French Silk by Sandra Brown

Author:Sandra Brown
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 1992-01-01T13:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

« ^ »

Claire was up early and, over coffee, consulted with Leon, Rue, and Yasmine about the shots they had scheduled for that day. "What would you think of using that old-fashioned vanity table in our bedroom for one of the interior shots?" she asked Yasmine.

Yasmine responded enthusiastically. "We could shoot the model from the back, looking into the mirror, and it could reflect one of the guys watching her through the balcony doors. We could close those gauzy curtains so you'd see only the silhouette of a man."

"It'd be a good shot to feature that backless bra you designed, Claire," Rue said around a rattling cough.

"Leon?"

"Sounds fab. But let's wait for a cloudy day to do the interior shots. I want to take advantage of this glorious sunshine while it lasts."

The weather cooperated with Leon's wishes. Consequently, the morning sessions went well. By noon they had completed three shots.

"We'll resume after lunch," Claire told everyone as they trooped up the front steps toward the welcome shade of the veranda, where Agnes Monteith was waiting with a cordless phone.

"A call for you, Miss Laurent. A Mr. Cassidy. I told him we were serving lunch, but he was insistent."

"Yes, he would be." Frowning, Claire took the phone but waited until everyone was inside before saying anything. "Hello, Cassidy." Her voice didn't convey any friendliness.

"How's Mississippi?"

"Hot."

"No hotter than it is here."

"Oh?"

"Don't sound so innocent. I'm catching hell from Crowder."

"About that newspaper story?"

"You saw it?"

"Before I left New Orleans. According to Ariel Wilde, I'm quite a tart, aren't I?"

"Much ado about one little kiss."

It hadn't exactly been "one little kiss," but Claire refrained from pointing that out. "You should have thought of the consequences before you kissed me."

"I thought about them. At the time, the consequences didn't seem to matter a whole hell of a lot."

Breathless and feeling overly warm, Claire sank into the nearest wicker chair, wishing she could think of something to say that would fill the awkward silence.

Cassidy said, "Ariel called Crowder even before she went to the press. Apparently she's got somebody tailing you."

The thought of someone, a stranger, covertly watching her made her feel like she needed a bath. "Damn her! Why can't she just leave us alone? Why can't you?"

"Look, the last couple of days haven't exactly been a picnic for me either."

"I don't suppose Crowder was too happy with you," she remarked.

"He threatened to take me off the case."

"You don't want that, do you?"

"No."

"How is Crowder responding publicly to the newspaper story?"

"He's denying everything."

"How can he?" Claire exclaimed.

"It's their word against ours that I kissed you. Who is Joe Public going to believe, a religious nut or the district attorney?"

"Crowder would lie to protect you?"

"Not me. He'd lie to protect the office. He's a politician first, and supports the establishment as fiercely as you oppose it."

Claire was trying to assimilate it all when a chilling thought occurred to her. "In order to get back in Crowder's good graces, you almost have to indict me. That's

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.