saver crawled across the monitor: “I’m dreaming of great things and doing them.”
She went directly to his desk. The first thing she did was insert a recording device into his phone, then she took a CD out of her bag and put it in the computer. After it loaded, she hit the Enter key and the disk whirred then exited.
Mia checked her watch. She’d been gone a little more than five minutes. Hopefully, Ashley was running her mouth and asking a zillion questions. She took one last look around, went to the door and cracked it open. The hallway was empty. She stepped out and shut the door behind her.
Briskly she walked down the hallway, turned right and ran smack into Brenda.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Mia sputtered. She pressed her hand to her chest.
Brenda stared at her. “This isn’t the way to the ladies’ room.”
Mia smiled and shook her head. “I got totally turned around. I should have taken you up on your offer.”
“It’s this way,” she said with quiet deliberation. She extended her hand in the opposite direction.
Mia clutched her purse tighter in her hand and secured her tote on her shoulder. “Thanks.” She followed Brenda to the door with the image of a woman emblazoned on the front. Mia pushed the door open.
“I’ll wait for you so you don’t get lost again.”
“’Preciate that.” Mia stepped inside and nearly collapsed against the door. Another minute and Brenda would have seen her coming out of Michael’s office.
She walked to the sink, turned on the cold water and looked at her reflection. “This is only the beginning,” she said to the reflection, “so get it together.”
Mia ran her wrists under the cold tap water to slow down her racing heart and lower the heat in her body that was making her light-headed. She dried her hands then took her lipstick from her purse and touched up her mouth.
* * *
Brenda was leaning against the wall when Mia stepped out.
“All done!” she said with a cheery smile.
Brenda stepped up to her, so close that Mia noticed she was wearing individual false eyelashes and a couple of them had come out.
“I don’t know what your deal is,” Brenda said with chilly calm. “But stay away from Michael.” With that she spun away on her two-inch heels before Mia could digest the veiled threat and deliver a comeback.
Stirred but not shaken, Mia followed the scent of Brenda’s perfume and joined the trio at the receptionist’s desk.
Brenda Forde was going to be a problem.
Chapter 9
“You’ve been pretty quiet today,” Blake Fields said to Steven as they reviewed the blueprints for a co-op they were helping to develop. “Everything cool?”
In Steven’s circle of friends, Blake was at the center. They’d been tight since college. Steven was Blake’s best man when he married Savannah and was godfather to their daughter Mikayla. They’d shared a great deal through the years, the good and the bad, and they never lied to each other, no matter how much the truth might sting. That was the cornerstone of their friendship. If there was anyone that he could talk to about what may be going on with Mia, it was Blake. It helped, too, that Blake’s wife was Mia’s best friend.
Steven put down his drafting pencil and looked across the table to Blake, who was rerolling the blueprints that needed to be stored.
Blake turned from the pigeonhole where the blueprints were kept and focused on Steven. His brows drew together in concern. “I’m listening.”
Steven linked his fingers together while his tumbling thoughts settled down. “It’s about Mia.”
The frown line deepened. “Is she okay? She’s not ill...pregnant?”
Steven released a short chuckle. “Naw, none of the above.”
“Oh, cool. So what is it?”
“Man, I don’t even know where to start or if I’m making something out of nothing.”
“Start at the spot that’s buggin’ you the most.”
He ran his tongue across his lips and blew out a breath, leaning slightly forward. “Me and Mia have this bangin’ sex life, no pun intended. Anyway, lately she hasn’t been there, ya know what I mean?”
Blake nodded.
“I know my woman. I know her body and I know when she’s faking.”
Blake’s eyes widened.
“She acts like she’s into it but I can tell she’s not. And last night...” His voice drifted off. He wasn’t sure that he was ready to tell his buddy that he couldn’t satisfy his woman.
“Have you talked to her?”
“I’d feel like an idiot. It’s probably just in my head.”
“If it’s in your head, it got there for a reason.”
Steven was silent for a moment, trying to pinpoint the date and source of his unease. “I guess it started about two weeks ago. She’s been distracted and kinda secretive. I mean, I’ve walked in on her a couple of times and she shuts the computer off or abruptly ends a call. And she’s been evasive when I ask what she was working on. Then the whole sex thing.” He looked away.
Blake was quiet for a moment. He’d been in Steven’s shoes, or at least his wife, Savannah, had been in Steven’s shoes. Tristan Montgomery—a client—had decided that she wanted Blake as an addendum to their business contract, and she made life very difficult for him, to a point that he seriously considered ending the contract, returning the money and moving on. The tension played havoc with his marriage and Tristan’s tireless come-ons could wear down the best of men. But he couldn’t imagine that someone was hovering in the background of Steven and Mia’s relationship. Unfortunately, however, anything was possible even in the best relationship.
“Look, man,” Blake said, straddling a chair and bracing his forearms along the top. “You know the mess I went through with Tristan. The only thing that saved me and Savannah was talking. Once I let Savannah know what was really going on, it removed her doubts, it gave me strength and then as a team we dealt with it together.”
“I guess the thing that shakes me the most is that it’s always been me who was holding all the cards, the one who raised the questions, the one who got to walk away.”
“Hey, hold on. That’s taking it to the extreme, don’t you think?”
“I know, I know, I’m just saying...I feel out of my element. I’ve never let a woman get this close to me. And move in with a woman!” He snorted. “I took a big chance with Mia. If she messes over me...” He shook his head.
“We all thought we were playas until the right woman came along. Even you couldn’t outplay me until Savannah came along,” he teased.
That drew an appreciative chuckle from Steven. “So whatcha sayin’? I’m your wingman?”
“And a damn good one, too,” Blake said, laughter rumbling over his words. “Bottom line, my brother, you have to admit that your playa card had been pulled. And the sooner you accept that and give in to what you feel for her, all that other macho BS about being in control and in charge won’t mean jack. But you gotta talk to her. Tell her how you feel, what’s been on your mind.”
The waning afternoon light played on Steven’s eyes, turning them a darker shade of grayish green.
“Yeah, guess I’m gonna have to. This just isn’t my thing, spilling my guts.”
Blake gave a crooked smile. “You’ll get used to it.”
“Do me a favor.”
“Sure.”
“See if you can pick Savannah’s brain. Maybe Mia might have said something to her.”
“I’ll try. But haven’t you heard of the girlfriend oath?”
Steven frowned. “The girlfriend oath?”
“Yeah, no boys allowed.”
* * *
When Steven arrived home, he had every intention of talking with Mia, as Blake had suggested. But the truth was, talking about insecurities and being vulnerable to a woman didn’t sit well with him.
He lived by the example set by his father. A man was a man. Men didn’t cry, show fear or give in to their emotions. You never let a woman get beyond those defenses, no matter how much you loved them. If a woman could get to you in that way, then your enemies could get to you through her.
His father, Frank Long, had been a street hustler since his early teens and carried the mantra of the street deep in his soul. Although Steven knew that his father loved his mother, there were never open displays of affection or words of love tossed freely around. Frank showed his love through things. They had a stunning home on Sugar Hill in Harlem. His mother had more jewelry than she would ever wear, and he and his brother and sister never wanted for anything.
It was his mother, Grace, who provided the affection, some softness in their lives, but his father’s lessons and the way he lived his life were heavily ingrained in Steven.
He knew he felt deeply for Mia, more than any woman he’d been with. She anchored him and he didn’t want to be with anyone else—this was a first for him. Having more than one woman at a time had been a way of life for him. It kept him from becoming too involved, caring too much. Steven Long was a playa to his heart, but as Blake had clearly pointed out, Mia had pulled his card.
Did that mean he was in love? Or in deep like? It must be something, he thought as he tugged off his tie en route to the bedroom. He’d given up his bachelor pad and moved in with Mia. That had to mean something, which made how Mia had been acting all the more unnerving for him.
He flicked on the bedroom light, took off his jacket and tossed it on the lounge chair near the window. He pulled the curtain back and gazed out at the street below.
Twilight was settling over the city. That in-between time of day and night when your eyes played tricks on you and things weren’t quite as they seemed.
Just as he was about to turn away, he saw Mia’s Lexus pull up in front of the building. He waited for her to exit. He loved to see her walk. When she didn’t get out, he grew curious. He peered a bit closer and the outline of her body was defined by the streetlights. She had her head down on the steering wheel. And several times she hit the wheel with her palm.
Finally, she sat up, flipped down the mirror and checked her appearance. Then sat for a couple of minutes more before she gathered her things and got out. He watched her approach the building; the usual bounce and sway in her step was missing. Mia usually walked as if she was ready to take over the world—head held high, long smooth strides, determination etched on her face. But tonight her body language shouted defeat.
He turned away from the window once he saw her enter the building. Something must have happened at the office or with a client or with one of her friends. Mia never got rattled, so it had to be something major. Whatever it was, they’d deal with it. He heard her key in the door and went up front to meet her.
She came in and when she glanced up and saw him standing there, a smile to light up Broadway bloomed across her mouth.
“Hey,” she greeted him. She pranced over to him and kissed him softly and briefly on the lips. “How was your day?”
“Fine,” he murmured, totally confused by the woman he’d seen outside only moments ago who was obviously upset and the woman standing in front of him who acted as if the world was hers for the taking.
She brushed his cheek with her fingertip and moved past him. “Hungry?” she called out over her shoulder.
“No. I’m good. Late lunch.” He followed her into the bedroom. “So how was your day? Anything exciting happen?”
“Not really.” She gave him the benefit of a quick look before sitting on the side of the bed to take off her shoes.
Whatever was on her mind, she apparently didn’t want to share it with him. He turned abruptly and headed back to the living room.
* * *
Moments later Mia heard the sound of the evening news coming from the living-room television.
Briefly she let down her guard and the weight of her day consumed her. The tension she dealt with at Michael’s office while she planted the devices, followed by a two-hour lunch with him, Brenda and Ashley, all came closing in on her at once. They’d been seated in a booth for four and Michael took the liberty of sitting next to Mia.
Although lunch was very businesslike and aboveboard, she couldn’t mistake the intermittent bump of thighs beneath the table or the brush of fingertips as they reached for the same item.
