Private Scandals

she hadn’t seen the banked fury in Deanna’s gaze.
    “Direct hit,” she murmured, delighted.
    I win, she thought again, but couldn’t prevent a twinge of admiration.
    Curled in the leather chair behind her desk, she sipped and smiled, and finally raised her glass in silent toast to Deanna.
    “She’s got style, doesn’t she?” Finn said from the doorway.
    To her credit, Angela didn’t jolt. She continued to sip and study the screen. “Absolutely. She could go a long way inthe business with the right teacher.”
    “Is that the role you’ve carved out for yourself here?” Finn crossed the room, skirted the desk to stand behind Angela’s chair. “Going to teach her your way, Angela?”
    “My way works. Dee would be the first to tell you how generous I’ve been with her.”
    “She scares you, doesn’t she?” Finn lowered his hands to Angela’s shoulders, holding her firm so that they both faced Deanna’s image.
    “Why should she?”
    “Because she’s got more than style. You’ve got plenty of that yourself. She’s got brains, but you have those, too. And guts, and drive. But then she tops you, Angela. Because she’s got class. Bred-in-the-bone class.” His fingers dug in when she started to shift. He couldn’t know just how deeply he’d hit the mark. “That’s something you’ll never have. You can wear your pearls and your thousand-dollar suits; it doesn’t mean a damn. Because you can’t wear class. You can’t buy it and you can’t fake it.” He spun her chair around, leaning over her so they were face to face. “And you’ll never have it. So she scares the hell out of you, and you had to find a way to show her who was on top.”
    “Did she come running to you, Finn?” She was shaken, much more than she cared to admit, but she lifted her glass and sipped delicately, even though the drink now seemed a little more like a crutch. “Was she shocked and devastated and crying out for comfort?”
    “You’re such a bitch, Angela.”
    “You always liked that about me.” Her eyes laughed over the rim of her glass. Then she shrugged. “The truth is, I’m sorry she was hurt that way. There’s no denying that Marshall wasn’t right for her, but I know she cared for him. The simple fact was he was attracted to me, and I to him.” Because she wanted to believe her excuse, she did. Her voice rang with sincerity. “Things got out of hand, and I blame myself entirely. It was thoughtless.”
    “The hell it was. You don’t take a breath without thinking it through.”
    She smiled again, looking up under her lashes. “Don’t be jealous, Finn.”
    “You’re pathetic. Did you think this stunt was going to break her?”
    “If she had loved him, it would have.” Pursing her lips, she examined her nails. “So, perhaps I did her a favor.”
    He laughed. “Maybe you did at that. You sure as hell did me one.” He turned back to her and grinned. “I want her, and you just cleared the path.”
    He didn’t have to dodge the glass she hurled. It struck the window a full six inches from his head. The crystal shattered. Delighted, Finn stuck his hands in his pockets.
    “Your aim still stinks.”
    There was no laughter now, nor any of the regret she’d convinced herself she felt. There was only rage. “Do you think she’ll want you after she hears what I can tell her?”
    “Do you think she’ll listen to anything you say after this stunt?” There was reckless humor in his eyes. “You overshot your mark this time. She’s not going to come whimpering to you. She’s going to tough it out. And she’s going to get better. And you’re going to start looking over your shoulder.”
    “Do you think I’m worried about some fluffy little news reader?” she demanded. “All I have to do is make a phone call and she’d be gone. Like that.” She snapped her fingers. “Who do you think’s been keeping this station out of the basement for the last two years? And where do you think it’ll go when I pull up stakes?”
    “So you are leaving.” He nodded, rocked back on his heels. “Well, congratulations and bon voyage.”
    “That’s right. When the new season opens I’ll be in New York, and Angela’s will be produced by my own company. CBC’s affiliates will come crawling to pay my price to air my show. Within two years, I’ll be the most powerful woman in television.”
    “You might pull it off,” he agreed. “For a while.”
    “I’ll still be on top when you’re