SASSY IN STILETTOS ARe version (4 page)

“Yeah, fine, I hear you.”

When Miranda let herself out, Micha breathed a
sigh of relief. She was sure Miranda was going to bust out a full song and
dance. Micha’s inner competitor fluffed her hair again, wanting to come out to
play. On-air would change her life. And she wasn’t ready to unsettle her
balance.

Micha chewed her lip. There was still one way to
avoid on-air altogether. She could call in a favor.

As she reached for the phone, the envelope from
the lawyers’ office caught her eye again. With a breath, she turned it over,
unwilling to deal with the contents yet.

***

Micha paced outside of Adele Westhorpe’s office, waiting
to see the old lady. All she had to do was convince Adele that she didn’t need
to be on a short list for this job. How hard could that be? Never mind that the
old lady was a bit of a barracuda and a shark at business.

Adele’s newest assistant approached Micha like a
cowed animal, her head slightly bowed. Dang, what the hell did the old lady do
to these kids? Every assistant she’d ever seen in here only lasted six months
max, and they all looked like they’d been put through the wringer.

“Miss Bennett, Miss Westhorpe will see you now.”

Straightening her back, Micha followed the
assistant into Adele’s expansive office. The contemporary furnishings were
elegant and understated, but still comfortable. Adele stood immediately and
came around the desk. “Micha, darling, I wish you had called. I would have made
time to take you to lunch.”

Micha still couldn’t get used to this formidable
woman considering her family through Jaya. Adele had sort of adopted her and
Ricca the moment Jaya had said she’d marry Alec. It was also disconcerting,
because Adele had the tendency to treat them all like recalcitrant children and
meddle. Adele was the catalyst in nudging Beckett and Ricca together. If she
hadn’t meddled, the two might still be circling each other.

“Sorry to pop in today. I figured it was a long
shot to catch you. I didn’t expect you’d actually be free to chat.”

“For you, always.” She squeezed Micha’s hand, but
in the same breath, scowled at the assistant who brought in a tea cart until
the poor thing scurried out of the room like a frightened mouse.

“How do you get them to fear you like that? My
assistants aren’t scared of me at all. Maybe I’m doing something wrong.”

Adele showed her to a chair. “They scare
themselves half the time. I’m extremely demanding and fire at will, so there’s
no room for error.”

“Must be exhausting replacing them.”

Adele’s eyes rolled heavenward. “You have no idea.
Though Jaya insists she has the perfect assistant for me. We’ll see.” Adele
patted her bob. “So what can I do for you, Micha?”

Here goes nothing.
“Well,
it’s about WST Entertainment and the on-air anchor position.”

Adele beamed. “I know—exciting, isn’t it? You
realize I couldn’t hire you outright. There are people with lots more on-air
experience than you, but I’ve seen the work you did in New York, and I’m
impressed. I can’t wait until you do the screen test.”

Shit.
This was not how
Micha wanted the conversation to go. Adele wasn’t supposed to be so excited
about it. “Look, Adele, I’m thrilled for the opportunity, but honestly, on-air
isn’t where I want my career to go. I need you to take me off the short list.”

Adele frowned. “Don’t be ridiculous, darling. You’re
perfect. I only need the network drones to see you, then it’s a wrap.”

Micha exhaled. “Adele, I need you to listen to me.
I really don’t want it. I’m not being coy or negotiating for a better salary,
though that would be nice, but I don’t want it. It’s not me.”

A line formed between Adele’s brows as her frown
deepened. “So you mean to tell me you want to back out of the running for a
coveted hosting position on an entertainment news network? Do you have any idea
how many magazine editors would kill for that kind of role? Magazines are
quickly following the newspaper. This is good for your career.”

“Well, I don’t want it.” Micha set her jaw and met
Adele’s gaze. “Find someone else.”

Adele studied her. Her slight smiled resembled a
Cheshire cat’s. “No.”

What the hell? Micha shook her head. “What do you
mean, no?”

“I mean, I still want you to do the screen test. I’m
not taking your name off the list.”

Anger simmered under Micha’s skin. “Adele, you can’t
control me. I’m not Alec or Max. I will determine what direction I want my
career to go and how and when that happens.” Micha stood, building up steam
from her pressurized anger. “I appreciate you taking Ricca and I on as adopted
daughters-in-law of sorts, but I’m not your kid. I won’t be lectured. Nor will
I be controlled.”

Adele sat back and crossed her arms, her smile
broad. “You have fire, Micha. It’s unlike you to back down from a challenge. I’ll
take your name off the list if you tell me why, and it has to be a stronger
reason than you don’t want it. Why don’t you want it?”

“None of your business, old lady.”

Adele grinned. “Watch who you call old. But I like
the fire. And the answer is still no. Unless I can have my reason.”

Shit.
There was no way
she could tell Adele why she didn’t want the on-air gig. From her peripheral
vision, Micha could swear the walls were closing in. Her breathing rate
increased as her heart ticked up several beats.
Shit.
She was not having a panic attack here. Not in front of Adele Westhorpe, of all
people.

She forced herself to draw in a deep breath and
focus on her quarry. When that didn’t work, she dragged in another breath. “Adele,
I’m sorry. My reasons are my own. But I’m sure you’ll find the right person to
anchor this show. But it won’t be me.”

Adele stood and nodded. “Fine. If that’s the way
you really feel about it.”

Oh, thank God.
Relief
washed over her, and the suffocating walls receded. “Thank you. I know it’s not
what you wanted to hear, but it’s not what I want. I can’t make it work. Not
even for you. I appreciate you taking the time to listen to me.”

“Oh, you misunderstand, darling. If you don’t want
on-air, there’s only one way out of it.”

What was the catch? “How?”

“You can quit your job. As long as you work at
SDM, I expect you to do the screen test. At least give us something to work
with. If, after that, you’re selected and you really don’t want it, we can
discuss. But I’m not going to entertain the fear right now.”

“You want me to quit my job?” Fury made her jaw
tight. Every word tore out of her chest with effort.

“Not at all. I’m giving you your options. Either you
do your on-air test, tell me the truth about why you don’t want the position,
or quit. What’s it going to be?” Adele’s voice was calm and authoritative.”

Micha stared at the older woman, battling the
irrational need to throw something. “Adele, I’m not telling you shit.”

Adele gave her a beatific smile. “There’s the
Micha I know. In that case, I look forward to seeing your screen test in a few
days.”

Micha scowled. “What makes you think I’m not
quitting?”

“You’re not an idiot, darling. You love your job. And
it’s not in your nature to quit.”

She had to get out of there before she strangled Adele.
Alec wouldn’t be pleased if she killed his mother. Turning on her foot, Micha
stalked out of the office. Before she left, she turned back to Adele. “I don’t
need a mentor, Adele.”

Adele grinned. “Of course you do. Trust me. This
will all work out.”

***

“I come bearing gifts.” Caleb held up the six-pack
of Blue Moon, knowing it was the only beer Micha might drink.

She gave him a half smile and let him in. “So,
which one of us is going to go first?”

He put the beer down and turned to face her,
leaning back against the counter. “Go first with what?”

“Admitting that they were in a mood today and say
sorry for their behavior.” She shoved her hands in the back pockets of her
jeans and rocked back and forth on her heels then the balls of her bare feet.

“Well certainly not me.”

She raised a delicately arched eyebrow and
narrowed her eyes. “Me neither. Stalemate.”

He shrugged. “Guess we’ll have our own beer
summit.” He should have known she’d be stubborn. Micha had a way of getting to
things in her own time, and God help he who tried to push her faster.

“Beer summit it is.” She pushed past him, and he
smiled silently. She could pretend all she wanted that he didn’t affect her.
But he could feel the crackle of electric energy between them, and there was no
way it was only him. At least that’s what he told himself.

She handed him a bottle opener. “So what gives? You
look like shit. Looks like you’re not getting enough sleep.”

Ahh, there it was. Her trademark bluntness. But
concern etched her features as she studied him. “I’m probably not. What about
you? You haven’t dragged me in here with a movie already playing, telling me to
grab a slice as you catch me up on the plot.”

Over the course of two years, they’d become
begrudging friends. More like she was begrudging and he was hopeful. She’d shot
him down, but he still held onto that glimmer of hope that he could make it
happen. That he could make
them
happen.

When he’d found out that she liked heist movies,
he’d shown up on her doorstep one night with beer and
Inside
Man
. His mistake, he’d brought Stella Artois to drink, and Micha had
wrinkled her nose, stating that beer tasted like piss, but she’d take the
movie. He’d hoped for something a little more romantic, but at the end of it,
it had been fun.

Beckett was right; they’d been dancing around each
other for too long. Caleb saw the way she watched him when she thought he wasn’t
looking. He merely had to figure out why she was so against dating him. Hell,
half the time she acted like she didn’t like him. The other half of the time,
she watched him with an edgy readiness, like she was daring him to break down
and kiss her already.
Or more.
But he was patient.
If he could wait her out, she’d come around to his way of thinking…eventually.
He never gave up on anything.

“So what’s the movie for tonight? When you texted
and said ‘I have the entertainment covered,’ I left my DVDs back home.”

“Well I have something a little different planned.”

He wasn’t sure he liked the sound of this. “What?”

She gave him a sunny smile, and his heart rhythm
had an interruption. Thud-Pause-Pause, then a round of faster thuds. God, with
the way her ringlets framed her face and shoulders she looked like an angel. Her
almond-shaped, grey eyes danced.

 “Now I need you to keep an open mind.”

“Yeah, okay, what?”

“That dance show on television. By watching the
partnering, we can figure out what we’re doing wrong. Because let’s face it,
yesterday was a disaster.”

How the hell had he become the kind of guy who
watched reality shows?

“A dance show?”

She nodded, and her curls bounced merrily around
her shoulders. “Puh-lease, it’s my favorite, and right about now, I could get
my mind off of a few things.”

Under normal circumstances, the idea of a reality
show would have him running for the door. If it wasn’t Sports Center or
Dexter
, he wasn’t interested. Well, except for that hillbilly
toddler pageant one. But he wasn’t ever telling anyone that. Not even on his
death bed.

“Why what’s on your mind, Micha?  I promise your
reputation as a fantastic dancer can withstand dancing with me.”

“No, it’s not that.”

She blew a curl out of her face, only to have it
boing
right back over her eye. Caleb wanted to tug on that
curl to see if it was as soft as it looked. To clear his mind of the random fit
of the stupids, he shook his head.

“I was offered a promotion today.”

“Are you kidding right now? You should have said
something. I would have brought over Cristal or whatever it is all the rappers
are drinking now.”

She laughed loud and clear and completely
unrestrained. “I thought you already knew. And it’ll have to be Dom or
something else since Sean Carter called for a boycott on Cris. I’ll just call
him and check for the latest cool brand.”

Caleb shook his head. “Don’t bother. He and Beyoncé
have their hands full with Ivy Leaf, or whatever her name is.”

Micha laughed again. “I’m not sure if I should be
impressed that you know that Sean Carter is actually Jay Z or that you
deliberately teased that poor baby about her name.”

“Of course I know who Jay Z is. I don’t live under
a rock. Don’t let the dapper look fool you.” He indicated his T-shirt and
jeans. “Inside me lives a hip-hop connoisseur. I even know that Ol’ Dirty
Bastard’s name was eventually changed to Sweet Baby Jesus. I know things.”

She giggled. “I stand corrected. You know things.”

“So, do you want to tell me why you don’t look
happy about the job offer?”

She sat silently for a minute, watching a pair of
dancers as they performed to the colossally long
Titanic
song. “I don’t want the job. What it means.”

“Maybe it doesn’t mean anything. Maybe it’s just a
job. Where is the supremely confident Micha Bennett at? The woman who told me
upon our first meeting, and I quote, ‘We’re going to sleep together eventually,
so we might as well get this show on the road.’”

She squealed and covered her face. “Oh, my God, I
did not say that!”

“Yeah, princess, you did.”

She rolled her eyes heavenward and giggled. “Okay,
maybe I did say that, but to be fair, I’d had a couple to drink.”

“A few drinks or not, I’ve only ever known you to
speak your mind and be direct as hell. If you don’t want the job, turn it down.”