Naughty (21 page)

“I don’t know if Tyler is your type,” he said point-blank.

“Why do you say that?” she asked, sounding offended.

“Tyler is the artsy, Bohemian type, and you look like you just stepped off the pages of
Vogue
. I can’t picture you two together,” he said, wriggling his nose and slightly shaking his head.

“I can do artsy. Besides, let me be the judge of who’s my type, and who’s not my type,” she said, with authority.

“Fair enough, but I hope you’re not the player type. Tyler just got out of a bad situation, and I would hate for her to get her heart broken twice in the same year,” he said, sounding like an overprotective older brother.

Mira could hear the concern in his voice and it was touching.
He must really love his sister,
she thought. “No, I’m not a player.” Mira thought about her membership at the Black Door. As far as she was concerned, what went on behind the closed doors of the club was nobody’s business.

“What about the redhead in London? You two were having a pretty good time playing in the shower.” He pinned her with a questioning look.

Mira chuckled, and felt a little flush. “Oh, she’s a ‘playmate’ from a service I use from time to time when I’m in the UK.”

“A service?” He scooted to the edge of the sofa and lowered his voice, as if someone else were in the room who might overhear their conversation. “You mean an escort service?”

Mira shook her head up and down. “Yep. I was feeling lonely, so I called the service and ordered some company for the
evening. They’re the best in London with a stable stocked full of thoroughbreds.”

Jacob flashed a broad grin. “Yeah, I saw firsthand.”

A wave of embarrassment rushed over Mira at the thought of Jacob catching her with that little filly, and she didn’t quite know what to say, so she didn’t say anything.

Jacob noticed the blood rush to her face. “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.” He winked. “We’ll consider this a highly classified, proprietary meeting just between the two of us.”

“You’re right. This information is on a need-to-know basis.” Mira felt relieved that that issue was resolved, and couldn’t wait to meet Jacob’s sister. Maybe this would finally be a true love connection and not another horny lust connection.

TYLER
’
S ROOM
was directly above the kitchen, and she could hear Naomi buzzing around like the Queen Bee that she was, getting the hive ready for today’s book club meeting. She put her sketch pad aside and decided to go downstairs and offer to help. Naomi didn’t hear Tyler approaching, so she stood in the doorway for a moment and watched Naomi arrange a platter of crudités, slicing the raw vegetables like a seasoned chef. Absent from the picture was a chef’s toque and apron. Instead, she wore a faded green New York Giants T-shirt and a pair of running shorts. The threadbare cotton of the shirt was so thin, she could see that Naomi was braless, her breasts hanging freely underneath the fabric. She must have been cold, because her headlights were shining brightly. Tyler tried not to stare at the silhouette of her nipples, but they were mesmerizing. Naomi must have felt Tyler staring. She suddenly turned around and looked up from the tray.

“I came down to help,” Tyler offered, darting her eyes from Naomi’s breasts to the vegetables.

“Thanks, but I have everything under control.” Naomi began to julienne a carrot, and then stopped. “On second thought, you can mix up the dip for the crudités. The ingredients are in the refrigerator, on the top shelf.”

Tyler went to the fridge and gathered the sour cream and scallions, but something was missing. Turning around to ask Naomi about the other ingredients, she was greeted by the view of her backside. Naomi was bent over picking something off the floor, her round ass high in the air. The running shorts had run all the way up her butt. She was pantiless, allowing Tyler to see more than she should have. Feeling ashamed at peeping at her sister-in-law’s goodies, Tyler turned her head and concentrated on mixing the dip. The phone rang, and Tyler swung around. Her natural instinct was to answer the phone, but Naomi picked it up instead.

Tyler watched Naomi’s facial expression change from neutral to negative. Whoever was on the other end, she wasn’t too happy to hear from.

“I’m fine,” she said, emphasizing the word fine. “Yes, she’s right here.” Naomi held out her arm, and extended the phone in Tyler’s direction without saying a word.

Tyler took the receiver gingerly from her hand. “Hello? Oh, hey, Jacob. I’m good. How you doin’?” she asked in a heavy Brooklyn accent. He chuckled at Tyler’s
Sopranos
wiseguy impression. She and Jacob had always enjoyed an easygoing relationship.

Naomi mouthed that she was going upstairs to dress, then rolled her eyes and stomped up the back steps. Judging from the anger in Naomi’s voice when she spoke to Jacob and the look that she just flashed, Tyler assumed their relationship was anything but easygoing. “What’s up with you and the wife?” she asked, once Naomi was out of earshot.

He sighed. “It’s a long story. Basically, she’s pissed because I travel too much, and I’m not giving her enough—” He stopped short, preferring not to divulge any more of their personal business. “Anyway,” he changed the subject, “the reason why
I’m calling is all about you, not me,” he said, sounding quite mysterious.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that your lonely days are over. Are you ready to get back in the game? If you are, I’ve got the perfect person for you to meet,” he announced quickly, nearly running the sentences together into one.

“So now you’re Chuck Woolery from
Love Connection,
trying to hook me up?” Tyler joked, though her interest was beginning to pique.

“Yeah, I am.” He deepened his voice and said, “I’ll be back in two and two,” using Chuck Woolery’s famous line.

“There’ll be no commercial breaks yet, not until you give me the four-one-one on this mystery woman.”

“Her name is Mira Rhone. She’s one of my clients, and she wants to meet you,” he said zealously.

“How does she know about me?” Now Tyler’s curiosity was totally piqued.

“Well, that’s another story altogether. Anyway—”

“You’re full of long stories today.”

“Before I was rudely interrupted, I was going to say that she’s the CEO of FACEZ, extremely attractive, and single. Are you interested?”

“Are you kidding me? FACEZ is one of the world’s leading cosmetics companies, and the CEO wants to meet me? Wow! I didn’t know she was gay. The last thing I read in the tabloids was that she had called off her wedding. Now I understand why. Wow! I’m stunned.”

“I’ll take that long-drawn-out response as a yes.”

“Of course I want to meet her, but I don’t want to seem like an eager beaver, desperate for a date.”

“Well, aren’t you?” he teased.

“Yeah, but she doesn’t have to know how desperate. I’ve got to play it cool. Being the head of a major corporation, I’m sure
she has women falling at her feet daily.” Tyler thought about the situation for a second, and came up with an idea. “We’re having a book club meeting here tonight. Why don’t you invite her? That way it’s not a date date and I can check her out without committing to a formal date first.”

“That sounds like a plan. I don’t know if she’ll be available since this is the last minute, but I’ll call her anyway. Talk to you la—”

“Hold on, wait a minute. Now that I’m thinking about it, I don’t know if this is such a good idea. Your wife might have a hissing fit if some random woman showed up out of the blue,” she said.

“Don’t worry, I’ll talk to Naomi, and say that Mira is a client of mine who’s interested in joining the club. I’m sure she won’t have a problem with that since she’s been on the hunt for new members.”

“Hold on. I’ll tell her you’re on the line. Thanks, big brother. Good looking out,” Tyler said, before calling Naomi to the phone.

AN HOUR LATER
, Tyler was standing in front of the mirror tweaking her makeup. Putting the tube of Nearly Nude lipstick back in her cosmetics case, she thought,
I’ve been using FACEZ products for years, and now I’m going to meet the CEO. How ironic is that?
The mounting anticipation was making her anxious. She felt like a kid on Christmas Eve waiting for Old Saint Nick to come sliding down the chimney with his sack full of goodies.
Was that the doorbell?
Tyler rushed out of the bathroom and tipped to the door. Her heart was beating wildly as she opened the door and stuck her head out. She could hear voices downstairs, and wondered if that was Mira.
What if she’s into the prissy, prissy type,
she thought, running her hand through her golden dreads. Tyler wasn’t a lipstick lesbian, nor was she a hard-core dyke. She was a hybrid of the two, feminine with a
slight edge. Tyler began to rethink the black slacks and black mock turtleneck that she wore. As she contemplated changing outfits, the doorbell rang a second time.
Well, it’s too late. If it wasn’t her before, I’m sure that’s her now
. Tyler slipped on a pair of black mules and headed downstairs. She stopped on the steps when she heard voices and listened for a minute.

“So, who is she?” That was Kennedy, in the kitchen with Naomi, balancing the tray of crudités in her arms. “I answered the front door when you were upstairs, and there she stood.”

“Her name is Mira Rhone. She’s the CEO of FACEZ and a client of Jacob’s.”

“FACEZ? What a small world, that’s where Nigel works. How did the CEO of FACEZ wind up at our little ole meeting?”

Naomi rolled her eyes to the ceiling, and then explained, “Jacob called out of the clear blue and said a client of his was interested in joining our book club. I guess he was tired of me complaining about looking for new members.”

“Well, she doesn’t seem like a big-wig muckety-muck. When I opened the door, she was extremely friendly,” Kennedy commented, and turned toward Tyler, who had come back in the kitchen from upstairs. “Oh, hey, how’s it going?”

Tyler hadn’t seen Kennedy since moving back to New York. They had met at Jacob and Naomi’s wedding. The ceremony was small and intimate, with Kennedy and Tyler the only two bridesmaids. Unlike Naomi, Kennedy wasn’t homophobic. She and Tyler chatted easily throughout the entire weekend, joking about the hideous teal blue chiffon dresses and matching satin slippers they were forced to wear. “It’s going, Kennedy. How’ve you been?”

“No major complaints, just the usual minor ones,” Kennedy joked while balancing the appetizers with one arm. “Let me take this tray into the solarium before I drop it on the floor.”

“Please don’t drop the crudités. It took me too long to cut up those vegetables. Tyler, can you bring in the fruit tray?” Naomi
asked, pointing to a silver platter sitting in the middle of the island.

“Sure.” Tyler’s heart rate accelerated as she carried the beautifully arranged melons, berries, and kiwi down the hallway to the solarium, where Mira Rhone was waiting. Tyler was anxious to meet her blind date. She had let go of the hurt that Liz had caused her and was ready to move on. Tyler was a one-woman woman, and desired to be in a relationship. She crossed her fingers underneath the tray and prayed that Mira Rhone wanted the same thing.

“Mira, this is my sister-in-law, Tyler. And this is Kennedy, my best friend, who opened the door when you arrived,” Naomi said, making introductions all around.

“Nice to meet you,” Kennedy said, shaking Mira’s hand. She thought about mentioning that she was dating Nigel, but didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. Besides, she didn’t know Mira, and didn’t want to disclose too much personal information on a first meeting.

Tyler was a walking bundle of nerve endings and nearly toppled the tray over at the sight of Mira. She was absolutely tie-your-tongue-up-in-knots gorgeous. And that was exactly what happened as she stumbled over her words. “Uh, hi, hello, uh, I’m . . . uh, nice to meet you,” Tyler finally said, setting the tray on the cocktail table.

Mira looked into Tyler’s eyes, and without stumbling over one word said, “Nice meeting you as well.” She shook Tyler’s hand, but held it a little longer than normal. Tyler wasn’t as butch as Sam, but she was attractive nonetheless.

“Welcome to the Naughty Book Club. Shall we get started, ladies?” Naomi asked, motioning for everyone to have a seat.

Over the next hour they munched on the raw veggies, mini sandwiches, and fruit while discussing the plot line of
A Few Dollars and a Dream
. The general consensus was that the story was interesting enough, but predictable. Mira didn’t participate
in the discussion. Obviously, she hadn’t had enough time to read the book, so she just sat back and observed. From time to time, Tyler caught Mira cutting her eyes in her direction, checking her out on the sly.

“So much for this novel,” Naomi said, tossing her copy on the cocktail table. “I’ve been thinking that maybe we should read a juicier book. Maybe something that’s a little more erotic.” She wanted to make a segue into talking about the Black Door, and this seemed like a good intro. Naomi looked over at Kennedy, trying to give her a hint as to where this conversation was headed.

“Hmm, that sounds interesting,” Kennedy said, immediately catching on.

“You know how they say life imitates art?” She looked around the room, but no one said anything, so she continued. “Well, I’ve heard of this club that caters to the carnal needs of women. Men work there, but they can’t be members.” She hesitated. “I think it’s called the Black Door.” Naomi finished her sentence and looked directly at Tyler, waiting for her to offer up the goods. But Tyler just sat there like she had never heard of the place, so Naomi went on. “Now, I wonder if this club is real, or if it’s just a figment of someone’s imagination?” Again she zeroed in on Tyler.

“If it’s an actual club, sign me up!” Kennedy said, hoping that Tyler would acknowledge knowing about the club, but she didn’t.

How the hell does Naomi know about the Black Door?
Tyler thought. She didn’t dare mention that she was doing some freelance work for the owner, since he had practically sworn her to secrecy. Besides, Naomi had such a bad attitude about her sexuality that she would probably throw Tyler out if she knew about her designing masks for an erotica club.