Love in the Limelight Volume Two: Seduced on the Red CarpetLovers Premiere

by Ann Christopher

  “Good. You want something and I want something. Let’s negotiate.”

  Boxed into a corner, Ram considered his options. The fact that this is the longest conversation they’d had without her storming off or tossing in a few choice words his way forced him to recognize the sweet carrot she was offering. “Your list for peace?”

  “That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.”

  “But there’s still the issue of you working too many long hours,” he said, hedging. “I admit that you’re one hell of an agent and a great asset to the company, but let’s face it. You can’t sustain this workload. You need help and you’re too stubborn to admit it or acknowledge it.”

  Sofia’s jaw clenched. “Fine. I’ll cut back on my hours.”

  “To forty hours a week.”

  “What? Don’t be ridiculous. I can do…seventy.”

  “Lower.”

  “Sixty-five.”

  “Lower.”

  “Sixty?”

  “Lower.”

  “Oh. I give up. You’re totally being unreasonable.” She shifted in her seat in an attempt to give him her back.

  Ram was too busy laughing.

  “What’s so funny now?”

  “You are,” he said. “I recall us almost having the same exact conversation when you were telling me that you wanted to date a gazillion boys.”

  “What?” And then the memory hit her. “Oh.” Her face warmed as she blushed. “You remember that?”

  His smile returned. “Well, I had asked you to marry me for like the millionth time.”

  “You were persistent. I’ll give you that.”

  “All the good that did me,” he mumbled under his breath. “I believe that was the last day we were technically friends.” He paused. “In retrospect I think a simple ‘no’ would’ve sufficed.”

  Sofia started squirming again.

  Ram felt he was finally getting to her. “What happened?”

  The angry voice rising from her father’s den played in her head, but she forced it out and lied. “Nothing.”

  “Yeah. Okay. I believe that.” He clicked and rotated a few buttons. “Buckle your seat belt. I’m taking us down for a landing.”

  Sofia closed her eyes and for the first time felt really ashamed of her behavior. It had to be jarring for a young Ramell to have his best friend suddenly stop talking to him. And the way she’d treated him since. She almost groaned out loud. She had been so wrapped up in her own feelings and angst that she didn’t allow herself to see things through his perspective. Stealing another glance in his direction, she made a decision. “All right. Fifty hours,” she said. “And that’s my final offer.”

  Ramell cocked a smile. “Sounds like we got ourselves a deal.”

  *

  When they landed, Ramell offered Sofia a ride to Mandalay Bay, where the 11th Annual Latin Grammy Awards would be held. It was also where Limelight Entertainment would be hosting their pre-award party and where Stewart had booked her room.

  And if Stewart was involved in anything that meant that things were screwed up.

  “What do you mean we’re sharing a room?” Sofia asked the young gentleman with the Justin Bieber haircut behind the counter. “There must be some kind of mistake.”

  David, according to his name tag, checked his screen again and then shook his head. “You are with Limelight Entertainment, correct?”

  “Yes. But—”

  “Then, no. There’s no mistake. We have you and Mr. Jordan booked for the media suite.”

  “Sounds great to me,” Ramell said, smiling and grabbing the envelope with their plastic keys.

  “Whoa. Wait.” Sofia grabbed his arm with a troubled frown. “We can’t share a room.”

  He stared at her and shrugged. “Why not?”

  “Real funny, Slick. I don’t think so.” She turned back toward the counter. “I need another room.”

  David blinked and then started typing in the computer, but even as he did so he was shaking his head. “I’m sorry but due to the Latin Grammys this weekend, we’re all booked up.”

  She huffed. “Then I’ll just have to go to another hotel.”

  He shrugged. “You can try, but I’m pretty sure that they’re going to tell you the same thing. With press, artists and industry people in town for the ceremony, they’ll all tell you the same thing. You might find something out on the old strip.”

  “Oh, God,” she moaned. Her cell phone started ringing, but she quickly put it on mute.

  “Sofia, it’s no big deal. The media suite is a huge room. It’s at least…what?” Ram asked David.

  “Two thousand square feet,” David answered. “There are two bedrooms in it.”

  “See? It’s like an apartment. I’ll have one bedroom and you’ll have another.”

  He had a way of making it seem reasonable, but alarm bells were ringing so loud inside her head she could hardly think.

  “C’mon,” Ram said, turning away. “We both have half a million things to do to get ready for the party tomorrow night.”

  Sofia remained rooted by the counter as she watched him stroll off toward the elevator bay. This cannot be happening, she told herself.

  Ram stopped, turned and looked at her. “Are you coming?”

  Still trying to turn off the bells ringing in her head, Sofia slowly pushed one foot in front of the other while she mumbled under her breath, “I sure hope you know what you’re doing.”

  Chapter 6

  It was a big suite. Sofia relaxed a little when she walked through the door and saw that the media room was in fact like an apartment. A pretty nice apartment, at that. They walked through a long foyer with eclectic artwork on the walls and minimal furnishing. That led them to a large living room area with floor-to-ceiling windows. There was a full office area, dining room and then it all split off to a media room that was fully enclosed with a state-of-the-art surround-sound theater.

  “Feel safe yet?” Ram asked, cocking a smile and shaking his head.

  “It wasn’t that I didn’t feel safe,” she defended. “It was just that…”

  “You don’t trust me,” he supplied, still smiling.

  She opened her mouth to lie, but her phone started ringing.

  “Saved by the bell,” Ramell said before grabbing his bags and heading off toward one of the bedrooms on the other side of the apartment.

  Sofia watched him go. Her eyes drifted down his broad shoulders, narrow waist and then finally his firm butt that damn near hypnotized her. Geez, did this man live in a gym?

  “Aren’t you going to answer that?” Ram asked without a backward glance.

  “Oh!” She blinked out her trance and answered the phone. “Hello.”

  “Ah, Ms. Wellesley. Thank goodness. We’re having a problem with the caterer for tomorrow’s party,” Stewart said, sounding like he was on the verge of a heart attack. “Plus the party planner hasn’t arrived yet and the hotel is insisting that we can’t have fire-eaters in this place.”

  “What? I never asked for any fire-eaters.” She smacked her hand against her head and wondered what the hell she did to get cursed with this assistant. “You know what? Don’t touch anything. Don’t call anyone. I’ll be down in a minute.” She hurried off to put her bags in the other bedroom, but when she came back Ram was standing in the media room in just a pair of shorts, socks and sneakers. She nearly tripped out of her designer pumps at the sight of his bare and muscular chest, his chiseled abs and powerful legs.

  Ramell Jordan had definitely grown up.

  Ram slipped a DVD into the media console and turned to see Sofia rooted behind him. He waved a hand in front of her after a few seconds. “Hello?”

  Sofia blinked and then shook her head, but even then she wasn’t sure that she had successfully broken her trance because he was still standing there before her half-dressed.

  “I was naked.”

  His eyebrows rose in amusement.

  “I mean—” She coughed and cleared her thro
at. “I was just about to go downstairs. We’re having a few issues with the chest.” Cough. “I mean party.”

  He smiled. “You need some help? I was just going to do this workout DVD, but if you need…”

  “No. No. Don’t worry. I’m on it. I can handle it.”

  He frowned. “I’ll go get dressed.”

  “No! Really I got it. I’m sure it won’t take but a few minutes.” He strolled back toward his bedroom with Sofia’s gaze following him again. Once he was out of sight, the spell had finally been broken and Sofia could unroot herself from the center of the suite.

  “What the hell?” She pressed a hand against her chest only to discover that her heart was beating like a drum. “I have to get out of here.”

  Not waiting for Ram, she rushed out of the suite and down to one of the conference rooms Limelight Entertainment had rented out for their pre-award show. She ushered her useless assistant aside and delved into fixing all the problems he’d created.

  In between talking with the caterer and apologizing to the very lovely fire-eater that her services wouldn’t be needed, Sofia took call after call from clients and studio executives. When suddenly the energy in the room shifted and the hairs on the back of her neck stood straight up, Sofia tossed a glance over her shoulder to see that Ramell had entered the room. She felt a twinge of disappointment because he actually had the nerve to put on more clothes. How ridiculous was that?

  She continued to watch him while he moved through the room, talked to a few people and even shared a laugh or two. Despite the conversation streaming through her Bluetooth and her nodding to the caterer, Sofia found herself mentally undressing Ram. She remembered vividly what those muscles beneath that T-shirt looked like, just like she was sure that she could probably grate a block of cheese across his abdomen. Suddenly, she was unbearably hot.

  “Is the air conditioner working in here?” She fanned herself.

  “Excuse me?” her client asked through her Bluetooth.

  “Sorry, Larry. I wasn’t talking to you.” She glanced around and then reluctantly waved Stewart over.

  He rushed over like an overeager puppy. With his big, brown, bewildered eyes, he actually sort of looked like a puppy, too. “Yes, ma’am? You need something?”

  Sofia hit the mute button on her call. “Check with someone about the air conditioner. It’s hot in here.”

  He frowned. “Really? I was just thinking it’s a bit chilly.”

  She huffed and rolled her eyes. “Will you please just go do what I ask?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’ll get right on it.” He actually saluted her and ran off.

  She turned back toward the caterer only to see that she had moved over to Ramell along with the party planner, seeking to get his final approval on Sofia’s changes.

  What the hell?

  She took her call off mute and said, “Larry, I hate to do this to you again, but I’m going to have to call you back.”

  “Does that mean we have a deal?”

  “I’ll call you back,” she insisted and then walked over to Ramell. “Did I miss something?” she asked, interrupting Caryn midsentence. Both sets of eyes zoomed over to her. “I put the party together every year.”

  Ramell smiled. “And I’m sure that you’ve always done a wonderful job. But this year I’m here to help.” He signed something for Caryn and then asked, “Do you mind giving us a few minutes alone?”

  Caryn nodded and then flashed a smile at Sofia before tiptoeing off.

  “What gives?” she challenged.

  “Nothing.” He shrugged. “I’m just giving you a hand since two doesn’t seem like it’s quite enough.”

  Sofia’s spine stiffened. “What does that mean? Are you saying that I dropped the ball or something?”

  Realizing that he’d put his foot into his mouth, Ram tried to backtrack. “No. No. We’ve already been over this, remember?”

  “Yeah.” She stretched the tense muscles in her neck. “We’ve also been over the fact that I didn’t ask for your help.”

  Ram’s smile melted off his face. “That’s because you’re stubborn.” When her face darkened he knew that she was just seconds from exploding. “Can’t you just relax? Or don’t you know how to do that anymore?”

  “I—” Her phone rang. She reached for it only for Ram to snatch it out of her hand. “What are you doing?”

  “They can leave a message. We’re talking. You and me,” he informed her.

  She blinked and started sputtering.

  “I need you to understand something. I gave you back your client list, but my objective is still to lighten your workload. You can go along with it or we can upend that truce we’ve had for the last—” he glanced at his watch “—two hours and go back to our respective boxing corners.”

  She sucked in a breath and lifted her chin. “I just don’t like being pushed around.”

  “And I don’t like pushing you,” he said in a softer tone. “I really don’t, but I feel like you’re forcing my hand on this.”

  She scoffed.

  “Unbelievable.” He shook his head. “I knew that you were a workaholic but this is ridiculous. What do I need to do? You want me to hog-tie you and stuff you in your room upstairs to make you take a break? Is that it?”

  “What?”

  “Because I’ll do it.” He tossed up his hands. “Hell, why not?”

  She stepped back from him. “You wouldn’t dare!”

  He leveled a stern look at her that made it impossible for her to discern whether he was joking or not. Hit with another wave of vertigo, Sofia wobbled around on her heels.

  Ram quickly reached out and steadied her. “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah,” Sofia lied and then tried to push her way out of his arms, but the steel grip he encased her in refused to budge.

  “Someone bring us some water,” Ram snapped to no one in particular.

  Everyone scrambled. The next thing Sofia knew she had her pick of at least fifteen water bottles. “Uh, thanks,” she murmured, accepting one.

  “Drink,” he ordered.

  For once, she did what he said. The moment the cold water slid down her throat she sighed out loud, but it was questionable whether it did anything to cool her down or cure her vertigo. In fact, she started to suspect being locked in Ram’s arms and feeling the hard ridges of his chest up close and personal were only making things worse.

  “How do you feel?”

  Ram’s intense gaze bored into hers to the point that she was having a difficult time getting her breathing under control. “Fine,” she lied again, and attempted to push away again.

  Ram loosened his grip, but he didn’t let her go. “That settles it. I’ll take care of the party. You go upstairs and lie down.”

  “Ramell—”

  “That wasn’t a request. I’m telling you.” The look he gave her dared her to argue back. “I got this. Get upstairs. Take a nap. I’ll be up there in a little while and I’ll check on you.”

  “I’m not a child.”

  “Then stop behaving like one,” he snapped back.

  She wanted to argue back, but what was the point? Ramell was proving that he was willing to lock horns and go toe-to-toe with her. But feeling that they were the center of attention, Sofia knew that it was time to back down. “All right. Fine. I’ll go take a nap or something.”

  “No ‘or something.’ A nap.” He finally released her, but she remained pressed against him for a few extra seconds as if her body wasn’t really ready to leave.

  With a weak smile she stepped back. “I guess I’ll just catch up with you later.” She reached to retrieve her phone, but Ramell held it back.

  “No. I think I’ll just hold on to this.”

  “What?”

  “The last time I checked, you don’t need a phone in order to take a nap.”

  She crossed her arms. “It’s not like there isn’t a phone in the suite.”

  “Maybe not, but without an address book, I’m
thinking that you’ll be limited on who you can call.”

  She opened her mouth to argue again, but stopped when she watched him huff and start to roll his eyes. “Fine.”

  “Good. I’ll check on you later.” He tossed her a wink and then strolled off.

  Frowning, Sofia watched him go, her mind undressing him once again. “Snap out of it,” she hissed, and then rushed out of the conference room. Once she was away from Ramell her head started to clear.

  “Ms. Wellesley,” Stewart shouted and raced down the hallway toward her. “I talked to the hotel management and they said that they will send someone to check on the air conditioner.” A big, eager smile bloomed across his face. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  “I, um… Actually, just go ahead and take the afternoon off. Mr. Jordan will be taking over the preparations this evening so that actually gives us some time off.”

  Stewart’s bushy eyebrows jumped up. “You’re going to take some time off?” he asked, practically laughing.

  “What?”

  “Look. I know I haven’t been on the job long, but I was told that you didn’t believe in taking time off.”

  She frowned, feeling insulted. “Who told you that?”

  He shrugged as if it was no big deal. “Everyone at Limelight…and everyone at the temp agency…and I think I might have read it in the trade papers, too.”

  “Come on, I’m not that bad.” Sofia laughed, but Stewart just gave her a timid smile. “Am I?”

  “I don’t think that I’ve been around long enough to say,” Stewart answered tactfully.

  “Well played. I get the point.” She marched off with her feelings still bruised. “Everyone acts like I don’t know how to relax,” she mumbled. “I know how to relax.” Her gaze darted around the beautiful hotel. It was filled with people laughing and smiling—just generally having a good time.

  “I know how to have a good time.” She shimmied her shoulders a bit to try and relax them, but then started to feel silly. At the elevator bay, she hit the up button and waited. A second later, a laughing couple waltzed up next to her to wait, as well. But Sofia started to feel uncomfortable when they started kissing. She turned her back toward them and shook her head. She never really cared for people who got carried away with public displays of affection.