“No check necessary. He’s doing it as a favor to me. I’ve been thinking about filming a doc about notable wrecks, and I told him this would be a great test run.”
“That’s very kind of him.”
“For a billionaire, he’s not that bad of a guy.”
“Thank you for doing this.”
“I’m just glad it worked out. And now you have a good reason for taking me out to dinner.”
“The prospect of spending time with you was reason enough.”
“Oh, my. You really are a charmer.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“A very good thing.”
Drinks arrived and dinner was ordered.
“Now it’s my turn to thank you,” Josie said.
“For what?”
“Showing me your mother’s paintings,” Josie said. “I’ve been thinking about them ever since I saw them. She was an amazing talent.”
“She was,” Stone said. “So, tell me about your bio.”
She chuckled. “Not much to tell. Grew up in a small town in California you’ve probably never heard of.”
“Try me.”
“Filmore.”
“In the county of Ventura, where you were surrounded by avocado and lemon trees.”
“Youdoknow it.”
“Do you still have family there?”
She nodded. “My parents. My father’s from Sweden and is a doctor, and my mother is from the Philippines and is a nurse.”
“Hale doesn’t sound Swedish.”
“That’s because it’s my stage name. My real last name is Halverson. Back when I was starting out, my agent thought Hale would be easier for producers to remember.”
“That explains it. Does your father still practice?”
“My sister has taken over the bulk of his clients, but he and Mom still go into the office once or twice a week.”
“So how do a Swedish doctor and a Filipino nurse end up together in a small California town?”
“They met when he was a resident. She was one of the nurses he worked with. The way Dad tells the story is that Mom had to read him the riot act more than once for botching some procedure or the other.”
“Ah, enemies to lovers.”
Josie raised an eyebrow. “Why, Mr. Barrington, are you a romance reader?”
“I have a client who is a romance writer, so I may have done a bit of research in that area.”
