That fact did not sit well with him. He had no idea why he even cared. Perhaps it was just his wounded ego, but whatever the case, he didn’t like the injury his pride had sustained at the hands of Thandie Shaw. She wasn’t even his typical brand of woman. In the past, he had preferred slender buxom brunettes; however, he was inclined to be attracted to the occasional blonde from time to time.
Thandie was on the opposite side of the spectrum. Yes, she was tall and slender, but had more curves than he was prone to desire. She had full hips and a wonderfully round derriere. Her long dark hair had been every bit as soft as he had imagined, and she tasted so sweet—like hot sex. Elliot had prided himself on never being easily swayed by any woman, so the idea of him sparing Thandie more than five minutes of his time was remarkable.
Thandie Shaw. She’s just another woman, he thought, and there were plenty of them on the strip. But she had somehow made herself stand out. He had no interest in her beyond sex. That much he knew. Yes, she had withstood his advances. He would have to deal with that. Hell, it was only a matter of time before she would be begging him for sex, if her slick thighs were any indication. She might pretend to be the dominant one, but if there was one thing he knew about women, it was that they always came back. He could care less where her morals lay; time would eventually conquer her. And when it did, he would discipline her for tonight. But until then, he would be patient. She was only on the third day of her three-month project. He smiled. This was going to be fun.
Thandie had not slept well. Every time she slipped into some semblance of rest, she was jarred awake by erotic images of a silver-eyed stranger. She awoke groggily and highly annoyed. There was a high probably this would not be her best day ever.
Pulling her hair into a sloppy bun at the top of her head, she washed up and headed downstairs. The empty kitchen was alight with bright mid-day sunshine. Thandie pulled a glass out of the cabinet and helped herself to some orange juice. Taking a seat at the breakfast nook, she stared out the window and enjoyed the silence. She nearly choked on her juice when Warren entered the kitchen moments later. It wasn’t his presence that jarred her, it was his attire. He was dressed in a T-shirt and the smallest shorts she’d ever seen on a grown man.
“Good morning, kiddo,” he said cheerfully.
Thandie used the back of her hand to wipe juice from her chin. “Where are you going in those?”
“Yoga class.” Warren slapped his spandex-clad bottom. “It keeps me in shape for the young ladies.”
“I thought you were into biking?”
“I gave that up months ago. Yoga instructors are far more attractive.”
“Warren, I don’t think those shorts are legal in public,” she said in what she hoped was a tactful tone. “Or that shirt,” she added, having now noticed it showed several inches of pale midriff.
Warren laughed. “You need to live a little, kiddo.” He grabbed a water bottle from the refrigerator and waved. “I’m off.”
“Have a good workout,” she said with a shake of her head.
“Ah!” Warren snapped his fingers. “I just thought of something.” He looked over his shoulder to ensure they were alone before he spoke. “I’m not sure if I warned you earlier, but you’ll want to stay away from the Tower during working hours. It’s reserved for private parties, and they tend to get a little wild up there.”
She groaned.
“Elliot doesn’t allow any female servers up there,” he continued. “Every so often, he has to go to the Tower to make sure they aren’t doing drugs up there.”
“Is that the only reason he goes up there?” she asked skeptically.
Warren laughed. “Of course. Elliot may be a womanizer, but one thing is for sure; he doesn’t party like they do in the Tower.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “He prefers to party in his office, if you know what I mean.”
Not wanting to talk about the Tower anymore, she changed the subject. “Thanks for the heads-up, Warren. You better get to your class.”
He gave a mock salute. “Try not to stare at my ass.”
Thandie giggled. “Go!”
Warren hummed happily to himself as he strolled away. Thandie heard him all the way to the front door. Then he paused and called out, “Did you look?”
Thandie laughed aloud. “Just a little,” she called back.
“I knew it!” he shouted back.
Thandie was still laughing when Len came into the kitchen. “What’s so funny?” she asked sleepily.
“You don’t want to know,” Thandie assured her.
An hour later, Thandie and the girls hovered over their laptops. They’d converted Warren’s living room into work central. Papers, pens and multicolored Post-it notes littered the heavy oak table. Since they were working from home, no one needed to get dressed or bother with makeup. Thandie was drab in a pair of cutoff jeans and Raja was wearing her favorite pair of sweatpants. Len was still in her pajamas.
“Do you think this is going to work?”
“Huh?” Thandie’s head snapped up, realizing she’d been asked a question. “What did you say?”
Len stared at her from over her laptop. “I asked if you thought we could successfully complete everything in this proposal?”
“I don’t see why not. Before Babylon closed for renovations, they had Lady Gaga and Jay-Z perform within the same month.”
“I’m sure they had time to plan those appearances. We’re attempting to lock in A-list stars in a matter of weeks.” Len scrunched up her nose. “Do you really think we can book Nicki Minaj on such short notice?”
“Anything is possible.”
“You always say that,” Len muttered.
“That’s because it’s true.” Thandie returned her attention back to the email she’d been typing. “My conversation with her agent went very well. I see no reason why it won’t work.”
“And if it doesn’t work?” Raja asked.
“Then we’ll move on to plan B,” Thandie replied.
Raja picked up her notepad. “Lil Wayne is hardly a plan B. Why can’t we go after him first?”
“Because, Raja,” Thandie said in a tired voice, “his entourage is large and I’d rather not pay for all of them to travel to Miami and sleep in the most expensive hotel on the strip. We have to consider the budget.” This was twice in as many minutes the girls had questioned her entertainment selections. Her patience was beginning to wear thin.
“Are we sure we can’t get Shaun Cross to perform?” Raja asked in a whiny voice.
Thandie fixed her with an annoyed look. “How many times do I have to tell you we can’t afford Cross? Besides, he’s on tour. He’s unavailable.”
“Sorry,” Raja muttered to her keyboard. “Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”
Thandie ignored her. “Len, where are we with Guetta?”
Len fumbled through her notes. “We’re still haggling over the price, but it’s going in our favor. It helps that his wife likes you.”
Thandie nodded. Booking David Guetta would be outstanding, but she worried about the cost. The international flights would kill their budget. Thandie had already discovered