Chapter 12
CHAPTER 12
O ctober 14 th
When I go all in, I go all in. There is a book I read that was so bad it was good. It was all about a woman who moved into a new house. She started having incredibly sexy dreams until she discovered they weren’t dreams. Her house was haunted by a sexy ghost from centuries ago. She had a séance, brought the ghost to life, married him and had lots of little ghostlings.
Yes, I must admit, because the book was well written, I got way too involved in some ghost erotica. I must also admit that maybe after splitting a bottle of wine with Rex, having the pressure of V-day lifted, and feeling a little adventurous, I probably shouldn’t have booked the séance, or a spiritual medium as the website called it, appointment. However, I did. And now my friends must suffer with me because that’s what good friends do.
“I’m sorry, we’re what?” Amelia asked, her big eyes blinking behind her glasses.
“We’re having a séance at my apartment tomorrow night at midnight.” Paige looked around at her friends and almost laughed at their shocked faces.
“You read that ghost erotica, didn’t you?” Eli said accusatorily.
“You’re the one who sent it to me,” Paige shot back.
“I’m in,” Leah said instantly. “You know someone has died in your apartment for sure. Our building is super old and sketchy.”
“This creeps me out. I don’t want to know if there are ghosts watching me change and shower and . . . stuff.” Amelia shivered at the thought of it.
“Your ghosts are probably happy to have some entertainment when Felix comes over now,” Leah told her.
“Eww, now I can’t have sex in my apartment because I’ll be thinking about having a ghost audience.”
“Maybe you can ask Madam Jane how to cleanse your apartment of ghosts,” Paige pointed out.
Amelia paused. “She sounds like someone who runs a brothel, but good idea. I’ll be there.”
“I guess since we’re going through ghost romance, you didn’t bang my brother.” Eli stared at her as if she’d done something wrong.
“Eli, no. Just no.” Paige shook as if she had the shivers. “That’s your brother. Also, I totally love your brother. He might replace you as my BFF since he doesn’t talk about banging.”
Eli gave her the middle finger. “Sorry, you’re stuck with me. No returns, trade-ins, or refunds. I can’t believe you two didn’t click that way.”
“We clicked as friends since you’ve told him everything about all of us. But don’t worry, Rex is my backup plan.”
“What does that mean?” Amelia asked her.
“It means, come December thirty-first, if I haven’t been able to fulfill my resolution, Rex will fill it for me. And now that I don’t have to worry about making the deadline of our resolution . . .”
“You can go all in, hence the hopefully horny ghost,” Leah said, picking up on exactly what Paige was talking about.
“Exactly.”
Paige’s executive assistant, Kendrick Fulmore a recent night-school graduate, and her senior editor, Miriam Liberman, a former English teacher turned stay-at-home mom turned editor, stared at her as if she’d grown horns.
Kendrick helped take care of his mother and younger siblings and was the nicest man she’d ever met. He was tall and lanky, and his black hair looked as if it were braided, but they were really twists that went to the top of his shoulders. He was currently dating Amanda, Jack Griffin’s assistant. Miriam, a stylish fiftysomething, was dressed in a simple, perfectly fitted suit and wore her brown hair swept into an elegant twist held by a bejeweled clip. Miriam was motherly to the younger staff, but she didn’t put up with any nonsense in meetings. She ran them like a teacher ran her classroom.
Paige would never forget Miriam snapping at another senior editor for whispering during a presentation Paige gave recently. “Do you have something to share with the rest of us, Mr. Sacks?”
“No, ma’am,” Mr. Sacks, who had to be older than Miriam by a decade, instantly responded.
There had been no further interruptions.
Now Miriam and Kendrick were staring at Paige with their mouths slightly opened in shock.
“Did you say, secret sex club?” Miriam finally managed to say.
“And we’re invited?” Kendrick asked as if he was trying to figure out the joke.
“Yes and yes. Lenora wants to host her launch party there. It’s a secret club, so you’ll be signing NDAs.”
“Well, I know what my husband is getting for our anniversary.” Miriam winked and Paige laughed.
“Can I bring Amanda? But I don’t know what she’ll think of it,” Kendrick asked nervously.
There was a knock on the door and Amanda stuck her head in. “Did you tell them yet?”
“Just did,” Paige said, trying not to laugh at the exuberance on Amanda’s face.
“I’m so excited,” Amanda said with a little squeal as she handed Miriam and Kendrick forms to fill out and sign. “I have always wanted to go to some place like this. Oh Kendrick, we’re going to have so much fun!” Amanda squealed again and closed the door.
Paige looked over and saw Kendrick’s mouth had dropped back open and he was looking very nervous. He cleared his throat and looked up, noticing both Miriam and Paige were looking at him.
“I think she’ll be just fine,” Miriam said, struggling not to laugh.
Paige spun around to the bookshelf she had behind her desk. She scanned the titles until she found the one she was looking for. She grabbed it, spun back around, and held it out for Kendrick. “Here. Read this before the party next month. It’ll help you know what you’re walking into and maybe why Amanda is so excited about it.”
“Your call with Lenora is scheduled in five minutes,” Miriam said, standing up. “I’ll get this paperwork filled out and sent in.”
“Doesn’t this guy look like Mr. Griffin?” Kendrick asked, holding up the romance novel.
“Yes, because all billionaire bosses are sexy like this. I think they instantly turn hotter when they reach half a billion. But by the time they’re full blown billionaires? Hello, tall, dark, and handsome! Thank goodness that’s true. Can you imagine if they were all just old wrinkly men in real life? What fun would that be?”
Kendrick shrugged and walked out the door as he read the blurb on the back of the book. Paige got up, closed the door, and made her call to Lenora.
“Hello, dear. How is my favorite editor?” Lenora asked. It was nighttime in Europe where she was shooting a movie, but she was making time to go over some party details.
“Well, your favorite editor needs a little favor.”
“Does this have to do with my book?”
“No,” Paige said. “This has to do with my resolution.”
“This is so much better than talking about the book. Tell me everything and don’t leave out a single kiss.”
Paige leaned back in her chair and spilled the last month and a half to Lenora.
“Jim seems too sweet for this mission,” Lenora agreed. “And too busy with his football season. It’s nice you have been texting, but I’m not hearing anything in your voice that says you want him to strip you naked and screw your brains out. However, a séance? Oh, Paige. I think I need to make a movie about this. You must call me and tell me everything.”
“I will,” Paige promised Lenora. “But here’s my favor. You know who Mr. Paris is, right? Like, in real life?”
“I do,” Lenora said slowly. “Why?”
“I’d like to see him again. At the club. I know you can’t give me his real name, and that’s okay. I can’t stop thinking about him. Is that wrong? I know the club thrives on privacy.”
“You’re correct, the club does. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t reach out to an old friend and invite him to my book launch party.”
Paige almost bolted out of her chair. “You’d do that for me?”
“I do love playing sex-maker.”
“Thank you!” Paige did a silent little happy dance. “Now that that is taken care of, let’s discuss a few book items, and then I’ll let you get back on set.”
Paige hung up the phone and the second she did, Amanda was paging her. “Mr. Griffin wants to see you in his office.”
Jack had been away on a business trip and then been locked away for board meetings. They’d talked but had only had time to talk business. Paige grabbed her notepad, whatever files she thought she might need, and headed to Jack’s office.
“You wanted to see me?” Paige asked, taking a seat.
“Business first,” Jack said, before going through each author she’d signed and where they stood on release schedules and finally about Lenora’s launch.
“Preorders are very strong. This has the chance to be our biggest selling biography ever,” Paige told him.
“Good. I’ll report to the board tomorrow. It’s our last day for meetings, thank goodness. I was afraid I might have to kill someone if this doesn’t wrap up soon.”
“You’re not enjoying mommy-son time?” Paige said, poking the angry billionaire. Jack growled, and not in the sexy way, but the frustrated way. “Hey, I did want to thank you for Fraser. I heard you called the hospital and threatened to pull your donations if they didn’t fire him.”
“You know my mother and her stance on screwing employees. I’d say it was more her doing than mine.” Jack then smirked as he looked her over. “I see we’re going with the single-and-ready-to-mingle look. Too bad I’m behaving since I’m talking to Moxie.”
Paige felt horrible. She’s asked Lenora for a favor and now she was going to ask Jack for one. “I am single and ready to mingle. I’m jumping all in for these last couple of months. I actually need your help.” Jack simply raised an eyebrow. “I need to get on the list at WET. They’re having a Halloween costume party. I figured I could live out all my paranormal tropes there: witches, monsters, vampires. But Noah couldn’t get me on the list. It’s sold out.”
“Vampires?” Jack said, pulling out his phone and shooting off a text. “Do you want me to bite you, Miss Turner?”
“Honey,” Mrs. Griffin called out, sailing into the room before narrowing her eyes at Paige.
Paige tried not to laugh when Jack groaned again. “What is it, Mother?”
“I need those numbers,” Mrs. Griffin said, not taking her eyes off Paige. Paige watched as Mrs. Griffin battled whatever emotion she was feeling and then finally gave in to them. “I’m sorry about what happened to you with that doctor fellow, Miss Turner.”
Wow. Paige was so shocked she didn’t know what to say. Apparently, neither did Jack who stood staring at his mother.
“But that does not mean I approve of you for my son,” Mrs. Griffin snapped.
“Oh no, of course not. Besides, I have a date with a ghost, then I’m hopefully going to be bitten by a sexy vampire.”
Mrs. Griffin leaned toward her, her eyes narrowing as she stared Paige down. “Sparkly vampires or vampires like J.R. Ward writes?”
“Mr. Sparkles has his place, but it’s not in my bed.”
“Exactly. Thank you. Now, where are you going to find a big, strong vampire like that?”
“Mother!” Jack finally stuttered.
“Hopefully at WET if Jack can get me in. The nightclub is hosting a Halloween party and you know there will be vampires there.”
“Well, if Jack can’t you in, I’m sure I can. Now, if you see an older vampire, call me. I’ll meet you there.”
Jack made a strangled noise again and his mother turned to him. “Do close your mouth, or you’ll catch a fly. Let me know, Miss Turner.”
“You will be the first person I call if I see a sexy, older vampire.”
Mrs. Griffin walked out of the room and Jack flopped into his chair. “I can’t process this.”
“Your mother just went from terrifying to awesome. You see Jack, everyone loves romance. You only have to find their thing. I wonder if I can get Wilder Townsend to ask for all vampires over the age of sixty to step forward. Then your mom will really like me.”
“Who is J.R. Ward and what’s so special about her vampires?”
Paige leaned over and patted his hand. “Oh, Jack. If you have to ask, you can’t handle it.”
Paige got up and walked out, leaving Jack speechless. She didn’t have time to explain all the different kinds of vampire heroes. She had a séance to get ready for.