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“Right.” Kate dipped her chin in a single unconvinced motion.
“I need to go freshen up before I have to tackle our illustrious representatives and convince them our animals need these protections bills.”
“I’ll warm them up for you.” Kate grinned.
“Oh, I like that.” Peg’s eyes twinkled. “A double whammy. Go get ‘em. I’ll be around shortly to seal the deal.”
The two gave a discreet high-five and Kate slid her hand into Craig’s elbow as they crossed the room. He could certainly get used to the feel of her so near.
“Craig. How nice to see you.” Representative Korsak extended his hand and very casually glanced over Craig’s shoulder, no doubt in search of his grandparents.
“Always a pleasure.” Craig accepted the handshake and shifted, waving an arm at Kate. “Have you met Kate Donovan?”
“Can’t say that I’ve had the pleasure.” The older man extended his hand and any fool could see he was as smitten with Kate as most of the men in the room.
“Soliciting votes one by one, Stanley?” that came from Senator Shirley Pierce who turned to face Kate. “Don’t let this geezer fool you. All he wants is your vote.”
To her credit, Kate kept up her end of the polite chit-chat. The way she bade her time, participated in the benign political repartee, and waited to bring up the reason she’d been so eager to accompany Craig, told him this woman would have made a great negotiator. She was probably missing her call as a business mogul. At least the endangered animals in this world had a formidable advocate.
Right about the time words like waterways, industrial pollutants, and toxic chemicals were tossed around, the Austin diva came up behind him. “Craig. What a pleasant surprise.” Without a second’s hesitation for polite considerations, the woman slipped her hand into the crook of his arm and steered him away.
Looking over his shoulder, he reached out to touch Kate’s arm and mouthed, “I’ll be right back.”
She nodded at him and totally focused, dove back into the conversation.
“So,” the diva practically purred, “is she someone special?”
Craig had to stop and consider how to answer that one. After all, wanting to win the Academy Award-winning actress over to his production company, and hopefully new studio, didn’t mean he had to wear his personal heart on his sleeve. “Isn’t everyone in some way?”
The actress rolled her eyes. “You’d make a good politician yourself. Thinking of tossing your hat in the ring?”
That made him laugh. “Not even close. I have grease paint in my veins.”
“I know what you mean. Once this business is in your blood, there’s no escape.” Slowing her steps, she waved at a few people huddled together. “You know Jim Stephens?”
Of course he did, and she knew it. The man’s production company was responsible for some of the top rated shows on TV. Rumor had it he was looking to expand into film, and Craig didn’t need to be hit over the head with a hammer to figure out the guy wanted to produce the same film Craig did. “Of course. Nice to see you again.”
The next several minutes consisted of the most mundane chit-chat behind plastic Hollywood smiles. Neither dared mention the upcoming project that the diva held an option on, but it was obvious to any idiot that they both wanted a piece of the action. What Craig knew that no one else did was that he was about to put something on the table that dear Jim couldn’t compete with. Pretty much everyone in Hollywood knew that she didn’t take on many projects anymore because she didn’t like the idea of leaving her family behind for months of filming. He knew for a fact that his new studio location was a mere two hours away from the actress’ Texas home. If he could get it up and running sooner than later.
Still schmoozing the award-winning actress, and keeping an occasional eye on Kate deep in conversation across the hall, he could have been knocked over with a feather when Kate unexpectedly sidled up beside him. From the sweet smile and twinkling eyes, he’d venture a guess that her little chat had gone well.
To his surprise, when it came time to be seated for dinner, so engrossed in conversation with Kate over saving some bird—at least he thought a warbler was a bird—the famed actress had opted to sit at their table instead of her assigned place. Apparently, his ace in the hole for this deal might not be his stellar reputation or even the new Texas studio, but one Kate Donovan. And wasn’t that just icing on the cake?
Never in her life had Kate felt more like Cinderella than tonight. She’d spent so much time smiling, her cheeks actually hurt more than her feet.
The valet pulled the Rolls sedan up in front of the downtown hotel. Handing the man what was most likely a hefty tip, Craig helped her into the car and then circled around to the driver’s side.
Once they’d pulled away from the curb, he blended in with traffic and then turned to her. “Now that we’re alone, what happened with the Senator and Korsak?”
Her hands clasped together in her lap, she felt like kicking her heels up. “There’s legislation in the works to deal with the water pollution on Texas shores and its effect on wildlife. Well, not just the beaches. Our rivers have some major companies dumping a lot of toxins into the Texas waterways.”
“That much I was able to follow.”
“What I can’t believe I didn’t realize until now is that our elected officials don’t actually pen much of our legislation.”
“You mean the lobbyists.”
She sprang around onto her hip to face him. “Yes!” Tugging at the seatbelt strap, she leaned back against the door. “I forgot you have a brother who’s a senator.”
