Hot Property (Hot Zone 4)

CHAPTER FOUR

NEW YEAR’S DAY in a new town was a bummer, Amy thought, staring at the walls of her small apartment. She could pass the day alone, cooped up inside, or she could brave the cold and hit the department stores. She’d already gone shopping with Sophie and Annabelle for a new work wardrobe, but she still needed heavy sweaters and clothes for the change in climate. Even if shopping hadn’t been a necessity, keeping busy was. Anything to stop her from thinking about John Roper and the media circus that was a part of his life.

She could fall hard for the man, that much she knew. Never mind that he had one hot body and he’d singed her with kisses that left her wanting more. He was sensitive and he cared for his family, he cooked, for goodness’ sake, and he’d decorated his own apartment. Yet what should be a perfect start to a possible relationship wasn’t. Everything about John Roper and his life was detrimental to her goals and needs.

She’d grown up with a father who instilled in her the need to make a difference in the world, and her short career as a social worker had been a sure way of doing just that. She understood she was idealizing her dad, but even her mother always spoke of what a good man he’d

been. Make your father proud, Amy. She’d tried.

She’d failed.

She’d been let go from her job as a social worker for the state because her mother’s antics, captured in the paper with Amy by her side, contradicted the necessary level of decorum her boss insisted went with her job. Instead of looking for other employment, she’d moved back home and taken the position of social director at her mom and aunt’s retirement community to watch over them. Surely her father had been nodding in approval over that move.

Her dad had been a stabilizing influence in Rose Stone’s life, but after he died, she’d gotten more wild. Uncle Spencer had never tried to control his sisters. They were extremely close to him, as was Amy, but he believed in letting people make their own mistakes. Besides, considering he lived in New York, Amy knew there wasn’t much he could do even if he’d tried. So Amy had stepped in, taking over where her father had left off. She could be stern when she needed to be, and she’d had things in Fort Lauderdale well in hand.

She’d bailed her mother and aunt out of the local jail more times than she could count for being a public nuisance. From raucous parties to turning the water in the fountain in the local mall pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Amy’s mother and aunt had indulged in an array of bad behavior.

The only reason none of the arrests had resulted in anything more serious than a warning, a fine or community service was because their local judge had a crush on Aunt Darla and Rose baked for the police officers, allowing them to avoid the greasy doughnut shops during their downtime. Amy wasn’t a complete stick-in-the-mud and she did find her relatives amusing at times, but she’d always had to be the rational one, the savior. Like Roper, she was the responsible caretaker of the group.

But she had the chance now to make a career for herself even if it wasn’t a world-changing job. She needed to make herself, her mother and, by extension, her late father, proud.

Amy sighed and shook her head. She hated being the center of attention, which was why she was so thrilled to be working at the Hot Zone. She’d be the person behind the celebrity. Even if she wanted to give a relationship or even an affair with Roper a chance, his lifestyle demanded anyone in his personal sphere succumb to the media attention. And that was something she wasn’t willing to be a part of, especially in the big way his life demanded.

She’d just have to push her intense feelings for the man aside in favor of focusing on work and creating a life for herself here in New York.

With one last glance at the answering machine holding his phone number and the recording of his husky voice asking her to call him, she grabbed her purse and headed for the stores instead.

THE DAY AFTER NEW YEAR’S, Amy sat in the conference room of the Hot Zone offices. All seats around the table were filled and she fidgeted in her seat, ready to begin.

Yank cleared his throat. “The weekly meeting of the Hot Zone and Athletes Only will now come to order.” He slammed his gavel down on the table, missing the rubber padding made to cushion the blow. The wooden hammer hit the conference table and Amy felt the vibrations rippling throughout her body. She jumped up from her seat, then discovered she was the only one who had. Micki, Annabelle, Sophie, Lola and even her uncle Spencer had already slid their chairs back, away from the table in anticipation of Yank’s move.

Amy’s cheeks burned as she lowered herself slowly back into her chair.

“Sorry. We should have warned you he has no aim.” Micki, tanned from her time on the island, re-settled herself in her chair and the rest of the group did the same.

“And he doesn’t care that he’s scarring an expensive table,” Sophie added.

“Stop talkin’ about me like I’m not in the room,” Yank muttered. “I’m the one in charge. The meeting’s been called to order. As you all can see even if I can’t, we have a new member of the team. Amy, we’re happy to have you.”

“Thank you,” Amy said, touched.

“No thanks necessary,” Annabelle said.

“Besides, change is good.” Lola patted Yank’s hand.

“Even if it means I’m getting older and blinder?” he asked.

“Even then,” Lola said softly.

“Amen,” Uncle Spencer said, probably because he was aging along with his friend, something Amy preferred not to think about too long or too hard.

She remained silent instead, sensing it was the wrong time to interrupt. Even the three sisters remained quiet, letting Yank be comforted by his wife.

Of course the silence didn’t last long. “Well, what are you waiting for?” Yank asked, all bluster once more. “First order of business. Michelle?” he asked, calling Micki by her given name.

The first half hour of the meeting consisted of a run-through of current clients, assignments and status updates, along with banter most often begun or finished off by Yank. Amy found the dynamic interesting, considering the family-run business operated smoothly despite it all.

“Now, on to the new assignments,” Yank said.