Page 40 of The Problem with Playboys

“How about tomorrow? Nine o’clock at Muffy’s? We’ll put it on the books so you can’t bow out of it?”

“Sure. I can do that.” Chloe wanted to see her mom, but she definitely dreaded the fifth degree she would undoubtedly get. At least she could put it off for twenty-four hours.

“Wonderful. I’ll see you then.”

Chloe hung up the phone and Forrest reappeared mere seconds later. “I’m sorry I was in the room when your mom decided to put you on the spot.”

“I actually think it’s good for me when you hear some of her craziness. It helps me to know that it really happened and I didn’t just imagine it.”

Forrest laughed quietly. “Oh, it definitely happened.”

“Is there something you need?”

“Yes. Fran Lipman over atAmerican Entertainmentmagazine sent you an email about a piece she’s running, but she also called to follow up. I think she’s eager to get an answer. It sounds like she had someone bow out. I promised her I’d bring it to your attention right away.”

Chloe immediately went to her laptop. Fran was an old friend and would often send opportunities Chloe’s way. “Okay. Two secs.” It only took a minute for her to find the email and read through it. “She’s doing a series on celebrities who live in famous American cities. And you’re right. She had someone bow out, so she’s desperate. The only hitch is she wants someone who isn’t too horribly controversial.”

“That rules out Dakota,” Forrest said. Indeed, she was back to shoplifting again.

Chloe mentally ran down her current client list, but she felt as though she already had the perfect person for it. “The natural answer is Marcus Grant. Miami is on the list of available cities. And his controversy was a blip on the map.”

“We aren’t representing him anymore though, right? That project is complete.”

“No, we aren’t. But I’m sure Parker would love it.”

Forrest nodded slowly. “Right. His agent. Parker Sullivan.”

She couldn’t ignore the leading tone in her voice. “Forrest, say whatever it is that you want to say.”

Now he was shaking his head. “I would never comment on your personal life.”

“What if I asked you to?”

“I’m not taking that bait. All I’ll say is that I like him a lot more than I thought I would.”

You and me both.“Good to know.” She returned her sights to her computer. “Can you think of anyone else we can bring to Fran?”

“No. I can’t.”

“Okay, then. I’ll get back to them as soon as I run it past Parker.”

“If they call again, I’ll let them know as much.” Forrest disappeared through the door.

Chloe called Parker right away.

“Hey there, beautiful,” he said when he picked up. “Is everything okay?”

She smiled. Having that sort of attention from him was like standing in the sun on a beautiful summer day. “Everything’s fine. I wanted to run something by you.”

“Please.”

She gave him the rundown on the magazine piece. “I was thinking that Marcus and Miami would be perfect for it. A good-looking all-American athlete, living in a stunning house in a great city, with a promising career ahead of him. And it’ll hit newsstands right around the start of his rookie season, so it could be perfect.”

“It sounds amazing. What would we need to do?”

“As near as I can tell, it’s a quick photo shoot and a short Q and A. Nothing too taxing.”

“That’s fantastic. Which of your clients are you submitting?”