Gun Brooke: Course of Action

"I'm due back in New York in two weeks."

"Are you staying in the city?"

"I'm at Jared's condo on Bal Harbour. I was hoping to swim every day since that's my favorite way to exercise. But the wind has been too strong." Carolyn smiled with faint self-deprecation. "I'm so used to swimming pools that I find the large waves intimidating."

Annelie reached into her small purse for a business card, an idea taking rapid shape in her mind. "Tell you what. I live near Jared, on Golden Beach. You're more than welcome to come use my pool. I'll leave word at the gate that you're on my guest list." A small, wry smile lifted her mouth. "Needless to say, that's a very short list."

Carolyn's eyes widened, and Annelie could hear Gregory cough in surprise behind her.

"That's very generous." Carolyn said. "I don't want to impose—"

"You're not. I promise. Any day is fine. My housekeeper will let you in. She's off on Sundays and Mondays, but I'm usually home till lunch then."

Carolyn's polite hesitance vanished. "So, would tomorrow be all right?"

Annelie smiled at the unabashed question. Being rather direct herself, she found Carolyn's manner refreshing. "Sure, why don't you come around eleven? We could have lunch afterward."

"Are you sure it isn't too much trouble?" Carolyn briefly touched Annelie's arm. "I mean, after tonight and everything?"

"Quite sure."

Gregory coughed again, but Annelie ignored him.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then." Carolyn looked delighted. "Good night."

As the actress vanished into the sea of departing guests, a soft male voice behind Annelie inquired, "What are you doing?"

"Running my business."

Gregory seemed unimpressed. "You're going to offer her the part?"

"No. I'm going to make it very attractive for her to agree to terminate the audiobook contract."

Gregory frowned. "Why? The sales have been huge."

"Once I have an actress playing Maddox on screen, we'll need to rejacket all the print books and redo sound on the audio series for the Diana character. I want the same actress doing everything. It's the only thing that makes sense, and our marketing people agree."

Gregory grimaced. "You can't seriously imagine Carolyn Black is going to take that lying down. She won't terminate. She'll sue."

"We'll see." Annelie said. "I can be very persuasive."

Gregory put his arm around her waist and gave her a quick squeeze. "Just be careful. Promise me that."

She smiled at him over her shoulder. "I promise."

***

"Did you remember to call Beth back?" Jared pulled out into the night traffic.

Carolyn groaned. "No, I forgot. I was running late but that's no excuse. Did she say what's up?"

Beth, her eleven-years-younger sister, was a nurse, far from Carolyn's glamorous world. Married for six years, she and her husband, Joe, lived in D.C. with their four-year-old daughter, Pamela.

"No, just that she needed to talk to you about something. It didn't sound like an emergency."

Carolyn leaned back, resting her head. A familiar throbbing in her temples made her reach for her purse and pull out a nasal spray. If she disregarded the early symptoms, the throbbing would inevitably escalate into a full-blown migraine attack, incapacitating her for several days. She took her medicine, noticing Jared's concerned glance in her direction.

"Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine. Just a precaution." Carolyn gave a muted sigh. She needed to relax; she was tired after doing six performances a week for eleven months. If she wasn't careful she would end up with permanent bags under her eyes.

"Heard from your brother lately?"

"No, not in a while. He's into one of his creative spells, I think. If my sister-in-law didn't drag him to my shows, he'd never get around to watching any of my work."

"You go to every one of his exhibitions."

Carolyn chuckled at the implied criticism. "That's different. John is a genius. It's my duty to admire him, even if I think his sculptures look like deformed pieces of junk."

Jared shook his head. "You can try to sound sarcastic, but it's not working. I know you're proud of him."

Carolyn smiled. "Yes, I am."

She had been twelve years old when their mother died, hit by a car while crossing the street. John was six and baby Elisabeth just eleven months. Their father had lost his moorings when his beautiful, vibrant wife was killed, and Carolyn had soon found herself in her mother's role, taking care of her siblings.

Shawn Black had suffered a massive heart attack when Carolyn was twenty-one, and she'd dropped out of college to look after her teenaged brother and young sister. Life had been a struggle, but she had never regretted making that choice. Even now, she was proud that she'd been able to raise John and Beth without help from anyone.

Jared pulled into the parking lot beneath the large apartment building where his ocean-view condo was. After they took the elevator up to the fifth floor, Carolyn leaned against the wall and closed her eyes briefly as he unlocked the door.

"Some evening," she mused. "I don't think I've been in a room with so many people dressed fit to kill since the Golden Globes."

"Half of Palm Beach was there." Jared sounded admiring. "Annelie knows how to raise money, and she's passionate about those kids. I heard she even volunteers at the hospital when one of them is admitted."

"Remarkable," Carolyn said. "I'm amazed she invited me to use her pool while I'm here."

Jared stopped on his way to the kitchen and faced her. "I've got to admit I'm curious about two things—her motives for inviting you, and yours, for going."

"To swim, of course," Carolyn said lightly. She could see Jared wasn't buying. He knew her too well to accept the explanation at face value.

"Carolyn," he chided. "Since when did you share your precious private life, unless there's a payoff?"

"I spend hours with you, don't I?"

He laughed. "We both know it's very convenient for you to have our names linked in the media. Like I said, there's always a payoff."

Carolyn produced a mock-innocent shrug. "If it helps Annelie Peterson see I'm the only sane choice for Diana Maddox, I'll be thrilled to swim in her pool as often as it takes."

"Are you sure you really want to do this?" Jared looked uneasy.

"What do you mean?"

"It's a well-known secret that Annelie Peterson is a lesbian."

Carolyn blinked. "Are you sure?"

"As sure as I can be without actually asking her to her face."

Carolyn pictured the tall blonde in her blue dress, moving with perfect grace from one person to another in the marble hallway of the hotel, shaking hands, smiling. Her jewelry had sparkled but hadn't managed to draw attention from her ice blue eyes or her melodious alto voice. Annelie was not just attractive, she was stunningly beautiful. And gay?

"Carolyn?"

She raised an eyebrow. "If you're waiting for me to be shocked, don't hold your breath. I work in show business, for heaven's sake!"

Jared gave her a pointed stare. "Actually, I was waiting for the announcement about how you plan on using the information to your advantage."

A flash of anger burned through the effect of her medication. Feeling her left temple begin to throb again, Carolyn glared at him. "Thanks a lot. You make me sound like a callous bitch."

"You're nothing of the kind. You're a wonderful bitch."

"You horrible man," she muttered. "You make me so angry sometimes." She rubbed her temple.

"Only because I see you the way you are, and not the way you want to be seen. You're very good at playing Carolyn Black . It's the role of a lifetime, if you ask me."

He was an unbearable tease. Still, she felt herself relax as he put his arm around her shoulders and ushered her into the kitchen. "Let me make it up to you with a café latte," he said. "You're the only person I know who sleeps better after a healthy dose of caffeine."