Page 93 of Heavy Shot

"I like him, too. I think they could be good for each other. They want the same things out of life."

"Oh really?”

"Fame, fortune, and family."

Rick nodded. "Isn't that what we all want?"

Rhiannon shrugged. "To some degree, I suppose."

"Fame and fortune is why we do what we do."

"I would modify that to success and fortune is the reason I do what I do. I can do without the fame part."

"Hm. I suppose I can too.Otherwise, I'd be doing it a bit differently."

Rhiannon smiled. "You're doing it right. All the benefits without all the hassle. You'll be able to retire to England in a few years and live a stable, quiet life. That's success."

"That's exactly right." He smiled back."Well, I should get going.I've got another meeting in an hour, but I'll see you for lunch tomorrow."

Rhiannon nodded and smiled. "I'm looking forward to it."

"As am I," he said, his own smile lingering for a moment longer before he walked out.

Rhiannon went in the opposite direction to her office and returned to work, punching up a dialogue for one of the shows in the June sweeps story arc. An hour passed before there was a light tapping at her door and Jill walked in, a light blush still high on her cheeks and a wide grin on her face.

"Enjoy the tour?"

"I did, actually," she grinned.

"Thad ask you out?"

Jill nodded. "For Friday night.I said okay.He's married. Messy. It's perfect, huh?"

"He's separated. A few signed documents short of divorced, actually."

"Still messy. Listen, thank you. I've got to go.I need to meet Roland and find out what I'm supposed to be doing next week."

"Yeah, well, don't let him try and schedule you too much if this thing with Thad has even the slightest potential."

"We have an agreement.I have no more than four nights 'on' a week. The rest are mine.I'm not quite as good a puppet as Kline. It’s funny–I’m pretty aggressive career-wise. I need to get more aggressive in my personal life. Take the bull by the horns instead of still trying to please my dead mother."

"Don’t let Thad hear you say that. He’ll just make horn jokes. Well, that's good. Maybe if Kline had been willing to say no and mean it, things wouldn't have gone as badly as they did," Rhiannon said, seriously. "Roland didn't approve of me, so I got shuffled out and Kline didn't do much to keep that from happening. That guy is really sneaky. Stand your ground, Jill."

Jill nodded. "I have a five-year plan. No more, but no less.I've set my terms for how to make it happen and he's willing to make it happen within my bounds because he gets a nice fee. I won't let him force me into anything uncomfortable."

Rhiannon smiled. "Good for you. Business savvy all the way."

"Always." Jill said, with a smile. "Well, I'm off. Thanks for lunch."

"Any time. You'll have to let me know how your date goes."

“I want to know about yours!”

“If it happens.”

“Why shouldn’t it?”

“Why should it? Listen, your motto is messy, not mine. Mine is clean and uncomplicated.”

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