His Every Choice (6 page)

***

It was nearing evening when Scarlett went to the bookstore. It was only about five
blocks from her hotel, and better than going to some dingy bar. She didn’t feel like
being hit on by some nasty barfly or feeling as alone as she would in a place like
that.

She’d considered texting Kallie and seeing if Hunter was up for a visit, but the truth
of the matter was that Scarlett no longer felt comfortable visiting him. She was
starting to see herself as a very much unwanted third wheel, and now that Kallie had
proven herself to be his one true love or whatever…Scarlett didn’t want to be bitter
about it.

Things with her and Hunter were never going to work out anyhow, and she’d known that
for a long time. But somehow, seeing how he could be with Kallie made Scarlett feel
like a failure, like less of a woman.

The reason Hunter hadn’t shown that side of himself with Scarlett was because she
hadn’t been worth it to him.

Trying to quell those negative, bleak feelings, she walked to the bookstore and browsed
around for a while. It was one of those unique, eclectic stores—not the usual chain
with the Starbucks inside and the same damn books on the front tables.

This place had nooks and crannies. It had character.

Scarlett enjoyed reading, and even more so when she was in a funk. Today, she was
definitely in a funk. As she walked the isles, she couldn’t stop thinking about what
to do back in New York.

How can I make some money? How can I find a place on my own?

She knew that it was wrong not to have those answers at this stage of her life.

But the sad fact was, she had squandered too many years being self-destructive and
it was catching up to her now, just when she felt most ready to change.

A child’s voice broke her out of her melancholia.

“Please, Mommy. Please.” The girl was pleading, somewhere over in the children’s
section nearby.

“I said no, Delia.”

“Why not?”

“Because.” The mother had that sharp, dismissive tone that reminded Scarlett of someone
else. Someone from her past.

She couldn’t help but try to get a look at the two of them. Feeling like a voyeur,
Scarlett guiltily wandered into the children’s section, where a cute little girl with
auburn hair that flowed almost to her lower back was looking longingly at a book on
one of the shelves.

Her mother, a very tall, thin woman with short hair of a similar color, was browsing
in the youngest section with a little boy that couldn’t have been more than five.

“You want this one, Toby?” she asked him, bending down and showing him something.

Toby made some noises of interest and the mother began showing him some of the pages.

Scarlett pretended to look at something, but her gaze returned to the little girl,
Delia. The little girl was still staring at that same book. She pulled it off the
shelf and started to read it. Her little mouth curved into an enchanted smile.

Scarlett felt a deep pang of sadness and longing in her stomach. She wished she could
reach out to the girl somehow. Something about her was so achingly familiar.

The mother was coming back over now, with her young son in tow.

“Come on, Delia. Time to go.”

Delia clutched the book. “Please?”

“No. Put it back. I told you we can’t afford anymore books for you this month.

Next month we’ll get it.”

“But that’s so far away, and—“

“Back. Now.” Her mother pointed at the shelf. The girl returned the book to its
rightful spot with tears in her eyes.

Scarlett had seen enough. Once they moved from the aisle and started for the front,
she quickly went and grabbed the book. Running at high speed, she got to the register
and quickly bought it, using cash to speed up the transaction.

She wanted to finish before they left and disappeared. Luckily, the man at the register
was speedy. A couple of minutes later, he’d bagged the book and thanked her for shopping
there.

Scarlett went outside and spotted the woman putting her youngest in his car seat while
Delia waited patiently nearby.

“Excuse me,” Scarlett said. “Excuse me,” she said again, when the woman didn’t notice
her.

“Mommy, there’s a lady here for you,” Delia said, tugging at her mother’s shirt.

The woman stood up straight, looking severe in the sunlight, taller than Scarlett
by a good few inches. “Can I help you?” she said.

Scarlett held out the bag to her. “I couldn’t help but overhearing your discussion
in there,” she said. “About the book.”

The woman frowned, hesitantly accepting the bag and opening it to look inside.

Her eyes narrowed. “I can’t take this.”

“Please. It’s my pleasure, really. It’s nothing.”

The woman’s lips tightened. “We’re not that poor,” she said. “We just have to watch
what we spend. That’s all.”

“It’s fine. I’m not—I’m not judging.” Scarlett held up her hands. “It just seemed
like something nice is all.”

The woman nodded, seeming to cave in somehow. “Fine. Delia, thank the nice lady
for your present.” She handed the little girl the bag and when she looked inside
and saw her book, Delia squeaked excitedly.

“Oh, thank you! Thank you! Oh!” She held it to her chest and beamed.

Scarlett felt a burst of happiness that was poignant in its sharpness. Along with
that, was the wish that someone had done that for her when she was the same age as
this girl.

“I’m so glad you like it,” Scarlett smiled. “Enjoy.”

The mother was clearly annoyed, but it didn’t matter. As Scarlett walked away from
the bookstore, she could hear the girl’s delighted chatter.

Midway through her walk back to the hotel, she got a call on her cell. When she saw
it was Kallie, Scarlett was surprised that she got a little nervous. She was happy
that Kallie had called her. She found that she wanted Kallie to like her. “Hello?”

“Hey, Scarlett. Is this an okay time?”

“Yeah. Yeah, just taking a walk.” She found it amusing and endearing that Kallie
thought she might have something important going on. She’d spent the last day doing
entirely nothing.

“Are you busy tomorrow?” Kallie said.

Again, Scarlett had to stifle a laugh. “No, I think I’m pretty free. Why?”

“I was hoping you’d do me a favor and come to a meeting with me.”

Scarlett stopped walking. “A meeting…”

“I know it sounds strange. Basically, you wouldn’t have to do anything but sit there
and look good.”

Scarlett blushed a little. “Look good for whom?”

“Movie people. We’re meeting with some production people and I don’t want to go alone.
Hunter’s going to be on the phone, but I need backup.”

She wasn’t sure what Kallie meant, but it occurred to her that she didn’t care about
the details. It was enough to simply be included, to be thought of for something.

“Of course I’ll do it,” she said.

“Awesome. The only thing you need to do is dress up a little bit like you’re going
out to a nice restaurant. It’s a very high-powered business meeting so we need to
look sharp.”

“Got it.” Scarlett had luckily brought one nice outfit along with her, for just in
case. So this had vindicated that decision.

“Can you be at my hotel by two o’clock tomorrow?” Kallie asked.

“Sure thing.” Scarlett tried to inject enthusiasm into her voice. She wanted Kallie
to know she was excited to be asked.

“Thanks. I owe you one!” Kallie said, as they got off the phone.

Scarlett hung up and continued walking with a spring in her step and a smile on her
face. She was actually beginning to wonder if her luck was changing.

***

Bryson was waiting for them outside of Max Weisman’s building when they arrived the
next day.

“Fancy meeting you here,” he said, grinning at Kallie as she got out of the cab.

“You look sharp,” she said, admiring his crisp new suit. It seemed to accentuate
his height. He still had the shaggy blond ‘do but it went well with the formal attire.
He looked the part, she decided. His part was of a maverick director—an artist—who
was dressing up for a meeting with the suits. They would understand his shaggy hair
and the light beard stubble. He was creative—he wasn’t one of their bean counters.

Scarlett approached him with an obvious lack of enthusiasm. “Hey,” she said, her
voice barely registering any human emotion.

Bryson smiled at her. “Nice to see you again,” he said. “And under happier circumstances,
too.”

Kallie recalled how the two of them had bickered in the waiting room of the hospital.
Clearly, Scarlett wasn’t a huge fan of his. Kallie had no idea why, but she didn’t
particularly care at the moment. There were more important matters at hand.

“Well, no time like the present,” Kallie said. “Let’s head up and see what Max has
in store for us today.” She tried to smile confidently.

Bryson opened the door and motioned Kallie and Scarlett through. Scarlett rolled
her eyes, which Kallie noticed, but decided to ignore.

On the way up in the elevator, Kallie reminded Bryson that his main goal was just
to stay assertive and confident. “But don’t overdo it. Listen and be accommodating
within reason. Don’t overcompensate.”

“Overcompensate for what?” he laughed.

“I can imagine a few things,” Scarlett said.

He gave her an annoyed look. “Did I do something to offend you?”

“No.” She sighed. “I was just making conversation.”

“You have an odd way of making conversation.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“Anyway,” Kallie said, trying to steer things back on track, “we all just need to
stay calm and project confidence. If they ask us something we don’t know the answer
to, just turn things over to Hunter and he’ll do it.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Bryson said.

Scarlett nodded, but Kallie thought she looked scared. At the same time, Scarlett
had dressed perfectly, in a navy shift dress that truly suited her figure. Her hair
was perfect, her high heels were sexy and sophisticated, as requested.

Kallie was pleased with her own appearance as well. She’d managed to purchase a nice
strappy vest and pencil skirt earlier in the morning, so Kallie felt dressed appropriately.
However, she didn’t even remotely feel prepared, even after a long phone call with
Hunter to calm her nerves on the ride over.

Hunter had told her he had every confidence in her abilities. “How can you be nervous
about this after what we’ve been through?” he’d asked her.

She didn’t know the answer at the time, but she was even more nervous now.

Somehow, this felt like a very big deal.

They arrived at Max’s outer chambers, where they were greeted by his male assistant.
“Come right in,” he said, his face betraying anxiety. “Max is waiting for you.”

He smiled at Kallie in the way she’d started to become accustomed to recently. People
knew her now—they wanted to connect with her somehow. She could read it in their
faces, in their eyes, the way they continually stole glances at her or even stared
if they thought she wouldn’t notice.

Kallie ignored the assistant’s hopeful gaze as he led them to Max’s office.

As they got closer, Kallie could hear the voices—Max’s was of course the loudest one
by far. His bellowing laughter greeted them as his assistant knocked. “Miss Young
is here,” the assistant announced, simultaneously opening the door.

When they entered the office, Max was already mid-lumber toward her, his arms outstretched
for the requisite bear hug. “Kallie, what a sight for sore eyes.” He gave her a
big hug, and she could smell coffee and onions and perhaps cigar smoke as he held
her tightly.

When he was done with her, he introduced himself to Scarlett and shook Bryson’s hand,
heaping effusive praise as he did so.

Meanwhile, Kallie was taking in the two people from Sony Pictures. The man was short
and balding, with beady little eyes and a disapproving expression. The woman was
older, with short silvery hair cropped close to her head. Both of them were dressed
very conservatively, and had an uptight air about them.

“This is Martin Engvall, Vice President of Worldwide Distribution at Sony Pictures,”
Max said.

Max shook hands with Kallie. “Pleased to meet you,” he said.

“And this is Barbara Woods, VP of Production.”

Barbara shook hands with Kallie as well, smiling with teeth that seemed too big for
her mouth. “What an honor,” she said warmly.

They all took seats that had been arranged around a glossy wooden table. This table
hadn’t been in the office before, so it appeared to have been specially arranged for
the occasion.

“Let’s just get Hunter on the line,” Max said, turning on the conference phone and
dialing.

Hunter answered on the second ring. Introductions were made again.

Kallie introduced Scarlett as being a key member of her production team, which nobody
questioned, even though it told them absolutely nothing about her role.

Hunter cracked a few jokes about his health status that made everyone laugh.

It seemed to loosen the room up—especially Kallie. Just knowing Hunter was on the
line helped her confidence.

“I’ll start things off,” Max said, already sweating as he spoke. “We called this
meeting because things are moving very quickly with Bridge and Tunnel.”

“Bridge and Tunnel?” Hunter asked.

“That’s the working title of the film,” Max replied.

“That’s news to me,” Hunter said.

The Sony people glanced at one another. Max cleared his throat. “Sorry, Hunter.

I lose track of what we’ve discussed and what we haven’t. But we’ve been tossing
around some new names and thought it worked.”

“Bridge and Tunnel tested through the roof with our focus group,” Martin said.

There was a long pause. Kallie was sure Hunter was going to explode with righteous
indignation, but he surprised her. “That’s fine as a working title,” he said simply.