Atlantis (8 page)

Chapter Fifteen

             
"I'm sorry for my sister's tardiness, Mr. Hunter." Candace glanced at the clock again, and then smiled apologetically.

             
"It's no problem, really," Maddox said, folding his hands in his lap. "If you'd like, we can start going over the terms of the contract my lawyers drafted."

             
Candace didn't like the idea of discussing a new job without Sloane being present, but Candace had no idea when her sister would come sauntering into the office. But Candace did know that once she did, Candace was going to wring her neck. This was just like Sloane to make a business contact, and then show up late to the meeting. It was embarrassing and it didn't reflect on their business very well, either. With a sigh, Candace nodded. "Yeah, okay, we can get started. I'm sure she'll be here soon."

             
"Great." Maddox smiled and pulled out a thick packet of papers from his briefcase. He slid them across the desk toward her. "MadHunt Swimwear is my newest line of fun, flirty swimwear for the average woman.  I'd like you and your sister to be the face of the label. As you'll see on page five, clause fourteen B, this means that you two will be flown to various locations for photo shoots and other promotional events. The first five stops will be Fiji, Bora Bora, Jamaica, Hawaii, and Cancun. All travel expenses will be covered by us, as will all your accommodations while on official Maddox Hunter business."

             
"And when will you expect us to start?" Candace asked.

             
"As soon as possible. I'd like to have some promo shots to use leading up to the official launch next month. I understand you'll probably need a few days to put things in order, so how does Wednesday sound?"

             
"Wow." This guy wasn't messing around, was he? God, she wished Sloane were here. And then, speak of the devil, her sister came rushing through the door in a flurry.

             
"I'm so sorry I'm late. I was with a client," Sloane said with a wicked smile. "Mr. Hunter, my apologies. It's good to see you again."

             
"Sloane," he said with a nod and smile.

             
Sloane took a seat next to Maddox and smiled at Candace. Candace frowned. She was going to have a serious talk with her sister once Maddox left. "So, what did I miss?" Sloane asked.

             
Candace waited patiently as Maddox recounted everything he'd already said. Sloane smiled like a Chesire cat. "Sounds fantastic. Where do we sign?"

             
"Okay, slow down a minute Sloane," Candace said; then turned to Maddox. "Would you please excuse us for a moment?"

             
"Sure. Take all the time you need."

             
Candace stood and escorted Sloane out of the office and into the hallway. "First of all, what the hell are you thinking showing up late? This is a very important meeting that
you
set up." Candace pointed at Sloane.

             
"I know, I know, I'm sorry, but I was with Johl."

             
From the look on Sloane's face, Candace knew that her sister had spent the night with Johl, and that she was falling for him. Great! That's all they needed right now. Things were finally turning around for them and Sloane's focus was on a new boyfriend. Candace shook her head. "We'll talk about Johl later. Right now, we need to make a decision about Maddox's offer."

             
"I say we do it. It's a great offer, Candace. This is what we've been working so hard for, to get back into the business. This job will put us back on top."

             
"I know, but it's also going to take up a lot of our time. What about the agency? What about the models we've already signed? And the ones we're still trying to sign?"

             
"That's what we have Becky for isn't it? She's more than capable of running things while we're gone."

             
Candace nervously chewed on her bottom lip. Sloane was right. Becky was very competent and Candace trusted her implicitly. Slowly, she nodded; then broke into a smile. "Maddox wants to give us thirty percent of all sales for as long as we're the face of the label."

             
Sloane's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

             
"Yeah."

             
Sloane squealed with delight and jumped up and down. Grabbing Candace's shoulders, she said, "Do you know what this means? We can start living like we used to."

             
Candace laughed. It was a great deal and they'd be stupid not to take it. They went back into the office and once again sat down with Maddox. "All right, Mr. Hunter, we've discussed it and we think your offer is fair. We're definitely interested, however, we'd like to have our lawyer look over the contract and we need to discuss this with our business manager. Can we contact you later today with a final decision?"

             
Maddox smiled, and then stood. "Absolutely." He shook each of their hands. "I look forward to doing business with you ladies."

             
Once he left, Candace and Sloane screamed with excitement and hugged each other. Candace couldn't believe their luck. "I'm so excited, there's no way I can sit still and work today," Candace said.

             
Sloane smiled. "Take the day off. I think you've earned it."

             
"Yeah." Candace nodded. "I think I'll go to the gym and work off some of this energy." It had been a while since she'd made it to the gym. Starting the agency and her own modeling jobs had kept her pretty busy.

             
"You do that and I'll take this contract to our lawyer; then I'll let Becky know we need to meet with her later."

             
Candace was shocked by her sister's offer to take care of business, but she wasn't going to complain. "Thanks, sis."

             
"No problem."

             
Gathering her purse and keys, Candace asked, "So…Johl, what's going on with that?"

             
"Oh my God, Candace, he is so amazing!"

             
"You're sleeping with him aren't you?"

             
Sloane nodded and giggled. "Yeah, but I really like him."

             
Candace put her hand on Sloane's arm. "Just be careful, okay? Last time you really liked a guy it didn't end well." The memory of how Sloane's last boyfriend, Nate, had run off with their mother and their money was still fresh in both their minds. Candace was happy that Sloane was moving on, but she was still concerned for her sister. Sloane wore her heart on her sleeve and as a result, it was broken often. "And I really, really hope that this relationship you two have going on won't affect his decision to sign with us."

             
"It won't. I promise," Sloane said, patting Candace's hand. "He's been very honest about the fact that he's still meeting with other agencies and that he hasn't made a decision yet. Our relationship has nothing to do with it."

             
Candace hoped Sloane was right, but Candace had a bad feeling about it. Not that Sloane and Johl's relationship wouldn't work out, but that it would ultimately impact his decision whether or not to sign with their agency. Sloane couldn't see it, but Candace could. Either Johl would sign with them because he was sleeping with Sloane; or he wouldn't sign because he was sleeping with Sloane and he wouldn't want to mix business with pleasure. Candace really hoped it was the first.

             
"Okay, well I'm off to the gym," Candace said. "You should join me after you're done at the lawyer's office."

             
Sloane scrunched up her face. "It's too nice to the day in a sweaty old gym. But if you want to meet me in the park for a run, we can do that."

             
Candace laughed. "I'm not sure I'll want to go for a run after working out, but I'll call you and let you know."

             
"Sounds good. Have fun." Sloane waved and left the office.

             
Following her sister out of the office, Candace hailed a cab and headed to the gym. She still couldn't believe how well things were going for them. And she didn't want to admit it to anyone just yet, but she was so freaking excited about going to Fiji! That alone made her want to sign Maddox's contract, but she knew she had to do the smart thing and she made a mental note to call her lawyer once she left the gym. The sooner they could sign with Maddox, the better. Candace wasn't going to let this opportunity pass them by.

Chapter Sixteen

             
Candace glanced at the elliptical machine in the corner. It was her favorite machine and her workout was never complete until she had a chance to use it. Unfortunately, some guy had been monopolizing it for the past half an hour. This is what she got for joining a private, elite gym – limited machines that she had to share with other members. If she'd just joined a regular gym there would be plenty of ellipticals to go around. But, she liked the exclusivity of this gym. Normally, getting on the machine wasn't an issue.

             
She once again glanced over at the machine and the man on it. He was attractive with dark brown hair and eyes to match. And he had a great physique, too. Finally, he steps off the machine and Candace heads toward it before anyone else can get on. But she quickly realizes that he left his towel on it. "Um, excuse me, but would you mind moving your towel?" she asked.

             
"I'm not finished yet," he said with an arrogant smile. "I'm just going to refill my water bottle."

             
Candace stared at him with disbelief. Was he serious? "You've been on this machine for over half an hour. I'd like to use it." She put her hands on her hips.

             
The man smiled and it momentarily disarmed Candace. He had a killer smile that was offset by two of the sexiest dimples she'd ever seen. "I always spend an hour and a half on this machine. You're welcome to use it when I'm finished."

             
Her jaw dropped. An hour and a half? That meant she'd have to wait another whole hour. She didn't want to hang around that long. "If you like it so much why don’t you just buy one of your own?" she snapped.

             
"Well, I suppose I could, but then I wouldn't get to talk to attractive women like you." He winked.

             
Wow. This guy is so arrogant
, she thought. Candace rolled her eyes and turned to walk away. It was obvious she wasn't going to get to use the machine today so she would just go for a run with Sloane instead. She cast a dirty look over her shoulder and the man as she made her way toward one of the weight machines. Despite her annoyance, she couldn't stop from looking at him. He really was sexy. Too bad he was so cocky.  That was such a turn-off to her. Confidence was one thing. Blatant arrogance was another.

             
Irritated, Candace left the workout room and headed for the locker room where she quickly showered and changed back into her clothes. She still couldn't believe the nerve of that guy. Maybe a smoothie from the juice bar would calm her a little. Candace put her bag over her shoulder and walked the short distance to the juice bar that was next door to the gym. Thankfully, the place was empty. She walked up to the counter.

             
"Hi, what can I get for you today, Candace?" the young girl behind the counter asked. Her name was Lucy and she was working her way through college. That was another reason Candace liked this gym – it was small and everyone pretty much knew everyone else, except for when there was a new member…like that guy on the elliptical. He must be new because she'd never seen him there before.

             
"Um…" Candace stared up at the large menu board. "I think I'll have a strawberry mango smoothie with extra strawberries."

             
"Coming right up." Lucy smiled.

             
While Candace waited, she pulled a ten dollar bill from her wallet and set it on the counter. Lucy returned a moment later with Candace's smoothie. "There you go," she pushed the money across the counter, "keep the change."

             
"Thanks," Lucy said.

             
Candace found a table in the corner near the window and sat. She pulled out her cell phone and checked her messages. There was a text from Sloane that read,
changed my mind, no running today. Going to shop.
Candace smiled and sipped her drink. "Mmm." It was exactly how she liked it. Taking another drink, she dialed her voicemail and listened to her two messages.

             
"Hi, Candace, this is Mr. Rosenberger, your attorney. I've looked over the contract Sloane dropped off and everything seems to be in order. It's a standard royalty based agreement and if you two want to sign it, I don't see any problems. Feel free to give me a call with any further questions."

             
She pressed seven to delete the message and listened to the next one. "Hey Candace, it's Becky. I got a message from Sloane that you two needed to speak to me about an urgent matter. I'll be back to the office around three today. Meet you there?"

             
Candace was pleased that Sloane did exactly as she said she would. Things were coming together. Once they had a chance to talk to Becky this afternoon, Candace would call Maddox and let him know that they were ready to sign on as the face of MadHunter Swimwear. It would be nice to do some more modeling again – real modeling and not those tacky enthusiast clubs they'd been forced to do for so long.

             
"Mind if I sit here?"

             
She looked up to see the man from the gym pulling out a chair and sitting across from her. "I guess not," she said sarcastically.

             
"I didn't catch your name earlier," he said.

             
"I didn't give it to you," she retorted.

             
He sighed. "Okay, I know we got off to a bad start. I'm sorry about monopolizing the machine and for my attitude. My name's Harvey." He extended his hand across the table.

             
Reluctantly, she shook his hand. "I’m Candace."

             
Harvey smiled. "Nice to meet you, Candace."

             
She smiled politely while silently wishing he would go away and leave her alone. She continued to look at her cell phone, hoping that he would get the hint that she wanted to be alone. He didn't.

             
"So, what do you do?" he asked.

             
"I'm a model," she said, setting her phone on the table. It was apparent he wasn't going to leave, so she might as well be civil. He did apologize, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have a conversation with him.

             
Harvey snapped his fingers. "Candace Parker." He laughed. "I thought you looked familiar. I've seen your work, very nice."

             
"Thank you." She smiled and took another drink of her smoothie. "What about you? What is it you do?"

             
"I'm a lawyer. I spent the last five years in L.A. working for a large firm that did mostly entertainment law, but recently moved back to New York to work for my father's company."

             
She was impressed. He was good looking and successful. "Your father is a lawyer, too?"

             
"He's got his hands into a lot of different things." Harvey laughed. "I've always provided him with any legal advice he needed, but now I'm officially the attorney of record for him and all of his businesses."

             
"You two must get along pretty well to be able to work together like that."

             
"If my memory serves me correctly, don't you work with your sister?"

             
She was once again impressed. "Yes, my sister and I are a team. We do all of our modeling jobs together. It's nice to have someone to travel with."

             
"Do you travel a lot?"

             
"Yes. In fact, we were just contracted for a job that will require us to travel to Fiji, Cancun, Jamaica, Bora Bora, and Hawaii."

             
"Wow. You're going to be busy aren't you?"

             
Candace laughed. "Yeah, you could say that." She swirled her straw around in her smoothie. Talking with Harvey wasn't so bad after all. He was smart, successful, funny, and nice to look at. She was glad he imposed on her. After a moment, she said, "Well, it was nice meeting you, Harvey, but I really have to get back to work." She stood.

             
Harvey stood. "Okay, well, thanks for letting me sit with you."

             
"You really didn't give me a choice in the matter," she joked.

             
He chuckled. "No, I guess I didn't, did I?"

             
"That's okay. It wasn't so bad." Candace winked, and then reached for her cell phone. Only, it wasn't on the table where she'd left it. Puzzled, she checked her chair and the floor around the table. Then she checked her purse, even though she knew she hadn't put it in there.

             
"Looking for this?" Harvey held up her cell phone and grinned.

             
She sighed with relief. "Thank you." She held out her hand, expecting him to hand the phone back to her. He didn't. "Can I have it back, please?"

             
"No."

             
"No?" She narrowed her eyes at him. What was this guy's deal? He was a jerk in the gym, a gentleman while sitting and talking with her, and now he was back to being a jerk. Candace huffed with annoyance. "I really don’t have time for this. I have a meeting I need to get to." She reached for her phone, but he pulled his hand out of her reach. She frowned. "Seriously, Harvey? Are we in high school again?"

             
"Have dinner with me tonight and I'll give it back," he said.

             
Okay, that's not what she expected. "I can't tonight."

             
"Then tomorrow night."

             
"I'm busy tomorrow night."

             
"Okay, how about an afternoon cocktail then?"

             
Man he was persistent.   She knew if she didn't agree, he wouldn't give her phone back. Finally, she agreed, just so she could get her phone back and make it to her meeting with Becky on time. "Fine. Dinner tomorrow night."

             
He smirked. "I thought you were busy tomorrow night."

             
Her patience was gone. "Do you want to have dinner with me or not?"

             
"Yes." He put his number in her phone and then used her phone to call himself so that he had her number as well. Then he finally handed it back to her. "I'll call you later with the details."

             
Candace took the phone from him. "Thank you." She said a quick goodbye and left. God, he annoyed the crap out of her. But…she was intrigued by him. Still, there was no way she was going to go out with him. In fact, when he called, she would simply ignore his calls. She just had too much going on right now to worry about getting involved in a relationship. Plus, how could she possibly date when she'd be traveling the world for work? As she made her way back to her office, her cell phone dinged with a new text message. It was from Harvey. Great, so he was a stalker on top of everything else. That was just perfect.
Sorry for being a jerk. My behavior was unacceptable. Please forgive me and I hope you were serious about dinner tomorrow night.

             
Candace stopped walking and re-read the message, a faint smile pulling at her lips. How could she be angry with him when he went out of his way to apologize like that? She tucked her cell phone back into her purse and continued on toward her office, deciding not to respond right away. Let him hang for a while, let him wonder.