Coveting Love (Jessica Crawford) (3 page)

Jessica gaped at her friend, still not believing what she was hearing. Their server brought their food to the table, and Jessica had a moment to compose herself as she placed their orders in front of them. Who could eat now, she wondered. She almost told the waitress to take the food away, but to her surprise, Amy was attacking her food as if she hadn’t eaten in a week. Incomprehensible words rapidly poured out between bites. She wondered if she had heard right. Could it be this noisy in here, or was she merely trying to avoid what she had heard?

“
Did you say you’re pregnant?” she asked, lowering her voice. She was afraid they might be overheard.

Wiping her mouth on her napkin, Amy nodded slowly, affirming that, no, Jessica did not need to have her ears checked. Her friend’s face showed her shame clearly. She hadn’t expected this kind of reaction from her best friend.

Jessica was at a loss for words. Her heart went out to Amy, but she found it hard to give comfort and didn’t know what to say to ease the pain. Finally, she managed to make her body move. Sliding her chair over to Amy’s side of the table, she drew her friend against her, ashamed of her previous behavior. She should have been supportive, instead of critical. Who was she to judge Amy so harshly?

She noticed people staring at them and returned the curious stares with angry glares. The crowd returned to their own business. Amy’s sobs slowly subsided and she was able to restore some of her dignity. She glanced around quickly, suddenly remembering they were not alone. She was relieved to find that no one was staring. Jessica didn’t have the heart to tell her otherwise.

“
I don’t really know what I’m going to do about this,” Any continued after a long silence. “I want to tell Bob about the baby, but I don’t want to lose him, either.”

“
What about his wife? How does he feel about her?” Jessica asked, wishing something would end this conversation. God, she felt guilty.

“
He says they are married in name only.” Jessica rolled her eyes. It was the oldest line in the book. But of course, Amy was too much in love to see that. “They agreed a long time ago they married in haste, and the whole thing has been a mistake. I just can’t risk losing him. I don’t know what to do.”

Amy started to cry again. Jessica quickly sought the opportunity to end the conversation. “Listen, I think we should finish talking tonight. I have to drive out to Mom’s house, but we can have dinner first, at my place. Then we can talk alone. What do you say?”

Amy started to protest but was silenced by Jessica, who refused to take no for an answer. She hesitated, shook her head in agreement, and then excused herself so she could freshen up before returning to work.

Rising from the table, Jessica strode over to where the rest of the crew had sat through the lunch hour, eating and chatting happily. She envied them their gaiety.

She cast a warning glance their way, informing them with a look that this was Amy’s problem and they should stay out of it. They returned her glance with a “What, we can behave ourselves” kind of stare.

Amy emerged from the restroom to find them all engaged in a debate over the stock market. As much as the subject bored her, she was thankful for the distraction. She cast a thankful glance at Jessica, who smiled reassuringly. Amy didn’t know what she would do without her friend to help her through her problems, but hoped she would never have to find out.

There was a message from Clair waiting for Jessica when she returned to the studio. Clair wanted to see her immediately.

Clair greeted her as she entered the office, closing the door behind her. “Good afternoon, Jessica. I trust you all had a splendid lunch?” She didn’t wait for an answer before plunging on. “Have you met Phillip Stewart?”

Jessica turned and glanced at a tall, handsome man standing beside Clair’s desk. She eyed him warily. “No, we haven’t met before. However, I am aware of Mr. Stewart’s reputation,” she replied bluntly.

She met him halfway across the room and shook his hand in a reluctant greeting. She was not really being complimentary when she made this statement. Phillip Stewart had a reputation for being a womanizer. Worse than that, he would let no man stand in his way when it came to getting what he wanted. He had once driven a man to suicide by taking away first his wife, and then his business. Once he had control over the business, he viciously cast the wife aside, leaving her penniless. Later, rumors went around that the woman had taken a contract out on his life. The killer was unsuccessful, and she and the man ended up going to prison for conspiracy to commit murder.

Jessica shivered as he held her hand a little longer than necessary.

“
Then I’m sure you’re aware that Mr. Stewart is the president of Chic Fashions!”

She punctuated this statement with a bit of impatience, startling Jessica back to attention. Clair continued, “Mr. Stewart’s company is just about to release their new line of summer clothing called Outrageously You.” Jessica flinched at the name. It would suit him perfectly to come up with a name like that. “Mr. Stewart has invited us to do the layout for them. I have informed him you are my top photographer and would look forward to personally overseeing this project.”

Jessica glanced sharply at Clair. “Oh, but Clair,” she started to protest, “I can’t possibly. I have other projects going right now.”

Clair held up her hand in warning. “They have all been taken care of'.”

Color burned Jessica’s cheeks. “What do you mean by ‘taken care of’?” she asked.

“
I mean just that, taken care of. I have reassigned all your projects. As of this minute, you are officially in charge of Outrageously You. You will be working solely with Mr. Stewart on this project.”

Jessica was astonished. An opportunity like this was golden, but—she glanced over at Phillip—with this man? She was struck dumb with terror. Tragedy had befallen anyone who had ever had anything to do with him. She loathed the amused glint dancing across his eyes. Her stomach turned. She was sweating profusely. She stumbled backward, toward Clair’s desk.

Trying unsuccessfully to suppress his laughter, Phillip Stewart took a step toward her, offering assistance. She declined and reached behind her for a tissue.

“
Actually,” he said pausing, “I’m afraid I will not have the pleasure of working alongside Ms. Crawford.”

Jessica released the breath she had been holding. She blushed when she realized it had been noticed. Phillip chuckled, delighted that Jessica was genuinely frightened of him. For a moment, he considered changing his mind about taking on this assignment himself, but decided against it.

“
I-I-I’m sorry,” she stammered, trying to regain some of her composure. “I have been most ungracious. It would have been my honor to work alongside you,” she lied.

He grinned knowingly. “Yes, I can see you’re disappointed. I am equally disappointed. However, as you might guess, I’m a very busy man. I just wanted to make sure that things get started on a sure footing. My staff will be overseeing the project once it’s underway.”

“
I understand,” Jessica assured him, relief evident on her face. There was no way of hiding it. An unpleasant look passed between the two of them. Clair didn’t seem to notice as she rambled on.

“
What we need to get started on this project is your best models. You and Amy can handle this. Also, we will need a good location to do the layout.” Clair rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “This will take some time and thoughtful planning. I suggest you start on your search, immediately.”

Jessica knew Clair was dying to remind her to watch her budget, as she always did, but would not dare to in front of Mr. Stewart. She couldn’t help but smile at this. Clair scowled at her.

Jessica excused herself and slid quietly out the door. She leaned against it in relief as soon as she was on the other side. She broke out in another cold sweat, and wiped her brow with the tissue she still held in her hand.

She was overwhelmed with relief that she would not have to work with Phillip Stewart after all. She nearly bubbled with excitement. Taking a deep breath, she ran to inform the others of the big news, shaking off the unpleasant feeling Phillip Stewart’s groping eyes had left.

She found John in the studio sorting racks of clothing into the order he thought she would want to use them.

“
So, this is the big project Clair was so uptight about,” John said, slightly amused.

“
This is it,” Jessica said. “This could be a big opportunity for the magazine. Chic Fashions is one of the top distributors in women’s fashions. It could mean big money if the project goes well, not to mention worldwide recognition of my work. So don’t screw it up,” she teased, flashing a playful warning glance directly at John.

“
Who me!” John cried placing both his hand against his chest and raising his eyebrows in disbelief. “Really, Jessica, I am truly wounded. You of all people should know me better than that.” He winked at her, showing good humor in his display of bad behavior.

She visibly relaxed. The afternoon had been long and tiring, and she had felt the tension grow to an unbearable height. Placing one hand on either of her shoulders, John massaged the tension from them. She closed her eyes, moaning, thoroughly enjoying the attention.

“
Why don’t you join Eric and me for a pizza tonight,” he said. “It seems like you could use some company. It’s just going to be a quiet night eating in, probably a game of Cribbage, or Trivia, wine, soft music—nice and peaceful.”

Eric was John’s roommate of eight years. It was common knowledge they had a relationship going, although no one openly talked about it. The relationship had never bothered Jessica. She liked both John and Eric.

“
Thanks, but I’m afraid I’ll have to decline your invitation, as tempting as it sounds. I’m not keen on intruding on a romantic interlude. Besides, I’m having dinner with Amy tonight, and then I’m off to my mother’s house for a somewhat relaxing weekend. At least it was going to be relaxing until Clair dropped this project on me. Now it looks as if it’ll be a working weekend. But at least I’ll be in the clean country air. There’s no place like the country to do some serious thinking.”

John scoffed. “I hate the country. In fact, I despise the country.” He waved his hands in the air. “With all the singing birds, croaking frogs, and everyone running around all day with smiles on their faces; it makes me want to puke. I tell you, Jessie, it’s all a fake. Nobody in their right mind can be that happy all the time.”

She smiled gaily at John and playfully ruffled his hair. “You big idiot, of course, people can be that happy.”

Her description hardly fit John. He was not a big man at all. In fact, he was rather small. He stood only five-feet-two inches, with a rather small carriage to match. He had blond wavy hair in which he took great pride. He could have been one of the models if it weren’t for his height.

“
Hey, cut that out!” he protested. He made a futile attempt to straighten it with his hands, but finally gave up as he saw the laughter spilling from her eyes.

“
Well, despite your opinion, it's the best place to clear your head if…” She stopped in mid-sentence, a smile suddenly coming to the corners of her mouth. She snapped her fingers as an idea struck her. She ran from the room, leaving John standing in her office, staring opened-mouth at the door that slammed behind her.

John shook his head in confusion. “Women,” he said aloud, to no one at all, since there wasn’t anyone in the room. “I’ll never understand them.” He sighed then let himself out of her office, turning the light out behind him. He doubted she would return to the office today. He was glad he had decided not to get involved with women. They were nothing but trouble. Jessica was the biggest testimony to that fact.

**********

CHAPTER 2

Gazing down the road, Sarah Crawford waited anxiously for
her daughter’s car to come into sight. She worried endlessly when Jessica drove the distance to her house alone at night. Jessica was her life. God forbid anything should happen to her.

She had become her savior when her husband had left her. She poured her soul into making sure Jessica had the best opportunities available to her. She didn’t mean to put her on the spot in regards to finding a husband. She just did not want to see her end up alone, as she was.

She heaved a sigh of relief as she caught sight of her daughter’s bright red Mustang coming down the road. It had been so long since their last visit together, and Sarah had missed her daughter terribly. She smiled as she remembered that visit. She had been feeling under the weather and Jessica had insisted on administering to her needs. She had even tried her hand at cooking a meal, much to Sarah’s horror.

As the car drew closer, Sarah could see that Jessica was not alone. She guessed Amy had decided to tag along. Sarah was fond of Amy. She knew Amy reciprocated the affection. She had taken Amy under her wing after her own mother had died in an automobile accident, when Amy and Jessica were in college.

She ran to meet the car as it swung into the driveway. She noticed Mrs. Cooper standing at the picture window in her living room and waved to her. Embarrassed at being caught snooping, Mrs. Cooper let the draperies go, and quickly fled from the window. Mrs. Cooper was the resident busybody of the neighborhood, but having this reputation did not seem to stop her from spying.