to at that moment.
“I was just calling to check up on you.” Jackie Faye told her. “For some reason, you were on my mind today. What’s going on?”
“Not much, Mama, actually you almost missed me. I’m going to Tampa tonight to meet with some clients over the next few days. And, before you even say it, yes, I know that’s down your way, but this is strictly business.”
“You could come here, Huntington. Florida is just a hop, skip, and a jump.”
“I know.” She really did want to see her family, but she couldn’t take any time for herself until she finished this thing with Med Solutions. “I just can’t. You know this is my first big project in the new job. Once I’m done, I’ll be there. I promise.”
Her mother was silent for a moment as she adjusted to this...or didn’t adjust to it. Jackie Faye had a fantastic talent for making her daughter feel guilty without even saying a word. “Are you coming home for Thanksgiving at least?”
“No, ma’am. I don’t think I’ll be able to—”
“Christmas even?” Jackie persisted.
“Yes, ma’am. I will certainly be there for Christmas.”
“Well, I guess I’ll have to take what I can get,” she grumbled. Jackie sounded as if it was a hard won victory. “Lord, I don’t ever see my baby.”
“Mama, I am twenty-eight years old,” Hunny protested.
“And, you are still my baby with your twenty-eight year old self,” Jackie returned. “So tell me why you’re upset.”
“I’m not upset, Mama, not the way you’re thinking...” There was really no point in trying to lie to her mother. There never had been. Like Huntington, Jackie Faye could read emotions better than any polygraph ever created. Hunny lay back on her bed and told her mother about the account. She waited for her mother to say something encouraging, something that would make her feel better.
“You mean Med Solutions with that Kevin Carter guy?”
Huntington rolled her eyes toward heaven.
“I see why you’re worried. I’m worried,” Jackie said. “You make sure you don’t spend any more time with him than necessary. And, wear something ugly and plastic.”
“What?” Hunny yelped.
“I don’t want him getting any ideas, and I don’t want you getting anything that will require penicillin.”
Huntington was so shocked she didn’t know whether to gasp or laugh. She opted for the latter. “Mama, that’s horrible. I’ve talked with the man a lot. He’s nothing like what you see in the news.”
“Humph,” was Jackie Faye’s response.
Chapter 2
Arthur put Hunny on the first plane out of the airport. This time was no different. She, unfortunately, accepted his offer to drive her to the airport knowing it was his last opportunity to debrief her before she got going. Hunny didn’t mind, the account could prove to be the biggest fish G&A had seen in several months. Arthur gave her an inch-thick file on any press he could find associated with the company. Light reading for the two-hour flight. When he let her out with some bland words of encouragement, Hunny headed into the airport, praying all would be well.
At the counter, she discovered that the direct flight to Tampa was cancelled due to mechanical problems with the plane. The patient airline attendant’s fingers flew over her keyboard as a crease appeared across her brow. After two more ladies joined her for a discussion in rapid airline-ese, Huntington was given new boarding passes that had her flying to Birmingham first. Upon seeing the ticket, she stifled a brief pang of guilt and headed to security. She could never tell her mother she’d been so close to home and not come by, even if it was only for an hour layover.
During that layover, she found her stomach grumbling as she waited at the terminal.
“If you want to get something to snack on, Honey, I’ll watch your bag,” the woman across from her offered. Hunny smiled awkwardly, embarrassed by the racket she was making. Hunny noted that the woman’s wrinkled flesh did not match the alert chocolate brown gaze. Those were the eyes of a woman who had never aged inside.
Hunny bit her lower lip. Leaving her bag with a stranger definitely went against the grain. She flashed a glance over at her bag—the wheel had broken off after she retrieved it from the baggage claim—and swallowed. Her throat was still dry and her stomach was making even ruder noises.
“If you don’t mind… Thank you.” Hunny smiled at the woman and headed toward the newsstand. She didn’t know if her constitution would be able to take an entire meal if the next flight was as bumpy as the first, but she could get some bottled water and some crackers.
Standing in the lengthy line, Hunny surveyed the covers of the magazines on the rack beside her, making a mental note of every headline and cover story. She also made a note of the clothing and set of each cover photo. Designing cover concepts had been the newest effort in her career. Yeah sure, there were set directors who didn’t like being told what to do, but she had clients who trusted her, and every time they faced the public as she worked on their image, they needed her insight.
A hip hop mogul and his actress fiancée faced off on the cover of her favorite music magazine. The magazine didn’t hold a lot of merit as far as her professional life went, but she read the gossip inside as if it were candy. She’d read that one already, but, as she watched, a shop employee opened a large cardboard box and began putting out the new copy. With an entreating smile, she grabbed the new one. She might as well buy it, since she wouldn’t be home to get her mailed copy for at least a week. After making her purchase, Hunny couldn’t wait to thumb through it, though at that very moment she juggled the magazine, her change, water, and sandwich crackers.
Huntington grimaced when her cellphone started to ring Rule Britannia! She had full hands and a zipped purse but wrestled the phone out of the handbag just in time. “This is Huntington,” she answered with more enthusiasm than she felt.
“Good evening again, Ms. Lewis. It’s Arthur.” Huntington rolled her eyes. Of course, her ringtone had indicated who it was.
Huntington made her way back to the seat proud that she only dropped her crackers once. “I called the hotel to see if you had made it since your cell was off at the time. They said you hadn’t, so I had Joy to track you down. She said you got re-routed through Birmingham and wouldn’t be getting in until after midnight tonight. I figured I’d keep trying you until you picked up.”
“Yes,” Hunny responded. Of course he would keep trying. She could read his voice as well as she could the magazine in her lap. Something had him tense and whatever it was, he felt compelled to share with her. “It’s already been planes, trains, and automobiles, but it’s all right. I’m sure I’ll make it into the office for the meeting on time tomorrow. You know I don’t sleep much anyway.”
“Well, did you have an opportunity to peruse the file?” he prompted.
“Peruse? Yes.” When the other end remained silent, she continued. “I think I’m ready to do mock ups for the television and magazine campaign. I’ve also got some ideas for the web design. I know you like to wait until after my meeting, but I’m pretty sure what I want to do. The only sticking point I have so far is the CEO. Normally not a big deal with a pharmaceutical company as long as he plays golf, gets his wife to head up a charity, and stays discreet with lobbying, but this guy…” And, as Hunny took up her seat next to the older woman and thanked her with a quick winning smile, she set her drink and crackers down and started to thumb through the magazine as she talked. Arthur had a habit of wanting to talk to her non-stop when she was on large projects. She wondered absently if he did this to everyone else. Yes, probably. But, she would wait patiently until he came around to telling her what he really wanted.
She