His boss rang off with his customary abruptness and Mitch snapped his cell phone shut.
He needed to watch his mouth. Because there was no way he was telling anyone that he and Eve were meeting for dinner. Or about what they had planned after that.
EVE PUT THE RECEIVER down quietly and marveled at what Mitch Hayes could do to her with words alone. Oh, and the low, sexy voice didn’t hurt, either. That was the second time she’d skated close to having phone sex with the man-and her blood was hot, and her body softened and ready. If Mitch had been here, she’d have locked the door and jumped him.
As it was, she had to get a grip on her rioting responses. Her first duty was to let Dan know the team’s decision before he heard the news in the hall.
For a few moments, she concentrated on slowing her heartbeat and calming her breathing.
Come on, seven-thirty. This would be the shortest meeting on record.
She climbed the stairs to the station’s third floor and tapped on Dan Phillips’s door. When she heard him call, “Come in,” she pushed it open.
And stopped on the threshold. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t know you were with someone.”
Mackenzie Roussos uncurled her lanky frame, which topped Eve’s by about four inches, from the squashy chair in the corner. “Nice to see you, Eve,” she said. “Great show today. I’m looking forward to sticking around for the town-hall show tomorrow, too.”
“Thanks,” she replied, watching Mac the Knife the way a bird would watch an approaching cat. Shrugging off the last lingering thought of Mitch, her senses went on alert. “We never know what to expect with those. I think that’s why they get the highest ratings during the week. There’s something mesmerizing about unpredictability.”
“There’s something mesmerizing about Just Between Us, period,” Mackenzie purred. “I really think it would be a fabulous fit for SBN.”
Well, there was a perfect opening for you. “Actually, that’s what I came to discuss with Dan.” She glanced at him, then back at the other woman, and smiled. Let her make what she wanted of that. “In confidence. Do you mind, Mackenzie?”
Roussos smiled and snagged her silk jacket off the coat tree and her Dooney & Bourke briefcase from the floor. “Not a bit. I love it when you talk about me and my network behind my back. Later, Dan.”
She closed the door behind her, and Eve sank into the other chair, which was a hard-backed one close to the chaotic pile that concealed his desk. What had they been talking about? Was she making him pie-in-the-sky promises about the future of his production company if he guaranteed that SBN would get the show? Or was she here for more personal reasons? Just how much influence did a high-flying woman like Mackenzie Roussos have over a middle-aged, independent station owner who hankered for a taste of the big time?
There was no way to ask these questions, and she had a job to do. For a moment, she wondered how to begin, but he saved her that decision.
“Production meeting go okay?”
She nodded. “Town-hall prep is pretty straightforward. Give the audience a topic and stand out of the way of flying objects.” He chuckled, and she went on, “I was glad to have some extra time to talk over the networks’ offers with everyone at once.”
Dan eyed her, giving away nothing. “And?”
“I gave them the three options, and we talked over the ramifications of each one. In the end, it was nearly unanimous.”
Another pause. Then Dan said, “You want me to read it in tomorrow’s paper, or what?”
Ouch. She’d thought he’d be mellower after being schmoozed for however long Mackenzie had been closeted in here with him. Eve took a deep breath. “Everyone wants to go with CWB.”
His face froze.
She rushed on, “All of us except maybe Zach have reasons for wanting to stay in Atlanta. Me included. I’m just getting to know my extended family after being away for so long. Cole doesn’t want to uproot his kids. Nicole would rather not go even farther east and-”
“CWB?” he asked, as if she hadn’t even been talking. “You chose that Podunk network over SBN and CBS?”
“Yes.”
“Are you completely insane?” He pushed his chair back and stalked around it. For a second Eve wondered if he had a predisposition to violence she didn’t know about, and then he passed her and began to walk a tight circle on the area rug. “Their offer wasn’t even half as generous as SBN’s. What are you people thinking?”
“We’re thinking about our lives,” she said carefully, watching him. “About the quality of them. And frankly, with the exception of Jenna Hamilton, nobody in that room really cares about SBN’s money right now. We have enough of our own.”
“You would have if Liza Skinner hadn’t shown up, dragging her sour grapes into this. You can’t depend on that money, Eve. By the time she gets through with you, most of it will have gone on legal fees, and twenty years from now you’ll get a check for a thousand bucks.”
“Maybe.” Eve tried to keep her voice steady. Mitch had warned her, hadn’t he? She should have listened to him-and been ready. She should have realized how invested Dan was in going with one of the big networks. She should have seen the significance of all these têteà-têtes with Mackenzie Roussos. “But even leaving the money out of it, CWB still has the best deal. No one wants to go to New York. Period.”
“Maybe I do,” he ground out.
“Then go, if you want to. Sell the station outright to CWB instead of becoming an affiliate. Or sell Driver Productions to SBN and syndicate the heck out of it.”
He glared at her, and she realized that disappointment in her decision had clouded his ability to see reason at the moment. She valued her relationship with Dan, and staying any longer meant they’d probably both say things they’d regret.
“Look, I’m sorry that this is disappointing for you. But you’ll see in the long run that it’s best for the team. And that’s what we all want, right?”
He threw himself into the squashy chair-which was probably still warm from Mackenzie’s shapely behind-and stared out the window.
“Maybe we can talk about it later,” she offered, and slipped out, closing the door behind her.
Thank God she had Mitch to look forward to, she thought, as she clattered down the stairs. She snatched up her handbag and briefcase and left the station at the next thing to a run. The thought of Dan and his problems peeled away under the sharp edge of anticipation.
Dinner and dessert.
He’d promised.
11
HOW DID YOU dress for a seduction when you had to appear in public and eat dinner first?
Eve considered her closet for the fifth time since arriving home. After her shower, she’d done her makeup with special care and put her hair up in a twist decorated with one of Nana’s mother’s Art Deco diamond clips. The evening was a warm one, telling her that they’d all be wilted and sweaty when the blast furnace of summer actually hit. So with the temperature in the low eighties, velvet and anything satiny was out.
She fingered the red gauze blouse he’d said he liked. Unconsciously, she’d put on a bloodred lipstick that was a good match for it. Hey, why fight her instincts? She pulled the top on and cinched the wide sash ties into a big bow under her breasts, where it had the inevitable effect of drawing the eye to her cleavage.
No wonder Mitch liked it. Plus, this deep red was a good color on her. Now. Skirt. She chose a long black knit slit up both sides, and stepped into black stilettos that made her legs look much longer than they were.
Turning in front of the mirror, she nodded. The combination of the youthful top with her grandmother’s diamonds was unique and fun-an image she worked hard to project on camera. Not to mention comfortable. When you were in the public eye as much as she was, comfort couldn’t be overrated.
She decided against earrings-they’d only slow her down when she and Mitch were tearing each other’s clothes off. Oh happy thought. And where was he, anyway? Seven-thirty had come and gone.