“You are, huh?”
“Yes, want to hear all about it?”
“Of course,” he says, sliding an arm around her waist.
“Want to be our first investor? A silent one?”
“Those are the terms? I can invest, but I don’t get a say in anything?”
“Exactly.”
“Then no,” he says, mock serious.
She pouts again. “I bet Trick will invest. He’s a fan of the arts.”
“You think he’ll be a silent partner? Trick will probably want to direct. And all the chorus girls will end up topless and in thongs, like it’s Vegas.”
She clucks her tongue.
“You don’t need investors,” Sasha says. “Raven has money.”
“What money?” Zoe asks, turning to him.
“Money,” he says vaguely. To me he says, “Meet me out front. I’ve got some stuff to buy. I want your opinion.” Then he walks past them.
“Did you come into some money?” C asks, looking me over.
I shake my head. “I don’t know what he’s talking about.”
“If it’s not from Frank, the bastard, which it’s not of course, then Anvil must be planning to invest some money in you,” Zoe announces. “He knows how talented you are. He’s obviously going to be your patron. That’s very romantic.”
“Her patron,” C says skeptically.
“Of course,” Zoe says. “So, Connor, I love you, but I don’t need you for this.”
C’s scowl tells me this is not the way he wanted the negotiations to end. I take a last swallow of cocoa and leave them alone to talk. Outside, Sasha leans against a Range Rover. The other is gone. Apparently, Trick went out.
Sasha opens my door.
“What was that about?” I ask when he gets in.
“What?”
“Telling Zoe I have my own money? Enough to put on a Broadway show?”
“How much does it cost?”
“For a musical? A big budget one? Probably around ten million.”
He nods. “You can cover it.”
“You meanyoucan cover it, but that’s insane. You haven’t even heard a pitch yet. Many, many shows flop, and investors lose money.”
“People liked your last show. I think you’ll succeed.”
The lump in my throat burns. “I love that you have faith in us. Truly. But, Sasha, it’s a lot of money to commit and we’re really new at this. We didn’t produce the last show. We don’t have experience. Zoe thinks big, which is great, but we should probably start smaller. Like by producing our next show here in town.” I suck in a breath and decide to confess completely. “You know, I’ve never had any accounts of any kind myself. I went right from my mom’s place when I was sixteen to Frank’s. I wasn’t allowed to have a part-time job. I’ve only ever used credit cards that were in someone else’s name. I know a little about paying bills because of Zoe, but that’s it.” My heart pounds in my chest because I feel like I’m betraying the creative team that Zoe and I want to build. But how could I expect Sasha to trust me if I didn’t warn him and then made rookie mistakes and lost such a huge amount of money?
“So you’ll learn. C will tell you how to negotiate. Trick will show you how to set up the books. And I’ll look at everything until you get the hang of things.” After a beat, he says, “You good?”
