He’d been wondering that himself. He had a kind heart and often went out of his way to help people, but he didn’t normally linger. Strangely, her clout across his face had been a turning point. Her horror and dismay had aroused his pity, making him want to defend her. He didn’t fully understand it, but she ignited his protective instincts in a way that only one other person did. And that other person was his mother.
‘I’ll get out and stop bothering you—’ she hastened to say.
‘You’re not bothering me.’ He took her hand in both his and spoke gently. ‘Look, I’ll be honest. I have a selfish motive. I don’t like Lee. I’m not sure why. There’s just something about him that gets up my nose. It’ll be a real pleasure to annoy him. You wouldn’t be so hard-hearted as to deny me that pleasure, would you?’
It was a performance. The twinkle in his eyes revealed as much, and also the fact that he expected her to share the joke. And why not, she thought, since she gained from it?
‘How could I be hard-hearted enough to deny you anything?’ she said lightly, matching his theatrical fervour with her own.
He brushed his lips against her hand. ‘That’s good,’ he murmured, ‘because Lee’s watching. No, don’t turn your head. Just look at me. Try to seem entranced.’
She sighed, throwing back her head and giving him a glance of adoration, plus a brilliant smile.
‘Well done,’ Travis said. ‘That’ll teach him.’
‘If he saw.’
‘He did. He edged just closer enough to see everything. Trust me, I’m directing this production. Am I doing a good job?’
‘They should give you an award,’ she assured him, and he grinned. ‘Is he still watching?’ she asked.
‘I’m afraid not. He’s concentrating on Penny, which makes sense because she’s the female star of the show.’
‘And she can do him a lot of good,’ Charlene mused.
So Lee’s interest in Penny was mostly professional. She would cling to that thought.
Travis read her mind and burst out, ‘Forget him. He can’t matter that much.’
‘He does,’ she said softly. ‘But I can’t talk about it.’
‘All right, I won’t press you. We’ll talk some more tonight, over dinner.’
‘I can’t promise that—’
‘You mean you want to stay free for him. But he’s engaged this evening. He’s got to go to this ghastly dinner they’re giving for Frank Brenton. He and I can’t stand each other so I won’t be—Wait a minute!’ He slapped his hand to his forehead. ‘What am I thinking of? It’s been staring me in the face all the time.’
‘What is?’
He didn’t answer but grasped her hand, looking round and calling, ‘Denzil!’
Denzil had appeared in the doorway and Travis hailed him loudly. He came straight over. Charlene felt Travis tighten his grip on her hand, urging her to say nothing.
‘What’s up with you suddenly?’ Denzil asked, sitting down.
‘I’ve been thinking about tonight, and maybe I was a little unreasonable. I’d like to attend that dinner after all, if they can accommodate me at the last moment.’
Denzil beamed. ‘I don’t think there’ll be any problem about that,’ he said.
‘Fine, I’ll want a table for two. Charlene will be my guest.’
Denzil nodded slowly, as though something had just become clear to him.
‘Leave it to me. I’ll fix it.’ He vanished.
‘So that’s settled,’ Travis said. ‘Lee will be there tonight, so dress up to the nines. Let him know what he’s missing.’
Her head was in a spin. Travis was making everything happen so fast, it was like being taken over by a whirling dervish. But a kindly dervish.
‘It’s nice of you to take so much trouble for me—’ she began.
But he shook his head firmly. ‘Let’s be clear about this. I’m not being nice. I’m doing it for myself. You’ll make me look respectable and that’ll get them off my back. That’s why I strong-armed you into it without asking your opinion first. Sheer bullying to get what I want. So don’t praise me. I’m just being selfish.’
She regarded him fondly. ‘So you’re being selfish?’
‘Horribly selfish.’ There was a twinkling devil in his eyes. ‘I don’t know how you can stand me for a moment.’
‘Neither do I,’ she agreed. ‘In fact, all I can say is—’ she paused for dramatic effect ‘—if that’s your idea of being selfish, I wish there were more selfish people in the world.’
‘So you’ll come?’
‘Just try to stop me.’
‘Fine, then it’s time for you to go back to your hotel and prepare for tonight. Rick, my driver, will take you.’
A quick phone call to summon the car, then he escorted her out to where it was waiting with Rick behind the wheel. He was an elderly man with a good-natured face.
‘Rick, this is Miss Wilkins, who’ll be coming to the Brenton dinner with me tonight.’
Rick was astounded. ‘But you said—’
‘Never mind that. Things have changed. I want you to take her to her hotel now, and return there for her tonight. See you both later.’
He waved and stepped back as the car headed out into the traffic.
‘Did I hear him right?’ Rick called over his shoulder. ‘The Brenton dinner?’
‘Yes, what’s the big deal? I know he’d planned not to go—’
‘You can say that again. Travis gets on well with most people, but not that one. Brenton tried to ruin his big chance.’
‘How?’
‘His son’s an agent, and he had his own candidate for the role. Brenton did all he could to talk the studio bosses out of giving it to Travis. He failed, so then he set out to get him fired. Spreading rumours, bad stories in the press. Didn’t work. Since then it’s been armed truce. Nobody expected Travis to go tonight. But now he’s going so that he can take you. Lady, you must be really something!’
The habit of years made her begin modestly, ‘Oh, I don’t think I’m—’ But then her courage rose. ‘As long as he thinks so, that’s all that matters.’
‘You said it!’
Charlene leaned back against the upholstery. Suddenly she was enjoying this, despite everything.
Rick delivered her to the hotel, waited while she collected her key, smiled and departed. She knew he’d regarded the surroundings with surprise. It was the kind of hotel described as ‘budget’, which meant that she had a dormitory room, shared with two other women. It wasn’t ideal, but the place was clean and efficient, and she could connect her laptop to the Internet. This she did as soon as she arrived, looking up Travis Falcon, and growing more wide-eyed the more she learned of him.
The basics she already knew. He was the son of Julia Franklin and Amos Falcon of the international Falcon dynasty. But now she learned that he’d started his career on the stage, graduated to tiny roles in films before being pounced on by the studio and cast in the series.
There were hints that his private life was colourful. He was a playboy who never seemed to stay with one girlfriend for long. He indulged in flirtations, not love. But until now his liveliness