Waiting for Mr. Darcy (11 page)

“Don't say that. I love hearing from you.”

“I don't doubt it. Still, it would have been nicer if I were Nigel. That must have been some date.”

Gabby was quiet.

“Gabby?”

“Yes.”

Alicia sat straight up. “You slept with him.”

“What?”

“Don't try it, sister. Fess up.”

“What if I did?”

“I'm not Bunny. Exhale already, girl.”

“Okay.”

“Well?”

“Well what?”

“Don't play coy with me. You know what I'm asking.”

“We had a good time at dinner.”

“Obviously. Otherwise you wouldn't have slept with him. Who ever heard of having an awful date and then hopping into bed afterwards?”

“You've never been to a debutante ball,” she answered dryly.

“I stand corrected. So tell me already.”

“You want details?”

“I don't want those kinds of details. More like on a scale of one to ten.”

“Twenty.”

“Wow.”

“I know.”

“Are you going out again?”

“We're going to catch a movie or dinner on Wednesday.”

“Why not tomorrow? You didn't want to seem too anxious or something?”

“Lauren and I are coming up to see you tomorrow. It has been a while since we've had a meeting.”

“True, but you two are living the real thing. What do you need the club for?”

Harrison knocked. “Alicia?”

“Hold a second, Gabby.”

“Sure.”

She sat up straight. “Come in.”

“I brought you some tea.” He placed the tray on the table.

“Thank you.” She put the receiver back to her ear.

“Tell Harrison I said hello.”

“Gabby says hello.”

“Hi, Gabby. Did Alicia tell you she got sick at the charity luncheon today?”

“Big mouth,” she shot back.

“Why didn't you say you weren't feeling well?”

“It's no big deal.”

“Dr. Becker said she had a fever,” Harrison said, interjecting himself into the conversation again.

“Are you still here?” Alicia was annoyed.

“Alicia, you saw Nate today?”

“Yes. He was there today. He gave me some Tylenol. That's all.”

“She's neglecting to say he followed her into the ladies' room to check on her,” Harrison said with his arms folded.

“You can go now,” she insisted.

“He followed you into the ladies' room?”

“He is a doctor.”

“He must have been studying you quite closely.”

“You're as bad as Harrison.”

“Did someone take my name in vain?” he joked.

“You are such a troublemaker. I'm going to shoot you.”

“You have to catch me first,” he chuckled and bolted out of the room.

“He is such a tattletale.”

“Be that as it may, you realize we're coming up there for sure now,” Gabby said.

“I know. I couldn't stop you if I tried,” Alicia conceded.

Chapter 8

In spite of Harrison's protests, Alicia was already on her second cup of coffee and seated firmly in front of her computer checking email on Tuesday morning.

“I still think you should be in bed taking it easy.”

“I've noted your suggestion and I feel fine, Harrison. It was just a low-grade fever. No big deal.”

“If you were anyone else I'd agree, but you have…”

She interrupted him. “I know what I have, Harrison.”

“You know, even the good Lord rested on the seventh day,” Harrison said with his arms folded.

“It's not the seventh day. It's Tuesday.”

“I know, but I had to say something to get your attention.”

“The good Lord didn't have to deal with 800 hundred emails.”

“Good grief, Alicia, some of that has to be spam.” He checked his watch.

“I wish.” She sighed. “My biggest problem is trying to determine which ones are pertinent and which ones can wait.” She continued to scroll through.

He looked at his watch again.

“Are you expecting someone, Harrison? You keep checking your watch.”

“No, we need some things from the store and I really don't want to leave you here by yourself. What time are Lauren and Gabby coming?”

“They won't be here until later.”

“Oh.”

“If you have to go to the store, go ahead. I'll be fine.”

“No. It can wait.”

“Please go, Harrison. You're just getting a few things, right?”

“Right.”

“So you'll be an hour or less, right?”

“Yes.”

“I'll be all right. Go and get it over with while it's still not that hot.”

“That's true. Do you want anything special?”

“Other than the three C's, I can't think of anything at the moment.”

“You got it. Coffee, Coca-Cola and candy, more specifically, your wintergreen mints.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Now you know you shouldn't be outside today. It's going up to 97 degrees.”

“I know. I saw the weather report this morning.”

“It must be at least 90 degrees already and it's not even eight thirty.”

“That's global warming for you.” Alicia hadn't looked up from the computer.

“Shade or not, you shouldn't go out today.”

“Yes, sir.” She saluted him.

“I should be gone no more than an hour, less if I'm lucky.”

“No problem, Harrison. I'll be here.”

Harrison walked out and she continued scrolling.

“What's this?” A frown came over her face as she opened an email from Barbara Folsom, the production manager. Barbara was a veteran of the magazine business and knew magazines inside and out. A divorcee with two grown daughters, the fifty-something Barbara had a gorgeous figure with a smooth, unlined face to match.

Hi Alicia,

I know you're on vacation from your show, but I needed to touch base about the attached layout for the magazine cover. Your signature is on it, but I know you didn't approve this version. I got an email from Taylor giving me the green light to go ahead, but I didn't want to go any further. Please advise before I send this into production.

Alicia opened the attachment. “What the hell is this? Fall gardening tips in the July issue? The tips should be in the August issue. And oven-baked pie recipes in July? This is ridiculous.” In a huff she picked up the phone.

“Good morning, Production, Barbara speaking.”

“Good morning, Barbara.”

“Hi, Alicia. I didn't expect to hear from you so soon.” She lowered her voice.

“I dialed the second I got a look at the attachment. I'm glad you emailed me.”

“It just wasn't the layout you and I discussed earlier this month. You were very clear.”

“Apparently I wasn't clear enough for some people.”

Barbara sighed.

“I won't put you in the middle of this, Barb. You go ahead and do what we discussed. I'll handle Taylor.”

“Yes, ma'am. I'm really sorry to have bothered you on vacation.”

“Don't worry about it. I'd rather this than be really bothered by a screwed-up cover layout. I mean, what would I look like, since my picture is on the cover? I'm standing there barbecuing next to a caption about great autumn pies.”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks again for the heads-up.”

“You're welcome.”

“Before I go, any news on the Ron front?”

“No Alicia. I don't know why you think he likes me.”

“He practically ran across town to get some papers signed for you.”

“I still don't know why he did that.”

“He likes you. I'm sure of it.”

“If you say so.” She sounded skeptical.

“Give the guy a chance to show you. I'll bet he makes a move the first opportunity he gets.”

“We'll see.”

“I won't push it any further. I've got big fish to fry. I'll talk to you later.”

“Okay.”

Alicia took a deep breath and dialed the managing editor, Taylor Dawes.

A wunderkind with a degree in English from Georgetown University, 27-year-old Taylor had joined Archer Omnimedia as an editorial assistant to Stephen Brown, the features editor. She had worked her way up the ladder until she became senior features editor when Stephen retired. Ambitious and hardworking, she should have been a woman after Alicia's own heart. But Alicia had seen her mow down the competition for the position of managing editor by cozying up to Howard Wasser, Timothy Flaherty and Edward Maine, the three male board members Alicia referred to as the “Three Stooges.” Alicia didn't think she had the experience needed for the job, and that morning's error didn't help her cause.

“Okay, be calm, Alicia,” she told herself. “Resist the urge to call her a zygote.” She tapped the desk somewhat impatiently.

“This is Taylor.”

“Taylor. It's Alicia.”

“Oh, hi, Alicia. How are you?”

“I was okay until I saw the cover layout for July.”

“You saw the layout?”

“You sound surprised. My name is on the masthead.”

“True.” She cleared her throat. “Is there a problem?”

“Yes, there is. It seems someone got the summer and fall issues confused. There are fall gardening tips and fall pie recipes listed for the July issue, and that's just crazy.”

“That is a mistake.”

“I know. It's a big, glaring mistake. One might even think it was done on purpose.”

“Why would anyone do that?”

“I don't know, Taylor.”

“I would have caught it.”

“Apparently not, since you sent it straight down to production with my signature on it.” She slammed her hand on the desk. “So can you tell me why I didn't get the layout?”

“You're on vacation and I am the managing editor. I didn't think I needed to bother you.”

“It's no bother, Taylor. It's true that I'm on hiatus from the show, but I'm not in a coma. I still plan to be involved in the running of
my
magazine, even if I'm telecommuting for the time being. Is that understood?”

“Yes. I will call in the changes.”

“No need. I already took care of it with Production. And from now on I expect you to copy me on all editorial matters unless I tell you otherwise. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Alicia.”

“Thank you.” She leafed through her calendar. “There's a staff meeting on Thursday and I will be there via conference call at ten a.m. sharp,” she said, asserting her authority.

“Got it.”

“Thanks, Taylor. You have a good day now.”

“Thanks, Alicia.”

Alicia hung up. Then she began pacing.
That little know-it-all tries to undermine me every chance she gets. This is exactly why I don't take a real vacation. The minute she thinks I have my back turned, she tries to put her stamp on the magazine, which wouldn't be so bad if she wasn't so green. But how would the Three Stooges, lecherous, lewd and clueless, know? All Howard Wasser, Timothy Flaherty and Edward Maine saw was a tight black skirt and perky young tits, so that meant she was qualified to be the managing editor. Thank God for Spanx and good bras. Otherwise they'd have another perky zygote in my position as editor-in-chief.

She walked out of her office. “I need to get some air.” Alicia walked through the kitchen to the outside, where she was hit with a wall of heat. “Oh, God, it's disgusting out here.” She turned to go back in, but the door was locked. “Oh, no.” She tried to pull it open. “Harrison!” she called, then remembered he was at the store.

Alicia quickly got under the tree for shade, but it wasn't much help. She rubbed her forehead. She had worked herself up over the Taylor Dawes thing and her body was overheated. After a few minutes she felt dizzy. Needing to cool down, Alicia walked over to the pool, knelt down and splashed herself with water. “That's a little better.” Within a moment, though, she fainted and fell into the water.

Across the way Nathaniel was walking outside and heard the splash. When he came to investigate, he saw Alicia floating in the water.

“Alicia!” He dove into the pool fully clothed. Within a minute he had her out of the water.

“Alicia!” He listened to see if she was breathing and began to perform mouth to mouth. “Come on, Alicia! Don't do this to me. Who else will I fight with, huh?” He breathed into her mouth again.

Finally Alicia coughed up water.

“Thank God.” He pulled her hair out of her face. “Alicia? Can you hear me?”

Slowly she opened her eyes. When she saw Nathaniel, the sunlight formed a halo around his dark hair making him look angelic to her. “Am I dead?” she asked.

“No. You gave me quite a scare though.”

“You're an angel…” She trailed off and fainted again.

Nathaniel gazed down at her and softly caressed her cheek. He pushed her hair back and away from her eyes. “I wonder what happened. Did you just simply faint from the heat or something?” Her charm necklace gleamed in the sun, which caused Nathaniel to examine it more closely. “Wait a second, this doesn't look like a charm.” He lifted the square-shaped charm and discovered it was a medic alert. “It was hiding in plain sight.” He turned it over. “She has MS, just as I suspected.” He looked at her, then scooped her up, turned and walked back to his house.

He laid Alicia down on the sofa in his living room, then went to the hall closet to get a blanket, since it was about 61 degrees in his house and both he and Alicia were soaked through. He gently slapped Alicia on the cheek. “Alicia? Can you open your eyes for me?”

She didn't respond.

He checked her pulse. “Normal. Okay, I guess I need to get you out of these wet things.” Nathaniel unbuttoned her shirt and then leaned her forward to remove it. His eyes widened to the size of saucers when he got a look at Alicia's lacy black bra. Though he'd been impressed with her in a bathing suit, this took the cake. “Wow.” He stopped to think. “I think I'd better stop here. Somehow I don't think I'll be able to explain why your skirt's off.” He wrapped the blanket around her and went to the extra bedroom to dry off and change his clothes.

Just as he pulled his pants up the phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hey there, baby.”

“Hi, Vivian, what's up?” he said as he walked back out to the living room.

“Nothing much. I wanted to see if you'd like company,” she purred.

“Thanks, but I'm not up to it today,” he said quietly.

“Oh, what's wrong? You don't feel well?”

“I think I'm coming down with a little sore throat or something.” He cleared his throat.

“Then you should write a prescription for yourself.”

“It doesn't really work that way, Vivian.”

“Then have one of the other doctors do it for you.”

“I'll be okay.”

Alicia groaned aloud. “Where am I?”

“Listen, I've got to run. I'll talk to you later.” He quickly hung up. “Hey there, you're up.” He walked over to the sofa. “You're in my living room.”

“Mr. Becker?”

“Yes, you're in my house. Please call me Nathaniel or Nate.”

Alicia lifted the blanket and realized she was wet and not wearing a top. “Okay, Nathaniel.” She tried to think. “I can't remember what happened. Why am I wet?”

“You don't remember? You fainted and fell into your pool.”

“And you dove in and saved me?”

“Yes. I saw you go in when I stepped outside.”

“Wow. Did I stop breathing?”

“You had water in your lungs. I gave you mouth to mouth until you coughed up the water.”

“Then I guess I can't be upset over my missing shirt.”

“I couldn't let you stay in your wet clothes, so I took your shirt off and wrapped you up in the blanket. I didn't want you to catch cold from the AC. I am a doctor.”

“I know. Thank you.”

“You're welcome.” He smiled. “I was going to put some water on for tea. Would you like some?”

“Yes, that would be nice.”

Alicia looked around Nathaniel's place. It wasn't the den of inequity with disco lights, stripper pole and wet bar as she'd imagined. In fact, his place was tastefully decorated with a sofa, loveseat, coffee table and artwork from different parts of the globe.
This is certainly unexpected.

Alicia put her hand over her mouth to hide her smile when Nathaniel emerged from the kitchen with a tea service.

She sat up as he placed it on the coffee table.

“I have lemon, cream, honey and sugar. I wasn't sure how you take your tea.”

“I take it with sugar and lemon, thank you.”

“As you wish.” He poured the tea and squeezed a lemon. “How many sugars?”

“Two.”

He fixed her tea and handed it to her. “Here you go, Ms. Archer.”