“Yes.”
“And Dylan Sinclair, of course, who, although a total genius, I have to say, scares me a little.”
“What about the editing staff and promotions?”
“Them too, but they won’t say a word or they’ll be fired immediately,” she says. “Didn’t Will go over all this with you? You sound out of the loop.”
“Yes, he did, but I wanted it straight from the horse’s mouth.” That was a subtle shot because Kira once told me she hates her front teeth on account of them being rather large. See? I can be nasty when necessary. “You need to know I’ll sue if any of that gets out. And I’ll win. And even if we lose, we have adeepreserve fund for legal proceedings so by the time we’re done with ABN, the entire network won’t exist.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“You know what else isn’t going to happen?” I ask, my heart pounding wildly. “Me participating in that survivor challenge show.”
“Right. Because you never want to work with us again?”
“Can you blame me?”
“No, I can’t.”
“I trust it won’t be a problem if I drop out.” God, I’m a badass. I mime smoking a cigarette in the mirror, then say, “No repercussions for myself or my family?”
“You have my word.”
“Excellent.”
“But, does this mean Will isn’t going to be part of the show either?” she asks. “Because his participation really is integral to the deal we made.”
“Will’s still in.”
“And you’re okay with that?” she asks.
“Totally. I’d never get in the way of his career,” I say, not wanting to admit we’ve broken up.
“That’s very mature and reasonable of you.”
Aww, that was sort of sweet, wasn’t it? No! Stay strong.“That’s me. Both mature and reasonable, but also deadly serious about protecting my family.”
“Duly noted.”
* * *
From: Princess Arabella
To: Arthur, Tessa, Father, Gran, Mrs. Chapman, Phillip Crawford
To Whom It May Concern,
Just a quick note to let you know that Mr. Banks and I have decided to part ways. I’m doing fine with this decision and would appreciate it if no one would bring it up. It’s for the best and I would prefer to swiftly move on.
Best,
Arabella
There, that ought to do it. I’ll just send that email and I’ll never have to talk about it again. Perfect.
Send.
My phone rings. Tessa’s calling. I push the speaker-phone button and say, “I’m fine, I promise.”
