Fire in the Blood

'You're a pro!' he said, guiding her back along the maze of corridors to the lift, in which they met Juno Harper, who was wearing a tailored black suit in which she managed to look sensuously professional. She glanced at Greg and gave him a quick, warm smile.

'Hello, darling, isn't this weather ghastly?' Her eyes drifted to Nadine with faint interest, then she did a double-take as she recognised her.

'Oh, hello, Nadine Carmichael, isn't it?' She extended a languid hand, the nails perfectly manicured, the skin soft and white. 'I've always wanted to interview you. Your face is everywhere these days.' She pulled a glossy magazine out from under her arm, waved it at Nadine. 'On the cover of this, for a start! I loved the outfit. Lucky you, going to all those fashion shows in Paris; I bet it was wonderful.'

'Wonderful, and hectic,' Nadine said, smiling back and liking her. 'They're all crazy when it comes to showtime.'

'Aren't we all, darling?' Juno laughed, then said, 'I tell you an odd coincidence, I just had your ex on my show—Sean. And the phone calls we got! I thought I was shock-proof but we had to filter out a lot of the calls. He shows up in a lot of ladies' fantasies, and they were dying to tell him all about them.'

Nadine pretended to laugh. 'Oh, dear!'

Juno's shrewd smiling eyes were like searchlights on her face. 'If I had ever had him I'd never have let him go, but then you switched him for Jamie Colbert, didn't you, you lucky girl? Some people have all the luck!'

Nadine's teeth hurt from smiling. She was very glad when the lift stopped and they all got out. She couldn't wait to get away; it had been a nerve- racking morning. She was glad it was over.

But it wasn't over yet. Juno had more to say, lingering in the marble-floored foyer and pretending to be unaware of the stares she got from a crowd of people queuing up to see an afternoon show which was televised live twice a week.

'So what are you doing chatting up our Greg? A little bird did whisper that you were in the running to be one of the presenters on the new morning show. Do I congratulate you or is it too early for that?'

'Don't be naughty, Juno,' Greg smoothly intervened. 'When we make the announcement you'll be the first to hear, don't worry.'

Juno gave him a sideways look, twinkling, unabashed, then said to Nadine, 'I should have had you on my show with Sean, you know. That would have made a very interesting programme. I didn't get much out of him; he's an oyster, isn't he? I couldn't get a syllable out of him about Fenella.'

Nadine's eyes didn't even flicker, although the name made her spine stiffen into rigidity.

Juno chatted on like a babbling brook. 'I asked him if they were getting married now they've finished filming this mini-series... what is it called? Why can I never remember film or book titles?'

'Because you aren't really interested in them, lovey,' said Greg, but obligingly supplied the title. 'Date with Death.' He looked at Nadine's blank expression and thought she didn't know what he was talking about, so explained, 'It's that fat bestseller by the Frenchwoman, Anne-Marie Ross

ignol; some sort of psycho-babble about reincarnation and eternal love. It outsold everything else a couple of years ago. Remember it? Sean was clever enough to snap up the rights for a song before anyone else realised it was a hot property.'

'Not to mention lucky enough to have Fenella Nash just dying to make a film with him!' said Juno. 'And that gloomy-looking Frenchman playing the detective hero!'

'Yes, a good cast—it should be a big success for Sean,' Greg thought aloud, and Juno gave a thoughtful little frown.

'Should be, yes... but...'

Greg's stare went back to her sharply. 'You sound doubtful!'

Juno shrugged. 'I must admit I have a niggling little doubt or two—nothing definite, just a gut feeling. Sean didn't look like a man with a surefire hit in the can, and there have been whispers, you know how these things leak out even before the film gets to the cutting-room.'

Greg looked at Nadine, lifting his eyebrows. 'Have you heard anything?'

She shook her head. 'I don't move in the film world; how would I know what's going on?' But she couldn't help remembering the drawn look of Sean's face; the lines around eye and mouth, the grey tinge to the skin, that weariness she had never seen in his face before.

'Too bad for Sean if the series is a dud,' Juno murmured. 'He put up a lot of the money himself, which everybody knows is a crazy risk to take, but he had made a few million from Dangerous Lady, which was a huge hit, although personally I could never see why people made such a fuss about it, could you, Greg? Sean says he was only putting back into the company what he had made out of it so far, but that's just whistling in the dark. It was a mad gamble, and if his gamble doesn't come off it could be the end of Carmichael Films.'

'Don't be such a pessimist!' Greg said impatiently. 'I'd say that Date with Death has everything going for it—a great cast, a strong story, good writing, and a brilliant director. If Sean seemed down it was probably just exhaustion after months of filming. His adrenalin ran out, that's all. He'll be back on top by lunchtime tomorrow!' He looked at his watch, then kissed Nadine. 'I must run—be in touch soon, I promise.'

As he walked away Juno stared after him, her face thoughtful. 'Was I too pessimistic about Sean's mini-series? I didn't mean to be. It was just my instincts working overtime. I hope I'm wrong. Did you get the idea Greg had some sort of personal interest? I wonder if he's bought the series even before it has been edited? That would explain why he was so irritated by what I said. Oh, well, we'll soon find out if he has! Greg will have some difficult explaining to do to the board.' She gave Nadine a cheerfully naughty grin. 'Isn't life fun sometimes? I must go, too, darling. Can I give you a lift? My car's waiting outside.'

'No, thanks, my own car should be here soon,' Nadine said, and the other woman sauntered off, her rounded body swaying inside the sexily formal black suit. Even at her age men stared after her, and she enjoyed their attention.

As soon as Juno had vanished Nadine went out and hailed a taxi back to her Mayfair flat, feeling very bleak. Her mind was buzzing with everything Juno had told her. Sean was about to get married again. She had wondered when it would happen, but being prepared for it didn't make it any easier to accept.

He had been involved with Fenella Nash, the American actress who was starring in his latest production, ever since he and Nadine split up. She had frequently read rumours that they planned to marry, had thought that as soon as the divorce was through and he was free Sean would marry again, but it hadn't happened. Nadine had wondered if Fenella didn't want to tie herself down just yet. After all, she was one of the cinema's new sex symbols—a small, fiery redhead with bedroom eyes and a voice like whisky tumbling over ice. Even if she was in love with Sean her career would be the most important thing in her life.

Nadine didn't want to think about it any more. When she was back in her flat she stripped and took a shower, then went to lie on her bed, wearing just a terry-towelling bath-robe, witch-hazel-soaked pads on her eyes. Whenever she had had a bad day this was what she did to unwind: relax her body, empty her mind, so that the tension and stress seeped away.