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She thought for a moment that he had seen her, too. Apparently, he hadn’t or didn’t recognize her. Tamara had come back downstairs to visit the gift shop but seeing Micah distracted her from her purpose.
Disappointed, Tamara returned to her suite, settled down on the sofa and pulled out her cell phone.
She sat in the chair for a moment, her thin fingers tensed in her lap to calm her nerves. Tamara inhaled and exhaled slowly, opened her phone and dialed. “Hello, this is Tamara Hodges. Do you have a contact number for Micah Ross please? I’m here to do a story on Justice Kane, and I really need to speak with him.”
“I’m sorry but Mr. Ross is out of the office.”
Tamara doubted they would give out his mobile number so she didn’t bother asking for it. Instead, she inquired, “Would you take down my number and ask him to call me please?”
“What is the number?”
She gave the secretary her cell-phone number and the one to the hotel.
“I’ll give him the message as soon as he returns, Ms. Hodges.”
“Thank you.” Tamara stirred uneasily in the chair, her uncertainty increasing by the minute. She didn’t want to consider that Micah still held a grudge where she was concerned or that he didn’t want to talk to her.
Tamara strolled out onto one of the two balconies to enjoy the panoramic views of the Hollywood Hills and downtown Los Angeles. She stayed out there for the next fifteen minutes just basking in the late summer sun. It was a clear day with no smog in sight.
She navigated back into the sitting area, which was furnished with two armchairs and a sofa set around a glass-top coffee table, a writing desk, plasma TV and entertainment system.
The bedroom, decorated in a soothing neutral color with muted gold accents, offered a high-back armchair and side table, a second plasma television and large walk-in closet with dark wood furnishings and a comfortable looking king-size bed.
While she waited for Micah’s call, Tamara unpacked her suitcase and her laptop to keep busy.
When Tamara put away all of her clothes, she sat down at the desk and opened up the computer to work on an article she needed to finish before the week was out.
Tamara stole a peek at the clock.
Thirty minutes had passed.
She considered making another call to Micah but silently reasoned her way out of calling. The man was busy, and she didn’t want to become a pest. Tamara could not escape the feeling that maybe he was avoiding her.
“Please call me, Micah,” she whispered in the empty room. “I really want to talk to you.”
Tamara had hoped they could have dinner together later this evening, so she made another call to his office.
She received the same response as before.
Tamara replaced the receiver in the cradle. “Micah…” she whispered.
Two hours passed and still no word from Micah. Tamara ordered room service because she didn’t feel like eating alone in the hotel restaurant.
Micah was apparently too busy to speak with her; he was working or maybe he had a date with Sunni. Hope sprang up in Tamara as she considered that she and Micah would both be attending the release party, so at some point they would have to talk.
Samantha called her shortly after eight.
“I just spoke with Micah Ross, and we came up with another idea,” she stated. “What do you think about the idea of going on tour with Justice Kane? At least for the West Coast cities anyway. You’ll be traveling with the artist on the tour bus and writing about the behind-the-scenes action you observe firsthand for our readers. Write the story as if the readers are there with you.”
“This sounds like a great idea,” Tamara said. “Samantha, I’m all for it. I’m glad I overpacked for this trip.”
“Great. You’ll e-mail the series of articles as you finish them.”
“You said Micah Ross is fine with this?” she asked. Tamara was surprised, considering that she hadn’t been able to catch up to him. Why didn’t he call her directly? She wondered.
“It was actually his idea,” Samantha responded. “This article will let us know if you’re ready to become a feature writer for the magazine. This is your shot, Tamara.”
“I realize that. I won’t let you down, Samantha.”
“I know that. Enjoy yourself, Tamara, and e-mail those articles as soon as you finish them.”
Tamara broke into a smile. Even though she hadn’t heard a word from Micah, it seemed as if he were trying to keep her around for a little longer; however, she wished that he had called her directly to discuss his thoughts.
Another thought struck her. Maybe he was deliberately avoiding her.
“I called Micah’s office earlier but haven’t been able to speak to him directly,” Tamara stated. “I’m assuming we’ll touch base sometime tomorrow.”
“Oh, he did tell me that he’s going to be in meetings all day tomorrow but said that he’ll see you at the release party.”
Tamara hid her disappointment. Micah’s schedule was so tight that she wondered if she would have the chance to apologize. The party just was not the place to bring up the past.
She and her editor discussed one of her other projects before ending their conversation.
A commercial flashed across the television. A thread of jealousy snaked down her spine as she watched a smiling Sunni saunter across the screen wearing the newest bra from Victoria’s Secret.
What does Micah see in her? Tamara wondered. She’s tall, thin and beautiful, but is she truly in love with him? How does Micah feel about her? Did he love her, too?
She couldn’t tell from the many photographs she had seen of the two of them.
Micah rarely made eye contact with the media. They considered him aloof and even a bit eccentric.
Tamara knew that Micah wasn’t aloof—just shy and had always been uncomfortable in the spotlight. She wondered if any of the reporters knew that he could sing and that he played the piano, drums and sax. He also loved computers and could write software programs. Even though he studied business and computer science in school, Micah’s first love had always been music.
She was pretty sure that those same reporters also didn’t know how much he loved reading, his tastes varying from Shakespeare to James Patterson. Micah rarely granted personal interviews, instead focusing on his A-list of performers and pushing their careers forward. He was an astute executive and knew the music industry inside and out.
While the media and other industry professionals considered him a man of mystery, they held him in high regard.
“How could I have been so stupid and so insensitive?” she whispered. “How could I ever have thought he was like…” Tamara shook her head and rose to her feet.
She opened the floor-to-ceiling curtains and stared out the window over the city of Los Angeles. It was so beautiful at night. Tamara loved California and often came to visit her family living in Oceanside, a coastal town near San Diego.
She could not fully enjoy the night air, the shining stars and the moon because Micah dominated her thoughts.
Tamara spent the rest of her evening editing and revising her article about a woman who had overcome breast cancer and was now inspiring others.
An hour passed and still no word from Micah.
Then another.
When the clock struck eleven, Tamara gave up and decided to go to bed. She was still on East Coast time and feeling weary.
Tamara vowed she would not leave Los Angeles until she and Micah had a chance to sit down and talk.
Micah eyed the telephone, still warring within himself whether or not to call Tamara.
She was probably in bed by now he thought and mentally let himself off the hook.
Old feelings that he thought were long buried had resurfaced after seeing her today, and he had not been able to get her off his mind.
Along with those feelings came another emotion—resentment. He hungered to make Tamara pay for the way she used him back then. Micah believed that the only reason Tamara was reaching out to him now was the interview he had arranged.
He wondered what would happen if she didn’t deliver the interview as promised and if it would hurt her career.
Micah’s lips curled upward at the thought.
Tamara needed this interview to take place if she ever wanted to be considered for something other than writing fluff on debutante balls, charity events and flower shows.
His stomach growled, reminding him that he had missed lunch. It was after eight and he didn’t like to eat heavy when it was late so he made himself a salad and heated up a piece of leftover grilled salmon.
Sunni called Micah, wanting to know if she could come over to spend the evening with him. She had been trying to seduce him for months now. He wasn’t about to let her into his bed because Micah didn’t have any idea what it would eventually cost him to get her out.
“Not tonight. Sunni, I’ve got a lot of work to catch up on,” Micah told her. “I need to stay focused.”
“Micah, you’ve been a real party pooper lately. You used to have time for me.”
“Sunni, I have a business to run. You know that.”
“You have very capable people working for you, too,” she retorted.
“I’ll give you a call later,” he stated.
Micah knew that she was not happy with his response, but the truth was that he really did not feel like having company tonight. He wanted to spend the rest of his evening deciding exactly what to do about Tamara Hodges.
Tamara called and left another message for Micah after she ate her breakfast. His secretary told her that he was in a meeting and would not be returning calls until later in the day. She did not expect any other response.
She was sure that Micah was avoiding her. If he were not, Tamara was positive that she would have heard from him by now. This was not her first trip to Los Angeles, so Tamara decided against leaving the hotel for sightseeing or shopping. Instead, she spent her day in the hotel room working on another project until it was time to dress for the party.
Tamara’s nerves had been on edge all day long. She even took an instant dislike to everything she packed for the trip and now wished she had gone shopping earlier.
After her shower, Tamara changed into a black Tadashi dress with a sheer top, sleeves and shutter pleating from bodice to the hem.
“This is so not me,” she mumbled as she stared at her reflection in the floor-length mirror. The dress hugged her body lovingly, but Tamara wasn’t comfortable when it came to showing off her curves.
Next, she slipped on a Proenza Schouler georgette dress that she’d snagged on sale for two hundred seventy-two dollars at Sak’s Fifth Avenue department store the day before she left Atlanta.
The black-and-white print, dramatically gathered shift draped at the back with a floating train. The dress looked great with the opaque black stockings and Christian Louboutin open-toe patent-leather pumps.
“Not bad,” she whispered. “But I just don’t think it’s right for this event.” Tamara decided she would save this dress for the Hollington College homecoming weekend. She would wear it to the reception.
So what am I wearing tonight?
The new pumps were already torturing her feet, so Tamara practically kicked them off.
“I’m working tonight so I need to be comfortable,” Tamara said as she pulled out another dress. She changed again, this time into a Vera Wang silk halter dress in a vivid emerald-green color.
Tamara put on a pair of silver and emerald jeweled thong sandals with straps that wrapped around her ankles. She added an emerald ring, white gold and emerald bangles with matching earrings to complete her look.
She undid her twists and fingered through her hair, combing through the waves. Tamara applied her makeup with a light hand and surveyed the results. Satisfied, she walked out of the bathroom.
How will Micah respond when he sees me again? She wondered. Will he be happy to see me?
Tamara was looking forward to seeing him again after all these years but didn’t know how she would handle seeing him with another woman.
Micah, his secretary, the event planner and the owner of the club walked from room to room, making sure that everything was exactly the way it should be. He was very hands-on and always liked to do a final walkthrough before any of his events.
“Where will our sponsors be seated?” Micah asked the event coordinator.
“Over here,” she responded, pointing to the right of where they were standing on the stage. “Just as you requested.”
He awarded her a smile. “Thank you.”
She glanced down at her watch and excused herself to make sure all the staff was in place for the event.
Micah felt that familiar sensation. He felt Tamara’s presence before he actually saw her.
He turned around to find her walking toward him.
Their eyes met, and Tamara broke into a beautiful smile. “Micah, it’s so good to see you. It’s been a long time,” she murmured.
“Ten years,” he responded. Micah couldn’t believe that she was standing in front of him acting as if she had not ripped his heart out.
“Can you believe it?” Tamara asked as if trying to lull him into a conversation. “We’ve been out of school for ten years.”
Although she was trying to hide it, Micah could tell that Tamara was very nervous. He heard it in her voice. She wanted to be all warm and fuzzy, but it was not gonna happen. Micah knew that it was only because she wanted this story on Justice Kane.
His heart thudded once and then settled back to its natural rhythm. She was even more gorgeous than Micah remembered.
“Tamara, you haven’t changed at all,” Micah stated. It was not meant to be a compliment.
“You’re so sweet for saying that, but I do own a couple of mirrors and they don’t lie.”
Their eyes locked as their breathing seemed to come in unison.
A tall leggy woman wearing a curve hugging, one-shoulder beaded mini dress with stellar results approached them, breaking the tiny thread that drew them like a drug.
Ignoring Tamara completely, she slipped an arm around Micah and said, “I’ve been looking for you, darling. Are you ready to sit down?”
Tamara was not about to just disappear into the woodwork. She held out her hand and introduced herself, saying, “Hi, I’m Tamara Hodges. I’m here to do a story on Justice Kane.”
The woman eyed her from head to toe, a smirk on her flawless face. “I’m sure you know that I’m Sunni. It’s nice to meet you.”
Tamara didn’t acknowledge one way or another. Instead, she glanced over at Micah as if waiting for him to say something, but it was Sunni who broke the silence.
“What magazine do you write for?” she asked.
“Luster,” Tamara responded.
“I was featured on their cover a couple months ago.” Sunni ran her fingers through her long spiral curls. “They couldn’t keep that issue in print.”
Tamara pasted on a polite smile. “I remember.”
There was no point in telling the deluded woman that the issue did not sell out because of her face on the cover—it was because it was a special fashion issue.
Slipping her arm through Micah’s, Sunni said, “Make sure you get lots of photos of me and Micah.”
Tamara glanced over at him, noting the amused glint in his eyes. He was enjoying this while Sunni was getting on her last nerve. Tamara took great delight in reminding her, “The story is on Justice, his life and music.”
Her cell phone rang.
“If you two will excuse me…I need to take this call.” Tamara walked away, leaving him alone with Sunni.
She stole a peek over her shoulder. Micah was gazing down lovingly at Sunni. Even from where she was standing, Tamara could see that he cared deeply for her.
She felt the edges of jealousy pulling at her. Kyra didn’t know what she was talking about—Micah and Sunni were definitely involved from the way they were acting.
Tamara, get yourself together, she silently chided herself. Why are you acting like this? You have no right to be jealous or possessive.
She stole another look over her shoulder and found Micah standing there watching her. There was something in his expression that indicated he wasn’t all that happy to see her again.
Tamara was even more determined to talk to Micah so that she could straighten things out between them. She was going to have to pry him out of Sunni’s viselike grip. The woman wanted to make sure that she knew they were a couple. Tamara did note that while he was very attentive to Sunni, he had never been a man who openly displayed affection but she could sense an intimacy between them.
She was so caught up in her musings that she did not notice that they had walked up behind her.
“Tamara,” he prompted, touching her arm lightly.
“Huh?” Embarrassed, she glanced up to find him and Sunni watching her.
“I’m sorry, were you saying something to me?”
His brown eyes met her hazel-green ones, probing to her very soul. “Tamara, I asked if you wanted something to drink.”
“A glass of white wine please.”
Micah signaled a waiter and placed their orders.
They stood for a moment in uncomfortable silence until Sunni stated, “I see someone I need to speak to, honey, but I won’t be long. Please excuse me.”
“I’m glad we have a few minutes alone,” Tamara began as she tried to force her confused emotions into order. “I would like to sit down with you and talk, Micah. There’s a lot I have to tell you.”
“So talk,” he responded, his expression a mask of stone.
Taken aback by the coolness of his tone, Tamara quickly noted that Micah was no longer the same man she knew all those years ago. He had changed.
“Micah, this is supposed to be a party,” she reminded him with a nervous chuckle. “I don’t want to do this here, but I do want to talk about this another time—maybe tomorrow if you’re not busy.”
He did not respond immediately.
Their drinks arrived.
He handed her the glass of wine.
“Thank you,” she said and took a sip. “Mmm…this is good.”
Again Tamara’s words were met with silence.
She released a short sigh of frustration. “Micah, will you please talk to me?”
“Tamara, what are we supposed to be talking about? You really haven’t said anything.”
She took a deep breath and adjusted her smile. It was clear that Micah wasn’t going to make this easy for her. “Okay…Well, let’s talk about Justice. First off, I really want to thank you for allowing me to go on tour with him. This opportunity is going to guarantee my position as the feature writer for the entertainment section of Luster magazine and take my career to the next level for sure. This is my trial run so I really can’t mess this up. Micah, I’ve got some great ideas about this story and I—”
“Actually, I’m glad you brought that up,” Micah stated. “I’ve changed my mind. After further consideration, I’ve decided that the interview may not be a good idea for my artist. As you know, Justice Kane has come a long way from being that thug from the ATL, and I’m just not sure it makes good business sense to bring his past back up. You were planning to write from the hometown bad boy gone good angle, weren’t you?”
Tamara finished her glass of wine in one swallow. “You can’t be serious about killing the article, Micah. Justice has come a long way from the person he used to be—why not write about his journey to the man he is now? His story would inspire others, don’t you think?”
His hard gaze met hers. “I’ve never been more serious in my life.”
Chapter 4
I’ve never been more serious in my life.
She had said those very same words to him ten years ago. In fact, they were the last words she had spoken to him on graduation night. Right after she told Micah that she would never date someone like him.
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