Maura surveyed her reflection for a moment before adding the last piece to her ensemble. She had chosen a black jersey dress with bright colored beading at the hip and waist. It had a diagonal neckline that cut across her chest and wrapped around her back. She let her hair fall about her shoulders in waves, covering part of her bare shoulders. The last piece of the outfit was the gold bracelet she slipped over her wrist. She liked how she looked even though the dress had cost her a pretty penny.  
Originally she had planned to wear a rather boring pale pink sundress that she had bought last year for a wedding. But after Luke's ridiculous warning, she wanted to make sure Hallie saw her with Jude. It wasn't that she hated Hallie, she had reasoned, or wanted to show her up either. She just wanted Hallie and Luke to realize how juvenile they were being by alienating a perfectly nice man.  

There was a short knock on the door and she nodded to  herself in satisfaction before calling a bright, "Come in!" Jory poked his head into the room, letting his eyes get big at the sight of her.

"Whoa, Maura. You'll knock Fontaine dead!" He said in appreciation. Maura smiled and picked up the black silk shawl that accented the dress.

"You're very sweet to say that," she said wrapping it over her shoulders lightly. "But I'm not looking to kill anyone tonight. Just show Luke how ridiculous his fiancé is being."

"Good luck," Jory replied with a grin. "Your date is here by the way," he added. Maura tried not to look overly excited as she nodded and passed by her younger brother. She might be going to prove a point but there was definitely something interesting about Jude Fontaine. She liked his sincerity and his friendliness. There was simply no way he could be anything like what Luke and Hallie thought he was.  

She took the steps slowly, feeling as though she were going to senior prom again, only it was Jude here to pick her up and not Billy McKeown who had been died a few years later of a drug overdose. Her heart beat a little faster as she neared the living room where Jude leaned casually against the fireplace, turning slightly as she entered the room. His eyebrows went up in surprise at her appearance before letting his eyes flit over her admiringly.  

"Hello," he said simply, meeting her eyes. She felt a flush of red creep up her neck at his gaze. "You look wonderful."

"Thank you," she managed to squeak out. He was dressed in a simple black suit and open collared white shirt, looking every bit the rich businessman that he now was. "You look pretty good too." Jude smiled and Maura realized for the first time how easily it came to him to offer such a sincere expression. She felt the blush creep back up her neck again as she realized he hadn't taken his eyes from her.  "Should we go?"

"Absolutely," he responded, moving forward to offer his arm. "I hope you are ready for tonight. It's going to be very interesting."


Scene 2:

Hallie watched the door to the reception room waiting for Jude to arrive. She had a lovely piece of information one of her new friends in D. C. had shared with her and she couldn't wait to test it out. Luke sat down next to her, looking annoyed. She threw a frown at him and returned to her watch.

"What's the matter?" She asked. He had been in a terrible mood all day and she was really tiring of it quickly.

"Nothing," he practically snapped. "I'm just on edge. I've got a bad feeling about tonight Hallie. I don't know why, I just feel like something awful is going to happen."

"The only bad thing that is going to happen," she replied coldly, "is Jude is going to get a wake up call. That's it. That's all."

"You know I wish you would pick another night for this. Maura was really looking forward to tonight."  Hallie turned her steel blue eyes on Luke staring at him without saying a word. "I told you, she likes the guy and I couldn't talk her out of it."

"And I should care that your sister has bad taste in men why?" She darted her eyes to Luke and flashed him a sweet smile. "Darling, I know Maura doesn't get out on dates very often, but really, you have to admit agreeing to this as a first date is a little...desperate." Luke motioned to a server with a tray of champagne and took two flutes . He handed one to Hallie and downed the other quickly grabbing another before the server could escape.

"Just promise me Maura is left out of it. Regardless of what you think of her, she's still my sister and I happen to like her," he said as the reception hall doors opened once more. Maura and Jude entered looking like a prom queen and king. Hallie's expression hardened again as she took the couple in. Granted they had just met, but they were awfully giddy with excitement, she thought. Well, that could change too. Once she dropped her little bomb on Jude, his happiness would disappear for the night.

"Oh Maura has nothing to worry about," Hallie replied with a smile of satisfaction on her lips as Jude crossed the floor to the dais at the front of the room. "Jude on the other hand, should worry."


Scene 3:

Phoebe took her seat at the dais next to Jamie Mason. Michaela hadn't been feeling well after the unpacking she had done in the new Mason home and had begged off. Or at least that was what Jamie had said when he offered her Michaela's seat. She had accepted and now found herself sitting between Jamie and Dane Lennox From her seat she could see the entire room and its occupants. The Mason dinner was being held in the reception room at the Conlan's Glen Country Club but so far, it looked more like a formal ball rather than a modest dinner party for the Mason employees, especially given the fact that it was mostly executives that had come to the party.

Rick, of course, had not arrived yet and she wondered if possibly he had changed his mind about coming, though she knew that wasn't likely at all. He was simply biding his time, she thought. As if on cue, though, she caught a glimpse of him. He was leaning against the bar at the back of the room talking to a petite blonde, who if Phoebe wasn't mistaken, looked an awful lot like Jillie Conlan. She looked stunning in an off the shoulder light green dress that made Phoebe's antique dress look perfectly shabby. It was no wonder Rick was glued to her side.  

Of course, if anyone could rival Jillie Conlan tonight, it would be Maura Conlan or Hallie Lennox. Maura was dressed in a similarly styled dress but in black. Hallie had chosen a strapless white dress with broad bands of pink on the skirt. The Masons certainly had style, but did they have substance, she wondered.  

Jamie introduced her to his mother and they exchanged pleasantries for a moment before Gwen spotted someone else in the crowd and excused herself. Phoebe made a mental note to herself about Gwen and took her seat on the dais. Jamie had planned quite a speech just before the dinner was to begin and she wanted to make sure she had her notepad ready to take notes if necessary.

"You must be the press Jamie told us about," she heard a voice say just to her right. Turning slightly, she met the gaze of a man she hadn't met before but had seen in the newspapers as often as she had Jamie in the last few weeks. "I wondered if buying The Observer would pay off and it looks as if it has."

"You must be the man he's replacing," she said to him coldly. She still hated the fact that the Masons paid her salary.

"I don't see it that way. I kind of like the fact that he is saddled with ME now instead of me. I hated being in charge," Dane replied good naturedly. "Now tell me, what do you think your exclusive will be about?"

"Well," she said turning to him. "For starters, I think I'll write about how your family owns everything in this town and nothing I say will be very objective because you pay my salary after all."

"Okay, but no one really wants to read that. You should write about what a salacious bunch we are with no moral fiber and absolutely no concern for this town. That might satisfy your ridiculous self-righteousness," Dane offered cheerfully. If she hadn't been so annoyed with his family, she might have enjoyed his commentary. But as it was, she wanted nothing more than to be rid of Dane Lennox.


Scene 4:

Jamie waited until Jude was settled in his seat before making his trip to the podium. He wasn't a great orator, but this was part of the job and Jude had prepared him well. He really wished Micki was by his side tonight to lend her support but she was due within the next couple of weeks and there was no way he would force her to do anything she didn't want to. Besides, she had been through enough with Gwen nipping at her heels every moment she had been in the Glen. He felt sorry for his wife for having to deal with it and was glad she stood her ground on not coming.  

He cleared his throat at the mike and paused as the room settled down to a dull roar of voices and the tinkling of glass and silverware. The speech was a breeze really, he told himself. Just ignore all those eyes and concentrate on getting it over with.

"Good evening," he said with a smile as he cast his eyes around the room and waited for it to quiet just a little more. "First, I want to thank everyone who came tonight. This is our largest turn out for the ME Dinner since 1986 and I am pleased that it happened this year. For those of you who may not know me, I am Jamie Mason." He paused for the brief spattering of polite applause that followed. "Thank you. As most of you know, I have recently taken over as CEO of Mason Enterprises. It is a responsibility I take very seriously. I don't want it said that the shuffling you've seen over the last two weeks has been ignored by me. Because it hasn't. I know what change does. It creates uncertainty and fear. Well, I am here to tell you tonight that the employees of ME have nothing to fear at all.  

"When I agreed to come back the Glen and take the helm of ME, I did so with the knowledge that I was returning to a business that was very competently run by my cousin, Dane Lennox. I'd like to publicly thank Dane right now for his contribution to ME and wish him the best with his next endeavor." Dane stood for the brief applause that greeted his name before nodding back at Jamie in appreciation. "I would also like to thank the members of the Board of Directors for their tireless efforts in being this company's watchdog over the last few years. They maintain a high standard for us and it pleases me that we meet their standard each time it is offered to us.  

"You've all heard rumors about the reshuffling, I am sure. But let me tell you now, the only serious reshuffling that occurred was in the Executive offices and no one lost a job. Specifically, Hallie Lennox was not fired nor was she pushed out in any kind of power play...yes, I know what is being said. But Hallie was needed desperately at The Mason Foundation to repair some of the damage done there in the last few years. I am grateful that she agreed to take the position and already we are seeing wonderful things from her at MF. Hallie," he said zeroing in on her and making eye contact. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart." He paused for a moment gauging her reaction. Her face had gone a pale white but there was nothing of the malice he had been expecting, only surprise. He nodded to Jude quickly before continuing.  

"We've got some big things planned for ME this year. We'll be spreading out the Commercial Division to include more areas of business. Specifically, a technical publishing house and magazine to compliment the manufacturing industry. We are also looking into Communications and have made our first purchase thanks to Dane Lennox. He has secured The Conlan's Glen Observer for us and will head up the new communications division....." He caught an angry look from Phoebe Cameron as she hastily scribbled on her notepad but it didn't overly concern him. The speech was going well and if it finished well, he thought, his problems would be lessened considerably.

 

On the next Episode of Secret Horizons...

Episode 19