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Nicole wrinkled her nose. “It’s never that simple, is it? I’m benefiting from the experience and contacts I made while modeling, so it isn’t as if I started at Moonlight Ventures and had to learn everything from the ground up. Mostly I was ready to pass on what I know to other people and help them succeed. But in a larger sense, I’ve been genuinely fortunate. I think I have an obligation to pay some of that back.”
She sank onto a bench and gazed across the lake. There was a light breeze and the sun was shining. It was the kind of day that almost made her regret choosing a working life.
“Some of that is remarkably similar to something you said before,” he pointed out. “Are you still claiming that becoming an agent is based on altruism?”
His voice held a slight edge of sarcasm and her jaw clenched. Why had she wasted time wondering whether Jordan had hidden finer qualities? Even if he did, they were obviously repressed by his jaded outlook. It bothered her. There was enough negativity, and it was sad to think Jordan might be part of it.
“You said you weren’t going to put words in my mouth, yet you keep doing it,” she returned sharply, her frustration rising. “Obviously you think I’m putting on an act to look good. I believe ‘noble’ is the description you used before. Now you’re calling it altruism.”
“It just seems there must be more to it.”
“Your note of sarcasm implies much more than that.”
Nicole reminded herself that it didn’t matter if he thought she wasn’t being genuine. They weren’t friends. It was messy because of their shared past, but ultimately he was just the reporter doing an article on her. Any disappointment on her part was illogical.
“I’m sorry you don’t like my answers,” she continued. “Will it help for me to say I also wanted to succeed in a new way, or do you want to pick that apart as well?” Jumping to her feet, she gave him a polished smile. “I need to get back and finish a few things. I promised to attend a career fair between two and four, so my afternoon is occupied.”
“May I go to observe?”
“Suit yourself. You can get the address and contact information from Chelsea.” This time she didn’t intend to expedite his participation the way she had with the performance at the high school. He was on his own.
“Wait,” Jordan said as she started back in the direction of the agency.
“Yes?”
“You don’t need to get in a snit because I was honest about my doubts. I’m trying to be objective.”
“First of all, I question whether you’d claim a man was getting in a ‘snit’ over something. Beyond that, you’re free to doubt anything you want. I wouldn’t expect anything else from a cynic. However, I’d like to point out that objective means being free of bias and personal feelings. Despite your claim that you’d try to control your biases, your preconceived opinions seem to be more rampant than ever.”
Nicole saw red creeping up Jordan’s neck.
“Believe what you want, you will anyway,” she continued. “But in actuality, you keep straying off topic. These articles are supposed to be about my transition from model to businesswoman. Instead, you mostly want to talk about the past and try to show my motives are all based on the past. Of course the past influences me, but I’m not a puppet. Yet when I try to express my thoughts and feelings, you slap them back in my face.”
Jordan looked shocked. “I didn’t intend to do that.”
“And yet that’s what you did. By the way, don’t forget that talking about my family is off the record, so they’re still off limits for the article. Oh, and be sure to call ahead for permission to attend the career fair. School officials are very cautious about who they allow on campus these days.”
* * *
JORDAN MENTALLY KICKED himself as he watched Nicole moving swiftly away. He’d come closer to achieving the kind of rapport needed for his articles, only to blow it.
He definitely wasn’t himself these days.
Her comments about her family had roused sympathy and he’d promptly reminded himself that he was a skeptic. Then the sunlight had glinted across her hair like a golden fire. If he’d been a poet he might have said something metaphorical about her intensely azure eyes that looked like the Mediterranean on a clear day or that her complexion rivaled the finest silk. Then there was her personality, which sparkled like champagne. He’d been fighting the impulse to leap in that direction, which resulted in his graceless response.
