innocent on the surface, but Mercy’s pulse fluttered as his little speech sank in. Was there no shame in the man? They were sitting in a nun’s office, for Pete’s sake! And he was brazenly putting her on notice that he was going to finish what had been started with that kiss.
Carefully avoiding his dark eyes, Mercy said, “Sister, you know I’ll do everything I can.”
“That’s good enough for me,” Nick declared.
“Before we pat each other on the back, I should warn you that we have to agree on a couple more issues,” Mercy interrupted.
“There’s more bad news?” Nick asked with a sigh.
“This event has to be high profile. Fun with a kick.Sedate won’t get it. Not if you intend to appeal to the audience of
The Midnight Hour
.”
A ghost of a smile hovered on Sister Agatha’s lips. “I would have thought that an evening with Mercy Malone would be exciting enough for most people.”
“Works for me,” Nick volunteered in the earthy accent that sent chills up Mercy’s spine.
She looked toward Nick and narrowed her eyes, daring him to say one more word. He got the message, and she turned back to the sister. “You’d be surprised how fickle the public is. You’re going to have to wine ’em, dine ’em, and dance ’em. I’m not suggesting something … tawdry,” she finished, choosing Dr. Reed’s charming description of her television persona. “But we’ll need a theme. Something that fits my image. Are you okay with that?”
“I don’t disapprove of you or your show, if that’s what you’re asking,” the nun assured her. “I seem to recall that most of your horror movies revolve around the theme of good versus evil with good always winning in the end. So I think I can safely leave that decision to you and Nick once the other details are worked out.”
“Okay. That brings me to the last change we need to make. Nick said something about a community organization helping us out.”
“Sister thought we could use all the help we could get,” he explained.
“She’s right,” Mercy agreed. “I was going to suggest we find a group to support this project, but it seems that Sister Aggie is two steps ahead of me. As usual.” She grinned at her, acknowledging the nun’s sharp mind. “The station does more than enoughpublic service work to satisfy the FCC. So we need that little something extra in our corner. Is this group you’ve scrounged up willing to be an active sponsor? Get in there and get their hands dirty? We could really use someone with benefit experience.”
“I don’t know about benefit experience. Kentucky Parents for Better Health Care is a relatively new organization, but they’re committed to providing better care for low-income households,” Sister Agatha informed her. “Since most of our client base falls in that group, I gave them a call as soon as Nick brought his idea to me. From what I gathered during the conversation, they’ll be as active as you want.”
“Great. Now what about the time line?” Mercy asked, turning to Nick. “When did you want to throw this party?”
“As soon as possible. How long does it take to put something like this together? Six months?”
“Usually, but that’s too long for me. I’d like to get this over and done with before negotiations on my contract begin.”
“When’s that?”
“Probably September.”
Nick whistled and shot an uncertain look at the nun.
To nudge them along, Mercy added, “If we can find the right hotel and press hard, could we pull that off?”
“Middle of August?” The nun and Nick voiced the question in unison. They continued to gaze silently at each other, obviously weighing the pros and cons of rushing the event.
“I know that’s only about ten weeks, but I’ve gotfavors with advertising people I can call in,” Mercy promised them. “Once we decide on a theme, we can have the print ads worked up in just a few days. We wouldn’t have to do anything fancy for the television
Carefully avoiding his dark eyes, Mercy said, “Sister, you know I’ll do everything I can.”
“That’s good enough for me,” Nick declared.
“Before we pat each other on the back, I should warn you that we have to agree on a couple more issues,” Mercy interrupted.
“There’s more bad news?” Nick asked with a sigh.
“This event has to be high profile. Fun with a kick.Sedate won’t get it. Not if you intend to appeal to the audience of
The Midnight Hour
.”
A ghost of a smile hovered on Sister Agatha’s lips. “I would have thought that an evening with Mercy Malone would be exciting enough for most people.”
“Works for me,” Nick volunteered in the earthy accent that sent chills up Mercy’s spine.
She looked toward Nick and narrowed her eyes, daring him to say one more word. He got the message, and she turned back to the sister. “You’d be surprised how fickle the public is. You’re going to have to wine ’em, dine ’em, and dance ’em. I’m not suggesting something … tawdry,” she finished, choosing Dr. Reed’s charming description of her television persona. “But we’ll need a theme. Something that fits my image. Are you okay with that?”
“I don’t disapprove of you or your show, if that’s what you’re asking,” the nun assured her. “I seem to recall that most of your horror movies revolve around the theme of good versus evil with good always winning in the end. So I think I can safely leave that decision to you and Nick once the other details are worked out.”
“Okay. That brings me to the last change we need to make. Nick said something about a community organization helping us out.”
“Sister thought we could use all the help we could get,” he explained.
“She’s right,” Mercy agreed. “I was going to suggest we find a group to support this project, but it seems that Sister Aggie is two steps ahead of me. As usual.” She grinned at her, acknowledging the nun’s sharp mind. “The station does more than enoughpublic service work to satisfy the FCC. So we need that little something extra in our corner. Is this group you’ve scrounged up willing to be an active sponsor? Get in there and get their hands dirty? We could really use someone with benefit experience.”
“I don’t know about benefit experience. Kentucky Parents for Better Health Care is a relatively new organization, but they’re committed to providing better care for low-income households,” Sister Agatha informed her. “Since most of our client base falls in that group, I gave them a call as soon as Nick brought his idea to me. From what I gathered during the conversation, they’ll be as active as you want.”
“Great. Now what about the time line?” Mercy asked, turning to Nick. “When did you want to throw this party?”
“As soon as possible. How long does it take to put something like this together? Six months?”
“Usually, but that’s too long for me. I’d like to get this over and done with before negotiations on my contract begin.”
“When’s that?”
“Probably September.”
Nick whistled and shot an uncertain look at the nun.
To nudge them along, Mercy added, “If we can find the right hotel and press hard, could we pull that off?”
“Middle of August?” The nun and Nick voiced the question in unison. They continued to gaze silently at each other, obviously weighing the pros and cons of rushing the event.
“I know that’s only about ten weeks, but I’ve gotfavors with advertising people I can call in,” Mercy promised them. “Once we decide on a theme, we can have the print ads worked up in just a few days. We wouldn’t have to do anything fancy for the television
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