THE CRITIC (2 page)

“I don’t think there’s any danger of me getting hurt, Ms. Rose.”

“Then I have your permission?”

“Of course, do what you need to do.”

Before she could reason herself out of her ill-timed action, Toreas’s hand closed into a fist and shot out in Jared’s direction, landing a soli
d-fisted punch in his stomach.

As the man doubled over, she heard him groan and she couldn’t resist grinning before saying, “That’s what I do to villains, Mr. Stone.”

Her wrist had wrenched sideways against his hard abdomen and now a searing hot pain shot up from the tips of her fingers all the way to her shoulder and made a home at the base of her neck.

That punch had hurt her more than Jared Stone, of that Toreas was sure.  Darn Kelle anyway for teaching them self-defense.  The punch was part of last night’s lesson.

For several moments everyone seemed frozen as Jared glared at her.  Her friends were looking at her with wonder.  Wondering if she’d lost her mind, that is.

Toreas looked up into the red eye of the camera and her mouth dropped open.  How could she have forgotten she was on television, if only locally.  She shouldn’t have lost her temper like that.

She looked back at Jared who’d at least stopped glaring at her.  His dark eyes were now golden brown and were registering surprise.

He was watching her as if she were some new species he’d never seen before.  Good manners dictated that Toreas should at least apologize but she
couldn't. In that instant Jared pounced on her, capturing her head in his hands and kissing her soundly on the lips. He then moved away from her.

“So what am I now, the villain or the hero?”

Uncaring now of either the camera or her friends, Toreas aimed a kick at Jared’s shin.  But he was out of range and was grinning wickedly at her. Then she felt soft but strong hands pushing on her shoulders.  She looked up into the eyes of both Elysa and Liz a moment before landing in her chair.

Toreas could feel the heat invade her entire face and then go into the very roots of her short curly afro.  She was glad she’d not apologized to the man.  And she was glad that the natural red tones of her brown skin hid most of her embarrassment, at least from the camera. In person, now that was a different thing. Her hand gripped the chair.  She knew she was scowling at Jared.  She had to.  His kiss, though unexpected, had stirred longings within her, but surely not for him.  Mercifully the show ended and she was able to leave.

Feeling the vibrations in the air behind her, Toreas knew without a doubt that Jared Stone was near her.

“I want you on another show.”  His voice was gruff and he stopped just as Toreas turned toward him. “You embarrassed me in front of my audience and they loved it.  You’re a hit.”

Toreas eyed the man talking to her from a safe distance. He evidently considered her dangerous or crazy.  She didn’t know which. Kelle would be happy to know he considered her dangerous, but disappointed that Toreas had suffered more pain from the punch than Jared.

The hot blazing pain she was still feeling told her she’d not delivered the punch as instructed.  She’d be sure to ask Kelle to show her again.

“Ms. Rose, are you listening to me?”

Toreas brought her eyes up slowly to face the man she’d attacked.  Crazy, that’s what he had to be.  Did he really think she’d agree to come to another taping and have him annihilate her?

“No, thank you, Mr. Stone.  Your hospitality for one evening has been more than enough.”  She smiled sweetly.  “But if I ever want to visit hell again, I’ll call you.”

Was that a twitch at the corner of his mouth?  She glared at Jared, taking in his thick black hair and golden brown skin. And was that a dimple peeking out from his left cheek?  She couldn’t be sure. The man had not actually smiled.

“Ms. Rose, if you come back, I promise I’ll be on my best behavior.  You can even punch me again.  The audience went crazy when you hit me.”

“No,” Toreas answered. “I don’t want to be anywhere near you.”  This time she meant it. The man was making her forget the reasons she had appeared on his show in the first place. He was the enemy. He hated her, hated her entire gender.  She had to remind herself of that little fact as she felt her body swaying in his general direction. She couldn’t keep her mind off his kiss and wanted another.

“If you don’t come back I’ll sue you for assault.”

“And I’ll sue you for sexual harassment,” Toreas retorted. “You did k
iss me without my permission.”

“Then give me your permission for the next kiss, only gi
ve it to me on the next show.”

Jared was grinning at her as if thinking she kissed strange men every day of her life. He was crazier than she was.

“You’re nuts,” she answered.

Toreas glanced over at Liz who was still staring at her as if she’d lost the last few marbles she possessed. She glanced toward Elysa, Barb and Wendy. Yep, they were all eyeing her with a strange look on their
faces. She could tell her friends were wishing they were anywhere but with her at the moment. Instead of helping their cause she’d single handedly lit a keg of dynamite with one well aimed but badly delivered punch.

Toreas walked out the heavy green doors, praying her friends would follow and that she would not be arrested before she could leave the building.

She stood next to Elysa’s van, wishing she had come alone.  But she hadn’t. Elysa was the driver for the group.  Toreas had no choice but to wait.  So she waited for them to come out, wondering why it was taking so long.

The heavy metal doors finally opened and Toreas breathed a sigh of relief.  At least now she could get in the van and start to forget this horrible day.

Darn! Her mouth dropped open in astonishment and she rushed to close it. Her friends were not alone. Jared Stone was tagging along, standing strategically behind Liz as though he didn’t trust himself to be too near Toreas.

“Ms. Rose, won’t you please reconsider?  I think you owe me that much.”  Jared grinned. “That punch hurt.”

“Why would you want me back on the show?  You didn’t want to hear anything I had to say.”

“You didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t give me a chance.”

“You had sixty minutes. It was up to you to use them wisely.”

Toreas could only stare at the man, the sight of him making her weak in the knees.  Her former crush was battling with her new dislike.  Was it any wonder she was a bundle of nerves, of contradictions?  Jared Stone was making her crazy.

“Will you do it?” Jared asked again.

“For ratings?”

“Of course,” he answered, then frowned.  What was wrong with the woman? She was in the business, she had to understand how things worked.

“You want me to come back on your show and be humiliated again so the ratings on your show will go up?”

“Yes. Besides, I was the one humiliated. The audience loved you.”

“I will not come back on your show and punch you again.”

“Then come back and apologize.”

Toreas’s head tilted just a wee bit and she knew once again she was going to act without thinking of the consequences.  “One should only apologize if one is sorry.”

“And you’re not sorry?”

“Are you sorry for the way you treated us on your show?”

Jared moved a bit closer to the woman, hoping his towering height would at least intimidate her.  It didn’t. He saw the sparks flying from her eyes straight at him. At first he thought it was a trick of the sun, then looked again and blinked.  Toreas Rose had beautiful eyes.  Jared blinked as he looked into her eyes, eyes t
hat flamed when she was angry.

He felt a lump appear in his throat and a throb begin in his groin. He couldn’t want this little bitty woman; it must be the punch. Maybe she’d somehow damaged
his mind as well as his pride.

Jared wanted more contact with the woman, another chance to prove to himself that romance writers were evil, that this little woman standing in front of him held no interest for him, that he wasn’t getting a hard-on as he stared at her.  He shook his head as if trying to shake away the lie.

“Ms. Rose, please come back on the show. You would really be doing me a favor and you would help your group as well.”

“Are you crazy? What just took place in there didn’t help my group. It made us look stupid, as though the things you’d said were true.”

“But there is always interest in controversy. What just happened today between the two of us will be great for both of our careers. Think about it. This thing can really get big if we work it right.

“I have no plans to work it right,” Toreas said indignantly. “I don’t want to do you any favors. I don’t like you.”

“I don’t like you either. That’s what would make it so great. Every week you could come on, hit me, flip me, kick me, I don’t care, and every week I’ll grab you and kiss you.” He smiled. “Think about it, the sizzle.”

“Let me get this straight. You want to trash us on television every week and you now want me to be a part of this ridiculous plan.”

“Yes.”

“You’re on every weekday. Why don’t you want me on every day?”

“Overkill. Why do you think I only talk about romance writers for a small segment of the show, sometimes not at all? Too much and the viewer would become bored. If you came on the show once a week they would be excited. This could get really big.”

“You are crazy, aren’t you?”

“If you don’t come back I can guarantee you that things will get worse.”

“I don’t care.”

“You’re lying. You care or you never would have called the station to complain.” This time there was a definite pulling in his groin and Jared couldn’t deny that it was in direct response to the fire coming from Toreas’s eyes. He groaned inwardly with the realization. And with that realization he knew he’d do anything to see her again, to dispel his body of the notion that it was attracted to this itty bitty romance writer. Yuck, perish the thought. Jared took a step back, grounding himself in the reasons for his feud in the first place. He hated romance writers. He sent a message to his libido. Snap out of it. We have work to do.

“Ms. Rose, if you don’t reappear, I’ll…I’ll…”

“You’ll what, Mr. Stone?”

“Until this job I worked in advertising, then public relations.”

“What’s that supposed to mean to me?”

“I was very good at my job.” He narrowed his gaze. “I have never failed to get extensive press. Generally it was for a client but in this case I’ll be my own client. I made big bucks putting the spin I wanted on things. Your coming back on the show would work for both of us and for your entire organization. Not to accept my offer is selfish. You can’t put your dislike of me before what could be good for your friends.” He smiled. “Now will you come and help me milk this feud?”

“No.”

Jared stared at her for a moment, not believing she’d really said no again. He’d given her plenty of legitimate reasons why she should come. He rubbed his chin, thinking of a new tactic. “I’ll sue your chapter.”

It was a bluff.  It had to be, but the panic on Liz and Elysa’s faces told Toreas they didn’t think so.

“I’ll tell you what, Mr. Stone, the three viewers who were probably watching you, if they complain, send me their addresses and I’ll apologize to them. As for the people in your audience, I don’t think anyone would waste their time coming to watch your show live, so they’re probably plants. If not, tell them to write me and I’ll apologize to them as well.

Now she’d done it.  She’d gone and insulted the man.Toreas’s head was beginning to pound.  She’d been too nervous to eat breakfast and the need for some protein was evident.

That had to be it, or maybe she simply had low blood sugar.  Sure, that would explain it.  She didn’t normally go around punching people or being nasty.

Jared was staring at her.  She had the feeling he was undressing her and she resisted the urge to cover her body with her hand.  He was probably deliberately trying to unnerve her.  If that was his game, it was working.

Toreas wanted to beg Elysa to unlock the van. From the look in his eyes, she had the distinct impression that Jared Stone was preparing to kiss her again and she couldn’t believe it. Yet part of her was wishing he would.  She needed to get away from him, from those beautiful brown eyes.  He was the enemy.

Toreas walked to the opposite side of the van, away from the man and the scorching looks he was sending her way.  She couldn’t understand why her friends were still talking to him, trying to pacify him.

She was wishing they would all start pummeling him with the books they’d brought, the same books he’d sneered at and refused to read. He’d treated them the same as he had the last groups of writers who’d braved his vindictive remarks.

At long last Elysa opened the door and Toreas scampered inside, making sure to keep her head turned away from the building and away from Jared who stood outside watching them drive away.

Liz peered at her from the front. Toreas was crouched down, almost into the cushions.

“What was that all about?  Why did you hit him?”