by Sandra Kitt
Her first thought was one of confusion. Why would anyone be taking a photograph of her?
Kevin firmly grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the line of vision of the photographer, placing himself between them. He then put his free hand up in front of the lens.
“Hey! Back off. What do you think you’re doing?” he asked, his voice annoyed and hard.
“Come on, man. I’ve been trying to get a decent shot since last Friday night at the club. Don’t play hard to get on me now,” the young man said with a broad smile, even as he took several steps back from the tone of Kevin’s voice and still shot two more frames.
“I’m not at the club,” Kevin announced clearly. “This is private time. I don’t appreciate that you’ve been following me. And you don’t have the young lady’s permission to take her picture.”
The young man seemed unfazed. “This is a public place. You’re both fair game. New arm candy? Never seen her before.”
Chloe, more rattled than she realized by the intrusion, let Kevin handle the situation. She had no idea how she would. Kevin made sure that the photographer never got another chance to take a clear picture of her. But Chloe knew that people were staring, stopping to watch the encounter. There was no place for her to hide, except behind Kevin who still had hold of her arm. Almost as if he knew she would leave if he didn’t.
Then, she saw a now familiar figure returning to the scene. With a slow confident walk, CB approached, assessing the situation. The photographer, having gotten what he came for, turned to leave, only to find himself nearly colliding with Kevin’s assistant. Another quiet discussion ensued.
“Let’s go,” Kevin said.
With a protective arm around her waist he purposefully steered her away from the atrium where people were once again going about their business.
“What’s CB going to do? What’s going to happen?”
Kevin looked at her with an amused grin. “Don’t worry. CB is not going to touch him. I can trust him to handle the situation calmly.”
“But…”
“Chloe, I’m sorry,” Kevin said once they were inside the building near the bank of elevators.
His apology got her attention, and Chloe stood looking closely at him. She felt some of her tension drain. He looked sincere and contrite. And, in a strange way, Kevin seemed almost helpless, as if what had happened was entirely his fault, and not at all what he wanted to have happen.
“Why was he taking our picture?”
Kevin faced her and put his hands in his trouser pockets. “You don’t read the local gossip rags, do you? Or the Atlanta magazines? I’m kind of a regular in their pages. For whatever reason everything Kevin Stayton has become fair game. I’m at one of the clubs, I get photographed with friends and it ends up in print. I show up at an opening, or a sporting event, the photographers are there. It’s annoying, but it also brings in business.”
“You mean, our picture is going to be used?”
He frowned. “You sound unhappy about it.”
Chloe glanced down at her summer sandals and moistened her lips. She shook her head. “I’ll be honest. It makes me uncomfortable.”
“Why?” he asked, mystified.
“Because people will presume that they know something about me that they don’t.”
He was silent for a long moment, and when Chloe looked up again she found Kevin studying her with frowning consideration.
“Maybe I’m going overboard, but…”
He reached out and gently stroked her bare arm with his fingers. A curious warmth and reassurance spread throughout her.
“Look, let me see what I can do. I know some people. Maybe I can get the picture killed.”
Chloe silently nodded.
“It’ll be okay, I promise.” He glanced briefly over his shoulder at CB. The photographer was gone, and CB stood waiting for him. “I have to go, and you’ll want to get back to work.”
When he looked at her now Chloe thought his gaze was warm, his expression relaxed after their encounter of a moment ago.
“This was fun, Chloe Jackson. Thank you for joining me. Let’s do it again sometime.”
Then, before Chloe realized what he was up to, and obviously intending that she not have time to think about it, Kevin took hold of both her arms, leaned forward and brushed his lips against her cheek. He stepped back, raising his hand in farewell as he turned away.
Chloe watched him for several seconds before she called out.
“Kevin?”
He turned back to regard her.
“Thanks. I enjoyed it, too.”
“’Scuse me for bothering you, but Tiffany Warren just arrived. She’s looking for you.”
Kevin glanced up from the pages of a book spread open in front of him. His brows furrowed slightly.
“Is she alone?”
“She arrived with two other women.”
“Did you tell her I’m busy at the moment?”
“Yes, Frank told me. Since when don’t you have time for me, Kevin? I’m very hurt that you’d put me off.”
Kevin quickly stood and nodded his maître d’ away. In the same motion he closed the book he’d been perusing. He smoothly turned his attention to the beautiful young woman waiting and gave her one of his most charming, most warm smiles.
“Hey, Tiff. It’s been a while.” Kevin embraced her warmly, but lightly, ending it quickly as he touched his cheek to hers.
Tiffany Warren looked only amused that her efforts to have him kiss her had been cleverly thwarted. Still, Kevin did let his gaze openly take in and appreciate the perfect heart-shaped face with its flawless complexion and expertly applied makeup. Her hair was a lush fall of looping curls but, although coiffed to appear easy and carefree, Kevin knew from firsthand close-up and personal experience that the hair was expensive and not all hers. He certainly didn’t hold that against Tiffany. He knew well that she had other attributes to recommend her to any able-bodied man.
“Since you weren’t going to call me, I came to the mountain,” she said in a soft feminine purr.
“You look fabulous, as always,” Kevin remarked, completely ignoring her comment. “Frank was doing what he’s suppose to be doing. I pay the man a lot of money to run interference. Sit down.”
Tiffany cast a sloe-eyed look at Kevin as she gracefully slid her curvaceous five-foot-five frame into the banquette. Her emerald green, spaghetti-strap dress was tasteful and perfect for a night out in Atlanta. Kevin took the seat opposite and swiftly noted that everything that had first drawn him to Tiffany was still evident: the exquisite taste in clothing, the feminine mannerisms, seductive glances and soft pouting of her well-shaped mouth. And she had a body that, behind closed doors, had demonstrated a creative, willing and passionate proficiency at sex.
“Why don’t you have your friends join us?” Kevin asked, already knowing the answer.
“No. I want you all to myself,” she said.
“I’m sorry I can only give you a few minutes. Had I known you were coming…”
“You probably wouldn’t have been here when I arrived,” Tiffany said, cushioning her observation with a sweet smile.
Kevin signaled one of his waiters and ordered Tiffany a champagne cocktail and a round of drinks for her friends. He was waiting for the hormone kick-in that he was still receptive to her charms. Nothing happened.
“I’ve moved on,” Kevin said with a slight shrug. “What brings you here?”
“Girl’s night out. This is still one of the best restaurants in the city. My girlfriends had never been before. I told them I know the owner.”
“You’re always welcome. I’ll let the chef know what you like,” he offered politely.
She nodded, watching his face. “So you’re still angry with me, right?”
Kevin stayed calm, carefully studying her. “Let’s just say I’m disappointed by what happened.”
“But nothing happened.”
“Not for lack of trying on your part. I thought I wa
s clear that I didn’t want any kids yet. When it happens, I want to be in on it and not have my fatherhood orchestrated. I don’t like surprises. When you told me you might be pregnant…”
She nervously brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “You know I wouldn’t trap you. I’d never do anything like that,” Tiffany defended herself, indignant.
“‘It was an accident’ wouldn’t have worked for me,” he said quietly.
She sniffed, taking a dainty sip of her drink when it was set before her. “Then you’re probably thrilled that it was a false alarm.”
“For your sake as well as mine,” Kevin said meaningfully.
She sighed. “Did I ruin everything between us?”
Kevin made a vague gesture with his hand. “That little episode didn’t help. Maybe we would have run out of steam anyway.” He looked at her, his gaze momentarily heated with memories. “Hooking up with you was awesome, Tiff. But I’m not sure how much of a relationship we really had beyond going to bed together.”
Even though there was a hint of a blush under her high-yellow skin, Tiffany smiled slowly at him. It was the kind of smile Kevin recalled used to make him want to drag her off somewhere alone.
“Well, at least it was a start.”
Kevin laughed lightly. He reached across the table and took her hand, kissing the back of it. “Yeah, it was a good one. It just didn’t have any place to go.”
Finally, Tiffany noticed the album-like book, in white cloth binding with navy blue lettering. She began absently leafing through the pages.
“What are you reading? Hollington Class of 1999. It’s a yearbook?”
Kevin smoothly took the book and slid it out of her reach to a corner of the table. “That’s right.”
Her sophisticated poise slipped for a moment as she made a moue of her lips and arched a brow. “I was a sophomore in high school.”
If Kevin ever needed proof of the wisdom of breaking it off with her, she’d just provided it. If he wanted to salvage things between him and Tiffany, he knew he could do it right now with the right words. He left well enough alone.
“I’m sort of involved with plans for homecoming weekend in October.”
“Ugh. I have to tell you it sounds boring. I can’t think of a single person I graduated with I’d want to see again.”
“That’s too bad,” Kevin said with sympathy.
Thanks to a call from Kyra Dixon he could think of several.
Chapter 3
For the fourth or fifth time Chloe pulled the now much-thumbed-through copy of Luster magazine from her tote bag. It had already been opened and folded back to an article that she’d hoped would not appear. Now, she found herself staring at the color image that dominated the page. It was a photo taken of her and Kevin Stayton the day they’d had lunch together two weeks earlier. The caption read “Who’s That Girl?” while the brief one-hundred-word article talked about the latest Kevin sighting and the most recent happenings at his club. Only at the very bottom of the piece was she identified as Chloe Jackson, owner and director of RSVP, “…the new, much sought after, event planning operation in Atlanta.”
Her initial reaction was one of confusion. On the one hand the article implied a more than passing acquaintance between her and Kevin that seemed very premature. On the other hand, Chloe was thrilled at the prominent mention of her company. She knew immediately the marketing value, even as she wished it had been separated from Kevin’s own high-profile businesses. But…beggars can’t be choosers. Publicity was publicity. Not twenty-four hours after the issue of Luster had hit the newsstands, she was getting calls into the RSVP office requesting her services.
The day before, when her assistant, Franco, had brought in his copy and thrust it under her nose to read Chloe had, at first, been shocked at seeing her face in the middle of the page. But after she’d gotten over the first rush of surprise, she’d read the piece and looked more carefully at the photo. She fully noticed the fact that she was smiling, and she looked relaxed…and happy. The second thing was that Kevin was looking directly at her, not posing for the camera and not even aware of it just then. It was harder to interpret his expression, but Chloe didn’t think it out of line to say he appeared happy as well.
She grinned. Not bad. Not bad at all!
Letting her gaze travel back and forth between them, Chloe allowed herself a momentary flight of fancy; they could be an actual couple, except for the reality check of her past that warned her she was probably not Kevin’s type.
But each time she pulled out the article, like now, she had the same reaction…the photograph was a lovely one. Of course she’d heard from Kyra with her teasing innuendos about her and Kevin together. She’d gotten a call from Terrence Franklin. As it turned out there was a two-page spread about his visit to Atlanta as well. She knew that he was being courted for a position at Hollington.
Chloe could still feel the humiliation course through her over the memory of the one time she’d worked up the nerve to talk to a high-profile classmate. She’d seen Terrence after a college game one Saturday and, crossing paths with him as he’d headed to the lockers, congratulated him on a resounding win against the visiting team. He’d completely ignored her as he strode by, a dirty and sweaty giant with his helmet under his arm.
And now, out of the blue, and ten years later, he was calling to comment on a magazine photograph.
“I owe you an apology.”
Chloe, startled, looked up to find Kevin smiling down at her, apologetic. His brown features were shadowed by the tree under which she was sitting, but his white teeth were a brilliant flash in his face. Given the sway of her thoughts recently, Chloe felt pretty guilty herself as she only stared at him. He was dressed in a pair of clean, pressed jeans, the leather loafers and a pale yellow oxford shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Her gaze came back to his face.
“What? Why?”
Kevin pointed to the magazine in her hand. Then he sat next to her on the low retaining wall outside the main administrative building on the quad. It was Friday afternoon, and the campus was nearly deserted. He took the magazine out of her hand and stared at it himself for a long moment.
“I tried to stop it from getting printed. I offered the photographer fair money for it.”
“You did?” she asked in disbelief.
“I knew you weren’t happy about having your picture taken, so I…”
“That was nice of you.”
“Know what? It’s a great picture, Chloe. I like it.”
Hearing Kevin’s admission allowed Chloe to agree as well. It was a great picture of the two of them together, and she was not about to let him know that. So she stared at him, feeling uncertain and confused under his open gaze.
“The couple of the hour! Everyone is talking about that picture. You two sure know how to create buzz.”
Chloe and Kevin stood up to face Kyra as she exited the building and approached. She waved cheerfully.
“It wasn’t planned,” Kevin said with a wry grin for Chloe.
“Whatever. You do look great together. Is something going on I should know about?” Kyra winked broadly at her.
Chloe opened her mouth to deny Kyra’s question but never got the chance. Even Kevin didn’t have time to respond, one way or the other.
Kyra turned to him, and they embraced and kissed each other on the cheek as Chloe watched. Then Kyra took the magazine and shook her head at the image.
“Girl, you can’t pay for this kind of PR. You know what you need to do now? Call the magazine, and see if they’ll do a story about the homecoming weekend. You know Tamara Hodges, don’t you? She’s one of us, and she writes for the magazine. Play up the fact that Kevin’s a big contributor. I hope you don’t mind,” Kyra said quickly in an aside to Kevin before rushing on. “See if you can work in that Beverly Turner will be back as homecoming queen…”
“Shouldn’t you be doing that?” Kevin asked Kyra.
“No, she’s right,” Chloe said quickly. “I
’m in charge of homecoming. Actually, I’ve already made contact with Luster.”
Kyra looked pleased. Kevin looked impressed.
“I did remember that Tamara wanted to be a journalist,” Chloe said. “Now she’s a writer at Luster. She called me right after the latest issue came out.”
“Did you know her in school?” Kyra asked.
Chloe hesitated. She looked at Kevin, but he was also waiting for her answer. She didn’t know Tamara all that well in school, but she’d certainly heard a lot about Tamara from Micah Ross. Chloe had the feeling that Kevin had also been privy to a lot more than he would say at the moment.
“English class,” Chloe admitted, which was the truth. “I also worked with her junior year on the school paper.”
“What did she say when she called you?” Kevin asked.
Chloe shrugged. Her mind was busy censoring some of that conversation. To say she’d been surprised to hear from Tamara would have been an understatement. Micah had been the common ground between them, not English or creative writing, although she doubted that even Tamara knew that.
Now, Chloe suddenly realized that Kevin, silently, was sending a signal to her, and she totally understood his message. Whatever they both knew was not for general knowledge. Chloe smiled at Kyra.
“Oh, just chatty stuff. She told me that I look great. She said she didn’t realize that Kevin and I…”
Chloe stopped. To repeat what Tamara had surmised about the picture of her and Kevin would be to submit to gossip and hearsay. The most popular man on campus and the coed most likely to succeed hooking up? She wasn’t going to go there, because it wasn’t true.
“…Ah…knew each other. She was surprised to hear about my company, RSVP, and said she might call on me with business in the future. And then she suggested doing an article for the September issue about homecoming.”
Kyra squealed.
“OHMYGOD! Chloe, that’s fabulous! Girl, you get a big hug for that.”
