Feel the Heat Read online

  “What are you doing?” MJ asked when she walked up behind her friend.

  “Working.”

  “What was that blog about?”

  “New Orleans.”

  “Whew,” MJ said as she crossed over to the empty chair across from Mimi.

  “Didn’t I tell you that I’m getting sick of people telling me how to run my fu—”

  “Calm down, Me. I talked to the publisher today and we have a problem.”

  Mimi sighed. “Really? As if this day can’t get any worse.”

  “The deal is on hold until your case with Fast Love is resolved. They don’t want to have the liability if...”

  “You know what, forget it. I can publish my book my damn self,” Mimi railed. She slammed her laptop shut. “I’m going home.”

  “No, you’re going to calm down and we’re going to have sushi. How does that sound?”

  Mimi rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

  “Okay, so what is the real deal?”

  Mimi tucked her laptop in her case, then faced MJ. “Brent.”

  “I figured as much. What did he do? Kiss you again? Feel you up at the taping?”

  Mimi folded her arms across her chest and glared at her friend. “Just like you, he has ideas on what I should do with my blog. And you know what he said to Fast Love’s stupid attorney?”

  “Well, I wasn’t there, so are you going to share?” MJ asked, not trying to hide her amusement at all.

  “He said my blog is not a real journalistic source and they shouldn’t take me seriously.”

  MJ burst out laughing. And Mimi tossed a napkin at her. “You think that’s funny?” she snapped at her friend.

  “Actually, I do. I’ve never seen you so upset about someone’s opinion like this. I mean, you have had many doubters in your past and proved them wrong. Why does Brent Daniels’s opinion carry so much weight?”

  Mimi closed her eyes. “Because I really like him. And maybe I’m hoping that if he stops being my lawyer we can move past this awkward stage in our whatever this is.”

  “Whoa,” MJ said, leaning back in her chair. “That is the last thing I really expected to hear.”

  Opening her eyes, Mimi shook her head. “He’s just really not my type. He’s Mr. Buttoned Up, I can’t explain it.”

  “You’re horny, he kissed you and shook up your hormones. Mimi, he is one of the best lawyers in the country. You need to keep your thighs together and let him fix this mess. Then proceed to do whatever you two want to do.”

  “Okay, that’s not what I expected to hear from you.”

  “Jamal and I have been talking about this dating scene and why everyone is so confused. No one is honest about what he or she wants.”

  “I’ve been saying that for years, but as soon as a man says it, you believe it?”

  “No, after getting my feelings stomped on for the last time, I’m finally ready to receive it. I thought helping Nic would make him fall in love with me and see what I have to offer.”

  Mimi shrugged because she knew MJ didn’t feel as if she was revealing some big news. “Well...”

  “Oh, hush,” MJ said. “Point is, if you want that man, then have him. But what does this mean for you being restless in Atlanta, though?”

  “That hasn’t changed. When this nightmare is over, I’m still out of here.”

  “So, why would you start something that you can’t finish? I doubt Brent is going to leave his career to follow you around the world.”

  “I don’t expect him to,” she said. “I don’t want to be Mrs. Brent Daniels. I think I just want to jump his bones and move on.”

  “Come on,” MJ said as she rose to her feet. “Let’s go get California rolls.”

  * * *

  Brent walked into Gekko Sushi ready to huddle up with some sake and silence. He’d decided not to be a neighborhood barfly and drove to the restaurant instead of walking to a bar. Brent had made it clear to Jamal that he didn’t want to talk to him for the rest of the day and his mother made it crystal clear that she didn’t care if Brent Sr. dropped dead or not.

  “Son,” she’d said, “your father was a selfish bastard and did a horrible thing. He hurt a lot of people. I know you need closure with him and you want my permission to care. You make your peace with him. I did that years ago.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I visited him in prison once. I needed to know why he destroyed our family.”

  Brent had taken a deep breath. He had no idea that his mother had seen his father after he’d been convicted.

  “What did he say?”

  “Nothing. He sat there and looked at me as if I was a stranger. It was as if I were talking to a brick wall. When I stood to leave, he told me never come back. That if I’d been the woman he thought I was, we could’ve made a difference in the city of Atlanta. But I was just a damned schoolteacher who didn’t know how to take power. When he said that, I realized that he never loved me. He married me because of my family’s ties in the Atlanta social scene. The only thing that man ever gave me that was worth anything is you. That’s why I spent all of those years in a loveless marriage.”

  “Ma,” Brent had intoned.

  “So, you can see him before it’s too late and get what you need.”

  “Maybe I don’t need anything,” he said.

  “Son,” she’d said with a sigh. “You’ve been angry and holding on to it for years. You’ve lived your life to prove you are nothing like your father. You need to step all the way out of his shadow.”

  “Thanks, Ma,” he said.

  “And son, I’m proud of you. You are the man I raised and you’re a good man,” she said. “You’d be even better if you came to visit a little more often.”

  Brent laughed. “All right, Ma. I’ll see if I can come this weekend.”

  “Well, this weekend isn’t good for me. I’m going fishing with Nathan Collier.”

  “Who is Nathan Collier?”

  “Bye, son,” she said, then disconnected the call.

  Thinking about his mother dating and moving on with her life made him think of Mimi. What was it about this woman that drove him so crazy? The kiss. The taste of her lips was emblazoned on his soul. He should’ve considered that before volunteering to help her with the Fast Love case.

  Reaching for his phone, he dialed Mimi’s number again. Voice mail. Hanging up, he called Judith Bright, Fast Love’s lawyer. It was time to put this case to bed.

  “This is Judith.”

  “Judith, Brent Daniels. I want to talk to you about your case against Mimi Collins,” he said.

  “We made an offer and you rejected it. I don’t know what we have to talk about.”

  Telephone tough girl, huh, he thought as he listened to her talk. She sounded a lot more confident than she had in the studio.

  “Your offer was laughable. Why don’t you drop this?”

  “She slandered my client on her blog. Millions of people read it and Fast Love’s bottom line is suffering.”

  “Fast Love is suffering because of poor marketing. I tell you what, we can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

  “The hard way?” she asked.

  “Mimi has strong media connections and if this is tried in the court of public opinion, then your client is really going to lose money.”

  “Not if we get an injunction against her!”

  “Are you forgetting that we have evidence that shows Fast Love put women’s lives in danger? Mimi has both emails that were sent out.”

  “Give me a day to call you back.”

  “That’s all you have, or I’m going to unleash Mimi and allow her to go on the media tour of death for Fast Love. Think about it, she’s already cost you a good deal of money. How much mor
e do you want to lose?”

  “Is that a threat?”

  “Not at all. That is a promise. I look forward to hearing from you tomorrow,” he said, then ended the call. As Brent turned around, he saw Mimi and MJ walk into the restaurant. When their eyes locked, he smiled at Mimi. The scowl on her face gave him a brief pause, but he crossed over to her anyway.

  * * *

  Of all the sushi joints in Atlanta, Mimi had to walk into the one where the man who’d caused her emotional breakdown was and he had the gall to be coming her way.

  I don’t want to be an adult, I don’t want to not slap him in the face. Why is he so sexy with that tie askew? she thought as he planted himself in front of her.

  “Nice to see you, Mimi,” he said. “Especially since you won’t answer my calls.”

  “Been busy writing some unimportant drivel on that blog of mine,” she said.

  “Your sarcasm is enticing,” he quipped with a smile. Mimi wanted to kiss and punch him at the same time. “I have some good news for you about the Fast Love case. Tomorrow we should hear if they are going to drop their claim.”

  Now she wasn’t mad, she was impressed and didn’t stop herself from hugging him. “Brent, you’re amazing.”

  Pulling back from her, he smiled. “I try to be. Mimi, I didn’t want to...”

  “Excuse me,” the hostess said. “Do you all need a table?”

  “Yes,” Brent said. “We’re celebrating tonight.”

  Mimi furrowed her brow. “We’re not that cool yet,” she said.

  “We will be once I tell you how we’re going to proceed with this if they don’t give us what we want.”

  “If Mimi doesn’t want to talk about this, I do,” MJ said, then turned to the hostess. “Table for three.”

  “Follow me,” she said as she grabbed three menus and led them to a secluded table in the rear of the restaurant. “I think this will be best for you.”

  “Thank you,” MJ said as she watched the heated look Mimi speared Brent with. “We’re going to need a lot of sake.”

  The woman nodded. “I’ll send your waitress over with it, and good luck.”

  “Thanks,” MJ said, then sat down across from Mimi, forcing her and Brent to sit side by side.

  “Really?” Mimi said with a shake of her head.

  “Shush, let the man speak. Brent, how have you ended this madness?”

  “I told Judith, the lawyer for Fast Love, that I was going to let Mimi be Mimi and try this thing in the court of public opinion. I could hear her heels quaking. Your voice, Mimi, scares people.”

  “Yes, my unimportant not-the-New-York-Times voice,” Mimi said.

  “Let it go, Me,” MJ said. “And we were going to protect Mimi’s brand anyway, so how does this change anything?”

  “They have twenty-four hours to shut down the suit or Mimi goes viral. And I know you two can make that happen in about fifteen minutes.”

  Mimi’s frost toward Brent was starting to melt. Maybe he did get it and... Why did he have to be so sexy when he smiled? Stop looking at him like some lovesick teenager, she chided as she turned her attention to the menu.

  “Yes, we can, right, Mimi?” MJ asked.

  She snapped her head up. “Sure. But weren’t you just telling me that I should scale back on my blog?” Mimi asked, looking pointedly at Brent.

  “And I was wrong, for the second time today,” he said, then placed his hand on her shoulder. Mimi shivered with delight at his touch and hated it because she knew all she could do was fantasize about that kiss and where he could put those hands.

  “I’m glad you can admit that you were wrong,” she said. “But what if they don’t settle?”

  “They will. The bad press would kill them and...” Brent’s phone chimed. He looked down at the screen and muttered a curse. “I have to take this.”

  When he walked away from the table, MJ broke out into laughter. “You two are ridiculous.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “So obvious that you want each other.”

  “And while I’m his client that can’t happen.”

  “Which is why he is probably working overtime to get this Fast Love case settled. That man is smitten with your evil ass. Why are you giving him such a hard time? And don’t tell me it’s about what he said earlier.”

  Mimi sighed as she saw the waitress approaching the table with sake. She knew she was going to need a drink. “I like him.”

  “Okay,” MJ said as the waitress set the bottle of sake on the table. Turning to the smiling woman, MJ said, “We’re going to need a few minutes.”

  “Let me know when you’re ready,” she replied, and walked away.

  Mimi glanced at Brent, who had walked to the front of the restaurant to take his call. “But he is not what I need,” she said, then poured a glass of sake.

  “How do you know that?” MJ took the glass away. “You need to be sober for this.”

  Mimi rolled her eyes. “Because he’s Mr. Happily-Ever-After. Two point three kids and a big house out in the burbs.”

  “Why do you act like I’m one of your blog readers? I know you, Mariah. I know you want the same kind of love your parents have, but you’ve told yourself that you can’t have that because of one heartbreak.”

  “You’re out of line.”

  “No, you’re out of your mind. He’s not your ex. Stop being a punk, Mimi.”

  “I’m far from one. But I’m not going to pretend I want to be some Atlanta housewife when I want to travel and write.”

  “So you can’t have love because of that? You’re crazy. You just don’t want to risk falling in love because you think you’re this spunky image you portray online. This is real life, Mimi. Live.”

  Mimi reached for her sake, but MJ drank it. “And this is coming from the woman who spent years in love with a man who...”

  “Stop. You can easily point out other people’s faults, but never see your own. Yes, I fell in love with Nic and it didn’t work out. But I’m not stupid enough to think that’s how things are going to go with the next man I meet. Did I waste too much time with him, yes. But I’m off that horse and moving forward. When are you going to do the same?”

  Mimi closed her eyes and let MJ’s words sink in. Was she moving forward or running away?

  * * *

  “Is he dead?” Brent asked the doctor.

  “No, Mr. Daniels, your father isn’t dead. But I wanted to give you a call to see if you had changed your mind about visiting him.”

  “I do need to see him, but I have a case that I’m finalizing right now.”

  “The sooner you come, the better. His health is deteriorating and I don’t want you to miss your last moments with him,” she said.

  “Why do you care so much?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Why does it matter to you if I see a dying inmate?”

  “It—it doesn’t. But this is more about family than it is anything else. Can you live with yourself if you let your father die alone?”

  “Yes, I can. I will come visit but the constant calls aren’t going to change anything.” Brent glanced over his shoulder. “Why is this so important to you?’

  “Because I’m watching your father suffer and he wants to see his sons.”

  “Sons? What are you talking about?”

  “That’s why it’s important for you to see your father before it is too late.”

  “I’ll see if I can get there in the morning,” Brent said, then ended the call. Taking a deep breath, he headed back to the table with Mimi and MJ, ready to pretend that he wasn’t pondering what the doctor said. Sons?

  Chapter 13

  MJ kicked Mimi underneath the table. “You’re acting like a child.”

&n
bsp; “Stop it. I’m getting really tired of you taking his side.”

  “Mimi, can’t you see that this man is turning himself inside out to settle this case for you? You aren’t crazy enough to not understand why.”

  “MJ, I don’t want to get hurt and I...” When she noticed Brent returning to the table, Mimi stopped talking. Looking at him, Mimi saw something in his eyes. It looked like hurt.

  “Brent, are you all right?” she asked as he sat down.

  “Yeah.”

  She placed her hand on top of his. “Are you sure?”

  He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Mimi, I might not be the best company tonight.”

  “What’s going on? I know I...”

  He shook his head and leaned into her. “I just got a call that has me a bit out of sorts and I don’t want to put a damper on your dinner.”

  “Want to talk about it?”

  He shook his head and was about to tell her that he was going to leave when MJ’s cell phone rang.

  “Hey, Jamal,” she said when she answered. “Yeah. I’m with both of them. We’re at Gekko.”

  Brent waved his hand trying to stop her from telling Jamal anything. MJ rolled her eyes.

  “By all means, come join us.”

  Brent groaned as MJ ended the call.

  “What’s wrong with you?” she asked.

  “I’m not in the mood to deal with Jamal right now,” Brent said.

  “Oh, okay,” MJ said. “Sorry that you two are behaving like middle school children.”

  Brent cocked his eyebrow at her.

  “Just admit it, MJ,” Mimi said. “You want to see Jamal.”

  “I see I’m surrounded by adolescents today,” MJ quipped. “If I wanted to see Jamal, I would’ve called him long before now.”

  Brent wanted to sprint from the table, but he could see Mimi’s concern as she looked at him.

  “Brent? Are you all right?”

  “Long day. I’ll be fine, just need to figure some things out and get out of here before Jamal shows up.”

  “I’ll go with you.” Mimi picked up her purse as Brent rose to his feet.