by Susan Lewis
Laughing, Ellen took hold of his hand and started to run, leading him around the house to a quiet, shady backyard where she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him for all she was worth. ‘You’re crazy out of your mind coming here like this and I love you for it,’ she told him breathlessly as he let her go for a moment.
‘And I’ve got to share a bed with Robbie when I don’t think I’ve ever wanted you as much as I want you right now,’ Michael complained.
‘They’re God-fearing Catholics,’ Ellen reminded him.
‘And I’m a desparate man.’
‘No more desperate than me,’ she grinned. ‘But wait until after dinner, then I’ll borrow Mom’s car and take you on a little tour of the area. There’s a spot I know, not too far from here, where the pioneers hauled their wagons along the Oregon trail and no one goes there now except the ghosts of them old wayfaring cowboys. But first things first: you’ve got some explaining to do, Michael McCann, and I hardly know where to start asking the questions. I guess I should start with Michelle. Where is she? What happened?’
Pulling her closer to him he said, ‘What happened is I love you and she sensed it. I don’t know how long we might have carried on if she hadn’t found the courage to bring it up, because I felt I owed Robbie and well…’ he shrugged, ‘for a while there he was all that mattered.’
Ellen smiled. ‘I can understand that,’ she said. ‘I just wish you’d told me about him before, that’s all.’
‘I know, but I had it all screwed up in my head and I just couldn’t talk about it to anyone. It was like I was trying to deny he existed, which was crazy, I know, but I did it to hurt Michelle and ended up hurting us all.’
‘So where is she now?’ Ellen asked.
‘In London, at my apartment. She’s going to stay on there for a while, until we’re sure Robbie is settled and she gets a new posting.’
‘So she’s going back to her charity work?’
He nodded. ‘Probably. Cavan’ll go with her. It’s a passion with them both and they’re kind of in love. I say kind of because Michelle’s all mixed up right now and Cavan’s still pretty young.’ His eyes suddenly softened as he gazed down into her face. ‘God, you’re so beautiful, do you know that?’ he murmured, stroking her hair.
As his mouth touched hers her lips parted and they didn’t speak again for several minutes.
‘So what’s all this about America-land?’ she said, as finally he lifted his head to look at her.
Immediately his eyes started to simmer with laughter. ‘America-land is where Batman and Superman live,’ he answered. ‘Robbie and I are going there to try to make our fortunes, and we’d like you to come and live with us when we get there.’
‘Oh God, I don’t believe this,’ Ellen laughed, resting her forehead on his chest. ‘You’re going to LA?’ she said, looking up at him again.
He nodded. ‘I was about to tell you that when we were in Barbados, but then the phone rang and my whole life suddenly went crazy. Anyway, things have changed a lot since then, because I’ve got even more reason to ship out to LA now than I had before – as if you weren’t enough of a reason.’
Pursing her lips with laughter she said, ‘I could flatter myself and believe that was true.’
‘Then flatter yourself,’ he told her.
‘So what happened to change your mind? I thought you hated the place.’
‘I do, but I figured I could get to like it if you were around and now, with the way things have turned out, I’ve more or less got to be there.’
Ellen frowned her confusion, then laughed as her mother’s voice shouted discreetly round the corner, ‘Iced lemonade coming up.’
‘It’s OK, Mom, we’re decent,’ Ellen called back.
As Nina Shelby came round the corner she was trying very hard not to laugh, for that kind of risqué comment appealed to a humour she generally kept hidden. ‘I’ll set it down here,’ she said, putting the tray in the shade of a dense old oak.
‘Is Robbie OK?’ Michael asked.
‘He’s still in the barn with Frank, looking at the pups,’ Nina told him.
‘Oh,’ Michael laughed, ‘we probably won’t see him for days then.’
‘Doesn’t he miss Michelle?’ Ellen asked, as her mother disappeared back inside.
‘Maybe it’s too soon for him to miss her yet,’ he answered, drawing her down on to the grass and settling her between his legs as he leaned back against the trunk of the tree. ‘Though there were plenty of tears when he said goodbye and I suspect there are a lot more to come. But for the moment he’s enjoying the newness of everything and though it’s obviously breaking Michelle’s heart, I guess you could say this is her way of dealing with her own guilt for going off when she was pregnant, the way she did. Not that I want it to be that way, but it’s time Robbie was in a proper school and living the kind of life other boys like him live. And Michelle agrees, because subjecting him to hardship and danger is going to do nothing to improve the lives of the children she wants to help; all it does is subject him to hardship and danger. He doesn’t need that at his age and Michelle’s not arguing the point. But she loves him, obviously, she’s his mother and I’m never going to do anything to keep them apart. I want you to know that now, because if at some time in the future you decide to accept Robbie’s proposal, you’re going to be every bit as much involved in this as the rest of us.’
Ellen smiled at ‘Robbie’s proposal’ and felt a quiet sweep of happiness steal through her. Then, turning to sit cross-legged facing him she said, ‘Tell me more about LA. Why do you say you’ve got to be there?’
Michael’s eyebrows went up as he started to laugh. ‘You mean you haven’t heard?’ he said.
‘Heard what?’
‘About World Wide and Ted Forgon. Did you leave ATI, by the way?’
‘Yes, I did. And now you come to mention it, Forgon gave me a kind of feeling the day I left that something was going down where you were concerned. In fact, he gave me the rest of the photographs and negatives he had of me, telling me some bullshit story that it was a lesson I needed to learn that someone would always be out there ready to pull another trick like that if I didn’t take more care. Which reminds me, you told me once that you had something on him, if I ever needed it. I don’t, but I wouldn’t mind knowing what it is.’
Michael grinned. ‘A man like Forgon has always got something to hide,’ he told her, ‘it’s why he takes such pleasure in getting the goods on other people. He sees it as getting in first, I suppose. And frankly, all you have to do with him is tell him you’ve got something on him and he’ll be eating out of your hand.’
Ellen was looking at him incredulously. ‘You mean you were bluffing?’ she said.
He laughed. ‘I easily could have been and take my word for it, it would have worked, because they don’t come much more paranoid than Forgon. But no, what I’ve got on the man could send him to prison for a good long while.’
‘You’re kidding,’ Ellen gasped.
Michael shook his head, then, pulling his brows together he said, ‘Do you remember the secretary he had once, Carleena? It was a few years ago, maybe before your time.’
Ellen nodded. ‘I remember the name. I never knew her, though. Wasn’t there something about her bringing some kind of law-suit for wrongful dismissal or something?’
‘I think there was,’ Michael said. ‘I’d forgotten about that. All I remember is that he fired her and tried to get her out of LA with some cock-and-bull story about her missing her folks and wanting to go back home to Nashville. Whereas the truth is she was seventeen years old and he’d been screwing her regularly for close on a year. And in California that makes him guilty of rape. Statutory rape, to be more precise, but rape nevertheless. And the six-year statute of limitations has yet to expire.’
‘My God,’ Ellen murmured, ‘the man suddenly becomes putty.’
‘Thank God,’ Michael said, ‘because he’s just bought a controlling share of Wor
ld Wide and made Sandy Paull the chief operating officer in London.’
Ellen stared at him, dumbfounded. ‘Sandy Paull?’ she said. ‘The girl you fired …’
‘… who, thanks to indiscretions she managed to find out about other people I was employing, has been systematically dismantling the agency ever since,’ he finished for her. ‘The same,’ he confirmed. ‘Nasty business this, isn’t it? Maybe we should get out while the going’s good.’
She laughed, then was serious again. ‘So how did Sandy Paull and Ted Forgon get in on World Wide? Jesus Christ, Michael, practically everything you’ve got is invested in that company and they’re running it?’
He nodded. ‘Certainly Sandy is in London,’ he said, ‘but only because I didn’t want to leave any unpleasantness behind when I went and because she’s turning into a damned good businesswoman actually. Not always ethical, it’s true, but she’s got her good points and frankly, I’d rather have her with me than against me – which is why I’ve invited her to become my partner and more or less run McCann’s in London, as well as head up World Wide over there.’
Ellen stared at him, totally dumbfounded.
Michael picked up a glass of lemonade and passed it to her.
She took it, but didn’t drink. ‘You have left her to take care of your business in London,’ she said. ‘Are you totally out of your mind?’
‘I don’t think so,’ he responded. ‘In fact, from everything I hear about her she’s a pretty good boss. Always ready to listen, willing to learn, never assumes her way is the right way, but isn’t afraid to act on her instincts – all good qualities. And if Harry and Craig are speaking highly of her, then to be honest, I don’t have too much of a problem with her either. And Zelda’s still one of the major shareholders, so’s Dan, and with Paul Patton on board now, plus the other agents she’s going to have working with her, she can’t really go wrong. Besides, I’m going to be keeping a pretty close eye on it all and don’t forget, she’s getting what she wanted, which is a partnership in McCann Walsh.’
‘Michael, are you blind?’ Ellen demanded. ‘What she wanted was you. She doesn’t care about the agency, nor about World Wide, all she cares about is getting you.’
‘Wrong,’ Michael responded. ‘She’s doing too well now to want to see either company do anything but succeed and believe me, she’s not going to let her personal feelings get in the way. That’s not to say they aren’t still there, because I’m pretty sure they are, but in her own peculiar and unscrupulous way she’s as ambitious as the rest of us, so she’s not going to do anything to jeopardize her future now.’
‘But she’s got no experience where a company like World Wide is concerned,’ Ellen pointed out.
‘True, but we’re bringing someone in who does to advise her and don’t forget, I’ve seen what a fast learner she is. So you watch, she’ll hone up her talents quicker than you can say shoeshine and the next thing we know we’ll all be making a fortune from the London end of World Wide, as well as from the McCann Paull Agency.’
‘McCann Paull?’ Ellen repeated.
Michael shrugged. ‘It was what she wanted and Dan didn’t object,’ he said.
‘So what’s going to happen in LA?’ she asked.
‘What’s going to happen,’ he said, ‘is we’re going to find a house that’ll give us enough room for a decent-sized study which we can use to get World Wide off the ground and to oversee the initial development of your projects. It could be that World Wide LA will be one of your first investors.’
‘My God, this is amazing,’ Ellen murmured. ‘Is Chris Ruskin still involved?’
‘Yes. He’s going to be keeping his eyes open for new books or plays in New York and searching out investors from Wall Street or 47th Street, or wherever. Mark Bergin’s about to poach someone from an Australian film distributor to start things rolling that end; Sandy’s pretty well underway in London, so that only leaves Hollywood. Of course, we’ve got Ted Forgon at the moment, but I’ll just whisper the name Carleena in his ear and I think he’ll be happy to hand the reins over.
Ellen laughed. ‘But what about all the directors you represent? Are you still going to be their agent?’
He grinned, then, looking kind of sheepish he said, ‘I used them as a second carrot for Sandy. She gets to handle them personally, which considering what calibre of director most of them are is a huge step up for her in terms of prestige, and I get to go to Hollywood.’
Ellen watched him, waiting for the sting.
‘I have to confess,’ he said, ‘when I put it to her I thought she was going to back out of the entire shebang, because it was at that point that I think she was expecting me to start getting more personal. I’m even willing to admit that I might have led her down that path a bit, knowing it would soften her up, but with Forgon taking over World Wide in LA there was no way I could stay in London while he called the tune; nor could I leave Sandy rolling about the decks like a loose cannon. So I’ve anchored her down with as fair and generous an offer as she’ll probably ever get in her life, and into the bargain I’ve managed to get back two damned good agents in Craig and Harry.’
Ellen was laughing. ‘My, you have been busy,’ she remarked. ‘And there was me thinking that all you had time for was getting it back together with Michelle and creating a new life for Robbie.’
‘I did a lot of it from home,’ he admitted, ‘and I’m not going to lie to you, at first we were trying to make it work.’
‘Meaning you slept with her?’
He nodded.
Ellen smiled past her jealousy and dropped her eyes for a moment. ‘I knew you would,’ she said quietly, ‘I just wish you hadn’t told me.’
Putting his fingers under her chin, he lifted her head up so he could look into her eyes. ‘It was because we made love that she knew things weren’t right between us,’ he told her frankly. Then, running his fingers down over her neck he pushed a hand inside her blouse and caressed her shoulder. ‘I love you,’ he whispered, gazing into her beautiful, sunlit face.
‘I love you too,’ she said and covering his hand with hers she drew it down to her breast.
Through the fabric of her blouse and bra he could feel her nipple hardening, and pulling her back into his arms he laid her against his shoulder and kissed her deeply. Their passion was aroused so quickly that his hand was already between her legs and pressing hard into her groin before he suddenly remembered where they were.
Smiling as he lifted his head to look at her he said, ‘I know I’ve taken a lot for granted where you’re concerned, but do you think you’d be interested in moving in with us when we get to LA? I know it’s probably come as a bit of a shock, having to take on a four-year-old as well, and if you’d rather have some time to think about it, believe me, I’ll understand, because instant parenthood definitely takes some getting used to.’
As he finished, Ellen was laughing at the expression on his face as they could hear Robbie calling out for him.
‘Daddy! Daddy! Look what I’ve got,’ he cried, half running and half walking around the corner of the house. ‘It’s a puppy.’
‘No kidding,’ Michael said, as he carried the tiny little black bundle over to the tree.
‘Grandpa said I could keep him, but I have to ask you first.’
Michael looked at the dog, then at Ellen.
‘Please,’ Robbie implored. ‘He doesn’t have a home to go to because he’s black and he should have been white, but I like him because he’s black.’
‘So do I,’ Ellen agreed, sitting up and stroking the puppy. ‘In fact, he’s my favourite.’
‘Mine too,’ Robbie told her eagerly. ‘Please, Dad,’ he added.
‘Looks like I’m outnumbered here,’ Michael replied, secretly considering it a great idea. ‘So what are you going to call him?’
Robbie looked down at the dog, whose huge brown eyes were gazing up at him in sublime adoration. Its fur was long and silky, and entirely black. ‘I know,’ Robbie su
ddenly declared. ‘I’ll call him Spot.’
Michael’s head went round to Ellen.
‘Great name,’ Ellen said, trying very hard not to laugh as she pictured Michael in an LA dog park calling out Spot to a dog that had not a single patch of colour on its entire body.
‘I’ll go and tell Grandpa,’ Robbie said, and putting the pup on the grass he started to run on ahead. ‘Come on Spot,’ he called and to his delight the six-week-old puppy started chasing after him.
‘Looks like we’re about to become a regular family,’ Ellen remarked, ‘what with the dog as well.’
Michael smiled. ‘All a bit different from the way I thought we might get started in LA, but like I said, I don’t want to rush you. You can have ten minutes.’ He shrugged. ‘Hell, I’m feeling generous, take fifteen.’
Laughing, she leaned forward to kiss him. ‘I made up my mind about you a long time ago, Michael McCann,’ she told him, ‘and right now I’m so excited about the future I can hardly wait to get started.’
‘Really?’ Michael said, feigning surprise. ‘Personally, I can’t wait to get dinner.’
Ellen frowned. ‘Why? Are you hungry?’
‘Not a bit,’ he said, rolling her on to her back in the grass and lying over her. ‘It’s what’s coming after that’s interesting me.’
As he kissed her Ellen circled her arms tightly around his neck and refused to think any more about Sandy Paull – or how blind men could be when it came to women who loved them. There was going to be plenty of time for that in the months to come, in fact, if Ellen’s instincts were right there was a very good chance it was going to become as big an issue in their personal lives as it undoubtedly would in their professional lives. But they would deal with that when they had to, for all that mattered now was that they were together again and as deeply in love as it was possible to be. She just hoped to God it stayed that way, because during that very brief meeting they’d had in LA she had sensed something about Sandy Paull that had made her extremely uneasy.