room.
* * * *
Harper pushed the red button on the telephone to retrieve his messages. He unloosened his tie, removed it and then tossed it on the dresser. There were three calls, one from his kids asking him about Japan, one from his ex-wife asking him to increase her spousal support and a third one from a very frantic Charlotte. He returned the call to his boys, but not his ex-wife. She wasn’t getting another penny out of him. Their sons were grown and if she needed more money, she would just have to get off her ass and get a job. Harper looked down at his watch. It was close to one o’clock in the morning in Japan, which meant it was three in the afternoon back home. He dialed Charlotte’s office phone number.
“Hello?”
“Hello, gorgeous.”
“Harper, is that you?”
“How many men call you gorgeous?” he teased his senior editor. They had been together for years and had a very relaxed relationship.
“Quite a few,” she replied back sarcastically. “What are you and Shaundra Morrison doing in Japan?”
“Working, or have you forgotten that we are on a promotion tour?”
“What kind of promoting are you doing at a nightclub?”
“How do you know that we were at a nightclub?”
“It’s all over the Internet. You, Shaundra, Dorothy and Aomori are dancing it up in a Japanese nightclub. What is Shaundra wearing?”
“A very beautiful dress,” Harper replied. “Black and very short.”
“That’s exactly what I’m talking about. Have you guys lost your minds? Shaundra does not wear mini dresses and spiked heels. She’s business suits and conservative shoes.”
“That’s the old Shaundra. The new Shaundra wears mini dresses and dances.”
“Why do I smell your handiwork in this scenario?”
“The dress was a present from me. Mr. Niigata arranged an outing with all of us and I knew she wouldn’t bring party clothes with her because she is all about the work.”
“Couldn’t you pick her out something more appropriate for her age? The dress is so short I can see the dimples in her ass.”
Harper chuckled into the receiver.
“Shaundra is bouncing around the dance floor with you and one of those singers in one video and slow dancing with the lead singer in another.”
“Stop panicking, and since when do you watch YouTube?”
“Since I don’t have a life. I was uploading book trailers for our authors’ upcoming releases.”
“And you just happen to find the ones with us on it?”
“It’s on the front page of the website. The one with you on it has had several visits…close to a thousand.”
He could hear her fingers on her keyboard as she surfed through YouTube. “You mean I’m a YouTube success?”
“This isn’t funny, Harper. Think about Kehoe Publishing. Do you want to be the laughing stock of New York?”
“Calm down, Charlotte. Of course I don’t. I’ll have YouTube pull the videos.” He paused. “Thousands of hits. It’s only been a couple of hours since we left the club.”
“The one with Shaundra and Yori Morioka has more than that. The fan girls are going crazy. You should read some of their comments. They don’t like the fact that their favorite idol is having a fling with an older American writer.”
“They are not having a fling,” Harper replied. “They are just dancing. We didn’t even share a table with them.”
“You better fix this,” Charlotte told him. “Now go to bed.”
“Yes, Charlotte . I’ll fix it and then I’ll go off to sleep.” Harper disconnected the call. He got off the bed, walked over to his closet and took out his laptop. He hooked it to the Ethernet wire on the desk and waited for it to turn on, and then he went directly to YouTube. Sure enough, their videos were on the front of the page. He clicked on the one with him and Shaundra and viewed it.
* * * *
“Mother, that dress is simply scandalous,” Juanda, her eldest daughter, said to her once she returned her call.
It’s a wonder she was able to pick up
* * * *
Harper pushed the red button on the telephone to retrieve his messages. He unloosened his tie, removed it and then tossed it on the dresser. There were three calls, one from his kids asking him about Japan, one from his ex-wife asking him to increase her spousal support and a third one from a very frantic Charlotte. He returned the call to his boys, but not his ex-wife. She wasn’t getting another penny out of him. Their sons were grown and if she needed more money, she would just have to get off her ass and get a job. Harper looked down at his watch. It was close to one o’clock in the morning in Japan, which meant it was three in the afternoon back home. He dialed Charlotte’s office phone number.
“Hello?”
“Hello, gorgeous.”
“Harper, is that you?”
“How many men call you gorgeous?” he teased his senior editor. They had been together for years and had a very relaxed relationship.
“Quite a few,” she replied back sarcastically. “What are you and Shaundra Morrison doing in Japan?”
“Working, or have you forgotten that we are on a promotion tour?”
“What kind of promoting are you doing at a nightclub?”
“How do you know that we were at a nightclub?”
“It’s all over the Internet. You, Shaundra, Dorothy and Aomori are dancing it up in a Japanese nightclub. What is Shaundra wearing?”
“A very beautiful dress,” Harper replied. “Black and very short.”
“That’s exactly what I’m talking about. Have you guys lost your minds? Shaundra does not wear mini dresses and spiked heels. She’s business suits and conservative shoes.”
“That’s the old Shaundra. The new Shaundra wears mini dresses and dances.”
“Why do I smell your handiwork in this scenario?”
“The dress was a present from me. Mr. Niigata arranged an outing with all of us and I knew she wouldn’t bring party clothes with her because she is all about the work.”
“Couldn’t you pick her out something more appropriate for her age? The dress is so short I can see the dimples in her ass.”
Harper chuckled into the receiver.
“Shaundra is bouncing around the dance floor with you and one of those singers in one video and slow dancing with the lead singer in another.”
“Stop panicking, and since when do you watch YouTube?”
“Since I don’t have a life. I was uploading book trailers for our authors’ upcoming releases.”
“And you just happen to find the ones with us on it?”
“It’s on the front page of the website. The one with you on it has had several visits…close to a thousand.”
He could hear her fingers on her keyboard as she surfed through YouTube. “You mean I’m a YouTube success?”
“This isn’t funny, Harper. Think about Kehoe Publishing. Do you want to be the laughing stock of New York?”
“Calm down, Charlotte. Of course I don’t. I’ll have YouTube pull the videos.” He paused. “Thousands of hits. It’s only been a couple of hours since we left the club.”
“The one with Shaundra and Yori Morioka has more than that. The fan girls are going crazy. You should read some of their comments. They don’t like the fact that their favorite idol is having a fling with an older American writer.”
“They are not having a fling,” Harper replied. “They are just dancing. We didn’t even share a table with them.”
“You better fix this,” Charlotte told him. “Now go to bed.”
“Yes, Charlotte . I’ll fix it and then I’ll go off to sleep.” Harper disconnected the call. He got off the bed, walked over to his closet and took out his laptop. He hooked it to the Ethernet wire on the desk and waited for it to turn on, and then he went directly to YouTube. Sure enough, their videos were on the front of the page. He clicked on the one with him and Shaundra and viewed it.
* * * *
“Mother, that dress is simply scandalous,” Juanda, her eldest daughter, said to her once she returned her call.
It’s a wonder she was able to pick up
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