Mythe: A Fairy Tale (3 page)

“Heaven help me if she ever decides she hates me!”

Manda glided over to David’s chair and draped her arm over his shoulder fondly. “I have my moments,” she assured him, and then skipped away laughing when he aimed a half-hearted poke at her ribs.

“Getting comfy, are we?” David shot after her.

Manda had changed while she’d been gone. During their meeting she’d been wearing a navy blue suit jacket over a blue-gray shirt that reflected the color of her eyes. A navy blue skirt, the same color as the jacket, had swirled around her legs, and she’d been wearing a pair of high-heels. While she was out of the room she’d removed the jacket and shoes. Now she looked much more casual in just the feminine skirt and the sleeveless top she’d been wearing under the jacket. Much more casual, much younger and more innocent...and much more appealing.

I’ll never get Josh out of here tonight
, Richard thought wryly.

“Curt’s gone and these two don’t seem like the sort to rat me out. Besides, I can’t eat pizza in a business suit,” Manda informed David archly.

“Well, congratulations gentlemen,” David said in mild surprise. “You have been admitted into the circle of trust. And after only a few hours. Impressive.”

“Don’t make me throw something else at you, David Ellis,” Manda warned, her smile fading almost imperceptibly.

“The circle of trust?” Josh questioned.

“Yes, the circle of trust. The exclusive group of people that Manda feels free to express her evil side to,” David joked, after a quick glance toward his teammate. Richard sensed Manda relax and suspected that David’s light-hearted explanation was a reaction to her warning, and not what he had really meant at all.

“Curt still hasn’t attained this mythic status after all these years. He’s still not privy to our little Manni’s evil tendencies.” David winked at Manda, then addressed Richard and Josh again. “He wouldn’t treasure her dark side like I do.”

Manda attempted an evil sneer without much success, then smiled and curled up into one of the plush leather chairs, pulling her feet up under her skirt. “The pizza guy should call from downstairs when he gets here. I’ll have to go meet him. In the meantime, we can get started. Oh, darn!” She grimaced in annoyance. “I was going to bring some examples for you guys to look at and I forgot them.” She started to get up but David stopped her.

“No, no. Don’t get up. You look way to comfortable. I’ll go grab them. You want the latest design annuals?”

“Yeah, that’d be great. Grab the last three or four. Thanks, Davie!”

David smiled and trotted out.

“You can look at a bunch of different logos and tell us which ones you like and don’t like, and maybe what you do and don’t like about them. That will at least put us in the ballpark, style-wise. We’ll need to discuss the name first, but…” The ringing of her cell phone interrupted her. She pulled it out of a pocket in her skirt and answered the call. After a quick acknowledgement, she hung up and slipped the phone back into her pocket. “Well that was really fast. Pizza’s here. Hold that thought and I’ll run down and get it.” She jumped up from her chair and headed for the door.

“Hold on,” Richard interjected, “I’ll come with you.” The gentleman his mother had always taught him to be couldn’t let her go alone.

“Thanks!” she said in mild surprise. “We’ll just stop by my office on the way and grab my wallet. I forgot that, too.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of the pizza,” Richard offered. “Remember, I’m trying to stay on your good side. I’m not sure my reflexes are as good as David’s.” Manda rolled her eyes at him and he grinned. “Besides, if you’re going to stay and work late for us, it’s the least I can do.”

Manda laughed. “Okay, I won’t argue...this time.”

“Tell David we’ll be right back,” Richard instructed Josh, and followed Manda out the door. She led the way back past the reception desk and through the glass doors to the elevators, then pushed the down button and stepped back to wait.

“It’s a really nice thing you’re doing,” she remarked. “I mean your foundation, not the pizza.” Richard smiled at that. “When Curt came and asked us if we’d be interested in working on it with you, I was excited. It’s always nice to work on something that really matters—something that makes a difference.”

“Thanks,” Richard replied. “We hope it’ll make a difference. That’s the plan, anyway.”

“With you guys behind it, how can it not?” Manda assured him confidently.

Richard laughed and turned it back on her. “Well, with you guys behind it, how can it not? That’s what we’re counting on, anyway.”

“Ouch!” Manda grimaced. “No pressure or anything.”

The elevator arrived then. Richard let Manda precede him, and then stepped in behind her, pushing the button for the lobby. He found himself enjoying the humor and easy friendliness of this young woman, just as he enjoyed the same qualities in David. The two seemed to have a very close, familiar relationship. The banter between them was relaxed, almost intimate. He suspected that if Josh decided to pursue this girl, he might not find her available. That bothered Richard but he didn’t quite know why. After all, it would be good for Josh if just once a woman didn’t swoon at his feet the first time he smiled at her. Richard chuckled softly to himself. Manda hadn’t shown any sign of that yet, which no doubt made her even more attractive to his little brother.

“Something amusing?” Manda inquired, her lips turned up at the corners in a small smile. Richard had noticed that she almost always appeared to be either smiling or on the verge of doing so. The exception was when she was deep in concentration, when a small frown would narrow her wide eyes and crinkle her forehead.

“No offense, but you are,” Richard admitted, grinning to take any sting from the words. He decided to be honest. “Josh has been flirting with you from the first minute he saw you and I get the impression that you couldn’t care less. Sorry, but I find that funny, and rather refreshing.”

“Oh!” Manda looked down self-consciously. “He’s very attractive, but really young. Honestly though, I just assumed he was that charming to everyone. Hmmm. Good to know though. Thanks for the heads-up.” Manda looked thoughtfully at the elevator doors.

Richard blinked in surprise.
Josh
was young? That was ironic coming from Manda. Richard tried to decide whether he had hurt or helped his brother’s chances with this girl but couldn’t tell from her considering expression. Of course, if she and David were a couple it might be a moot point.

The elevator doors opened onto the lobby and Manda stepped out, smiling again.

“I can smell the pizza,” she sighed appreciatively, and Richard heard her stomach growl. She gave him a sheepish look. “I told you, I’m starving. I missed lunch.”

Richard scanned the lobby quickly, noting with relief that it was mostly empty. He spotted the pizza delivery person waiting near the security desk and groaned inwardly. Just his luck—it was a girl. He pointed her out to Manda and they crossed the lobby to meet her. The girl wasn’t paying attention when they approached, staring instead out the glass doors with a bored expression.

“Pizzas for Amanda Jensen?” Manda inquired politely to get her attention.

“Yeah,” the girl confirmed, turning toward them. “That’ll be…” Her voice trailed off when she saw Richard, and her eyes widened in shock. “Oh my God! You’re Richard Raines! Oh my God!”

Richard sighed inwardly but smiled politely. “Yes, I am. And I believe you have my dinner.”

“Oh, y-yeah, h-here you go,” the girl stammered, thrusting the stack of pizza boxes toward him. Richard took them from her and then handed them to Manda with an apologetic look.

“How much do I owe you?” he asked the girl, still smiling politely.

“Uh, umm…” she stammered again, looking confused and distressed by her sudden inability to pull the answer to his question from her shell-shocked mind. Richard reached out and slipped the receipt from her frozen fingers. He checked the total and then tucked it into his pocket, pulling out his wallet. He counted out enough cash to cover the pizzas, with a large tip thrown in as well, and offered it to the girl. She looked at it blankly for a moment, as if unsure what it was, and then slowly reached out and took it.

“Thank you,” Richard said. He put his wallet back into his coat pocket, then reached to take the pizzas from Manda.

“Wait!” the scarlet-faced delivery girl blurted. “Um...can I have your autograph?” She held out one of the bills he’d given her as a tip.

“Of course,” Richard agreed patiently. He took the proffered bill and pulled a pen from his pocket. He scribbled his name quickly and handed the signed bill back. Then he retrieved the pizzas from an amused Manda, nodding her toward the elevators. He was eager to make his escape before the encounter escalated into something less orderly. She led the way and pushed the button. One set of doors opened immediately and they both stepped in. When the doors slid shut, Richard sighed in relief.

Manda’s warm, infectious laughter filled the elevator, unrestrained and authentic. “Oh, the trials and tribulations of a rockstar!”

Richard laughed with her.

Chapter 2

Y
ou are
so
lucky, Aunt Manda!” Katie gushed as only a star-struck 13-year-old girl could. “I can’t
even
believe you had dinner with Joshua and Richard Raines! Are they as gorgeous in person as they are in their pictures?”

Several patrons of the restaurant where Manda and Katie were having breakfast stared in their direction. Katie hadn’t been as quiet as Manda would have wished. She made a shushing motion toward her and then giggled.

“Even more gorgeous. And tall! And they’re both really nice.” Then Manda giggled again, doing her best impersonation of a gushing school girl. “They’re dreamy!”

“Aunt Manda!” Katie hissed, mortified. “You’re embarrassing me!”

“Sorry!” Manda chuckled.
She
was embarrassing
Katie
! That was rich! Manda had known her niece would flip when she found out Manda was working with
Rain
, as the duo of Richard and Joshua Raines was known. Katie had all of their CDs and a bedroom plastered with their pictures. Manda had refrained from telling her in advance, not wanting her to be disappointed if the project fell through.

“When will you see them again?” Katie demanded. “You have to promise to introduce me. And an autograph! You have to get me an autograph!”

Manda smiled smugly and reached into her purse. ”Oh, you mean something like this?” She held out the autographed pizza menu to Katie, who squealed in delight.

“Oooh! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

“Well, read it,” Manda ordered, struggling not to laugh.

“To Katie, who has the best aunt in the world.” Katie threw an accusing look at Manda and then read on. “We look forward to meeting you. Best regards, Richard Raines and Joshua Raines.” Katie bounced with excitement. “You
are
going to introduce me to them! You
are
the best aunt in the world!”

“I know,” Manda said in a bored voice, almost suppressing her grin. “I knew you’d say so, that’s why I asked Richard to write it.”

Manda had felt silly asking for an autograph but she’d promised herself that she would do it for Katie. In the elevator, when she and Richard had been laughing about the pizza delivery girl, Manda had gathered all her courage and sheepishly asked him. He’d laughed even harder.

“It would be my pleasure. If she’s half as charming as you are, I hope we’ll get to meet her.” Manda had blushed furiously then.

As soon as they got back to the conference room, Richard had put the pizza boxes down on the table and torn off the menu that was taped to the top.

“What’s her name?” he asked Manda.

Manda told him, asking him to add the part about the best aunt as well. He’d chuckled to himself and written what she asked, adding the part about meeting Katie, and then signed it and handed it to Josh to sign also.

“Well?” Katie demanded, drawing Manda’s attention back to the present. “When will you see them again? When do I get to meet them?”

Manda sighed. “They had to leave town this morning and won’t be back for over a week. I’ll see what I can do when they get back. Maybe you could come downtown and have lunch with me or something on a day they’re around.”

“Oh.” Katie echoed Manda’s sigh with disappointment shadowing her features. Manda didn’t blame her. She’d enjoyed the two brothers’ company more than she’d expected. Josh was impulsive and sweet, while Richard was charming and thoughtful. Surprisingly, she’d been as comfortable working with them as she usually was working with David alone. The exchange of ideas between the four of them had been easy and prolific, with each building off of the creativity of the others.

The fact that both Richard and Joshua were movie star handsome had occasionally thrown her off, it was true. At one point she’d been in the middle of an animated exchange with Richard about logo themes, excited about the direction their concept was taking, when she’d looked up into his surreally attractive face, with its startling blue eyes, and her mind had gone blank, erased by the fluttering of her pulse. He’d smiled knowingly at her then, but hadn’t commented. He just restated his last point and pulled her back into the conversation. She supposed he was accustomed to women losing their good sense when he was around, but the idea that she would be one of them made her squirm inwardly with embarrassment.