Chapter Twenty-five
Stacy made her way up two flights to Teddy Davis’s office.
When she’d called the day before requesting this meeting, he hadn’t asked what it was about, nor had he said anything about Montana or Jade Quartermaine. He’d simply named a time he was free and that he would see her then. He’d been polite and professional, and she’d been a little taken aback. She thought for sure he’d say something about Family Dinners or Jade. But he hadn’t and she found herself a little uncertain of what was in store for her.
She pushed through the heavy glass doors to his office waiting room, bracing herself to see Teddy’s horrible assistant.
Surprise jumped through her when she spotted someone she didn’t know sitting behind the wide, cluttered desk.
A pleasant, open smile came her way. “Hi. I’m betting you’re Stacy Peters.”
Stacy nodded.
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Rebecca.”
“Where’s Althea?”
A smile she could only describe as knowing faced back at her. “Gone,” was all she said. Stacy watched as she picked up the desk phone and punched one of the buttons. “Miss Peters is here…of course.” She replaced the receiver. “You can go right on in. They’re waiting for you in the conference room.”
“They? I thought I was meeting with Teddy alone?”
The woman merely smiled and shook her head.
Stacy opened the door. Off to her right she saw another door, half open, to the area Teddy used for conference calls and project meetings. She crossed to it, rapped her knuckles across the frame, and then stepped in.
Davis was waiting for her. Despite the August heat swirling outside the thirty-story office building, melting the city dwellers and workers, he was clad from head to toe in a dark-blue three-piece, pinstriped, tailor-made suit with creases in the trousers so sharp she wondered how he didn’t cut himself while getting dressed. An azure-blue button-down shirt, a bold paisley tie with matching pocket square and soft, hand-stitched Italian leather shoes completed his head-to-toe sartorial splendor.
When he grabbed her in for a full-body hug, the scent of Hugo Boss hit her senses full throttle.
“It’s so good to have you home, Stace,” he said, squeezing her, then pushing back to view her at arm’s length.
His bushy brown brows beetled above his rimless eyeglasses as he peered at her through them. “Why did you wait so long to call me? You’ve been back, what? Two weeks?”
She nodded.
“Well,” he said, taking her hand, “you probably just needed a rest. I hear the shoot was ridiculous busy and you were everywhere as usual, being your hyper-efficient self. Come on and sit down. We need to discuss a few things.”
He turned, still holding on to her hand and just as she was about to ask who he’d heard from about the shoot, she got the shock of her life when she spotted Nikko Stamp sitting at the table.
She stopped short, yanking Teddy back a step when she did.
He looked…amazing. His hair was shorter and the tan that had started from the bright Montana sun had darkened to resemble tea with a splash of crème. The amber in his eyes seemed brighter, especially against his darker skin, and as his gaze stared across the room at her, her insides felt like a thousand butterflies were all flapping at once inside a lepidopterarium.
Teddy stared at her for a second, a ghost of a smile tugging at his lips. “I know you asked to speak to me in private, but I asked Nikko to join us because he’s expressed an interest in directing your show.”
Stacy’s head shook side to side a few times before looking back to him. “My show?”
“Yeah, your show. Family Dinners? Remember? The one you pitched that I green-lighted before I sent you to Montana? The reason you’re here today?”
“I—I—”
“Come on, Stace, sit down. Let’s talk specifics.”
He pulled her to a chair next to his and opposite from Nikko. She willed her eyes to settle anywhere in the room, on anything but at him, but they refused to heed her command. Drawn to him like light was to sunrise, her eyes found his. With a slight nod, he said, “Stacy.”
Knowing her voice would shake with emotion, she stayed silent and nodded.
“So, kids,” Teddy said as he leaned back in his chair and regarded the two of them. “I put Family Dinners on the winter-spring schedule for six replacement episodes, which means you’ll need to start principle production pretty soon. If the show does well, it’ll pick up for a fall starter. Stacy,” he turned to her, “from the original proposal you sent me, you’ve already listed a dozen places that fit the bill for what you want. You’ll need to pare that down to six by the end of business this week so we can get working on the travel logistics. Good?”
“Um, yeah. Fine. I can—I can do that. Sure.”
Teddy turned to Nikko. “Just so we’re all clear on this, Nikko, like I told you when you called, I gave Stacy carte blanche with crew choice. She decides who she wants to work with. I know you’ve expressed an interest in this show, but you still need to finish up the editing on Beef Battles. That’s your primary concern.”
It was Nikko’s turn to nod. He leaned forward and placed his hands, clasped, on the table in front of him.
The urge to reach out, grab them, and press them all over her body was so quick and intense, she shuddered.
“I know, and editing is ninety-percent complete, just so you know.” His gaze shifted to her. “I’ve been working on it around the clock since we got back so I could free up time.”
“Great.” Teddy grinned. “I love to hear that. Now, let’s talk budget.”
For the next half hour Stacy sat, dumbfounded for most of it, as the realization began to seep in that her show was still her show.
How had that happened?
Why had it happened? When she’d left the ranch, Stacy was certain the show idea had been stolen by Jade Quartermaine. That the woman all but had Teddy’s blessing on hosting and taking over the production. During her self-imposed two-week banishment, Stacy had considered what her options were in regaining control. Apparently, she hadn’t had to worry, because from everything the network programmer was saying, she was still at the helm. Family Dinners was hers—always had been—despite what Jade had said and done.
Now, as she listened to Teddy go on about production costs and time-slot choices, her body began to calm, then grow excited at the prospect that her dream was about to come true.
The one aspect that still confused and worried her was Nikko’s presence. That huge stutter her heart kept experiencing every time he answered one of Teddy’s questions or asked one of his own was becoming commonplace.
He was polite and sincere when he spoke, his gaze moving between her and Teddy, but always landing and staying on her face. Gone was the scowl she’d grown used to seeing those first weeks of production, replaced now by a relaxed and open expression. As she had been on site, she was once again impressed by how he was able to clearly see the big picture of the project and the tiny details inherent in bringing it to life.
Despite the way things had ended personally between them, Stacy appreciated what a marvelous leader he was.
Nikko’s phone beeped and, as he rose, he said, “Sorry. Gotta take this.” He moved from the room and Stacy took the opportunity to finally gear up the courage to ask Teddy the questions that had been drilling through her head.
Before she could, he preempted her.
“I know I ambushed you with Nikko, Stace, and you’ve probably got a ton of questions. But before you ask them, I need to tell you something first.”
She took a breath. “Okay.”
Teddy leaned forward and took one of her hands in his. “I know what happened in Montana.”
She sucked in a breath, her face heating. How? Who had told him about her and Nikko? In the next instant, she answered her own question.
Jade Quartermaine.
Embarrassment shot through her.
“You—you do?”
“Yeah. I know Jade tried to hijack the show from you.” He shook his head, his mouth pulling into a thin line.
“Oh. Well.” Relief soared through her. “How did you? Find out, I mean?”
“Jade tipped her hand. Came waltzing in here the moment she got back from Montana, telling me how she’d heard about the project, had already gotten Nikko on board to direct, and was set to star. I asked her who she’d heard about it from, because”—he pointed a finger at her face—“I know you. Have for over eight years and I knew you’d never have mentioned a word about the show to anyone. Especially someone like Jade. When she said you’d been the one to seek her out, I knew she was lying.”
“She was.”
He nodded. “Yeah, well, it didn’t take me too long to figure out who told her. Althea went ballistic when I signed that note for you—which, by the way, I only did to make you feel more secure. The show was yours the moment I read the proposal. Never a doubt.” He squeezed her hand again. “When I confronted Althea, she confessed. I had no idea she was in cahoots with Jade. Believe me, if I had, I would have put a stop to their little spy ring the second I found out.”
A quick grin shot from her lips as her stomach settled for the first time in an hour.
Hell, in two weeks.
“It’s not every day you can use the words cahoots and spy ring in a normal conversation,” she said.
“That’s why I get paid the big bucks. Anyway, you’ll notice Althea is gone. I fired her sorry ass on the spot and refused to give her a reference. As for Jade, well...” his pleasant smile turned just a shade nasty and Stacy remembered why his network nickname was Hitman. “Her contract is up for renewal and I can safely say her professional performance is being carefully evaluated with a fine-tooth legal comb.”
“Teddy—”
He patted her hand. “Don’t worry about anything, Stace. This is your show. Always was. Even before you agreed to go to Montana. Nikko—” he glanced up as the man came back into the room and lowered his voice—“knows that as well. I made sure of it when he called me. It’s your decision who you want on your team, just like I agreed. If you want him, great. If not?” He shrugged. “We good, you and me?”
Overcome, Stacy leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “Better than good. Thank you. For everything.”
His smile turned soft as he squeezed her hand a final time and sat back.
Nikko sat at the same time the table phone beeped.
Teddy answered it. “Yeah?”
While he listened, Stacy snuck a glance at Nikko. Her heart somersaulted when she found his eyes already trained on her face.
“Okay. Yeah,” Teddy said into the phone. “Tell ’em I’ll be up in five.” As he hung up, he said, “I’ve gotta get to a meeting upstairs.”
Upstairs, everyone at EBS knew, was the moniker for the offices of the television network heads.
“Stace, I’ll need you to get me your specifics of crew and cast ASAP.”
“Will do.”
“You two keep the room. Talk. Nikko,” he rose and turned to him, putting out his hand, “consider this your job interview. And remember, she has the final say.”
Nikko rose as well, shook the man’s hand, and said, “I know.”
A quick kiss to Stacy’s cheek and a pat on her shoulder and Teddy left, securing the conference door closed behind him.
Stacy was acutely aware she was now all alone with Nikko.
The urge to get up and run from the room was so strong she had to physically push herself down into the chair so she’d stay put.
She wouldn’t let him see the hurt he’d caused her. She was better than that; stronger. Grandma’s little warrior. She’d overcome far greater pain in her life than a battered and bruised heart and ego.
“Just be a professional,” she whispered to herself. Keep it businesslike.
Nikko sat back down across from her. Neither of them spoke for a few moments.
“So. Since this is my official job interview,” he said, after clearing his throat, “tell me how you envision the shoot.”
Her head shot up at the slight hitch in his voice. One look at his eyes told her he was nervous.
Nervous.
“Well,” she began, calling up all the calm she could from deep within her. Every meditative lesson she’d ever learned she willed forth.
She took a deep breath.
Keep emotions out of it. We’re just two people discussing a project.
Stacy leaned forward and spread her palms flat on the table, mimicking Nikko.
Before she could blink, he reached across and grabbed them.
Waves of heat steeped into her, up her arms, settling in her chest, and knocking the breath from her.
“Nikko?”
On a moan, he shook his head. “I can’t tell you what it does to me to hear you say my name again. I’ve missed hearing it. So much. I’ve missed…you.”
“What?” She yanked back, but he tightened his grip.
“Don’t, please,” he said, impaling her with the emotions swimming in his eyes. “I need to say this before I chicken out.”
Chicken out?
“Or you kick my ass to the curb. Which, by the way, I deserve.”
He stood, never letting go of her hands, and came around to her side of the table. A gentle tug and he had her standing in front of him, the all-too familiar heat of his body waving over her and making her…want. In one smooth move he let go of her hands and wound his own around her waist, pulling her against him.
Stacy laid her hands across his chest, intent on pushing away, but stood, paralyzed, when he said, “I’m so sorry.”
His eyes darkened, deepened, as he stared down at her.
“Sorry?”
“For treating you the way I did. For being such a prick to you from day one.” His grip tightened, pulling her even closer. They bodies touched from torso to knees. Under her satin bra her nipples hardened to two points as her breasts scraped against his granite-hewn chest.
His fingers slid back and forth across the small of her back, rubbing, pressing gently. Driving her insane.
“But especially for how I treated you after the finale.”
When she bristled against him, he blew out a tired breath and shook his head. “I acted like a total moron.”
“That’s one word for it,” she said before she could help herself, her desire to remain calm dissipating. “I can think of a few others.”
“Nothing you can come up with I haven’t already called myself. Or my daughter has.”
“What?”
“When we found out you’d left, she lit into me. Held back nothing. She may be fifteen, but when she’s on a tear she sounds an awful lot like my mother. I was so blown away by how mad she was it didn’t even register she knew about us until much later.”
Stacy nodded. “She came to see me before this meeting.” Her face flushed from her neck, upward, at the memory. “She told me she knew we’d…hooked up, was the expression she used.”
“Christ.” He shook his head and pulled her against him so her head lay across his pecs, her arms circled around his back. She could hear the steady thrumming of his heart and was calmed by it; soothed. She should pull away, she really should. But….
“It’s humiliating to be called out by a teenager. Especially when everything she said was dead-on.” His hands trailed up her back. “After she calmed down, Melora told me she knew you and I were involved, romantically. She was thrilled. Her word. Said it made her happy to see two people she loved happy.”
Stacy smiled against his chest. She loved the girl too. How could she help falling for her snarky, honest, open personality?
“She didn’t mince words, though, when she accused me of being the reason you left the ranch. She didn’t even know about what went down with Jade, just assumed you’d left and I was the cause. The kid is unbelievably intuitive, I’ll give her that.”
His knee snaked between her legs, opening them and finding a place to nestle against her. Stacy didn’t think he even realized he’d made the move, it felt so natural.
“I went a little crazy after I found out you’d left,” he continued. “It’s a good thing the show was in the can because I can tell you, honestly, the crew would have mutinied. I was so angry.”
“At me?”
“No, sweetheart, not you. Never you. Myself.”
The endearment pushed her anger and hurt to the side as the word crept into her heart.
“I believed Jade even though I knew what a spiteful hag she is,” he continued. “That was my first mistake. Not letting you explain was the second. I called Teddy the minute I calmed down.”
“Teddy? Why?”
“I wanted to hear from his mouth the reason he’d sent you. I wanted proof that what Jade said was true. Before I could even ask, he mowed over me, wanting to know how you were doing. Told me he’d known sending you was a big risk—to you—but he was so confident you’d stick it out. That’s when I asked him about Jade. I thought I was mad about the situation, but Ted went ballistic. Read me chapter, book, and verse about how he’d coerced you into going to Montana because he knew how beneficial you’d be for the production. And for me. Even if you’d refused, he told me, your project was still a go because it was that good of an idea. I told him I agreed.”
He pulled back, cupped her cheeks in his hands. “I know you left because I hurt you,” he said, rubbing his thumb across her bottom lip, “and I’m so sorry for that.”
“I think you can share some of that hurt,” she told him. Looking at his actions with a little distance had given her the ability to see that now. “You thought I’d used you. That everything we’d…shared together was just a means to an end. I can understand your anger.”
He dropped his chin, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, the piercing emotions swimming in them impaled her.
“No one likes to think they’ve been used. I’ve experienced it firsthand and believe me, it’s soul-sucking.”
It was her turn to take his face in her hands. “I know. Jade told me about your wife. She knew how it would look if you found out about the paper I’d had Teddy sign. How my actions would seem to you.” She shook her head. “She was right.”
“I should have realized it was all Jade’s doing, not yours. She’s the one who uses people as stepping-stones. I should have known you’d never use anyone, never hurt anybody, just to get something you wanted. That’s not you. It’s not how you are.”
“You really don’t know who I am,” she said, softly. “Or what I’m capable of.”
“That’s not true.” He splayed his hands, the tips of his fingers spread over her butt. “I know you better than you think. You’re smart, conscientious, kind.” He slid his knee against her, and she realized right then and there he knew exactly what he was doing to her. “You’re a born leader, even though you don’t see yourself that way. You’re warm and open and accepting. And you’re the bravest woman I’ve ever known.”
She huffed out a laugh. “I’m not brave.”
His hands tightened around her again. “You are,” he whispered as he bent his head, his lips hovering over hers. “And you’re one more thing.”
A gentle swipe of his mouth against hers had her knees softening. “W—what?”
“You’re loved.” He kissed her again. “I love you, Stacy. I swear to God I think I fell for you the second I stepped out of Dixon’s truck. You were all professional and polished, strong and determined, with that take-no-prisoners attitude.”
Stacy’s body stilled, despite being engulfed in fire every time his lips pressed against hers. “Is that really how you see me?”
For an answer, his mouth took hers again, the soft insistence of his lips pressing, torturing, delighting.
“That, and so much more.” A swipe of her bottom lip with his tongue and she opened for him. As he deepened the kiss, showing her the truth of his words, she let herself accept them.
He loved her.
Her.
He lifted his head and peered down at her, that familiar, furrowed glower she’d come to cherish covering his face again. “Tell me I haven’t ruined us. Haven’t ruined what was between us. I don’t know how I’ll get through the days if I have.”
“Nikko.” She sighed and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she felt the sting of tears.
“Please, Stacy. Just tell me. I have to know.”
Through a jagged breath, she told him what she’d never been able to tell any other man. What she’d never felt for any other man. What she felt only for him.
“I love you too.”
Before she could tell him everything in her heart, he lifted her off her toes in a bone-rattling hug and rained kisses all over her face and jaw.
“Thank God,” he said when he finally put her down again.
They stood, gazing at one another for a few seconds. Then, a heart-stopping grin split his face and it was all she could do to keep her balance steady.
“So.” His eyes hooded as he dragged and flattened her up against him again. With one hand squeezing her butt, the other snaked around her neck, he asked, “Does this mean I got the job?”
He swallowed Stacy’s laugh with his kiss.