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  A few minutes later Bryn phoned Theodore Frankston. It was a short conversation and very much to the point.

  ‘It was a rotten review,’ Theo growled when Bryn identified himself.

  ‘It was a rotten performance,’ Bryn returned. ‘That girl was totally wrong for the role. What were you thinking, Theo? You should get rid of her immediately before your reputation is damaged any further.’

  ‘And if I don’t?’

  ‘Then on air this afternoon I will warn my listeners to stay away from your play and stay at home and watch TV instead. Your little production company will lose all its sponsors before you can blink.’

  ‘She’s not going to like this,’ Theo grumbled. ‘I like the girl. She’s a bit raw but I think with a little more work she’ll improve.’

  ‘I like her too,’ Bryn said. ‘Leave her to me. I’ve got big plans for her.’

  ‘You’re an arrogant bastard,’ Theo said. ‘Has anyone told you that lately?’

  ‘As a matter of fact they have,’ Bryn said with a lazy smile. ‘And I liked it so much I can hardly wait until she tells me all over again.’

  His phone call to Mia’s agent was even more productive. He’d met Roberta Askinthorpe at various social events and although they had flirted occasionally nothing serious had come of it, but he knew she would do anything he asked.

  ‘Long time no hear,’ Roberta cooed at him. ‘Are you ringing to apologise for that incendiary review you wrote about one of my favourite clients in this morning’s paper?’

  ‘Not exactly.’

  Roberta laughed. ‘No, the Bryn Dwyer I know would never apologise for his actions. What was I thinking?’

  ‘I need you to do something for me, Roberta, but it has to remain a secret.’

  ‘Your wish is my command, you know that, Bryn, darling.’

  ‘I want you to temporarily take Mia Forrester off your books.’

  ‘Why do you want me to do that? She’s a real sweetie with bags of potential. I know Theodore’s play was a bit out there for her but Sabina was sick at the last minute. Anyway, every actor needs stretching occasionally.’

  ‘I have something else for her to do.’

  ‘But how will I explain it to her?’

  ‘Use my review as an excuse,’ he suggested. ‘It doesn’t have to be permanent. You can take her on again later. I just need her to be without work and representation so she will agree to work for me for the time being.’

  ‘I must say, this sounds very intriguing,’ Roberta said. ‘Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for the girl?’

  Bryn laughed off the suggestion. ‘Come on, Roberta, you know me better than that. I’m not the falling-in-love type.’

  ‘Perhaps not, but Mia Forrester is rather a pet,’ Roberta pointed out. ‘I wouldn’t want to see her get hurt. What have you got planned?’

  ‘Stay tuned and you’ll find out,’ he said. ‘But remember this is between you and me.’

  ‘I’ll do it but I’m warning you it’ll cost you dinner some time.’

  ‘You’re on,’ he said. ‘Dinner it is.’

  ‘In Paris,’ she added.

  He smiled as he hung up the phone.

  CHAPTER TWO

  THE telephone started to ring as soon as Mia entered her flat. She stared at it for a moment, wondering if she just ignored it she could put off the inevitable for a little while longer.

  ‘Are you going to get that?’ Gina, her flatmate, called out from the bathroom, her voice muffled by the sounds of tooth-brushing.

  Mia picked up the phone. ‘Mia? Is that you?’ her younger sister Ellie’s voice sounded in her ear.

  ‘Hi, Ellie. Where are you calling from? Are you still in South America? This line is terrible.’

  ‘I know…’ Ellie said, breathing hard. ‘Listen, Mia, I’m in trouble. Big trouble.’

  Mia felt her insides drop between her knees. ‘What’s wrong? Where are you? What’s happened?’

  ‘I’ve been arrested.’ Ellie let out a little sob.

  Mia’s eyes widened in shock and her grip on the phone became white-knuckled. ‘Arrested! What on earth for?’

  ‘You know that rainforest-logging protest rally I’ve been involved with in Brazil? Well, I got arrested and I need bail money wired over to get me out of here.’

  ‘Oh, my God!’

  ‘Please don’t call Mum and Dad,’ Ellie said. ‘I don’t want to ruin their holiday with Jake and Ashleigh.’

  ‘But we’ll have to call them!’ Mia insisted.

  ‘No, Mia, please. Dad would have a heart attack on the spot, you know how his doctor told him to take things easy since that last scare.’

  ‘But what about Jake? He’d gladly help out financially. I just know he would.’

  ‘No, Mia. Please don’t tell Ashleigh and Jake about this. Ashleigh will be hysterical and it will upset the kids. Promise me you won’t tell.’

  Mia was all too aware of her sister’s fierce pride and had no choice but to reluctantly agree. ‘All right, I promise.’

  ‘Thanks, Mia. Just send me some money via my credit card. I’ve luckily still got that and my passport, although my backpack with my return ticket has been stolen.’

  ‘How much money do you need?’

  Ellie told her and Mia’s stomach threatened to hit the floor this time. ‘I’ll send it as soon as I can,’ she said. ‘It might take me a couple of days to find that kind of money. I have a little in my account but not quite that much.’

  ‘It’s all right, I’ll manage until you can get it to me,’ Ellie said. ‘I’m so sorry about this. Please don’t tell anyone about it. Not even Gina. I don’t want people to worry for nothing. This will all be sorted out in no time and I can’t bear the embarrassment of having to explain it all ad nauseam when I get back.’

  ‘What about the Australian Embassy? Should I call them and get them to help?’

  ‘No, just do as I said, Mia,’ Ellie said. ‘Once that money’s in my credit-card account there’s a guy here who can help me. It’s how things work over here.’

  ‘I’m so worried about you…’

  ‘Don’t be, Mia. I’m fine, truly. Look, I’ve got to go. The guard’s making a fuss about the length of the call. I had to bribe him with my last chocolate bar. I’ll call you when I’m free. Love you.’

  ‘Love you…’ Mia stared at the dead phone, her heart sinking in despair. The amount of money Ellie needed wasn’t huge but things had been tight lately and now, with her café job over, if Theodore didn’t keep her with the company things could get rather desperate.

  The phone rang again while she was still holding it and she answered it to find Theodore on the other end informing her of his decision to drop her from the company. He cut the conversation short as soon as she began to protest.

  ‘Sorry, Mia. My investors are threatening to pull out on the deal after that review. Goodbye.’

  She couldn’t believe it. Her first foray into live theatre had come to an ignominious end. One bad review and she was back to waiting on tables full-time, except for the fact that, because of this morning’s encounter with Bryn Dwyer, she no longer had any tables to wait on. And with Ellie’s life in danger thousands of kilometres away she had to have money and fast.

  She took a deep, calming breath. Right, I just have to find another acting job, she told herself firmly. No matter how small or demeaning it was, she had to find work.

  She quickly dialled her agent but the conversation, like the one she’d just had with Theodore, was brusque and just as disheartening.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Gina asked on her way past a short time later. ‘You look like you’re about to murder someone.’

  ‘I am,’ Mia said, gritting her teeth as she searched for her car keys. ‘I’m going to track down the person responsible for making me lose two jobs in one day and tell him exactly what I think of him.’

  ‘You’ve been dropped from Peach Pie Productions?’ Gina’s eyes went wide.

  Mia tossed o
ne of the sofa cushions aside to retrieve her keys. ‘Not just the company but the café as well, and as if that weren’t enough my agent just made some pathetic excuse about being too busy to represent me any more. Grrrrr!’

  ‘But why?’ Gina asked. ‘I thought you were brilliant last night, no matter what the review in this morning’s paper said.’

  ‘So you saw what he wrote, did you?’ Mia asked, scowling furiously. ‘God knows who else has seen it and completely written me off as an actor. I can just imagine what everyone is saying. I’m probably the laughing stock of the whole of Sydney by now. No one will ever offer me a role again and as for getting a new agent, who is going to take me on now?’

  Gina did her best to be reassuring. ‘Try not to worry, Mia, all actors get bad reviews from time to time. It comes with the territory. Maybe a new agent will be a good thing in the long run.’

  Mia ground her teeth without answering. Her worries about Ellie made her anger towards Bryn Dwyer escalate to boiling point. He was responsible for this and he was going to pay—big time.

  ‘But why did you lose your job at the café? I thought Tony liked having someone nearly famous working there part-time?’

  She gave her flatmate another furious scowl. ‘Because I tipped a cup of coffee in a customer’s lap, that’s why.’

  ‘You mean…’ Gina gave her a wide-eyed look ‘…. on purpose?’

  Mia lifted her head in proud defiance. ‘He had it coming to him for writing such a horrible review.’

  Gina’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. ‘You mean you tipped a cup of coffee in Bryn Dwyer’s lap? Bryn Dwyer, the Bachelor of the Year and multimillionaire playboy prince of radio?’

  ‘That’s the one.’

  ‘Oh, my God, your career is over.’

  ‘Not if I can help it,’ Mia said determinedly, jangling her keys in her hand.

  Gina gave her a worried look. ‘What are you going to do?’

  ‘Like I said—I’m going to see him and tell him exactly what I think of him. He told me to call him if I was dropped from the company, but I’m going to see him in person.’

  ‘Do you think that’s such a good idea? He probably has bodyguards or something. He had a stalker before. I remember reading about it in all the magazines. A crazy woman was following him for months, turning up wherever he was, threatening him all the time. His minders might think you’re just like her and going to do him some harm.’

  Mia gave her a glittering look over her shoulder as she opened the front door to leave. ‘I am going to do him some harm,’ she said. ‘And I don’t care who tries to stop me. The upsized egotist Bryn Dwyer has finally met his match. You just wait and see.’

  The studios of Hot Spot FM were in the leafy suburb of Lane Cove. Mia parked in a side-street and approached the security check-in point.

  ‘I’m here for a live interview with Bryn Dwyer,’ she informed the attendant assertively. ‘Mia Forrester. I’m an actor.’

  The man looked down at his schedule for a moment. ‘I’m afraid I don’t have you marked down on my sheet. Are you sure your interview is for this afternoon?’

  ‘Yes, I spoke with Mr Dwyer this morning over coffee,’ she said and, taking a risk added, ‘He asked me to come and see him in person. Perhaps if you could call his studio and check, I’m sure he will verify it for you. We’re—er—old friends.’

  ‘Just a second.’ The man pressed some numbers and had a brief conversation with the producer before he turned back to her and handed her a security pass through the booth window. ‘Here’s a security tag.’ He activated the boom gate for her and added, ‘Go right through, Miss Forrester; it’s studio number five, the third one on the left. The producer will let you know when it’s time for your interview. Mr Dwyer’s been expecting you.’

  Mia walked through with forced casualness while her brain was shooting off in all directions. What did he mean, Mr Dwyer was expecting her? How had he known she’d be storming over here to have it out with him?

  The two-part studio was where the boom operator had indicated and one of the crew opened the door at her knock and ushered her through. Mia could see Bryn sitting in the transmitting studio next door, his headphones and mouthpiece in place. As if he sensed her presence he swung his chair around and mouthed ‘hello’ to her, his eyes glinting with something she couldn’t quite identify.

  She pursed her lips and, although she was seriously tempted to give him a very rude sign with one of her fingers, somehow she resisted the urge and sent him a frosty look instead.

  ‘He’s got one more song until the news and weather and then he’ll be able to speak to you,’ the producer informed her from where he was sitting behind his computer console.

  ‘Thank you,’ she said and took the chair he offered.

  She could hear the sound of Bryn’s deep, mellifluous voice as the show was broadcast around the studio. There was a seven-second delay, which she found a little unnerving because inside the glassed-in section she could see he had stopped speaking to swivel his chair to look at her again.

  She gave him another cold look but just then she heard his voice announce his next guest.

  ‘Right after the news and weather I will have with me the utterly gorgeous Mia Forrester, whom I met for the first time this morning when she accidentally spilt a cup of coffee in my lap. Hey, all you out there in radio-land, I’m in love.’

  Mia’s eyes went out on stalks as she sat forward on her chair, her stomach tripping over itself in alarm. What on earth was he doing?

  He gave her a quick, confident grin and his voice continued, ‘So call me after the news, all you lovers out there in listener-land, and tell me about your most romantic meeting.’

  ‘On air in three minutes,’ the producer informed Mia as he flicked another switch on his console.

  ‘But I—’ She clamped her mouth shut when she saw Bryn’s lazy smile. All right, she thought. I’ll do it. I’ll go on radio and tell him exactly what I think of him. You just see if I won’t.

  She was led into Bryn’s soundproof studio, fitted with a pair of headphones and seated opposite him in front of a microphone. She could hear the news segment coming to an end and then Bryn smiled as he spoke into his mouthpiece.

  ‘Thank you for joining me in the studio this afternoon, Mia. This is Hot Spot FM and I have with me here the beautiful Mia Forrester, whom I met by accident this morning. And I can tell right my life will never be the same again. I’ll take caller number four, who wants to tell us about how she met the love of her life. Hello, Jennifer from way out at Campbelltown. Tell us about your romantic meeting.’

  Mia swallowed as a young woman’s voice sounded in her ears. ‘Hi, Bryn and Mia. I met my husband when he ran into the back of my car at the traffic lights. I was so furious with him but after I’d vented my spleen I suddenly realised how gorgeous he was. He asked me out and the rest, as they say, is history.’

  ‘Thanks, Jennifer, what a great story. Now we have Andy from Castle Hill on the line. Hi, Andy; how did you meet the love of your life?’

  This time a male voice sounded in Mia’s ears. ‘I met my fiancée when she waxed my legs in preparation for a triathlon I was competing in.’

  ‘No kidding?’ Bryn said, winking at Mia. ‘So how many waxes did it take to ask her out?’

  ‘Five, but it was worth the pain.’

  Bryn laughed. ‘Way to go, Andy. Who says men have no sense of romance? Now I think it’s Mia’s turn to tell you about how she met me this morning. Mia?’

  Mia met his dark blue gaze and tightened her mouth. ‘I met Bryn Dwyer in the café where up until this morning I was employed part-time. But as a result of my—er—spilling a cup of coffee in his lap I lost my job on the spot and—’

  ‘And lost her heart as well, isn’t that right, sweetheart?’

  ‘I—’

  ‘You know the number.’ Bryn cut her off as he addressed his listeners. ‘Call in and tell us if you agree with the concept of love at first sig
ht.’ He took the first caller.

  Mia listened with one ear as she tried to make sense of what was going on. Was this some kind of joke? What the hell was he playing at, pretending he’d fallen in love with her?

  The switchboard was buzzing with incoming calls and the producer gave Bryn a thumbs-up sign from the studio next door, his face beaming.

  ‘Now we have Sharon from sunny Seaforth, who has a question for Mia,’ Bryn said. ‘Go ahead, Sharon.’

  ‘Mia, did you feel an instant attraction for Bryn or did it take a few minutes before you realised you were falling in love with him?’

  ‘I…’ Mia caught the gleam in Bryn’s dark gaze and sent him a blistering glare. ‘No, not instantly…it was more of a slow realisation that here was a man who would stop at nothing to get his way and—’

  ‘See how well she knows me already?’ Bryn cut her off again. ‘How about a question from Corinne? Go ahead, Corinne.’

  ‘Mia, I was wondering if you are worried about falling in love with one of Sydney’s notorious playboys. What if he lets you down?’

  ‘I don’t think he’ll let me down,’ Mia said, finally catching on and hatching a vengeful little plot of her own. She gave Bryn a beguiling smile and added, ‘Not now that we’re planning to get married as soon as possible. He proposed to me this morning and I said yes.’

  Within seconds the switchboard was jammed with calls and the producer gave the signal for the next bracket of music to be played.

  Mia waited until she was sure they were off air. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing? I’m not in love with you!’

  ‘I know,’ Bryn said, leaning back in his chair to survey her outraged features. ‘But the listeners don’t know that and neither does my producer.’

  ‘You mean…’ she glanced at the still beaming producer in the studio next door and then back at Bryn ‘…you mean they think it’s…real?’

  ‘Of course they think it’s real.’

  ‘Are you crazy or something?’

  ‘Not crazy, just hungry for more ratings.’ A segment of advertisements began to play as he continued, ‘I thought since you ruined a pair of Armani trousers this morning the very least you could do was give my ratings a boost by pretending to be in love with me for a week or two.’ He pressed another button. ‘But that bit about marriage was total overkill. It’ll be all over the papers tomorrow.’