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“I’d offer you my office,” Nadine said as she leaned on the doorjamb, “but Dallas has already been in makeup.”
Eve kept her arms linked for a moment more before she stepped back. “You sicced Trina on me.”
“I gave you Trina,” Nadine corrected. “She’s damn good, which is why I hired her for the show. Plus, for tonight, I figured your point of view would be ‘better the devil you know.’”
“Got a point,” Eve decided.
“You look good, which is essential. Strong, alert, smart, attractive,” Nadine mused, walking a circle around Eve. “And all cop. We’ll leave the glamour for me.”
“You wear it so well,” Roarke commented. “You look radiant, Nadine, and polished as a jewel.”
“I do, don’t I?” Laughing, Nadine shook back her chic bob of streaky blond hair, did a styling turn in the electric blue suit with its pencil-thin skirt and waist-cinching jacket. The heels were black skyscrapers that set off the wink of a diamond ankle chain.
“I didn’t think I’d be nervous, but I am. There’s a lot riding on this first show. Dallas, I don’t want to prep you. I don’t want the interview to be stale or rehearsed, but I do want to go over a few points.”
“I’ll get out of your way, then,” Roarke began, but Nadine shook her head.
“No. You can run faster than I can in these shoes if she makes a break for it. Let’s just sit.”
“Something to drink, then.” Roarke gestured to the well-stocked counter. “Or eat.”
“After.” Nadine pressed a hand to her stomach as she sat on one of the sofas. “My system’s on full alert.”
“I’m good,” Eve said. “What’s to be nervous about? It’s what you do.”
“That’s what I tell myself, but I’ve never done exactly this before. And this was the big gold hoop. Now that I’ve got it in my hot little hand, I can’t afford to drop it. So…”
Nadine scooted to the edge of her chair as if she might be the one to make a run for it. “We’ll have to touch on the Icove case. That’s what got me the gig. But I’m not going to linger on that. I’m going to want to revisit that after the book and the vid hit. The baby-market business is still fresh, so we’ll discuss that. Speaking of babies, Belle was well named. God, she’s beautiful, isn’t she?”
Eve squirmed. “Sure.”
“I’ve done an interview with Tandy, and with Mavis on that one, and we’ll air pieces of those during the spot. We’re going to talk about what you do, how you do it. How much will you be able to tell me about the Foster homicide?”
“The investigation’s ongoing.”
Nadine didn’t miss a beat, or the chance to smirk. “I’m going to need more than that—leads being pursued, avenues explored, the players, the scene, the victim. It’s called
Now for a reason. But we’ll keep that until we’re on. It’s a hard news show, but I will have to ask about Roarke.”
Nadine put up a hand before Eve could speak. “I can’t interview Roarke’s cop in a venue like this without asking about Roarke. Don’t worry, it’s not boxers or briefs, just an overview, we’ll say.”
She aimed an amused, inquiring glance at Roarke, who only laughed and shook his head.
“How you manage to balance the work with your life,” Nadine continued. “If marriage has changed how you do the work, or how you look at the job. We’ll get on and off. So…”
She checked her wrist unit. “I’ve got to get touched up. Trina will take a last look at you in a few minutes, then Mercy will bring you into the studio. And we’ll go from there. Dallas.” Nadine pressed a hand on hers. “Thanks.”
“You better hold that ’til after. You may not like my answers.”
“Thanks,” she said again, and rose. Then she turned to Roarke. “How about one right here, big guy?” She tapped a finger to her lips. “For luck.”
He stepped to her, kissed her lightly on the mouth. “Here’s to a thirty-percent share.”
“Your lips, God’s ears.”
In the end, it went okay, as far as Eve could tell. Though she couldn’t understand how anyone could be juiced about sitting in front of an image of the city, under hot lights, while robocams slithered around like snakes.
Theme music shimmered out, and she heard Nadine take three quiet breaths while some guy on the floor signaled with his fingers. Then Nadine aimed her eyes toward one of those robots.
