It wasn’t a question, but Jayla answered it anyway. “Yes. Serving a life sentence with no chance of parole.”
And Doctor Fernandez not only wanted her input on Erik’s surgery, but also for her to assist, and Erik was actually going to arrange it. Chloe jumped to her feet. She needed to do something, and she looked around the room as if it would give her the answer. “I should…”
Her phone suddenly rang, and thinking it might be Erik, she whipped it out of her pocket only to see that Lattie was calling.
“Hello?”
“Chloe, dear! I know it’s short notice, but are you free to meet by chance?”
Chloe looked at Jayla. “Right now?”
“Or within the next little bit. I’ve made some calls, and everyone loves the idea, but we need to nail down a date as well as the program, and John is leaving tonight for a trip. If we can’t meet today, it’ll have to wait until next week, and when we spoke last night, I had the sense that you wanted to do this with some urgency.”
Urgency was a good word for it. Chloe looked once more to Jayla, and the other woman nodded, clearly having heard Lattie’s side of the conversation. “I can meet. At the opera house?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll leave right away.”
“And you’ll have Erik with you?”
“Er… Do you need him?” Erik had said he had some calls to make, and she didn’t know how long that would take.
“Not for this, but I know he’s your protection detail, and I don’t want you coming out alone.”
“I won’t be alone.”
“Splendid! I’ll see you soon.”
“You heard?” Chloe asked Jayla as she tucked her phone back in her pocket.
Jayla nodded and stood, pulling her own phone out. “I’ll just text Erik, let him know where we’re going.”
When they arrived at the opera house, Jayla did a quick check of the area, then she set herself up outside of Lattie’s office while Chloe went in. It was a tight fit. In addition to John Madison, Lattie had gathered the dance choreographer, the orchestra manager and conductor, the opera house’s lighting and sound designers, Mitch from sets, Tom from wardrobe, and the house’s PR rep. Everyone was talking, creating a loud buzz around her, making it almost impossible to pick out any one conversation.
Spotting her, Lattie clapped his hands together a few times. “Okay, okay. Let’s settle down. Everyone’s here now.”
He looked from face to face, his expression somber. “We all know why we’re here. Daniel was family, one of ours, and we will honor him with the music and performance he loved.” He pointed at the PR rep. “Fatima! How much time do you need to fill the seats?”
“To create the appropriate buzz? Six weeks, minimum.”
“You have three weeks.”
Three weeks? To Chloe, that felt like an eternity, but she’d known this wasn’t something they could reasonably throw together in a couple of days.
Lattie continued snapping orders, like a general assembling his troops. To reduce prep time, the performers would be using appropriate pieces they were already familiar with, costumes would come from what the opera house had on hand, and sets would be simple backdrops where they’d project footage of Danny’s past performances, as well as any videos or photos his friends and family might wish to contribute.
From there, they began to discuss the order of the program. The orchestra would open and close the performance, the dancers would do two numbers, and Chloe and John would each do two solos as well as two duets.
“You may take a few days to decide on which pieces you would like to perform. Keep in mind that if you require accompaniment, the orchestra must have the arrangements as soon as possible.” With that said, Lattie nodded to the Choreographer.
Pauline stood. “I have some news to share.” With a smile, she announced, “Our dear Thadeus is out of the ICU, and the doctors are optimistic that with therapy, he’ll make a full recovery.”
Chloe breathed a sigh of relief while others applauded and cheered the good news.
They took another thirty minutes discussing thoughts and ideas before the meeting broke. “Chloe,” Lattie said, and made a staying motion before turning his attention to John. “I know you need to catch a flight, John, so I won’t keep you. I’ll text you the rehearsal schedule, but for Chloe’s sake, please be thinking while you’re away, about what duets you’d like to do.”
“I will.” John turned to Chloe. “I’ll text you.”
