The Publicist Book One and Two (13 page)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

When Kate arrived at Mac’s apartment, he was preparing a basket. He kissed her when she walked in.

“How did it go?”

Kate took a deep breath. “It was okay, actually. He didn’t seem to mind. What are you doing?”

“Packing us a picnic basket.”

“It’s twenty-eight degrees out, Mac. Where are we going to picnic?” Kate started taking off her coat.

“Leave that on. We’re not staying. Trust me.” Mac swept her out of his apartment, into the elevator, and off for another adventure.

Kate had never known a man with so many mysterious ideas.

Mac hailed a cab, and they rode for about twenty minutes. The car stopped.

“We’re here.” Mac pointed to the building in front of them.

“Mac, this building is still under construction.” She knew the building well. It promised to be a magnificent structure when it was done. Tall glass walls with sweeping views of the bay and Battery Park.

“I know. A friend of mine designed it. He said that if I have a chance, I shouldn’t miss seeing the view from the twenty-seventh floor. I thought you might enjoy that, too.” Mac opened the door to the yet-to-be-finished structure.

Kate had actually been dying to see the building. Most everyone had. The design was something that rivaled even the new
New York Times
building. Sleek, with clean lines and lots and lots of glass. The designer, Arthur VanSassen, was well known for his love of what he called “transparent art.” To him, all buildings were art. Some, of course, better art than others.

“I didn’t know you knew VanSassen.”

Mac let out a low whistle. “Wow, Katie, you know your architects.”

She smiled, “I used to date one. Insane control freaks who spend much of their day trying to make up for their raging insecurities by building things.”

She paused as she stepped into the worker elevator. “But, I’m sure your friend is nice.” She smiled sweetly.

Mac threw his head back and laughed. When he laughed, his entire body joined in on the emotion. It was one of Kate’s favorite things about Mac—one of many.

“Don’t worry. You don’t offend me. I don’t know him that well, to be honest. But, he sure does know how to cobble together a great design.”

The elevator lurched up twenty-seven floors. Kate felt slightly uneasy being in such a rickety thing but assumed that if the workers were fine with it, it should be safe. And she was with Mac; she knew he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

Mac held the basket of food in one hand. With the other, he took ahold of hers, sensing her uneasiness.

“We’re almost there,” he said in a low, sexy voice that made her want to undress.

The doors opened to a large room. The floors were in, but dusty and covered with papers and other debris. The room was huge. Kate assumed it would someday be a conference room. Mac walked over to the window and looked down.

“Look at this, Katie. The whole world is down there.”

Kate walked up behind him; there was indeed a world beneath them, with pedestrians scurrying around and the park, wide and white in front of them. She remembered the night she kissed Mac somewhere amidst the trees down below. Had it only been a few days?

“I figured it would be nice since we had our first date in that park.”

“It wasn’t a date, Mac. It was our company party.” Kate smiled and rested a hand on his firm chest.

“Okay, so not a date, but a great kiss.” Mac leaned down and kissed her softly. He smiled as he pulled back. “That was a re-creation.”

Kate giggled. She felt giddy whenever she was around him. She hated girls like that. The giddy ones who laughed all the time and who thought their men were the funniest beings on the planet. Kate thought they were entirely unrealistic. No one person could be perfect, could they?

Now she was becoming one of them. She felt as though she crossed over to the place where everything out of his mouth was either brilliant, sexy, or made her laugh.

Giddy. She was becoming giddy.

Giddy and falling in love. Welcome to Day Three of her affair with Mac.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

After they finished lunch and a bottle of crisp, white Sauvignon Blanc, they set off to walk the city, which was one of Kate’s most favorite things to do.

“Every time you turn a corner in New York, it’s like a whole different village,” she told Mac as they stepped through the city. “I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”

They walked for hours, through lower Manhattan, Wall Street, and past the World Trade Center renovations, which were ongoing. They talked the entire time, sharing their childhood, their favorite movies, and past times—although Mac carefully skirted any topic that would involve his wife.

“It’s getting late,” Kate hesitated. She didn’t want the day to end, but he wasn’t her boyfriend. This wasn’t a weekend thing. It was an affair and she was still trying to figure out the rules.

“Are you hungry?” Mac asked.

“Very.”

“Let’s go grab dinner, then. There’s a place I love called Extra Virgin. Fabulous food. Sound good?”

“Funny name for a restaurant, but so like you.” Kate threw him a teasing smile. “But it sounds great.”

Located in West Village, Extra Virgin was small and quaint, as most restaurants in the Village were. When they arrived, the restaurant was teeming with patrons. It was warm and dim inside, and the hum of voices and smell of food made Kate wonder why she hadn’t been there before. Probably because she worked so much. Normally, a Saturday found Kate running errands and catching up on email. Today was a decadent treat spent with one of the most delicious men she’d ever known.

“Would you like to wait at the bar for a table?” the hostess smiled.

“Sure,” Mac said. “Kate, you okay with that?”

“Absolutely.” Kate spotted two open barstools and grabbed them. Mac settled in beside her.

After Mac ordered drinks, Kate smiled and said, “Today was great, Mac.”

“It still is.” Mac’s voice was so low she could hardly hear him.

“Well, it’s almost over.”

She felt Mac’s hand brush her thigh. In an almost auto response, her legs warmed under his touch and she could feel a wetness inside her.

“It doesn’t have to be.” Mac turned to the bartender, who set their drinks down.

“I have to go home tonight, Mac.”

“Why? To feed your cat?”

“I don’t have a cat.”

“Perfect, then. It’s settled. We’ll head back to the apartment, yes?”

Kate sipped her cosmo. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Mac. I mean, it’s…shouldn’t we be careful?”

“Careful of what? No one will see us making love, I promise.” Mac’s voice was understandably low.

Kate smiled, “You know what I mean. I can’t get used to this; we’ve been together two nights in a row.”

Mac was confused. “So? Wasn’t it great?”

Kate thought back to the night before: Mac’s mouth all over her, his tongue licking her in places that drove her wild. For a moment, she thought she might slip off of her barstool. Kate steadied herself. She had no control when it came to this man. She needed to fix that.

“Let’s just have dinner, Mac, and then see what we feel like doing. I just don’t want to get used to this, to you.”

Mac leaned into her, his voice steady but still low. She could feel his breath on her cheek.

“What are you afraid of, Katie? Are you afraid you might actually like this? Are you afraid of finding something more important to you than your work?”

…

After dinner, Mac walked Kate back to her apartment. It was almost midnight.

“Kate, I respect that you want to spend the night alone. But I wish you’d reconsider.”

She stopped in front of her door. The building Kate lived in housed six other units. She was on the third floor. No elevator, no doorman. Just a lovely old building and a small, lonely apartment. Compared to Mac’s, though, it looked like a mud hut.

“I know, Mac, but I feel like I need this. It’s not bad. It’s just…I’m still getting used to this. To us. And I’m worried of what will happen if we go too fast.”

Kate’s street was dark except for a dim streetlight that was hardly worth the effort. Mac leaned towards her as though he was going to kiss her but stopped short. Public displays of affection were always prohibited, no matter how tempted he was.

“Katie, I know this is confusing and it’s not your normal relationship, but to the degree I can make it seem normal, I want to.”

“Why, Mac? I mean, I know the rules of the game. Well, sort of. Why would you bother to change them?”

He didn’t have an immediate answer and that bothered him. He just knew that he didn’t want to go home without her.

Finally, he said, “I just, want that, well, for you.”

The awkwardness of Mac’s words didn’t escape Kate, and she was more determined than ever to not spend the night with him. This was already getting too complicated.

“It’s okay, Mac, really. I get it.”

Mac took a deep breath. He knew it was time to back off.

“Then let me at least see you inside.”

They both knew that his intention was two-fold. He wanted to see her safely to her apartment. Also, he couldn’t kiss her unless they were in private.

…

After Mac left, Kate stood in her living room wondering what to do next. A loneliness swept over her like nothing she’d felt in a long while. Her resolve to stick to her guns didn’t seem like such a grand idea now that she’d sent Mac home. He’d been right; they should take whatever time they could get and enjoy it. Kate knew she was complicating it by trying to fit the relationship into a box when the last thing she needed was to box it in. But, Kate also knew that she was falling hard and fast for Mac, and to the degree that she could postpone the inevitable, she felt she needed to do that. There would come a day when she wouldn’t be able to tell him no, regardless of what she might feel or want. She wanted to push that day out as far as she could. When it arrived, she knew her life would never be the same.

…

Mac stood in his foyer suddenly hating his life.

The constraints.

The confinements.

He hated not being able to kiss Kate on the street.

He hated that she felt like she had to put up makeshift walls to protect herself. He hated what this might do to her. But more than anything, he hated that not even an hour out of her company, he missed her more than he remembered missing any woman in a long while.

…

At two a.m., Kate’s cell phone shrieked to life. After an hour of tossing and turning, she had finally managed to fall asleep.

“Hello,” she whispered.

“I’m sorry to wake you,” Mac said. “I promise I’m not an author crying over a bad review, just a man who can’t get you out of his mind.”

“Mac, I—”

“Kate, let me finish, please. This used to be so much easier. I’d go, she would go, we’d see each other, and it was fine. Now it’s not fine, and I can’t figure out why. I just wanted you to know that I hate being away from you.”

Kate didn’t know what to say.

Thirty minutes later, Mac was at her door.

Chapter Thirty

Kate wasn’t sure if she was glad that she’d stopped by her office on her way to meet Janet Easter for breakfast at Sarabeth’s on Central Park. Passing Ed’s office, she overheard him talking to Janet’s editor about her future. Basically, there wasn’t one. Her latest book with MD would be her final, Edward said. Kate tried not to look too obvious while she paused at the door.

“Her books are too sweet and far too stale, much like her book sales,” she overheard Edward say.

The editor just chuckled, “Yes, you’re right. No sex, graphic or otherwise. It’s a hard sell. But she does have a great fan base.”

Edward huffed, “Middle America, the Bible Belt. We are trying to focus our books on the left or right coast. Sales are better. Besides, Janet will find a home somewhere—some publisher who wants someone with a tired, albeit faithful fan base. We need authors who can pull in celebrity attention and movie deals. Janet’s not in that league.”

“She has a signing coming up this week.”

“Let’s hope it’s good,” Kate could hear Edward swivel in his chair. “It’s going to be her last with MD.”

“When will you tell her?” the editor asked.

“When it’s over. Dampening her spirit might hurt sales,” Edward added, a wry smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Kate heard both of them laugh. It was days like this that made Kate hate publishing.

Kate sat on the 5-train bound for Central Park, wondering what she should do. Tell Janet? No, it wasn’t her place to do that. Besides, if by some act of God Edward changed his mind, she’d be screwed, having blown the news to her author. She would have to pretend that everything was fine. Kate knew that wouldn’t be easy. The subway car swayed as it pulled away from the Grand Central stop when an idea struck her. She would be at the restaurant in less than twenty minutes. If she was going to act, it needed to be now. She pulled her phone from her purse and punched in a text message to her friend Robert at
CNN
. She hoped he could help her. Thanks to the new subway wireless systems, the connection on her phone was decent. She watched the message go through and crossed her fingers.

…

Sarabeth’s was already crowded when Kate arrived. She saw Janet already seated at the table, beyond punctual as always, and dressed in an impeccable tan suit with not a crease in the skirt. Kate wondered how she did it. No matter when she saw Janet, she always looked crisp and a vision of sheer perfection. Her short blond hair cropped at her shoulders framed her sweet face and broad smile. It never failed that Kate felt frumpy in Janet’s presence. She was the ideal author—always ready for a fan, always ready for a photo shoot. Janet looked ready for anything. Kate took in a deep breath; she hoped she could pull this off. Robert hadn’t responded yet, but she knew how busy he was.

“Kate, it’s so good to see you again!” Janet opened her arms and pulled Kate into a hug. Janet was a hugger. Kate recalled the time that Janet tried to hug Edward, who recoiled and pushed out a hand instead. “I think that man has intimacy problems,” Janet had said to Kate after. If only she knew.

“Janet, it’s been too long!” Kate loved the way Janet smelled, of fresh air and freesias.

“I’m so excited for my signing this week, Katie. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be at the Fifth Avenue store!”

It had taken quite a bit of convincing to get the Barnes & Noble on Fifth to agree to a signing. Known as the flagship store for the East Coast, their signings were primarily reserved for celebrities and politicians, but Kate had promised them a big turnout. The Romance Writers of America had helped promote this, and lots of Janet’s local fans would be in attendance. Some had even flown in to meet her. At the last conference, Kate had worked a deal with Romance Writers to do bag stuffers for the goodie bags and promo copies of Janet’s other books to entice fans to buy the new book or attend the signing. Kate’s phone buzzed in her hand. It was a text message from Robert: “Call me.”

“Janet, can you give me just a minute? I need to make a quick call.”
Janet smiled, “I’ll order us coffee, you always-busy-girl!”

Kate headed to the ladies’ room to find a quiet spot to make her call; he picked up on the first ring:

“Robert Croft.”

“Robert, it’s Kate.”

“Katie, you need a favor?”

“Yes, I do. I need a celebrity to show up at Janet’s signing this Friday.”

“May I ask why?”

“Influence. I need a celeb there to show MD that she’s still a relevant author.”

“Are they thinking of dumping her?” Robert asked, but Kate didn’t trust him enough to answer truthfully.

“It’s complicated.”

“It always is, isn’t it?”

“Robert, I would be so grateful. You know I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t really important.”

“She must be pretty special. All right, let me see what I can do. I might be able to get Piper Maru there. She’s in town this week.”

Kate sucked in a sudden breath; Piper was one of the biggest pop stars of the last two years. Her songs virtually dominated the charts and her last album went platinum almost as soon as it was released. Her concerts sold out in minutes. Getting Piper there would be huge.

“That would be amazing,” Kate said finally.

“I’ll know later today. We have an interview with her, and she owes me one for some editing I did back in her early days. I’ll let you know.”

Robert clicked off. Kate took a deep breath and headed back to the table.

“Everything all right, Dear?” Janet asked. Kate rested a hand on Janet’s shoulder.

“It’s going to be great. Now let’s talk about your signing.”