Mind Over Matter

produce. How much I question I suppose depends on you.”
    It seemed like not only the proper answer, but the truest one. “I like you, David. I think I’d like to help you.”
    “I’m glad to hear that. You’ll want to look over the contract and—”
    “No.” She cut him off as he reached for his briefcase. “Details.” She explained them away with a gesture of her hand. “I let my agent bother with those things.”
    “Fine.” He’d feel more comfortable discussing terms with an agent. “I’ll send them over if you give me a name.”
    “The Fields Agency in Los Angeles.”
    She’d surprised him again. The comfortable auntlike lady had one of the most influential and prestigious agencies on the Coast. “I’ll have them sent over this afternoon. I’d enjoy working with you, Clarissa.”
    “May I see your palm?”
    Every time he thought he had her cataloged, she shifted on him. Still, humoring her was easy. David offered his hand. “Am I going to take an ocean voyage?”
    She was neither amused nor offended. Though she took hishand, palm up, she barely glanced at it. Instead she studied him with eyes that seemed abruptly cool. She saw a man in his early thirties, attractive in a dark, almost brooding way despite the well-styled black hair and casually elegant clothes. The bones in his face were strong, angular enough to warrant a second glance. His brows were thick, as black as his hair, and dominated surprisingly quiet eyes. Or their cool, pale green appeared quiet at first glance. She saw a mouth that was firm, full enough to gain a woman’s attention. The hand in hers was wide, long fingered, artistic. It vied with a rangy, athletic build. But she saw beyond that.
    “You’re a very strong man, physically, emotionally, intellectually.”
    “Thank you.”
    “Oh, I don’t flatter, David.” It was a gentle, almost maternal reproof. “You haven’t yet learned how to temper this strength with tenderness in your relationships. I suppose that’s why you’ve never married.”
    She had his attention now, reluctantly. But he wasn’t wearing a ring, he reminded himself. And anyone who cared to find out about his marital status had only to make a few inquiries. “The standard response is I’ve never met the right woman.”
    “In this case it’s perfectly true. You need to find someone every bit as strong as you are. You will, sooner than you think. It won’t be easy, of course, and it will only work between you if you both remember the tenderness I just spoke of.”
    “So I’m going to meet the right woman, marry and live happily ever after?”
    “I don’t tell the future, ever.” Her expression changed again, becoming placid. “And I only read palms of people who interest me. Shall I tell you what my intuition tells me, David?”
    “Please.”
    “That you and I are going to have an interesting and long-term relationship.” She patted his hand before she released it. “I’m going to enjoy that.”
    “So am I.” He rose. “I’ll see you again, Clarissa.”
    “Yes. Yes, of course.” She rose and nudged the cat onto the floor. “Run along now, Mordred.”
    “Mordred?” David repeated as the cat jumped up to settle himself on the sagging sofa cushion.
    “Such a sad figure in folklore,” Clarissa explained. “I always felt he got a bad deal. After all, we can’t escape our destiny, can we?”
    For the second time David felt her cool, oddly intimate gaze on him. “I suppose not,” he murmured, and let her lead him to the door.
    “I’ve so enjoyed our chat, David. Please come back again.”
    David stepped out into the warm spring air and wondered why he felt certain he would.
     
    “Of course he’s an excellent producer, Abe. I’m just not sure he’s right for Clarissa.”
    A. J. Fields paced around her office in the long, fluid gait that always masked an overflow of nervous energy. She stopped to straighten a picture that was slightly tilted before she turned back to her associate. Abe Ebbitt was sitting with his hands folded on his round belly, as was his habit. He didn’t bother to push back the glasses that had fallen down his nose. He watched A.J. patiently before he reached up to scratch one of the two clumps of hair on either side of his head.
    “A.J., the offer is very generous.”
    “She doesn’t need the money.”
    His agent’s blood shivered at the phrase, but he continued to speak calmly. “The exposure.”
    “Is it the right kind of