as that.”
I take a deep breath and rub my forehead. “Okay. I get where they’re coming from, I guess. How about we give them a call and I apologize? I’ll tell them I’m sorry and it won’t happen again.”
“Oh, we’re way past that now, fuckwit. You have no idea how much shucking and jiving I had to do this morning to keep them from immediately announcing your termination.” He takes a deep breath. “Thankfully, I think I’ve got them sold on an idea to make lemonade out of last night’s lemons. They’ve given me until five today to deliver on my idea, or else you’re toast.”
My chest suddenly feels tight. “Whatever you have to do, you need to fix this for me, Eli.”
“I’m trying, Savage. But you’re gonna need to work with me.”
“I will. I promise.”
“Don’t you dare use that word with me. It’s meaningless.”
“No, it’s not. Yes, I was stupid last night. But I totally get it now. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Well, you should.” I sigh. “I didn’t want to tell you this yet, but . . . I signed a contract to buy that house yesterday.”
Eli looks flabbergasted. “The house for Mimi?”
I nod.
“Savage, no. I told you no!”
“I know. But I had to do it. Who knows when or if it’ll ever come on the market again? I wanted Mimi to have it. You know we’re running out of time.”
Eli looks sympathetic. “Please, tell me you haven’t told Mimi about the house yet, so you can back out, if I can’t fix things with the show.”
“I’ve told her. She cried tears of joy.”
Eli flops into a chair. “Savage.”
“I had to get it for her. You know the story of that house.”
“How much did you agree to pay? Please, tell me you at least got a smoking good deal?”
I pause. It seemed like a no-brainer at the time when I knocked on the door of that house last week and made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. The house wasn’t even on the market, actually. And they insisted it wasn’t for sale, at any price. So, I offered to pay them a king’s ransom to change their mind. I figured, Why not? The tour was massively successful, which means I can afford to burn my entire salary, and then some, from Sing Your Heart Out on a gift for Mimi. But now, I’m thinking maybe it was a wee bit extravagant to blow every penny of my salary, and more, on that one purchase. “Okay, actually, I told you a little white lie,” I admit. “The house wasn’t actually on the market . . .”
“Oh, God. No. How much, Savage?”
I grimace. “Five million.”
“No!”
“I had to offer that much, or else—"
“Savage, no!”
“It’s okay. For what it’s worth, the house is going to be in my name, so, one day . . .” I trail off, not wanting to think of the ending to that sentence—the obvious implication that Mimi won’t be around to enjoy her fancy new house on a hill forever.
“Your salary from the show won’t cover that,” Eli says, like I don’t know basic math. “Not to mention, you won’t even get paid, all at once, by the show—assuming I can fix this for you. Plus, even if you do wind up staying on the show, if I can save your stupid ass today, then half your salary will go to taxes and commissions.”
“Half?” I blurt. “Well, shit.”
Eli looks genuinely distraught on my behalf. He fidgets in his armchair for a moment. “Savage, even if I can get the show to keep you on, that was the most irresponsible purchase, ever. You already bought Sasha a house last year—and you don’t even have one for yourself!”
My stomach flip-flops. “Look, I’m not gonna apologize. I had to do this for Mimi. She’s the first person in the world who ever truly believed in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself. The first person who told me I actually mattered.” I swallow hard, keeping my emotions at bay. “There’s no way to know how much time she has left, Eli. But things aren’t looking good. So, whatever time she’s got, I want her to get to lie in a huge bed fit for a queen in the master bedroom of that particular house, while watching me sit at the judges’ table—in Hugh Delaney’s fucking chair—on her all-time favorite show.”
Eli runs his palm down his face. “Aw, Savage. You’re such a fucking . . . softie.”
I