Heart in the Field (2 page)

           
“It’s all for your own good,” his
mother had told him. “You need to be with young people.”

           
But behind closed doors he’d heard
his mother complain once to his father: “I was too old to have that baby.”

           
Don stood over him. “What do you
think of the set, Nick?”

           
Nick forced his mind back to the less
painful present. “Great.”

           
“Yes indeed.
Black
and white.
The programs will be in color.
Should be
powerful.”

           
Power, Nick decided, was what he’d
given himself by leaving home and forging a career for himself. Was he going to
lose some of that power here at Steel, where Don seemed to have complete
control and his co-host was to be the daughter of a famous journalist? Had he
made the right decision to leave the field? Time would tell, he supposed.
Besides, he was only here for one season, six to eight months, long enough to
deal with his personal situation. After that he could return overseas and
continue to pursue a career dear to his heart, which was the same way Redding
Brown had felt.

•

           
Serena pushed open the studio door,
turning her wrist to see that her watch read six o’clock. She had made it on
time.

           
Don waved at her. “Hey. That suit
looks good. Nice short skirt. Nice long legs.”

           
Serena grimaced. “Stop it. We’re
selling news, not sex.”

           
“Sex sells news.”

           
“Sex sells anything,” an amused
voice added.

           
Serena’s gaze moved to Don’s
companion. It was the man from the elevator. As she’d gone upstairs to freshen
up, she hadn’t stopped thinking about him. He’d added a tension in the elevator
ride that she wasn’t used to feeling with most of the men she knew and worked
with.

           
“This is Nick Fraser,” Don said.
“Nick, Serena Brown.”

           
She should have known who he was,
she thought as she reached for a smile out of the heavy feeling of trepidation
she’d been experiencing ever since Don’s phone call. “Hi, Nick. I’m pleased to
meet you.”

           
His hand clasped hers. “Serena.”

           
The way he spoke her name was like a
spring breeze after a long winter. Even so, Nick’s voice retained the broadcast
smoothness off the screen, a clue to his identity that she’d missed earlier.
She now took a good look at him. With his black, vibrant thick straight hair
and a distinctive masculine angled face, Nick was almost more handsome than she
could bear. Even the faint lesion climbing his cheekbone added a heroic battle
scar. He wore not the required black suit, white shirt and black tie John would
have worn, but a pair of scuffed sneakers, faded jeans and a burgundy flannel
shirt. The clothes fitted his body to show off a taut, physical power without
outlining his muscles in a vulgar way. Not only was his voice like her
father’s, but his eyes were also the same shade of steel-gray that showed
little emotion or expression.

           
Don twisted with a brisk squeal of
his rubber soles. “Try the couch on the set with Serena, Nick. Let’s see how
you work out.”

           
Serena withdrew her hand from Nick’s
hoping he didn’t work out. After all, Nick was what her father would have
called a true blue journalist from the trenches. Why would he subject himself
to tedious, controlled studio work?

           
Nick said, “Go ahead.”

           
Serena sat on the couch, her palm
sliding against the puckered leather. Then Nick lowered his body beside her,
his hip nudging hers. The line of his muscular thigh was inches from her own,
his encased in faded denim, hers in sheer hose. She wanted to fidget, but TV
didn’t allow for fidgeting. Instead, she turned to look at Nick with a smile
pasted on her face. He also smiled, and their eyes locked for a second. Tension
rose inside her.
Sexual tension?
She hoped not.

           
Don had hijacked a camera and was
peering through the lens. He waved his arm. “Shift a little to your left,
Serena. Turn your head toward Nick a little more. I like that smile.
Nick, angle to your right.
Acknowledge Serena.
Great.
Serena, tuck your legs aside. Wow, I’ll say it again,
I’ll say it forever, you’ve got great pins.”

           
“Cut the crap,” Serena mouthed,
still smiling, and she heard Nick chuckle. Their eyes met for longer this time,
Nick displaying a grin that could disarm anyone who wasn’t strong. She realized
that she didn’t feel very strong this evening. Rather like a lone tall flower
in a gale.

           
“Okay.” Don came over to them.
“There is an introductory lead-in on the monitor. Let’s have a run through to
see how it looks.”

           
Don returned the camera to the
orphaned cameraman. He talked to the technicians, instructing them on what he
wanted. A young girl with fluffy blond hair, wearing jeans and a blue denim
shirt, added makeup and clipped on their microphones. Serena noticed that
Nick’s casual pleasant manner made the girl’s face flush a solid red. So he
flustered all women the same way, Serena thought. Good. That meant she would
soon get over this strained awkwardness with him.

           
Or would she? Serena felt the glow
from the studio lights sprinkle perspiration on to her brow. Nick’s subtle
aftershave or cologne drifted on the air. He showed no nervousness. Serena’s
stomach muscles tensed even more. She had to remind herself of her
over-abundance of studio experience compared to his, although Nick seemed as
much at home here as he would in a news report from the middle of a desert.

           
Nick shifted his body beside her.
“Relax.”

           
“I am.”

           
She ignored his raised eyebrow,
gritted her teeth, and responded to the floor direction. A bearded technician
cued them up.
“Three, two, one.
On
air.”

           
Serena spoke her lines, smiled, and
tossed the cue to Nick, who also knew how to act. He was expert behind the
camera.

           
Afterward they watched themselves.

           
“You are excellent together,” Don
said. “We’ll put together a commercial with the two of you on Friday afternoon
and begin running it in every spot we can to bring the viewers in for next
Thursday. It’ll be a rush, but we can’t help it. We might go with the series
you worked up with John, Serena. But see what Nick thinks of it first. You guys
should meet as soon as possible. He might want to change some things. It’s also
a plus that neither of you are married nor involved with anyone, because it’ll
give the show a sizzle to present you as a couple. That doesn’t mean you have
to go and climb into bed together.” He grinned. “But I’d like to see some
intimacy radiate from the screen.”

           
Serena was furious. Nick was a given
as her co-host, a done deal. There was no seeing how he worked out about this
one way or another. Adrenaline pumped through her veins. She knew she had to escape
before she exploded at Don in front of everyone. She didn’t want Nick as her
co-host. He was too much like her father to make her comfortable. He was also
too sexy, one of those men who made women
lose
all of
their self-control. She’d spent years perfecting her self-control, on and off
the camera. She’d been excited about the debut of
Neon Nights
, and now
all she felt was apprehension.

           
She ignored Nick and said to Don, “I
think I’ll call it a night.”

           
Don placed one of his big hands on
her shoulder. “Hang on. Make sure Nick comes to my soirée on Saturday evening,
Serena. Are you free for a party on Saturday, Nick? I throw a bash every year
to begin the new season.”

           
“Sure,” Nick said. “I have to plunge
back into life here. I might as well do it in style.”

           
Serena tried to squirm from Don’s
grip. “We’ll make the arrangements later. Meanwhile, I’ve got some things to
do.”

           
“All right.”
Don released her shoulder.

           
Serena stalked to the door. She
didn’t look back, but she let the door bang shut.

•

           
Nick heard the door close with more
purpose than was necessary and wondered what had happened in the last few
minutes to cause Serena’s anger.

           
Don glanced at Nick. “So, what did
you think?”

           
He thought she was the most
beautiful woman he’d ever met. He didn’t want Don to know that though. “She’s
very interesting. I’m going to follow her right now to set up our meeting
before she leaves.” He wanted to make sure Serena’s anger hadn’t been channeled
toward him.

           
“She’s on the fifth floor.
The office with the white door down at the end of the corridor.”

           
Nick picked up his jacket. “She has
her own office?”

           
“All my stars have offices. You’ll
get one, don’t worry.”

           
“I’m not worrying. I’ve got a
feeling
Neon Nights
will be a blast.”
           

           
In more ways than
one.
Nick was pretty sure Serena was going to cause an abundance of
sparks.

Chapter Two

Serena hung
her navy suit in the closet of her personal powder room and slammed the closet
door. She tugged on khaki cotton pants, a white top, a pair of socks and
sneakers, patted off the extra set makeup, then glared at her reflection in the
mirror. With rapid angry arm-strokes she brushed her hair. Don had pulled a
number on her today.

           
Okay, so John was ill and they were
in a tight spot but Don had intimated that this evening would be a test for
Nick. A mere pairing on a sofa for a ten minute clip didn’t mean he would work
out. She’d had no say in the matter. That’s what infuriated her the most. And
if she’d had a say in the matter, she would have said no. She didn’t want Nick
Fraser as her co-host, even if it was for a few months.

           
A rap at the door made her body
stiffen. Still holding her hairbrush, she walked into her office.

           
Nick Fraser popped his head around
the corner.
“Located you.
This building is a maze.”

           
“Yes. It can be. They supply a map
down at Reception.”

           
“That’s the truth?”

           
She made her lips smile.
“Absolutely.
Steel only occupies a few of the floors.
The third floor.
The News Room is here, on five. There are
more offices on seven. And Don’s on ten. He has the entire floor.”

           
“Good for him. So who fills the rest
of the space?”

           
“Advertising
agencies and other media-related organizations.”
She kept the smile for
a moment longer. “Don’s lawyer is on nine.”

           
Nick strolled closer. “Now that’s
handy.”

           
He stood in a ray of sunlight,
holding his black leather jacket over his right shoulder, and observing her
with those metal eyes like her father’s, making her feel as if she were under a
microscope. As his skin showed no trace of the light film of powder the woman
had whisked over his face on the set, it was obvious that he’d popped into the
men’s room on the way up.

           
Serena walked back into her powder
room, tossed her hairbrush down on the vanity counter and returned to her
office. She supposed she had to deal with him.

           
Nick had hung his jacket over the
back of one of her chairs, and was prowling around with his hands stuffed into
his back pockets.

           
Serena sat down behind her desk,
which was full of file folders containing all of her previous anchor work. When
she’d handed over the spot to Juliette Marshall, correspondence had begun to
pour in about the loss of Serena. She’d hoped her popularity would steer the
viewers over to
Neon Nights
. Now she thought it might be Nick Fraser who would bring
in viewers.

           
“What’s going on?” Nick asked. “You
seem angry.”

           
She glared at him. “I am angry. It
was a done deal with Don, wasn’t it?”

           
He frowned. “You didn’t know that
Don negotiated it with me on the phone this morning?”

           
“I knew he talked to you, but he
told me he’d see if we worked out.”

           
“I thought we did.”

           
“We sat on a couch with a fake
introduction to read. That’s all.”

           
“And we did well. For your
information, just so it’s fair all around, Don didn’t tell me I was to have a
co-host until I arrived at the studio.”

           
Whether Don had done that on purpose
Serena didn’t know. “Would you have turned down the offer if you’d known?”

           
“No.”

           
“Well, then. What are you upset
about?”

           
“I’m not the one upset. You are.”

           
Was she upset about Nick being on
the show, or Nick being who he was, a man who resembled her father? Serena
pushed back her hair with both hands. “I’m not upset. I think I’m more in
shock. That John’s sick, and the show begins next Thursday, and now I’m not
prepared like I thought I was. It takes away the excitement.”

           
Nick moved closer to her desk. “I
understand that. But I’m here to help and make sure we will be prepared. If you
have the first month’s programs ready to go, there’s no problem. Who’s our
producer?”

           
“Cameron Steel, Don’s younger
brother. He’s not as strong-willed as Don. In fact, he’s pretty loose when it
comes to letting us do our own thing. But he’s a good detail man. He’s away on
vacation until Monday. I doubt if he knows about John yet.”

           
“I’ll look forward to meeting him.
But he sounds like a plus. I like as much journalistic control as I can get.”

           
She’d never have guessed.

           
Nick withdrew his hands from his
pockets, leaned his hips against her desk and crossed his arms. “Come on.
Brighten up. We’ve got to be positive. This is a great opportunity for both of
us. What do you think of Don’s vision for the show?”

           
“I like it.”

           
“So do
I
,
so we’re even on that score.” He fastened his gaze to hers. “Is this about the
intimacy Don wants?”

           
“He’s not getting it.”

           
“Maybe not in reality but we can
act. It will draw in viewers.”

           
Serena pounded the desk with her
fist. He was frustrating. This entire situation was frustrating. “I’m going to
be working, not having an affair.”

           
Nick raised an eyebrow. “Calm down.
No one mentioned anything about having an affair.” He chuckled.

           
Serena felt her face grow hot. “I
just meant that nothing was going to go on.
Nothing.”

           
“You’re not going to treat any
aspect of this show as fun, are you?”

           
“You might think this studio stuff
is mere fooling around compared to field journalism, but it’s not. It’s hard
work.”

           
“I know
it’s
hard work. But we don’t want it to become a grind. We have a new show. We’ve
got a chance at stardom. We have to play to that.”

           
“Then you’re just like Don. He plays
with TV.”

           
“Successful play?”

           
“Indeed. But he manipulates careers.
His ideas count. He’s very forceful. We have to be equally forceful in return.”

           
“I’ve already figured that out. It
means we’ll have to make certain we put our own personal stamp on
Neon Nights
. To make
it a success we can’t leave any holes. We have to come up with material so
tight he can’t fault it. In other words, we have to take ourselves to the edge.
And we have to be side by side on this. If we both have an identical view for
the show it will work better. I’m not saying we should agree on everything. But
we shouldn’t accept any inferior content just because we can’t come up with
anything better. No hoops for Don to dance through. Okay?”

           
Nick made John seem like mush. But
she had to admit she agreed with him. If Don couldn’t fault their
presentations, then Don lost control of
Neon
Nights
and it was all theirs. “I understand.
You have my commitment to the show. I’ve given up my day job, as it were.”

           
“Which was?”

           
“I was the afternoon news anchor.”
She knew for him that was likely considered a very lowly news job.

           
But he didn’t show any disdain.
“This will be much more challenging.”

           
“Exactly.
That’s why I jumped at the chance, even if it is rather like diving into the
deep end without knowing what’s underneath.” She wasn’t sure why she was
exposing her vulnerability.

           
“Then we’ll have to make sure there
are no rocks at the bottom.”

           
His grin was friendly, reassuring.
The adrenaline and anger were now gone and her body felt limp and devoid of any
energy. She opened her right-hand desk drawer, drew out her purse, and stood
up. To reach the stainless steel coat rack she walked around the desk to where
Nick was standing. She unhooked a khaki bomber jacket that matched her pants
and tucked the jacket over her arm. “I’d better be getting home. It’s been a
long day.”

           
Nick blocked her vision.
Tall and lean, with a hint of a shadow on his hard jaw.
“I’ve come to meet you, to chat about our new show. You can’t go home yet.
Let’s go for a drink. You look like you need something strong.”

           
His eyes were so much like her
father’s it was uncanny.

           
“How do you know what I need?”

           
“Because you might
need the same as what I want, a way of calming down from the day.
Let’s
continue this somewhere else.” He plucked his jacket from the back of the chair
and shrugged his broad shoulders into it.

           
Serena turned away from him and she
heard the rustle of leather.

           
“Are we going?” he said.

           
“Yes.
My keys.”
She opened her purse and dug around for her keys.

           
Nick walked outside and waited while
she locked her office door. It was a long walk up the corridor to the elevator,
and Serena had to hurry to keep up with Nick’s stride. He pushed the button
hard, the way she’d shown him, to make the light come on. Serena knew she was
going to have to get used to this scene.
She and Nick
together.
In a few months, with
Neon
Nights
well underway, she would laugh at her
initial jittery attitude. She might even laugh over it one day with Nick.
But not tonight.

           
One thing, he was polite, Serena
thought as he let her walk into the elevator first.

           
“This time I know who you are.”

           
“Yes. You do.” But Serena still
wanted to run away from him. No way was she going for a drink.

           
In the foyer they checked out with
Joseph, who was the elderly evening security guard. The swing doors opened into
a humid, fragrant evening. People strolled around them on the sidewalk,
probably reminding themselves that winter in Toronto kept one cooped up inside, and a
beautiful calm night in September was a luxury.

           
“Where’s a good place for a drink?”
Nick asked.

           
Serena waved her hand. “You’ll find
a pub called The Bear’s Pause right up the street, across the next block.
Everyone goes there.”

           
“Show me.”

           
“It’s just up the street. You won’t
miss it.”

           
He sighed. “Look, we have to spend a
great deal of time together. Part of our job is getting to know one another so
we can work together. If we don’t begin tonight we’re going to have problems.
Time’s too short.”

           
He was right, of course. If she
didn’t go with him tonight, then she was only putting aside the inevitable.
Besides, she wouldn’t mind some relaxation before she drove home, even if it
was with Nick Fraser. Possibly, as she got to know him, she would discover he
was nothing like her father. He might have any number of differences in his
personality. He might not even attract her.

           
“Are you coming with me?” He sounded
impatient now.

           
“Yes.”

           
As Nick strolled beside her, Serena
realized how pleasant it was to be walking with a man in the evening. Except
Nick wasn’t a man she should get interested in. She couldn’t handle short
affairs, or even long affairs for that matter. She began with good intentions,
but she ended up erecting protective barriers that pushed men away. She’d lost
someone very dear to her when she was still a child. Her mother had lost a husband
she’d loved passionately. And her brother had never known his father. The
silent grief in the household had been palpable for years. Stuart Redding
Brown’s presence had been powerful in their lives. While Serena believed her
mother was now healed, she knew her own scars were a mere shell, covering all
the anguish. Deep down she still felt a great deal of pain.