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  “You better land this deal.” She dropped Evan’s hands, downed her wine, and stormed off upstairs to the bedroom. The moment she slammed the door, Sara sent a text to Julie and one to Kat.

  S: Looks like it’s just going to be me tomorrow night.

  J: Why?

  S: Evan has a meeting with some producer. Might have some sort of movie deal in the works.

  J: OMG that’s great. Don’t worry about him. We’ll have fun tomorrow night without his dumbass.

  S: Mind if I stay the night?

  J: Mi casa es su casa.

  When Sara sent the text to Kat, she told her all about the meeting Evan had with Audrey and Mr. Waters, including the upcoming meeting with the producer.

  K: That’s great if he can sit with the producer and hammer out a movie deal. But I wouldn’t trust Waters or Audrey. They’ll find a way to get more of his money if he makes this deal. Mark my words, he will make only a fraction of what they’ll make off of him.

  S: What should I do?

  K: Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do. But I’ll talk some sense into him before he leaves.

  S: Thank you.

  Sara collapsed onto the bed hoping Kat could guide Evan in the right direction. The more she thought about the meeting he had earlier, the more she thought getting him away from Audrey and Mr. Waters would be a good thing. She just hoped Evan would see things her way.

  *******************************************************

  Evan

  Sara didn’t speak to Evan for the rest of the night. Seeing how angry she was, Evan decided to sleep on the couch. She was gone before he woke, but left a note on his chest.

  Evan,

  Sorry about last night. I know how important this is to you, and should’ve been more supportive. I still wish you were coming tonight, but I understand. Good luck with the meeting.

  Love you

  Sara

  Evan folded the note and placed it in his pants pocket as he readied himself to head into the city to meet Mr. Waters at his office. Never had he felt so nervous for a meeting in his life. He wasn’t even this nervous when Waters told him about the book tours earlier in the year. But this was a golden opportunity, his golden opportunity. If he was offered a movie deal, his life would change forever.

  That was all he could think about as he took the cab from Penn Station to the office. The black small passenger limo sat in front of the building. He wasn’t surprised to see it. Waters always traveled in style, and never drove himself anywhere. As he entered the building, he found Audrey with a rollaway standing at the elevator.

  “Going somewhere after this?”

  “No, but it’s good to be prepared.”

  “Prepared for what?”

  “We’re going to Albany in December. Snow and ice are possibilities for causing delays.”

  This wasn’t setting well with Evan. Despite telling Sara he wouldn’t be there for the party, he wanted to find a way to get back to surprise her. Evan gave a half smile as he entered the elevator. “Let’s hope that’s not the case.”

  Waters waited for them in waiting room of his office. His eagerness made Evan wonder who was more excited for this meeting, him or Mr. Waters?

  “Great, looks like everyone is ready to go. Shall we head down to the limo?”

  “I’m ready,” Audrey replied.

  Evan merely nodded as he saw Mr. Waters pull a rollaway bag away from the chairs. It was odd that they would bring luggage to a meeting, and wondered if they planned on staying overnight before coming back home.

  The drive to Albany was long and quiet. Waters and Audrey conducted business by phone or email for most of the trip. It was as if they were so focused on business they forgot Evan was there. He wanted to do something, wanted to talk to someone, but knew Sara was working. She wouldn’t be able take the call or respond to any texts. He still hadn’t spoken to his family, not that he wanted to, and he had very few friends. He pulled out his cell and found the only person he felt he could text.

  E: Hey, you busy?

  K: I am about to go into a meeting. What’s up?

  E: On my way to Albany for a meeting with a movie producer. Kind of nervous. Got any suggestions?

  K: Be yourself. You’re a very likeable guy, and your book is amazing. They’ll love you.

  E: What if they don’t?

  K: If they pass on your book, it’s because it’s not what they’re looking for right now. It doesn’t mean anything. Plenty of people are turned down.

  E: Well, that’s encouraging.

  K: Evan, your book can easily be turned into a movie. You just need the right producer of production company to come along. Maybe this producer is it. I just don’t want you to get your hopes up. At the same time, don’t trust Waters. If you do work out some sort of deal, he’ll weasel his way into taking more money than he should.

  E: I know. But who else will help me get the deal?

  K: If this producer is serious about signing you or your book, then I’ll head up there tonight and help out.

  E: Thanks.

  The limo pulled up to a Hilton hotel. Audrey entered first, walking up to the front desk. “We’re here to check-in.”

  Check-in? What the hell kind of game were they playing? Evan had no idea they planned on staying the night. Bringing their bags was questionable. Audrey told him in was just in case. He assumed Waters planned on taking a flight after the meeting.

  Audrey returned with three sets of room keys. “We’re all checked-in. I need to freshen up a bit before we meet with Mr. Davidson.

  “Why did you book us rooms,” Evan asked as he followed her to the elevator. “I need to get back home tonight.”

  “Our meeting is in two hours. We will be meeting Mr. Davidson formally for your meeting and then taking him out to dinner to help close the deal.”

  Waters pulled Evan’s arm and looked at him with anger in his eyes. “This is a huge deal for all of us. Tell me; what’s so important that you feel the need to rush everything and risk the deal just to go home?”

  “I didn’t know you were planning all of this. I had plans with my wife and our friends.”

  “Your wife will understand when she sees the checks rolling in. Friends are a dime a dozen. You can always make more friends, but it’s not every day you get to sit down with a movie producer.” Deep down, Evan knew Waters was right, but still felt like it was the wrong move. “You need to decide right now. Is this what you want or not, because if you don’t, we’ll leave right now.”

  “No, I want it.”

  “Good. Now head up to your room and get cleaned up.”

  All three rooms were on the same floor, only a few doors separated them which meant they had easy access to drag him out to the bars, and he knew they would.

  He entered the room to find a king sized bed waiting for him. His window had an amazing view of the city streets, figuring it would only look better once the night settled in. It reminded him of his room in Vegas, not with all the glitz and glamour, but with how something so simple could make him feel like a million bucks.

  There wasn’t much Evan could do. He didn’t pack any clothes or anything to get cleaned up with. He felt foolish to think he would just show up in Albany, walk right into the meeting, sign a deal, and head back home.

  A simple knock on the door changed that. A messenger stood in the hall holding a garment bag. “Excuse me. Are you Mr. Taylor?”

  “Uh yeah.” Evan was more confused than he had when Audrey handed him the room key. “Can I help you?”

  “This is for you.” He handed Evan the garment bag and held a tablet. “I just need you to sign here with your finger.” Evan did as instructed, still wondering who sent him the bag. “Perfect, have a good day.”

  Evan closed the door and turned to the bags. Inside were two suits, one was navy blue with a gold tie with the tag meeting. The other was a black suit with a red tie marked dinner. Figuring this was a gift or something setup by Waters, Evan d
ecided it was best to jump in the shower to clean up.

  An hour later, Evan was dressed to the nine’s in a navy blue Armani suit. Filled with more confidence than he ever had, Evan decided to leave for the meeting. Opening the door, he found Audrey approaching in thigh length skirt, four inch Louboutin shoes, and blazer that still allowed her to show off some cleavage.

  “Well, don’t you look handsome.”

  “You don’t look so bad yourself,” Evan replied.

  “Are you ready for the meeting?”

  Evan glanced down at himself, straightened his tie and buttoned the coat. “Now I’m ready.”

  They traveled down to the lobby and found the room Mr. Davidson specified in the directions he left at the front desk for Audrey. Entering the room, Evan saw three men sitting at a table. By process of elimination, he believed the man in the middle was the producer. The other two had to be security or a lawyer or someone that worked for him.

  “Ms. Stone,” the man in the middle said. His eyes lit up with delight. “It feels like forever since I saw you.” They kissed on both cheeks as they greeted each other.

  Audrey stepped aside and waved Evan forward. “This is my latest success and the author I was telling you about.” She placed a hand behind Evan’s back. “Mr. Davidson, I’d like to introduce you to Evan Taylor.”

  Evan stepped closer to the man standing in front of him. Davidson was taller than he expected, six foot two or three if he estimated right.

  “Nice to meet you, sir,” Evan said as he extended his hand.

  “Likewise.” He gestured to the cluster of chairs at the table and smiled. “Please, have a seat and let’s begin.” Once everyone was seated, Davidson took a drink of water before leaning forward in his chair. “Evan, I want to cut to the chase. Ms. Stone speaks very highly of you. She told me all about you and this book of yours. She said it was the best thing she’s read in a long time. Told me I’d be an idiot if I didn’t check it out.” He pulled out a copy from his briefcase and plopped it on the table. “I must say, I think her assessment was pretty accurate. Which is what I told her when she called me last week to schedule this meeting. Her powers of persuasion managed to get me to agree to the meeting.” Every word this man spoke, Evan listened to as if one missed syllable would cost him everything. “Now I know what Ms. Stone thinks of you, but I’d like to hear from you. Tell me your story. Who is Evan Taylor?”

  This was it, his chance to wow the movie producer. He just didn’t know how to do it. Did he present himself as if he were doing a sales pitch, or did he speak from the heart? Did he want Evan’s full story, or a brief synopsis of the last couple of years?

  “When I was in college, I had a choice to make. I could study hard and be what everyone else wanted me to be, or I could take the thing I loved the most and pursue it to its fullest extent. For a while, I thought I would be just like every other college kid and do everything I was supposed to do. Then I ran into an author whose books I was obsessed with. He told me how hard life as writer would be, but also how rewarding it could potentially be. But at the end of the day, you either wrote for the love of writing or you did it for the money. I chose to be passionate about my writing. It’s brought me this far, and I feel it translates through my characters and stories.”

  He could feel every eye in the room staring at him. They hung on every word he spoke. Some may have found his speech admirable. He knew Audrey and Mr. Waters probably wanted to strangle him. The twinkle in Mr. Davidson’s eye told a different story.

  “Do you know why I decided to be a movie producer, Evan?”

  “No sir.”

  “When I was in high school, I used to borrow my dad’s video camera and shoot everything. It didn’t matter if it was my friends doing something stupid, or a video of birds flying. I loved making videos and wanted to incorporate that throughout my life. I was part of the A.V. club at school, and went to college for it all while making my own independent films.”

  Evan understood what Mr. Davidson was saying. They were two men cut from the same cloth. They had dreams of carrying out their lives by doing what they loved whether it made them money or not. It was the same lesson P.J. Anderson tried to teach him years ago when he met him at the school library.

  One of the men to Davidson’s side leaned in close and whispered something in his ear. “I apologize, but I do have some business to attend to.”

  That was it? I traveled all the way from the city to Albany to tell this guy my story, hear his and be dismissed?

  “Are you sure,” Audrey interrupted.

  “Yes, I’m sorry. I have a conference call in a few minutes, and another meeting at four.” He looked at Audrey, then to Evan. “What are you doing for dinner tonight?”

  Business formal was not the way Evan liked doing business. Sitting in the chair, he felt like everything he did was under intense scrutiny. “I don’t know. My schedule is booked pretty solid,” Evan joked. “I mean, there’s room service, and a mini bar, and a big screen T.V.” He saw the horrified looks on Mr. Waters and Audrey’s faces, but that was nothing compared to the smirk on Mr. Davidson’s. “I’m kidding, sir. It would be an honor to have dinner with you.”

  “Perfect. I’ll have Jonathan text Audrey the details.” Davidson stood up and shook Evan’s hand sternly. In that moment, Evan knew dinner was just a mere formality.

  Chapter 39

  Sara waited until seven, with a fleeting hope Evan would arrive just in time to pick her up for the party. “Ten more minutes,” she kept telling herself. By a quarter after seven, she decided it was time to face her friends without Evan. Dressed in a short cranberry colored dress and black knee high boots, Sara grabbed her red and white Santa hat and walked out to her car.

  The drive took an hour and a half. She would have made it in less time if she hadn’t let brief moments of tears ruin her makeup. Cars lined the block, letting Sara know all of her friends had arrived.

  Taking a deep breath, Sara walked up to the front door and rang the bell. Every moment that passed felt like an agonizing stress over the barrage of questions her friends would ask. Part of her regretted getting in the car and driving there, but Julie would never forgive her for ditching their friends because Evan decided not to come.

  Julie opened the door, posing in a green sweater and short black skirt. “Well it’s about time you showed up. What the hell took you so long?”

  “I got stuck in traffic,” she lied while trying to hide the lingering red marks of her tears.

  “Bullshit, you were waiting for him to get home.” Julie glanced behind Sara to see if anyone else was walking up from the street. “I’m guessing he no showed?”

  “I haven’t heard from him in hours.”

  “Screw him. All the girls are here. Let’s drink and have some fun.” The sound of a few male voices let Sara know some of the girls brought their boyfriends. “Don’t worry; if we go out, the guys can drive us home.”

  Entering the house, Sara found two of her girlfriends curled up on the couch with their men. Yeah, they weren’t going out to any bars. One girl was dressed in a grey sweater that hung loose on her body. The other one wore black yoga pants and an oversized ice blue sweatshirt. They jumped to their feet when they saw Sara enter the living room.

  “Oh my god, she is alive,” Tracie, the girl in the grey, said. She adjusted the black rimmed glasses and cleaned them. She walked up to Sara and poked her in the arm. “Damn and she’s real too.”

  Brie, the girl in the blue, rushed over to hug Sara. “It’s been a long time girl. Where the hell you been hiding?”

  “You know I moved to New York a while back.”

  “Oh so you were serious about that,” Tracie said mockingly.

  “Yeah, I met a guy that I was head over heels about.”

  “And where is he tonight,” Brie asked.

  “He’s at a business meeting in Albany,” Julie interrupted as she entered the living room with another girl name Mel who wore tight black pants, a
white tank top and dark purple open button down shirt.

  The girls turned on their heels and strode back to the couch to rejoin their men. “Our guys would never do something like that,” Tracie said as she curled up on her boyfriend’s lap.

  “That’s because your men don’t have it in them to get a meeting with a movie producer.”

  The girls stopped dead in their tracks and stared at Sara, waiting for her to confirm Julie’s statement. “He left this morning with his agent and publicist to work out some sort of deal with some producer. Evan’s hoping to get it signed tonight.”

  “So does that mean you’re heading out to Hollywood,” Brie said with genuine interest.

  “I honestly don’t know. I’m guessing it’s something that we’ll discuss when he gets back.”

  Sara looked back at Julie and smiled, knowing her comment was instrumental in turning the whole night around for her. Instead of fielding questions about her relationship and why Evan wasn’t there, they were more interested in learning about her husband, what kind of writer he was, and what it was like to join him on tour. The pressure was off, allowing Sara to relax and be herself again.

  The men grew tired of hearing about some guy they didn’t know or care about, and suggested hitting up the bar for a bit.

  “Fine, but you guys are driving.”

  “I don’t wanna go out looking like this,” Tracie pouted.

  “Oh stop whining,” Brie said as she rolled off the couch. “At least you don’t look like you just walked off the set of Frozen.”

  “So we’ll hit the old bar two miles from here instead of hitting the club tonight,” Mel said. “Although, I’d like to find me a holiday hottie that can fill my stockings with care.”

  Julie wiggled her eyebrows at the idea. “I think that’s the best way to spread holiday cheer.”

  Sara shook her head. If she knew the night was going to turn into another night at a bar or club, she would’ve stayed home and waited for Evan to return. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy her time with her friends. Sara just wanted to spend more time with Evan.