Magnetic

MAGNETIC

© 2012 BY ROBIN ALEXANDER

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

ISBN 13: 978-1-935216-44-5

First edition: 2012

This
ebook
Is Published By

Intaglio Publications

Walker, LA USA

WWW.INTAGLIOPUB.COM

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

_______________________________________________

CREDITS

EXECUTIVE EDITOR:
TARA YOUNG

COVER DESIGN BY:
TIGER GRAPHICS

Magnetic

While on a business trip Layne Stone learns that she has been dumped by her partner of six years. Hurt, angry—a little tipsy she takes solace in the arms of a stranger. The brief encounter made going home to New Orleans and starting a new life a bit less daunting for Layne.

Stacy
Mayeaux
was unaccustomed to waking up alone in a hotel room. Normally, she was the one that crept out before the light of morning crept in. But the woman who’d left an indelible mark upon her soul simply walked away without so much as a phone number or a kiss goodbye.

Neither woman thought they’d ever cross paths, but irony proves them wrong. Layne and Stacy meet face-to-face once again in the most unfortunate of circumstances and the pull between them is simply Magnetic.

DEDICATION

For the sweetest of Roses

Grams

And Barbara

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

As always, my sincere thanks to Tara and my editorial team. And to Becky for her support and encouragement.

Chapter 1

Layne,

I took some time to let my temper cool since your departure Friday. I wanted you to know that the conclusion I’ve come to was not made out of anger, but I think we both know our relationship isn’t what it should be. I’ll be gone by the time you return home. I’m not going to quibble over what belongs to whom, so I’ll be taking only what I know belongs to me.

Olivia

Layne Stone crumpled the email that she’d printed as if holding the hard copy would make the unexpected message seem more tangible somehow. They had fought before Layne’s business trip. It was true that the relationship was failing. But to receive a one-paragraph email stating that the six years they’d spent together was over was in Layne’s opinion a coldhearted bitch slap.

“At least she didn’t send it in a text,” she said numbly as she gazed out over Detroit from the balcony of her hotel room. She looked at the light coming from windows of the surrounding buildings and the cars below, wondering about the lives around her. Did anyone feel as numb as she did at that moment? A loud knock came from inside her room. Layne looked down at her watch and sighed. For the next couple of hours, she’d have to put on her happy face and mingle with her associates and clients. In the morning, she’d return to New Orleans and start all over.

“Well…” Alana
Mayeaux
said, drawing out the word as she stood with one hand on her hip. Her deep green dress hugged her shapely form and revealed more cleavage than one would normally deem appropriate for a business cocktail party. Pearly white teeth appeared as dark red lips parted in a smile. “Conservative as usual, but you make a suit pop with that figure of yours. If you’d show a little leg, I might have some competition.” Alana stepped into the room and closed the door. “So don’t. Leave the roving eyes to us single gals.”

Layne didn’t bother to say that she was now in that category. Instead she stepped in front of the mirror and ran a hand through her shoulder-length blond hair, unwilling to give it any more attention. Alana moved beside her and applied more lipstick.

“Do us both a favor and stay away from Corbin Malone tonight.” Layne stared at Alana’s reflection. “Clients are off-limits, though I know you’ve bent that rule more than a few times.”

Alana toyed with a dark brown strand of hair that had escaped from her
updo
and grinned impishly. “His wife will be with him, so I’ll have to find other playmates.”

Alana’s attraction to married men was a bone of contention between her and Layne. As male attention went, Alana had the lion’s share. She never suffered from a lack of “playmates,” as she put it, but married men were more of a challenge, and Alana loved the thrill of pursuit, and more importantly, someone who couldn’t afford to get too attached.

“My cousin will be joining us tonight. I’ll introduce you and maybe y’all can talk shop. She’s one of your teammates. Single and very good-looking,” Alana said with a wink. “Too bad you’re already spoken for. The
Mayeaux
women have a reputation for being amazing between the sheets.”

Layne rolled her eyes. “Two
Mayeauxs
under the same roof, God help us all.”

“Yes.” Alana beamed with unabashed pride as she took Layne’s arm. “You look particularly dour this evening. Are you homesick?”

Layne switched on a lamp as they headed for the door. “I’m tired and very sick of smiling. I’m looking forward to being home in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt with a big tub of ice cream.”

“Tomorrow evening, you will be,” Alana said as they stepped into the hallway. “But tonight, I suggest drinking heavily. The smiles tend to come more easily that way.”

On the elevator ride down to the ballroom, Layne and Alana were joined by two men Layne had met at the offices of Cline & Barry, an accounting program design firm that had recently become one of her clients. Layne could not remember their names, but Alana—who had a penchant for remembering the names of everyone from the president to the mail clerks they associated with—certainly did. Layne assumed that was the reason Alana was so favored by their boss David Calloway and why he was so willing to overlook her sexual escapades that had landed them in the hot seat on a few occasions. Layne also figured that David had been in Alana’s “hot seat” at least once, which caused him to turn a blind eye to some of her more flamboyant dalliances.

Layne followed behind Alana as she took both men by the arms when they exited the elevator. Soft jazz and conversation drifted from the ballroom, and Layne released a quiet sigh before relaxing the tension that had accumulated in her jaw. David Calloway met her at the door as she walked in.

“Fashionably late as usual,” he said dryly.

“It wasn’t intentional. I received an email that required my attention,” Layne explained as she accepted a glass of champagne from one of the tuxedoed servers and looked out over the room.

“Late arrival means late departure.” David stuffed a hand into his trousers pocket and took a sip of his cocktail. “Mingle, dance, and pretend that you adore them all. Tomorrow, you can wear that frown, but tonight, at least try to look like you want to be here.”

Layne downed half her drink, then shot him one of her best fake smiles. “Will this do?”

“For now,” David said coolly. “But you and I need to talk when we get back.” He walked away without saying more.

Before six that evening when Layne had received the email from Olivia, David’s comment might’ve rattled her. But as the cold champagne tickled the back of her throat, she found that she really didn’t care, nor would she stay late. Mingle she would, and when the liquor that flowed freely began to loosen the inhibitions of the partygoers, she’d escape.

“Ms. Stone, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you and your staff for the sweeping changes you made at our firm.” Amanda Cleary smiled as she thrust out her hand for Layne to shake. “I have to admit when you first made your speech about what you could accomplish with customer service revamping, I was skeptical.” Amanda raised a single brow. “To be honest, I thought it was bullshit.”

Layne laughed along with the woman whom she knew as the no-nonsense HR manager who at first had seemed unwelcoming of Calloway and Associates’ intervention into her territory. Cline & Barry had a solid reputation for the programs they designed, but the customer service had garnered negative reviews and was beginning to affect the bottom line. Layne and her team were called in by the bigwigs at the corporate office to retrain their employees and restructure policy. Within six months, the company made a turnaround and reclaimed its place in a competitive market. This visit to Detroit was the final evaluation and the party a celebration of success that David hoped would catch the attention of prospective clients.

“I believe in giving credit when credit is due,” Amanda said with a sparkle in her eye. “Morale has improved, turnover has virtually diminished, and my job is infinitely easier. So thank you.”

Layne smiled genuinely. “Music to my ears. You have my direct line, so if you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to contact me.”

“Thanks again,” Amanda said with a slight nod and moved into the crowd.

Layne watched her go and caught sight of another woman she didn’t know. It was the hair that drew her attention first—deep brown, almost black and wild with waves that barely met her shoulders. Her dark eyes appraised other women brazenly, and she didn’t fit in with the carefully coiffed who surrounded her. The neat tailored suit didn’t seem to match the owner who looked more like she spent her days on the beach with her toes in the sand. When the dark gaze swept her way, Layne looked away, knowing that she’d been caught doing her own appraisal.

In Layne’s opinion, women gave away their sexuality by the way they regarded one another. Straight women tended to look at one another as adversaries while others were drawn by clothes or shoes. But a lesbian, like the one she’d been watching, was not discreet, and her eyes telegraphed brazen appreciation that had nothing to do with apparel.

Across the room, Layne found Alana and watched as she moved closer to Corbin when his wife joined a group of women nearby. Alana would flirt shamelessly with him under his spouse’s nose. And by the way Corbin was covertly smiling back, Layne wondered if Alana hadn’t already caught him in her snare.

“You wish you could be anywhere but here.”

Layne turned and faced the woman she’d been watching moments before. “Is it that obvious?”