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“Um…he’s actually in the reception area. He stopped by and wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
Cathy guarded her office like a shark, so to hear that Geoff had somehow gotten her to put him in the reception area surprised her.
“He’s charming?”
“And so very handsome,” she said. “Too handsome. But I also knew you wanted this locked up so I figured I’d let him stay.”
“Good thinking. Hiring you was a very smart decision,” Ainsley said.
“As I remind you daily,” Cathy said, turning toward the door. “I’ll go get him. Do you want me to interrupt after ten minutes?”
Ainsley rarely had time in her schedule to give anyone more than ten minutes, and from the beginning she and Cathy had an agreement that the assistant would come in and stop the meeting if it ran long.
She had dinner reservations with Steven tonight. Would there be time to collect herself before he arrived?
“Yes, please.”
“Okay. I have put some things for your signature in your box. If you want to be efficient and sign them now, I can process them while you’re in your meeting.”
“You’re getting a little too bossy, Cath.”
“That’s the only way I keep you in line,” she said, walking out the door with a smile.
Ainsley reached for the folder that Cathy had mentioned. Inside were some mock-ups for the cover of their current issue. She made notes on three of them. None of them were that exciting. She was going to have to address this first thing in the morning at their staff meeting. She made a note for Cathy to make sure that those responsible for the cover shoot were there.
Then she moved on to the photos Davis Montgomery had taken of Jon BonGiovanni. They were perfect. She approved three of them for use before she heard her door open.
She stood up to greet Geoff Devonshire. He looked tall and elegant and, aside from the set of his eyes and his jaw, he scarcely resembled Steven.
“Hello, Mr. Devonshire. May I call you Geoff?”
“Of course,” he said, taking the hand she’d extended for him to shake.
“I’m Ainsley,” she said. “Please have a seat. Can I offer you something to drink?”
“I’m good,” he said.
“That’s all for now, Cathy,” Ainsley said to her assistant, handing her the file she’d made notes in.
She walked around her office and sat behind her desk. Sinking down in the big leather chair, she took a moment to make sure he realized that she was in a position of power. That was the only way she dealt with men, she thought. That was why Steven was throwing her. He didn’t see just the woman and the job—he saw the woman behind it.
“What can I do for you?” she asked.
“My family is highly private and I agree with Steven that these interviews will be great for our new careers running the Everest Group. However, I have concerns about the questions that you may ask.”
She understood that. Geoff was a double-whammy publicity draw. He was a minor member of the current royal family and he was a bastard son of one of the most controversial men in the UK.
“We can draft a list of topics that are off-limits and the writer will not ask about them. If he does, then you can simply decline to answer,” she said.
“That’s all well and good. But I’m also going to need to approve the final draft of the article.”
“I’m not in the habit of doing that, Geoff. Our articles are about the people behind their celebrity.”
“I realize that, but this is a deal-breaker for me. I’ll give you enough personal information to make the article interesting.”
Ainsley wasn’t sure he would. But from her dealings with Steven she recognized that stubborn Devonshire will when she came up against it. “You drive a hard bargain.”
He smiled at her and when he did he was a breathtakingly handsome man. “So I’ve been told. But you must understand, my mother is adamant that she will not talk about Malcolm or the circumstances of my birth.”
She’d been afraid of that. She had found no recent mention of Princess Louisa in any of the Internet databases she’d searched. The woman was a recluse and had been since the birth of Geoff. Before that she’d been a party girl and the toast of London. “I’d really like to have her in the article. We will do everything to accommodate her and keep her out of the spotlight if that’s your desire.”
“Yes, it is. But more than that she doesn’t want to be profiled in an article with the other mistresses of Malcolm. She had enough of that when I was born. She might agree to a sidebar featuring her. I realize your magazine will probably put the articles in the same issue, but she won’t do a photo shoot with the other women.”
