One-Click Buy: September Harlequin Blaze

by Jo Leigh

  He glanced at her. “You haven’t answered my question.”

  “Which one was that?”

  “Whether I can see you tomorrow.” A dozen different answers crashed into one another in her mind, and he seemed to think that her hesitation meant she needed convincing. “Take pity on a Yankee, Eve,” he said. “What am I going to do with myself for two days if you don’t help me out?”

  She was absolutely sure he’d have no problem finding something. The Braves were playing, there were concerts galore all over town, and at least two art exhibits were scheduled to open the next day.

  “Come on,” he wheedled. “Let’s forget our job titles and the size of our in-boxes and do something fun, all right?”

  Absolutely not. The more time she spent with him, the more difficult it would be to see him on Monday. The show came first. The words organized in her mind, she opened her mouth to say them.

  “All right,” she said. “But I’m wearing a bra.”

  5

  THE WARMTH OF THE SUN on her eyelids woke Eve, telling her she’d forgotten to close the drapes before she’d gone to sleep the night before. No wonder. Her mind had been such a maelstrom of sex and ethics and work worries that it was a miracle she’d remembered to lock the front door.

  But then, Mitch had been on the other side of it, sitting in the car with the engine running until she’d let herself inside and turned the porch light on and off. She hadn’t locked him out. Oh, no. She’d locked herself in, away from him.

  She’d done the right thing. Okay, so maybe it hadn’t been so smart to agree to see him today, but after all, what could happen in broad daylight? Last night had been a combination of champagne, dancing and moonlight; that was it. Now that she’d had some sleep and could think rationally, it’d be easy to keep her distance.

  In fact, she could practice saying no all day to get herself in shape for saying it again on Monday.

  She’d just started a pot of coffee when the phone rang. And here he was. When he’d asked for her phone number as she was getting out of the car, she’d given it to him, figuring it was better that he call instead of driving over here. Maybe he’d be happy with a phone call. Maybe he’d reconsidered seeing her.

  “Eve, it’s Jane.”

  Eve took a moment to regroup. Jane, not Mitch. Well, that was a relief.

  Wasn’t it? “Hey, sweetie. I thought you were going to the benefit, but I didn’t see you.”

  “No, we, uh, didn’t make it out of the bedroom once I got my stockings on. Perry calls me his sexy librarian.”

  Eve smiled. At least someone was getting some action in the bedroom. If it couldn’t be her, she was glad it was Jane. After all she’d been through, Jane deserved every minute of the happiness she’d found with Perry.

  “Stockings and high heels will do it every time. So, what’s up?”

  Jane hesitated. “Can I talk to you?”

  “Sure.” She pulled out a kitchen chair and made herself comfortable while the coffee dripped. “I’ve got nothing but time.” And while she was talking to Jane, Mitch couldn’t get through. And if he couldn’t get through, she could push off seeing him.

  “Not over the phone. I’d rather talk in person.”

  A chill wriggled through Eve’s stomach. “What’s the matter?”

  “Can’t we-”

  “Jane, you can’t say something like that and not expect me to ask. What’s going on? Are you okay? Did something happen?”

  Jane sighed. “I’m fine, nothing happened. Relax. I’ve just been thinking, that’s all.”

  “About what?” What could she possibly need a face-to-face for when they saw each other daily and talked all the time?

  “I-I’ve been thinking about the future. About my place on the show, given all the rumors flying around the station about the networks coming to call.”

  For a second, Eve forgot to breathe. Her lungs constricted, and she took a deep breath. “I’m listening.”

  “Perry’s won his lawsuit. Once we win ours, he and I can move anywhere we want. Travel. Do the things I’ve always wanted to do but never had the guts or the reason. Don’t get me wrong-I’m yours for life if you want me, and I’d never leave the show just on a whim. But with the possibility of change in the future, I wanted to sound you out about it.”

  Eve squelched the urge to wail, But you’re my best friend! What about me? With Jane, the facts worked best. If she could ground her argument in facts rather than emotion, she had a chance.

  “Don’t forget we haven’t actually got the money yet. Wouldn’t it be wiser to go on as usual until we have the checks in our hands?”

  “If you’re talking about the lawsuit, Liza has absolutely no grounds to stand on. The case will be thrown out.”

  “It hasn’t yet, and how many hearings have we been to?” Eve asked. “It would be foolish to go into even more debt booking trips and buying land or whatever our dreams might be, when we may never see the money. Or at least, not for months or even years.”

  “Don’t say that,” Jane groaned.

  “Let’s look at reality.” Ha, that was pretty clever. Use one of Jane’s favorite expressions on her. “Until the lawsuit’s settled, we need to go on as usual. And if the show goes on, it’ll need you. I’m not setting foot in that studio without you to put my face on.”

  “Makeup artists are a dime a dozen,” Jane said. “The minute the word gets out that the thought has even crossed my mind, the applicants will be lining up around the block along with the studio audience.”

  “Your usual artist might be a dime a dozen,” Eve allowed, “but you’re not. You gave me my signature look with that nifty Swiss foundation. And don’t forget how valuable you are in the brainstorming department. Would we have done the ‘High School Reunion Makeover’ episode and broken a ratings record?”

  “That was a lot of fun…”

  Detecting signs of weakening resolve, Eve moved in for the kill. “And would Rosanne Horton have snagged the former quarterback she’d loved her whole life if not for you? I think not.”

  Jane chuckled. “Low blow, Best. She still writes to me, you know. I’m expecting baby pictures anytime now.”

  “She’s grateful. And so am I. Please don’t turn in your resignation just yet, okay? Let Jenna get the suit settled and then think about it.”

  Jane was silent, and Eve held her breath.

  “All right. I’ll tell Perry he’s going to have to wait to go to Europe, and he should put his bankroll into a nice money market fund instead.”

  Relief washed over Eve in a cool wave. “Good plan. Have a great weekend. See you Monday.”

  “I’ll make it up to him,” Jane said wickedly. “Where’s that other package of stockings?”

  Laughing, Eve hung up. Then she poured herself a cup of coffee, splashed in some milk, and drank half of it down. A disaster, nipped in the bud. Not bad for first thing in the morning.

  The truth was, she didn’t know what she’d do without Jane’s level head around the station. On some days, when a guest made impossible demands or dropped out without warning, or a sponsor was difficult, or even when Atlanta’s heat index got too high, Eve would find Jane, close the door and vent until she was calm again. Inevitably, Jane would have a different angle Eve hadn’t seen, or just a few words that would put everything in perspective again.

  Facing the demands of live television without her oldest friend at her side was unthinkable. And not only Jane, but Cole and Zach and Nicole. What might they be planning? If the thought had crossed Jane’s mind, it had certainly crossed the others’, too.

  Please don’t let them all decide to resign at once, she begged the universe. I can’t handle it right now.

  As though it would give her strength, she topped up her coffee and padded into the bathroom for a shower. When she came out, a light blinked on the answering machine.

  “Hey, Ev
e, it’s Mitch.” Eve sucked in a breath at the sound of that voice, pitched at an intimate baritone, as if he were right beside her. “Just wanted to call and say how much I enjoyed last night, and to see how you were this morning. Give me a call on my cell. I’m still up for breakfast-or lunch-if you are.” He left his number and rang off.

  At least he didn’t want to resign.

  Just the opposite. He seemed to want to sign up for all kinds of things-including the positions of dealmaker and lover. Too bad the latter came as part of the former. Why couldn’t she have met him at the benefit the way she might meet any other man, as a stranger with no strings attached? But if she did what her body had been moaning for since last night, she’d never be sure whether he wanted her in bed with him-or with the network.

  She refilled her coffee cup and leaned on the counter, gazing at the answering machine and the single digit on the display. Common sense told her to erase the message and pretend she’d been so busy all weekend she’d forgotten to listen to it-and forgotten her promise to see him today. By Monday, she’d have squelched this urge to play it again, just to hear that intimate timbre in his voice. By Monday, she’d have distanced herself from the need to rip her clothes off and bare herself to that hot gaze, the memory of which was even now making her nipples peak under the tank top she’d put on after her shower.

  Jane would advise her to do something sensible, like eat a healthy breakfast and then weed the garden before it got too hot. She could do two things at once-restore some order to the tangle of vegetation back there, and not hear the phone if it rang again.

  But Jane wasn’t here. She was busy seducing Perry. And how fair was that?

  MITCH HAD BARELY hung up the phone after leaving his message for Eve, when it rang again. He must have just missed her.

  “Hey,” he said in his most welcoming tone.

  “Hey, yourself,” Nelson Berg responded. “Something tells me it wasn’t me you were expecting.”

  Mitch’s vision of a tousled Eve lying on embroidered white sheets, her fingers caressing the phone as she spoke to him, vanished in a wrench of disappointment. “Uh, no. I mean, not that I’m not glad to hear from you.”

  “Spare me the bull. So, how are you doing?”

  Mitch knew Nelson well enough not to assume this was an inquiry after his health. Nelson never wasted precious time on pleasantries, especially when there was a deal in the works.

  “I met with Eve Best in her office yesterday, late. I made her the offer and she turned it down.”

  Nelson sighed. “Why would she do that? It was a fair offer.”

  “She didn’t give a reason.”

  “Huh? She had to have one.”

  “She just said no. She had an appointment to go to and left.” He didn’t mention that he’d been the one to leave, as flustered and dazzled as a schoolboy.

  “Well, shit, Hayes, you can’t let it go at that.”

  “I know. I’ve already-”

  “Find out what her reasons are and get her past them. They can’t be anything that six million bucks won’t cure.”

  Mitch wasn’t so sure of that. “Money isn’t going to be the best argument here, I’m afraid.”

  “What do you-” Nelson stopped. “Oh yeah. The lottery. So if it isn’t money it has to be something else. Find out what it is and work on it. When are you seeing her next?”

  “I saw her last night, socially, and she agreed to see me this morning.”

  “Did she, now?” Nelson sounded gratified, as if a balky student had finally done something right. “That’s good. I’m glad you’re following my instructions to the letter. So, tell me, does she have as much appeal in person as she does on camera?”

  Does she ever. And then some.

  “Yes. And she works it. The event last night was a fund-raiser, and she walked in there like a star. She’ll be a huge draw publicitywise.”

  “All the better. We can use some big guns on the talk shows and the publicity circuit, drumming up support for the network. Not to mention high-level meetings with advertisers. Make sure she knows that’ll still be part of her job, not just sitting pretty in the studio.”

  “Sure.”

  “Call me right away when you get her commitment. I want this wrapped up by Wednesday at the latest. And then I’m going to let all the other networks know we scooped them.”

  Mitch frowned. Wednesday? No way could he pull a deal of this size off in that short a time. Did Nelson have something else to prove-something that involved saving face and putting one over on the competition?

  If so, why hadn’t he come down here to woo Eve Best himself? Why send Mitch? But these were questions he knew Nelson wouldn’t answer. The guy only knew how to bark orders and bully people into giving him what he wanted. He didn’t share his motivations or the confidences of the stuffed shirts on the executive team. Nelson was old-school, even though he was only ten years or so older than Mitch himself.

  “Wednesday.” No human could make that deadline, but he’d ask forgiveness when he got there. And there was something else bugging him. “What did you mean a minute ago when you said I was following your instructions? When have I not?”

  “I told you to romance the socks off her. Probably not a very difficult job, eh?”

  Mitch frowned. The words held an unpleasant aftertaste. Or was he being too sensitive where Eve was concerned? “She’s being a good Southern hostess and showing me around.”

  The details of last night would never cross his lips to anyone, much less his boss. And the simple fact that Nelson assumed any contact with Eve would be to further their success at the deal made Mitch feel…less, somehow. Tainted. This electric attraction between the two of them had nothing to do with what they did for a living. It was bigger than that. The problem was, he had to keep his feelings to himself, no matter what he wanted personally.

  Not that he’d ever say a word about them to Nelson.

  “Look, I have to go,” he said. “I left a message for her to call me a few minutes ago. She could be trying to get through.”

  That finally got Nelson off the phone, and Mitch hung up with a sense of relief. No matter what he felt about Nelson, or Eve, for that matter, of course he had a job to do. Convincing Eve to sign was his top priority-one he needed to remember if he saw her again this morning. He had to do his best not to see her as a desirable, sensual woman who could bring his entire body to attention simply by walking past him.

  No, he had to shut down his emotions and look at her as a business entity. A package that CWB wanted. His future at the network depended on his ability to bring that package home-by Wednesday.

  And what a package she was-one he had nearly unwrapped last night. Could anything be sexier than Eve Best leaning in for a kiss, her bodice slipping down to reveal lush curves and her voice husky in his ear? As the memory washed through his mind, his body stiffened in response.

  So much for shutting down.

  The phone next to the bed rang, and the vision in his head snapped off as suddenly as if someone had changed the channel. With a groan, he picked it up. It was probably Nelson, with one last order to give him. “Hello?”

  “Hi, it’s Eve.”

  The voice brought back the vision in full force. “Hey,” he said softly. “I was just thinking about you.”

  “Sorry I missed your call. I was in the shower.”

  A picture of wet skin, of water running in rivulets between her breasts and down her belly, leaped onto the big screen in his mind. In close-up.

  “Mitch?”

  He had to turn off the film, or he’d never be able to carry on a civilized conversation. “I’m here. Sorry. I thought there was a knock at the door.”

  “Do you want me to hold while you check?”

  “No, no. It was probably someone going past with a suitcase.” He was such a lousy liar. “So, does this mean we’re on for breakfast?”
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  “I know I said yes last night, but I really can’t. I’m sorry. I have a ton of things to do.”

  “Like what?”

  He really was interested in the details of her life, but as soon as the words were out, he realized how they must sound.

  “Well, I have to work on Monday’s script, and go grocery shopping, and try to hack my way through the jungle in my backyard, and-”

  “Don’t you ever relax on the weekend?”

  “That is relaxation. Well, except for the script.”

  “Do it tomorrow.”

  “I have Tuesday’s script to work on tomorrow, and some preliminary work to do on this communications specialist we’re bringing in on Thursday. Then I have to go over to North Point Mall and try to find my cousin’s four-year-old a birthday present. I’m invited to my aunt and uncle’s place tonight for dinner and the party.” She paused. “That’s way too much information, isn’t it?”

  “Boy or girl?”

  “Boy.”

  “Ah. He’ll love anything to do with dinosaurs or Spider-Man.”

  “How do you know?”

  “My sister’s kids are that age. Two boys and a girl. Brandon knows the Latin names of every dinosaur that ever lived, and a few that are cartoon characters, as well.”

  Her laugh made his breath hitch. What was it about this woman that affected him this way? Was he that long overdue for sex and therefore more susceptible than usual? Or did she charm everyone like this?

  “Duly noted,” she said. “That should simplify things.”

  An idea whisked into his mind. “I could come along. Offer some suggestions. Dinosaurs can get out of hand in a hurry without the help of an expert.” And while he was at it, he could pitch her again.

  “You seriously don’t want to go to the mall with me.” Her voice filled with disbelief, though laughter lurked in the back of it. “A big network exec like you? Don’t you have important stuff to do? Deals to nail down? People to see?”