'I'll do that.' She gave him an unreadable look. 'But for the record, I wasn't disappointed last night.'
Chapter 17
The first thing Zinnia saw when she opened the door of her loft apartment the following morning was the photograph of Nick and herself on the steps of the Children of Earth Temple. It was on the front page of the new copy of Synsation.
'Great shot.' Leo stood directly behind the paper, holding it up so that she could not miss the picture or the caption.
Has Casino Owner Nick Chastain seen the blue light? Or is this his idea of how to show the Scarlet Lady a good time?
'Cedric Dexter strikes again,' Zinnia said with a groan of resignation.
'Synsation sales will go through the roof today.'
'Oh, lord.' Zinnia snatched the paper out of his hand. 'Nick is going to be very upset about this.'
'Very upset?' Leo chuckled as he walked through the door. 'I wouldn't be surprised if he put Synsation out of business before the day is over.'
'He couldn't possibly do something that drastic.'
'Wanna bet? Something tells me Nick could do just about anything he decides to do.'
Zinnia's brows rose at the note of masculine admiration in her brother's voice. She closed the door and turned around. 'What's this? Since when did you become a fan of Nick Chastain?'
'He's okay.' Leo ambled into the kitchen, opened the icerator, and began to rummage around inside. 'We had a long talk yesterday.'
'Before or after the two of you went merrily off to search Alfred Wilkes's house?'
'Before.' Leo removed a carton of fruit juice from the refrigerator. 'You know, I've been thinking.'
'About what?'
'That's quite an operation Nick has there at Chas-tain's Palace. Very impressive, when you consider it. A lot of money goes through that place. Too bad for Chastain, Inc. that Nick didn't inherit the family business.'
'What do you mean?'
'Uncle Stanley mentioned the other day that there are rumors that Chastain, Inc. is going through a rough patch. The firm apparently needs a major infusion of cash but can't seem to interest any big investors.'
'What's Nick got to do with it?'
'Nothing, really.' Leo poured the juice into a glass. 'It's just that I doubt that Chastain, Inc. would be in trouble if Nick were running the firm. The man has a talent for making money.'
'The money is only a means to an end for him.' Zinnia tossed the tabloid into the trash. 'He's applied himself to making a lot of it because he thinks it will help him achieve his real goal.'
Leo finished the last of the juice in a single gulp. 'What's that?'
'Respectability.'
Leo grimaced. 'Tell him respectability is not all its cracked up to be.'
'I tried.' She reached for the coff-tea pot. 'But he wants it for his future offspring. He knows what it's like to live without it and he's determined that his children won't have to go through what he went through as a bastard.'
Leo whistled softly. 'Hard to argue that one.'
She wrinkled her nose. 'Besides, he's a matrix. Once they make up their minds, it's almost impossible to change them. They can be incredibly stubborn.'
Leo grinned.
'What so funny?'
'I told him pretty much the same thing about you yesterday.'
'Thanks a lot.'
Leo laughed. 'You know, the two of you make quite a pair.'
Zinnia stilled. Then she concentrated very hard on her coif-tea.
'Zinnia?' Leo's laughter faded. A speculative look dawned in his eyes. 'There's no chance that the two of you might get together on a permanent basis, is there?'
She slammed her coff-tea cup down on the counter. 'He's arrogant, inflexible, overcontrolling, secretive, and obsessive about his goals, of which he currently has only two. He wants to get his hands on his father's journal and he wants respectability. What do you think?'
'I just wondered,' Leo said dryly.
'And besides, I was officially declared unmatch-able, if you will recall.'
'You've been hiding behind that long enough. But it's not doing you any good. If anything, it just makes it easier for Aunt Willy and the others to pressure you into an unmatched marriage.'
'I know, I know.'
'Things change.' Leo's expression grew oddly intent. 'New people register every day at the agencies. Who knows who's out there now? Mr. Right might be filling out his agency questionnaire even as we speak.'
'Not bloody likely.'
'Tell your boss that Nick Chastain wants to talk to him. Now.' Nick cradled the phone against his shoulder and turned the page of the lengthy Synergistic Connections questionnaire. 'If he doesn't want to talk to me, I can make arrangements to see him in person.'
The receptionist on the other end of the line swallowed audibly. 'Yes, sir. One moment, please.'
Nick glanced at the next row of questions while he waited for the editor of Synsation to come on the line.
Please list your hobbies.
That was an easy one. He had no hobbies. If something was not sufficiently important to warrant his full attention, he ignored it. He filled in the blank with the word none.
'Nick Chastain? Bill Ramsey here.' Ramsey's voice was unrelentingly cheerful. 'I'm the front-page editor of Synsation. What can I do for you?'
'You can fire Cedric Dexter. I want him gone by the end of the day.'
'Sorry, no can do.' Ramsey chuckled. 'Dexter's only been working for me for a month, but he's already proven himself to be the best photographer on the staff.'
Nick put down his pen. 'Listen to me, Ramsey, I've had it with Dexter's cute tricks. Last night he went top far. He stalked Miss Spring through the fog to get his shot. It was a terrifying experience for her. I want him gone or your trashy little newspaper will be out of business by the end of the month.'
'Take it easy, Chastain. We're both businessmen. I don't tell you how to run your casino. You don't tell me how to run my newspaper.'
'You're wrong,' Nick said very softly. 'I am telling you how to run your newspaper. One more photo of Miss Spring in your rag and Synsation is yesterday's news. I can do it, Ramsey. Believe me.'
'Look, what say we talk about this man to man? We can make a deal. Give me a solid story. Confirm the rumors about your plans for marriage and the sale of Chastain's Palace and I'll call off my photographer.'
'I do not discuss my personal affairs with the tabloids. If you want to stay in business, Ramsey, you will get rid of Dexter sometime in the next ten minutes.'
'Be reasonable. I've got a paper to get out here.'
Nick hung up the phone before Ramsey finished whining. He went back to the questionnaire and was relieved to see that he was almost through. Who could have guessed that there would be so many idiotic questions? And this was only the first step in the matchmaking process.
How much of your time is devoted to the above listed hobbies?
Nick picked up his pen again and dutifully wrote none.
A single knock sounded on the door of the reception chamber.
'What is it, Feather?'
Feather opened the door. 'Mr. Batt to see you, boss.'
