“Kathy—” Taylorsaid.
“It’sKate.” She glared at Taylor. “You’re an event planner. Period. You don’t know market strategy. You haven’t been with him. You can’t begin to understand the mess he made of his life. I’m the reason he’s back on hisfeet.”
“No, Kate, you’re not.” Jagger slipped a hand into his pants. “I confronted my demons and my past. I did the work and I am no longer thatman.”
“You say thatnow!” Kate’s face reddened. “Wait until some tits and ass cross your path. Or you pop a cork on a champagne bottle. And don’t get me started abouteverythingelse. Whatever the temptation, you’ll go right back to snorting andscrew—”
“Enough.” Jagger lowered his voice, widened his stance. “Do not talk to me like I’m a child.Youwork forme. The fun events and sweet romance will outweigh the erotic, but Taylor is right. It’s my core brand and itstays.”
Kate whirled toward Taylor. “You’re a dear friend, but you don’t know the first thing aboutkink.”
Like hell she doesn’t.Jagger bit back asmile.
“I’ll be in my office,” Taylor said, ignoring Kate. “What’s mybudget?”
Jagger tossed her a nod. “Whatever ittakes.”
* * *
Taylor closedher office door and hugged herself to quell the shakes. Under the circumstances, she’d held up pretty well. Kathy Jones had walked all over her in high school and again, in college. No matter how much she loathed confrontation, she couldn’t allow Kate to dictate what would be in Jagger’s bestinterest.
With no time to spare, she called the booking manager at DC’s members-only sex-play club,Uninhibited.
“Hey, Taylor,” Chastity said. “Long time nohear.”
“Chas, I need yourhelp.”
Fifteen minutes later, Taylor had a plan. She’d scheduled three different erotic acts for opening night, bumping up the heat level with each show. The first would be a role-play. Chastity assured her that “Sex with a Stranger” was their number one request. Next, a BDSM demo, and finally, aménage.
If the shows sold out, she’d discuss future events with Jagger.One step at atime.
With the talent booked, she reserved one of the smaller ballrooms to hold the performances. Next, she brought her staff up to speed. These events were for guests who purchased a membership to the hotel’s private club. Reservations were required, and every attendee must be carded before entering thesalon.
Taylor sat with the hotel’s Webmaster while she updated the Loving site. “Please include the words: ‘Limited Availability’ and ‘Membership Required’,” Taylor instructed. “And once we do that, let’s highlight the segment of beach reserved for nudesunbathing.”
Jagger’s reputation was riding on this and she would treat these changes with the utmost care. With a relieved sigh, she returned to her office.Now the hotel will sellout.
After typing up a press release, she forwarded it to Jagger, and braced for the wrath of Kate. But the publicist didn’t make an appearance allafternoon.
Jaggerdid.
Her heart skipped a beat. He walked into her office and shut the door. The air sizzled with excitement, their strong connection pulling her to her feet. She wanted to run to him and kiss himsenseless.
“Hi,” she said. “How’d your interviewsgo?”
“I have news.” Brimming with confidence, and a smile that made her heart flutter, he rounded her desk and pulled her into his arms. “You were right.” He kissed her before she could stop him, his mouth crushing her, his arms holding her flush againsthim.
She groaned into him and unleashed a kiss that said everything she could not. For once, she didn’t even try to holdback.
“You feel incredible,” he murmured. “Where did that comefrom?”
“You trusted me and I wanted to say thankyou.”
“I can’t wait to see what you do after I tell you thelatest.”
She smiled. “Mr. Loving, why don’t you have aseat?”
He leaned his butt on her desk and peered into her eyes. “In the past four hours, there’s been a jump in bookings. We’re at eighty-three percent and two of the three erotic events have already sold out.” He grinned. “You. Are agenius.”
