herself in his arms and heat rose in her. “I can guarantee he’s not in my family tree?”
“Don’t be so certain,” Roxanne cautioned, but she wasn’t sure if she was speaking to him or herself.
“What do you mean?”
“There’s been some controversy that Shakespeare had a longtime black mistress. And the fact that he wrote Othello does give us some clues into his social group.”
He looked so surprised, she laughed.
“If I agree to go on Celebrity Dance, who are you going to partner me with. LeBron James?”
“How about me?” Nick asked. He stood and pulled her to her feet. With her hands in his she stared into his eyes and tried not to focus on his very kissable mouth so close to hers.
“Well, I am enjoying looking up at you.” The top of her head was just even with his nose. His eyes held a sparkle that let her know he was attracted to her, too.
He took her in his arms and started to draw her into a simple waltz. She smiled at him and immediately stepped on his foot and a second later tripped on an uneven spot on the rug.
“Sorry,” she said. “Sorry.” Portia and Nancy clapped. Roxanne gave her sister her best stare-down which made Portia burst into laughter.
“That’s okay,” he said with a grin. “I like to know I have my work cut out for me.”
Mike stood and held out his hand to Roxanne. “My legal department will be getting in touch with your agent.”
“Trudy Mendoza handles my legal affairs.” Everyone knew Trudy. She was one of the best entertainment lawyers in the industry. She’d handled Roxanne’s emancipation and had become a friend along the way.
* * *
“That is one tall woman,” Mike said.
“I like tall women,” Nick said. And boy, did she have legs. A little fantasy played out in his mind with her legs wrapped around him. Heat spiraled through him and he stood up and walked to the window. He saw the women exit to the street and make their way to the parking structure.
“You two are going to look good together,” Mike continued. “But her parents are a piece of work.”
Nick had only been back in Los Angeles for a couple years and wasn’t up on all the current gossip. He’d had his own controversies in New York. He’d been involved with a Broadway star. Things had ended badly. She’d stalked him all the way to Los Angeles and the situation didn’t end until she’d been checked into a very nice mental facility. The movers and shakers on Broadway had been furious with him, because he’d put a guaranteed moneymaking legend out of business during the run of a very productive play. Nick had been lucky to escape to Los Angeles even though his reputation in New York was in tatters. Nobody liked whistle-blowers even when they were in the right.
Mike nodded. “Her parents wanted her to do this movie to get around child labor laws. They encouraged her to apply for emancipation. She did, was emancipated and refused to do the movie saying it made her uncomfortable. Before the emancipation came through, they tried to force her, but she had the brains to hire Trudy Mendoza...”
“I remember Trudy Mendoza. She’s the shark all the great whites sharks are afraid of.”
“She discovered some financial misconduct and before her parents knew anything, she was out from under their thumb. The news was she was able to get her high school diploma early. She ended up at Berkeley.”
Nick vaguely remembered the gossip, but hadn’t paid that much attention. The parents didn’t stay down long, because they specialized in managing child actors. Plus they had two more of their own biological children to exploit, not as talented as Roxanne who had been the big moneymaker, but still bankable.
Nick said, “You think when her parents hear about her being on the show that they are going to be trouble?”
“Nancy tells me,” Mike said, “they have been trying to get back into her good graces for years. She’s still a moneymaker if she wants to be. The public loves her.”
Nick could see why. She was just the kind of person he liked. Besides being beautiful, she was smart and funny.
“We have a nice lineup for the second season of Celebrity Dance,” Nick said. He liked diversity. Roxanne Deveraux would add just the right kind of spunk and sass that he liked. She could laugh at herself. That LeBron James line was funny. And that look of panic in her eyes when he told her he wanted her as his partner had been priceless.
“She’ll work out,” Nick continued, suddenly anxious to get her to her first practice. Already he was planning their first dance. They always started with a waltz because it was simple. She would be elegant in burgundy silk with her hair up, showing off her long neck. He’d wear a white tuxedo and matching top hat. He found himself swaying as he imagined their waltz.
“Nick. Nick. Nick. Where are you, Nick? Come back to me.”
Nick came back with a start. “Sorry, my mind was wandering.”
“I could tell,” Mike said with a wry tone. “I need to call the lawyers and get them working on her contract. You need to get back to the studio. The publicist is sending me urgent SOSs. He’s been receiving calls all morning regarding the guests for our summer season and when we’ll release the list.”
Nick had to laugh. “I’ll go help him field the calls.”
* * *
In the car, Roxanne handed her keys to her sister, climbed onto the passenger seat and leaned her head back as Portia cleanly navigated out of the parking structure and onto the street heading for the freeway.
“Thank you for the emotional support at that meeting.”
“You were fabulous.”
“You never did tell me what Mom and Dad want you to do?” Roxanne said, suppressing a yawn.
Portia drove up the entry ramp and merged into traffic heading back to Pacific Palisades. “You know who Javier Gomez is, don’t you?”
“I have absolutely no idea.”
“You probably know him as El Gomez. He got his start in Mexico composing narco corridos and managed to make the transition to the LA music scene.”
Roxanne stared at her sister. “What are narco corridos?” She had no idea who El Gomez was.
“Mexican ballads that glorify the drug trade and the crime lords in Mexico. Mom and Dad want me to date him.”
Roxanne sat up straight. “Are your parents insane?”
“They are your parents, too.” Portia said with a laugh.
“Only through the sharing of DNA. What...what...huh...what... The words just won’t come.”
“He’s edgy and trending. He has three million Twitter followers and another five million on Instagram. And he’s a kid. I’m twenty-two years old and he’s eighteen. He still acts like
