Beyond the Velvet Rope (34 page)

He made a low whistle at her dress. “Very nice. I see why the press can’t get enough of you.”

Thandie grinned as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. “How is the crowd tonight?”

“Very tame,” he announced. “I like it when people act as though they know how to behave.”

“Photographers?” she asked.

“The typical,” he said with a shrug. “One or two have been caught and tossed. Security has been tight tonight. Boss’s orders, of course.”

Thandie nodded. No doubt Elliot had insisted on it because of the
Look
article.

There was a shuffle in the crush, and Markie appeared. Catching sight of Thandie and Adam, he joined them.

Leaning forward, he informed Adam of the approaching arrival of a club member, some professional athlete who had very specific tastes when it came to his nighttime entertainment. Excusing herself, Thandie left the men to their discussion.

Instinctively, she looked out over the crowd. Elliot was nowhere in sight. Her eyes flitted up to his office door. Behind Michelle’s bulky form was a closed door. Somehow, she knew he was inside, running his empire. Not for the first time today, she considered his earlier about-face. When he’d complained about Mira’s slam, he’d been a completely different person from the man who’d slowly stroked her to orgasm that morning on the boat. His abrupt change happened too rapidly for her to separate business matters from personal emotions. Try as she might to conceal it, her feelings had been slightly wounded. And then he’d pulled her to him and reminded her of their time together the previous night. He did not attempt to hide his desire for her. Again his sudden change befuddled her, turning her thoughts into mush as quickly as her panties began to dampen.

She was nowhere near understanding him. During their time on the boat, Thandie had thought she’d glimpsed a flicker of the real Elliot Richards. She envisioned the handsome dark-haired boy who idolized his father and adored his mother. But that image clashed drastically with the aloof businessman she knew.

Shaking her head, she decided to check her makeup. Taking the steps to the lower level, Thandie crossed the arena floor and entered the ladies’ room. Like the rest of the club, the decor was sleek and modern.

Making her way to the sink, Thandie stared at her reflection. Nothing had changed. She looked exactly the same, but her eyes were troubled. An image of Elliot floated before her, and something tightened in her chest. Even thinking about him caused a wave of desire to wash over her. And then guilt. The guilt came from embracing pleasure over reason. Elliot was not the sort of man who settled down for long. He would eventually grow bored and find someone else to amuse him.

Thandie wondered what she expected to come from this affair? And how did she expect this to end?

Forgetting the reason she’d come in here in the first place, Thandie strode out of the washroom. As she stepped into the darkened arena, the opening cords of Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer” began to play. As if on cue, Elliot’s office door opened. He stepped into the flickering blue and green lights, looking every bit as striking as a mythical Greek god. He stepped aside, and the lovely dark-haired woman Thandie noticed days before emerged from the office. She came level with Elliot. The two made eye contact before the woman turned to climb down the steps outside his office door. Elliot’s eyes followed her the entire way, a thoughtful expression on his face. As if bored, he turned his gaze on the crowd of dancers before him. His cool gray gaze made contact with Thandie’s almost instantly.

As if in slow motion, Thandie watched him descend the steps and weave a graceful, yet direct, path toward her. He moved like a surefooted panther. She took in his dark suit and flawless hair. If he had fooled around with the mysterious dark-haired woman, there were no obvious signs. He was immaculately put together.

Arriving at her side, he greeted her with a kiss. It was soft and slow. And when his eyes opened to look into her own, every barrier she’d begun to erect around her heart melted away. Unable to help herself, Thandie looked over his shoulder and sought out the lovely woman. She found her standing near the bar. She was staring at Thandie and Elliot. Her gaze was so intense, for a moment Thandie was frozen in place.

Elliot followed the path of Thandie’s stare and gave a bemused chuckle. “If possible,” he said in a low voice, “she’s more curious about you than you could ever be about her.” With that said, he placed his hand on her hip and guided her toward his office. “Come,” he whispered. “I have a strong desire to taste you.”

Without hesitation, Thandie let herself be led through the mass of dancers. As he guided her up the steps, Thandie could once again feel invisible eyes trained on her back. It was as heavy as a firm hand pressing against her spine. Her familiarity with Elliot was not going unnoticed by anyone. She inwardly berated herself. How many times had she loathed the women who followed after Elliot like sex-starved zombies to get a brief pleasure session with the man? The desire to feel his beautifully tanned body pressed against their naked flesh, if only for one night? She flushed at the thought, knowing at this very minute she’d become the thing she despised most.

Thandie chanced a glance over her shoulder. The beautiful dark-haired woman was standing on the opposite side of the bar, almost directly across from them. She was staring at Thandie and Elliot with a look of unveiled envy. Thandie wondered how soon would it be before she, Thandie, were doing the same to Elliot’s next favorite.

* * *

As the Victoria Day fashion show approached, the days and nights began to run together. Thandie and the girls barely had time to sleep, let alone retreat to Babylon in the evenings. The show was causing extra work for everyone. Adam and Markie came to the house daily to discuss strategy. Of everyone, Victoria was the most taxed. Aside from the constant growing pains involved with putting on a production, she had to keep up with last minute model fittings, guest invitations and overseeing the finishing touches on her collection.

Meanwhile, Thandie and the girls had their hands full managing a temperamental stage designer, a knowledgable but unorganized lighting specialist and helping with gift baskets.

There were many hands to hold, and multiple ways to get lost. There never seemed to be enough hours in the days to tackle the ever-changing workload.

For three days straight, Thandie and Elliot rarely saw each other. Their fledgling affair had all but come to an abrupt halt. Fortunately, she was too busy to dwell on the matter. Otherwise she would have driven herself crazy.

The day of the fashion show, there was a nervous vibe in the air. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the first disaster to occur.

It happened just short of nine o’clock that morning. The red carpet rental had not been delivered. Then the draping expert had shown up with over three hundred feet less draping than needed. The benches that arrived had to be sent back to the warehouse because they were the wrong color. And finally, the workmen setting up the stage had to redo their work when they realized they misread the layout diagram. And this was everything that happened in front of the curtain. According to Len, Victoria had unleashed on one of the models and two of the makeup artists had nearly come to blows.

Two hours before showtime, Thandie and the girls stepped away from the activity to change clothes and freshen up in the dressing room often used by the Babylon dancers.

An hour later, Thandie, Raja and Len were seated in the front row. They’d reserved two benches for their party, plenty of room to invite four additional people. Somehow, with all the preparations, they’d forgotten to extend invitations. So they sat with plenty of room between themselves, happy to finally be off their feet.

Fifteen minutes before the show was scheduled to start, Thandie saw Elliot stride toward them. He had not come alone. Over his shoulder, Nico and Matrix could be seen several paces behind him. Thandie stood up to greet them.

Watching Elliot approach, Thandie was amazed by how happy she felt at the sight of him. She could feel the smile on her face spreading, her joy nearly radiant. She was too overjoyed to care that his arrival was drawing attention to them. All she cared about was being near him.

When he was close enough, he reached out to place a hand on her hip and brushed his lips lightly against hers. It was nowhere near the ardent reception she’d been hoping for, but when he whispered, “Hello, pussycat,” in a low whisper next to her ear, a shiver of naked delight shot up her spin.

Resisting the urge to melt into him, Thandie smiled up at his friends. “Nico. Matrix. I’m glad you could make it.” She paused long enough to give each man a brief hug. “I don’t believe either of you have met my assistants. This is—”

“Hi! I’m Len,” Len said brightly.

“And I’m Raja.”

The two girls beamed up at the men with looks of instant adoration. Thandie could feel Raja and Len drinking in Nico’s easy smile and Matrix’s dark looks. Thankfully, the overhead lights began to dim, indicating the show was about to start.

The lights having finally settled into place, the words “V. Day” illuminated the stage backdrop as the soulful voice of Chet Faker singing “No Diggity” blasted from every speaker in the building. A single spotlight touched the center of the stage, and large shadows appeared. A shadowy figure walked closer to the white curtain; her figure became smaller and shapelier. The curtain split, and out walked Victoria Day.

* * *

Thandie immediately approved of her outfit. When she’d seen Victoria earlier, she’d been donning sneakers, cutoffs and no makeup. She could have passed for a teenager. However now, she looked fierce in hues of orange, yellow and pink. Clearly dressed in an original creation, Victoria had a certain style that was definitely hers alone. Her outfit complemented her body perfectly.

The crowd went crazy as Victoria took the stage. Her many bangles and red heels clicked with every step. Her pace was quick and direct. Holding a microphone at her side, she paused when she was midway on the runway. Planting a small hand on her hip, she put the crowd at ease when she flashed a brilliant white smile, and took a minute to wave at someone in the crowd.

“Thank you for coming,” she began. Her New York accent more pronounced. “They told me I had to make a speech about my line, but I refused. I don’t want anyone to talk about my clothes. I want them to fuckin’ wear them.” The crowd chortled, obviously put at ease by her down to earth persona.

“As many of you know,” she said once the laughter had died down, “I have been waiting for this day for a long time. I’ve always dreamt of designing a line that expressed my love for the two places I call home, New York and Miami. I wanted to see women wear something fun and functional. I hope you agree.” Another bright smile. “So let’s stop with the speeches and get on with the effin’ show.”

The crowd applauded politely as Victoria exited the stage. Her departure was immediately replaced by the arrival of a tall, blonde model strutting down the catwalk in tempo to loud reggae rap. The critics leaned forward and began the age-old ritual of critiquing and gossiping.

Thirty minutes went by at lightening speed. Thandie could hardly believe so much work had been compressed into such a short time. The good thing was the show had gone without a hitch. By the time the last model had left the stage, everyone agreed: the V. Day collection would be a success.

While Victoria scandalized the journalists with racy quotes, Thandie’s group made their way backstage. Thandie pretended not to notice the attention Elliot, Nico and Matrix were drawing from the females in the room. Indeed, it was hard not to notice them.

Eventually, Victoria burst through the stage curtain. A crowd of journalists stuffed recorders in her face, while photographers followed closely behind. Cameras flashed with her every step. Thandie couldn’t help but smile at the designer. She deserved the attention being showered on her.

After thanking her staff, Victoria spotted Thandie and waved her over. Her smile was brilliant when she hugged her. Their celebration was cut short when a handsome reporter introduced himself and asked for an interview. Before Victoria could respond, someone said, “Get lost.”

Both Thandie and Victoria turned to see Nico, snarling at the man.

Victoria’s eyes widened with outrage. “Can’t you see I’m having a conversation?” she hissed.

“I don’t care if you’re talking to the Queen of England,” he said through gritted teeth. “Get over here.” Taking a firm hold on her upper arm, he all but dragged her behind a rack of clothes. The two quickly dived into a whispered, and very animated argument which drew a lot of attention.

Thandie did not know what to make of this. As far as she knew, Nico and Victoria were strangers. She was distracted when she heard someone shout, “Tammie!” She turned to see the very last person she hoped never to lay eyes on again. It was Ruark Randall.

“Hey, babe,” he said, kissing her on the lips before she had the chance to pull away and run. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. I called your office, but your assistant wasn’t much help.” He leaned closer. “Between you and me, I think she’s spazzed out.” He gave a goofy grin that was meant to be charming, but instead Thandie wanted to punch out all his perfectly capped teeth.

“It’s nice to see you, Ruark,” she said, looking around for a plausible escape. “What are you doing here?”

He leaned his head to the side, tossing hair out of his eyes. “My agent has me doing a string of publicity junk. It’s been a complete drag.” He gave a careless sweep of his hand around the room. “What the hell am I doing in a place like this? I’m not buying this stuff.”

Thandie nodded, pretending to sympathize. “Well, that’s nice. I’d love to chat, but I have to go.”

A photographer appeared out of nowhere, and being the product of well-trained publicity protocol, Ruark pulled her into his side and gave a flirtatious smile to the camera. Thandie had no choice but to do the same. After momentarily blinding them, the photographer vanished just as quickly as he’d appeared.