Naughty (28 page)

“Then I take it that you don’t go both ways?”

“No, I’m strictly on a fish and vegetable diet.”

Mira put her hand on each side of Tyler’s red belt, pulled her in, and gave her a sloppy, wet kiss. “I’ve been wanting to do that since the first day I met you.”

Tyler blushed. “Is that right?”

“Yep. My last relationship ended rather abruptly, and I haven’t felt close to anyone since.”

“What about the servers at the Black Door? I’m sure they provide some type of closeness?” Tyler asked, with a hint of jealousy in her voice.

“Well, yes, but that’s what they’re paid to do. I want genuine affection,” she said, giving Tyler another kiss.

“Are you saying that you want a relationship?” Tyler asked, getting straight to the point.

“Since we both just got out of situations that didn’t end well, why don’t we spend more time together before jumping into a committed relationship? In the meantime, do you mind if I sample your goods?” Mira asked without waiting for an answer, and then began unbuttoning Tyler’s blouse. She unhooked the front hook of her bra, exposing Tyler’s ample boobs. Mira tasted her nipples gently, and then began sucking hard, adding small bites every now and then.

“Oh, that feels so good.” Tyler squirmed.

Mira reached around, unzipped Tyler’s skirt, and pushed the waistband down. She reached inside Tyler’s panties and started sliding her fingers in and out of Tyler. She was finger-fucking her, and sucking her tits so intently that she didn’t hear the doorman ring up.

Tyler gasped for air. “Is that the phone?”

“What?” Mira asked, still in a lust-induced fog.

The phone rang again. “That. It’s probably the doorman trying to get you,” Tyler said.

“Who cares?” Mira went back to sucking Tyler’s nipples, one and then the other.

“Mira, we gotta stop. The other members are probably downstairs, waiting to come up.”

The last thing Mira wanted to do was stop. She was horny as hell, and was jonesing to taste Tyler’s wet pussy. “Okay, I’ll stop, but only if you promise to stay after the meeting is over. I’m not done with you yet.”

Tyler fixed her clothes. “I promise, but just so you know, I’m not into just fucking around. I’m looking for something real.”

“So am I. Tyler, there’s no doubt that we have chemistry, but only time will tell if it’ll turn into something else, so let’s just enjoy the moment,” Mira said.

Tyler had never just “enjoyed the moment” without rushing into a relationship. Maybe Mira had a point. If she had dated Liz casually before they moved in together, then she would’ve probably found out that Liz also liked men. “This is new territory for me, but I’m willing to give it a try,” she said, kissing Mira on the lips and then walking into the dining room.

Mira answered the phone and told the doorman to send up her guest. “Welcome,” Mira said, opening the door a few minutes later.

Kennedy stepped inside and looked around at the intricate art deco molding throughout the living room. “Your place is amazing.”

“Thanks. This was my great-grandmother’s duplex and I had it gutted, but kept the charming details intact since that type of craftsmanship no longer exists,” Mira said modestly, with no hint that she had just finished finger-fucking Tyler. “Would you care for an alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverage?”

“Alcoholic, please.” Kennedy laughed.

“Come on in the dining room. Tyler’s already here.”

“Hey, Kennedy.” Tyler threw up her hand as Mira poured each of them a glass of champagne.

“Hi, Tyler. How’s it going?”

Tyler smiled broadly. “It’s going fabulously!” She grinned and glanced at Mira.

“That’s good to hear. At least somebody’s having a great day.” She then turned to Mira. “So, I understand you’re the CEO of FACEZ,” she said, taking a sip of bubbly.

“Yeah, my great-grandmother started the company, and since her passing, I’ve taken over the reins. Well, actually, I was running the company before she died. I feel extremely blessed that GG trusted me enough to leave her legacy in my hands.”

“She must have known that you were up to the task,” Tyler said with admiration for her new lover.

Mira looked into her glass, as if thinking about her great-grandmother and how disappointed she’d be if she knew her
golden girl liked girls. “You’re right, GG knew I could handle the pressure. She’d been grooming me for this position all of my life.”

Out of the clear blue, Kennedy switched gears and blurted out, “You know my boyfriend,” as if she couldn’t wait any longer to divulge that information.

“Oh, really? And who might that be?” Mira asked, baffled.

“He’s one of your employees,” she answered.

Mira seemed to think for a second, then asked, “Really? Who?”

“Nigel. Nigel Charles.” Kennedy smiled.

“Of course I know Nigel. We were engaged once upon a time, but I’m sure you know that,” Mira said matter-of-factly.

Kennedy nearly choked on her champagne and turned as white as a snowflake in a midwestern blizzard. “Excuse me.” She coughed.

“Are you okay?” Tyler asked, reaching out to pat her back.

“Uh, I’m, I’m fine,” Kennedy stuttered, put her flute on the table, and patted her chest.

“As a matter of fact, I was just about to call him before you guys arrived. I tell you, the way he’s dragging his feet on our latest project, if I didn’t know any better, I’d swear he was selling trade secrets to his old boss Rob Sherr over at BOD E.”

Before they had a chance to continue the “getting to know you” session, the buzzer rang again. “Come on in the living room, guys,” Mira instructed.

“Nice place,” Naomi commented with a keen eye as she entered the foyer, filled with priceless antiques and artwork.

“Thanks. Can I get you a glass of bubbly?” Mira offered Naomi.

“That would be great.”

Mira walked into the dining room, and Tyler followed closely behind. She kissed Mira on the back of the neck as she was pouring the champagne. “I can’t wait to munch on your rug,” she whispered in her ear.

Mira giggled. “Who said I have a rug? I’m a bald kinda girl.”

“Well, in that case, I can’t wait to visit your Bermuda triangle.”

“Excuse me,” Naomi interrupted, clearing her throat. She noticed how close Tyler and Mira seemed, and for once she wasn’t repulsed by a homosexual exchange. “Who did your decorating? I just love the use of art deco blended with modern touches.”

“Thanks. I used Beverly Smith Lashley, she’s a talented decorator with exquisite tastes.”

“Well, tell her that she’s going to have some competition. I’m going to finally start my interior design business, hopefully I should be up and running by next year,” Naomi announced.

“Wow, that’s great,” Mira said.

“I didn’t know you had an interest in starting a business,” Tyler said.

“Well, I’ve always wanted to be more than just a housewife, and now that Noah is in school, I have more time on my hands,” Naomi told them.

“Good luck. Now I guess we should get this meeting started,” Mira said. “Let me get the munchies and I’ll be right in.”

When Mira returned, she was carrying a tray of hors d’oeuvres and a chilled bottle of vintage champagne. She looked around the room and noticed that Kennedy was sitting silently, with her arms folded so tightly across her chest, it looked as if she were squeezing her diaphragm. “Are you okay, Kennedy?”

“I’m fine,” she said with a chillness to her voice.

“Sushi, anyone?” Mira offered.

“Sure, it looks delicious,” Naomi said, taking a piece, as did Tyler.

“Kennedy, would you like a piece?”

“No thank you.”

“Want beef carpaccio? It’s really delicious.” She smiled.

“No thank you,” Kennedy said again.

“Alrighty then,” she said, putting the tray on the cocktail table. Kennedy’s mood had quickly changed and Mira didn’t
know why. She didn’t know Kennedy well enough to probe, so she sat down and began the discussion. “So what did you guys think about
The Lovely Bones
?”

“It was touching,” Tyler said.

“Yes, it was. I really felt bad for the girl’s parents and what they went through after she died,” Naomi said, spoken like a true mother.

The three of them chatted about the book while Kennedy just sat there like she was in a trance. Their discussion ended with the general consensus being it was a well-written and moving story.

“So . . .” Mira said, ready to end the meeting so that she and Tyler could get busy. “Any suggestions for our next book? What about
Who Moved My Cheese
? It’s gotten rave reviews,” she suggested.

“That sounds good to me,” Tyler answered, also eager to end the meeting.

“Good. Now the next item on the agenda would be, who’s going to host the next meeting?”

“I’ll host it,” Naomi said.

“No, let me. You hosted the last meeting,” Kennedy said, finally adding to the conversation.

“Girl, with your travel schedule, when are you going to have time to plan a meeting? Don’t worry about it, I’ll host the meeting. Besides, I’m dying to try out this new recipe.”

“Okay, if you insist,” Kennedy conceded.

Once that was settled, Naomi and Kennedy began to walk out, but Tyler lagged behind.

“Thanks, Mira, this was great,” Naomi said.

“You’re welcome.” Once they were gone, she led Tyler back to her boudoir for a meeting of their own.

KENNEDY PACED
the floor half the night, then tossed and turned the other half, unable to sleep. Her dreams were all over the place. She dreamed she was in the movie
Sleeping with the Enemy,
playing the role of Julia Roberts, trying to escape a deranged husband. And that was just for starters. In the second sequence of dreams, she was a private detective trying to solve an intriguing espionage caper. Her body twisted in the sweat-drenched covers as she tried in vain to capture the faceless villain.

By seven o’clock the next morning, she was up and wearing a trench into the carpeting with her constant pacing. Kennedy couldn’t wrap her mind around the possibility of Nigel selling trade secrets. She reached for the cordless to call him. She had two important questions. Like who was R. S. and why was this person paying him two hundred and fifty big ones? She quickly punched in his number, but after three rings, got the answering machine. She hit end call and dialed his cell. “Damn it! Where is he?” she yelled after hanging up once his voice mail intercepted the call. She had spoken to him the day he left her apartment. He
had called that afternoon, and expressed how much he enjoyed consummating their relationship. That was two days ago, and she hadn’t spoken with him since. They didn’t talk every day, so it wasn’t a big deal. But now she needed to talk to him, but he was nowhere around.

She needed to talk to Naomi; maybe she could make some sense out of this madness. Even in high school, Naomi was always the voice of reason; when Kennedy wanted to cut class, Naomi would give her one hundred and two reasons as to why she shouldn’t. If there was one person who could put the pieces of this puzzle together, it was Naomi.

“Hello?” Naomi answered after the third ring.

“Are you asleep?”

“No, I’m up, just about to get Noah ready for school. What’s going on? Is everything okay?” she asked, knowing that Kennedy rarely called this early.

“It’s Nigel. He . . .” Before she could complete the sentence, a flood of tears came pouring out.

“Has he been in an accident? Is he okay?” she asked, alarmed.

Calming herself enough to answer her questions, Kennedy said, “No, he hasn’t been in an accident. He’s fine as far as I know.”

“Then what’s the problem? Why are you so upset? Did you guys break up?” Naomi asked, trying to get to the heart of the problem.

“He’s sabotaging FACEZ,” Kennedy blurted out in between tears.

“Stop crying, and tell me what you’re talking about.”

She sniffled, grabbed a piece of tissue out of the dispenser on the nightstand, and blew her nose. “He’s selling information to their competitor.”

“What? Why would you say something crazy like that?” she asked doubtfully, as if Kennedy was fabricating the story.

“I know it sounds insane, but it’s true.”

“How do you know he’s sabotaging FACEZ?”

“Because I found a check with his name on it.” She went on to tell Naomi about the check for $250,000 that slipped out of Nigel’s folder and the note attached with the initials R. S. “Talking to Mira yesterday, she mentioned Nigel’s former boss Rob Sherr, R. S., get it?” Kennedy asked, making sure that Naomi was keeping up with the story.

“Yeah, I get it. Now go on.”

“Anyway, she said if she didn’t know any better, she’d swear the reason why Nigel has been dragging his feet on their new project is because he might be selling trade secrets to his old boss. And now I find a check for a quarter of a million dollars, and a note with the initials R. S.”

Naomi paused for a moment as if digesting the information. “Now wait a minute, let’s not go jumping to any rash conclusions. R. S. could be any number of people.”

“I know. I’ve thought about that, but Nigel has also been hiding the truth from me on another important issue,” Kennedy interrupted. “Mira and Nigel were once engaged, but she left him for another woman.”

“What? This is like a bad episode of
Peyton Place
. Gay lovers, stolen secrets, and large sums of money, what more can you add?” Naomi mused.

“Tell me about it. The only thing missing is a dead body.”

“Girl, don’t even kid like that,” Naomi said.

“I know it’s not funny. It’s just that I’m so frustrated, and bad humor is my way of coping. I can’t get in touch with Nigel, and don’t know if I should tell Mira about the check.”

“First, you need to talk to Nigel and ask him point-blank if he’s selling company secrets. What if you’re mistaken, and go to Mira with false accusations? What will that do to your relationship?”

Kennedy hadn’t thought about that. If she was wrong, Nigel
would never forgive her, and she could kiss their future goodbye. He had been betrayed once by a woman, and would probably view her mistrust of him as yet another unforgivable betrayal. “I tried to call him, but he’s not at home and is not answering his cell.”