Enchanted Read Free

trong emotion.
    “Did I say something wrong?” she asked.
    “No. I was just wondering. You aren’t aiming this magazine toward feminists, are you?”
    “And if I was?”
    Mac shrugged his shoulders. “That would make it too much like other magazines on the stand.”
    “You’re right. But like I said, it’s not aimed at any one group. In fact”—Kathleen focused on the silver-framed photo on Mac’s desk—“I think even your grandmother could benefit from the advice in my magazine.”
    Suppressing his laughter, Mac realized that, just like everyone else, Kathleen assumed the woman in the photograph was his grandmother. If she only knew that his ninety-eight-year-old grandmother had been the ultimate feminist in her day, and even now refused to take anyone’s advice.
    “What about advertising?” he asked, turning his thoughts back to the magazine and the things he knew would make it or break it. “What about marketing? What about writers?”
    “It’s all under control. We’re working on the advertising, but we’ve got the best articles from the best writers. You’ll be pleased when you see the final copy.”
    “So, you plan on letting me see the finished product? I thought you might try to evade my critical eye.”
    “I’ve always valued your opinion. I’ve missed your input over the years.” She stood and walked slowly, thoughtfully, to the window and looked out at the New York skyline. “We used to be friends, Mac. What happened? Why did things change?”
    Ask her now, Mac, an inner voice told him. Ask her about what went on between her and your dad. Ask her about her daughter. His teeth clenched at his thoughts. His eyes narrowed, and the headache that had nearly faded reappeared with a vengeance. Taking time to massage his temples and think of something to say, he stared at her back, at the strands of auburn hair escaping from the bun at the nape of her neck, at the shapeless navy blue suit that hid from view most of her feminine delights. What had happened to the pretty young girl with a head full of ideas, who laughed at his jokes, and made him feel twenty all over again?
    He looked from her back to the skyline, then into her eyes when she turned around, the look in her eyes that told him she needed an answer. “Things didn’t change,” he said. “You changed.”
    “No,” she stated flatly. “I just got older, and wiser.”
    “That’s not all. I’ve watched you with your staff, with the others in the office. You’re a lot tougher than you used to be.”
    “A woman has to be tough to get ahead. I have a big goal to achieve, and I won’t get there by being weak.”
    Mac searched her eyes, her face, looking for just a trace of the Kathleen he had known a long time ago, but the vulnerability and the innocence were gone. “So, what’s your goal?”
    She went back to the chair, took the mock-up from his desk, and sat down. “First, I plan to make this magazine a success. A huge success. Second, I plan on running McKenna Publishing.”
    He didn’t see any laughter in her eyes, only the sincerity with which she made the statement. “Have you already hired a hit man to get rid of me?” He hoped a touch of humor would enter his voice, but years of training kept his poker face and nonemotional voice in check.
    “I don’t need a hit man,” she said, staring hard into his eyes. “You’ll be the cause of your own demise.”
    He thanked his lucky stars he didn’t have a mouth full of beer, or he would have spat it across the room at her outrageous statement. Yet, he had heard her words and clearly understood her meaning. Publishing made him rich. It didn’t make him happy. And that fact, alone, would surely drive him to an early grave.
    “You don’t believe me, do you?” she added.
    “I have no intention of giving up my hold on this company.”
    “You don’t love the publishing business, not the way you should. So why not let someone like me, someone who does love it, take