Lovers Premiere

As she poked her head in, the first thing she noticed was her father’s handsome face distorted and inflamed with anger.

“You think that I don’t know what the hell is going on in my own house?”

“John, John. Calm down,” Uncle Jacob, her father’s twin, tried to pull him away from Emmett Jordan.

“No, Jacob. Wait until you hear about this…this lowlife son-of-”

“JOHN,” Sofia’s mother yelled.

“This backstabber,” he yelled, “has been sneaking around here with my own wife!” His narrowed gaze shifted to his wife. “Isn’t that right, Vivian?”

“No, John!”

“Don’t lie to me!” He charged toward her, but once again Uncle Jacob jumped in and blocked his path.

Vivian gasped and stepped back.

“I know what’s going on! I’ve seen you two with my own eyes!”

Her mother dropped her head into her hands and sobbed.

Her father’s rampage continued. “Fine! You want her…you can have her. But it’ll be a cold day in hell before I let you take my children and my company away from me!”

“John, please,” Sofia’s mother wailed.

Uncle Jacob kept his hold around his brother. “Everybody just needs to calm down.”

“Calm down?” John questioned wildly as he twisted his way out of his brother’s arms. “You know what? Everybody get the hell out of my house!”

A hand landed on Sofia’s shoulders and she nearly jumped ten feet into the air.

“What are you doing in here?” Gloria hissed.

“I was just…I was…”

“Sofia?” Vivian Wellesley turned her stunned, tear-stained eyes toward her and the housekeeper. “Get her out of here!”

“Yes, ma’am.” Gloria grabbed Sofia’s arm and dragged her out of the study and shut the door.

“What’s going on, Gloria?” Sofia asked with panic settling in her bones. She’d never seen her father so angry before.

“Don’t worry about it,” the housekeeper said, escorting her to the dining room. “That’s grown folks business. None of that concerns you.”

Doesn’t concern me? Her father had just yelled at her mother and Ramell’s father for sneaking around and then accused him of trying to steal his company—a company that he and Uncle Jacob had poured blood, sweat, and tears into. Everyone knew how much her father worked and loved that company. And her mother…how could she?

Sofia plopped down at the dinner table and folded her arms in a huff. She knew how. Emmett Jordan was every bit as much of a charmer as his son, Ramell. Clearly, neither one of them could ever be trusted.

Ever.

And that belief would be held for a long time, because Sofia’s parents were killed in a plane crash two days later.

Chapter One

Los Angeles, Today

Sofia sat on the edge of the doctor’s table with her cell phone tucked between her shoulder and her ear while her fingers raced across her iPad as she fired off one contract counteroffer after another.

“Sorry, Larry, but that’s not going to happen. You’ve only locked down Ethan Chambers for two seasons of Paging the Doctor. And you got off cheap, if you ask me. If you want to get him on board for another four years then you’re going to have come up with a figure that doesn’t insult my intelligence.”

She only half listened to Larry Franklin’s response because she knew that this was the part when studios start crying broke or downplaying just how important her client is to their hit shows. But in this case, it would all be irrelevant because Ethan Chambers dominated the tabloids and magazine covers—despite the mild hiccup with him, her sister and the paparazzi a couple of months ago.

“Larry, if you feel that way then we can just let the contract run out and I can dedicate more attention to the numerous movie offers that have been flooding my inbox. You know Denzel Washington started off on a medical show and then exploded on the big screen. That just might be the way to go here. Ethan has the looks and the talent, after all.”

“Damn, Sofia. You’re really going to bust my balls over this.”

That managed to put a smile on her face. “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”

“I’m sure you don’t.” He laughed. “Just like I’m sure this hard bargain you’re driving has nothing to do with Ethan Chambers being in queue to become your brother-in-law.”

“You’re right. I fight for all my clients.”

“Duly noted. I’ll get back with you with a counteroffer.”

“I’ll be waiting,” Sofia sing-songed before disconnecting the call. But as soon as she had her phone started ringing again. She was about to answer when Dr. Turner’s bored baritone startled her.

“You think you can fit in time for your checkup?”

Sofia nearly jumped and flashed him with an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that, Brian.” She quickly put her phone on vibrate and sat it and her iPad down.

“How long do I have before you pick that up again?” he asked, flipping open her chart.

“Two minutes,” she answered honestly. Her addiction to her gadgets was well known and quite frankly not a laughing matter.

Her longtime friend and doctor shook his head. “I said it before and I’ll say it again. You work too much, Sofia.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. When you love what you do then it’s not considered work.”

Still shaking his head, Dr. Turner reached for the blood pressure cuff and wrapped it around her arm. “When was the last time you had a vacation?”

Exhaling, Sofia rolled her eyes while she tried to recall the date. “Honey, I don’t know. A couple of years ago, I think.” She reached over to take a peek at her vibrating phone.

“Let it go to voicemail,” the doctor ordered while pumping air into the cuff.

She withdrew her hand from the phone and tried to pretend that she wasn’t about to look at it.

“Not good,” he said, listening through the stethoscope and watching the needle on the cuff.

“What?” Sofia looked down as if she could decipher the numbers he was reading.