Naive Charles Royce (great novels .txt) 📖

coined it “THE LAUNCH PARTY OF THE DECADE,” and Micah could definitely see why. He looked around at the bustling swarm of entertainment’s elite and publishing’s power player and felt jealousy bubbling to the surface.

Josh made all of this happen, Micah thought as he walked through the vast concrete and marble courtyard and ascended the majestic stairs leading into the foyer of the new Élan headquarters. Huge two-story banners rippled down both sides of the staircase, each displaying a different celebrity featured in the September issue of Élan.

Damn, this is good.

Fucking Josh.

Micah saw Josh from a distance, talking with the actress Jennifer Lawrence at the top of the stairs. Micah made a point to brush by him, bumping him with his shoulder, just to let him know he was there.

Micah kept walking and stopped at the triple-decker appetizer table. He grabbed a shrimp and was about to choose a sauce for dipping.

“Hello, Micah!”

Startled, Micah dropped the shrimp in the cocktail sauce. At first Micah thought it was Josh, but when he turned, he was face to face with James West, Élan Publishing’s CEO, the man most often credited for the company’s dramatic success.

James West was a tall, slender man with gray hair, and at forty-three considered very young for his position. He was a handsome Harvard Business School graduate who’d started the company from scratch at age twenty-eight—a mere fifteen years ago. He owned every room he entered, and he had the money to literally own it as well. His business philosophy was to hire youthful, passionate, driven people who knew what they were doing, guide them, and watch them make him look good. The “West Way,” as his employees had coined it, was the main reason why he had hired Lennox. And that’s also why he approved of Micah as a top freelancer for his burgeoning marketing department.

“Thanks for coming!” James West replied in a loud voice, overcompensating for the crowd noise echoing off the stark cement walls.

“I wouldn’t have missed it.” Micah’s voice was at a normal level, hoping Mr. West would take the hint. “Quite the lobby, and quite the launch party.”

“Wait till you see what Josh has in store for the grand opening party, where we let you into the rest of this magnificent place!” He was still screaming. “Where’s your better half, by the way?”

“Well, sir, last time I saw Lennox, he said he should be here around …” Micah looked down at his phone and grimaced. “Any minute now.”

“Please give him my best and have him find me. We have something to discuss.”

“Will do, sir.” Micah knew this was the extent of his time with Mr. West.

“Have a good night, then.” James turned around. “Angelina!”

He was already in another conversation.

Micah continued to look through the crowd. Jenna’s late. Typical. He walked toward the celebrity meet-and-greet area, noticing how alone he felt. I wish Lennox were here.

He texted him.

OH. MY. GOD. You said you’d be right here. Lemme know an ETA, baby.

Micah looked up from his phone and saw his friend Shawn and his wife Haylee, both gawking at Meryl Streep, who was talking with Goldie Hawn. Shawn and Haylee were standing less than three feet away, staring as if their stalking would be rewarded with a private conversation.

“Oh, wow, they actually think they’re next in line to talk with her,” Micah mumbled out loud.

“You know Meryl is just dying to meet them,” said Jenna, sneaking up from behind.

“Haha, that’s what I was just thinking,” he said, kissing both sides of Jenna’s face. He looked at her little black dress. “I thought you were gonna wear the red gown, the big Halston one with the flared sleeves?”

“I couldn’t find it.”

“Jesus, Jenna, you need constant supervision.”

“Are we having fun?” she asked, in her signature coarse and crumbly voice, with a classic European upward lilt at the end of her inquiry.

“Sure! If you call ‘fun’ looking at this amazing event and the ridiculous people your boy Josh got to come here.”

“Josh told me he, um, ran into you.”

“That was fast.”

“Well, I’ve been here just a little bit, walking around with him, enjoying everything he’s done. I went to the bathroom, and when I came back, he told me I just missed you.”

“You still love him, even after everything that happened,” Micah said, looking for contradictory validation.

“I can’t help it. And you can’t help but like him too. Admit it.” She nudged him a little too hard, but Micah did not move. “God! You two are in constant competition. So Josh didn’t hire you for this event, who cares? You literally design everything else for this company.”

“You know it’s not about that, Jenna.” He rarely used her name so sternly, and Jenna took note.

“Oh. Speaking of, where is that handsome man of yours?” she asked, emphasizing the word yours.

“He’s so late. I was just about to call him again.”

“Well, don’t let me stop you. I’ve got some sleuthing to do.” Jenna winked to let Micah know that she knew how weird it was for her to be here. She was the executive assistant to the competition’s CEO, after all, and the only reason she was there was to be her best friend’s date. Josh had pulled some strings.

Micah headed to a nearby alcove just outside the breezeway of the lobby, dialing Lennox as he made his way through the crowd. Lennox didn’t answer, so Micah left another voice mail. “Hey, baby, where are you? I miss you. I can’t tell you how many people are asking about you. Text me or call me, I have my phone. I hope everything’s all right.”

Over an hour had passed since Micah had arrived, and the party was moving from mingling and drinking to presentations and speeches. Micah saw that Jenna had relocated to the back of the crowd, which was transitioning into an audience, and made his way toward her.

“Lennox still isn’t here, and I can’t get ahold of him. Something doesn’t feel right,” he whispered to Jenna. He kissed her