Not sure of the title: Paranormal Romance

Chapter one in a Paranormal Romance I’m working on. It didn’t exactly start out to be a paranormal but the main dude turned on me while I was writing it. So…this is a story about a very old vampire and his reincarnated love. She has no clue yet. He, however, does.

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“Oh, freaking spectacular!” Simone screamed, pounding her steering wheel. Road-rage threatened to burst. She closed her eyes, cursing silently. The highway was like a mall parking lot during Black Friday. Bumper to bumper, standing still.

Looking at the digital car clock, slammed her palms on the steering wheel in frustration. It was 7:03pm, she was already three minutes late to her meeting and the traffic showed no signs of moving to help her along.

“Dammit, dammit, dammit.” It was her own fault, she chanced going to the mall on the other side of town, knowing full well she would have to deal with some sort of rush hour monstrosity. This was way beyond rush-hour, however.

She turned the radio on to see if there was, perhaps, an accident blocking her from getting to point B, the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham. Pressing the knob, Zach Sears new song swam through her car, relaxing her a bit. He was, without a doubt, her favorite male artist. His voice was like butter and he wasn’t bad to look at. If she had still been a teenager, he would have hung all over her walls. Instead, she had a serious, grown-up art collection. But, that didn’t stop her from late-night fantasizing about him.

Zach Sears was the hottest ticket in the music industry. He had skyrocketed to success ten years earlier and remained at the top of the charts, one hit song after the other, still making women and girls swoon at the very mention of his name. And she was on her way for an interview with him. He was looking for a new PR firm after a fall-out with his last one and hers was the one suggested to him.

28 year old Simone Morrison had opened Bright Lights PR two years ago and it grew more rapidly than she had ever envisioned. It was her go-get ‘em, don’t take no for an answer determination that landed her as the go-to PR firm for musicians, artists and actors. She never expected the type of success she had reached and she was grateful. But she was a hard-assed perfectionist and extremely driven so she it didn’t really occur to her that success was not an option.

Singing along to the lyrics of “Reckless Words”, Zach Sears new ballad, she speed-dialed her associate, April, to let her know she was still stuck in traffic.

The phone rang three times before April, sounding breathless, picked up, “Yo.”

“Hey, you got it under control? Traffic isn’t moving, I’m stuck at 15 and Coolidge.”

“Why are you there? Weren’t you at Somerset?” April whispered.

“Don’t ask. Just do your best to entertain him until I get there.” She ordered, knowing full well that April was perfectly capable of entertaining men. That’s why Simone hired her, she was great at PR but even better with male clients. And women clients, too.

“I got this, doll. Don’t you worry about a thing.” Then she whispered again, “He is so beautiful in person, I think I wet my panties.”

Simone rolled her eyes, sometimes April’s crassness embarrassed her. Although, it was something that she was trying to learn a little more about, it seemed to work wonders on many of their clients. Many of them mentioned how personable April was, they enjoyed working with her.

Finally, the traffic started moving again. She figured she’d only be about a half hour late, not too bad. Not too good, either, seeing as she was the owner of the agency. But, circumstances were beyond her control, she could only hope that Zach Sears didn’t hold this against her when making his final decision.

***

Even though Simone lived less than a block from the hotel where the restaurant meeting place was, she decided to valet it. She just didn’t have the time to park and walk. Besides, her new Loboutain’s weren’t exactly made for walking, they were made for sitting and standing prettily.

She slid her BMW into the valet area and waited behind the car in front of her. She sighed, Why does there have to be so much waiting in life? Simone believed in instant gratification, she was a little on the impatient side.

Thankfully, the valet wait was all of one minute. The attendant opened the passenger door, admiring her legs as she swung them out of the car, placing her feet on the ground. He handed her a ticket, giving her the appreciative once-over. He wasn’t bad looking, his admiration letting her know she chose the right outfit at Neimans. She smiled at him over her shoulder as she headed toward the front door.

Walking into the Rugby Grille, the hostess immediately directed her toward the table where her guests were waiting. She could have found it herself, it was swarming with swooning women holding pieces of paper or bearing an arm, anything that was autographable.

She pushed her way through the half dozen hawk-like women, and slid into a seat directly across from Zach. She looked over at her two employees; April, who was texting and Todd, who was drooling. Not only did these two work for her but they had, over the last two years, become her closest friends. She was glad to bring them along on their meteoric rise, they deserved it as much as she did.

Zach, who had been autographing an older, fleshier woman’s chest, grinned over at her and held out his left hand, “You must be the infamous Simone.”

“That’s me.” She placed her hand into his and her heart quickened. He was stunning. His creamy coffee colored skin, brown eyes and full lips could cause a girl…or guy…to have a slight coronary.

Simone swallowed down her giddy school girl that threatened to rear her head; she would not let her crush interfere with her professionalism. Besides, he was a known womanizer and she gave those up along with Diet Coke and cigarettes.

Zach looked at the small crowd of women, “Ladies, it’s been a pleasure but now it’s time for business.” With small grunts of displeasure, they all sauntered away from the table, leaving the four of them alone.

“You’re late.” Zach said, unsmiling.

Simone quickly debated apologizing, she knew that one of the downfalls of many high-up professional women was their need to apologize for everything, it was a weakness. But, this was her fault, one that had really been avoidable if she hadn’t been so vain and unhappy with her present clothing selection. “Yeah, about that, I’m sorry. I hate running late.”

“Well, sometimes it can’t be helped.” He smiled, “How was the mall?”

“The mall? Why do you say that?” Simone feigned innocence while giving April the stink-eye, figuring that she had let the proverbial cat out of the bag. April shrugged.

“Oh, no one said anything. April and Todd here kept your secret. It’s you that gave it away.” He pointed to her shoulder.

She looked down, sure enough the price-tag was dangling. Ripping it off carefully, she didn’t want to run her beautiful Alexander McQueen tank top, she met his gaze, “Busted. I had asked them to cut this off!”

“Well, you look lovely, Ms. Morrison. It was well worth the wait.” He flirted, his eyes roaming over her face like a caress. She felt herself dampen and shifted a little in her seat. Man, he has a way about him.

“Well, thank you Mr. Sears. And you look very lovely yourself.” She looked over at April and Todd, who hadn’t uttered a peep, “Hey, drinks?” She knew that she could use one and she figured her co-workers could too.

Zach raised his hand, signalling for a waitress, “It’s on me.”

Oh, I’d love to be on you, she thought.
“While we are waiting for our waitress, I would just like to thank you for meeting with me tonight. I know that after 5 isn’t considered work hours and I appreciate this.” He swept his gaze around the table, meeting them each in the eye.

April murmured, “Oh, no prob.” And Todd merely nodded his head in agreement. None of them were used to meeting with such high-ranking celebs, most of their client list consisted of local celebrities with a few national names but none were as big as Zach Sears. They all knew that if he signed with Bright Lights, it would put their name on the map, especially if they did a good job.

Simone was about to reply when the waitress showed up to take their drink and appetizer orders.

“What can I get you tonight?” She asked with a seductive smile, only looking at Zach.

“Why don’t you take my guests drink orders first, darling.” He seemed unaffected, despite the obvious want exuding from the sexy waitress.

Without smiling, she turned to Simone who ordered Moscato infused vodka and tonic. Zach kept his eyes focused on Simone, “I’ll have what she’s having.” He told the waitress, after she had taken April and Todd’s orders.

They small-talked while they waited for their drinks. April was seemingly too intimidated to do her usual flirting and Todd was always quiet, he was just good at what he did; writing. So, it was up to Simone to impress Zach.

Thankfully, he was warm, relaxed and easy to talk to. He didn’t bring his entourage into the meeting, they were hidden, guarding Zach from afar.

Conversation was light over dinner. They talked about his career and travels. He asked questions about Bright Lights as well as semi-personal questions, trying to get to know the people behind the agency.

He even brought out the personality in Todd, who had just been quietly taking it all in. He had him talking animatedly about his partner, Frank, to whom he’d just gotten engaged to. April began flirting comfortably, releasing her crassness they had come to know and love. He seemed to be avoiding firing questions directed toward Simone, so she just sat back and watched her friends while sipping a second drink.

Suddenly, he leaned across the table and whispered, “Can you get rid of your friends here? I’d like to get to know you. Alone.” He leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow.

She tried not to let the surprise register externally. She nodded and turned to her friends, “Todd. April. If you don’t mind, Mr. Sears and I would like to finalize the working arrangements in private. I’ll shoot you both an email once I get the details for our scope of work.”

Aprils jaw dropped and disappointment could be read all over her face. Todd, who had been checking his watch frequently, agreed that he needed to get home to Frank anyway. They both stood up to go, Zach rose along with them to see them off.

When they were gone, Zach pulled his chair directly next to Simone’s and leaned toward her ear, “Can we go somewhere else?”

“What’s wrong with The Rugby Grille?” She knew she was going to take him back to her place but she felt like teasing him a little.

He put his hand on her knee and drew circles with his pointer finger, tickling up her thigh, “Oh, there’s nothing wrong with right here. But, what I want to do to you might upset the other diners.”

“Mr. Sears, I think we have a misunderstanding here.” Simone didn’t want him to think she was going to sleep with him simply to get his business, she was not a prostitute.

“There’s no misunderstanding. We’re both adults who want each other. So, unless you want me to do dirty things to you right here, I suggest we get our bill and go somewhere a little less public.” Zach moved his mouth close to her, licking the sensitive tendon on her neck.

Simone shifted her face so their lips met lightly, lingering briefly before she turned away, “I live less than a block away. We can go back to my place.”

“It’s a plan then.” Zach raised his hand, letting the waitress know they were ready for the bill, “Oh, and Simone?”

“Hmmm?” Her heart was racing, all she could think about was what would come next.

“You had the job before I even arrived in Michigan. Only one little catch.” He reached into his pocket to give the waitress his credit card.

“Oh yeah, what would that be?” She asked softly.

“I’ll need you to come on the road with me for a few weeks while I’m on tour. If you’re going to be heading up my social media, then it only makes sense that you experience what I’m experiencing.” He grabbed her hand and placed it on his crotch, his erection pulling his pants snug around his well endowed penis.

She felt tension in her girl parts, a throbbing that probably matched the one in her hand, “I think that could be negotiated into the contract, Mr. Sears.”

“It’ll be sealed with a little more than a handshake, Ms. Morrison.” He pulled her hand off his crotch and yanked her up out of her seat, “Shall we?”

“Oh yes,” Simone replied, “We shall.”

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