Private Scandals

don’t worry me.”
    “I know—I mean there’s talk around the job how the two of you had words.”
    “Oh?” She smiled frostily. “Did you fly all the way from Chicago to feed me the latest CBC gossip, Lew? Not that I don’t appreciate it, but it seems a little extreme.”
    “I figured . . .” He took a steadying breath, ran a hand through his thinning hair. “I know you offered Deanna my job, Angela.”
    “Really? Did she tell you that?”
    “No.” Whatever pride he had left surfaced. He met her eyes squarely. “But it leaked. Just like it leaked that she turned you down.” He saw the familiar flash in her eyes. “And I know,” he hurried on, “after working with you for so many years, I know you wouldn’t like to see her benefit from your generosity.”
    “How could she?”
    “By turning it into a matter of loyalty to the station. By soliciting Barlow James.”
    He had her interest now. To conceal it, she turned, flipping open an enamel box and taking out a cigarette. Her eyes flicked over toward the bar, where champagne was always chilling. Frightened by the depth of longing for one small swallow, she moistened her lips and looked away again.
    “Why should Barlow get involved?”
    “He likes her work. He’s made a point of calling the station a few times to say so. And when he came to visit the Chicago bureau last week, he made time for a meeting with her.”
    Angela snapped on her lighter.
    “Word is he took a look at the tape. He liked it.”
    “So he wants to flatter one of his young female reporters?” Angela tossed her head back, but her throat tightened against the smoke. Just one swallow, she thought. One cool, frothy sip.
    “She sent the tape to Loren Bach.”
    Very slowly, Angela lowered the cigarette and left it to smolder in the ashtray. “Why, that little bitch,” she said softly. “Does she really think she can begin to compete with me?”
    “I don’t know if she’s aiming that high. Yet.” He let that idea simmer. “I do know that some of the Midwest affiliates are concerned about the cost of your new show. They might be willing to plug into something cheaper, and closer to home.”
    “Then let them. I’ll bury whatever they put up against me.” Giving a bark of a laugh, she strode over to surveyher view of New York. She had everything she’d wanted. Needed. At last, at long last, she was the queen overlooking her subjects from her high, impregnable tower. No one could touch her now. Certainly not Deanna. “I’m on top here, Lew, and I’m damn well going to stay there. Whatever it takes.”
    “I can use my connections, find out what Loren Bach decides.”
    “That’s fine, Lew,” she murmured, staring over the tops of the trees of Central Park. “You do that.”
    “But I want my job back.” His voice quavered with emotion, with self-disgust. “I’m fifty-four years old, Angela. At my age, and the way things are out there right now, I can’t afford to be sending out résumés. I want a firm, two-year contract. By that time both my kids’ll be out of college. I can sell the house in Chicago. Barbara and I can buy a smaller one out here. We don’t need the room now. I just need a couple of years to make sure I have something to fall back on. That’s not too much to ask.”
    “You’ve certainly thought this through.” Angela sat on the window seat, lifting her arms and laying them atop the flowered cushion. Her throat had opened again, all on its own. That pleased her. She didn’t need a drink when she had the taste of power.
    “I’ve done good work for you,” he reminded her. “I can still do good work. Plus, I have plenty of contacts back in Chicago. People who’ll pass on inside information, if there’s a need for it.”
    “I can’t see that there will be, but . . .” She smiled to herself, considering. “I don’t like to ignore possibilities. And I always reward loyalty.” She studied him. A drone, she decided. One who would work tirelessly, and one who was afraid enough to bury ethics under necessity. “I’ll tell you what, Lew. I can’t offer you executive producer. That slot’s already filled.” She watched him pale. “Assistant producer. I know that technically it’s a demotion, but we don’t have to look at it that way.”
    Her smile was bolstering. As easily as a child, she forgot her earlier disgust with him, and her careless betrayal. Now,once again, they were teammates.
    “I’ve always depended on you,