Hidden Pearl Read Free Page A

dark eyes.
    "Which might afford you some satisfaction... for a day or two," she said, smiling, "until I sued, maybe brought charges against you for great bodily harm. Possibly I might even add sexual harassment, since how can you throw me out without bodily contact? Then you’d really get your photograph taken.” Her smile was catlike.
    He felt irritated at himself knowing by now he was feeling more amusement than anger at her persistence. He did admire grit. Dredging up some anger was his best protection against making a mistake with her. She represented everything in a woman he knew he should avoid.
    "You're a stubborn woman."
    She nodded. "I did a series once on the leader of a Middle Eastern country which shall remain nameless. He threatened to put me in prison which he could have done, but it didn't cause me to quit."
    "What does?"
    "Not much. Of course, he did confiscate my film before he'd let me leave the country." She grinned more broadly. "Most of it."
    Restraining an answering smile, S.T. shook his head. "I’ll give you one day," he grated out finally, knowing he was making a mistake.
    "That should be enough." She smiled again. "You'll hardly even know I'm around."
    Oh he doubted that. He doubted it very much, but he had said he would let her follow him around, and he wouldn’t go back on his word, even if he knew he would regret it.
     
    #
     
    Returning to S.T.'s office, Christine sunk into a chair. She'd followed around a lot of people as a photographer, but none had a more exhausting schedule than he. If he was a successful, it was definitely from hard work, not luck. She tiredly reached into her bag for a fresh roll of film.
    He entered the room, his stride seemingly no less long nor one whit slower than at the beginning of the day. "What's that for?" he asked, pointing to the film she was fitting into the camera.
    "You've seen a lot of it today. Do you really have to ask?"
    "You've taken the last picture you're getting." She smiled sweetly up at him. He glared back at her. "You can't need more."
    "Any chance I could photograph your home."
    He snorted. "You can’t be for real. No way are you getting near my personal life."
    "Your house would be interesting, I bet.” Having seen the harmonious, architecturally exciting buildings S.T. had designed and was building, she was interested in seeing the kind of home in which he chose to live.
    He shook his head. "I should've kicked you out this morning. You don't give up."
    "From watching you all day, I'd say that makes two of us. I am, by the way, very impressed with the Farrow Building."
    "You took enough shots of it."
    "When will it be occupied?"
    "We're down to the finish work. It's due to be turned over at the beginning of next month."
    "It's so much more than the usual high-rise--not just a rectangular box intended to get the most floors for the money."
    His eyes were dark and intense. "It isn’t?”
    "It's a place where creative, exciting things can happen."
    "You saw that?"
    "The camera never lies, S.T." She grinned at him.
    "That's not what I've heard. Aren't you people experts at touching up and hiding things?"
    "Not a photographer with integrity. With my camera, I try to do what I think the subject is all about-- capturing life, inspiring it, helping it grow. When it’s a creative person, their work is as much the story as they are."
    He didn't want to find her intriguing, didn't want to admire her guts, and it was as impossible as to forget how beautiful she was sitting in the wooden chair, long legs crossed and big, blue eyes looking intently up at him.
    "What's the S stand for in S.T.?"
    He folded his arms over his chest. "Why?"
    "Just curious. I never heard anybody call you by your given name today. Just wondered about it, that's all."
    His smile was wolfish. "Wonder away."
    "Steve? Seth? Simon?" She closed the back of the camera hitting the button to wind the film. She squinted one eye to watch and make sure it had caught properly.
    "Give it