wondering how to change her tune without revealing what had really happened in Charleston. Her gaze pinned to her keyboard, she said, “Great restaurants, lots of Southern charm, nice people, beautiful old buildings. What’s not to love?”
Christi’s eyebrows shot up. “I’m surprised. Last I heard you thought it was going to be… What was the phrase you used? A ridiculous waste of time. So was it?”
Ah. Finally, a truly safe topic. She launched into a detailed explanation of how the CMF office worked. That was stuff she could talk about until the cows came home. She just carefullyavoided saying anything about Ward. If she so much as mentioned his name then she might blush crazy red and embarrass herself.
After a few minutes of listening to Ana enthuse about CMF, Christi’s eyes started to glaze over. She edged toward the office door. “Hey,” she finally interrupted. “I think I’m going to run out for coffee. You want anything?”
“Nope.” Ana smiled, satisfied that she’d sufficiently thrown Christi off track.
At the door, Christi paused for a second. “You seem to be getting along better with Mr. Fabulous.”
Ana feigned a casual shrug. “He’s not so bad.”
Christi winked. “Glad to hear it. I thought for sure you’d go ballistic when you heard about that red carpet thing.”
And with that, Christi was gone and Ana was left staring at the open doorway with her mouth open. To the empty room she asked aloud, “What red carpet thing?”
The room did not answer.
She considered calling Christi back, but for what? She could only badger her employee so much and right now she feared coming off like a lunatic. If Christi had expected her to go ballistic over it, then it couldn’t be good.
She fished her cell phone out of her purse and called Ward, then left a message when he didn’t answer. After a few minutes of tapping her fingers on the desk and fuming silently, she dug out Jess’s number and called him, too.
“Great!” he said as soon as he answered. “I was trying to get ahold of you.”
He couldn’t have been trying very hard, since neither her cell phone nor her office phone had rung in the past thirty minutes. It didn’t seem wise to point that out. “Oookay,” she said blankly.
“Do you want the limo to pick you up at Hannah’s Hope or at your house?”
“The limo?” she asked.
“Sure, the limo.” Jess kept talking, oblivious to the warning tone in her voice. “Ward thought maybe it should pick you up atHannah’s Hope. Protect your privacy. And he was worried you wouldn’t have an appropriate dress.”
“A dress appropriate for what?” she spoke slowly, trying to rein in her temper. As if it wasn’t bad enough that Ward hadn’t called her himself to ask her out to this supposed red carpet thing, she had to hear about it from his assistant.
“The second annual Hudson Pictures Breast Cancer Research Fundraiser. Ward is going to have a dress sent over.”
“I…” She fumed, stumbling over her words in surprise. The Hudsons owned one of the most prestigious studios in Hollywood. They represented the glamorous world of old Hollywood. For decades, they’d hosted a Valentine’s Day ball. Lillian Hudson, the matriarch of the family, died a few years ago after battling breast cancer. Since then, the Hudsons had retooled the Valentine’s Day party as a fundraiser for breast cancer research. The invitations were highly coveted and almost impossible to come by. “Why would I need a dress for the Hudsons’ Party?”
Finally, Jess picked up on her shock and confusion. “Ward hasn’t talked to you yet, has he?”
“No.”
“Ah, crap.” Jess started talking rapidly. “I’ve bungled this. He intended to talk to you first. When you called me, I just assumed—”
“Stop,” she cut Jess off midbumbling explanation. “Why don’t you just tell me where I can reach him and I’ll talk about it with him.”
“I can’t do that,” Jess said
Christi’s eyebrows shot up. “I’m surprised. Last I heard you thought it was going to be… What was the phrase you used? A ridiculous waste of time. So was it?”
Ah. Finally, a truly safe topic. She launched into a detailed explanation of how the CMF office worked. That was stuff she could talk about until the cows came home. She just carefullyavoided saying anything about Ward. If she so much as mentioned his name then she might blush crazy red and embarrass herself.
After a few minutes of listening to Ana enthuse about CMF, Christi’s eyes started to glaze over. She edged toward the office door. “Hey,” she finally interrupted. “I think I’m going to run out for coffee. You want anything?”
“Nope.” Ana smiled, satisfied that she’d sufficiently thrown Christi off track.
At the door, Christi paused for a second. “You seem to be getting along better with Mr. Fabulous.”
Ana feigned a casual shrug. “He’s not so bad.”
Christi winked. “Glad to hear it. I thought for sure you’d go ballistic when you heard about that red carpet thing.”
And with that, Christi was gone and Ana was left staring at the open doorway with her mouth open. To the empty room she asked aloud, “What red carpet thing?”
The room did not answer.
She considered calling Christi back, but for what? She could only badger her employee so much and right now she feared coming off like a lunatic. If Christi had expected her to go ballistic over it, then it couldn’t be good.
She fished her cell phone out of her purse and called Ward, then left a message when he didn’t answer. After a few minutes of tapping her fingers on the desk and fuming silently, she dug out Jess’s number and called him, too.
“Great!” he said as soon as he answered. “I was trying to get ahold of you.”
He couldn’t have been trying very hard, since neither her cell phone nor her office phone had rung in the past thirty minutes. It didn’t seem wise to point that out. “Oookay,” she said blankly.
“Do you want the limo to pick you up at Hannah’s Hope or at your house?”
“The limo?” she asked.
“Sure, the limo.” Jess kept talking, oblivious to the warning tone in her voice. “Ward thought maybe it should pick you up atHannah’s Hope. Protect your privacy. And he was worried you wouldn’t have an appropriate dress.”
“A dress appropriate for what?” she spoke slowly, trying to rein in her temper. As if it wasn’t bad enough that Ward hadn’t called her himself to ask her out to this supposed red carpet thing, she had to hear about it from his assistant.
“The second annual Hudson Pictures Breast Cancer Research Fundraiser. Ward is going to have a dress sent over.”
“I…” She fumed, stumbling over her words in surprise. The Hudsons owned one of the most prestigious studios in Hollywood. They represented the glamorous world of old Hollywood. For decades, they’d hosted a Valentine’s Day ball. Lillian Hudson, the matriarch of the family, died a few years ago after battling breast cancer. Since then, the Hudsons had retooled the Valentine’s Day party as a fundraiser for breast cancer research. The invitations were highly coveted and almost impossible to come by. “Why would I need a dress for the Hudsons’ Party?”
Finally, Jess picked up on her shock and confusion. “Ward hasn’t talked to you yet, has he?”
“No.”
“Ah, crap.” Jess started talking rapidly. “I’ve bungled this. He intended to talk to you first. When you called me, I just assumed—”
“Stop,” she cut Jess off midbumbling explanation. “Why don’t you just tell me where I can reach him and I’ll talk about it with him.”
“I can’t do that,” Jess said
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