Indulgent Pleasures (13 page)

She was afraid she might be sick.

“I loved your article about ladies on the prowl and the men who go after them.” Zoe pointed at Caleb and the beaming smile he flashed made Stephanie want to roll her eyes.

“Trust me there are plenty of ladies out there on the constant prowl. I could write endless articles about that subject alone,” Caleb said, sending Stephanie a smug little smirk.

Gag. Could he suck up to Zoe any worse?

Yeah, he could but hell if she wanted to witness that.

“I’m sure.” Zoe smiled, scanning the notepad in front of her. “I also liked your article about the cougar theory. Despite the term being around for a while, it still titillates. We got a lot of mail response on that one.”

Yes, because he was so rude in his descriptions of the women, making them sound old, pitiful and needy. It seemed every article he wrote only confirmed her suspicions of what an asshole Caleb could be.

Caleb laughed and slapped his thigh. “I got a ton of hate mail on that one.”

The withering smile Zoe shot him made Stephanie want to giggle.

“Steph, I’m loving your articles so much. Not only are they hot and sexy but they’re rather romantic as well. Your fan letters are increasing with every article that comes out. Good job.”

Stephanie felt her cheeks heat. Romantic? She hadn’t been going for romantic. She thought she’d been on the hot and sexy track. Maybe not.

“The oral sex article garnered a particular amount of interest, especially amongst the male readers. We conducted an informal, on the street poll and found out most of the men who were questioned are desperate to meet you.” Zoe arched a perfectly groomed brow and Stephanie wondered if her cheeks were as red as the sweater she wore.

“You do know how to describe a blow job, Steph,” Caleb put in.

“Don’t call me that.” Stephanie glared at Caleb and his expression turned somber. She could barely tolerate Zoe calling her Steph. She’d probably punch Caleb in the face if he said it again.

“Well, anyway I talked with the powers that be and we’ve decided to do something different than originally planned.” Zoe rested her arms on the table, bracelets jangling, her gaze going from Stephanie to Caleb and then back to Stephanie. “We want to offer you both the column.”

Stephanie breathed deep but didn’t allow herself to get excited yet. There had to be some sort of condition for allowing the both of them this chance.

“And we want you to work on the columns together. A female perspective on sexual fantasy and the male perspective on fantasy, sexual preferences for the city’s young and single. You can research however way you see fit.” Zoe smiled.

The triumphant look on Caleb’s face said it all. He’d planned this, the bastard. He’d gotten to Zoe first, convinced her of his idea and the two of them had run with it.

She didn’t want to share her column with Caleb. She couldn’t stand the guy. And she definitely didn’t plan on conducting any so-called research with him, that was for sure.

“How often will the articles be published?” Stephanie asked coolly, trying to keep her composure.

“You’ll get a column with every issue so weekly. I don’t know if we’ll divide it up amongst the two of you each week or give you a byline every other week. We haven’t worked out all of the logistics yet.”

“This is so fucking fantastic Zoe, you don’t even know.” Caleb was beaming. The jerk. “Thank you. I can’t wait to get started.”

The look Caleb shot her said everything. Stephanie’s skin crawled. If he thought he was getting in her pants, he had another thing coming.

“Your articles will continue running as is. The column will be launched in approximately one month though it might take a little longer. I want to keep the same tone we have between the two of you because it’s working and I don’t want to screw with that. I think it’ll work even better once you both have the column officially. You’ll be a real nice bounce off of each other.” Zoe paused and studied the both of them. “Are we good?”

“Hell, yeah,” Caleb practically shouted.

Stephanie nodded. “There are a few more things I’d like to discuss but we can do that later. Privately.”

She should’ve cared less if Caleb knew her distaste for working with him on this column. But she needed to let Zoe in on it and she really didn’t want to say anything in front of him.

Stephanie and Caleb followed Zoe out of the board room, the both of them headed toward their cubicles. Stephanie refused to look at Caleb though she could hear his cheerful whistling and the occasional chuckle.

He seemed thrilled, beside himself with happiness over this new project.

All Stephanie could think of was how she could get out of it.

“Listen Stephanie, we can make this work, don’t worry.” Caleb leered at her as they both walked into their cubicles. “I know how to be gentle when I need to be.”

Stephanie went to the waist-high wall that separated them and jabbed a finger in Caleb’s direction. “Get it through your thick head, asshole. We’re not going to screw all in the name of this column, okay?”

“Whoa, whoa, no need for hostility.” He held his hands up in front of him in a defensive manner though with a shit-eating grin on his face. “Settle down, babe, I don’t want to get in a chick’s pants unless she’s willing.”

“Well then you’re never going to get in my pants because I’m
never
going to be willing. Get that through your thick skull.” She plopped down in her chair and pushed the hair off her forehead, staring blindly at her monitor.

“Saving it all for your subject matter? Mister-Hotter-Than-Fire? The one you gave that amazing blow job to?” Caleb paused, the look on his face darkening. “That article even turned
me
on.”

Eww. Not the visual she wanted to have. “Keep dreaming. He’s my boyfriend.”

“He’s your boyfriend, huh? I had no clue you had someone steady in your life. I thought this was all an experiment for your articles. He’s a lucky guy.”

Stephanie swallowed hard. She wished Justin was her boyfriend. She only said it to get Caleb off her back. She hadn’t seen Justin in nearly a week since he’d been out of town.

“Yes, well, thanks.” That came out lame but what else could she say? And really, she’d had no choice but to declare Justin as her steady boyfriend. It was the only way she could keep Caleb off her back.

“There’s a charity dinner going on this Saturday and I think we should go together.”

Stephanie turned to stare at him, her mouth dropping open in shock. “Um, didn’t you hear what I just said? I have a boyfriend yet you’re asking me out on a date?”

“It’s not a date, it’s for work. Surely Lover Boy can understand a work function. He can’t be that much of the jealous type. Or is he?”

“Why do you want me to go with you to a charity dinner?” She ignored Caleb’s jab. Come to think of it, she had no clue when Justin was back in town. Not that she was contemplating going to the dinner with Caleb. It sounded like her worst nightmare.

“Zoe suggested it actually. She wanted you to write an article observing me in action. She thought a glitzy charity ball would be the ideal place for you to see me work it.” He looked quite pleased with himself.

“You mean to tell me you’re going to try to get in someone’s pants at a function for charity?” The guy was at the top of her gross list.

“I suggested it to her, yeah. I wanted to show that it’s easy to get in a woman’s pants whether she’s broke or loaded. They all go for the same thing.” He smiled. “Charm, looks and persuasion. It’s as easy as that.”

“Oh trust me, I’m going to.” She couldn’t sit here and listen to another word Caleb said. Standing, she headed toward Zoe’s office, dread filling her with her every step.

Afraid she wasn’t going to like what Zoe had to say.

* * *

“So what’s this meeting about?” Justin smiled easily at the two men who sat across from him, his agent Curt McKay sitting silently to his right.

“Didn’t Curt tell you?”

Justin’s gaze slid toward his agent but Curt’s choirboy expression belied nothing. “No, actually he didn’t. So why don’t you two enlighten me?”

He had a feeling he knew exactly why two executives from the top sports network in the country wanted to talk to him but he wanted to hear them say it first.

And then he was going to beat Curt’s ass for not giving him the heads up. Isn’t that an agent’s job? Though ever since his accident, Curt hadn’t been around much. Not that Justin needed him but still.

He paid the guy the big bucks. Curt was on his payroll just like a few others. He should at least do his job and keep Justin informed.

“Well Justin, first off we wanted to offer our sincere regard for you as a pillar of both the baseball community and baseball history. You were a phenomenal player and we were both sad to see you retire before your time,” one of the suits started.

Yeah, yeah, he’d heard this before. He appreciated the kind words but he was beginning to hate how everyone felt the need to preface everything they said with them.

“You have a certain charisma that comes across the screen every time you speak. We’ve noticed it time and again when we see you on television. The ladies love you and the men respect you. Pardon my pun, but you tend to cover all bases with the national public.”

Chuckling sounded all around the table and Justin shifted in his chair, his muscles tight, his fucked up knee throbbing this morning more than usual.

He wished they’d just cut with the bullshit and get to it.

“We want to offer you a job, Justin,” the other suit said as he leaned across the table, his face a study in intensity. “We’d like you to be a commentator to finish out the season, specifically the playoffs and the World Series. What do you think?”

Justin was startled by the man’s blunt offer. They usually built it up more before they went in for the kill. “Would this be just for this season or would this continue beyond?”

“We’d like to give it a trial run for the remainder of the season, see what you think and what everyone else thinks. If it works, we’d be fully prepared to offer you a multi-year contract.”

When they named the dollar figure, Justin whistled. He was already taken care of for life but this job would be the icing on the cake. He wasn’t going to say yes though, not yet.

“I’ll think about it. Discuss it with Curt, see what he says. And we’ll need to see a contract for the trial period.”

“Of course. We’ve already given Curt the paperwork. We’ll be glad to help draw up something different of necessary. Something that is more agreeable to your terms.”

Justin frowned. He hated surprises. So why the hell hadn’t Curt shown it to him? At least mentioned this job opportunity in passing? He didn’t freaking get it.

They all said a few banalities and then the meeting was over, the suits escorting Justin and Curt out of their offices. The second the elevator door closed Justin shot Curt an angry glare.

“I can’t believe you didn’t mention exactly what this meeting was about.”

“I thought you knew. Hell, I know you knew, Justin. I told you all about it last week.”

The look on Curt’s face was sincere. Justin’s brows wrinkled and he shook his head. Shit, did Curt really tell him? He wracked his brain, trying to remember when they last spoke.

“Hell yes, I wanna do it.” The words spilled out and he wondered immediately what Stephanie would think. Would she be sad he was gone all the time?

The job would require a lot of traveling, tons of it. He’d be gone for weeks, a couple of months, through October.

The thought of being apart from Stephanie for that long made him hurt inside. Hell, he missed her now and he’d been gone for only a couple of days. First traveling for another short series of Miners away games and now he was in New York for the next couple of days with Curt.

“Are you up to it physically?” Curt watched him carefully.

Justin ignored the throbbing pain in his knee. A constant—and irritating—reminder. “Of course. I’m fine.”

“Right, that’s why you’ve been limping all morning. I don’t want you hurting yourself to do this job. Remember you had to retire because of that injury.”

“Like I could ever forget. It’s different out on the field. I’m not going to be running around, dodging balls, catching balls, sliding into base. I’m going to be standing on the sidelines asking stupid questions.”

And wishing he was the one out there playing.

Did he really want to do this? Yeah, the money was fantastic but would it hurt too much not being in the game? Would he just be torturing himself by hanging around and watching it all go down?

It almost hurt more to not be out there at all.

“Well let’s check out the contracts, look them over and decide from there. From what I got in the preliminary pages they sent me, they want you to start pretty soon.”

“I know,” Justin said grimly, rubbing the side of his jaw. “I’m not sure if I’m ready.”