“Get me Jenny Harding,” he snapped, apparently to the network operator. “Now.”
A moment later, he described the story and demanded, “How the hell did this happen?”
Apparently Jenny’s stammered reply didn’t satisfy him because with his next breath he fired her and slammed the phone down. He was cursing a blue streak, oblivious to the two women staring at him.
“Jenny might not have had anything to do with it,” Callie suggested softly, feeling sorry for the poor girl who tried so hard to do a good job. It wasn’t easy dealing with so many mega-egos, seeing that they each got their fair share of the limelight, but Jenny managed it. “She swore to us that she’d keep it under wraps.”
“Us? Exactly how many people conspired to keep this from me?” Jason demanded.
Callie winced. “Just Terry and Hank. We knew it would just upset you. And we all ganged up on Jenny.”
“Well, if she didn’t leak it, who else would have?”
Callie studied the page again. When the byline finally registered, she gasped softly.
“What?” Jason demanded.
“Maybe it wasn’t leaked. Look at the byline.”
“My God,” Jason whispered. “Bryan Davis, Terry’s ex-brother-in-law.”
An outrageous thought popped into Callie’s head. “Who’s to say he wasn’t behind the wheel of that car himself?”
To her amazement, Jason didn’t immediately label the idea as ludicrous.
“It’s sure as hell one way to get an exclusive,” he agreed. “And maybe some revenge for his sister at the same time.”
His lethal expression suggested that it might very well be Bryan’s last scoop, especially if Jason got his hands on him before the police did.
“That’s it,” he said. “I’m pulling you out of that softball game on Saturday. There’s no way in hell I’ll let you be in that kind of danger. Terry, either, for that matter. You’ll be sitting ducks out there.”
“We can’t pull out,” Callie protested. “The event organizers are counting on us.”
“They’ll understand,” Jason said grimly. “In fact, they’ll probably be elated not to have the event spoiled by murder.”
Callie wasn’t especially overjoyed at the prospect of being an easy target in Central Park, but she refused to let the charity down. “Hank can handle security,” she insisted. “He’s already arranging for some help.”
“Callie, he couldn’t even keep the two of you safe crossing the street. How is he supposed to do it in a mob scene? I don’t care how much help he pulls in. It’s not possible.”
“We will be in Central Park on Saturday,” she countered just as fiercely.
Jason’s expression hardened. “You know who you sound like? You sound exactly like my mother. She would never let mere security concerns stop her from campaigning.”
Apparently he didn’t consider it a flattering comparison.
“I’m sorry,” Callie said. “I know you’ll be worried, but this is a risk I have to take.”
He looked at her long and hard, then shook his head. “You’ve turned into a publicity hound just like the rest of them, haven’t you?” he said bitterly.
Callie couldn’t believe he’d made such a ridiculous charge. “If I have, then you’re the one responsible,” she said. “Getting me on Within Our Reach in the first place was all about publicity, wasn’t it? For all I know that’s what our relationship has been about, too.”
His eyes blazed with fury at that, but she ignored the reaction. She opened the door and gestured. “Leave, Jason. I really don’t think you and I have anything more to discuss.”
His gaze raked over her. Eventually, he reached some sort of conclusion because he shrugged. “No, I don’t suppose we do.”
After he’d gone, Callie let the tears that had been stinging her eyes flow. “Damn him,” she murmured just as she felt her mother’s arms enfold her. “Why does he have to be so stubborn and pigheaded?”
“Look who’s talking,” her mother said.
“Whose side are you on, anyway?”
“Yours,” she insisted. “And his. This may be one of those times when you’re both right. You need to compromise.”
“There’s no way to compromise. I made a commitment. I’m not backing out.”
Through a haze of tears, she caught her mother’s smile.
“I don’t think you have the art of compromise nailed down quite yet, do you? Want me to explain it?”
“No,” Callie said stubbornly. “Let Jason compromise for once in his arrogant life.”
Even as the words were out of her mouth, she realized that her mother was right. She was being as pigheaded as Jason. At the moment, though, she couldn’t see any possible middle ground. What really hurt was his refusal to see that her decision didn’t have anything to do with the publicity. Sadly, it appeared that even after all these months, Jason didn’t know her at all.
27
“Gina, you have been distracted all morning,” Mikel complained, pacing the loft behind Regina like an angry bear. “There is not one new brushstroke on the canvas.”
Regina sighed and set her palette and brush on a table beside the easel. “I have many things on my mind, Mikel,” she said, massaging fingers that ached from clutching the brush so tightly.
He paused before her and took over the task of soothing her hands with his gentle touch. “Your decision about us, perhaps?” he asked, his dark eyes filling with hope.
She stroked his cheek with her fingertips. “I wish it were so simple.”
“Simple?” he grumbled. “If that is so simple, then why have you not told me yes or no?”
She smiled at his impatience. “I thought I had.”
“You have not said the words,” he protested.
“You once told me words between us should not be necessary to explain the obvious,” she teased.
His sensual lips curved into the beginnings of a smile. “Then it is yes? You are telling me you will marry me?”
Her heart, which had been heavy ever since the worrisome discussion of Callie’s accident the night before, brightened. “Yes, Mikel, I will marry you.”
He swept her into his arms and spun her around. “When?”
Regina was giddy, either from the twirling or from contemplating the future. “Soon, I think. As soon as I can speak to my daughters about it.”
“We will tell them together,”
