Designer Desires by Kasey Martin Page A

out of town on business, and, while he was away, she really needed to focus on her work. Korrine had just gotten a new upscale client. The pop star was an up and coming diva. She was just nominated for a prestigious award and had the number three hit on the music charts. To have one of her designs on a red carpet that big would be spectacular, so she didn’t have time to entertain what Tony was thinking about; she had work to do.
    Korrine was having another late night at her studio, and she was exhausted. The dress she was designing for the pop star, Tia, was nearly complete. She was proud of her progress, but she only had a couple of weeks to finish it and fit her. Hopefully, Tia would love it as much as Korrine did.
    After hours of designing, Korrine was packing up for the night. She couldn’t keep her eyes open, and she knew that staying any longer wouldn’t do any good. She was searching for her keys when she heard a knock on her studio door. The building was secure, so she wasn’t all that worried. But she wondered who it could be at this late hour when she knew Tony was out of town and Brandon was with his new boyfriend. So who in the hell?
    When she opened the door, she was in shock. Steve stood there with his hands in his pockets, looking a little boyish. He looked up and smiled a shy smile when she opened the door.
    “Hey, Steve. What are you doing here?” Korrine questioned.
    “Hi, Korrine. I just opened an office in the building next door. I meant to come earlier, but I got caught up in paperwork and I no longer have your number. When I saw the light still on, I thought I’d come say hello,” Steve replied, in a hurry with a frown.
    “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. I was just a little taken off guard. I haven’t seen you since the night at the restaurant. When was that? Three weeks ago?” Korrine stated.
    “Uh, yeah. But like I said, we didn’t exchange numbers, so…” Steve let his words trail off, letting the smile return to his face.
    Korrine smiled. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Steve. I’m exhausted with work. Again, I was just a little caught off guard with you being here. But I’m really glad you stopped by. I was just on my way out.”
    As Korrine started packing up, she asked Steve, “How did you know I was in this building?”
    “Oh, I had a tour, and the leasing agent told me about the tenants. He mentioned an up and coming designer. I knew it just couldn’t be you, but voila it was,” Steve stated nervously.
    Korrine thought Steve’s over explaining seemed a bit odd, but she was too tired to question him. Steve always seemed a bit odd anyway.
    “Oh, wow, it’s a small world, but, like I said, I was headed out…” Korrine trailed off hinting for Steve to leave.
    Steve smiled in return. “It’s fine, Korri. I understand.
Really, I do. How about I walk you to your car. Maybe during the week, if you have time, we can get that coffee we talked about…or maybe dinner or something.”
    Korrine smiled again. “I’d like that, Steve, and congrats on the new digs! This is a really nice area. You will love it here. It’s such a coincidence that we are so close.”
    Steve smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He walked Korrine to her car, and they said their goodbyes.
    Steve smiled a wicked smile to himself as she drove off. Korri had no idea how much he went through to get that office. After all these years, she was finally single, and she would be his. The opportunity for them to be together was finally here, and he would make sure not to let her slip through his grasp…this time. The opportunity had finally presented itself, and he had the inside track to Korrine because of his little helper. Now all she had to do was fall in line.
    Korrine finally pulled into her uptown apartment, realizing that she was dog tired. Her cell phone rang. She knew exactly who it was, and her face lit up with excitement. She tried to calm herself so she wouldn’t seem so