Freddie looked as if he might rebel at the order, but after a sharp glance from Jason he reluctantly left the office. Twenty minutes later, thanks to hastily made alterations to the boilerplate contract kept in the computer, the papers were signed.
Jason wondered what Callie would think if she discovered how rare it was for anyone to sign a personal services contract with the network president rather than the network or a show’s production company. He hoped Whittington was smart enough not to comment on it to her.
In fact, as soon as the signatures were dry, the lawyer practically ran out of the office with his client in tow. He seemed to be afraid that Jason was going to come to his senses and tear up that contract.
There was little chance of that, Jason thought as he watched Callie being ushered down the thickly carpeted hall toward the elevator, her tush swaying provocatively in that suit. Only after the doors had whooshed closed did he realize that the entire time she’d been in his office she had never said a single word.
And still she’d left him with desire slamming through him like a freight train. He’d foolishly expected that hunger to diminish once the deal was done. That was all he’d wanted, wasn’t it? To lock her into a year on Within Our Reach?
“Boss?” Freddie’s voice was tentative, but determined just the same.
Jason sighed. He could imagine the questions his junior executive must have. “What is it, Cramer?”
“Why?” he asked succinctly. “I mean, was it personal or something?”
Jason scowled at Freddie. “I never confuse business with pleasure,” he assured him.
Though if he were brutally honest with himself, even he would have to admit the waters were suddenly incredibly muddy.
* * *
“You’re going to do what?” Regina Gunderson looked as if Callie had just announced plans to become a stripper. Her eyes, a faded shade of Callie’s own blue, were wide with shock and her face was pinched with disapproval.
“I’m going to be on television,” she repeated, still so astounded herself that she couldn’t entirely blame her mother for her stunned reaction.
“On that soap opera, the one your sister is glued to every afternoon?” Regina asked, clearly struggling with the full import of Callie’s news.
“That’s right. Within Our Reach.”
“I don’t understand. What happened to being a stockbroker? I thought you loved working on Wall Street.”
“I did. That’s what I am, but right now there’s no work. I’ve been looking, but it’s too competitive. Too many people, not enough jobs, unless I want to move to some branch in the boondocks.”
“Iowa, perhaps?” her mother asked in a surprisingly dry tone.
Callie ignored the comment. “I can’t go on sitting around in here, staring at the walls. You and Dad ingrained too rigid a work ethic in me. This is temporary, just until a job in my field opens up.”
In fact, reminding herself of the temporary nature of the job was the only thing that had enabled her to sign the contract in Jason’s office. She’d been able to tell herself she wasn’t selling out, not for all eternity, anyway. One year of her life. One year. It wasn’t as if it was a forever-after bargain with the devil.
“So you decided to become an actress,” her mother said with a note of derision. “That’s certainly a stable alternative. Have you ever acted a day in your life? Weren’t you the one who got sick at the first rehearsal of your class play? Didn’t you quit that very night?”
Callie vividly recalled the humiliation of that moment. Up until just this instant, she had successfully blocked it from recall. It was not a reminder she needed right now. “This will be different,” she said, as much to reassure herself as her mother. “I won’t be able to see the audience.”
“There wasn’t an audience then, either,” her mother pointed out grimly. “Just some kids you’d known all your life and your teacher.” She shook her head. “Callie, I can’t imagine what you were thinking taking on something like this.”
She was beginning to wonder that very thing herself. It was all Jason’s doing. He’d sweet-talked her into believing that it would be a snap, that she was gorgeous and sexy and capable.
After six months of feeling as if she didn’t measure up as a woman and two of feeling like a failure in her profession, she had needed that reassurance. Even though she suspected that half of the things he’d said to her had been designed to manipulate her into agreeing to take the job, hearing them had bolstered her flagging self-esteem and reminded her of the kind of confidence that had once been second nature.
Now, after just five minutes with her mother, as always, her self-esteem was in the toilet. Doubts rampaged through her.
“I took this for you,” she said tightly.
Regina looked genuinely shocked at that. “I can’t imagine why you’d think I’d want you prancing all over television for all the neighbors to see.”
“Not so you’d be proud of me, that’s for sure,” Callie shot back bitterly, almost as furious with herself as she was with her mother for the rapid disintegration of the conversation. How many times had she come home bursting with excitement and pride, only to have either or both of her parents promptly cut her back down to size. A B-plus should have been an A. An award wouldn’t put food on the table. A compliment from a boy shouldn’t be trusted. The litany of negativity had gone on and on.
“I figured I’d be earning enough to hire some help for you back on the farm, if that’s where you want to be,” she explained, wearied by having tried
