Private Scandals

red hibiscus on her desk. “Somewhat. I do have feelings for him. I’d like to give them a chance.”
    “I have to tell you, you’re making a mistake. You’re letting details and personal feelings cloud your professional judgment.”
    “I don’t think so.” Deanna crossed the room to sit again, leaned forward. It was a tricky business, she thought, turning down an offer without seeming ungrateful. Particularly when the offer had taken on all the connotations of a favor to a friend. “I’ve looked at this from every angle. That’s what I do—occasionally what I overdo. Your offer wasn’t easy to turn down, and I don’t do it lightly. I’ll always be grateful and incredibly flattered that you had enough faith in me to ask.”
    “So you’re going to sit back and read copy?” Now it was Angela who rose. Fury was bubbling so hot within her she could feel it searing under her skin. She’d offered the girl a feast, and she was settling for crumbs. Where was the gratitude? Where was the fucking loyalty? “Your choice,” she said coolly as she sat behind her desk. “Why don’t you take a few more days—the weekend, while I’m away—in case you have any second thoughts.” She shook her head to cut off any comment from Deanna. “We’ll talk again Monday,” Angela said in dismissal. “Between tapings. Pencil it in for, oh . . .” Her mind was working frantically as she flipped through her appointment book. “Eleven-fifteen.” Her smile was warm, friendly again when she glanced up. “If you’re of the same mind then, I won’t give you an argument. Fair enough?”
    “All right.” It seemed more gracious, and certainly easier to agree. “I’ll see you Monday, then. Have a nice trip.”
    “I will.” Deliberately she waited until Deanna was at the door. “Oh, Dee.” She smiled and held up a manila envelope. “My speech?”
    “Right.” Deanna crossed the room again, to take the package.
    “Try to get it back to me before nine. I need my beauty sleep.”
    Angela waited until the door closed before she folded her hands on the desk. Her fingers turned bone-white with the pressure. She took a long moment, staring at the closed door, breathing shallowly. It wouldn’t do to rage, she told herself. No, not this time. For Deanna she had to be cool and calm and concise to review the facts.
    She’d offered Deanna a position of power, her own unqualified friendship, her trust. And she preferred to read the news at noon because she had a contract, a lease on an apartment and a man.
    Could she actually be that artless? Angela wondered. That guileless? That stupid?
    She relaxed her hands, forced herself to lean back in her chair and even her breathing. Whatever the answer, Deanna would learn that no one ever turned Angela down.
    Calmer now, Angela opened a drawer and took out Marshall’s file. The look on her face wasn’t hard, nor was it glittery with anger. Her lips trembled into a pout, a child’s expression on being denied. Deanna wasn’t going to go with her to New York, she mused. And she was going to be very, very sorry.
     
    Deanna had taken one step into the outer office when her guilty mood vanished into a flood of surprised pleasure.
    “Kate. Kate Lowell.”
    The leggy, doe-eyed woman turned, brushing her glorious mane of flaming hair aside. Her face—the ivory complexion, the delicate bones, the melting eyes and generous mouth—was as stunning as it was famous. The quick, flashing smile was automatic. She was, first and last, an actress.
    “Hello.”
    “Those braces sure as hell did the job.” Now Deanna laughed. “Kate, it’s Dee. Deanna Reynolds.”
    “Deanna.” The furious nervous tension beneath the smile dissolved. “Oh, God, Deanna.” The infectious giggle that turned men to putty rang out. “I can’t believe it.”
    “Imagine how I feel. It has to be fourteen, fifteen years.”
    For Kate, for one beautiful moment, it felt like yesterday. She could remember all the long talks—the innocence of girlish confidences.
    Under Cassie’s fascinated eye, the two women crossed the room and embraced. They hung on to each other a moment, tight.
    “You look wonderful,” they said simultaneously, then laughed.
    “It’s true.” Kate drew back, but kept Deanna’s hand in hers. “We do. It’s a long way from Topeka.”
    “Longer for you. What’s Hollywood’s newest star doing in Chicago?”
    “A little business.” Kate’s smile dimmed. “A little hype. What