Sex on Flamingo Beach (21 page)

Emilie touched his arm. She wanted to believe he was innocent.

“Let me know how it goes.”

“I will. I'll call you as soon as this whole bloody thing is over with.”

“I hope it gets over with soon.”

“I
'm sorry I haven't gotten back to you. Life's been crazy,” Emilie said when Mack Allen caught her unexpectedly at home. She'd hoped the call was from Rowan. She was worried about him.

Mack's deep chuckle resonated. “I was beginning to wonder whether you were blowing me off.”

He'd given her the perfect opening.

“Not exactly blowing you off, Mack. I've just been so busy. I'm on my way out, meeting a friend in exactly ten minutes.”

A slight exaggeration. Maggie Smith was hardly a friend.

“Is that your diplomatic way of saying you have a date?” Mack asked.

“Not exactly a date. In fact I have so much going on right now I don't think I'll be doing much dating. There's a good chance I'll be moving.”

“I'm not going to be here much longer, either. You probably heard that plans for building the casino are on hold.”

“Yes, I heard something to that effect. You must be disappointed.”

“I'm upset to be in the middle of a mess. Because of the charges of corruption and bribery, everyone's under investigation. We contractors have been cooling our heels waiting until this thing clears up.”

“I hope it all works out for you, Mack. You're a nice man,” Emilie said, ending the call.

Emilie gave a quick glance in the full-length mirror. She'd pulled her hair off her face, securing it back with combs. She was wearing one of those hot retro dresses that were back in style, the hem barely sweeping her knees. Since she was meeting the competition, it didn't pay to be a frump.

It made more sense to walk over to the Pink Flamingo than to bother taking out her car. Maggie Smith was waiting in the cool interior when Emilie entered. She stood and waved.

“Thanks for agreeing to meet me,” she said with a wide grin.

“How could I not? We seem to have pushed someone's buttons. I am just as curious as you to discover who that person is.”

So far no hostility. Maggie seemed both warm and welcoming.

Both women sat. Maggie was already sipping on something that looked like water.

“I was thinking of getting an appetizer. Are you interested in sharing one?”

“Yes, I'd like that.”

After the waitress took their order, Maggie opened a manila envelope and withdrew a sheaf of papers. She set them on the table in front of her. “These were all sent to different departments at the radio station. I guess whoever it is wanted to make sure I got the message. They wanted to run me off.” She giggled.

Emilie produced a folder holding copies of the e-mails that Zoe had saved and put them side by side with Maggie's.

“Mine are nothing compared to yours.”

“I'm a public figure,” Maggie said. “I believe they were trying to ruin my career.”

“We're dealing with a really nice person here,” Emilie said sarcastically. “Do you have any ideas who might be responsible?”

Maggie shook her head. “I'm so new to town I really haven't had the time to meet many people.”

“I'm at a loss myself. But someone is interested enough to monitor our comings and goings. My conclusion is that either this person's a racist or very interested in Rowan herself.”

“How do you feel about him?” Maggie asked, looking at her intently.

It was an intensely personal question and one she wasn't sure she wanted to discuss with a stranger. She'd been giving it a lot of thought lately and at least she was no longer confused.

“He's an incredible man,” Emilie said, grateful for the server's excellent timing with their order.

“I can tell you really like him,” Maggie said, looking at Emilie intently. “What's the problem? It should be a much easier relationship, anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

“Because interracial relationships can be tough.”

It dawned on Emilie that Maggie didn't know she was black. It was time to educate her.

“I'm African-American, Maggie.”

Maggie's eyes almost popped out of her head. “You are kidding. Girl, I would never have guessed.”

“How about you? Do you have feelings for Rowan?” Emilie asked, turning the tables.

Maggie held her gaze. “Rowan's great to date but not exactly my soul mate. I think he feels the same.”

Hearing it put like that made her feel so much better. One bold question deserved another. “Were you just in New York with him?”

“No, I went to see my family. I had no idea Rowan was even in New York.”

Emilie felt as if a rock had been lifted off her chest. She believed Maggie Smith. What's more, she liked the woman.

For the remainder of their time together they laughed and joked, finding out they had a great deal in common. If she wasn't so sure that she'd be leaving Flamingo Beach, Maggie Smith would make a good friend.

Two weeks later, Emilie had turned down the Miami trainer's position, but was still considering the overseas opportunity. Without a job she would be moving somewhere. The question was where? The good thing was that Tom had agreed to pay her a bonus so that would at least tide her over for a while.

Flamingo Beach was still in shock, reeling from the news of the mayor's arrest. Since then several other city council members had been indicted. The media was having a field day with the Seminoles, Landsdale and James Morse all under investigation.

In the last few weeks Emilie had had only minimal contact with Rowan, and only because he needed information to pass on to Twenty Cents and Ice Cube. She missed their times together.

Right now she had to focus. This was the night when all of her hard work would come to fruition. She had a lot of people to thank for making We Beach Jammin' happen. That was the name the advertising company had come up with. Some clever person had shortened it to WBJ and the abbreviation had stuck.

Emilie was particularly pleased that the weather had held up tonight. The rain occurring earlier that evening had cooled things down and a stage and several tents were erected on the property. Hopefully that would minimize any complaints as the jam would still be held outdoors.

Judging by the crowd no one had decided to boycott the event. A sizeable line wound its way around the building and the scalpers selling tickets were having a field day. Emilie hoped that someone at the hotel was keeping track of sales because from the looks of things they were already oversold. People had come from north and south to see the two celebrity rappers, Ice Cube and Twenty Cents, who were the opening act.

The twenty-five finalists had been on-site all afternoon rehearsing and pacing. They had their own tent and the stress level was so high that occasionally someone snapped.

Larry Moorehouse was more excited than she'd ever seen him. Emilie couldn't figure out whether he'd expected the thing to be a bust. Sure, there had been groaning and grumbling and several had called the D'dawg show complaining that the jam had become a moneymaking opportunity. With the corruption charges fresh in everyone's mind, Larry and the Flamingo Beach Spa and Resort were being accused of all sorts of ugly things.

Emilie was determined to focus on tonight. Nothing mattered, not the loss of her job, although not much had been said about that lately. That might have something to do with the construction of the casino being placed on hold. Even so, if Tom Burke begged and pleaded she would not be staying on.

“Do we have more folding chairs?” Larry Moorehouse asked, stopping Emilie in her tracks.

Emilie turned him over to Joya and her helpers and went off to make sure security was in place. In addition, the hotel had retained the services of the two police officers, Greg and Lionel, and their patrol cars were parked in the lot.

While the technical crew tested the sound system, Emilie checked with the food and beverage manager, who coordinated with Keanu. They confirmed that every restaurant and café would remain open throughout the event. Outside, the bars and refreshment centers were already doing a brisk business catering to a hungry Saturday-night crowd.

Larry was flagging her down again. “When are our two stars arriving?”

“They're already here. Ice Cube and Twenty Cents checked in earlier with an entire entourage. Bodyguards, musicians, girlfriends, etc.”

“Do they know what time they're on?”

“That's what their managers are for. I got a very long list of requests that the hotel was expected to provide, everything from food and drink preferences to the appropriate temperature in their suites. I'm done.”

Larry's very long list of volunteers was doing everything from ticket taking to hawking Flamingo Beach souvenirs. So far everything seemed organized and if there were flubs they certainly weren't noticeable. But despite that Emilie felt compelled to walk around and check and recheck.

“I'm going to take another quick look around just to make sure everything's set,” Emilie said, leaving Larry. “If something urgent comes up, call my cell phone.”

People were swarming through the building now, some she recognized, some she didn't. In the distance she saw Quen and Chere. When Emilie stopped to say hi to them they exchanged the usual small talk. Eventually Chere curved a finger at her, taking her off to the side.

“I shouldn't be telling you this,” she said.

“I can't wait to hear.”

“It's my girl, Sheena, that's been sending you nasty e-mails.”

“How did you find out?” Emilie asked, although she wasn't so sure she wanted to know.

“I had to use Sheena's computer because mine was broken. There was one of those e-mails right up on her screen. Now don't you say a word, hear?”

After promising she wouldn't, Emilie continued on her way. Sheena Grace really was something else. She'd gone to extremes to try to eliminate the competition and move in on Rowan herself. Pathetic creature.

Emilie ran into Maggie, who had her arm through Mack Allen's. She nodded at them and continued on her way. Mack had told Emilie earlier he would give it one more week in Flamingo Beach and then he was packing it in. Maybe Maggie would help him change his mind.

She couldn't help noticing the shift in energy. Even the clothing worn to the jam was different, more casual-chic. Around her, couples were holding hands, voices raised excitedly. This was a new dawn in Flamingo Beach and people were here to have a good time, an upscale time. And she was alone; independent had now become lonely. Flamingo Beach was growing up and she wasn't going to be around to see it blossom into full-fledged adulthood.

“Emilie!” She knew that voice, would recognize it anywhere.

Turning, she spotted Rowan in his usual torn jeans heading her way.

“You are just what the doctor ordered,” he said, spinning her around and sending the ankle-length skirt she wore billowing around her ankles. “I've missed you, girl.” He looked exhausted, worn.

She'd missed him, too. So much. Too much.

“How's the investigation with James Morse going?” she asked, her palm caressing the side of his face. Joya had told her what she learned from Derek, which really wasn't much. So far her friend had been fortunate enough to keep her job.

Rowan snorted. “Painful. But we've come up clean so far, and none of us has been arrested so that's a good thing. Looks like Lightfoot wasn't involved, either.”

Emilie laughed along with him. “Are you staying for the jam session or just here to see your friends?”

“I don't think I'll make it through all the performances but I did want to catch up with Willy and Dwayne before their warm-up session. I've been invited up to their suite. What are you doing right now?”

“Now? I guess just making sure everything's set up.”

“Now? Tonight? Later? Forever?”

Emilie gave Rowan another playful tap on his cheek. “Tonight I'm sticking around long enough to get this show on the road and then I'm going home.”

“Come with me, meet the guys, and afterward we'll go somewhere and talk,” Rowan said.

Emilie wanted to prolong their time together and savor every moment they had left. It had taken her long enough to sort out her feelings and find out she loved this man.

“I'd like that,” she said simply.

Before she could change her mind, Rowan took her arm, hustling her off in the direction of the elevators. They got off on the penthouse floor and walked down plush carpeting to the end of the hall where the rapper friends were sharing adjoining suites.

Emilie found Dwayne Ramos, aka Ice Cube, and Willy Corbitt, or Twenty Cents, fun, regular guys. They greeted her warmly and immediately began trading insults with Rowan. She heard stories about the tough life they all had growing up in the projects.

“How's your mom these days?” Ice Cube asked.

Emilie, for whatever reason, had assumed Rowan's parents were both dead, although he'd mentioned them and two siblings.