Red Velvet Kisses

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“It is, but it’s what happened after I left the office that caught me off guard.”

“What happened?”

Micah dragged his long fingers across his face. “Remember that woman from the bar the other night? The one who wore those blue stilettos and tight jeans? We danced a few times before you and I left.”

“Yeah, I remember.”

“Well, I ran into her on my way to the office and she invited me back to her place.”

“In the middle of the day? Man, some women are bold nowadays,” Shawn said shaking his head. “But from the annoyed look on your face, I’m assuming you declined her offer.”

“Sure did,” Micah said as he dropped his head to the floor.

“So I guess the self-imposed streak of celibacy continues,” Shawn said with a laugh.

“You know when I turned thirty this year I promised myself that I would stop sleeping around.”

“Sleeping around with so many women, yes. Not sleeping with any women period, no.”

“I’ve been too busy trying to get settled in Chicago to think about having sex with random women. Besides—” Micah glanced out the side window in Shawn’s office “—there’s only one woman I have my eye on, and until Lex accepts the inevitable, I don’t think I’ll be satisfied with any other woman. That sounds crazy, right?”

“Well, considering I know the type of man you used to be, hell, yeah. But I understand,” Shawn responded leaning back in his desk chair. “I felt the same way about Cyd, but luckily, Cyd didn’t make me wait that long. Plus, I heard that Lex was in a serious relationship for years, one that went terribly wrong. According to Cyd, she’s sworn off dating real men.”

“So that means what? She dates fake men?”

“I don’t know. Cyd and I got distracted so we never finished the conversation.”

Micah didn’t even bother asking what had distracted Shawn and Cyd since he already knew. Nor did he bother to ask about Lex’s old relationships because he’d asked Shawn before and he said he needed to ask Lex. So he would just have to find out from her. There was way more to Lex than met the eye, and he was determined to figure it out. He’d spent the past few months observing her and patiently waiting for her to stop fighting the desire she was trying to hide. Now he was done waiting. Micah never had to persistently pursue a woman, but Lex was making him work for it. But if he left it to her they would never get together, so it was time for him to stop letting Lex control the course of their nonexistent relationship.

“Then I guess I will just have to show Lex that I don’t plan on going anywhere.”

“And I assume your sudden desire to throw your parents an anniversary party plays a part in your plans?”

“That and the fact that they deserve a celebration,” Micah said, rubbing his hands together. “Up until now, I’ve been giving Lex time to realize that she can’t fight the attraction forever. But I think it’s time to lay out all the stops the only way a Madden man knows how to.”

“I’m afraid to ask,” Shawn said with a laugh as he pulled out a folder that contained notes on the investor they were meeting with in an hour. “Well, Romeo, I can’t wait to see how this plan of yours plays out. In the meantime, let’s get ready for our meeting.”

Micah was barely listening to Shawn as he went over the notes in the file. His mind was already racing with different seduction tactics. Time for you to see things my way, Lex.

Chapter 3 (#ulink_3ba5f1b3-d568-5d6d-8429-3b1b0242d86f)

“Ya’ll couldn’t possibly expect me to agree to this,” Lex shouted as she slammed a piece of paper on Imani’s desk. It had only been three days since she’d seen Micah and he was already working her last nerve.

“Let’s be reasonable, Lex,” Imani said as she stood from her chair and walked around her desk. “If a client needs us to travel we almost always accommodate their needs.”

“She’s right,” Mya said, entering Imani’s office with Cyd by her side. “Our main goal at Elite Events Incorporated is to make every event we plan a memorable experience. We achieve this by putting our all into every event we plan.”

“Please save the speech for someone who didn’t help cofound this company or create part of the mission statement,” Lex said as she turned slightly to Mya and raised a hand to cut her off.

“Someone’s bitchy this morning,” Cyd said as she plopped down in a nearby chair. Lex cut her eyes at Cyd before taking a step back so she could face all the women. She took a couple deep breaths before she continued her rant.

“Look,” she stated firmly. “Micah’s request that I accompany him to his Arkansas hometown to get to know his parents better should not be a requirement.”

“How is this any different than when you and I attended several family outings to get to know the families of Kaydence Walters and Justin Phillips before we planned their wedding and prewedding festivities earlier this year?” Mya asked.

“Or when Cyd and I spent three days with the families of Brooklyn Hathaway and Wyatt Lexington for the exact same reason before we began planning their wedding?” Imani interjected.

“All of that didn’t require us to leave Chicago. Did any of you actually read this piece of paper before agreeing to his contract?” Lex asked as she picked up the paper from Imani’s desk and waved it in the air. “Well let me inform you of Mr. Madden’s ridiculous requests.”

She flipped some fallen hair out of her face before she gripped the paper with both hands. “Number one—the event planner must meet with me in person once a week to ensure we are on schedule with the plans. Number two—the event planner must agree to at least three dinner meetings as my daily schedule is too busy for morning or afternoon consultations. Number three—the event planner must attend the winter festival in my Arkansas hometown during the month of December.”

She placed the piece of paper back on the desk before looking at her partners. The smirks on their faces were really starting to get under her skin. “I don’t think anything is funny about this situation!”

“Well, if you were looking at the situation through our eyes, maybe you would,” Mya said with a laugh and shrug of her shoulders.

“Oh, lord,” Cyd said getting up from the chair. “Lex, we know you’re pissed off, but honestly, we’ve done more for clients before. You’re usually so accommodating and you rarely complain so we can only assume that you like Micah more than you have let on.”

“Oh, please,” Lex said, waving off the comment. “I just value my time and with Christmas right around the corner, it irritates me that Micah is trying to occupy so much of it.”

“Or,” Imani responded as she placed her pointer finger in the air. “Spending that much time with Micah irritates you because you can’t avoid him like you have been lately.”

She sighed deeply. Lex was tired of arguing about the same subject and was even more tired of convincing herself they were wrong when she knew, deep down, that they were right. She dropped her head down to the floor before lifting it back up.

“I give up,” Lex said taking a seat in the chair Cyd had just vacated. “You guys are right, but I just don’t get it. Why is he even into me when he can have his pick of women? I’ve constantly ignored his advances.”

“Do you hear yourself?” Mya asked raising an eyebrow. “Why not you? He’d be lucky to have you.”

Lex wasn’t so sure. The ladies didn’t know how embarrassing it was the first time she’d met him. And once she realized she would have to see him again, she’d decided that she could either be that pathetic woman he met in the lingerie boutique, or she could act indifferent to him, which somehow came off as dislike. That wasn’t her intention, but anything was better than being submissive to his charm.

She covered her face with both hands. “I’m done talking about Micah. Like I said before, I have too much baggage to even consider dating a man like him. Besides,” she said getting up from the chair and smoothing out her dress slacks. “I’ve avoided his advances for this long so I’m sure another month or so will be a piece of cake.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Lex jumped at the sound of Micah’s voice in the doorway. Oh, no...how much did he hear? From the sly smile on his smooth brown face she could only assume he’d heard way too much.

“I hate when you do that,” she said placing her hands on her hips and glaring at him. The man made her tense, and Lex hated feeling on edge. And why was he just standing there not saying anything? Fine! If he wants to stand there and stare at me, I can do the same thing. The only problem with that plan was that Micah had mastered the act of seduction and the thoughts reflected in his eyes made her heart beat ten times faster than normal.

“Your office assistant, Ellie, told me I could go directly into your office. I went there first,” Micah finally said.

“Hmm. Funny that she didn’t make you wait in the lobby.” Lex looked around at her partners knowing that one of them had probably given Ellie the okay to add Micah to the list of people who could stop by without appointments. Otherwise, there was no way he would have been allowed to see her without first calling and scheduling an appointment.

“Can we talk?” he asked, his stare still unwavering. Today he looked more casual in jeans, a black polo and black peacoat. He removed his winter hat and instantly, Lex wished she could run her fingers through his soft natural black curls.

I really wasn’t prepared to see him today. “Sure,” Lex answered as she walked around the chair and accidentally bumped into it. She slightly stumbled before Micah’s strong arms caught her.

“This feels familiar,” he voiced as he helped her to her feet without releasing his hold.