When Love Calls (2 page)

“No kidding. You stick out like a flower in Death Valley. What are you doing here?”

“I’m undercover,” she whispered.

He burst out laughing. Several people around them turned and smiled at the couple. Alyssa was horrified as she tried to walk away from him.

“No, wait, I’m sorry, you just caught me off guard. But really, what are you doing here?”

“I need to speak with Senator Kingsley.”

“He’s not here yet.”

“Duh, yeah, I know that. I’m waiting for him.”

“Okay,” he said, still half chuckling.

“What are you doing here? I thought your mother said that you were in Nepal or Mongolia somewhere.”

“I was, now I’m back. I’m supposed to be hanging out at a gallery opening across the street, but I noticed this shindig going on over here, so I decided to stop by.”

“That’s it, you just walked in, no cover story?”

“No, first I told the sentry at the door that I was a secret agent on assignment and that my contact was inside with my forged papers,” he said, and chuckled at his ridiculous story, then looked at her face. She was grimacing and he laughed out loud again. She turned away. “No, seriously, I just walked in, no big deal. Don’t tell me you had an elaborate story…”

She glared harder and he laughed more.

“You know what, you’re right. I do stick out. I don’t belong here. I’m gonna leave.”

“Alyssa, what are you doing?” Nina said, handing her a martini. “Here, take this. It’ll relax you.”

“I don’t belong here. I can’t do this, I gotta go.”

“Alyssa,” both Oliver and Nina began. They stopped and looked at each other, then turned back to see their friend cutting through the crowd toward the main exit.

“Excuse me. Excuse me,” Alyssa said, parting through the thickest part of the crowd. Still holding the glass, she got bumped from behind, turned, then turned again only to bump into a solid chest, spilling her drink down the front of his tie.

“Oh, rats, I’m sorry.” She shook her head, then quickly produced a lace handkerchief from her purse and began dabbing her suit and the man’s tie in front of her. “Ever have one of those days when everything seems to go wrong?” she moaned out loud.

“Repeatedly,” the man said as she continued dabbing them both with her handkerchief.

“Yeah, okay, that’s not coming out. Here, take my business card and send me the cleaning bill. Believe me, I’m good for it. I’ll send you a check.”

“Thanks, but don’t worry about it.”

“No, really, I insist. I’m good for it,” she said, continuing to dab at his tie.

“All right, if you insist,” he said, taking her card.

“Uh, why don’t I take care of that, sir?” another man said, suddenly standing at her side.

“Actually, I’m kind of enjoying it, Kent.”

Alyssa stopped dabbing with the handkerchief, looked up into gorgeous dark eyes and glared. “Playtime’s over, jerk.”

“Too bad.” He smiled and shrugged.

She smirked, pushed around him with her elbow slightly poking him in his side, then continued through the crowd, meeting Nina and Oliver as she got to the other side of the room.

“How did you beat me here?” she asked.

“Oh, it was easy,” Nina said. “We didn’t stop to fondle Senator Randolph Kingsley on the way over.”

“That was—No, he didn’t even look like—I can’t believe this—I just spilled—I just called him—Oh, crap.” She turned around, seeing him standing slightly above the crowd, looking in her direction. He smiled and nodded amiably. She closed her eyes and grimaced as someone walked up to him and blocked her view. “Crap,” she repeated.

“All right, you have your in. Just go back over there,” Nina declared.

“Are you crazy?” Alyssa said, pulling Nina over to the side. “He already thinks I’m some kind of nutcase. Oh, and that’s beside the fact that I just called him a jerk to his face.”

“You called him a what?” Oliver said, chuckling. “That’s great. Only you would call one of the most popular senators in the country a jerk to his face.”

“Tell me you didn’t,” Nina butted in, after glaring at Oliver.

Alyssa nodded ruefully.

“Uh, ladies—” Oliver began.

“Not now, Oliver,” Alyssa said, obviously still upset.

“I’m just saying…” he proclaimed, glancing up and noticing Senator Kingsley scanning the room, obviously looking for someone.

“What am I going to do, Nina? The whole idea of coming here tonight was to make a good impression on the man.”

Oliver continued to watch the senator look around. “You know, I kind of think you might have made that good impression, ’cause if I’m not mistaken—”

“Oliver, please,” Alyssa said. “Okay, what do we do? How do we salvage this?”

“Okay, let me think,” Nina said as the two of them moved away again, then put their heads together.

Oliver followed them, noticing that the senator’s eye followed them, as well. He smiled, enjoying the cat-and-mouse game being played, even though the two mice had no idea that the cat was watching them. “You know, maybe you don’t need to do anything. Maybe—”

“Shh.” Nina silenced him once again, then turned back to Alyssa.

“Alyssa—” Oliver began.

“Oliver, please, this isn’t a good time.”

“You’re right, maybe now isn’t exactly a good time. I’m sorry,” he said, chuckling and looking beyond them, seeing Senator Kingsley moving through the crowd and making his way in their direction with his eyes on a single target. “But you might want to—”

“Oliver, please, this is serious,” Alyssa said.

“I’m sure it is, but still, you might—”

“Come on, give her a break, can’t you see she’s upset?” Nina said, turning to Oliver and handing him the empty glass.

“Alyssa, I’m sure that whatever happened with the good senator was nothing,” he said, smiling openly.

“What are you still doing here? Go away,” Nina said.

“Nina, the man must think I’m crazy. I pour a drink on him and call him a jerk, then elbow him in the ribs as I walk away.”

“Alyssa, please tell me you’re joking. You assaulted him, too?”

She frowned. “Not joking, but in my defense, he was a total jerk at the time.”

“You’re absolutely right. I was, and I do apologize.” The seductive voice behind her sent an instant wave of warmth through her.

“Is that—Is he…” Alyssa asked, whispering to her friend and pointing over her shoulder.

Nina nodded slowly while smiling and looking up. “Good evening, Senator Kingsley. How are you, sir?”

“Fine, thank you, Nina Hall,” he said, glancing at her name tag.

“Oliver Watts, sir, good to meet you. I’m a huge fan.”

“Good to meet you, Oliver.” They shook hands, and then the senator redirected his attention. “Excuse me, we didn’t actually meet back there. I’m Senator Randolph Kingsley, and you are…”

Alyssa turned slowly, regretting the next few minutes. Their eyes met.

He smiled. “You’re slouching,” he said, tilting his head to the side while looking at her chest area.

“Oh, sorry, I…” Alyssa said, straightening up instantly, taking a deep breath and thrusting her breasts forward.

He smiled, and tried hard not to chuckle, then pointed to her lapel. “Uh, no, I meant that your name tag is kind of slouching.” He tilted his head again to try and read the small badge attached to her lapel. “Sundari Adia Nomalanga, that’s a unique name. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard it before. Is it African or Indian?”

“Actually it’s both.”

“Does it have a meaning?” he asked.

Oliver and Nina looked at each other and rolled their eyes, knowing that this would definitely get them all kicked out of the reception.

“Yes, it does. Sundari is Hindu and it means
beautiful one.
Adia is Swahili and it means
gift from God.
And Nomalanga is Zulu and it means
sunny.
”

“How appropriate,” he said as his eyes lit up.

Oliver and Nina glanced at each other again, exchanging a sly smile.

“Sir, a clean tie, and they’re ready for you over here.” A man stepped up to the senator quietly, handing him a duplicate of the slightly stained tie he wore.

He nodded. “Thanks. Kent Larson, meet Ms. Sundari Adia Nomalanga, Ms. Nina Hall and Mr. Oliver Watts.”

Kent looked at each in turn, shaking hands and nodding after each introduction. “Nice to meet you all,” he said, then refocused his attention on Randolph. “They’re waiting over here.”

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Hall, Mr. Watts, Ms. Sundari Adia Nomalanga. Excuse me.”

“Uh, one thing, Senator. I’d like to meet with you possibly to discuss Social Security reform with respect to—”

“Senator, this way, please,” Kent said.

Alyssa frowned when he turned away. “—to discuss…”

He turned back to her while reaching into his pocket to get a card. “Call me at the office. We’ll talk.”

“This way, sir,” Kent said, guiding him through the crowd toward the center.

“Now, that’s an impressive man,” Nina said breathlessly, smiling.

“Absolutely. I must have been insane to think that I could just walk up and talk to him,” Alyssa said. “I thought I was prepared, but I don’t think there’s enough preparation for him. Talk about charismatic.”

“He’s smooth and just too cool,” Nina added.

“Hey, what am I, chopped liver?” Oliver chimed in.

“Who are you?” Nina finally asked. “Alyssa, who is this person? Do you actually know him?”

“Sorry, Nina Hall, friend and coworker, meet Oliver Watts, next-door neighbor when we were growing up.”

“And close personal friend,” Oliver added. “Hellooo, Nina.” His smile was broad and genuine.

Nina sized him up instantly, then, knowing Alyssa’s age and seeing that Oliver was a few years younger, came to two likely conclusions. “Babysat or tutored?”

“Both,” Alyssa said, still looking through the crowd to hopefully spot the senator again.

“Excuse me, I take exception to the term
babysat.
Alyssa and I hung out together.”

“Come on, that’s all we can do here tonight,” Alyssa said, slightly disheartened.

“What, we’re not staying?” Oliver said as a waiter walked by with a tray of hors d’oeuvres. He quickly grabbed three crab cakes and a napkin.

“We’re going. You can stay,” Nina tossed over her shoulder as she followed Alyssa.

Oliver popped the first crab cake into his mouth and followed them outside. “Where are you parked?” he asked.

“Across the street over there, next to that art gallery, why?” Nina asked suspiciously.

“Great.” He popped the second crab cake into his mouth. “I’m going that way, too. You may escort me.”

“Is he kidding? Who are you exactly and why are you tagging along uninvited?”

They started walking down the front steps, then paused to walk around a huge black sedan parked out front. “Now, that’s a car. If you have to travel, that’s the way to do it,” Oliver said, nodding his head approvingly.

“It’s probably the senator’s,” Nina said.

They walked around it, then paused again for traffic before crossing the street. They headed for the parking lot, and then both Nina and Alyssa stopped short when they came to the art gallery’s front display. There in the window was a poster-size photo of Oliver, smiling, charmingly boyish.

“Oliver?” Alyssa said, surprised.

“Oh, that’s right, I knew there was someplace else I was supposed to be tonight. Must have gotten my directions crossed. Come on, let’s check it out, it might be fun,” he said, then stepped between them, grasped both women’s arms and escorted them inside.

“Oliver, Oliver,” a taut prissy woman shrieked, near hysterics, as soon as they entered. “Where have you been? I was worried sick that you might have taken off again like last time. Oh, never mind, you’re here now. Come, come, come. There are dozens of patrons here who are dying to meet you. Come on, I’ve already sold six paintings, so a grand appearance from you wouldn’t go unnoticed.”

“You can thank these two lovely ladies for getting me here safely,” Oliver declared.

Then, almost as an afterthought, she noticed Alyssa and Nina. “I’m sorry, ladies. This is a private reception for guests and patrons only. The gallery will be open to the general public tomorrow morning at ten o’clock.”

“Jacks, Ms. Wingate and Ms. Hall are my personal guests this evening.”

“Oh, well, in that case, please enjoy,” she said in a snobbish tone, obviously annoyed to have them there.

“Here you go, Jacks, I brought this for you,” Oliver said, handing her the last crushed-up crab cake in the napkin.

“Oh, really? How nice,” she said, peeling the napkin open and looking down at the squished mess in her hand. “Thanks.” She smiled up at him, seeing his very serious, very pleased expression. “Shall we? This way, please.”

Jacks led the way through a maze of guests standing before large paintings. The gallery was just as crowded as the reception they had just left. “Oh, by the way, this is Jacks, my agent and personal promoter. She’s a true gem,” Oliver said.

She turned quickly. “Nataliya Parker-Price Duosette. Charmed, I’m sure.” She turned back, waved across the room, then quickly made her way through more guests.

“Oh. So, where did the name Jacks come from?” Alyssa asked.

Nataliya turned again and looked at Oliver, apparently not very amused.

He smiled happily in all sincerity. “Actually that was my idea. I think she looks more like a Jacks, don’t you?”

“Indubitably,” Nina said seriously, using the same snobbish tone and following his lead.

Jacks began clapping her hands. “Excuse me, excuse me, people. People, please, might I have your attention?” The room began to settle down with only a few hushed voices still chatting, Oliver’s being one of them. “Ladies, gentlemen, honored guests, patrons of the arts, I have the distinct pleasure of introducing our guest of honor…” she began, then unfolded a small piece of paper and started reading the list of accolades.

“Thought I was just some knucklehead off the street, didn’t you?” Oliver whispered proudly to Alyssa and Nina, still standing between them.

“You’re still some knucklehead off the street,” they returned in unison, as if on cue. Alyssa and Nina chuckled silently at the coincidence.