Excerpt II

The Scene:  Kate has returned from her honeymoon and is back to work at Atlantis only to discover there has been some interesting things going on while she was away.

 

A thunderous applause broke out when Kate walked through the doors of Atlantis Records.  It was good to be home.

“She’s back!”  Sabrina threw her arms around her.

Kate returned the affection and looked Sabrina over.  “Did you cut your hair?”

“Yes, I did.”  Sabrina pulled a pair of glasses out of her pocket and placed them on her head.  “Do I look like a big shot movie director?”

“Looks good but you’re too cheery.  Jack always has this permanent look of disdain on his face.”  Kate laughed.

“I’ll work on that.”  Sabrina giggled. “We have to talk.”

“Welcome back.”  Her partner John Gray appeared beside her.

“Thank you.” Kate linked arms with John and began touring the office, while trying to decipher the crazy eye signals coming from Sabrina.  After a half hour of gushing about her honeymoon to everyone, they finally made their way to Kate’s office.  She opened the door to find a beautiful bouquet of lilies on her desk.

“What an exquisite arrangement.”  Kate dumped her purse on the desk and sank into her chair.  She recognized the penmanship on the card immediately, they were from Chris. She chuckled at the dirty limerick he’d scribbled.  “So how are things around here?”

“Status quo.”  John took a seat and began a rundown of things.

Kate tried to focus on John’s face as he rattled on but her thoughts kept going back to her honeymoon.  The sun.  The surfing.  The great food.  Chris looking good in those damn swim trunks.  It was going to be harder to delve back into work than she thought.

“Earth to Kate!” He yelled.

“What!” Kate rolled her eyes.

“Are you going to float around here indefinitely?”  John snapped.

“Perhaps.”  Kate sighed.  “Did you enjoy the wedding?”

“It was great until Chris pulled that stunt.”  John’s jaw ticked.

“Still mad about that near miss with my garter belt?  I’ve never seen you move so fast in your life.”  She smirked.

When Chris threw her garter in John’s vicinity, he dashed out of the way and nearly knocked over the wedding cake in his escape.  Luckily, Evan Darchon stepped in and caught it.  His girlfriend, her attorney Natalie, almost choked on her champagne.

“Yes.”  He grumbled.  “Puma took a cab home after she saw me ducking for cover.”

“I do recall seeing you two in a heated conversation after that graceless debacle.  And really?  Her name was Puma?”

“She’s—”

“Please, any additional detail will be drowned out in my head.”  Kate rolled her eyes.  What was she going to do with him?  For the life of her she didn’t understand his aversion to commitment.

“Have you ever loved anyone?”  She studied his face.

“I love you.”  John smirked.

“You know what I mean, in love with someone.”

John closed his eyes and groaned.  “Why on earth would I want to endure that tortuous bullshit?”

“Love is a good thing Mr. Gray.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”  He grinned.  “How’s Chris?”

“He’s fine.  He’s starting the new movie soon.”

“That was cool of you to let us play a game of touch football on the beach.”

“How often do you get a chance to make every man in your life happy? Playing touch football with Seth Blake is a football fan’s dream come true.” She smiled.

“I hope you don’t mind.  Chris and I talked about hanging out.”

Kate rubbed her chin.  “Why would I have an objection to my two favorite people getting better acquainted?”

“The threat of death is still in place if he screws you over.  But I don’t meet many guys who just want to grab a beer and watch a game.”  John snorted.

“Thank you for asking him.  That was very sweet of you.”  Kate’s eyes glossed over.

“Time for me to go.  You’re doing it again.”  John stood.

“Doing what?”

“That happy crap again.”

Kate sighed.  “Where’s Andre?”

“In his office.”

“How’s he been?”

“You know Andre.”  John shrugged.

“Anything else I should know about the business?”

John looked away for a moment then back to her.  “Sabrina walked in on a…delicate moment.”

“How much is Sabrina’s psychotherapy costing us?” Kate laughed.  That explained the crazy eye moments from Sabrina.  John turned his head and avoided her glance, indicating she didn’t want to hear what he was going to say.

“You mean retail therapy?  I bought her some expensive ass purse out of a store on Rodeo Drive.  She’s feeling better.”

“An afternoon on Rodeo Drive can do wonders for a scarred psyche.  So, was this was someone new?”

John cleared his throat and played with his tie.

“Someone I know?”

“Yes.”  John turned his head again, barely audible.

Kate rubbed her temples.  “Who the hell was it?”

“Lana McNeal.  We’ve been spending time together.  I’ve been working with her on this new sexy sound she wants.”  He cooed.

A sharp pain shot up Kate’s neck.  “You’re old enough to be her father.  And please don’t tell me you’ve succumbed to the cliché of getting involved with the talent.”

“I’m offended.  I’m only twelve years older than her.”  John sank back down into the chair.

“Human years or dog years?”  Kate quipped.

“We were mid-kiss, when Sabrina came bursting through the door with a message.”

“I’m serious John.  No more canoodling with Lana.  I’ll cut off your balls and make Italian wedding soup with them.”  Kate threw her planner at him.

“It won’t happen again.”

“I wish I could get you neutered.”  Kate mumbled.

Hmmm…

Sounds like Kate has her hands full at the office…

*I hope you enjoyed the second excerpt from Hollywood Rush! Release date 11/21!

Happy Reading!

Rhonda

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