HH01 - A Humble Heart (3 page)

would send someone out at her convenience to discuss it.

Her free hand went over her mouth to cover her screams of joy. She had never been happier in her entire life. This was

their escape, their chance at happiness. Tears of joy streamed down her cheeks.

Jeff picked that moment to open the door. “I’m buying the monitor tomorrow. I don’t care what you say.”

She laughed deeply for a few minutes. He stood there watching her with a confused expression on his face. She forced

herself to calm down. “You know what, Jeff. I don’t care.” She ignored him and stared at her letter. There was no way she was

telling him about any of this. Well, at least not until after they were officially separated that is.

Chapter 2

One year later….

A piercing noise went off next to his head. Edward reached over with his eyes still closed and felt around for the small,

annoying alarm clock. His fingers moved along the top and began hitting buttons at random until peaceful silence enveloped

him once again. He rolled over in his large bed and fell back to sleep.

“Hey, sleepy head, time to wake up,” a woman said. Edward groaned and buried his face in his pillow. “I don’t have all

day, Edward. Get your butt out of that bed!” Something thick and flat hit him upside his head.

He sat up in bed. “Damn it, Mom! Can’t you let me sleep?”

“It’s two in the afternoon. I told you last night at dinner that I was coming over with scripts. If you don’t want me to handle

your contracts anymore you’re more than welcome to go find another lawyer.”

Edward pulled himself out of bed. “Mom, I just stopped shooting a film. You know for a week after I'm done filming that I

like to rest.”

She hit him on the head again with a large manila envelope. “Too bad. Get your little butt up. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

She left the room, leaving him to dress.

He was not looking forward to seeing her in the kitchen. There was no food in the house, the sink was full of dirty dishes

and take out containers were everywhere. She was not going to be happy.

After taking a quick shower and pulling a pair of pants on, he walked into the kitchen. Sure enough his mother already had

the trash cleared and was washing his dishes.

“Edward, what are you paying that cleaning service for?” she asked. Her light graying brown hair was pulled back into a

loose bun. It was somewhat amusing to see his mother clean his kitchen in a thousand dollar suit.

He sat on the counter. “I had to fire them a month ago. I haven’t had a chance to hire a new one.”

She looked up. “Fired? Why didn’t you tell me? You know your sister and I would have come over to help.”

He shrugged. “It’s fine.”

“Why did you fire them?” She laughed lightly. “Please tell me they didn’t complain about your messes. You have fifteen

rooms in this place and you only use your bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchen. That’s really not much to complain

about.”

He nodded in agreement. Then wondered why he bought the place in the first place. A small apartment would suit his

needs perfectly, but he wouldn’t have this level of privacy.

“So?”

“So, what?”

“So, why did you fire them?” she asked a bit more impatiently.

“Let’s see, one of them was stealing my dirty underwear, another one sold pictures of my place to the press and the topper

was when I came home to find a very naked sixty year old maid in my bed waiting to please me.”

His mother looked back with her face scrunched up in disgust. “Eww.”

“Exactly. So, I fired them.” He looked around. “You didn’t happen to bring any food with you, did you? Or anything to

drink?”

She sighed. “I had a feeling you didn’t have anything. Your sister should be here any second with groceries.”

“Thank you,” he said even though he knew without a doubt his sister wouldn't be buying anything he liked, but he wouldn't

complain. He appreciated everything his family did for him so he could have some peace in his life.

“Don’t thank me, thank your sister. Sweetheart, you really need to start going out and doing things for yourself. This isn’t

healthy living like this. You don’t go anywhere or do anything. When’s the last time you went on a date?”

“About a year ago, I think." He sighed. "Mom, you know why I don’t date.”

She nodded. “I know. I just wish you could meet a down to earth woman that cared about you and not your status or

money.”

“Me too,” he said more bitterly than he meant to.

With a quiet sigh she dried her hands on a towel and gestured for him to sit down at the table. He sat down and waited. In

front of her were ten thick envelopes with writing on each one.

“Okay, I’ve gone through all of these. On each envelope I wrote a quick summary of the plot, how much they are willing to

pay and where the filming will be done.”

His mother took the top two off the pile and held them while she pushed the others towards him. He knew what she was

doing. The two in her hands were the best. He went through the eight envelopes and pushed them aside. Nothing spoke to him.

“I believe these two are the best offers.” She pushed the envelopes towards him.

He picked up the first one,
Rogue
, an FBI agent who rescues and falls in love with a history professor. He read through

the description. There was plenty of adventure, guaranteed humor and love scenes. The money was pretty good and all of it

would be shot locally. “Not bad,” he said.

“Look at the last one before you make up your mind,” she said, pushing the last envelope towards him.

He picked up the last one and his breath caught. He looked up. “Is this real?”

She smiled. “I thought you would like that. Read, there’s more.”

He read the rest of the offer. He couldn’t believe it. There was no way he could pass up this offer. “Call them and

accept,” he said as he ripped open the envelope to devour the script.

************

Dana ducked down low and moved leisurely in the water along the side of the pool, praying Deana wouldn’t see her. It

was a useless attempt since her assistant was skilled in the art of hunting down her reclusive boss.

“Oh, there you are!” Deana said brightly, ignoring Dana’s obvious attempt to avoid her. “I have some messages for you.

Let’s see...” She shuffled through a thick pile of papers. “Jeff called.”

Dana groaned. “What now? What’s his excuse not to come see the kids this time?”

Deana smiled. “Actually, he called to confirm he’s coming in a few weeks. He asked if I could come up with some ideas

for him to keep the kids occupied.”

“Good. It would be good for the kids to see him. Poor Elizabeth, she doesn’t need this drama he’s created,” Dana said,

pulling herself out of the pool.

Her body had changed over the past year with hard work. She shed all her extra weight off after discovering a deep joy in

weight lifting and running. Her skin was a healthy tan since they'd moved to California. She still wasn’t used to her new body

and hated anyone seeing it, including Deana.

Dana picked up a white terry cloth towel and wrapped herself up. “Okay, that’s one message, what else?”

“Rick called,” Deana said with an apologetic look.

Dana dropped down on a cushioned patio chair. “You didn’t tell him I was here, did you?” She looked up and winced at

Deana’s expression. “Oh god, you did!”

“He’s your editor, I had to,” she said apologetically.

“Oh, Deana,” she groaned, shaking her head. “Okay, what’s going on now? Does he want me to do another tour for my

fourth book or one for the sixth book that hasn’t even come out yet?” she asked sulkily.

Deana bit her lip and shifted her weight nervously. Dana’s eyes narrowed on her assistant. “What? Oh, please tell me he

doesn’t want me to do another Christian and Bailey convention. I told him I wasn’t doing that ever again. Not after last time.”

She shuddered at the memory.

“Oh, come on, Dana! It wasn’t that bad,” she said, biting back a giggle.

“The man came dressed in a tux and proposed to me in front of an entire room of people,” Dana said, willing herself not

to laugh at the memory.

“But he went through all that trouble to make it romantic,” Deana said while trying to stifle a giggle.

“Deana, I didn’t even know the guy. He begged me to have his children!”

Deana giggled. “Yeah, but at least he came prepared in case you said yes!”

“Yeah, he had a Ziploc baggie filled with his sperm!” Dana said, shuddering at the image and then laughed when Deana

started to laugh hysterically.

After several minutes they slowly calmed down. “I don’t think that’s it. Actually, he promised that wasn’t it.”

“How long do I have to get dressed?” Dana asked.
And make a run for it?

“Oh, I would say no time at all,” a deep voice said.

Dana and Deana spun around to see a tall man open the pool gate and walk towards them. He wore a casual suit and held

a thick packet in his right hand. “I see you got my call,” Rick said, looking Dana over with an amused smile.

“Whatever it is, just give it to me straight,” Dana said.

Rick smiled and made his way to the patio table and sat down. He sat back, looking at her expectantly. Dana sighed in

defeat and walked over to the table, making sure her towel was securely hitched tightly under her arms as she sat down. Deana

joined them with a pen and notebook, the perfect assistant.

“Well?” Dana asked.

He dropped the packet in front of her and placed his hands behind his head. “You’re welcome.”

Dana’s eyebrows pulled together as she reached for the packet. She opened it and looked at the contents. “Is this for

real?” she gasped.

He nodded. “Yes. They already have a script. It’s in there.” He pointed to the packet. “I’ve read it. It’s very good. They

kept it close to your original story which you should take as a compliment of your talents.” He paused, giving her a chance to

take it all in.

“They want to make a movie out of my book….oh my God!” she said excitedly.

Deana released a squeal. “Do we get to go on set and see it filmed?” she asked excitedly.

“Better actually. The studio wants you to write a book for a certain actor they’re hoping to get to play Christian. They

want you to make it a priority and they’re willing to pay top dollar,” Rick said.

“Why would a studio want me to write a book?” she asked confused.

Rick reached into his jacket and pulled out a pair of sunglasses. “Because they love your books. They see money making

potential in your ideas and they want to make more movies with you.” He smiled at her.

“What does it have to do with this actor? I don’t understand.” Dana was confused.

His smile became wicked. “They are going after one of the most sought after actors in Hollywood. If they can get him for

this movie it’s a guaranteed hit. They found out he’s a huge fan of yours and he is very interested in your next book. They want

to create his dream movie, the movie he would love to do. In order for that to happen you would have to be available on the set

for him to share ideas.”

“So, to get him to work on this movie I have to basically write a book for him so that he’ll sign on to do another movie

with the studio?”

“Exactly,” he said smugly.

Deana put her pen down and looked at Rick. “May I ask who is so important that a studio is willing to hire a famous

author just to appease him?” That’s what Dana loved about Deana, she didn’t play games. Deana waited for her question to be

answered with her arms folded tightly over her chest and a glare aimed at Rick.

“Are you ready for this?” Rick asked.

“Sure,” Dana said, not really sure if she was or if she really cared. She was still trying to wrap her head around the idea

of her book being made into a movie.

“Edward Pierce.”

Dana nodded and shrugged casually. It wasn’t a name she expected. She hadn’t thought of the actor for a year now, not

since she found freedom. She found herself not really interested in the selection. It didn’t matter to her who it was. She would

do it if it meant she would get more work. She loved what she did and never shied away from a challenge.

“Oh my God!” Deana jumped up out of her seat and bounced around. Apparently
she
cared if her little happy dance was

any indication.

Rick pointed at Deana. “See, that’s the proper display right there. Come on, Dana. This is a big deal!”

She smiled. “It is. I’m just trying to wrap my head around it all. When do I have to meet with them?”

“See,” Rick said, pointing at her. “That’s why they want to work with you. You’re laid back and don’t get star struck.

There’s no way you’ll scare this guy off, unlike…” He looked pointedly at Deana.

She froze. “I’ll behave! I swear!”

Dana chuckled at Deana’s swift change in attitude. Dana knew Deana was half in love with Edward Pierce like ninety

percent of the women out there, and she teased her mercilessly about it. She understood what a big deal this was for Deana. If

she wasn’t planning on doing this already she would for Deana. She had done so much for Dana and her two kids in the last

year.

“So, when do I start working?” she asked.

“If you sign these contracts today then they'll go ahead and meet with Edward tomorrow. They’re just waiting for your

approval, Dana. I’ve read the contract, it’s more than fair. Read it and then sign it.”