The Price of Fame - KJ1 (28 page)

“Thanks, Gene, that’s sweet.” Smiling at him, she patted him on the arm, which made him blush.

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“Hey,” Phil exclaimed, “I just remembered, wasn’t that Jay Parker I saw at the governor’s table?”

Kate’s heart rate sped up at the mere mention of her lover’s name, but she answered casually, “Yeah, I guess he had invited her to be his guest when she interviewed him for this week’s cover of
Time
.”

“Whoo boy,” Gene shook his head. “She looked hot, and I mean hot with a capital H! Did you see that dress she had on? Wow! Do you think she’s single, Kate?” Without waiting for an answer, he prattled on, completely oblivious to the change in his friend’s demeanor. “If I had any balls I would’ve gone right up to her and—”

“If you had any balls you wouldn’t know what to do with them,” Phil interrupted, laughing.

“Gentlemen, and I use the term very loosely, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some work to do.” And with that she stalked off.

“What got into her, you think?” Gene wondered.

“Ah, probably just PMS or something,” Phil shrugged.

Kate gripped the sink in the bathroom so hard her knuckles were white. She knew if she had stayed there even one moment longer she would have slugged Gene. It wouldn’t do to haul off and deck a co-worker for encroaching on her girlfriend when he didn’t even know he was doing it.

Once she was satisfied she was under control again she returned to her desk. An idea was forming in her head, sparked by her own thoughts and something Phil had said. But first, she had to make a phone call.

Jay arrived in the office a few minutes ahead of schedule after stopping at her apartment to drop off her suitcase and change her clothes.

Trish greeted her as she was passing by, stopping and leaning on the corner of the writer’s desk. “Hey, you look like you got a little color this weekend. Do anything interesting?”

Oh yeah,
Jay thought dreamily,
I spent it with the love of my life,
snuggled up doing nothing except crossword puzzles, napping outside in
the sun, and making love.
Aloud she said, “I went up north to the Catskills and did a little hiking. It was beautiful and I guess I must have forgotten the sunblock.”
Well, that was the truth, wasn’t it?

“Well, whatever you did, you look great, kind of like you’re glowing or something.” The editor paused for a second. “Okay, kid, come with me and let’s see the goods.”

Obediently Jay got up, bringing the manila file folder with the story, her notes and background materials with her. She stood in front of the editor’s desk, unsure whether she should just hand her the piece or sit 169

Lynn Ames

down. Her dilemma was solved when her boss pointed to the chair and put her hand out for the story.

Chewing on her lower lip, the writer handed it over. For the next twenty minutes, as Trish read, grunting occasionally, Jay’s anxiety level increased; she couldn’t read anything in the editor’s expression as her eyes danced across the pages.

Finally, just when the blonde was sure she would spontaneously combust, Trish looked up. “Jamison Parker, I have to tell you, you’ve outdone yourself again, girl. This,” she pointed at the papers, “is the most three-dimensional piece I think I’ve ever seen, and believe me, I’ve seen plenty. I mean, really, Jay, it shows uncommon insight into the subject.

Congrats. This chick must have given you unprecedented access. Geez, what’d she let you do, spend twenty-four hours a day with her or something?”

Jay almost choked.
You have no idea,
she thought, but the words that came out of her mouth were ones she knew would have made Kate laugh.

“She was most accommodating.”

“Well, you keep this up and you’re going to be writing every cover from here on in. Now, why don’t you go review the pics they took and help them decide which ones to use. Then maybe I’ll give you some time off for good behavior.”

“On my way, Trish, and thanks,” Jay beamed. She was overjoyed at her boss’s comments about the piece, and, if that wasn’t enough, she was going to get to spend her afternoon looking at proofs and eight-by-tens of the most gorgeous woman in the world.

“Don’t mention it, kiddo,” Trish said indulgently as she turned to the other piles of papers littering her desk.

When Jay stopped by her cubicle to drop off her folder on the way to the photo department, the phone was ringing.

“Hello, Jamison Parker.”

“Hi, beautiful.”

The warm, seductive quality of that voice cut through the smaller woman’s business demeanor like a hot knife through butter. “Hi yourself, Stretch.”

“How was your trip down?”

“Uneventful. I even managed to get to the office a few minutes early.”

“That’s great. I’m not catching you at a bad time, am I?”

“Well, I was just about to go review pictures of the sexiest woman alive, but...”

“Oh yeah? Who might that be?” A note of indignation crept into the anchorwoman’s voice. “I need to know who my competition is.”

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The Price of Fame

Jay chuckled and shook her head. “It’s you, ya goofball; I was talking about you.”

“Oh, well, I guess that’s okay then. Everything all right?”

Jay smiled, understanding that her lover didn’t want to ask directly about the story and appreciating the gesture. “Everything’s more than okay. Trish loved the piece. She said, and I quote, ‘It shows uncommon insight inta da subject...dis chick musta given ya unprecedented access...what’d she do, let ya spend twenty-four owas a day wit ha or somethin’’?”

By the time she was finished, Kate was laughing so hard she could barely breathe. Finally, she croaked out, “That’s a pretty mean Noo Yawk accent you’ve got there, Scoop. I can’t wait to hear how you answered her question.”

“I just told her the truth,” Jay paused for effect, knowing that her lover must be dying on the other end of the phone.

“You told her...the truth.”

“Yep,” Jay answered smugly. “I told her you were very accommodating.”

“Oh, you are such a brat. Hey, that was a pretty good one.”

“Well, I told the truth, didn’t I?”

“That you did, love, that you did.” Casually she asked, “So, what’s next for you?”

“I don’t know yet, Trish said something about maybe giving me some time off for good behavior.” The younger woman let the comment dangle there, hoping her lover would understand the implications.

“Oh, that’s nice,” Kate said, seemingly distracted all of a sudden.

“Listen, love, I’ve got to run. Want me to call you when I’m done tonight, or are you going to be asleep?”

Jay tried to hide her disappointment. “Um, you don’t have to call if you don’t want to.”

“Of course I want to, sweetheart.” Softly, she added, “I love you, Jay.

I miss you.”

“Miss you, too. Love you, bye.”

Jay swatted at the alarm, but the incessant ringing didn’t stop.

Blearily, she opened one eye and peeked at the offending instrument.

Nope, she’d been right, she hadn’t set the damn thing by accident. So what could be making all the racket? Oh yeah, the telephone.

She grumbled, searching for the receiver by feel; she wasn’t ready to open both eyes just yet, not having gotten much sleep after her brief midnight conversation with Kate. Jay hadn’t had much to say. She was depressed because her lover hadn’t mentioned seeing each other again, 171

Lynn Ames

even though she had told her that she had the rest of the week off. It wasn’t in her to invite herself to Albany.
I will not beg,
she told herself resolutely, although that’s exactly what her heart wanted her to do.

It was obvious Kate didn’t want her there. If she had, she would have offered. After they had hung up, Jay cried for a long time, finally tiring herself out and falling into a fitful sleep at around 3:00 a.m. Now it was 9:00 a.m. on her first day off, she had nothing to do and nowhere to be, and the phone was ringing.

“Hello,” she mumbled, her voice rough from crying and too little sleep.

“Hi. I’m waking you, aren’t I?”

Jay cleared her throat. “It’s okay. What’s up?”

“Um, Fred misses you.”

Still half asleep, the blonde muttered, “Then how come he’s not the one calling me?”

“He’s a little shy and he doesn’t want to appear to be needy.”

“Hmm, I didn’t realize he was that deep a thinker. Hold on, it’s hard to hear, there’s a fire engine going by outside.” Jay paused for a moment, noticing as she came more awake that she was hearing the siren in stereo.

“Kate?”

“Yes.” The sound of the siren faded into the distance.

“Where are you, exactly?”

“At the pay phone outside your building; you can probably see me if you look outside your window.”

“Are you kidding me?” Jay was fully awake now.

“Nope.”

“Get up here, you goofball! I’m hanging up, go to the door so I can buzz you in.”

Within seconds Kate was bounding up the stairs, arriving at the door just as it was being flung open. She scooped her lover into her arms, stepping into the apartment and shutting the door behind her with her foot, as she had done the very first time they had kissed. This time, though, there was no limousine waiting downstairs and nothing on Kate’s mind except how much she loved and wanted the wonderful woman in her arms.

She leaned down and reverently ran her hands over Jay’s face, finally tangling her fingers in the sleep-tousled golden strands and pulling her into a heart-stopping kiss that didn’t end until they were both desperate for air. “Which way is the bedroom?” Kate asked huskily, her eyes darkened with passion.

Without saying a word, Jay took her by the hand and tugged her toward the loft, where she quickly stripped them both, all the while backing her lover toward the bed with purpose.

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“I missed you so much, sweetheart, I couldn’t stand not having you in my bed last night. I never knew I could feel this way.” Kate had to stop talking then, because her lover had inserted a thigh between her legs and the delicious pressure was driving her to distraction.

“Mmm, I think I like the sound of that. Is this what you were missing, baby?” Jay was hovering over her now, her breasts tantalizingly close, but just out of reach of Kate’s mouth.

“Oh, yeah.” Reaching up, Kate ran her thumbs over the aroused nipples, watching avidly as her lover’s eyes closed in reaction and she leaned in to the contact. They were both so ready they knew they couldn’t stand much more in the way of foreplay, but they continued to tease, taste and touch as long as they could before giving in and taking each other completely.

“Oh God, Kate!”

“Don’t stop, Jay, please...don’t stop...”

“I won’t, love.”

Sometime later, when they both had recovered and were lying peacefully entangled in one another, Jay asked, “Not that I’m complaining, because I’m not, but what are you doing here, love?”

“If I have to explain it to you...” Kate chuckled, indicating their entwined torsos.

“I don’t mean that and you know it, wiseguy. I mean, it’s Tuesday morning, it’s 10:00 a.m., and you’re 150 miles south of where you’re supposed to be four hours from now.”

“Oh, that. Hand me my jeans, will you?”

Jay shook her head, once again baffled by a non sequitur. She leaned over the edge of the bed and found the requested item where it had been dropped in haste. “Here you go. Are you planning on running out right now or something?” She laughed nervously. “If so, then please disregard the question.”

“No, love, of course not. I’m trying to answer you.”

“And you need your pants for that?”

“Yes,” Kate supplied as she dug around in the pockets. “Ah, here we go. Close your eyes.”

“What?”

“Do you always have so much trouble following simple instructions?

Close your eyes, woman.”

Jay did as she was told.

“Now hold out your hand.”

She did, and Kate placed a flat item in her palm, closing her fingers around it.

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Lynn Ames

“Okay, you can open your eyes now.”

Jay cracked one eyelid, peeking into her outstretched hand, where a brochure rested. She opened the other eye and studied the picture on the front. It showed an endless expanse of sun-drenched white sand and ocean, a beach chair, and the inviting caption,
This could be you.
She looked up at Kate questioningly.

Her lover smiled broadly, making her blue eyes twinkle in the sunlight seeping into the loft. “I, um, thought you might enjoy a little time away.” She pointed at the brochure. “That’s St. John in the U.S.

Virgin Islands.”

“I don’t understand, you’re sending me away?”

“Oh, sweetheart.” Kate shook her head and pulled her lover on top of her. “I’m sending
us
away, as in a vacation, as in just the two of us, as in quality time with no distractions, as in we have a plane to catch in,” she looked at the bedside clock, “three and a half hours.”

Jay leaned up on one elbow and stared hard into the eyes of the woman she loved with all her heart. “You’re serious.”

“Oh, yes, I certainly am,” Kate offered sincerely. “I love you, Jamison, and all I want to do is spend more time with you. Will you come away with me? Today? Now? I know I didn’t give you any warning, or any choice about the destination, but...”

“Yes. Yes, love, I would follow you to the end of the earth...or at least to a beautiful beach in the Virgin Islands.” She smiled and winked.

“But how...when...how long...”

“I know there’s a question in there just dying to get out, sweetheart. I didn’t want to say anything last night until I was sure I had all the arrangements worked out and everything set. That didn’t happen until very late, and then I had it in my head that I’d rather surprise you in person than tell you about it over the phone.”

“How did you get the time off? Didn’t you tell me this is sweeps month? And you’re going to be the hottest property going once the magazine hits the newsstands.”

“I asked. Yes, it is. And I agreed to be back on the air Monday night, the day the magazine comes out.”