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would come in on the other side of her plan, the Hosea side. There was no way she’d be able to stay with her original plan of contacting Hosea. Not with the element of surprise now gone.
Well, she wasn’t about to give up. She had to get to Hosea; she’d just have to be direct about it.
The forty-five-minute meeting with Melinda lasted forty-four minutes too long, and if Natasia had had the energy, she would’ve stood up and danced atop the table when Melinda finally said, “Well, that’s all I have. Do you have any questions for me?”
“No, not at all,” Natasia said. “You’ve explained it all clearly.” She used the conference table to brace herself before she pushed back.
Melinda stood with her. “Your ticket for Atlanta has already been purchased. My assistant will email you the details. Oh, and we have reservations for you at Buckhead Tower, you know, the four-star, extended-stay hotel.”
“I know it well,” Natasia said.
“Well, we have a one-bedroom suite there for you.”
“That’s fine,” Natasia said, glancing at her watch.
“I’m sorry,” Melinda said. “Am I holding you from something?”
“No, I just want to make sure that I get back to LaGuardia in time.”
“You’re flying out tonight?”
Natasia nodded. “I just came in for the meeting with you,”she said, looking Melinda straight in the eye. If Melinda could lie to her, then she could lie, too, with the same straight face, with the same sugary smile. “I have to get back to Chicago and close out my job.”
“Is everything okay with that?”
“Oh, yeah. I’m taking an extended leave of absence. The network was glad to have me get this extra exposure on OWN.”
Melinda nodded. “Well, it’s too bad you’re leaving tonight. I was going to ask if you wanted to go out for drinks. Or maybe even a quick dinner.”
“Sorry, not this time,” Natasia said, knowing that she would never break bread with this woman—at least not on a social level. Melinda had moved to the top of her skank list. “Maybe once we get to Atlanta we can hang out,” she added anyway.
Melinda paused, stared at Natasia for a long moment. And in Melinda’s eyes, Natasia could see Melinda was trying to figure her out. “Yeah, we’ll get a chance to do that a lot in Atlanta.”
With just a few more words of goodbye, Natasia walked out of the room with her head high and her back straight. It wasn’t until she was in the hallway that she slowed her steps, giving herself time to gather her strength. Inside the elevator, she leaned against the panels and pushed the meeting with Melinda from her mind. It was time to focus on Hosea.
When the elevator stopped on the first floor, Natasia stepped out tentatively and looked around, half expecting to find Jasmine and her ancient, fur-covered sidekick waiting to pounce on her. But all was clear. She stayed on high alert when she stepped outside into the early evening madness known as Times Square.
With just a few steps to the curb and then a raise of her hand, a cab rolled to a stop and she slipped inside. “The Plaza Hotel,” she said, and then leaned back on the cracked pleather seat.
Melinda may have believed that Natasia was on her way to the airport, but she wouldn’t be doing that today. Instead, she had a two-night reservation at one of New York’s premiere hotels, and she had hoped that she’d see Hosea at least one of those nights.
Her thought had been to wait until she was securely in her hotel room to make the call, but even though it was just a short ride to the Plaza, she no longer had that kind of patience. Seeing Jasmine had made her anxious, made her wonder if she could pull this off.
Her hand was shaking as she pulled her cell from her purse and scrolled through the names until she came to Darlin’. She pressed *67, then clicked on Hosea’s number and closed her eyes as the phone rang.
“Please, God, please, God,” she whispered.
And then, “Hello.”
Natasia’s
Well, she wasn’t about to give up. She had to get to Hosea; she’d just have to be direct about it.
The forty-five-minute meeting with Melinda lasted forty-four minutes too long, and if Natasia had had the energy, she would’ve stood up and danced atop the table when Melinda finally said, “Well, that’s all I have. Do you have any questions for me?”
“No, not at all,” Natasia said. “You’ve explained it all clearly.” She used the conference table to brace herself before she pushed back.
Melinda stood with her. “Your ticket for Atlanta has already been purchased. My assistant will email you the details. Oh, and we have reservations for you at Buckhead Tower, you know, the four-star, extended-stay hotel.”
“I know it well,” Natasia said.
“Well, we have a one-bedroom suite there for you.”
“That’s fine,” Natasia said, glancing at her watch.
“I’m sorry,” Melinda said. “Am I holding you from something?”
“No, I just want to make sure that I get back to LaGuardia in time.”
“You’re flying out tonight?”
Natasia nodded. “I just came in for the meeting with you,”she said, looking Melinda straight in the eye. If Melinda could lie to her, then she could lie, too, with the same straight face, with the same sugary smile. “I have to get back to Chicago and close out my job.”
“Is everything okay with that?”
“Oh, yeah. I’m taking an extended leave of absence. The network was glad to have me get this extra exposure on OWN.”
Melinda nodded. “Well, it’s too bad you’re leaving tonight. I was going to ask if you wanted to go out for drinks. Or maybe even a quick dinner.”
“Sorry, not this time,” Natasia said, knowing that she would never break bread with this woman—at least not on a social level. Melinda had moved to the top of her skank list. “Maybe once we get to Atlanta we can hang out,” she added anyway.
Melinda paused, stared at Natasia for a long moment. And in Melinda’s eyes, Natasia could see Melinda was trying to figure her out. “Yeah, we’ll get a chance to do that a lot in Atlanta.”
With just a few more words of goodbye, Natasia walked out of the room with her head high and her back straight. It wasn’t until she was in the hallway that she slowed her steps, giving herself time to gather her strength. Inside the elevator, she leaned against the panels and pushed the meeting with Melinda from her mind. It was time to focus on Hosea.
When the elevator stopped on the first floor, Natasia stepped out tentatively and looked around, half expecting to find Jasmine and her ancient, fur-covered sidekick waiting to pounce on her. But all was clear. She stayed on high alert when she stepped outside into the early evening madness known as Times Square.
With just a few steps to the curb and then a raise of her hand, a cab rolled to a stop and she slipped inside. “The Plaza Hotel,” she said, and then leaned back on the cracked pleather seat.
Melinda may have believed that Natasia was on her way to the airport, but she wouldn’t be doing that today. Instead, she had a two-night reservation at one of New York’s premiere hotels, and she had hoped that she’d see Hosea at least one of those nights.
Her thought had been to wait until she was securely in her hotel room to make the call, but even though it was just a short ride to the Plaza, she no longer had that kind of patience. Seeing Jasmine had made her anxious, made her wonder if she could pull this off.
Her hand was shaking as she pulled her cell from her purse and scrolled through the names until she came to Darlin’. She pressed *67, then clicked on Hosea’s number and closed her eyes as the phone rang.
“Please, God, please, God,” she whispered.
And then, “Hello.”
Natasia’s
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