Summer Pleasures

The week a magazine likeCelebritywent to bed was utter chaos. Every department head was in a frenzy. Desks were littered, phones were tied up and lunches were skipped. The air was tinged with a sense of panic that built with every hour. Tempers grew short, demands outrageous. In most offices the lights burned late into the night. The rich scent of coffee and the sting of tobacco smoke were never absent. Rolls of antacids were consumed and bottles of eye drops constantly changed hands. After five years on staff, Lee took the monthly panic as a matter of course. Celebritywas a slick, respected publication whose sales generated millions of dollars a year. In addition to stories on the rich and famous,it ran articles by eminent psychologists and journalists, interviews with both statesmen and rock stars. Its photography was firstclass, just as its text was thoroughly researched and concisely written.Some of its detractors might have termed it quality gossip, but the wordqualitywasn't forgotten. An ad inCelebritywas a sure bet for generating sales and interest and was priced accordingly.Celebritywas, in a tough competitive business, one of the leading monthly publications in the country. Lee Radcliffe wouldn't have settled for less. "How'd the piece on the sculptures turn out?" Lee glanced up at Bryan Mitchell, one of the top photographers on the West Coast. Grateful, she accepted the cup of coffee Bryan passed her. In the past four days, she'd had a total of twenty hours sleep. "Good," she said simply. "I've seen better art scrawled in alleys." Though she privately agreed, Lee only shrugged. "Some people like the clunky and obscure." With a laugh, Bryan shook her head. "When they told me to photograph that red and black tangle of wire to its best advantage, I nearly asked them to shut off the lights." "You made it look almost mystical." "I can make a junkyard look mystical with the right lighting."She shot Lee a grin."The same way you can make it sound fascinating." A smile touched Lee's mouth but her mind was veering off in a dozen other directions. "All in a day's work, right?" "Speaking of which" Bryan rested one slim jeanclad hip on Lee's organized desk, drinking her own coffee black. "Still trying to dig something up on Hunter Brown?" A frown drew Lee's elegant brows together. Hunter Brown was becoming her personal quest and almost an obsession. Perhaps because he was so completely inaccessible, she'd become determined to be the first to break through the cloud of mystery. It had taken her nearly five years to earn her title as staff reporter, and she had a reputation for being tenacious, thorough and cool. Lee knew she'd earned those adjectives. Three months of hitting blank walls in researching Hunter Brown didn't deter her. One way or the other, she was going to get the story. "So far I haven't gotten beyond his agent's name and his editor's phone number." There might've been a hint of frustration in her tone, but her expression was determined."I've never known people so closemouthed." "His latest book hit the stands last week." Absently, Bryan picked up the top sheet from one of the tidy piles of papers Lee was systematically dealing with. "Have you read it?" "I picked it up, but I haven't had a chance to start it yet." Bryan tossed back the long honeycolored braid that fell over her shoulder. "Don't start it on a dark night." She sipped at her coffee, then gave a laugh. "God, I ended up sleeping with every light in the apartment burning. I don't know how he does it." Lee glanced up again, her eyes calm and confident. "That's one of the things I'm going to find out." Bryan nodded. She'd known Lee for three years, and she didn't doubt Lee would. "Why?" Her frank, almondshaped eyes rested on Lee's. "Because" Lee finished off her coffee and tRoberts, Nora is the author of 'Summer Pleasures ', published 2007 under ISBN 9780373285464 and ISBN 0373285469.