“It’s giving me a hard time.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “And I want to get into this with you, I really do.”
“But you need something.” I shook myself, glad of the distraction. “What’s up?”
“Sol Rodrigues,” was the unexpected reply.
“Riiiiight.”
“She’s requested you to be her liaison for the premiere,” Michelle said, pressing her hands together.
“Me?” I was dumbfounded. “Why?”
“Why? I don’t know,” Michelle said. “Because, no offense, but you probably don’t have much experience in handling talent like her. She likes you, I guess.”
“Well, count me in,” I said. “But what does this entail?”
“Escorting her to the premiere at the Botanical Gardens,” Michelle said. “Being on hand to help her get changed, fetch refreshments and the like. You got my number, so you can just keep me updated when traveling and of course if any issues come up. Honestly, it’s handholding, but it’ll be great to have someone I can trust there just in case.”
“Okay,” I said. “No problem.”
“Thank you!” Michelle beamed. “I’ll email you the details.” She turned to leave, then stopped. “Do you have, like, a formal outfit?”
“I have a nice black dress,” I said. It was a charity shop find Bex had insisted I bring.
“Is it red carpet worthy?”
“It’ll do.”
“Okay, I’m going to have to take your word on that,” Michelle said. “Given you wear pretty much the same thing every day.”
“I know, I know,” I said with a fake yawn. “Practical and boring. God, you sound like my friend Bex.”
“Well, as gorgeously practical as you are, your friend Michelle would love you to fully embrace a summer palette.” She laughed, then paused. “Oh, Sol’s publicist said to let you know Sol read the book and wants to talk about your proposal. Mean anything?”
I froze. “Are you serious?”
“I’m just passing on the message,” Michelle explained.
“Oh my actual God.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“It could be an amazing thing.” In the haze of Elliot, I’d completely forgotten about my interaction with Sol and her interest in myTwin Rosesproject. What an idiot I was! Once Michelle left, I dived into my bag and found Sol’s businesscard. I didn’t think about it; I kept it simple. I attached my watermarked pitch PDF to an email, branded it ‘confidential’ and included a short note to Sol about discussing it when she had a moment, then hit ‘send’ with trembling fingers.
Just then a chat message popped up on my screen. It was Sadie, asking if I was available to pop into her office.Could this day get any better?I asked myself. I hurried over, thrilled when Sadie greeted me with a big smile.
“So, I wanted to tell you how impressed I am with all the financing research you’ve done for me,” she said, before I’d even taken a seat. “You’ve really saved me some time should this pitch not go well.”
“Thanks.” I tried to play it cool, but my face was burning with pride.
“And I spoke to RJ …” She leaned forward. “Do you want to come to the pitch tomorrow morning?”
I gaped. “Are you … seriously?”
Sadie laughed. “Yup. This is just to observe, mind you, but I think it’d be a good learning experience. You’ve earned it.”
I nodded, lost for words.
