Plain Jane in the Spotlight (6 page)

‘That doesn’t sound like it makes him a millionaire.’

‘No, he’s not. But Amos respects him, nonetheless, because the world knows him as a “serious man” doing a “serious job”. I just “flaunt myself for the press”, but Jackson “defends the environment” and that elevates the name Falcon, even if not in business.

‘He actually told me once that I should change my name because he didn’t want to be connected with someone “prancing around for the cameras”.’

‘Your father doesn’t want you to be called after him?’ she asked, aghast.

‘He despises what I do. He was furious when I wouldn’t take a different name.’

‘No wonder you feel shut out,’ she said sympathetically.

‘Not by the others. I get on fine with my brothers, what little I see of them. But I think Amos is just hanging on in the hope that one day I’ll change into a mini-Amos.’

‘You could always act it,’ she suggested.

‘Not if I want to stay sane,’ he said hastily. ‘This way, at least I know who I am. Or I would, if people didn’t keep wanting me to put on a performance in private as well as in front of the cameras.’

‘You poor soul.’ She sighed. ‘The burdens of fame. Just think of all those unemployed actors out there who must be so grateful they don’t have your problems.’

He scowled for a moment, but then relaxed and squeezed her hand, smiling ruefully.

‘Yeah, right. I must be coming across as a bit of a wimp, eh? It’s your fault. You’re such a tempting, sympathetic shoulder to cry on that I gave in. But no more.’ His voice deepened and he assumed a haughty mien. ‘From now on, just macho authority and stern resolve.’

‘Ouch, please, no!’ she said. ‘I can’t stand men like that.’

‘Neither can I,’ he admitted. ‘Perish the thought that I should ever be one of them.’

‘Nothing could be less likely,’ she reassured him.

He met her eyes in a look of total understanding, and suddenly she had the strangest feeling of having known him all her life. It made no sense but instinctively she was his friend, and she sensed him becoming her friend.

‘You see right through me, don’t you?’ he said, amused.

‘I guess I do. Do you mind?’

‘Not a bit. Know what? I think we’re going to get on really well.’

‘Me too. Here’s to a great evening.’

They raised their glasses, and were about to clink when a voice cut in between them like a knife.

‘Well, well! Look who’s here.’

Looking up, Charlene saw a tall, hard-faced, middle-aged man, regarding them coldly. She heard Travis groan, then say, ‘Charlene, this is Frank Brenton. Brenton, this is Miss Charlene Wilkins.’

Brenton flickered cool, angry eyes over her, nodded, then spoke to Travis in a rough voice. ‘Some people have a gift for escaping from awkward situations. I congratulate you. You got away with it this time, but there’ll be others. That’s guaranteed.’

‘Nothing’s guaranteed,’ Travis said.

‘I think you’ll find you’re wrong. You go about inviting trouble, Travis, and such an invitation always gets accepted.’

There was frank dislike in his eyes. His glance at Charlene was almost insulting, and an incredible suspicion came to her, making her temper flare.

She slipped her arm about Travis’s neck, leaning her head against him.

‘You never know what life holds next,’ she said sweetly. ‘Of course, some people think they do, but then they get taken by surprise.’

‘Oh, I don’t think I’m going to be surprised.’

She met his eyes. ‘Nobody ever does until it happens.’

‘Perhaps you’ll be the one surprised.’

She shook her head. ‘That won’t happen, because I believe the worst of people.’ She fixed him with a hard, steady gaze before saying, ‘The very worst, more than most people would ever dream of, because I have a nasty, suspicious nature. But, like you say, we’ll just have to wait and see.’

Brenton seemed on the verge of answering, but then he thought better of it, scowled and walked away.

Travis stared at her in astonishment. ‘What the blue blazes was that all about?’

‘You don’t know? You haven’t guessed?’ she asked regarding him wryly.

‘Did you just do what I thought you did? You drove the enemy off and now he’s taking cover.’

‘I think he might be more the enemy than you realised. That girl in the night club; did she really just appear out of nowhere?’

‘Well, yes, it was a stag night and… Hey, what…are you saying—?’

‘That he fixed it? I don’t know. But it’s possible, isn’t it? He knew you’d be there, it would have been easy for him to arrange.’

‘You mean he—?’

‘First the girl, then the photographer. Was it just chance that they appeared? Didn’t you ever wonder?’

He shook his head. ‘I just thought it was one of those things,’ he said.

‘Travis, wake up! You live in the middle of this city, where people must be playing tricks on each other all the time. You’re far too trusting. Now I’ve met him, I can see that he’s exactly the kind of man who’d do that.’

‘All in five minutes? You saw it and I didn’t.’ His shoulders sagged. ‘And I think of myself as worldly wise.’

He sounded depressed and she smiled at him fondly. There was something about Travis that was the complete opposite of worldly wise, and which drew her towards him. He was, as he’d said, too trusting. In this sophisticated city, that part of him was dangerously vulnerable.

‘Thank goodness for you,’ he said. ‘What would I do without you?’

‘For the moment you don’t have to. You’ve got a big sister keeping an eye out for you.’

He grinned and squeezed her hand. ‘I’d offer to be your big brother, but I guess I’d keep tripping over things and making a mess of it.’

‘Big brother sounds nice. I’ll watch out to see you don’t trip up too much. Hey, look at him now.’

Together they watched the long table at the head of the room. It was slightly raised, making it easy to see Brenton taking his place. People were waiting for him, including a man with a similar face.

‘Travis, that man who’s slapping Brenton on the shoulder—’

‘His son.’

‘You mean the agent? Rick told me about them.’

‘That’s right. And the guy with them is the actor Brenton wanted to see cast instead of me.’

‘There’s a faint likeness. He’s not Brenton’s son as well, is he?’

‘Not officially, but there are rumours. I guess they’re probably true.’

‘So that’s why they’re so determined to discredit you. You watch out. He as good as said that he’ll try something else. Just don’t make it easy for them.’

‘No, I won’t—now I can see it—’

He rubbed his eyes, then looked at her again closely and spoke in a voice of awed discovery. ‘I’m beginning to think meeting you was the best thing that’s ever happened to me.’

CHAPTER FOUR

T
RAVIS
rubbed his eyes again. ‘I guess you just never know what’s around the corner, and… Charlene?’

But he’d lost her attention. Her gaze was fixed on the far side of the room where Lee was entering with Penny on his arm. They were smiling at the world and at each other, looking around the room, then back to each other. A photographer positioned himself before them and they twisted and turned as expected, before making their way to their table.

Travis observed Charlene, noting how she never moved, but sat clasping the stem of her glass with tense fingers. At last she relaxed and looked away. He took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. She squeezed back. There was no need to say anything.

The evening began. A lavish banquet was served to the long table up high at the end of the room and the twenty smaller tables spread out around the room. As she ate the delicious food Charlene wondered what had possessed her to speak as she had done. She’d implied to Travis that she was here for him and only for him, to take care of him and be ‘big sister’ to his ‘big brother’.

But that couldn’t happen. She was here for Lee. Soon they would talk, she would tell him her news, they would become a couple and her usefulness to Travis would end.

She searched the room. Lee was sitting with Penny, not far away but half obscured by other tables. She watched him, willing him to see her. Yes, now his glance had turned her way. But no, now it had turned away again.

‘Charlene,’ Travis said quietly. ‘Are you all right?’

‘I’m fine,’ she said, smiling at him, giving the performance they had agreed. ‘It’s going to be a really wonderful evening.’

He’d seen what had happened. He understood what she was doing, and his admiration grew.

As the meal neared its end people rose and drifted from table to table.

‘Come on,’ Travis said, taking her hand and drawing her across the floor, calling, ‘Lee, good to see you here. And Penny. You look lovely, darling.’

Penny received his kiss with delight, glad to give the show’s star her whole attention, leaving Lee no choice but to talk to Charlene.

‘Fancy seeing you again,’ he said brightly as she sat beside him.

‘You speak as though you never expected to see me again,’ she said. ‘But we weren’t going to leave things there, were we?’

‘I didn’t mean to dash off the way I did. Things just happened suddenly.’

‘I know. I’m glad for you. But I had to see you again because…after we were so fond of each other…’

‘Yes, we were. I remember that well, but…life moves on. Things are so different now that it wouldn’t have been fair for me to try to drag you in, and—’

‘But you didn’t drag me. I’m here because I wanted to see you.’

‘That’s sweet of you, but I hate to think how much it must be costing you. This town is so expensive.’

‘Well, it is a bit, yes, but—’

Surely he would offer to help her with the cost? She waited for the words.

‘Look, Charlene, perhaps—’

‘Yes?’

‘Perhaps you should go home. You can’t afford it and I shall worry about you.’

‘You don’t need to worry about me.’

‘Well, I know that really. You were always the strong one, weren’t you? Nothing happens that you can’t cope with.’

His smile was like a steel mask.

‘Lee, I need to talk to you. There’s something—’

‘Attention, everybody!’
The cry came from the top table. ‘Can you all return to your seats, please? The best part of the evening is about to start.’

Charlene sat still, feeling as though dead weights were dragging her down, until Travis’s gentle hands drew her to her feet. He paused to smile back at Penny, saying, ‘I’ll claim that dance later. Keep it for me.’

‘Oh, lovely!’ she cried.

Images flickered through Charlene’s consciousness. Penny, thrilled by attention from Travis, Lee disgruntled because she was focusing on another man.

At their table, Travis drew out her seat and ushered her into it, as theatrically attentive as a servant. He was doing it for her, she knew. Just as he’d fixed it so that she could talk to Lee, he would fix it again by dancing with Penny. But it would all be for nothing. Lee was embarrassed to see her. He’d made that very plain.

She should never have come here.

Charlene laid her hand softly over her stomach, then moved it away quickly, unaware that Travis was watching her with kindly, troubled eyes.

The speeches began. Denzil Raines praised Brenton to the skies, wished him happy birthday and presented him with a costly gift. More gifts, more speeches. Brenton accepted it all with an evident sense of entitlement. Charlene reckoned this was a man used to getting his own way, who didn’t easily give up.

It was time for the dancing. Travis claimed Penny at once, thus freeing Lee to talk to Charlene. But when she approached his table it was empty.

It offended her pride to go searching for him, but pride was something she couldn’t afford right now, so she looked around until she saw him deep in conversation with Denzil. There was no way she could interrupt him now, as he must have known. Heavy-hearted, she began to return to her table.

‘Got a few minutes to spare for me?’

Brenton was standing there, a grim smile on his face.

‘So Travis has dumped you already, has he?’ he asked. ‘That’s what you must expect. He’s just making use of you. When you’ve served your purpose you’ll be out.’

‘And you know all about using people to serve a purpose, don’t you, Mr Brenton. Who do you think you’re fooling?’

‘And just what does that mean?’

‘It means exactly what you’re afraid it means. I know what you did. You’re not so on top of the situation as you think you are.’

‘Everything all right?’ That was Travis’s voice. The dance had ended and Penny had already gone in search of Lee.

‘Everything is wonderfully all right,’ Charlene declared. ‘Mr Brenton has just made his meaning plain to me, and I’ve made my meaning plain to him.’

Very deliberately, she stepped closer to Travis and slid her arm around his neck. Her message was plain. Brenton could do his worst. Travis was under her protection now and everyone had better remember that.

Travis reacted on cue, putting his arm around her waist, drawing her close, echoing her message. Brenton made a face and walked away.

‘Let’s go outside for a while,’ Travis said.

‘Oh, yes,’ she said gratefully. ‘Let’s get away from here.’

The hotel garden was full of trees hung with lights. As they strolled beneath them, music reached them from a distance.

‘I’m not sure exactly what I walked into,’ Travis said, ‘but I reckon you just sent the enemy packing for the second time tonight. Was he giving you trouble?’

‘Not as much as I gave him. He warned me that you’d dump me when I’d served my purpose.’

‘I won’t get the chance. You’ll dump me first. Did you fix things with Lee?’

He sensed her reluctance to answer. ‘Not really,’ she said. ‘We need another meeting.’

‘And will that be any different?’ he asked ironically. ‘No, no, I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry,
I’m sorry
!’

‘Probably not,’ she admitted. ‘I can’t kid myself that he was glad to see me, but I can’t leave things as they are.’

‘Well, one thing will definitely change. You’re not staying in the Howley. You must move in here.’