plan. Not the way I wanted to.”
Now he was confused. “Why didn’t you tell me this days ago?”
“Would ye have gone home if I had?”
And face everyone as a failure so she could get her money?
When he didn’t answer, she said, “The week flew by. Honestly, I had a good time. Each night when ye fell asleep, I reworked my plans, accounting for that day’s deduction.” She handed him the notebook. “Starting with changing the four investigators I wanted to hire to three, then two, then just one. And then...”
“What?”
She looked at him, her aqua eyes glassy.
She’d been falling for him, too. It jolted him. Made him feel alive. He wasn’t alone in this crazy beautiful love out of nowhere. But she wouldn’t say it either.
He looked more carefully at the notebook. How could he make this work for her somewhere else? Somewhere in between. She didn’t want to live in New York and he didn’t want to live in L.A.
There...in Chicago maybe? He could take Luke’s plane back and forth. Fuck that, it was his jet, too. He was an equal owner of the hotel.
Besides, why couldn’t he relocate there to Chicago? Lexi would be there working a few days a month. That meant Luke was showing up. He knew his mom would be there, too. Maybe Tristan and the baby.
Yeah, he could make the Windy City his home. Their home. Glancing at Sabine’s copious notes, pages and pages, his heart took a jolt, though. Even with the limited light, all the details spelled out a thorough plan centered on security and investigations needed in L.A. Hollywood. The world he escaped from. The world he hated because it tried to destroy his soul.
He took a seat on a nearby chair and flicked on the reading lamp. Studying the names of studio contacts, talent agencies, record companies, all people she’d pitched her services to, he felt an ache in his chest. Another section marked with a flag had office suites she’d looked at. Locations. It went on and on. Then there were pages cut out and taped in. Colors. Logos. All with silhouettes of L.A. in the background.
To make her start from scratch with her research in a different city was unreasonable because he was a big baby and didn’t want to live in L.A.
“I need one more day, Sabine.” He snapped the book shut. “The producer’s assistant promised me I’d hear something by tomorrow. I’ll call Luke.” The words clipped from his lips.
I’ll call Luke.
“Ye should have called him back weeks ago.” She was right.
All of this could have been avoided if he’d only called his brother back.
Fucking pride. Fucking shame.
Then he’d never have met her.
“Okay, here it is. Either way, you’re getting your money.” He shrugged. “It’s going in your account.”
“I’ll send it back.” Sabine stood up.
She had her pride as well.
“Are you sure you calculated right?” Gray walked up to her, looking at the finance tab of the notebook. There it was in black and white, their whole week. Vegas. Santa Fe. Austin. Chicago. All with scratches of how much she’d lost that day.
He cursed under his breath and grabbed his phone from the charger on the desk.
Even though it was still early in New York, he called the producer’s assistant. Filming started around that time at Silvercup and on location. Gray knew assistants were taking calls at that hour.
“Hey, Rory. It’s Grayson. I’m sorry to bug you. Is there any way Matt can call me today? Just a call.” He’d been in the business long enough to tell by someone’s voice. That worked both ways. “Please. Just a call. I want him to hear my voice, hear how much I want to work with him.”
“Let me see if I can work you in,” Rory said, her voice strained. “He’s still dealing with his family emergency. I have a few other urgent calls he agreed to take. I’ll try, but no promises, Grayson.”
Buried in his phone was Matt’s private cell phone number. Gray had stored it when Matt called him about the part in the first place. He planned to call directly if he had to.
He’d humiliate himself at this point. For Sabine.
“Okay, Rory. Thanks.” Grayson hung up. “Pack up, mama. We’re heading out. Right now. I’ll call my mom when we’re on the road.”
“Why? What’s the point if ye dun’t know?”
“Because I feel it in my bones. That part is mine. He gave me more assurances than any casting director or agent ever had in all