Trust Me on This - Jennifer Crusie [26]
“No.” Victoria’s voice was firm. “This will work a lot better if I do it. And you and Alec will be around all the time. How much danger can I be in?”
“I don’t know,” Harry said. “Any is too much.”
“Why, Harry.” Victoria smiled at him. “That’s really sweet of you.”
“The hell it is.” Harry scowled at her, resisting that smile with every ounce of self-protecting skepticism he could muster. “Do you know how much trouble I’d be in if a civilian got bumped off while working undercover for me? I’m only seven years away from full retirement. I don’t need this.”
“Harry, do you really loathe me as much as you seem to?” Victoria asked, and Harry was caught flatfooted.
“No,” he said. “What? No. What are you talking about?”
“You look at me as if I’m something that’s going to bite.” She looked up at him, sweet, confused, puzzled, adorable—
Harry caught himself. The hell she was adorable. She was manipulating him. “You know damn well what’s going on here,” he blustered. “Business. And if you’re going to play games, you’re out.”
“I never play games.” Victoria stood up. “I just wanted to know where I stood with you.”
Too close, that’s where she stood. She was close enough that if he leaned forward, those soft white curls would tickle his cheek. He took a step back. “Right where you are is fine,” he said. “If you’re going through with this, get dressed.”
The phone rang a little after seven, and Dennie draped herself across the bed to pick it up. “Hello?”
“Banks, is that you?”
“Hello, Taylor,” Dennie said. “What do you want?”
“What the hell have you been doing?”
“What are you talking about?” Dennie made a face at the phone. “I’m on vacation. Leave me alone.”
“The hell you are. You’re doing something because I’ve got about forty people on my butt warning me what they’re going to do if you don’t stay away from Janice Meredith. What the hell are you harassing a feminist for, anyway?”
Dennie froze, visions of her scoop disappearing before her eyes. If an ignoramus like Taylor had heard about it … “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’ve been chasing her around some hotel lobby and watching her eat.”
Dennie closed her eyes. Janice had set the bloodhounds on her even though she’d stayed away from her. This was one angry woman. “I just tried to talk to her. That’s all, I swear.”
“Well, stop it. She’s got a lot of powerful friends. I mean it. If I get any more calls, you’re fired.”
Fired? Dennie’s stomach did a fast plummet. She couldn’t afford to get fired. She had to stay employed long enough to save enough money to quit. Walter’s dog biscuits were not cheap. He’s bluffing, she told herself. “Boy, Taylor, you really know how to back your reporters. Definitely a Pulitzer Prize–winning spine you’ve got there.”
Taylor’s voice rose to its usual shriek. “I didn’t send you out on any Janice Meredith story, and I’ll be damned if I’ll take the heat for you for nothing. Now lay off or you’re fired! Got it?”
Dennie swallowed. “Gotcha, Taylor. You’re a real pro.” She hung up on him, chilled by his threat. Journalism jobs weren’t all that easy to get or she’d have jumped Taylor’s ship a long time ago. And there was no doubt he’d fire her in a second if he thought his own job was in any danger. But she couldn’t give up the interview; it was going to be too good. And it was a whole lot more than a story now, anyway; it was a quest. Something she had to do to prove she really was good, really was gutsy and brave and intelligent and—
Employed. Employed was necessary. How could she get this story without losing her job? Stick with Alec, she thought. Not even Janice Meredith could get her fired for dating an old friend’s nephew.
Could she?
Sure, she could, but Alec was Dennie’s only hope. If she was careful, surely she could get Victoria to support her. Surely Janice would understand. Dennie winced and decided thinking about doing risky things was counterproductive. She should just dive straight in. Patience would. When they were little kids out on her uncle’s farm in the summers, Patience was