Free Teddy Bear Heir by Elda Minger Page B

San Francisco would probably show up. He was only interested in one.
    He called in the same employee who had created the first campaign and tried to explain exactly what he had in mind. And why.
    Chuck Berrigan was in his early fifties, fat, slovenly and unshaven. He constantly had an expensive unlit Cuban cigar hanging out of his mouth and looked like a character in a Billy Wilder comedy. He had a fondness for khaki pants and baggy sweaters and wore his gray hair long enough to brush his collar.
    But he had the heart of a pussycat beneath his brusque demeanor and created content like no one else.
    Teddy's Toys had employed him before. He'd created several of their most successful ad campaigns, including the famous one three Christmases ago in which Julian had dressed up as Kris Kringle and Mrs. Monahan had had to suffer through the same session dressed as a long-suffering elf. But the reindeer they'd rented for the day had loved her and practically licked the skin off her forearms.
    Chuck was pacing the length of the office, back and forth, back and forth. His cigar remained unlit, as Cameron had no fondness for secondhand smoke. Finally the writer stopped pacing and faced his employer.
    "Let me get this straight," he said. "You went to bed with this broad and don't even remember who she was?"
    "The room was totally dark," Cameron explained patiently. He couldn't blame Chuck for his reaction. The whole story seemed incredible to him. And he'd been there.
    "But if it was that terrific—"
    "I wasn't thinking very clearly," Cameron said wearily, running his fingers through his hair. "I wasn't really thinking at all."
    "She must have been some broad, all right. Okay, Cameron, we can do this."
    "I'm counting on you to write me something that's—restrained and—tasteful."
    "Sure thing. But before we begin, let's use some logic here."
    Cameron groaned inwardly. Chuck was a brilliant writer and his absolute favorite reading material was detective novels. He fancied himself an amateur sleuth. Cameron was sure those instincts were going to come to the fore in about two seconds.
    "What about one of those maids in the hotel? I mean, she would've had access, with her key and all. Jeez, Cameron, you know broads were climbing in the windows when you were interviewing candidates for your baby mama."
    "Don't remind me."
    "We could start by getting a list of employees working that night at the Four Seasons."
    It wasn't that bad an idea. Cameron frowned in thought.
    "Take a memo," he said wearily to Mrs. Monahan, who now sat by his desk, steno pad in hand. If she thought this whole situation too incredible for words, she wisely didn't let a single emotion flit across her face.
    "Now," said Chuck, starting to warm up. "Was there anyone else who might've been at the scene of the—crime. So to speak."
    "I appreciate your subtlety."
    "Hey, just doing my job. If we can figure out who this dame was, you can save a bundle."
    Cameron paid Chuck by the hour and he had to concede that if they figured out this woman's identity relatively quickly, they would save Teddy's Toys an astronomical amount of money.
    It would save him   an astronomical amount of money.
    "I appreciate your thoughtfulness."
    "What about the lawyer?" Chuck accentuated his question by taking the ever-present Cuban cigar out of his mouth and jabbing the air with it for emphasis.
    "Mike?" Cameron laughed, the sound mirthless and abrupt. "I don't think so."
    "I dunno," Chuck mused. "I saw her out in the front office. She's quite a looker."
    "Mike? Here?" Cameron turned to Mrs. Monahan.
    "She had another contract for you to look over but I referred her to your grandfather."
    "Get her in here."
    Within minutes, Michaela entered the spacious office.
    "You wanted to see me?"
    "Did Julian look that contract over?"
    "Yes. I was just leaving—"
    "Give it to me."
    She sat in one of the chairs next to his desk, between Mrs. Monahan and a man she didn't know. He was chewing on the end of a