CALL SISSIE SLOAN!
Kelsey knew she would hesitate, but she wasn’t going to back out.
I’m eating lunch first.
The thought of that makes my stomach churn.
I’ll text you after we talk, but don’t worry. Keep drinking your ginger tea and sleep that bug away.
You got this!
Another server brought Harper the bill. She paid it and then slipped outside to the truck, but she didn’t drive away. There was only one way to find out what Sissie wanted, and she’d already made the worst possible impression. It wasn’t like she could do anything else via phone to ruin what Sissie already thought about her. Sort of like facing off Finn in the forest. She’d have to feign confidence in the moment.
A deep breath and then two, like Kelsey suggested, before she dialed the number.
Three rings and then someone answered, “This is Sissie.”
Harper had expected a barrier or two before reaching the producer, an assistant or secretary who’d connect them, if Sissie was even available. But the woman had given Harper her cell phone number! If she wasn’t on the line with the actual Sissie Sloan, she might scream.
“Hello?” Sissie probed.
“Hi,” she finally managed. “This is... Harper. I’m Harper. Harper Rayne.”
“Is that the rule of three so I won’t forget?”
“Actually, it’s so I’ll remember.”
Sissie laughed. “Well played.”
Another breath, her nerves ebbing into a moderate calm. “Kelsey said you wanted to talk.”
“I do.” A shuffle of papers echoed through the phone. “You were the one who likedWhile You Were Sleeping.”
“I’m afraid that’s true.”
“No reason to fear,” Sissie said. “I wanted to speak with you about writing something new.”
She hesitated. “For Evan?”
“Not this time.”
Harper leaned back, relieved. No matter what Sissie had in mind, she would never be able to work with that man again.
“Evan picked a script for his next movie,” Sissie continued, “but I’ve decided not to work on it.”
“Why not?” So un-Hollywood in her asking, but the answer was important.
“It’s not my thing,” Sissie replied. “But I am interested in directing my own film.”
“That’s intriguing.”
“I’m glad you think so, but first things first, Harper Rayne. Confidentiality. You breathe a word of this conversation to anyone, even Kelsey,especiallyKelsey, any possibility of my reading your work is toast.”
“I understand.”
“Like burnt crisp and tossed out with yesterday’s trash.”
“I’m getting all sorts of warm fuzzy feelings over here.” Had those words, intended for the space between her ears, really slipped through the phone?
