Fire and Ice

by Carla Fredd

  The next day, Holly arrived at work early. She hadn't had much sleep and the dark circles under her eyes were a testament to her sleepless night. She edged her way through the crowd of reporters at her office the same way she had when she'd left her house with a single, "No comment."

  Robyn looked up from her desk when she entered. "Good morning," Holly murmured, and walked to her office. She buried herself in her work until Pam arrived.

  "You look like hell. Why are you wearing that ugly black suit? What happened to the clothes with color to them?" Pam frowned in confusion and sat in the empty chair across from Holly's desk.

  "Thanks, Pam. You look pretty nice yourself."

  "I'm going to have to tell Mike not to keep you up so late."

  Holly went still at the sound of his name. "You don't have to worry about me keeping late nights with Mike anymore."

  "Oh, Holly, no." Her face filled with compassion. "What happened?"

  Holly looked down at the papers on her desk, unable to hide the pain she felt. "We just decided that we should not see each other anymore."

  Pam studied her in suspicion. "Did you both decide, or did you run him off?"

  "I didn't run him off," Holly replied with indignation. "I just reminded him that I was moving to Seattle regardless of our relationship."

  "Real smart, Holly." Pam leaned back in the chair, folding her arms across her chest, and said sarcastically, "You finally find a man who's really attracted to you and you let your fear get in the way."

  "I wasn't that attractive to him if he could drop me so quickly." Her sharp tone couldn't disguise her pain.

  "Listen to yourself." Pam threw up her hands in aggravation. "I'll bet you deliberately did things just so that he would have to take a stand." Pam stood and walked to the door. "Seattle will be there, but you only have one chance at happiness with Mike. Is it worth it to you?"

  Holly watched her partner walk out the door. Was it worth losing Mike? The question had nagged her all morning long. She attempted to finish the reports on her desk. Several times during the morning she'd picked up the phone to call him. What's the point, she thought. I'll still be moving. She put down the phone again.

  She missed him and it was only a couple of hours since she had spoken with him.

  At noon, Pam walked into her office. "Robyn and I are going out for lunch. You are coming with us. Get your purse."

  "I don't really feel like going out. You go ahead."

  "You can go peacefully, or we'll use force. Either way, you are coming with us."

  Holly saw the determination in Pam's eyes. It wasn't worth a fight. Holly opened the desk drawer and got her purse. "Let's go."

  They took two cars. Robyn drove her car to the restaurant where they planned to ditch the reporters and waited for Pam and Holly to drive up in Holly's car. They took the back exit and drove to a quiet restaurant to eat.

  Pam and Robyn tried to cheer her up, but she couldn't find it in her heart to be happy today. Their food arrived and Pam excused herself. About two minutes later, Robyn followed her. Holly sat at the booth alone, waiting for the other two to return, when she saw Mike walk in the door.

  Her heart raced at the sight of him. He didn't look like he had a great night's rest, either. When he reached the booth, he stopped.

  "Hi," he said.

  "Hi."

  He nodded his head to the booth. "Can I join you?"

  "Sure." She looked around the room for the others. "Pam and Robyn should be joining us soon."

  "They won't be back for thirty minutes."

  It sank in: she'd been set up. As much as she wanted to be angry, she couldn't be. She was glad to see him. "Oh, I see."

  They were both quiet. Each studied the other with a hunger that wasn't for food.

  "Holly, I love you."

  Her heart stopped. She couldn't have heard him correctly. "What did you say?"

  "I love you, Holly," he said softly. "I know that this is sudden and we haven't known each other long, but I know with all my heart that I love you." Mike reached across the table and took her hand. "I couldn't let things stay like they were last night."

  "Mike." His name was all she could say. Surprise, joy, and pain raced through her body.

  "I have something for you." He let go of her hand. Reaching inside his jacket, he removed a ring case. His hand trembled as he opened the black velvet box. The diamond solitaire sparkled in the noonday sun. "Will you marry me?"

  Holly felt her heart break. With tears in her eyes, she said one word.

  "No."

  Holly cried as she left the restaurant. The ride back was somber. Robyn and Pam took her to Pam's house instead of the office and Pam stayed with her.

  It took Holly a while to realize where she was. "I'm sorry for being such a crybaby. I'll go home now."

  "You're not going home alone. You can camp out here for the day. You need someplace quiet." Pam looked at her with sympathy.

  More tears streamed down her cheeks. "Thanks."

  "What are friends for?"

  Chapter 12

  The next day was Thursday, the day Trey was to appear on Mike's show. She told herself she wasn't going to watch it. But that night, in bed, she joined thousands of Americans and watched his show.

  She felt pain when Mike walked out on stage. Her eyes watched the screen hungrily. He didn't look as if her answer had bothered him. He seemed like the same cheerful, funny Mike Williams. When Trey came on the screen, Holly tensed. She listened as they spoke about his upcoming movie, which would premiere next Friday, and his life, now that he was married. Trey denied that his marriage was in trouble. Mike never mentioned her name. It was Trey who brought her up.

  "I hear that you and Holly Aimes are dating."

  The pleasant expression stayed on Mike's face. "This is my show; I ask the questions. So what's next for you, careerwise? Do you have another movie in the works?"

  Trey went along with the change of subject. He tried several times to bring up Holly, but Mike deflected his questions, and in the end Trey ended up talking about his favorite subject, himself.

  When the interview ended, Holly felt none of the resentment or anger that she had felt previously when her name was in the press. Holly wondered: had she changed, or had losing Mike overshadowed all her emotions?

  Holly went to work with a new determination over the next few days. She worked long hours to tire herself out before she went home. The reporters were still camped out around her house and office, but she ignored their questions and got a restraining order so that they had to stay a hundred feet away from the door of her house and fifty feet from the door of her office.

  The long hours didn't help her forget Mike. At odd times during the day, she would reminisce on the hours they'd spent together, such as the day they'd spent at the park, or the times they'd watched movies at his house.

  Even the announcement that they'd won the Milton Group bid didn't make her happy. It should have had her dancing in the street, but instead, she'd felt nothing when Pam had told her the news.

  "You don't seem happy to hear about the bid," Pam said. "I would have thought you'd at least smile."

  "I am happy."

  Pam walked inside the office and closed the door behind her before marching over to Holly's desk. "You're not happy," she snapped. "You're tearing yourself up inside because you won't give yourself or Mike a chance for love."

  "Pam." Holly cradled her head in her hands. "I don't want to talk about this."

  "You're going to hear me tell you that you're a fool until I get tired. I'm not going to let you do this to yourself and not say anything about it." Pam sat on the edge of the desk and looked at Holly. "Hell, you can't gather enough enthusiasm for something you broke off your relationship with Mike for. What are you going to do in Seattle?"

  "Work," she said firmly, as she lifted her head.

  "There's more to life than work."

  "It's my choice, Pam."

  "It's a stupid choi
ce and you know it. You don't even know if you'll be happy there."

  "And you don't know if I'll be happy with Mike."

  "At least you'd have given yourself a chance for happiness." Pam reached across the desk and touched her arm. "There are no guarantees in life, but you were happier with him than you are without him."

  "My mind's made up, Pam."

  "Oh, yeah?" Pam stood glaring down at Holly. "You can always change your mind."

  That afternoon, she went to visit Carmen in the hospital. When she reached the room, it was empty. The nurse at the station told her that Carmen had been rushed to intensive care about an hour ago. Holly raced to the intensive care waiting room. Wanda sat alone in the room. Her eyes were red from earlier tears. Holly walked to her and sat down. She took Wanda's hand. They waited for hours. Holly called Pam later that afternoon and told her what had happened.

  "Carmen had a turn for the worst this morning."

  "What?"

  "Yes. I'm going to stay with Wanda until the doctor comes and talks to her."

  As they sat in the quiet waiting room, Holly thought about Mike. Wanda had lost her family to death, but she had lost the man she loved because of her own actions. Wanda cried silently beside her. "Holly, I don't know what I would do if she died. She's all the family I have left."

  Holly wanted to tell her not to worry. Her sister would be fine, but she couldn't lie to Wanda. And she had to stop lying to herself. Moving to Seattle wouldn't make her happy. Only Mike could do that, she realized. Somehow, she would have to talk to him and win him back ... if he would have her back.

  The doctor came to talk to Wanda. Carmen's condition had stabilized and he felt that she had a good chance of recovery. Holly hugged Wanda, who cried even harder in relief. Holly vowed to never take life or love for granted.

  Holly drove to her office when she left the hospital that evening. The work that lay waiting on her desk couldn't compete with her thoughts of Mike. Neither moving to Seattle, the press, nor Trey mattered as much to her as Mike's love did.

  She'd been a fool to let him go, but she wasn't foolish enough not to try to win back his love. She looked at the crystal candy dish that was still full of chocolate kisses. He had won her heart despite the obstacles she had placed between him. What if I've hurt him too deeply? What if he doesn't love me anymore? She had to take that chance.

  She could win his love by using the same persistent method he'd used to win her. If at first you don't succeed, keep asking and eventually he'll say yes. Hope filled her heart with joy. Holly grabbed her purse and went to Pam's office.

  "Pam, how would you like to go shopping with me?"

  Pam looked at her with disbelief. 'You want to go shopping with me? What's the catch?"

  "There is no catch. I'm going after the man that I love."

  She swung her purse over her shoulder and muttered, "It's about damn time."

  A few nights later, Holly dressed for the banquet for her father. She still dreaded going to these political campaign dinner-dances. But this time she was different. She dressed in a teal-green designer dress that she'd picked out herself. She didn't allow the reporters to rattle her composure. Holly realized in amazement that she didn't care. She really didn't care what they wrote about her. The people that loved and cared for her knew the truth, and that was all that was important.

  Holly spotted her grandmother and walked over to her side.

  "Hello, Holly. How are you, dear?" Her grandmother's eyes were filled with concern and love.

  "I'm doing better."

  "I heard about you and your young man. I'm sorry." Nola held out her arms and hugged Holly.

  "It was my fault, Grandma." Holly stopped when a flash of light nearly blinded her. The photographer held his camera, ready to take another picture, when her sister Sandra joined them.

  "Can I get a picture of the three of you together?"

  Normally, Holly would have balked at the suggestion, but tonight, she knew that she could hold her own. With her arms around her grandmother and sister, Holly smiled for the camera.

  Mike looked at the photograph of Holly and her family in the lifestyle section of the newspaper. She was beautiful. Mike felt a dart of pain in his heart as he remembered her refusal to marry him. Andy Kurtz sat across the table from Mike, eating a Spanish omelette with enthusiasm. He'd noticed that Mike hadn't touched his. Mike had been like this all week long. Andy was glad that it was Friday. Hopefully, tonight's show would cheer Mike up.

  "Who's going to be on the show tonight, Andy?"

  "You know that everybody would kill me if I told. The only thing I can tell you is that all the guests are people you've interviewed before, with the exception of one, and we won't ask you to do anything too embarrassing."

  Pam had helped Holly pick out the fire engine red dress that molded to her body in all the right places. She went to the hair salon late that afternoon and had her hair done the way her stylist had been bugging her for years to try. As her hair was washed and set, Holly had her nails manicured. Tonight was the most important night of her life and she didn't want to go to Mike's show without looking her best.

  Holly didn't give herself a chance to think about him refusing her. All afternoon long she waited for confirmations on her special deliveries to the studio. Soon it was time for her to drive to the show.

  Diane, Mike's producer, had left Holly's name at the guard station and Holly was allowed to enter. Diane met her at the door. "I hope you realize that I almost didn't let you in this place," she said. "You really hurt Mike, and all of us here hold you responsible."

  Holly looked at her, "You should hold me responsible, but I can promise you that if he'll take me back, I'll do everything in my power to make him happy."

  Diane looked at her and nodded. She led Holly through the studio and up the elevator to the executive offices of TTN. The young secretary smiled at them when they entered.

  "Which room do we have?" Diane asked.

  "Mr. Thomas's office," the secretary said.

  "The big guy himself," Diane said in wonder and led Holly to the office.

  The room was huge. Two walls were made of glass and through them Holly could see the IBM Tower and other Atlanta landmarks. Diane walked over to one of the television sets and turned it on. "We've got an hour until the show begins. Mike's already here, so I'll send someone up to get you after Denzel Washington leaves."

  "Did everything arrive in time?" Holly asked anxiously.

  "Yup, everything's here. Good luck." Diane walked out of the office, closing the door behind her.

  Holly wandered around the room. It would be the longest sixty minutes of her life.

  Mike was restless. He wanted to get this show over with. He'd decided to take a few days off and he was ready to leave. He needed to think about his future. It seemed like a cold, empty future without Holly.

  He heard his cue to go out on stage. At least tonight would be the start of his vacation, he thought as he walked out on stage.

  "It's Friday!" Mike said. Members of the audience clapped. "One day each year, my crew gets to run the show."

  The cameraman cheered.

  "If you haven't guessed yet, tonight's the night that the crew is in control." Mike laughed when he realized that Andy Kurtz was behind the camera. "Bring another camera over here," Mike said when he reached Andy. "I don't believe it! I don't believe it. Andy has on jeans. Folks, this is the man that has creases pressed into his golf shirt."

  "Mike," a feminine voice filled the studio. "We're on a schedule here. Get back to work."

  "Yes ma'am," Mike gave a mock salute to the control box.

  Holly waited nervously backstage. The interview with Denzel Washington was almost over and she was up next. There was a break for the commercial, then Mike returned to the stage.

  "My next guest is . . ." Mike looked to Diane for a cue, as he had had to do all during the show.

  "It's a surprise. Have a seat and close your eyes," Diane said. O
ne of his crew came on stage with a blindfold.

  "Hey! What's this?"

  "Don't worry about it Mike. Trust me."

  "Trust you, huh. Okay."

  When he was blindfolded, the man waved to Holly. That was her cue to go out on stage. She felt a cold block of fear in her heart.

  "Hey that's your cue," a technician told her. She walked out on stage. The audience was quiet; they didn't recognize her. Holly walked across the stage and sat beside Mike.

  "Okay, you can open your eyes now," the man said, and removed the blindfold. Mike opened his eyes. And for a brief second, he visibly lost his composure.

  "Hello, Mike." Her voice cracked with nerves.

  "Holly, what are you doing here?"

  "Well, I invited myself on your show." She turned to Diane and said, "Would you send them out now."

  About twenty reporters and photographers came through the rear exits. Flash units made the studio seem like it had been struck by lightning. Holly turned back to Mike, her love for him shining in her eyes.

  "I wanted to say this once, so that the reporters could hear it from me." Holly kneeled on the floor beside Mike and looked into his eyes. "I love you." She removed the ring that was loose on her finger, took his hand, and slid the ring onto his finger. "Will you marry me, Mike?"

  The audience went wild. A neon sign was lowered down from the ceiling. In large red letters it said, HOLLY LOVES MIKE.

  Mike opened his mouth to speak but the words wouldn't come out. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her with all the need inside him. The flash units flashed and the reporters fired questions at them, but they were in a world of their own. A world of love.

  Epilogue

  Holly gently kissed Mike's bare chest before letting her head once again rest on top of it. She listened to the strong, steady sound of his heart. Her own heart rate had returned to normal only a few minutes ago. At midnight, they'd celebrated their one year anniversary in their own style. Holly smiled, remembering the sweet, wild loving that they'd shared.