A Secret Life

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A sales clerk approached in Joan’s peripheral vision. “How do you like the jacket?”

Anthony pulled out his credit card and handed it to the woman without taking his eyes off Joan. “We’ll take the whole outfit. You want pumps?”

“No, I do not want pumps.” Who said she wanted the outfit, either? Although it was a great outfit.

“Okay,” he said easily.

Joan waited until the woman left. “You are out of your mind.”

“You look fabulous.”

“Nice try.”

He was conning her, she knew. But there was something about Anthony saying she looked fabulous that tightened her chest.

“You’ll like Karen,” he said. “She’s calm and low-key. I’ve already approved the questions.”

“You approved my questions?” Joan tried to sharpen her tone, but it was hard to stay angry with somebody who was so thorough. She might not agree with his methods, but there was no doubting his loyalty and sincerity.

He nodded. “Five minutes, Joan. Let them see you. Let them hear you. And I promise you won’t be forbidden fruit anymore.”

“My parents-”

The sale clerk reappeared. “Can I get your signature, Mr. Verdun?”

He signed the slip. “Your parents will be proud.”

“My parents will be angry.”

The sales clerk walked away.

“They want this to die down, right?”

“Of course they want it to die down,” said Joan. They wanted it to die down in the most expedient fashion possible.

“Then do the interview. Don’t be forbidden fruit anymore.”

Joan understood his logic. She didn’t want to agree with it, but she understood it. “What about Heather?”

“Heather will be tied up in mud wraps and massages until at least five.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I don’t leave things to chance.”

Joan’s eyes narrowed. Was he saying…? “You bribed the salon?”

He nodded. “Absolutely.”

Joan glanced around the store. “So you just played me?”

“Get your other clothes.”

“No.”

“We’re going to be late.”

“I haven’t even said yes.”

He put a hand on the small of her back and urged her toward the changing room. “But you will.” He paused. “You’re a smart woman, Joan. I don’t represent dummies.”

“And you’re a devious man, Anthony.” She liked the feel of his hand on her back. She resisted just enough so he’d keep it there.

“That’s what you pay me for.”

“I don’t pay you to be devious.”

“You pay me to look after your best interests.”

She stopped and turned to look into his eyes, a buzzing sexual arousal combining with a truth she’d never faced before. “I didn’t realize I was paying you to do my dirty work.”

“We set up an offshore account through three numbered holding companies. What did you think I was doing?”

Her voice went husky in a moment of pure honesty. “Protecting me.”

His palm slipped ever so slightly down the curve of her spine. “I’m still protecting you, Joan. This interview is the best way I know to protect you.”

She remembered his solid presence in her living room last night when he’d planted himself between her and potential danger. They go through me to get to you, he’d said. Right now, watching his eyes darken to a midnight sky, she believed every word.

ANTHONY WORKED to quell his nerves as he watched Joan through the control room window. Clearly thrilled with the opportunity, Karen St. Claire peppered her with friendly, chatty questions about her story ideas and her quiet lifestyle in Indigo.

They’d met with Ray and Karen before the interview, making sure everyone was clear on the rules. Still, Anthony could tell Joan was nervous by the way she twisted her little ruby ring around and around her finger, but she was doing a fabulous job. She smiled openly at Karen, answered the questions directly and articulately, leaving just enough to the imagination. If he’d known she was this poised and beautiful in front of the cameras, he’d have pushed her on publicity a lot harder a lot sooner.

The five-minute mark went by, but nobody made any move to shut it down. If the networks were still carrying the interview, this was the publicity coup of a lifetime. He could see daytime talk shows in their future.

“Were you angry when the Prism Agency leaked your name?” Karen asked.

Anthony tensed. It was the first question that wasn’t on his approved list.

Joan’s smile didn’t falter. “Not at all, Karen. Anthony Verdun and I keep in very close touch, and the move didn’t surprise me.”

Brilliant. And it was the third time she’d dropped Anthony’s name. He owed her big-time.

“Are you saying you authorized the release of your identity?”

“Mr. Verdun works within parameters that allow him to make the best choices for my career on a wide range of issues.”

Anthony could barely sit still. She was good. She was better than good. His cell phone vibrated against his chest, but he ignored it.

He vaguely heard the booth door open behind him. He ignored that, too.

Then Heather’s voice hissed in his ear. “You set me up.”

He spared her a sideways glance. “I merely distracted you.”

“You’re an evil little man.”

Anthony glanced through the window to the hallway. He and Joan had gone through two separate security checks. “How’d you get in here?”

Heather crossed her arms and gave him an imperious look. “You’re joking, right?”

He took in her clothes, her hair, her makeup and a demeanor that had wealth and breeding stamped all over it. Silly question. Heather could get into the inner sanctum of the CIA if she put her mind to it.

“She’s doing great,” he said, nodding to Joan.

“What great?” Incredulity crept into Heather’s hushed voice. “I call Samuel Kane off the tabloids yesterday, only to have you stuff her in front of a camera today?”

“This is different.”

“No. It’s not.”

Not that he owed Heather any explanation. “I picked the interviewer. I approved the questions.”

“You’re throwing her to the wolves to further your own interests.”

“Karen St. Claire is hardly the wolves.” Anthony’s phone vibrated again.

“You hurt my sister, and I’ll hunt you down.”

The threat didn’t worry him. Not that Heather couldn’t have him killed, or worse. He simply had no intention of hurting Joan.

Out in the studio, Karen St. Claire straightened the index cards on the news desk in front of her. “Can you tell us a little about your late husband?”

Joan’s expression faltered, and Anthony jumped up. “End it,” he called to the news director.

The news director signaled to Karen, and she smoothly wrapped it up.