“Tonight then.”
She passed him and reached for the door, but he pressed a firm hand against it. “Please,” she begged. “I have to go.”
“Eight-thirty tonight. I’ll pick you up at your place.”
“No.”
“I’ll be there, Marni.” He let his hand drop, and she opened the door. “Eight-thirty.”
She shook her head, but said nothing more as she made good her escape. Unfortunately, Edgar and Steve, Anne, Cynthia, Dan and Marjorie were waiting for her. When they all started talking at once, she held up a hand.
“I’m going to the office.” She looked at the crew fromClass.“Go through your files, put your heads together and come up with several other suggestions for a cover face. Not necessarily a model, maybe someone in the business world. We’ll meet about it tomorrow morning.” She turned her attention to Edgar and Steve, but she was already moving away. “I’m taking the limousine. Are you coming?”
Without argument, they both hurried after her.
Web watched them go, a small smile on his lips. She could command when she wanted to, he mused, and she was quite a sight to behold. Five feet five inches of auburn-haired beauty, all fired up and decisive. She’d change her mind, of course, at least about doing the cover shot. He’dmakeher change her mind … if for no other reason than to prove to himself that, at last, he had what it took.
Eight-thirty that night found Marni sitting stiffly in her living room, her hands clenched in her lap. She jumped when the phone rang, wondering if Web had changed his mind. But it was the security guard calling from downstairs to announce that Brian Webster had indeed arrived.
She’d debated how to handle him and had known somehow that the proper way wouldnotbe to refuse to see him. She had more dignity than that, and more respect for Web professionally. Besides, he’d thrown an accusation at her earlier that day, and she simply had to answer it.
With a deep breath, she instructed the guard to send him up.
By the time the doorbell rang, her palms were damp. She rubbed them together, then blotted them on her skirt. It was the same skirt she’d worn that morning, the same jacket, the same blouse. She wanted Web to know that this was nothing more than an extension of her business day. Perhaps she wanted to remind herself of it. The prospect of having dinner with him was a little less painful that way.
What she hadn’t expected was to open the door and find him wearing a stylish navy topcoat, between whose open lapels his dark suit, crisp white shirt and tie were clearly visible. He looked every bit as businesslike as she wanted to feel, but he threw her off-balance.
“May I come in?” he asked when she’d been unable to find her tongue.
“Uh, yes.” She stood back dumbly. “Please do.” She closed the door behind him.
“You seem surprised.” Amused, he glanced down at himself. “Am I that shocking?”
“I, uh, I just didn’t expect … I’ve never seen you in …”
“You didn’t expect me to show up in a T-shirt and jeans, did you?”
“No, I … it’s just …”
“Fourteen years, Marni. We all grow up at one point or another.”
She didn’t want totouchthat one. “Can I … can I take your coat? Would you like a drink?” She hadn’t planned to offer him any such thing, but then she didn’t know quitewhatshe’d planned. She couldn’t just launch into an argument, not with him looking so … so urbane.
He shrugged out of the topcoat and set it on a nearby chair. “That would be nice. Bourbon and water, if you’ve got it,” he said quietly, then watched her approach the bar at the far end of the room. She was still a little shaky, but he’d expected that. Hell, he was shaky, too, though he tried his best to hide it. “This is a beautiful place you’ve got.” He admired the white French provincial decor, the original artwork on the walls. Everything was spotless and bright. “Have you been here long?”
“Three years,” she said without turning. She was trying to pour the bourbon without splashing it all over the place. Her hands weren’t terribly steady.
“Where were you before that?” he asked conversationally.
“I had another place. It was smaller. When I took over from … took over the presidency of the corporation, I realized I’d need a larger place for entertaining.”
“Do you do much?”
She returned with his drink, her full concentration on keeping the glass steady. “Much?”
“Entertaining,” He accepted the drink and sat back.
“Enough.”
