"Just like that!" Lydia said, catching him at it.
He chuckled self-consciously. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so obvious."
Lydia waved. "Don't worry about it. That time you were led."
Reed smiled, flattered now. So flattered in fact, that he was only slightly deflated when Lydia added, all too clinically, "But keep in mind, the suggestion would have gone right by, had you not been so receptive. And that's what I' m talking about."
Reed laughed, but it was true. He'd be receptive to anything she suggested. After all, wasn't she going to be his? His and his alone. It was just a matter of time. Only in the midst of this recurring fantasy, the reality was that all Lydia could see was Tony. He was walking toward them. And when he looked up, it was evident that in his eyes as well, there was only Lydia.
He nodded and started around them without saying a word, but Lydia turned to ask him if there was something wrong.
Tony shook his head. There was something, but now wasn't the time to discuss it. He left her and Reed just standing there, so they went on to the cafeteria.
"What do you make of that?" Lydia said.
Reed shrugged. He didn't care. He was just glad to have her all to himself again. "Don't try figuring him out. No one ever has."
"Oh?"
Reed nodded with authority. "As many years as I've known him, I still don't know the first thing about what makes him tick," he said, purposely adding, "other than the fact that he likes fast cars and bleached blondes."
"Oh come on!" Lydia said, laughing. "That's a lie and you know it!" There was something about the way she looked at him that made him admit it.
"Jesus! How could you tell?"
"You were too obvious! The way you cocked your head, the okay-here-goes expression, the pause. I mean, talk about giving yourself away. If what comes out after that isn't a lie, then I don't know what is!"
Reed covered his eyes, feigning embarrassment, making them both laugh, and they walked on to find the coffee still perking.
"Oh great!" Lydia said, as if it were the end of the world. "Now what?"
Reed laughed and drew a little to see how dark it was. It looked close, so he suggested they wait it out. They sat down across from each other at one of the tables.
"Let's put this mind reading of yours to a test."
"All right," Lydia said. "Go ahead. Say something, anything, and I'll tell you if it's the truth."
Reed thought she sounded too sure of herself. "No, I think we should do it the other way around. You ask me something."
"Okay." Lydia thought for a moment. "You lied and said Tony likes fast cars and blondes, forgetting I'd seen him with a brunette in a car totally designed with cruising in mind. So, uh...what kind of women and cars do you like?"
Reed laughed. She' d been playing him along. "You know you really had me going there. I thought you actually sensed that I was lying."
"I did. You just helped me out, and that's part of it. And right now, with your guard down you're an open book, so watch it."
Reed smiled. "Okay, no more lies. It's me who likes fast cars, sports cars. As for women, you're my type."
"Oh?" Lydia glanced over to see if the coffee was done. "And what type's that, Reed?"
"Beautiful. Spunky."
Lydia scowled.
"Okay, wrong word. Feisty."
"Like a pit bull?"
Reed chuckled nervously. This wasn't going the way he wanted it to. "No, that's not what I meant either."
"Still…I think you've said enough. This is already going to my head."
"Wait, come on, give me a chance."
"Sorry," Lydia said, smiling. "The coffee's done."
Reed motioned for her to stay put. "I'll get it," he said, as if his life depended on it. While Lydia waited, she found herself looking around the cafeteria, remembering how it was when she was younger and everything was brand new.
"Okay, I've got it now," Reed said, coming back and placing her cup in front of her. "You're my type because you're so complete, so well-rounded."
Lydia frowned at that, and Reed sat down, shaking his head at his own lack of finesse. "Come on, you know what I mean. All of you…your hair, your features…." His eyes dipped lower, and Lydia gave him a look that said he was hopeless.
"Oh, Reed! You see boobs!"
"Yeah, well, that too!" he said, laughing, not about to deny it for fear she'd dub him a liar again. As he tried to think of a clever way to tell her what he really meant, in walked Tony, spoiling the mood.
"Well, I think I've been approached," he said, turning a chair sideways and sitting down next to Lydia.
"What do you mean?" Reed asked, caring less at the moment, but wanting to enforce his presence. "Approached?"
Tony glanced at him, about to explain, but then he noticed two women coming in the other entrance and mumbled something about production instead, something right off the top of his head that made absolutely no sense.
Reed and Lydia exchanged puzzled looks.
"So it'll take about five minutes," he added, which made even less sense, and Lydia leaned close to him.
"What are you talking about?"
Tony smiled, one of those smiles she found so irresistible. "How's your hand?" he asked.
Lydia laughed. He was crazy, that's all there was to it. "It's fine. All better."
Tony reached for it to see for himself, which bristled the hair on the back of Reed's neck, then stood up. "Remember, five minutes," he said.
Lydia nodded, smiling as she watched him walk away.
"Since when did you two get so chummy?" Reed asked.
Lydia looked at him. "I don't know that we have," she said. The flippant way she'd said it had Reed staring off in the direction Tony had taken. Fuming.
Chapter Seventeen
Lydia and Reed walked up to the conference room in complete silence to wait for Tony. When he came in, he added to that silence. He walked over to the window and stared out a moment, then turned, and without saying a word, walked back across the room.
Lydia couldn't stand it: first Reed's sulking, now this. "Tony…."
He looked at her, shaking his head, and pointed to the window. "This is bigger than I thought."
"What?"
Tony hesitated. "Like I said, I was approached."
Lydia nodded, glancing at Reed. "Yes, but you didn't tell us who approached you or what it was about."
Tony ran his fingers through his hair. "Who doesn't matter, because I don't think she knew. It's what that's got me worried."
"Which was...?"
"A kickback, I think."
"A kickback to do what?" Reed asked, seething inside.
"To do nothing," Tony said. "As near as I can figure." And that was all Lydia needed to hear.
"You know, this is really getting scary. I mean, Dan Morris was bad enough, and I've tried rationalizing that. But this...."
Tony nodded, the two of them looking into each other's eyes, and Jan tapped on the door. "Excuse me, Lydia," she said. "You have a visitor." Behind her in walked.... "Sharon?"
"I'll only take a minute. I would've called, but I was going right by and thought you might want this." She handed Lydia a newspaper, Lydia took it and put on the table and Sharon just stood there, as if to say, "Aren't you going to introduce me?"
Lydia smiled. "Have you met Jan?"
"Kinda."
"Jan, this is my best friend, Sharon Rhodes. Sharon, Jan Cline."
Jan said, "Nice to meet you," and left, motioning that she had to get back upstairs, and then it was Reed's turn. He stood up to be introduced, giving Sharon the once-over, and summed her up as cute and very rich.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sharon," he said, just as charming as can be.
Sharon marveled; he was perfect. "It's a pleasure to meet you too. I've heard a lot about you."
Reed smiled. "All good I hope?"
"Most," Sharon teased.
Lydia stepped back. "And this is Tony Armato
." She held her breath when Sharon reached for his hand. She just knew she was about to say something like....
"Now, I've definitely heard a lot about you."
Tony smiled, trying hard not to appear preoccupied, and with that smile of his looking so distant and yet so alluring, Sharon said in a dreamy tone, "Tell me, Tony, do you like children?"
Tony's expression in response to this was priceless. It was all Lydia could do not to laugh. He'd even taken what looked like a Freudian step backwards.
"Come on," she said, tapping Sharon on the arm. "I'll walk you out."
Sharon made a face. "What? I was just curious."
Lydia pointed to the door, nudging her toward it, and jumped on her out in the hall. "You're crazy, you know that!"
Sharon laughed. "I know! But I couldn't help myself. Oh my God, you were right. The man is absolutely gorgeous. And he does have Doberman eyes."
Tony picked up the newspaper and sat down. It was a tabloid. Reed sat down across from him.
"I don't like any of this, Tony."
"I know, but I don't see an easy way out."
"I'm talking about you and Lydia."
Tony glanced at him. "There is no me and Lydia."
Reed threw his hand up. "Ha! It's so obvious it stinks!"
Tony sighed. "Let's not get into this again, all right?"
"I told you how I felt about her."
"No you didn't. You told me you wanted her. Like that was all there was to it."
"And I thought you'd back off."
Tony turned the page. "I' m not your competition, Will. Go for it."
Reed shook his head in disgust. "You know, you amaze me...how you play each woman differently. This is just a game to you, isn't it?"
Tony didn't bother answering and stood up and walked to the other side of the room with his eyes riveted to the newspaper. Being ignored irritated Reed even more. "I'm warning you, Tony. If anyone here's going to have her, it's me."
Tony glared at him. "And what makes you think you have a say in that?"
"I get that from you. I see something I want, I go after it."
Tony's glare grew more intense. "Oh yeah? Well there's a difference between you and me. I play by my own rules and don't expect anything less from anyone else."
"Then you're admitting it, aren't you?"
Tony shifted his weight, barely able to concentrate beyond what he was reading in the newspaper, wishing Reed would just shut up. But no way. Reed was on his feet and walking toward him.
"I mean it, Tony. You touch her, and our friendship's over."
"It's a little late to be worried about that, don't you think?"
Reed shook his head. "So cool. Always so cool. Am I supposed to figure out what that means? Am I supposed to assume you've already had your hands on her?"
Tony shook his head at the ridiculousness of this, particularly in light of the timing, and started to walk away. But Reed wouldn't quit.
"Answer me, goddamn it!" he said, forcing the issue by grabbing Tony's arm. That was a huge mistake.
Tony threw the newspaper to the floor and swung around, knocking him up against the wall. "You want an answer? Okay! I'll give you one! Stop fucking with me when it comes to her!"
Lydia walked in on this scene. "What the...?"
Tony clearly looked the aggressor, with no intention of backing off, and for a moment Lydia just stood there, frozen. Then she walked toward them, and because of that, Tony finally let Reed go.
"Does somebody want to tell me what's going on?" she said, looking from one to the other as she leaned down hesitantly to pick up the newspaper.
"It was nothing," Reed said, straightening his tie. "We do this every once in a while."
Tony just shook his head, turning to leave then, and Lydia tried to stop him. "Please," she said. "Whatever it is…."
Tony directed his anger at her now. "Why don't you take a break and go read your newspaper," he said, which stunned her. Not to mention the cold look in his eyes. When he walked out, she turned to Reed.
"What the hell's going on? What were you fighting about?"
Reed seized the opportunity. "You, Lydia. We were fighting about you."
"Me? Why?"
"I told you how he is about women."
Lydia couldn't believe this. Fighting over her? What for? Suddenly, after glimpsing the newspaper headline, it didn't matter anymore.
"He loves a challenge," Reed said.
Lydia raised her head. "Wait a minute. Please...just a minute."
"I'm only warning you so you watch out for him. I've seen him do this numerous times. He figures out what a woman likes, and…."
Lydia read the headline again.
TENNIS GREAT GREG STEWART ANNOUNCES ENGAGEMENT TO MILLIONAIRE DEBUTANTE LYDIA MERCHANT.
"And since he knows how I feel about you...."
"Please!" Lydia said, with a look that finally silenced him. She turned the page and read all about the courtship that led to their engagement, with a direct quote from Greg boasting of their plans for an "old-fashioned June wedding and a traditional family unit," and of her "adamant desire to put his career ahead of her own."
By now she was seeing red. How dare he do this? How dare he? What were the people here going to think when they read about this -.this supposed plan of hers to pull out as soon as possible and rush to his side?
"Lydia, is there something wrong?" Reed asked.
"Wrong?" she said, looking up at him as if he'd just walked in. "No, but uh, you'll have to excuse me for a while. I have a phone call I have to make." When he left, she lit a cigarette and made that call.
"Greg..."
"Lydia, what a surprise! I'm shocked! The way you were last night, I'd have sworn you wouldn't remember you were supposed to call me."
"We need to talk."
"Is everything all right? You sound…."
"No, Greg, every thing is not all right."
Silence.
"I was just looking at this newspaper, which uh…which I found to be most interesting."
Greg tried to say something, but Lydia wasn't about to listen. "It's interesting, because in addition to having my wedding plans made for me, I just found out that my favorite color is blue."
"Lydia, you know how the press...."
"It’s not blue, Greg. My favorite color's green. And we're not getting married in June, or any other month for that matter, because the engagement is off. It's over."
"Lydia, I can see why you're upset. I honestly can. But my publicity manager...."
"Fuck your publicity manager. No, better yet. Tell him I'm gonna miss him. Now if you'll excuse me, this "debutante" has a business to run." Click.
And that was that. She knew he'd call right back, so she buzzed Jan to tell her not to put him through. "Don't make any excuses for me. Just say I don't want to talk to him."
"Okay," Jan said reluctantly.
"Oh, and another thing. I need you to come down here. I want to get two letters out right away."
It was time for action. No looking back. With that thought, Lydia lit another cigarette. It would be her last, so she savored it. Then she crumpled the rest of the pack and banked it off the wall into the wastebasket. Now she was ready.
The first thing she did was phone the bank. "Have a copy of that check in my hands today and I promise you Philip Carmichael has my account."
"Oh dear," Richard Robert said, breathless with excitement.
"So see what you can do."
Next she phoned Sharon. "Lovely article. Only I'm disappointed my picture wasn't on the front page."
Sharon laughed. "I knew it would get you. That's why I didn't want you coming across it accidentally, like at a supermarket or something."
"Yeah, well I think you could've warned me a little before I looked at it."
"When? You shuffled me out of there like I had the plague."
Lydia chuckled, then grew serious. "Anyway, he's history. I just called him. So in case he calls
you…."
Sharon felt sad in a way. When Lydia made her mind up about something, one thing was for sure, it was final. She could only hope she'd made the right decision. "All right, but...."
"I have to go. I'll talk to you later."
"No wait! I have to tell you. I’m in love with Tony. In fact, I think I'm already having his baby."
"That's nothing to joke about, you know."
"It beats crying."
Lydia stared at the wall and sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…."
"Oh good! Do you feel bad enough to let me have Tony now?"
Lydia laughed, hanging up as Jan came in to say that Greg had called right back and wasn't at all pleased with not being put through.
Lydia didn't care. She was thinking about the letters she was about to dictate. "I'm new at this, so you're gonna have to walk me through it."
` Jan smiled efficiently, pen and pad in hand.
"Do you want me to talk at a normal speed?"
Jan nodded, as if that would be fine, but Lydia still felt awkward. "Do I have to indicate when a sentence ends?"
"No," Jan said. "Just snap your fingers three times and I'll know."
Lydia looked at her oddly for a second or two, then laughed. That was a joke. Jan did have a sense of humor. "Jesus, you had me going there for a minute."
Jan giggled, blushing, and from there they got down to business.
"I know this first letter's going to sound pretty strange, but I'm about to make a bold move, and I want to know who's behind me before I storm the front."
Jan nodded supportively.
"It'll be to the Forrester Corporation. You'll have to look up the address. You'll also have to look up Tony Armato's.”
Once the letters were dictated and read back - the second to the company next door, Lydia made another request. "Call a directory or referral service for doctors in the area, psychiatrists, and ask for the best there is. Then set up an appointment for my dad with the one who'll see him first. Tell them it's an emergency."
"Anything else?"
Lydia looked off, thinking for a moment. "Yes, and this is going to sound really strange, but I have my reasons. I need you to get close to Carlson the janitor. Not as in, getting to know him better. More like, getting close enough to smell him."
Call Me Lydia Page 24