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“Good luck with that. How’d you get the heirs to agree?”
“It was Steven’s price for getting back to the photo shoot.”
“You and Steven made all kinds of deals, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Ains, was that wise? The man left you devastated before,” Freddie said.
“I have no idea, but when I realized he didn’t remember me and that he was interested in me now…”
She trailed off. She couldn’t say that a part of her wanted revenge. That wasn’t very noble and she knew she wouldn’t do anything to hurt Steven. But if they had dinner and he found himself more attracted to her, and this time if she was the one to walk away without glancing back…well, then she’d be just fine with that.
“Girl, this has disaster written all over it. You emerged from the ashes the last time as a phoenix, but that kind of transformation can’t happen twice in a lifetime.”
“Says who?”
He shrugged. “I guess you have to do what you think is right.”
“It’s not that,” she said. “I’m just curious.”
“Curious about a man who left you so shattered that you lost a ton of weight and had to move to another continent to recover? That kind of curiosity could be more than you can handle.”
She just looked at Freddie. She wasn’t going to back out of the date. She’d made up her mind that this time she’d emerge the victor from her encounter with Steven. A few minutes later Freddie left the office and she sat back in her chair. She didn’t want to think too much about her deal with Steven or that it had nothing to do with this magazine and everything to do with the man—Steven Devonshire.
Two
Ainsley fidgeted nervously as she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. Sometimes she still saw the fat girl she’d once been looking back at her. She turned to her side and stared at her stomach. That carb fest she’d indulged in at lunch had been a mistake. She was going to have to have a veggie soup for dinner.
She glanced at the slim-fitting black skirt. She was always torn when she looked at her reflection. She liked the body she saw in the mirror, but she never felt at home in it. She kept expecting the image to balloon up like one of those carnival mirrors she’d seen at the county fair growing up in Florida.
Sometimes she was really struck by how far she’d come. At times she could scarcely recall the small-town girl she had been, but at other times she felt just as awkward and out of place as ever.
The bathroom door opened, she put on her power smile and leaned in as if she’d just been checking her lipstick. It was Danielle. The other woman stared at her.
“I thought we were cool,” Danielle said.
Ainsley shook her head. “I’m sorry, but that cost us a lot of money today and now I have to go in front of my bosses and get them to sign off on another idea.”
“I know that I dropped the ball, but I’m just learning,” Danielle said.
“When I was just learning, Danielle, I lost my job for making a mistake like you. It took me three years to get my career back on track,” Ainsley said. The botched interview with Steven had cost her her job with the Business Journal.
“Then give me a break here. You know how hard it is to start over.”
“That’s right, I do. So I don’t make major mistakes anymore. I’m not sure you learned from this one.”
Danielle crossed her arms over her chest. “How about a probation period? Let’s say six months of a trial and I’ll prove myself to you. If I screw up again, I’ll walk away and if I don’t I get to stay on full time.”
Ainsley realized that Danielle had gumption. She was an incredibly talented editor, if Ainsley was forced to admit it. “Okay, it’s a deal. But don’t make me regret it.”
“I won’t.”
Ainsley walked out of the ladies’ restroom to see Freddie leaning against the wall. “Did you put her up to that?”
“Yes, I did. I think we haven’t seen the best of her yet and if she wanted a second chance, I told her she’d have to go and make you give her one.”
She glanced over at her oldest friend. “You are so lucky I like you.”
He kissed her cheek. “I know. When do you talk to New York about your idea for the Devonshire heirs story?”
Even though Ainsley was editor-in-chief for FQ, she still answered to her boss in New York. They were owned by the best-selling magazine consortium in the world, and her boss liked to say they were number one because he was so hands-on.
“In an hour. I had to squeeze it onto the agenda at the end of the video conference call. I would love to have some photos of the women from when they were all dating Malcolm,” she said. “Do you think you can get on Corbis and find them?”
