Beneath The Surface by Roy Glenn Page A

get another chance,” Nick said and kissed her.
    “Now we need to ditch this limo. You and me got some unfinished business.”
    “Like what?”
    “Blue had a team hit both our spots. They got damn near two hundred thousand dollars of my money, and I want it back.”
    “Okay. But we do this my way,” Nick said.
    “Whatever you say, baby,” Rain said sweetly.
     

Chapter Sixteen
     
    It was still early when Carmen finished her next assignment. She had covered the opening of another new restaurant. For the past couple of days, she’d been playing phone tag with Marcus. And if she wanted to be honest with herself, she was avoiding his calls and calling him back when she knew she’d catch voice mail.
      As much as she tried not to, Carmen couldn’t keep herself from thinking about Mike Black. She hoped that she would have heard from him, but since hadn’t, Carmen decided to go see Black at Cuisine.
    When she got there, Carmen waited, like any other customer, until there was a table for one available; which took about twenty minutes. Once she was seated and had placed her drink order, Carmen gave the waitress a message. “If Mike Black is in this evening, please tell him that Carmen Taylor requests the pleasure of his company.”
    Ten minutes later, Black joined her at the table. The waitress placed a drink in front of him, and blended into the background. “Hello Carmen.”
    “Hello Mike.”
    “It’s good to see you, Carmen.”
    “It’s good to see you, too, Mr. Black.”
    “Are you staying for dinner?”
    Carmen picked up a menu. “That all depends on what you have on the menu.”
    “I’m sure you’ll find something you like.”
    Carmen looked at Black. I have, and it’s not on the menu, she thought. “I’m sure that I will. As a matter of fact, I just finished covering a restaurant opening: A Pan-Asian place on 53 rd .”
    “What’s it called?”
    “Nockamoras.”
    “Good food?”
    “I don’t know. At the time, I wasn’t really hungry, but the crew said it was good.”
    “I was serious when I said I wanted you to cover this place.”
    “I know that you were.”
    “Do you pick the spots you cover?”
    “No, but I think my producer will listen if I made a suggestion; so consider this an audition. I’ll let you know if the food is as good as you say it is. And I’m looking forward to hearing the band.”
    Black signaled for a waitress. When one responded, he told her to get Lexi, the supper club’s manager. Lexi joined them at the table, and Black introduced her to Carmen. “Carmen, this is my manager, Lexi Gordon. Lexi, this is Carmen Taylor.”
    “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Taylor.”
    “Carmen is a feature reporter for channel four, and she is evaluating our restaurant for one of her segments.”
    Lexi looked and Carmen and remembered seeing her sitting for a long time in the lobby, waiting for a table. She started to break into an apology right away, but she immediately went into her standard VIP speech instead: “We are so glad to have you with us tonight, Ms. Taylor. If there is anything you need, please let me or any member of our staff aware of your issue, and it will be taken care of right away. I’m sure at the end of your evening you’ll have had a great meal, and will have enjoyed an excellent show.”
    “How about getting the band onstage right away,” Black whispered to Lexi before she left.   
    As promised, Carmen enjoyed the meal and the floorshow that consisted of a comedian MC, a dance troop, and the house band, featuring Angela Gray. When the band finished their set, Carmen turned Black. “I’m going to see what I can do about getting this place on. Everything was excellent.”
    “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself, Carmen,” Black said. “I hope you can get us on. How’s that story you were talkin’ to me about, goin’?”
    “You mean you haven’t been watching the news every night to catch my story?”
    “I’m sorry to say that I