Her heartbeat quickened as she waited for Jake to answer and she breathed a sigh of relief when his voicemail picked up instead. Even so, she couldn’t stop the flutters as she heard his smooth, deep voice encouraging all who reached out to him to leave a detailed message at the sound of the tone. Dominique cleared her throat. “Jake, this is Dominique. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to cancel on dinner tonight. I feel it better that you and I keep our relationship cordial, but professional, for Justin’s sake. Thanks for understanding.”

An unexpected wave of sadness came over Dominique as she hung up the phone but she quickly buried the feeling underneath a PowerPoint presentation. She was glad when the photographer called and said the actress had arrived and the shoot would begin earlier than scheduled. That sent Dominique into cram mode, which was just what she needed. And even with her mind crammed with all things Capricious, it wasn’t enough to keep her thoughts off of one certain tall, sexy, smart man... and his all-beef frank.

9

9

Jake stood directly under the hot water from the shower spray, tired but satisfied after his workout. His normal routine was three workouts a week, but since laying eyes on a certain female he’d worked out almost every day. So far the barbells, crunch boards, push-ups, and bike riding had been only partially successful in releasing the pressure. The tension Jake was experiencing was the kind that only a woman could help release. He smiled at the prospect that tonight could be that night and Dominique Clark could be that woman.

A short time later, Jake was dressed and out of the gym. He’d checked his phone and saw a couple missed calls. But it was the area code 818 that had him smiling. Dominique had called and left a message. Wanting no distraction while listening to her sexy voice, he waited until he reached his car and settled in to listen. A few seconds into the message, disappointment replaced anticipation. Jake did not like what he’d heard and before the day was over he planned to make Dominique aware of that fact. Just as he began to hit redial, his phone rang. “Yeah,” was his brusque greeting.

“Dang, man. Who pissed in your grits?”

Jake’s twin brother’s comment, a favorite one used by their grandfather, brought a slight smile to his face. “Hey, Johnny. Ain’t nothing to it, man.”

“Didn’t sound like nothing to me.”

“I’ll be all right. What’s going on?”