The Pleasure's All Mine (16 page)

“Woman, if you don’t get those sexy legs moving…” Pierce began, impatience creeping into his tone. “I’m going to put you over my knee and spank that ass.”

Raven moved the phone away from her mouth. “What part of that’s a threat, Mr. Randall?”

Pierce could only smirk and shake his head as she winked. Raven moved along anyway.

“Well, we’ve got a signing at 12:30 and book club meeting at 6, so get your booty home, now.”

Raven swallowed, choosing her words carefully. “We might have to change those plans, my fine lawyer friend. I’ve just touched down at an airport in a place with palm trees.”

Silence on the other end expanded like a size-twelve girdle over sixty-inch hips. “You’re
just
now
getting off a plane after…” She paused a moment. “After I left you over fifteen hours ago? Where the hell did he take you?”

“That’s what I’d like to know, but he won’t tell me.”

Ava howled with laughter. “So what’s he like?”

“About the same.” Raven shrugged, peeking up at Pierce. “But add pushy, tenacious, and secretive to the mix.”

Pierce cast a sidelong glance at her.

“I think you’ve been holding out on me,” Ava quipped.

“What do you mean?”

“All this time I’ve been setting you up with doctors, lawyers, and CEOs, and all along, wanted a bad boy.”

Raven nearly stumbled. “Go to hell.”

“You first, but riddle me this Catwoman, why do you sound happier than you have in weeks?”

Raven squared her shoulders. “I think you’ve got me mixed up with someone else.”

“Noooooo. Cranky, irritable, snappish, bitchy—”

“I’ma kick your ass,” Raven grumbled, placing her hand in Pierce’s.

“Well, all right! Raven’s back!” Ava burst out and fell into a fit of laughter before asking, “Did you tell Pierce you might have a few engagements?”

“No, it totally slipped my mind.”

“Ummm-hmmmm.”

Something about that didn’t sound too good. “What? Don’t you use that tone with me.”

“Get within ten inches of some
real dick
, and your memory’s shot to hell.” Then Ava’s tone turned somber. “Raven, can I give you a piece of advice?”

“When has the word ‘no’ ever stopped you?”

“Then I won’t let this be the first time.”

Raven didn’t bother to respond as she tried to scope out the names of the restaurants they passed. All of them were closed.

“I don’t know how to say this, so I’m just going to be blunt…”

She braced herself, but kept moving since Pierce had frowned at her serious expression.

“Don’t say anything about…Where’s Pierce right now?”

“Right next to me.”

“Oh.” Ava paused as though weighing her words carefully. “Don’t tell him you’re…I mean, you might want to keep…oh, how do I say this?”

“Just spit it out!”

“Don’t mention anything about your little desire to walk on the wild side.”

Raven froze. She struggled with how to answer her without cluing Pierce into what had suddenly become a
sensitive
conversation. “That’ll have to happen at some point.”

“Let’s let ‘at some point’ be like waaaaaaaaaaaay down the road.”

“You know I like to be up front when I’m…” she threw a quick glance at Pierce, “…negotiating an appearance.”

“
Up front
cost you three possible relationships. Pierce is kind of worldly, but I don’t think he’ll be that understanding. At least not so early in the game.”

“That’s not how I do things. I’d rather be honest. If they can’t deal with
all
of the terms of the contract, I’d rather know
before
investing my time and energy.”

“Give it some time, Raven,” Ava pleaded. “Then break it to him gently.”

“I might not have to at all.” She lowered her voice. “After my visit to the Castle on Monday, all of my questions will be answered. Those and maybe more.”

“Bullshit.”

“Speaking of B.S.,” Raven said, remembering how Ava had left her high and dry in the conference room. And the fact that Pierce had said he had talked with her personally.

“Oh, trying to be ladylike. Can’t say the ‘s’ word out loud in front of the new man?”

“Don’t think you’re off the hook for serving me up like Thanksgiving turkey.”

“I didn’t serve you up,” Ava countered smoothly. “Pierce said he wanted to speak to you alone—that meant solo, single,
uno
—”

“I know what it means, heifer.”

“So don’t get mad at me.”

“I noticed you hadn’t even opened up your briefcase,” Raven said, trying to keep up with Pierce.

“So? I barely had a chance to set it on the table.”

“I bet you didn’t even have anything inside that thing, did you?”

“Excuse me?”

“You’ve been up to something.”

Pierce’s smile widened as he realized they were still talking about him.

“Whew, look at the time,” Ava answered, too casually. “I think I see my husband.”

“He’s in Chicago, Ava,” Raven replied in a flat tone.

“Well, I have to make sure he’s still there. Bye!”

Heifer.

The palm trees shook in the wind, whipping around as if a storm were coming, but the clear moonlight streaming in through every open space said otherwise.

Pierce watched Raven’s amazed expression as she attempted to figure out their location. The bold floral print shirts and Asian features of the airport personnel gave a few clues, but something could give away their exact location at any time, so he stopped walking and turned to Raven. “Would you like to know where you are?”

Her eyes grew wide, blinking so rapidly he thought she’d take flight.

“We are on…” he dragged it out, savoring the suspense a bit longer, “…the beautiful island of…” He grinned as she leaned in, eyes locked on his. “…Maui.”

She inhaled sharply. “Maui? As in Hawaii?”

Pierce simply nodded.

“Maui?” Her lips spread into a thin smile and her eyes lit up with wonder. Then her expression went in the opposite direction. “I don’t have any clothes or makeup or—”

He leaned in and kissed her to quell her rising panic. “We’ll play it by ear. I’ll get whatever you need.”

“Pierce, I can’t just disappear like this,” she said, alarm creeping into her voice and facial expression as she gripped his jacket. “I have a son and—” Another kiss and she remained silent for a moment.

Pierce had asked her to trust him, and she would…to a certain degree. She had a life. She had commitments.
She was hoping to have breakfast or possibly lunch with Eric and get to see Anita and Lorrie. Instead, she’d ended up trusting a man she barely knew who had practically kidnapped her. Eric and Ava would have a field day! Oh, Lord—her
schedule
! Ava would kill her for sure. Especially if Peggy had managed to schedule that last-minute book-club meeting and signing. Good Lord would she be in trouble. Maui? Really? He took her to Maui!!! A man couldn’t get much more romantic than that on such short notice.

She turned toward him, too enamored by their surroundings to get sassy. “Thank you, Pierce.” She leaned against him, taking in the shadowy forms of mountains sloping toward the water. “Thank you.”

Her smooth, breathy voice washed over him. He kissed her hand, and she tilted her head to rest on his shoulder. Pierce had only planned to stay twenty-four hours in Maui, to spend the day on the beach. Most important was to have the dinner and dance he’d promised. Then they would fly home. But Raven’s passionate, childlike reaction to the ocean let him know that one day would not be enough.

Raven tugged on his shirt, then splayed her hands across his chest. “Pierce, do you think…I mean, I know you said only dinner, but…”

Pierce leaned in, pressed his lips gently to hers and pulled away. “We can stay as long as you like, baby.”

Her face lit up with something that was amazement and happiness rolled into one. That alone helped push away the reality of what he was doing since a bit of doubt had crept back up again before she had asked. He had never been so irresponsible as to leave with no word to anyone at MEG. Sim would be mad as hell, the idea of which, truthfully, made Pierce smile. Even if they went back to New York this second, the short time he’d spent in Raven’s company was already well worth the wrath.

Even though she didn’t show an interest in—even better, seemed to
loathe
—his partner, past history prevailed. He needed to keep her as far away from Simeon Cahill as possible. And if that means taking her halfway across the country for Pierce to stake his claim on Raven—then so be it!

Eric had made the dreaded call to postpone his appointment in Baltimore. Marie was not happy, but he’d had no choice. Simeon had demanded that all employees come in early. His tirades over Pierce’s absence had reached an explosive point. He was like a dog pissing on everything, hoping to hit the right tree—or in this case—the right information.

A weary, red-eyed Eric Ripley sat scrunched in MEG’s main conference room between one overly endowed clerk and a solemn accountant who needed to be taken down by some Right Guard or Left––whichever could tame the funky odor. Steve, normally composed and unruffled, locked gazes with Eric across the table, a flush spreading across his angular face. Simeon paced the room, snapping at someone every few minutes, totally living up to the company’s nickname:
Madman Entertainment Group.

“Steve, I want to see you after this meeting,” Simeon demanded.

Steve simply nodded, then slowly scanned the area just outside the glass doors of the conference room until his gaze finally met Eric’s again.

What was up with this meeting? He had more than an inkling that Simeon was moving toward pushing Pierce out of MEG, and Steve certainly would be next. With Pierce and Steve gone, the climate at work would become unbearably bitter. Eric’s internship would likely be over, but that didn’t matter. Pierce was still “missing” and so was his mom. It looked as if Eric had accomplished what he set out to do. Thank God for miracles!

Eric had been ecstatic on hearing the word around the office that Pierce had entered a limo with Raven Armand and hadn’t been seen since. But would his meddling come back to bite him in the ass? He had learned that when people left MEG, Pierce let them go their own way; Simeon, on the other hand, destroyed anyone who left him unless he was the one to kick them to the curb, and even then he made sure that person would never find work in the music industry again.

“I want Pierce’s office locked!” Simeon roared, slamming his fist onto the table. “No one goes in there for any reason!”

Steve raised his hand. “There might be some documents in there we’ll need for the meeting with Warner. We need the projections he has on our last sales reports.”

Simeon stopped pacing long enough to think. “Get them before 5 today.”

“Of course,” Steve said smoothly.

Documents my ass
, Eric thought. We need to clear out his office before Simeon destroys something that’s important to Pierce. Like his parents’ picture and my mom’s files.

“If you hear from him or know where he is, and decide you just ain’t tellin’ me,” Simeon’s gaze swept over everyone, “pack your shit, get your swagger on, and walk the fuck out of here.”

A few gasped, but no one spoke.

“Steve!” Simeon bellowed. “My office. Now! I want to know all about this new deal he was working on.” He walked off with an entourage of bodyguards following.

Eric swallowed and winked at Steve when Simeon wasn’t looking.

Steve rubbed his chin lightly and nodded.

Eric let out a slow sigh of relief. They were still a team. Steve could handle Simeon, Eric could handle everything else. If he didn’t get fired first. What a mess!

He soon sat at his desk, deep in thought. Moments later, Eric almost screamed when someone yanked him out of his chair and dragged him to an enclosed service area several feet away.

As Steve spun him around effortlessly, Eric’s fists almost connected with Steve’s flushed-pink skin before he could stop himself.

Eric braced himself. “Oh, man! You know not to come up on someone like that!”

“You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I’m thinking it’s not going to be a hearty breakfast around this camp for a minute.”

Steve’s thin eyebrows drew in. “Well, I’m thinking along the lines of something that might get us fired.”

Eric favored him with a chuckle. “And that’s a bad thing?”

“Well,” Steve said with an impish grin, “it might also get us arrested.”

Eric’s smile disappeared. “Well, that’s different. I’m not killing anybody. I’m not going down like that. And if I’m serving time, it’s at Club Fed up there where Martha Stewart stayed.”