After Tex

by Sherryl Woods

  Megan wasn’t sure. Maybe this was going to put him—and their love—to the ultimate test even sooner than she’d anticipated.

  “Call him,” she said again. “I guess we’re about to find out just where he stands.”

  Jake listened to Megan’s recital of the morning’s events with mounting indignation on her behalf. He glanced at Todd.

  “How sure are you of your facts, that this so-called coup is behind Dean Whicker’s decision to cancel Megan’s show?”

  “A hundred percent.”

  “Then I say we nail the sucker,” he said grimly.

  Megan met his gaze evenly. “Jake, it could mean I’d have to go back to New York, at least for a while, to prove I’m on top of things.”

  “We’ll talk about that later,” he said, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. “If it happens, we’ll figure something out. In the meantime, nobody messes with you without taking on me, too. Remember what I told you yesterday. Chicago trained me for fighting down and dirty.”

  “Damned if he isn’t straight out of a Western,” Todd said, grinning at them. “The good guys always win, right? Heck, I might even buy me a big ol’ white Stetson.”

  “Doggone straight we do,” Jake said. “Now get me the contract.”

  “Done,” Todd said, and handed it to him.

  “Latest ratings,” Jake suggested. They were in front of him before he’d finished the request. He glanced at Todd. “Does she pay you enough?”

  “Not nearly,” Todd said. “But life around her is fascinating, which is its own reward.”

  Megan chuckled. “I’ll remember that when you want to negotiate a raise.”

  Jake glanced over the papers, then looked at the two of them. “We’re going to need proof that Micah used your studio time to make her demo tapes.”

  “Done,” Todd said. “I’ll have the studio sign-in sheets faxed out here. And there will be the bills for the crews. I doubt she footed those herself. She probably used people we bring in as backup and figured she could slide the invoices past Peter, since he was out here with you.”

  “Oh, I hope she did,” Megan said fervently. “Suing her personally for fraud and misuse of corporate funds or whatever else we can get her for will be the icing on the cake. I should have known she was up to something when she left after the first day of taping.”

  “Get the documentation first,” Jake warned. “And do it before anyone back there gets wind that we’re onto them.”

  For the next hour, he watched with a certain amount of awe as Todd worked the phone with the skill of a military tactician or a political strategist. Faxes spewed in, each one more damning than the next. He even got ahold of long distance phone records logging calls between Micah’s line and Dean Whicker’s office. She could have been making those calls on Megan’s behalf, but under the circumstances it was doubtful any jury would see it that way.

  Jake sat back with a sigh of satisfaction after studying the material. “This is a great start. Think we can get anyone to appear as a friendly witness to testify to what’s been going on? Or has everyone in New York gone over to the other side?”

  Megan glanced at Todd. “Why don’t you go back to New York? Take stock of things firsthand. See exactly who’s acting guilty and who’s still on our side.”

  Todd nodded. “I’ll book the flight now.”

  “Charter one if the connections are terrible,” Megan said. “We can’t afford to waste time. Once the news of the cancellation hits the trade papers and the mainstream media, it’ll be all over. We have to try to force Dean’s hand before that.”

  Jake could see that it was killing her to let Todd go back and do the sleuthing and battling she was itching to do herself. “Meggie, why don’t you go with him? I’ll stay out here with Tess. Peggy and the kids are here, too.”

  Her hesitation cut straight through him.

  “Still don’t trust me not to use it against you, do you?” he said quietly.

  Todd glanced up from the notes he was taking on his travel arrangements. He grabbed the notebook, switched to the portable phone and left the room without a word.

  “I’m sorry,” Megan said. “That’s not it. Really.”

  “What then?”

  “I just don’t feel right about going. Tess is just beginning to feel secure. Peggy’s marriage is on uncertain ground. And there’s Barbara Sue.”

  “She’s doing fine with Henrietta,” Jake assured her.

  “But Lyle could get out of the hospital any day now. Who knows what he’ll try.”

  Jake barely resisted the urge to smile. “What are you planning to do to stop him?”

  She frowned at him. “Okay, maybe there’s nothing I can do, but I should be here.”

  He moved closer and took her hands in his. “Look, nobody wants you to stick close to Whispering Wind more than I do, but this is a critical time for your career. If you don’t jump in and do everything you can to save it, you’ll never forgive yourself or me.”

  “I suppose you’re right.”

  “Darlin’, I am always right. Now go. Tell Todd to book another seat. Pack.”

  In the doorway, she hesitated again, her expression thoughtful. After a moment, she came back to lean against the side of the desk beside him. “Maybe you should come, too,” she said. “When we act, we’ll have to act quickly. It’ll be faster if you’re there.”

  He considered the suggestion. He could certainly see its advantages. And a few days alone with Megan in New York might cement their relationship. He shook off the idea. This was no time to be contemplating a romantic getaway. There was business to take care of.

  “No,” he said at last. “I’ll do you more good if I’m right here drawing up legal briefs. Todd can fax me whatever I need.” He pulled her down in his lap.

  “Besides, you’d be too big a distraction. We’re both going to need to stay focused.”

  He gave her a long, mind-numbing kiss. “Too many of those and we’ll never get any work done.”

  She grinned. “I see your point.”

  “By the way, you’re going to need to contact your New York lawyer and get him involved. He knows the ins and outs of this deal better than I do. He’ll probably need to be the attorney of record, too, since I’m not a member of the New York Bar. How’s he going to feel about me being in the middle of things?”

  “He’ll be fine with it,” Megan assured him. “Evan Porter’s a great man and he knows the entertainment business inside out, but he’s a gentleman. Given the way Dean’s going about this, I think he’ll be glad to have someone who can play down and dirty.”

  Jake wasn’t entirely sure he shouldn’t be insulted. “Thanks, I think.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Do I?”

  She touched his cheek. “Don’t look like that. I trust you, okay? That’s what counts.”

  Yes, Jake thought when she’d left the room, trust counted for quite a lot. Love would have counted for more.

  Megan waited until ten o’clock to walk into her New York office. She wanted Todd to have time to do his own sleuthing before her unanticipated arrival.

  “Good morning, Ms. O’Rourke.”

  “Hey, Ms. O’Rourke.”

  “Hi, ya, sweetheart. Long time no see,” the newspaper vendor called out to her as she crossed the lobby. “You need a copy of the competition?”

  “Not today,” she told him. “I grabbed one at the airport.”

  “How was your trip? I’ll bet you picked up a lot of new ideas while you were out West.”

  “A few,” she agreed. “See you later.”

  He handed her a candy bar. “Here, it’s on the house. Knowing you, you won’t get out for lunch, first day back and all.”

  “Thanks. You’re probably right. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.” If he only knew how much, she thought as she moved on.

  As she rode the elevator upstairs, she realized that her day was starting just as hundreds of others had. The greetings
were as friendly as ever, but for some reason she no longer felt quite as at home as she had a few short months ago. The excitement had dimmed, too.

  Maybe that was because she was dreading the scene that was bound to ensue once she stepped off the elevator. She prayed she could keep herself from going for Micah’s pretty little throat. Jake and Evan Porter had warned her again and again not to let on how much she knew.

  She drew in a deep breath and braced herself for the show she was about to put on. She stepped out of the elevator with a smile firmly in place. Striding briskly through the offices, she spoke to every single person whose path she crossed.

  Were the welcome backs a little subdued? Were the expressions a little guilty? Or was her imagination working overtime? Maybe some of each, she concluded as she finally stepped into her suite of offices and met Todd’s worried gaze. He forced a smile, but it was clearly for the benefit of Micah, who was standing right beside his desk looking as innocent and complacent as a lamb.

  “Megan,” she said brightly. “No one knew you were coming back today.”

  “I had a few things here that needed my attention,” Megan said. “Everything okay around here?”

  “Terrific,” the traitor said cheerfully. “Well, I’ll be in my office if you need me.”

  “I’m sure I’ll want to talk to you later,” Megan said. “You can catch me up on everything that’s been happening.”

  Micah left at a leisurely pace. The instant she was gone, Todd shut the outer door and the door to Megan’s private office. “Want to bet she’s on the phone to Dean Whicker right this second?” he said.

  “More than likely,” Megan agreed, dropping her purse and coat onto a chair. When she spotted the Howdy Doody puppet on her desk, she grinned despite the seriousness of the situation she was facing. It was a bittersweet reminder of the kid within, the one she’d rediscovered despite herself back in Wyoming. Somehow she was stronger than ever for having found her.

  “So, what have you learned?” she asked Todd, braced for the worst.

  “Not a lot,” he admitted with obvious disappointment. “A few of the magazine people have made it a point to stop in this morning and bring me up-to-date on production for the next issue. Either they don’t know about the rest or they’re covering their butts. I can’t tell.”

  “And Micah’s cohorts in crime?”

  He hesitated, then said, “To be honest, I think it’s everyone on that side of the operation. They’re all looking guilty as sin, except for Micah, of course. I’m just realizing what a terrific little actress she is. She’s the one who should have been on a soap. She’d have made a fine villainess.”

  Megan sighed. “Todd, I didn’t ask you this before and I should have. You don’t have to give me a name, but was it an insider who warned you about what was happening here?”

  “No. The tip came from outside.”

  “And you’re absolutely certain it’s accurate?”

  He regarded her quizzically. “Why the doubts now?”

  “I guess I’m just hoping that you got bad information. I know this is a cutthroat business, but I thought I was working with friends.”

  “Megan, I didn’t manufacture that call from Dean Whicker.”

  “No, I suppose not,” she said wearily. “Wishful thinking, I guess.”

  “So, what do we do next? Confront Micah directly?” he asked eagerly. “I can’t wait to see her face when she finds out we know.”

  “No. I was thinking about this on the plane. I think I should have meetings with everyone on staff. Private meetings,” she stressed. “Don’t let anyone know who’s being called in next. After all, it would be perfectly normal for me to want to catch up on what’s been happening in my absence. I want everyone to think these sessions are just routine.”

  “Starting high or low on the totem pole?”

  “Low,” she said. “Save Micah for the end, but I want everyone in here before lunchtime so she doesn’t have time to run out and get advice.”

  “Are you going to let on what you know?”

  “Not directly, but I think I will ask some fairly straight questions about the outside studio use. You know, something along the lines of whether our time was cancelled, whether accounting was notified not to pay any bills for the dates we were out of town, that sort of thing. Maybe someone will crack.”

  “Do you want only people from the production side or the magazine staff, too?”

  “Both,” she said. “This has to look as if it’s business as usual, not as if I’m on a fishing expedition.”

  “Got it. I’ll have the first person in here in ten minutes.”

  Megan kept the ensuing meetings brief and friendly. For two solid hours she took endless, tedious notes on details that were of no real consequence to the issue at hand. When she finally met with the head of accounting, she asked first about the magazine’s budget.

  “Everything on track? Advertising and circulation revenues keeping pace with expenses?”

  “Better than ever on both counts,” Frank told her.

  “How about the production side? I know we’re overbudget because of the new studio, but I’ve okayed all of that and gone over it with the outside CPA. Peter’s on top of it. Any other unusual expenses?”

  Frank regarded her uneasily. “I don’t know if you’d call it unusual exactly, but I did wonder about something.”

  Megan’s heart skipped a beat. “Oh?”

  “I was a little surprised when some of the production and studio bills here came in as usual, even though you were out of town. Shouldn’t somebody have cancelled the studio time and the crew?”

  “Maybe it was a slipup,” she said.

  “Probably. That’s what Micah said, too. She took the bills and said she’d look into it.”

  “When did she do that?”

  “This morning.”

  Bingo, Megan thought triumphantly. She would have bet anything that those bills were about to be passed along to Dean Whicker, who would no doubt pay them expeditiously. The extra cost would mean nothing if the show was as profitable as he anticipated it being, especially without the high cost of having Megan’s name attached to it.

  “Thanks, Frank. I’m sure everything’s being handled. Any problems I should know about?”

  “Not a thing.”

  “Good. Let me know if anything comes up.”

  “Will you be around more now?”

  Megan didn’t know how to respond to that. “That’s still up in the air,” she said finally. “Any particular reason you’re asking?”

  He shrugged. “Things just seem to run more smoothly when you’re here. This company is your baby, after all.”

  His choice of words left her with an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. This was her baby, but Tess was just as much her responsibility. Megan knew from her own experience how critical it was for Tess to feel secure and loved. How could she measure that against a business? Obviously it was a dilemma that men had been facing for years, with children sadly coming out the losers all too often.

  She was still thinking about it when Todd announced that Micah was waiting to see her.

  “Send her in,” she said. “Let’s get this over with.”

  Far from wearing the downcast look of an about-to-be-discovered traitor, Micah sailed into the room with the confidence of a woman who knew she had a future.

  “Tell me what’s been going on around here,” Megan suggested casually, as if she were interested in no more than the latest office gossip.

  “We’ve been busy,” Micah said. “Everyone’s been trying to take up the slack with you and Todd out of town.”

  Very noble, Megan thought but refrained from saying. “I’m glad I could count on you. Next to Todd, you’re the one person I can trust to stay on top of things.”

  Micah had the good grace to blush at that. “I try.”

  “By the way, tell me about those bills Frank passed along to you this morning. He says there was a mixup on the s
tudio cancellation.”

  “Not a problem,” Micah said, her expression suddenly tense. “I don’t know why he bothered you. I told him I’d take care of it.”

  “Did someone forget to cancel the studio time?”

  Micah nodded. “Yes. I’m sure that’s exactly what happened.”

  Megan regarded her solemnly. “That’s not like you to let something like that slip through the cracks.”

  “I know, but I was in Wyoming, remember? I guess we just got so busy with everyone pulling extra duty around here. I’m sorry. I’ll talk to the studio and see if we can’t get a credit or something.”

  Megan tapped her pen on the desk in a nervous rhythm that normally would have driven her nuts. She was hoping it would have the same effect on Micah. “It’s odd, though.”

  The woman’s head snapped up. “What’s odd?”

  “That the bills weren’t just for studio time we didn’t use. There were bills for the crew, too. Surely they didn’t go in there and sit around doing nothing.”

  “Of course not,” Micah said. “That bill was probably just another slipup. I’m sure I cancelled the crew for that day. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”

  Megan nodded. “Okay. Let me know if there are any problems.”

  “Absolutely,” she said, looking relieved to have the discussion ended. “Anything else?”

  “I can’t think of a thing, unless there’s something you’d like to get into.”

  “Nope. Not a thing,” Micah said, all but racing for the door. “Glad you’re back.”

  Megan stared after her. “Oh, I’ll bet you are,” she said softly as the door closed behind her.

  27

  Megan experienced the same odd sensation of being out of place when she went back to her apartment that night. She was surrounded by all of the things she had chosen with such care—beautiful art, exquisite porcelain, a one-of-a-kind sculpture, priceless antiques. There wasn’t so much as a hint of her western roots in the decor. That had been incredibly important to her when she’d made her choices. Now none of it seemed to matter. Apparently she’d adapted to being surrounded by oak and leather again.