“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, Eve, 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.”