Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 66753 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66753 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
“They want to amend with an added opportunity,” I explain. “Which means more money. Nothing changes but that add-on.”
“Oh,” she breathes out, relinquishing the grip on the table. “This is unexpected. It’s all such a turnaround for a studio that passed on Dash’s books to start with. It makes me suspicious. What opportunity?”
“They want him to host a true crime show. I actually think it would be great for his career.”
“Well, that’s unexpected,” she repeats and laughs. “I already said that, right? I need to process this for a minute. True crime. It makes sense. He’s a former FBI agent.”
“It does. And he’s interesting. His mother was a corporate big wig and the only living parent to influence him, but he became an FBI agent.”
“And you didn’t.”
“No, and we’ve talked about that. I was always obsessed with the idea of being my mother’s protégé of sorts. He was obsessed with crime and mysteries for as long as I can remember. He needs to do this.”
“I’ll work on him,” she promises. “He hates being in the public eye.”
“I know, but if this Hollywood deal takes off, he will be anyway, and filming in a studio behind a camera is not like standing on a stage.”
“Good points,” she agrees. “And I’ll need them all to convince him.”
“Why do you think I came to you first?” I ask. “We’ll have to double-team him to win him over, but this will push his book sales, too. And the film projects. No other authors will have the strength of his platform. Not even King. He’ll have longevity on Dash, but that’s all.”
“Just more good stuff for me to use,” she concludes. “He’s at Cupcakes and Books, working on his book. I’ll go over and chat with him. Then maybe you can join us after I get a few minutes with him?”
“Perfect,” I say, “because I have to respond to this quickly. Studios change their minds quickly. Deals fall apart in seconds, and too often deals are signed in Hollywood and nothing comes from them. The more invested the studio is in Dash, the more likely they’ll make his TV show and do the right things to promote it as well.”
“In other words, he needs to say yes.”
“It’s in his best interest. And to me, this says the studio head wants to go all in on Dash. It’s a good sign that we’re going to see development action quickly.”
“All right,” she says. “I have a meeting with a donor this morning and then I’ll head over to talk to Dash. You want to join us for lunch?”
“Only if lunch is a cupcake,” I say. “I swear I need one right now. This has been an intense few days.”
“So it seems. One more chance before we hurry on our separate ways. You sure you don’t want to talk about ‘other’ things?”
If only I could spill it all to Allie. “It’s not a matter of not wanting to talk. More like I have too much to do. I’m buried from being out of town.”
She lowers her chin and says, “In other words, you don’t want to talk about Tyler.”
Translation: she’s going to make me talk about Tyler.
I don’t know why Allie reading me like a book and refusing to be dismissed surprises me. That sisterly closeness I remembered fondly upon seeing her today naturally comes with equal parts nosiness and stubbornness. It’s also a bond solidified by honesty, so it’s time, to be honest.
I’m going to lay the truth and nothing but the truth on her.
Chapter Twelve
Bella
The truth is, I’m probably in love with Tyler. I’m a fool for it, too, but not because his father killed someone. I have known Tyler too long to allow him to be defined by his parent. I’m a fool because I’m nothing but a contract to him. Because if he really cared about me honestly, his feelings and limitations would have been his offering to me, not a contract.
Maybe.
I don’t know.
I could be being hard on him.
Maybe that’s the real fool that I am?
But since I still need to decide these things and face my foolish self in the mirror before I show her to anyone else, I mentally backtrack before I ever spill my guts. My new but still honest version of the truth is, “I’m not going to talk to you about this Allie. I don’t want Dash involved.”
“You’re talking to me, not Dash.”
“Same thing. You’ll feel obligated to tell Dash. Then Dash will feel the need to punch Tyler, and both our worlds would become immensely more complicated for it.”
“I thought you told Dash this situation is professional, not personal.”
“It is. To Tyler, at least.”
Her brows furrow. “What does that mean?”
“I’m not talking about this, Allie,” I repeat.
“Okay,” she says. “Then I’ll talk and make general observations about Tyler, in case they help in any way. I thought he was an asshole for a while, I really did, but ultimately, he helped us get Dash out of the fight clubs.”