“It’s on your key chain but we never lock the door. Shall I show you?”
Colleen looked so concerned that Jen had to laugh. “It was a poor attempt at a joke which seems to have backfired. We really do have an executive washroom? I’m impressed. I guess we’d better settle down and get some work done. Which way to my desk?”
She followed Colleen along the carpeted hallway to the far end and into her private reception area. Walking past Colleen’s desk and through her doorway, Jen grinned. The corner office, naturally. But she kept the comment to herself.
At nine, Aaron and Tony came in from their offices down the hall. They all sat around the conference table reviewing the work they’d done the day before and at ten, the receptionist on the ground floor buzzed to say that Mr. Curtis and Miss Hall had arrived. A clerk showed them up, and Nikki breezed in on Hector’s arm.
“Jennette, so good to see you back in the office. You remember Hector, don’t you?”
Her description of him had been apt. He was a short, thin man with large glasses, a comical bow tie and an Adam’s apple that bobbed up and down as he swallowed nervously. He would have retired into the background of Nikki’s elegance, but she pushed him forward as if his tie were the bow on a present that she had picked out just for them. “Here he is. He’s blissfully happy about your interest in his play.”
He looked more shyly uncomfortable than blissful; Jen didn’t care. Anyone who could write as well as he did was welcome in her office on a bad day, and this was a good day getting better.
Lasting only an hour, the meeting was merely a preliminary discussion of possible ways of proceeding with the project, a few points of technical difficulties with a scene or two, and general questions as to the author’s expectations. When Nikki made several attempts to bring up the issue of casting, Aaron intervened smoothly, each time bringing the focus back to the project as a whole. But when he casually introduced the subject of creative control, Jen neatly side-stepped him by asking the author if he’d written any other screenplays. By the time they finished talking, Hector had lost his shyness and was much more comfortable. Nikki, however, was visibly sulky and Aaron, stiffly formal.
When Jen was finally alone, she sat behind her desk frowning. Did Nikki want this part badly enough to push her rival permanently out of the way? Had three years of creative frustration turned Aaron into an angry, vengeful man? If she gave them each what they wanted, perhaps the attempts on her life would stop, but she hated to make decisions with a gun pointed at her head. She shuddered and quickly re-phrased the thought. To be forced to decide anything on the basis of incomplete information was galling, and even if she did, the attempts might continue. The threat to her life was real, but the motive behind that threat was unclear. At least with regard to the screenplay, it was still too early to make casting and creative decisions. She would cross those bridges when she came to them.
Colleen poked her head in the open doorway. “Ready for lunch? We usually go into the dining room on this floor. It makes for a nice change when we’re not so busy that we have to eat here. I’ve already called the kitchen, but it’s just our usual and will keep if you’ve got things to do.”
“A break sounds like a great idea.”
They walked down the hall and into a room that could have been found in an expensive restaurant or private club. Although small, it was handsomely decorated in dark wood paneling and thick green carpet with a bright view of the city through the windows; the chairs were comfortably upholstered; each table was set with linen, crystal and china. Colleen led the way to a corner with bookcases on one wall and an excellent Renoir print hanging on the other.
“We always sit here. No, that’s your seat,” she pointed. “With your back to the corner.”
“Aces and Eights,” Jen murmured as she sat.
“Jennette, you’ve remembered!”
“What?” Jen looked at her, confused, then her face cleared. “Yes, I guess I have. No one can sneak up on me like they did with Wild Bill Hickok. I remember deciding to sit here because of that, but also so I could look out over the room.”
“To keep an eye on things, yes.” Colleen smiled happily. “You’ll soon be completely well. Tony said so and I know it’s true.”
The waitress had served them, and they’d talked work for a while as they ate their salads when Jen was surprised to see Brad come in. Surprised not only because she hadn’t expected him here at her company but also because his usual well-tailored suit or crisp tennis whites had been replaced by an old golf shirt and threadbare khaki shorts. He was heading for a table by the windows when she called to him. “Brad, hello!”
He turned at the sound of her voice and came across the room with a big smile. “Jennette, good to see you. You’ve finally rejoined the work-a-day office world.”
“And you look like you’ve rejected it.” She laughed as she waved at a seat. “Sit with us, please. What are you doing here?”
The waitress was behind him serving his sandwich and coffee as he settled into a chair. “I apologize for looking like a frog in your graciously appointed lily pond but since you have kindly given me permission to putter around in your shop backstage, I come by once in a while to work on various projects.” He turned to Colleen. “Miss Williams, congratulations on your engagement. I understand that the ceremony is to take place at Kenting. When is it to be?”
“Thank you, Mr. Stevens. Two weeks from this coming Saturday, and if you’re able to attend, Tony and I would be very happy.”
“Yes, Brad, we’re expecting you; you mustn’t disappoint us.”
“It would be my pleasure,” he said, and Jen could tell that Colleen was pleased as she stood up, smiling a little self-consciously.
“I’ll leave you two to finish your lunch. I’ve got to get back to my desk. See you in a bit, Jennette.”
“You’ve made a conquest.” Jen nodded at Colleen as she walked out of the dining room.
He smiled. “I know Tony better and I don’t know him well, but weddings at the estate are always lovely affairs. I never pass up an opportunity to enjoy Mrs. Brown’s delicacies.”
“Danni said that her cooking skills are lost on Adelia and David.”
“That’s true for them,” he laughed, “but not for me. I appreciate great art whenever and wherever I find it.”
“What kind of projects do you work on here?”
“I’ve always liked doing mechanical work – taking things apart, putting them back together. Union rules won’t allow me to work on your movie equipment, but I use your tools to work on my own things and every once in a while, when the crew is over-worked on some deadline, they do let me help out if something breaks down. But don’t say that out loud,” he whispered, “or you’ll need my legal skills to straighten out the mess.”
She chuckled and whispered back, “Mum’s the word.”
“If you’ve finished, you can walk me to the stairs.”
“Has David mentioned Anna’s birthday party?”
“Yes, he told me about it on Sunday. She’s not been too affected by the boating accident?”
“No, she seems to have taken it in stride, thank goodness.”
“That’s a relief. And you, have you recovered as well?”
“Back to normal, just a few sore muscles.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” He kissed her cheek. “Take care of yourself, and I’ll see you on Friday.”
She walked slowly to her office, thinking about their conversation.
* * *
As she was parking the Jaguar at the estate that afternoon, Luke was climbing the outside stairs to his room above the garage.
“Luke, wait a minute,” she called, and he walked back down to open the car door for her.
“Yes, ma’am, what can I do for you?”
“Thank you,” she said as he helped her out. “Ellen needs a big table and a chair to use for her studying, something upright but comfortable, and a reading lamp high enough to throw a good
light on all of her books, or maybe a floor lamp behind her. Do you think you could look through the empty rooms in the house or in the storage areas? If you find what she needs, please clean it all up and move it into Anna’s sitting room for her. And if there isn’t anything adequate, let me know.”
“For Ellen?” He smiled broadly. “I’d enjoy doing that for her, ma’am.”
“Good. Now there’s something else.” They walked partway down the drive and back again as they talked. At the foot of the outside stairs, she stopped. “And remember, it has to be a surprise until the last minute. Can you do it?”
“No problem, ma’am. I’ll take care of everything.”
“Thank you, Luke. I appreciate your help.”
* * *
Roger, Danni, three children, two dachshunds, Sam and a mound of luggage arrived at five on Friday. Jen and Anna had been sketching together at Ellen’s big table in the sitting room when they heard the horn honking. Hurrying to the open window, they waved down and Anna yelled excitedly as the Ackerman family spilled out of Danni’s long SUV. The kids shouted up at her and had started for the house when Roger’s quarterdeck voice called them to order.
“Not one more step, any of you! Trey and Dan, help Sam with the suitcases. Beth, take the dogs and keep them out from under foot. Danni, if you can carry the presents, I’ll put the car away.”
“But, Dad,” Trey complained, “that means you don’t have to carry anything at all.”
“Bright boy,” Roger grinned. “Danni, didn’t I tell you my son was quick?”
She laughed. “Yeah, a regular chip off the old block. Come on, kids. We’ll let him enjoy his moment of power now and figure out a way to get even later.” Then she looked up. “Happy Birthday, Anna! Meet us in the hall and you can help your poor over-burdened cousins carry all their stuff upstairs.”
Jen followed Danni into the living room as the children climbed the stairs, laughing about what prank they could pull on Roger. Taking the top layer from the stack that Danni was carrying, Jen added them to the small group of presents already on the coffee table that she’d set by the windows in the curved section of the long room. “You can put the rest of them there. Anything else that the others bring will just have to squeeze in or get put on the floor.”
Danni set them down, then stepped back to look at the room. Yellow streamers had been hung from the curtain rod above the presents and looped back to hang down on either side. Every table held tall vases of yellow roses, and yellow satin bows had been tied around each of the lamps. A side table had been covered in a pale-yellow damask cloth with silverware, plates and napkins neatly arranged on either side of a big empty space.
“The decorations are lovely, Jennette.”
“You should have seen Anna measuring that space and then running to the kitchen to measure the cake and then running back to move everything neatly so there would be enough room. Come and see the dining room.”
The long table had had extra leaves put into it and was covered in the same yellow damask. Low bowls of floating yellow roses ran down the middle, with tall vases of long-stemmed roses at either end of the sideboard. Yellow balloons hung from the chandelier and each place set at the table had a name card, a little cup of yellow jellybeans, and a colorful pointed hat sitting on the plate.
“Party hats?”
Jen laughed at her expression. “Sorry, Danni, but she insisted.”
“Well, I can’t wait to get pictures of my brother and my husband in theirs. Roger’s the photographer so I’ll have to make sure he gets a shot of David. Then I’ll have to trick my dearly beloved into giving me the camera so I can immortalize him on film, as well.” She pointed. “And place cards.”
“We asked Colleen to print all the names, then Ellen helped Anna to decorate each one. They worked on them almost every afternoon this week. Let’s get something to drink before the kids come down.”
The table in the breakfast room held a punch bowl at one end and bottles of soda with an ice bucket at the other. Cups and glasses were grouped in the middle. They found Roger, Rick and David standing by the small bar that had been set up on the hutch.
Rick waved them in. “What would you like? Punch? Or something a little stronger. The house looks great.”
“Yes, the decorations in the living room are nice.” Roger handed Danni a drink.
“You haven’t seen the dining room, yet.” She buried her nose in the glass to hide her grin.
“You’ve never done this much before, Jennette.”
Jen saw that David was watching her and moved to serve herself a cup of punch. “Anna is older now, big enough to choose what she wanted and to help set things up. She’s had a wonderful time planning and working on everything.”
He smiled at her from across the room and Jen was suddenly happy. She hadn’t realized until then how much she’d worried about whether he would approve or not.
There were voices at the back door, the front doorbell chimed, the kids came running down the stairs with Ellen and the phone rang.
Danni laughed. “It never fails!”
“I’ll answer the phone. Jennette, you get the door.” David headed into his office just as Tony, Colleen and Aaron were coming in through the back. Anna had run to pull open the heavy front door.
“Timmy!” A little freckled-faced boy with glasses and a cowlick was smiling and holding a package almost as big as he was.
“Happy Birthday, Anna.”
Jen walked up. “Hello and welcome. Anna, show Timmy where he can put his gift.”
Timmy’s mother ran her hand down the back of his head in a vain attempt to subdue the unruly curl of hair. “Be good and I’ll be back for you at eighty-thirty.”
“Just in time for cake and ice cream. You’ll have some with us, won’t you?”
“I’d love to, thanks.”
Everyone had followed the children into the living room as Jen was waving Timmy’s mother down the steps. The hallway went from chaos to quiet in a matter of seconds with Jen at one end and David at the other.
“That was Brad. He’s a mile from the gate. Has Mother –?”
“I’m here, David.” Adelia walked into the hall from the elevator. He turned to help her, and Jen was closing the door when a car pulled into the circular drive. Claire Bonnington came in and Adelia greeted her warmly. “My dear, I’m so pleased that you can be with us this evening.”
Moving past Jen, Claire gave Adelia a little hug and kissed David’s cheek, then turned back with a smile. “Hello, Jennette, where’s the birthday girl?”
“In the living room. Go on in and say hi. David, I had Adelia’s wingchair moved into the long room. If anyone is sitting in it, evict them. Especially if it’s one of the kids.”
He offered his other arm to Claire and the three moved away as Jen started again to close the door, but a car had emerged from between the trees and she waited as it pulled in to park beside Claire’s.
Brad ran lightly up the steps. “Hi, Jennette, I hope I’m not late.”
“Just in time. Everyone’s in the living room. You’re the last.”
But she was wrong. Brad had left her, and she was about to push the door shut when she heard the roar of Nikki’s sports car. She came swaying up the steps carrying a little package tied with a violet ribbon. “Jennette, Aaron told me about Anna’s party, and I knew you wouldn’t mind if I crashed it. She’s such a darling little girl. I just had to come and wish her Happy Birthday.”
“Of course,” Jen accepted her airy kiss on the cheek, “come in. Anna is in the living room with everyone else.” The door was finally closed, Nikki had joined the others, and Jen was walking toward the kitchen to ask Thelma to set another place at the table. “Hail, hail, the gang’s all here,” she murmured softly, “but if anything unpleasant happens to spoil Anna’s party, I’ll murder someone myself.”
Dinner was festive and noisy. Jen had given Anna the place of honor at her end of the table with the children on either side o
f her. Thelma had squeezed in a setting for Nikki at the other end, and David was sitting with her to his left and Claire to his right. Jen had thought that he might be annoyed to have Nikki beside him, but the three had talked amiably together and David seemed pleased.
But that had come after his first, startled glance at the party hats. He quickly hid his look of distaste as everyone else reached for theirs. When he couldn’t put it off any longer, he gave a little shrug, settled the absurd little cone on his head with the elastic firmly under his chin, and Roger whipped the camera out from under the tablecloth. The flash lit the room.
Through clenched teeth, David hissed, “You will pay for that on the court tomorrow.” Then he lifted his glass to smile warmly down the table. “A toast to my daughter! Many happy returns of the day.” Everyone shouted, “Happy Birthday, Anna!” and Thelma and Betsy brought in the food.
When the meal was over, they moved to the living room so that Anna could open her presents. Tony and Colleen gave her a cute pink piggy bank that rattled with a few coins inside. Jen knew it had to have been Colleen’s choice, but Tony pulled out a handful of bills and stuffed them into the slot with a grin. “To get you started toward buying something special, Anna.”
Ellen’s present was a small gold locket; Timmy’s box held a huge floppy doll; and Adelia and Claire had obviously collaborated for one of their gifts was a lovely burgundy velvet dress with a white lace collar and the other was a matching coat. There was a wide assortment of toys and games which were happily appreciated, but the two gifts that most delighted Anna were the motorized dump truck from David and a complete set of drawing pads, colored pencils and charcoal from Rick.
“Thank you, everyone,” she said. “This has been the best birthday ever.”
Everyone smiled and Danni nodded. “You’re welcome, Anna. Why don’t you and the kids pile all the gifts up neatly and play one of the games for a while?”
But Jen interrupted. “I think there’s one more present.”
The kids scrambled to move the boxes and look through the crumpled wrapping paper. Trey shook his head. “We can’t find anything more, Aunt Jennette.”
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