Steven fidgeted with his watch as he waited in the hotel lobby. Dammit, she should be here by now, he fumed. It was one of the pitfalls of his job, dealing with eccentric authors and their weird demand. One author wanted a bowl of M & M's in her room every time, with all the brown ones removed. Silvia Anders was known for being reclusive, so her agreeing to this book tour had come as quite a shock to the higher-ups at McMillan. He was thinking of grabbing a quick coffee when he felt a tapping on his shoulder.
"Excuse me, are you Steven?"
He turned around and found himself looking into a sweet, beautiful face, gentle blue eyes and shoulder-length blonde hair. Whoever she was, she was quite lovely. Silvia Anders' daughter or assistant, perhaps?
The pretty girl extended her hand. "Hello, it's nice to meet you. I'm Silvia Anders."
Ooookay, Steven's mind reeled, this was some kind of joke, this girl couldn't be more than 23 or 24 and Silvia Ander's first book had come out nearly 8 years ago, so it would mean ....
She smiled and let out a gentle laugh. "Let me do the math for you, Steven. I began writing at a young age, and my first book, LEGENDS NEVER DIE, was published when I was 16."
Steven was impressed, Silvia continued on. "That's the reason I have been so `reclusive', so to speak. My parents didn't want me going on book tours, the publishers didn't want it known their best-selling author was only a kid. Now, I make up my own mind. Plus, the publishers think my little revelation will be great publicity."
Steven thought to himself "Plus, it doesn't hurt that you are drop-dead scrumptious!" It was true, with pale blonde hair, that face and the cuddly little body, dressed in a simple white mini, pink blouse and heels, she was very easy on the eyes. Once word got around, all the talk shows would be lining up to book her.
She took his arm in his and led Steven towards the bar. "We have lots of time before the book signing for LOVING A LEGEND, let's get a drink."
Steven said "I don't drink when I'm working."
She pouted, looking adorable as she did so. "Oh pooh, I won't tell anyone." Steven shook his head, Silvia sighed. "Fine, you can have coffee, but I need a drink. This is my first time out in public, the butterflies in my tummy are doing a Flamenco!"
Steven smiled at her and listened intently as she talked, It soon became apparent why she'd become a success at so young an age, she was smart, scary-smart. There was a certain charm to her, a mature woman trapped in a younger β and very sexy β body. The bartender kept hovering, wanting to know if she wanted anything else, but she brushed him off with charm and grace.
Steven looked down at his watch. "Okay, we have to be at the store in 45 minutes, with traffic, we should just about make it. I'll hail us a cab."
She gave that little-girl pout again, it really was cute. "No way. I just bought myself a new Beemer last week and I wanna drive it!" She grinned at him. "Point me in the right direction and pray hard that your breakfast stays down!" The two of them got into the shiny silver car and screeched away from the hotel.
Despite her admonitions, Silvia was a superb driver and they made the signing earlier. As per the agreement between Silvia, the publishers and the store, there were no pictures of her anywhere. The revelation was to be the big surprise. When Steven walked over to the store Manager and whispered in his ear, pointing to Silvia, her eyes went wide open. She glanced at the young girl, who waved and nodded, laughing slightly. Regaining her composure, the Manager stepped out in front of the table and announced:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you β Miss Silvia Anders!"
It was sheer pandemonium as the crowd gasped, yelled, clapped and tried to get a good look. The photographers were avidly snapping as many photos as they could, jockeying to get a good shot of her, get her best angle. From where Steven stood, he didn't think Silvia HAD a bad angle. She really was a little honey.
She was also gracious, charming and smart, considering that some of the readers were over-the-top, some of them were horny males who couldn't get over how hot she was and some were society matrons who'd only read the books because their book clubs had told them to. Silvia charmed them all, having kind words for everyone who approached her. She was one of the most endearing authors he'd ever escorted on one of these junkets.
4 o'clock came earlier than anyone expected and surprisingly, Silvia had made sure everyone got a book signed, everyone who wanted one got a photograph. Steven was sure this was going to be all over the evening news, "reclusive author comes out of hiding and is revealed as young beauty" or however they'd spin it. At this time however, it was merely his job to get her back to the hotel so she could rest.
Silvia seemed exhausted, so he swung behind the wheel of the car and drove her back to the hotel. The car handled beautifully, the trip didn't take long. She took his arm again and they walked into the hotel, people pointing and whispering. The news had already gotten out, so it seemed.
The hotel Manager came out from behind the desk, huffing and puffing. "Miss Anders, oh Miss Anders, we're so honored to have a guest of your stature staying with us. Had we but KNOWN --- well, no matter, we've taken the liberty of moving your things to the Presidential suite." Silvia waved her hand and told them there had been no need for that, but the manager would have none of it. "My wife would kill me if I didn't treat you right!" he smiled. "You're her favorite author!" Silvia smiled, agreeing to sign a copy of her book for him before she left.
They traveled up in the elevator to her suite, nothing much was said. Steven thought she seemed to be overwhelmed by this new-found attention, but with four best-selling novels β and a face and body like that β she had better get used to it.
Silvia opened the door to her suite and gasped. It was huge, with a large double bed, dresser with vanity, bathroom with jacuzzi, a terrace with a magnificent view of the city, fully stocked bar and fridge, even a TV and DVD player. Someone had also taken the time to send up a nice Fruit Basket, a dozen roses and a bottle of champagne.
Silvia took it all in. "All of this β for ME? Wow, I don't deserve this."
Steven laughed at her. "Better get used to it, keed. Big-time authors tend to get spoiled. And looking the way YOU do, you're gonna get spoiled rotten."
Silvia did a mock curtsy. "I think I've just been paid a compliment. Thank you, kind sir. Man, I'm famished. 2 cups of watery coffee and a Cinnamon Danish are not enough for this gal. Can we go and eat?"
"We could have room service ... "
"No, I want to go OUT. Now that I can mingle, I want to go out and eat in a restaurant. And REAL food, not this foo-foo French crap that I can't pronounce and is made from Snail's intestines or something."
Steven laughed with her. "Okay, what do you fancy?"
Silvia bit the bottom of her lip, in thought. "Ribs. I love ribs, is there a good rib joint around here?"
Steven nodded. "One of the best, Adam's Ribs, over on 34th. Do you want to freshen up and then we can go?"
"Mmm-hmm, I want to change out of these clothes, fix my face and then we can go!"
Steven wanted to comment there was nothing wrong with THAT face, but decided to behave. Flirting with a client wasn't the best of ideas, flirting with a client young enough to be his daughter wasn't either. His daughter. He wondered how Tally was doing, was she missing him? He couldn't wait to get home and get her into bed and ....