Lucas ate a piece of fruit from his plate. “I’m not doing it out of the goodness of my heart, if that’s what you’re wondering. I’m doing it because I believe they have the potential to make money. If I create a channel for them, I’ll run it under the umbrella of my company. I’d give them half of whatever revenue was earned, of course. I think that’s fair.”
“Have you talked to them about this?” Mitch asked.
“Not really. I didn’t think there was a point with Beryl just visiting. But now…” Lucas nodded. “I might. If you’re not opposed to it.”
Mitch crossed his arms. “I’ve just hired Beryl. And we rely on Joyce. How much time would this require?”
“Initially, one day a week. No more in most cases. Once in a while, maybe an extra half a day. I know you need them both. I’m not looking to take them away from you.”
“Good to know.”
“What I’d like to do is get five or six episodes filmed, then release them one a week for a month. That would be a great way to build the channel. Then we could ease back to one every two weeks or even one a month.” Lucas shrugged. “This is all subject to change, of course.”
“Well, if you think it could work, talk to them.”
“Thanks.” Lucas seemed surprised that Mitch was agreeing to it.
“I should get going. Thanks for the coffee. Angelo, I look forward to our next talk.”
“You got it,” Angelo said.
“Lucas.” With a nod, Mitch headed for the door.
“Hey,” Lucas called out to him. “Racquetball on Monday?”
Mitch smiled. “You bet.”
When Mitch walked into his house, delicious aromas, both sweet and savory, greeted him. He went upstairs and found Joyce and Beryl in the kitchen, baking away. “Are you two opening a shop?”
Joyce laughed. “No, we’re just doing a little baking. Well, Beryl is. She’s making chocolate chip banana bread. I’m working on a pot of chicken chili for lunch. Your son is in his room, working, and Ruthie is having a nap.” She glanced down. “And this one thinks she’s helping.”
He moved to look behind the island and saw Bunny, sitting nearby, watching the two women with keen eyes. He chuckled. “Come on, Bunny. Come into the office with me.”
“You want coffee?” Joyce asked.
He was pretty caffeinated, not something that usually bothered him, but Lucas’s coffee must have been stronger than he was used to. Mitch could practicallyfeelit. “No, I think I’m going to switch to water.”
She nodded. “I’ll get it for you. Be right in with it.”
“Thanks.” He patted the side of his leg. Bunny came to him. “Good girl. In the office. Let’s go.”
She followed him and took a spot on the couch. He woke his laptop up. Joyce came in, set a tall, insulated stainless-steel tumbler on his desk, and slipped out again, closing the door. He went straight to his email.
There were a handful, as always, but the one that stood out was from Lucinda. He clicked on it.
Two words.Call me.
He didn’t know what to make of that. It could be bad news or good news. It might be about Kyle’s book or it might beconcerning a deal she was working on for Mitch. With a sigh, he picked up his phone, found her in his Contacts list, and tapped the icon to call. He didn’t call often, so he expected her to pick up pretty quickly.
Lucinda answered after the first ring. “Mitch!”
“It’s me.”
“This book is going to be phenomenal. The publishers are already interested, and I promise you, all I’ve done is told them about it.”
“You mean Kyle’s book.”
“Yes, of course.” She swore softly, Lucinda’s way of expressing most of her emotions. “I knew they’d jump on it, but the response has been outstanding. I’ve got my assistant reading it now. Not that I need her opinion, but it’ll be good to have her on board. Did you talk to him about using your name? What’s the decision on that? I need to know. I want to go out with this formally so the publishers can actually read it. Mitch, I cansmellthe money.”
