Beyond the Velvet Rope. Tiffany Ashley

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      “Lucky for you, Matrix expected you to say that. The party starts at nine. I’ll pick you up.”

      “I can’t.”

      “The Ripley twins will be there,” Nico coaxed.

      Elliot shrugged. “Tempting, but I already have plans.”

      Nico squinted his eyes at Elliot, looking suddenly suspicious. “Plans with whom?”

      Before Elliot could answer, the phone’s speaker came back to life.

      “You’re good to go, sir. Try to check your mail now.”

      Nico pulled out his phone and played with the keys. Satisfied, he grinned. “Thanks, Ralphie.” Without further preamble he hung up the phone. Not one to forget his train of thought, Nico picked up the conversation where they’d left off. “Plans with whom?”

      Elliot sighed, making it clear he was bored with the topic. “I’m meeting with a new employee.”

      “A new employee? I didn’t know you were in the market.”

      “Stop fishing, Nico.”

      “Fine. Keep your secrets. I’ll think fondly of you when I’m slutting it up tonight.” Standing, Nico came around the desk. “Oh, before I forget, Chris is going to be in town next month. You know how quickly his schedule fills up. I was thinking we could get in a game of racquetball. The bastard has beaten me the last three times we’ve played.”

      Elliot leaned against his desk. “Tell me the date and time.”

      “I’ll send you the info.” Nico slid his phone into his pocket and prepared to leave. “I’ll send your love to the Ripley girls.”

      Elliot chuckled. “You do that.”

      “Enjoy your meeting.”

      “I intend to.”

      * * *

      Thandie woke up to the sound of her cell phone vibrating. She flipped it open to see it was Amanda again. She took a calming breath before answering in a groggy voice. “Hi, Amanda.”

      “Oh, my gosh! You won’t believe what happened last night.”

      Thandie braced herself for the worst. She pulled the sheets over her head while she listened to Amanda’s dramatic tale about the opening of Rain Bar. This should have been an easy assignment, since Thandie had set up the event before leaving for Miami. She had assumed wrong. Amanda was up in arms because several key celebrities had bypassed the red carpet in favor of a side door, and missing any chance of photographers seeing them. That was a problem when putting together a big event. It was the promoter’s responsibility to make sure the press noticed the right people. Amanda was near tears.

      “Amanda, calm down. We can fix this.” Thandie took a moment to consider the options. “Make a list of who went in the side door. Call Nancy at The Post, and feed her blurbs focusing on those people. Surely you know or heard something that happened during the party. Let Nancy come up with her own assumptions; just give her enough to go off of. No embellishments. Let Nancy do that. Do you think you got that?”

      “Yes, Thandie. I’m so sorry,” Amanda sobbed. “I thought I had the side door handled.”

      “There’s no need in crying over spilled milk, Amanda. Just call Nancy and give her what she wants.”

      As Thandie hung up the phone, she wondered if she had made a mistake leaving Amanda in the office alone. So far, she was not faring well. She hoped this was just beginner’s nervousness, and Amanda would grow into her position...quickly. If not, Thandie would have to make some adjustments.

      Pulling on a pair of shorts, she washed up before heading downstairs to find something to eat. Warren was already seated at the breakfast nook reading a newspaper. Anga, the housekeeper, had laid out a small spread of fruit and muffin options on the kitchen island. Thandie plucked up a shiny red apple and joined Warren for breakfast. Well, it was actually a late lunch, since Thandie hadn’t woken up until well past one o’clock.

      Warren was in his usual cheery mood. “Hey, kiddo. How do you feel?”

      “Tired,” she said sleepily.

      Warren put down his newspaper, and leaned forward conspiratorially. “So what did you think about last night?”

      “Babylon is amazing, Warren.” And it was the truth. Aside from her run-in with Elliot Richards, her experience at Babylon had been very exciting. “You invested well.”

      “I knew you’d love it,” he said with an enthusiastic clap of his hands. “Does this mean you’re officially on board?”

      “I believe so. Elliot and I are going to discuss details today.”

      “Very good.” He picked up his newspaper, shook it out, and began scanning for the article he’d been reading. “Everything should go well. Elliot was impressed with you.”

      “Oh?” she said, suddenly intrigued. “What exactly did he say?”

      From behind his newspaper, she could see Warren shrug his shoulders. “Not much. He’s not a man of many words. He just said ‘he recognized an asset when he saw one’. That’s a glowing recommendation coming from him,” Warren said with a nod of his white head. “Believe me, if he didn’t approve of you, he would have told you so.”

      Thandie chewed on this scrap of information, not necessarily pleased. An asset? What was she? A horse? Not wanting to talk about Elliot anymore, she changed the subject. “I have to pick up the girls tomorrow. When will you be able to take me to the car rental?”

      “You can use one of mine, Thandie. I don’t mind.”

      She shook her head. “Warren, you’re already doing enough for me. I wouldn’t feel right borrowing your car on top of accepting your hospitality.”

      He sighed dramatically. “I try to be a nice guy.”

      “And you’re greatly appreciated.”

      Giving up on reading his paper, Warren put it down and dabbed at the corners of his mouth with his napkin. “Give me half an hour and I’ll be ready.”

      “Thanks, Warren.”

      “Yeah yeah,” he said with wave of his hand as he left the kitchen.

      Thandie finished off her apple before heading to her own room to change into more appropriate clothing. While she milled through her suitcase looking for sandals, she took the opportunity to place a call. A subdued voice answered on the first ring.

      “BHP. Gage Ali’s office. How may I help you?”

      “This is Thandie Shaw. Is Gage available?”

      “Hold on one second, Thandie.”

      The husky voice of Gage Ali flowed through the phone. “So it is true? You’re in Miami?” Her voice was dark and exotic, softened СКАЧАТЬ