Chances & Choices (7 page)

Julian kept Marcie beside him throughout the time they spent at the cafe, sitting her on his knee and playing numerous games Claire half-remembered from her own childhood.
 He seemed to enjoy Marcie's company better than anyone else's’ at the table.  He wiped her hands and face with a napkin, and when the waiter informed them they didn't usually make the Shirley Temple Marcie requested, he slipped him a large tip and the drink was duly supplied.

Observing Marcie, she told herself it was hardly surprising, she really was a very enchanting child.
 It was just that she had never thought...Julian and children?  With a rueful smile, she realised this was the second time in less than twenty-four hours she had seen him in a startlingly different light.  She thought there was always something quite touching about a man with little children, especially a little girl.  The fact that the man was Julian, for some unfathomable reason, seemed to make it doubly touching.

She looked across at him and their eyes met, the expression in his revealing that he had guessed her thoughts and that they caused him both amusement and pleasure.
 The look was broken as Andrea commanded their attention.

"Julian, I know you had no intention of accepting my invitation for Sunday's get-together, but now that Claire's back I really must insist you bring her."

Turning to Claire, she smiled in her best den-mother fashion and said.  "You really must get into the thick of things at once, Claire."

Then removing Marcie from Julian, in a manner greatly admired by all, whereby at no point did the little girl come in contact with her elegant person, she swept off with Stephen following in her wake in a slightly bemused fashion.
 Julian and Claire took one look at each other and burst out laughing.

"She never changes, does she?"

"No.  I hope she never does."  Julian admitted.

"Really?
 I have to admit I find her a bit irritating at times."

Julian smiled.
 "I know what you mean.  She used to make me feel like some waif Susanna adopted and then later became her responsibility."

Claire couldn't help laughing at the ridiculous comparison.
 "I trust she doesn't make you feel that way anymore."

"No.
 It took me a while, but eventually I realised she treated everyone that way and then it didn't bother me."  He paused and then added thoughtfully.  "She may delight in appearing thoughtless, but she actually has a great deal of common sense, when the situation requires it"

Claire didn't comment, inwardly disagreeing with him.
 However in the not too distant future, Claire would find that she was wrong, and would be glad of the fact.

The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around the various boutiques, and later they drove up the Pacific Coast Highway and ate dinner at one of the restaurants overlooking the ocean.
 That night; as Claire tumbled into bed, it occurred to her that she had not thought of Richard even once since breakfast.

The next morning, Claire didn't go for a swim dressing completely, before joining Julian for coffee at the breakfast bar.
 Unsettled by the comment he made yesterday about the house and the seriousness of his intentions suggested by it, Claire decided that a truce, until she was surer of her own feelings, was a good idea, and she had abandoned her seduction tactics completely.  That was probably why she backed off a little when he reached up from his stool beside her and took the strands of her hair between his fingers.

"You have beautiful hair.
 It's like gold in the sun and silver in the moonlight."

She was touched by the poetry in his words and told him softly.
 "I didn’t know you were a romantic."

His eyes deepened as he smiled at her.
 "In that case you'd be surprised to hear why I was upset when I saw you had cut your hair."

Intrigued, she asked him why and leaning closer he whispered in her ear the fantasies he had harboured.
 Her eyes sparkled at the information, and she teased him.  "Not just a romantic, an incurable romantic."

He accepted her teasing good-naturedly and then asked her.
 "What about you Claire, no romance in that sophisticated, mature soul of yours?"

Claire considered.
 "Well, I was a very romantic teenager.  I used to dream of love at first sight.  All teenagers do until they grow up and discover it's a myth."  Her tone was light, but he could detect a trace of disillusionment.

"It's not a myth, just rare."

Claire understood his meaning and said with a trace of envy.  "It must be nice to have had the perfect romance."

"Complete with tragic ending."
 And all envy left her, although his voice was devoid of cynicism or bitterness.

There was silence until Julian took her hand in his.
 "Love at first sight isn't the only way to fall in love.  Sometimes it grows slowly, but it can still be romantic."

He brought her hand to his lips before letting it drop, and then he moved around the bar into the kitchen.
 Claire joined him, and they prepared breakfast together, their movements familiar and comfortable.  Once prepared, they carried the meal to the nook and ate companionably.  Discussing various topics and passing pleasantries, the meal seemed no different from the hundreds of meals they had shared in previous years.

Yet it was intensely different.

Claire had been subtly aware of the aura of difference throughout the meal.  Now she looked out through the window to where Julian stood on the deck, where she had shooed him, insisting on cleaning up alone.  He was turned partly towards the ocean, so she had a three-quarter view of him.  He raised his coffee mug, and as he bent his head to drink, the sea breeze caught at the front of his hair, gently playing with his fringe.

 
A wave of tenderness washed over her.

Smiling, she carried the dishes to the dishwasher, looking back at him as she loaded it.
 

Suddenly she felt new again.

All the feelings of the past weeks slipped from her; the soul-searching, the indecision.  She felt the same way she felt when she stepped off that plane in New York, three years ago - as if she stood on the brink of discovery.

It was a strange way to feel when you were loading a dishwasher,
but she felt it just the same.  And now, just as then, although she felt some trepidation, her overwhelming feeling was one of expectation.

"Claire, Stella wants to see you, when you've got a minute."

Claire looked up from the article she was working on and grimaced.  The small pert brunette shrugged in sympathy.  "Sorry."

Mary-Jane and Claire both knew that when their editor said - when you've got a minute - it was only a barely disguised courtesy, what she really meant was - make a minute.

"Never mind, it's not going that well anyway.  I could use a break."  Rising, she stretched elegantly and headed towards Stella's office.  "Any idea what she wants?" she asked as she passed Mary-Jane.

"Search me."

"And if you don't, I will."

This last came from the stocky figure of Greg Roberts, who made up the final member of their team.
 His seated figure received a slap on the head from the standing Mary-Jane for his impertinence, but he just grinned.  He had been pursuing the dark-haired girl, teasingly, but no less relentlessly, ever since the three of them began working together, six weeks ago.  Mary-Jane had so far resisted him, but Claire had no doubt of his eventual success, as neither did Greg himself.

Walking toward Stella's office, she thought over the last six weeks and couldn't suppress admiration for John's managerial sense in teaming the three of them together.
 The other two were a couple of dynamo's, bubbling over with ideas; just the kind of exuberance needed to launch a new project.  On the other hand, Claire's natural reserve in professional matters made her the perfect balance for the two.  Smiling, she remembered one or two sessions where her steadying influence had been necessary to bring the pair down to earth.  She liked working with them, even though their vitality might be exhausting at times - at least it was fun.

Unfortunately, she wasn't as sure of her editor.
 She couldn't quite place what it was about Stella that made her uneasy.  Maybe it was because Stella was uneasy herself.  This project was a big step for her.  She was young for the position, and there had been subdued grumblings from some of the older members of the New York staff, who had hopes of the job themselves.    Editor of
Choices LA
was an important role – the new edition of the successful New York magazine
Choices New York
was the pet project of the publisher and if the project failed, Stella's career could very well go down the tubes.

So far the magazine's success was only moderate, but that was to be expected; it took time to establish a market.
 But Claire had to admit to herself that she had faith in John's choice.  Stella was good at her job.  No, Claire's unease with her editor was not professional; it was personal.  Claire sensed a hardness, a ruthlessness, about the older woman she didn't trust.

Passing Stella’s PA
who nodded her through, Claire knocked on the office door and after Stella's, "Come in," entered.

"Good afternoon, Claire."
 Stella's perfectly made-up face held a smile which didn't reach her eyes.  "Please sit down.  How's your review of the Johnson show coming along?"

"Gradually, but it will be ready in time."

"Oh I don't doubt that it will."

There was a slight pause and then Claire asked.
 "Why did you want to see me, Stella?" and then she felt irritated, realizing that Stella had deliberately manoeuvred her into asking.

"As you know, our circulation to date has been fairly moderate, and I've been thinking we need something a little out of the ordinary to draw a real following."

"Oh.  I thought our approach has been quite innovative."

"Now Claire, I've been satisfied with the work you and the others have been putting out.
 I just think we need more than an innovative approach.  I feel we need something new, something the other magazines aren't doing.  There's no need to be defensive.  After all, I am the editor."

Claire inwardly chastised herself.
 Where was her professionalism?  She shouldn't allow her personal feelings to interfere.  Stella was perfectly right.  Besides, this sounded interesting.  She leaned forward in her chair, her interest taking over.

"What did you have in mind, Stella?"

Realizing Claire's change of demeanour, Stella expanded on her subject.  "I thought we could do a series of profiles on the top names in the L.A. fashion and film scene.  The ones with an image.  You know; the people who fire the imagination of the public.  We'd do a different person each time for about ten issues, by that time we should have built up a faithful readership who'll continue to read us for the rest of the magazine."

Claire was really interested now.
 It was just the kind of series that would draw readership.  John had good reason to have faith in Stella's abilities.  Claire didn't bother to voice her approval.  Stella knew it was an excellent idea.  Instead, she voiced her own ideas.

"Our first profile will have to be really good.
 Someone that will really draw interest."  Claire crinkled her forehead in thought.  "Jenni Roberts, perhaps?"

Stella shook her head at the mention of L.A.'s top fashion photographer.
 "No, we'll use her later on in the series, but for our first subject we need someone there's been very little written about.  Someone with an air of mystery."

Claire's brow furrowed even further. Stella was right.
 But who?  Who in the L.A. scene had that kind of quality?  The question was barely formed before the answer occurred to her.  Stella's self-satisfied drawl revealed that she had followed Claire's thoughts, and that she had decided on their first subject long before Claire walked through the office door.

"Yes, Julian West."

"I don't know, Stella."  The words were hesitant, but she added hurriedly when the editor raised her perfectly pencilled eyebrows.  "I mean, he'd be perfect, but he doesn't usually give interviews, never mind an in depth profile.  He's really a very private person."

"I'm aware of that, but surely you can manage to persuade him.
 I understand you and he are quite – close."

Claire frowned, the mannerism adding interest rather than marring her features.
 "Yes, we've been friends for years, but I'm not sure I should take advantage of that fact."

Stella smiled.
 She knew the history of Julian and Claire's friendship, having made it her business to find out when she first thought of this project.  She also knew that since Claire's return their relationship was fast developing into more than friendship.  She wasn't sure if they were lovers yet, but the man seemed to care for Claire.

What Claire's feelings were Stella hadn't quite figured out yet - a fact that left her a little irritated.
 However, it wasn’t really important, what mattered were West's feelings for Claire and how they could be used to advantage.  If it turned out Claire shared his feelings, and something came of it, all the better; she'd find a way to use that to advantage as well.