Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 82940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
They agreed on one pose of Jay, not in his office as he had suggested, and not in his library as she had wished, but in that beautiful garden that was so tucked away from the world. In the space where he’d first thought the Barbara Hepworth sculpture might belong, Clark had taken a fun shot of him leaning over, with his elbow where the sculpture would have gone. The photograph was easy to caption: Superstar agent Jay Malone contemplates what kind of sculpture to purchase for his new home in Carmel-by-the-Sea.
She thought the picture evinced both Jay’s cheeky sense of humor and the fact that he was settling into his new home, where hopefully he would buy art from a local sculptor. Her mind flipped back to the Barbara Hepworth. That beautiful piece had traveled a long way—all the way from Cornwall in England—and she shivered again thinking about the two of them in the bedroom picking the perfect spot for the sinuous piece. There must be a local sculptor who could fashion him something for the garden. Already she had some ideas of places she’d like to take him shopping. After admiring it for so long, she felt emotionally invested in that property. She wanted everything in it to be perfect. And there was a part of her too, who wanted that specifically for the young boy who never could have dreamed that one day he’d own such an impressive and beautiful home.
Pat’s edits came back before she could leave for the day and, as always, Erin was impressed by the way her editor could so unerringly cut out wasted words or fluff and make the piece tighter. Along with the edits, she’d included a little note: Great work, Erin.
For Pat, that was gushing praise. Erin felt as though she’d been fully forgiven for not telling her editor about Archer’s wedding. Even better, she hadn’t had to sell out Jay in the process.
His story was safe with her.
Chapter Ten
Jay opened his copy of the Sea Shell with trepidation. The front page carried an article about school funding, but there was a little teaser of his profile, bottom right. As much as he wanted to know the local schools were well funded, he was way too curious not to flip immediately to the page where he was featured. The first thing he saw was the photograph, which had been set in the center of Erin’s profile. He grinned, appreciating how it captured his more playful side. He was usually portrayed as serious, sometimes even menacing—especially when the article focused on how cutthroat he was when making deals. When he read the caption underneath, he chuckled and wondered if Erin might like to go shopping with him for a sculpture. She clearly had a good aesthetic eye, as well as a sense of humor.
The headline was innocuous enough: Top Hollywood Agent Buys Dream Home in Carmel. Then, with a sense of dread, he began to read. He didn’t know what had possessed him to tell Erin all those intensely personal and humiliating things about his past. But there was something about the way she listened with such interest and no judgment. There had been no pity in her gaze, but a kind of understanding sympathy that made him keep going when he should have just shut the heck up. Plenty of reporters had tried to lower his mile-high walls—including the infamous Roxy Thanton from Celebrity Tonight, who’d also had a crack at Archer after he’d broken his leg. None had succeeded.
Until now.
How had a thirty-year-old woman whose hardest-hitting question was about not putting his leads in romantic comedies managed to draw out of him what he’d kept hidden from even the most intrusive of journalists? He shook his head. It couldn’t have been Erin alone. No, he’d been listening to a little voice inside of him that said it was about time to be honest about where he’d come from. That it was okay. That it was time to stop hiding. But now, faced with the consequences of listening to that voice, he was worried.
It had taken years and years to become Jay Malone and now he’d undone all that hard work in one morning. He sighed loudly.
As one sentence flowed into the next, he couldn’t believe what he was reading. It was beautiful, playful, thoughtful—and there wasn’t a single mention of Jay’s childhood. It was as though his life had begun when he and Archer met at the restaurant where they’d both been waiting tables. She’d put in the bit about him hustling to get the dishwasher job, and then when she’d talked about his agency, she’d described it as fledgling rather than revealing that he and Archer had cobbled together a CV, letterhead, and a company name. Beyond grateful, he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. He still worked with those people he’d once had to hustle, and while nobody in Hollywood wasn’t going to pick up the phone if Jay Malone called, he didn’t want studio executives feeling like they’d been made a fool of. Those guys had long memories. Dealing with a fledgling agent was okay. Being tricked by a no-account hustler was an embarrassment.