Glory in Death - J. D. Robb [109]
“Mars. That’s familiar.”
“It should be.” If Larinda was irked that Eve didn’t place her instantly, she hid it well behind a dazzling white-toothed smile and a voice that held the faintest whiff of upper-class Brit. “I’ve been trying for weeks to nail down an interview with you and your fascinating companion. You haven’t returned my messages.”
“Bad habit of mine. Just like thinking my personal life is personal.”
“When you’re involved with a man like Roarke, personal life becomes public domain.” Her gaze skittered down, latched like a hook on a point between Eve’s breasts. “My, my, that’s quite a little bauble. A gift from Roarke?”
Eve bit off an oath, closed her hand over the diamond. She’d taken to playing with it while she was thinking and had forgotten to shove it back under her shirt.
“I’m looking for Morse.”
“Hmmm.” Larinda had already calculated the size and value of the stone. It would make a nice side piece to her broadcast. Cop wears billionaire’s ice. “I might be able to help you with that. And you’ll return the favor. There’s a little soiree at Roarke’s tonight.” She fluttered her incredible two-layer, two-toned lashes. “My invitation must have been lost.”
“That’s Roarke’s deal. Talk to him.”
“Oh.” An expert on button pushing, Larinda leaned back. “So, he runs the show, does he? I suppose when a man’s so used to making decisions, he wouldn’t consult the little woman.”
“I’m nobody’s little woman,” Eve shot back before she could stop herself. She took a breath for control, reevaluated the eerily beautiful face. “Nice one, Larinda.”
“Yes, it was. So, how about a pass for tonight? I can save you a lot of time looking for Morse,” she added, when Eve sent a new narrow-eyed stare around the room.
“Prove it, and we’ll see.”
“He left five minutes before you walked in.” Without looking, Larinda punched the call coming in on her ’link to hold. Practically, she used a slim pointer rather than her expensive manicure. “In a hurry, I’d say, as he nearly knocked me off the ascent. He looked quite ill. Poor baby.”
The venom there had Eve feeling more in tune with Larinda. “You don’t like him.”
“He’s a puss ball,” Larinda said in her melodious voice. “This is a competitive business, darling, and I’m not against stepping on someone’s back now and then to get ahead. Morse is the kind who’d step on you, then sneak in a nice kick to the crotch and never break a sweat. He tried it with me when we were on the social beat together.”
“And how did you handle that?”
She rolled a gorgeous shoulder. “Darling, I eat little weenies like him for breakfast. Still, he wasn’t altogether bad, a whiz with research, and a good camera presence. Just thought he was too manly to scoop up gossip.”
“Social information,” Eve corrected with a thin smile.
“Right. Anyway, I wasn’t sorry to see him shift over to hard news. You won’t find that he’s made many friends there, either. He’s cut Nadine.”
“What?” Bells rang in Eve’s head.
“He wants to anchor, and he wants it solo. Every time he’s on the news desk with her, he pulls little shit. Steps on her lines, adds a few seconds to his own time. Cuts her copy. Once or twice the TelePrompTer’s been screwed up on her copy, too. Nobody could prove it, but Morse is the boy genius with electronics.”
“Is he?”
“We all hate him,” she said cheerfully. “Except upstairs. The brass think he’s good ratings and appreciate his killer instinct.”
“I wonder if they do,” Eve murmured. “Where did he go?”
“We didn’t stop to chat, but the way he looked, I’d say home and bed. He really looked sagged.” She moved her curvy shoulders, sent some classy fragrance wafting up. “Maybe he’s still shaking about finding Louise, and I should have more sympathy, but it’s tough when it’s Morse. Now, about that invitation?”
“Where’s his station?”
Larinda sighed, flipped her call onto message mode and rose. “Over here.” She glided through the aisles, proving that her body was every bit as impressive as her