“RJ.” Sadie sighed indulgently. “Ralf’s young and ambitious. He was always going to make his own moves in time.”
RJ made some huffing noises as we got into his private town car, taking the front passenger seat. Sadie slid in next to me in the back.
“How did you find that?” she asked as the car pulled away.
“So interesting,” I said. “And Janice is so focused on the bottom line, but you covered all her questions really well.”
“I hope so,” Sadie said. “Right, you’re on your way to another hotel, yes?”
“Yup. Don’t let me forget to get my dress out of the boot.” I had to pinch myself. After a morning attending a pitch, I was now on my way to supervise an A-lister getting ready for a premiere, which I would then also attend. What a way to sign off my last week in New York. This was the kind of day I could only have dreamed of as an ambitious teenager working at Benny’s Chicken for pocket money.
RJ’s car dropped me off at Sol’s hotel, which was more luxurious than the one I had just left, if that was possible. As I rode the lift to the penthouse, I wondered if Sol had had a chance to read myTwin Rosespitch. There was every chance she hadn’t seen my email, let alone read the deck. As much as I wanted to press her about her opinion, I had to let her lead the conversation; after all, tonight was aboutAll Kinds of Killing.
Sol’s suite was like stepping into a sleepover party; music blared, and the smell of coffee filled the air. In a chic living area the size of my entire apartment, Sol was prancing around in a lace slip, hair in curlers as her team buzzed around her. Naya, phone glued to her ear, waved at a set of fat sofas crowded around a low glass table whereupon a couple of pizza boxessat – largely untouched, I noticed. I draped my dress carefully over the back of one of the sofas and perched. Despite there being hours until the premiere that evening, Sol’s prep seemed already quite frantic. Her manicurist was fretting about what shade of pink to use on her nails, while her stylist was holding up two metallic clutch bags, weighing them with a fraught look on his face.
Eventually, Sol slumped on the seat next to me, stifling a yawn as she greeted me with a kiss on the cheek. Her manicurist knelt in front of her and started rubbing lotions into her dainty little feet.
“Hydrate,” Naya ordered, pausing her call to hand a glass full of murky-looking water to her client.
“Ugh.” Sol obediently took the drink and downed it. “Electrolytes,” she explained when she saw my expression. She handed the glass back to Naya, who then continued her call. “So,” she asked, “when do you go home?”
“Friday,” I said.
Sol winced. “But that’s … today’s Tuesday! Man, that’s soon.” I nodded and tried to remain upbeat, but Sol was nothing if not shrewd. “You’re dreading it.”
“No,” I said quickly. It felt like a betrayal of Bex to think otherwise. But Sol’s eyes were kind. I sagged back against the cushions. “Yes.”
“I get it,” Sol said. “New York is my home; I miss it so much when I’m away.”
“It’s an incredible city,” I agreed. “But I’ve been so busy working I’ve barely seen any of it.”
“How do you know it’s incredible then?” Sol asked.
My mind instantly went to Elliot and all the things he did to me last night. My face must have betrayed my thoughts because Sol giggled. “Oh, I see. You met someone.”
I blushed harder. “Yes, but that’s—”
Her eyes went even wider. “The guy from the junket.”
“Yes, Elliot.” I sighed. “Just don’t tell anyone at RJF. RJ has a thing about workplace romances.”
“Well, that’s bananas,” Sol cracked. “Almost everyone meets their partners through work now. So, is it serious or are you two just fucking?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I’m thirty-one and I don’t know what a relationship feels like. But it doesn’t matter anyway because—”
“Because Friday,” Sol interrupted.
“Because Friday,” I said.
“Oh,Lucita,” she murmured, stroking my hair. “You’re so screwed.”
I burst out laughing, “I really am.”
“Change of subject!” She raised a finger. “I got your email.”
I tried to play it cool. “You did?”
“Yes,” she said. “Although I’ve not read it all, just the summary. But I have finished the novel.”
