Page 48 of Don’t Open Your Eyes

He put up both his hands. “Look, someone canceled at the last minute and they had an open spot for him. It’s too good of an opportunity to pass up.”

Annabelle thought quickly. She supposed she could get Charlotte to come and stay with the girls, to help James out. “Okay, one night, or what?”

“Two, actually. You need to fly out on Thursday because his talk is early Friday morning. Then he’s on a panel Saturday.”

Great. Now she’d be gone for the whole weekend.

“Riggs, I don’t understand why I need to be there. He’s a big boy. What am I supposed to do, follow him around in between his talks?”

“Of course not. You’ll be meeting with Ellen in our L.A. office. Chase’s podcast has gotten some Hollywood interest. It’s possible they might adapt some of his stories into a limited series. We’re giving him the support of both agencies.”

“That would certainly push him into the big leagues. He’s okay with that? I thought he didn’t want that kind of attention.”

“Everyone wants that kind of attention. I had a long talk with him, and he’s good with it.”

She nodded. “All right, I guess that makes sense. What’s Ellen’s role?”

“I want you to work with Ellen to divide and conquer. She’s got public relations experience, but she’s newer to social media. You’ll still be in charge of that, but she wants to work with you on connecting with some targeted influencers.”

“Do I need to call to set up the meeting, or have you already done that?” She tried to keep the annoyance from her tone.

“I sent her Chase’s schedule because, of course, when he gives his talk, you need to be there to take photos and help him network at the cocktail party. She’ll email you some times to meet that work around his schedule.”

“Well, I guess I’d better get myself organized for the trip.”

“Dawn’s already gotten your airline tickets. You’re both booked for two nights in Santa Monica at the—”

Annabelle knew what he was going to say before he said it.

“Shutters on the Beach, right?” she asked.

Surprise played over his face. “How’d you know that?”

“Just a guess.” She inhaled deeply, trying to stave off the feeling of dizziness that overcame her.

Before

The money from Annabelle’s father was now in the law firm’s escrow account. After her meeting it would all be transferred to her. She needed to be smart and invest it so that it would last. Her mother could live for many more years, and at the rate she was paying for her care, all the money would be gone. James had offered to introduce her to his family’s money manager. Apparently, his parents were very well-off. Annabelle assumed his father did well as a surgeon, but it was his mother who brought the generational wealth to the table. Annabelle was beginning to understand that the world worked on connections, and that networking was more important than she ever realized.

She was meeting her father in an hour, and she was as nervous as a cat.

“Hey, baby, are you going to keep pacing until you leave? Come here.” Randy opened his arms and gave her a hug. “Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?”

“No. I’m meeting him at the coffee shop in my lawyer’s office building. I’m setting my phone timer to sixty minutes and leaving the second it goes off.”

Randy raised his eyebrows but said nothing.

“What?”

“Maybe give the guy a chance. Hear what he has to say before deciding you’re gonna bolt.”

Annabelle gave him an incredulous look. “Seriously? What could he possibly say that would make what he did okay?”

“I’m not saying it’s okay. But would it be so bad to have him in your life? Your mom—”

“Stop!” Her voice was harsher than she intended, and his eyes widened. “Sorry for snapping, but if you’re going to say that I need a parent because of what my mom is going through—don’t. She’s not replaceable. I’m not looking for a switch. And it would be disrespectful to her, for me to even consider letting him back in my life.”

“Didn’t you tell me that your mom tried to contact him? Maybe she would want it.”