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Thursday, November 4, 2010

Hustle Into Love - Chapter One Part Three

 Hey all,

Welcome to your first THURSDAY installment.  And you guessed it.  Mace and Chantal finally meet.  How do you think THAT will go, hmmm???

Now remember, I will be offering new FREE READS every Tuesday and Thursday from this point on.  So if you aren't following me or subscribed, make sure you do so you can know when they go live.  And don't forget to comment.  Shaiha won last months contest, who will win this months?

So let's get to it, shall we?  The latest section of Hustle Into Love!!!


Hustle Into Love


* * * * *

   Mace stood just outside the custom’s gate with a dozen or so other men and women. He felt ridiculous and wondered, not for the first time, what the hell he was doing there. Cursing under his breath, he held up the placard with the name, Ms. Montgomery, as another group of new arrivals appeared.
   If any of his mates saw him right now, they’d laugh themselves silly. Mace D'Avranches playing limo driver.
   He gazed around at the people as they greeted each other. Asians were much more subdued that Europeans or Americans, but every once in a while he could hear a squeal of joy as someone was reunited. Shaking his head, he thought of the airport in Hong Kong. That was where he usually flew into. It was big and modern, and very different from this small, almost intimate terminal.
   But that was where Lì’s house was and where Mace usually visited. It had only been in the last six months that Lì had come to stay in Macau. Once the casino was up and going, he’d decided to make it his home.
   Not that Mace minded. When he’d stayed with Lì in the past he enjoyed the faster pace of Hong Kong, but he liked the slower tempo of Macau as well. And, if he felt the need for the big city’s culture, music and theatre, it was only an hour’s ferry ride away.
   He wondered idly if Lì had left Hong Kong yet. The last word he got was he was waiting for a friend to join him on this supposed sabbatical. A smile curved his lips. Maybe it was a woman friend. It would serve Chantal right if Lì did a little cheating of his own.
   A commotion pulled him out of his thoughts. Just coming through the customs gate was a small group of people. A pair of attentive Chinese porters pulling carts as well as a group of smiling security guards. They were all hovering around a diminutive figure dressed in vibrant blue.
   She had a waterfall of pale blonde hair that cascaded down her back to her shapely rear, eyes the color of newly minted gold and a smile that could give life back to a man long dead. Mace knew in an instant who it was.
   Chantal Montgomery had made her entrance.
   Her throaty laugh lifted over the murmuring crowd as she signed an autograph and Mace gritted his teeth as heat shot through him. The last thing he ever wanted to do was lust after Li’s girlfriend, but his body wasn’t listening. He had a hard-on that threatened to rip out of his pants.
   As angry with himself as he was with her, he pushed his way through the crowd clustered around her. Dozens of people were offering her pieces of paper…even passports to sign. He bit back his impatience as she took the time to sign each one, smiling and nodding at the fan. Only when she’d finished the last one did he speak. “Ms. Montgomery?”
   She glanced his way, her lips curving gently, and his body reacted all over again. Bloody hell, she was beautiful. Those amber eyes sparkled and even though he knew she’d been on a plane for almost twelve hours she looked fresh and alert. She might be a star, but that smile looked damned authentic to him. Though being in show business, she probably knew how to look genuine on command. “I’m—”
   “One moment, please.” She glanced at the sign he held and her eyes narrowed. Deliberately she turned her back on him and murmured something to the porters pushing her carts. Mace’s temper slipped another notch. “Ms. Montgomery, I’m—”
   “I know who you are.” This time when she looked at him, her eyes were cool. “And I asked you not to come meet me, Cái. Obviously, you don’t listen.”
   Mace blinked at the misunderstanding. “I’m sorry, but you—” He didn’t get to finish as she interrupted again.
   “I’m sure you are sorry, but it makes no difference. I told you I mean what I say and I say what I mean. I didn’t want to be met, and I’m not going to The Golden Tiger. So that’s strike one.”
   “Ms. Montgomery,” Mace said again, amazed to find he was a little intimidated by a woman at least a foot shorter and a hundred pounds lighter than he was. He, who had been CEO of several companies and was on the boards of several others. “You don’t understand.”
   “I rarely understand stupidity,” she returned, smiling sweetly, but her voice was as cold as her eyes. “And if you want to continue as my assistant, you’ll learn not to be stupid.”
   Now that was going a bit far. His temper flared. “Now just a min—”
   “But since you're here,” she interrupted him yet a third time, “you might as well make yourself useful. Did you bring a car?”
   He stared at her, still seething at her comment about his intelligence. “A car?”
   “You’re not impressing me here, Cái.” She rolled her eyes.  “Yes, a vehicle of some kind. To ride in. To take me to my hotel. Hell, I’ll take a horse drawn cart, I’m so tired.”
   Mace put a rein on his temper and decided not to tell her she’d made a mistake about his identity. Let her figure it out herself. In fact, he might be able to pay her back for her pointed comments. “I have a taxi van, since I wasn’t sure how much you were bringing.” He glanced behind her at the carts piled with bags. “I guess you don’t travel light.”
   To his surprise she blushed. “No. It’s a curse. I never could. Lì despairs of me sometimes.”
   His spine snapped straight at the reminder of her absent boyfriend. “I’m sure he does.”
   She glanced at him, obviously surprised at his mocking tone. “But this time most of the bags are equipment. I didn’t know what the casino had, so I brought everything with me.”
   He eyed the packed carts. “Equipment?”
   Chantal shrugged. “You know. Costumes, props, work-out tools, sound and visual equipment. That sort of thing.” She tapped her foot pointedly. “You can take a good look at it when I come to work the first day, but for now I’m really tired, so…the car?”
   Mace gave her a mocking bow. “This way, Ms. Montgomery.”

~*~

Well, hope you liked that.  Fireworks as I promised ,and I'm sure there are more to come next Tuesday.

Now don't forget to jump over to my CHAT BLOG and check out my latest rant about men and women.  It's a good one!  LOL

Hugs to all,
CJ England













Follow Your Dreams

6 comments:

Phylis said...

Oh for it to be Tuesday already!!!! lol One thing to look forward to on that day. I love fireworks!

CJ England said...

*grin*

I love to keep you guessing. Have a great Thursday!

Shai Williams said...

I can hardly wait to see what happens when she discovers who Mace is.

Ashley L said...

You can't blame her for making the mistake. Mace meeting her like that in the terminal was bound to have her thinking of her assistant. I can almost picture what will happen when Chantal figures out who Mace is and how she reacted to him. Can't wait until Tuesday!

CJ England said...

Shaiha,

Me either. I still don't know how she's going to respond. A belt in the mouth, or cool sarcasm.

Hmmm...decisions, decisions. LOL

CJ England said...

*grin* Ashley,

I'm still wondering just how he'll get himself out of it. LOL

We'll see next week.