I sigh with resignation, and CeeCee chuckles at my dejected reaction.
“Darling, you’ve got plenty to do, without running around trying to talk to actresses about their experiences with Howard Devlin. You’ve got artists to interview for the special issue.Plus, a mind-blowing article to write about Reed forDig a Little Deeper. And who knows? Maybe you’ll wind up bringing me something fantastic about Isabel Randolph, too.”
73
REED
Wednesday 3:17 pm
I’m sitting at my desk at River Records, listening to some demos forwarded to me by my team. But my heart isn’t in it. Because...Georgina. Right this very minute, she could be meeting with CeeCee.And talking about me.
I’ve got no doubt CeeCee’s recollection of our initial conversation about the special issue and the grant will match everything I told Georgina in my texts. The truth is the truth. But, still, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little stressed about their conversation. Is Georgie telling CeeCee that she caught me coming out of my garage with Isabel? And if so, is Georgina erroneously saying IfuckedIsabel? God, I want to crawl into a hole to think CeeCee is hearing either version of the story. But I’d be especially ashamed for CeeCee to think I fucked Isabel after having the best week of my life with Georgie.
An email notification from Leonard with the notation “URGENT” on the subject line flashes across my screen, so I quickly click out of the marketing plan I’ve been reviewing and into Leonard’s email. It’s about the copyright infringement lawsuit against Red CardRiot. We filed a motion for summary judgment on Monday, and it seems the plaintiff’s attorney has now offered to dismiss the case, even before the motion gets ruled on by the judge. His only request? We have to agree not to pursue reimbursement of our attorneys’ fees from his clients, which is something we’d be entitled to do under the applicable copyright infringement statute, if we were to win the motion.
I type out a quick reply, telling Leonard to take the deal, just to put the thing behind us. “But tell that motherfucker he’d better dismiss his lawsuit within twenty-four hours, or I’m riding that summary judgment motion all the way up his ass until it’s coming out his mouth.”
I’ve no sooner pressed “send” on my email to Leonard, when my phone rings with an incoming call—and the minute I see Georgina’s name on my screen, my heart leaps and bounds, even as my palms begin to sweat with anxiety.
“Hey, baby,” I say, trying to make my voice sound casual, even though I’m freaking out. “Did you talk to CeeCee yet?”
“Yes. At length. And, please, don’t call me baby.”
“What’d she say?”
“She said she loved every idea Zasu and I pitched for the special issue.”
“What’d she say about the grant?”
Georgina pauses. “Yeah... about that. That part of our meeting was... disappointing, Reed. To say the least.”
My stomach clenches.Fuck. “How so?”
There’s another long pause, during which I feel like my stomach is turning inside out.
“Ha! I’m just screwing with you, dude. CeeCee said ‘ditto’ to everything you said in your texts.”
I groan loudly with relief. “Oh my God, you evil woman. Are you trying to make me stroke out? So, CeeCee backed up everything I told you?”
“All of it. Although she did make a few clarifying comments.”
My stomach somersaults. “Whatclarifying comments?”
“It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I not only forgive you for paying my salary and for all my father’s expensive medication, I thank you profusely for doing both. Thank you, Mr. Rivers. Sincerely. You’re an incredibly generous man, and I’m grateful.”
My eyes widen in shock. I look around like a cartoon character for a moment, even though nobody is here with me in my office to see the gesture.
“Hello?” she says.
“Yeah... I was waiting for you to say you’re kidding again.”
“I’m not kidding. Thank you.”
“Wow. That’s way more than I was expecting. Thank you.”
“No, no, no. Thankyou.” She laughs again. “Look, I know you donated to that cancer charity because you wanted to get laid. But guess what? I wanted to get laid, too. I understand how a person can haveconcurrentmotivations, as we’ve discussed. The bottom line is CeeCee would have hired me, no matter what. And that’s the most important thing.”
I feel dizzy with relief. “Let’s celebrate my complete vindication. Let me take you to dinner tomorrow night.”
