Champagne Cravings (19 page)

Grabbing hold of the tech, I said, “Turn it off. Turn the
damn thing off!”

He was dumbfounded and didn’t move.

“Goddamn it!”

The video footage included soft moans coming from the
couple. A woman kneeling before the man, giving him a blowjob. There was no
evidence of who the twosome was at the moment and I needed to keep it that way.
Seeing the long, taped-down power cord that led from the projector to the
outlet I deduced was behind the skirted screen, I made a beeline for the
enormous visual display and literally dove under the black, velvet skirting,
tearing Biel’s dress and scraping the hell out of my hands and knees. But I was
on my feet in the next instant, following the cord to a surge protector filled
to capacity. I had only one shot at this, so I couldn’t mess with the individual
power adapters. I gripped the main source and yanked, ripping the plug from the
recessed outlet in the rooftop floor.

The sound from the “presentation” died instantly. The
projector had too, as evidenced by the sudden absence of illumination around
the edges of the screen.

My pulse raged in my ears and my heart beat wildly. I limped
over to the skirting again, that being my only means of escape from behind the
monstrosity of a projection screen. I crawled to the other side and stood. I
seemed to be the only one who made a move.

Suddenly, Piper pointed her finger at Biel and shrieked,
“You whore! You had an affair with Mav Linnear!”

Cal had reached the stage just as Mav yelled, “Get her out
of here!”

I rushed up the steps as well, tearing the microphone from
Piper’s hand. And then I slapped her. Hard.

More shocked gasps filled the quiet night air. Piper stared
at me, incredulous. Speechless.

“You deserved that,” I ground out. “For ruining the launch.
For making Biel miserable. For—”

She unexpectedly lunged for me, screaming, “You bitch!”

But Cal was quick on his feet and threw his body between
mine and Piper’s, catching her in a tight hold. She struggled against him in a
scrappy way, but something told me this guy had been a lineman in school who’d
never let anyone tackle his quarterback.

Lifting Piper off her feet, he physically removed her from
the stage as hotel security swooped in. Mav joined me and I handed over the
mic, my body vibrating with adrenaline and exhilaration.

Turning to the stunned A/V tech, I shouted, “Sound!”

He scrambled to get us the audio feed, knowing precisely how
to rig the adapters, without bringing the video footage back up.

Clearing his throat, a surprisingly composed Mav said, “I
suppose that’s more than you’d anticipating seeing this evening.”

Embarrassed laughs cut some of the tension.

“I apologize for the interruption. Obviously, we have
someone hell-bent on ruining our product launch, no matter when we schedule
it.”

I stole a glance at Biel. She was silently crying, her body
shaking and tears running down her face, though not a hint of makeup smudged.
Not even her mascara.

She didn’t run and I was damn proud of her for that. Her
shoulders were still back, her head held high. She did, however, mouth the
words, “I’m sorry.”

Mav saw her. He shook his head and said, “There’s nothing
for you to be sorry about, Biel. I take full responsibility for this. As you
can all see,” he addressed the group again, “I did have a brief affair with
Biel. That was the two of us in the video. We became fast friends when we met,
right before I’d signed her to this campaign, and we bonded quickly. Although
we only shared one evening together, I have no regrets about it.”

One corner of Biel’s mouth lifted. “Neither do I.” We could
barely hear her, but those on the floor apparently caught her sentiment.

Continuing, Mav said, “While our launch is less than perfect
yet again this evening, I don’t think Biel needs to swim the width of that pool
to prove Elan’s new product line truly does make good on all the promises it
boasts. There’s no denying it. Biel is as lovely as ever.”

This caused more tears to flood her eyes and stream down her
cheeks. I felt them pool in my eyes too. I was horrified for her, but also
happy, because she would triumph again. I knew it in my heart.

Her tuxedo-clad waiter stepped forward, not missing his cue
despite the dramatic change in the script. He handed her a fluffy white towel,
as he’d done last week. This time, when Biel blotted, the towel remained clean.

She held it up for all to see. They applauded her.
Enthusiastically.

When the din eventually subsided, Mav said, “Thank you to
everyone who came this evening. Thank you to Biel McKinley for sticking with
Elan. And thanks to Lacey Mansfield. You did exactly as I’d asked. You pulled
the plug.”

Mea Culpa. (Times a Lot.)

I took Biel home with me. After Mav turned his product
launch into a rave everyone seemed to enjoy and Biel accepted a ridiculous
amount of kudos and well-wishes, I had the hotel send a limo for us. We arrived
at my apartment around one in the morning. She cried on my shoulder the entire
way.

John helped us out of the car and into the elevator. “Is
everything all right?” he asked.

“Yes, thank you. We’re fine.” I knew he was discreet enough
that I neither had to explain about the supermodel or my shredded dress, nor
worry he’d gossip about us.

I let us into the apartment and locked the door. Then I put
Biel in my room, telling her, “Take a shower. You’ll feel better. We can talk
if you want. Or not. Whatever makes you most comfortable. I’ll sleep on the
couch tonight.”

With a weak smile, a sniffle and a hiccup, she said, “Thank
you, Lacey. For everything.”

I patted her on the shoulder. “Maybe a bubble bath would be
better. Help yourself to whatever you need.” I stepped into the dressing room
to retrieve fresh towels for her, then I left her alone. I was sure the shock
of Piper’s actions hadn’t worn off. If I were her, I’d want some time to
compose myself.

In the living room, I slipped off the shoes I’d borrowed.
The dress was a disaster, totally ruined from the knees down. Perhaps Biel’s
seamstress could fix it.

When I heard the water running in my bathroom, I returned to
the bedroom and changed the sheets for Biel. Then I slipped into my yoga pants
and tank top. I laid out a similar outfit for her on the bed but added a soft,
button-down sweater. A comfort garment, if you will.

I closed the bedroom door behind me, giving her some
privacy, and went into the kitchen to wash my hands and scraped knees. Then I
heated water in the old-fashion teapot I kept on the stove. I took the box of
assorted teas from the cabinet and spread out a few packets on a serving tray.
The fridge was filled with leftover takeout boxes but I also had fresh brie and
Havarti that I sliced and arranged on a plate with crackers and grapes. For the
hell of it, I opened a can of foie gras terrine I’d brought back from Paris and
added that, as well as torn pieces of baguette to smear it on.

Knowing Biel as well as I remarkably did, I also uncorked a
chilled bottle of champagne that had sat on the top shelf for a couple months.
I couldn’t remember the occasion for which it had been purchased, but I’d never
gotten around to drinking it.

I added it to the tray, along with two mugs filled with
piping hot water and two champagne flutes. Very carefully, I made my way to the
living room. I set the goodies on the coffee table. I didn’t bother with music
and I only kept the one light on in the corner, not wanting Biel to feel as
though she were under interrogation.

She came into the living room about five minutes later,
sweater and all. She’d even found a pair of socks, which I hadn’t thought to
include because I liked to go barefoot.

Curling up on the sofa, she said, “Thanks for the loaner
clothes. Sorry I had to go through your drawers to find the socks.”

I laughed. “As long as you stayed away from the one next to
the nightstand.”

With a soft grin, she said, “Trust me. I know better.”

Thoughts of Mike naturally popped into my head, but I was on
gal-pal detail, so I had to shelve them. I hadn’t even turned my phone back on.
I actually prayed he
hadn’t
called, because I wouldn’t want him to think
I was avoiding him by not answering.

Biel said, “My head is spinning. I can’t even begin to
process everything that happened tonight.”

She reached for the bottle of champagne and poured two
glasses with shaky hands.

I took one from her and said, “Please don’t blame yourself.”

“How can I not?” She took a sip, then sighed. “Mav really is
a genuine guy. He won’t hate me for this. But how will I ever make it up to
him?”

“I don’t think he expects you to, Biel. I mean, he said
himself, he has to take responsibility for your brief affair.”

“One-night stand,” she corrected. Then scowled. “Jesus, I
can’t believe Piper filmed us. I didn’t even know she was in town. She must
have been spying on me the whole time. Like, I think she followed us to the
restaurant that night and then back to the apartment. Of course, she still had
a key, so it would have been easy for her to sneak in when Mav and I went into
the bedroom.”

I was still a bit blown away by her choice in men, not that
Mav wasn’t attractive, but… “He’s thirty years older than you. I would have
guessed you’d picked some hot, young stud if you wanted to give the opposite
sex a go.”

“No,” she said with a shake of her head. “I like how worldly
and sophisticated he is. And the gray at the temples is damn sexy.”

I really couldn’t argue with that. “So now what?” I asked.

She sipped and then reached for the knife to spread some
terrine on a chunk of bread. After noshing, she told me, “Clearly, it’s over
between me and Piper.” A thought occurred to her and her brow furrowed. “I
wonder if she can go to jail for what she’s done.”

“Tampering with and essentially stealing proprietary
products, defaming the company and its CEO… Yeah. She’s in some serious hot
water.”

Biel considered this, then said, “I’m not going to bail her
out. I won’t beg Mav not to press charges. Nor will I have anything to do with
her ever again.”

False bravado emitted from Biel, but I gave her props
anyway. Patting her knee, I said, “You are so much better off without her. You
don’t need the constant heartbreak, my friend. You don’t deserve it.”

With a nod, she said, “I think you’re right. Still… I feel
so bad for Mav.”

“He’s a big boy. Worldly and sophisticated,” I reminded her.
“And he’s got hordes of people around him who know how to attack this head-on.
Legally and from a PR standpoint. Something tells me this scandal will equate
to ginormo sales. Like
Basic Instinct
.” I winked at her.

She grinned, though her mouth quivered at the corners and
her eyes misted. “You’re really pretty amazing, Lacey. I am so glad to know
you.”

“Feeling’s mutual, kid.”

Finally, she laughed. “Hey, I turned twenty-two today.”

“Yesterday, technically. But you still make me feel damn
old. Oh by the way,” I said, “I’m sorry about your dress. I completely
destroyed the bottom half of it. But if you really like it, I think you can
turn into a mini.”

“Good thinking. It’s one of my favorites.” My face fell. She
laughed again, heartier this time. “Oh Lacey,” she said in her singsong voice,
bouncing back, as always. “As if I couldn’t have it designed for me again. Do
you know how much money I make?” I was sure she’d repeated that last comment
not as conceited one, but as an affirmation her career still rode its
skyrocket.

After we polished off the champagne and put the rest of the
foie gras in the refrigerator, Biel bade me goodnight and went to sleep in my
room.

I nestled under a lightweight blanket on the couch, staring
at my laptop, wanting to check it. But I was so drained, I couldn’t handle any
emotional turmoil. In fact, I was asleep within minutes.

* * * * *

I awoke to a soft knock on my front door. Tossing off the
blanket, I padded across the hardwood floor to the foyer. I took a peek through
the peephole, half-expecting the rabid paparazzi outside my door.

My heart flipped, as did my stomach, at the devastatingly
handsome face staring back at me.

Unlocking the door, I pulled it open. “Hey,” I said, my
voice breathless.

Mike flashed me his sexy grin. “Hey.” He propped a shoulder
against the doorframe and lifted one hand, showing me the photos I’d left for
him the other night. “Any more of these?”

“No,” I said with a shake of my head. “That’s the last of
them.”

“Bummer.” His other hand came from behind his back and he
held up my letter. “How about more of this mushy stuff?”

I fought back a grin. “Tons more.”

“Good.” He pushed away from the doorframe and stepped
inside. He dropped the pictures and the letter on the table and reached for me.
“Now,” he said as he stared deep into my eyes. “Why the hell haven’t you
returned any of my calls or emails?”

It took a bit of effort to get past the sexual stirring and
emotional churning that instantly brewed within me at the mere sight of him.
But I had to be honest and forthcoming with him. That was my new motto, the new
direction I chose to embrace. Because that was what you did when you were in
love—you didn’t purposely torture the other person, as Biel had pointed out to
me days ago.

And I was most definitely in love. No denying it. No
escaping it.

I wasn’t even surprised to find I was perfectly comfortable
with the intensity of my emotions.

I admitted, “At first, I was terrified you were going to blow
me off in your email. I didn’t know how to take that strange departure when you
left for Dallas. But then things got of hand with my Elan assignment and I
didn’t have a spare moment. Otherwise, I would have been in touch.”

He pulled in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. All the
while, he held me in a loose embrace. I desperately wanted him to kiss me,
because that would immediately tell me he was still hot for me. But I forced my
impatience and anxiety to simmer.

“I wasn’t happy about leaving,” he told me. “Especially
given the timing. We were finally together and I had to blow out of here the
next morning. How did that
not
feel like a one-night stand?”

“It didn’t,” I insisted. “Not to me, anyway. I just wished
we’d had a chance to talk rationally, rather than when we were dealing with a
these mixed-up, crazy emotions neither one of us has any experience with.”

“That does complicate things for us.”

With a nod, I said, “But we just keep pushing through the
walls, right?” I gave him a hopeful look.

He grinned again. “My thoughts, exactly.”

I went up on my tiptoes to give him a kiss. His arms
tightened around me and he instantly took control of the kiss, his tongue
plunging deep and tangling with mine. He had me burning from the inside out in
a heartbeat. And I loved it.

From behind us, I heard a very flirty, “Um-hmm.”

I dragged my mouth from Mike’s and glanced at Biel over my
shoulder.

She smiled. “The super-hunk?”

“Would I be kissing any other man?”

With an appreciative look, she said, “No, you are fiercely
loyal. One of the many things I adore about you, Lacey.”

Mike whispered in my ear, “Should I be worried?”

I laughed. Pulling away from him, I said, “Not at all. You
heard the woman. I
am
fiercely loyal.” Gesturing to my new friend, I
added, “Mike, this is Biel McKinley. Biel, Mike Lucas.”

They shook hands and Mike said, “Thanks for taking those
shots of my girlfriend. Your pictures definitely say a thousand words.”

She beamed as she lightly clapped her hands together. “It
worked!”

“I think so,” I told her, my stomach flipping at Mike’s easy
use of the word
girlfriend
. We were still on track, then?

Not having the time to overanalyze that notion, I eyed Biel
in my red suit and a pair of matching, four-inch heels I’d long since given up
trying to walk in. “Where are you off to, all spiffed up?”

“Elan. Cal and a driver are coming to pick me up. I need to
speak with Mav and apologize again. See if there’s anything I can do to help
with the gossip that’s already started about us. My publicist and agent are meeting
me there. I hope you don’t mind I borrowed some clothes.”

“No worries. I raided your closet last night, remember?”

I caught Mike’s curious stare and lifted brow out of the
corner of my eye. Turning back to him, I said, “Another wild evening. A re-launch
of the product line. I’ll tell you all about it tonight, if you want.”

“Oh, yeah.” The look on his face told me he was
very
interested in knowing why the supermodel had spent the night at my apartment
and was wearing my clothes this morning.

To Biel, I said, “I’d like to go with you, if you can hold
up for a few minutes while I get ready. I have an apology of my own to make.”

“Sure thing.”

I asked Mike, “Chinese takeout tonight?”

With a sexy smirk, he said, “It’s Wednesday.
Criminal
Minds
,
Law and Order
and
Cold Case
are on. That means
Cantonese roast duck Peking with steamed rice for you.”

“I really am predictable, aren’t I?”

“Hardly,” he said as he kissed me. “Now go do your thing.
I’ll unpack and see you tonight.”

He told Biel it was nice to meet her and then left without
saying those three little words I was dying to hear from him. I found that a
bit unnerving, thinking maybe it really had been the sex that had made him tell
me he loved me, despite the fact he’d called me his girlfriend in front of Biel.
That could have just been a “marking his territory” stunt.

But I couldn’t dwell on any of that. I needed to hop-to. I
rushed into the bathroom to shower and dress. Like the night before, I could do
my makeup in the car.

* * * * *

I accompanied Biel to the executive wing of Elan Essentials.
She was pensive beside me, but striving for a confident attitude.

Christine came out of Mav’s office as we arrived. She said,
“It’s utter chaos in there. Truly a madhouse.”

I had no doubt. Since I no longer had anything to do with
the scandal, I opted not to add to the body count of the media frenzy. I asked
Biel, “You’ll be okay if I don’t go in?”

“Sure,” she said, tapping into more of those steely nerves
of hers. “I’m becoming an expert at handling public humiliation.”

“Let’s hope this is the last of it.”