“What are you looking so pleased about?” he asked. It had gone exactly as he had hoped. It was perfect. They were lucky. They had started making plans before they knew the details, and the details were turning out to be just right, better than either of them had dreamed.
“You make me so happy,” she said, giggling, “and you’re so good to me.”
“That’s the idea,” he said. “Although I’ve turned a page here.”
“Have you? How?” she asked. He had a strong, masculine, lithe body, and he loved hers.
“Well, I’ve never slept with my agent or my editor, and certainly not at the same time,” he said. She laughed at him, and he kissed her and made love to her again.
They looked at the apartment together the next day. He was right, it was perfect. It had five bedrooms: three for the children, a big master suite for them, and the fifth one as an office for her. Good kitchen, once it had new equipment, big enough for family dinners, nice bathrooms, high ceilings in the living room and dining room. It was bright and sunny. He said he had some spare furniture in storage she could use, since she had very little for their tiny apartment.
“What do we think?” he asked after they went back upstairs to his place and sprawled on the couch to talk about it. She was still stunned at what he was offering to do, and planning, so quickly.
“We think I’m the luckiest woman in the world and I must be dreaming.”
“And I’m the luckiest man.” They went for a walk in the park after that, then came home. She felt comfortable in his apartment now, with all his beautiful things. She was surprised by how quickly she felt at ease with him, as though they’d always been together. He was shy too, but not with her. He welcomed her into his life and his bed and his arms, as he had wanted to do for so long and hadn’t dared. Now he could.
By the time they picked up the children on Sunday afternoon, and went back to her apartment for a boisterous but relaxed spaghetti dinner in her kitchen, she had a new life and a new world and a new man, and soon they would have a home together. Phillip played video games with the boys and chess with Arianna, and she almost beat him. He smiled over their heads at Hailey, remembering the weekend, and she already missed waking up with him in the morning. The future couldn’t come soon enough for both of them, but they could reach out and touch it. It belonged to them now, and was already real.
Chapter 13
P hillip got a thirty-day closing on the apartment from the family that owned it, at the price he wanted, and he was very pleased. It still felt like a dream to Hailey. They picked out kitchen equipment and paint colors together, and she told the children they were moving. It was going to take a month or two to paint and do the kitchen, and by then Hailey hoped the children would be ready to accept Phillip living with them. She was heading in that direction, and they would stay in their old apartment in the meantime, and he was working on a new book.
Francine, Julia, and Jane were meeting with Steve Franklin regularly to prepare their testimony for the trial. Dan’s attorney deposed all three of them and their testimony was so damning that Martha was stunned Dan hadn’t pleaded guilty yet. Steve was proceeding with the civil suit against him.
By the time Hailey left the agency, a month after she had given notice, Bob had found an apartment two blocks from Merriwether’s house. Jeff had rented a very expensive apartment downtown that Merriwether had to pay for as part of her spousal support. They were still negotiating the details of that, but he wanted the moon. And so far he hadn’t had Annabelle stay with him at his new apartment at all. He said he wasn’t set up for it yet, although he had charged Merriwether for a truckful of very expensive furniture. He was making the most of the separation, and his attorney wanted the maximum he could get from her. Merriwether’s attorney assured her he wouldn’t get everything he wanted. He had a wish list a mile long, including half the value of her house, which he wasn’t entitled to.
Bob’s new apartment was a floor-through in a brownstone, which was small but elegant and cozy. He was happy there and spent most of his time at her house, except for the nights, so they didn’t shock Annabelle. Jeff came to see his daughter, but he never took her to his place, and Merriwether suspected that he wanted visitation at her house so he could watch her and check out what was going on. He didn’t know about Bob, and they didn’t want him to until the financial settlement was final.
By the time Hailey left the agency, David Bristol, the new head of the literary division, was settling in nicely. He was thirty-nine years old, very bright, and he made a point of trying to get to know everyone he was responsible for. He was good-looking in a rugged, intellectual way, and Allie had eyed him a few times, but he spent a lot of time with Hailey, trying to learn all the important details. Hailey thought he had an eye for Jane, who hadn’t seen Benjie again and didn’t want to.
Allie had a jolt when she saw Eric in the tabloids with a young actress from his series, which had recently been released. She was an extremely pretty up-and-coming actress, who had been in several feature films, and they had gone to a big splashy event together. They made a beautiful couple, and Allie’s heart ached when she saw the tabloids in the grocery store. He looked as handsome as ever. Allie hadn’t had a date since he’d left, and didn’t want one. Her only transgression had been Benjie, which she was still embarrassed about, and Jane was still cool with her. She hadn’t forgotten.
A few days after Hailey left the agency, David came in to ask Jane a question about one of their new authors. He had been reading her manuscript and was surprised by how good it was.
“Do you have any biographical material on her?” he asked, and she printed it out on her computer and handed it to him with a smile. “How did you find her?”
“Just digging around on the internet. Every now and then I find a gem.”
“You certainly do. That book is going to sell a million copies and make her—and us—a fortune.” His own taste was somewhat loftier, but he was very knowledgeable about commercial fiction. “You wouldn’t want to go to the ballet tomorrow night, would you?” he asked her innocently. He’d been waiting for the right moment to do so. “I happen to have two tickets someone gave me.” He wanted to get to know her better, but he was attracted to her too, which was delicate now because of Dan. They were all a little skittish at the moment.
“Tomorrow?” She looked startled. “Sure, why not? I love the ballet.” That’s what Hailey had told him when he asked her advice before she left. She was amused. He’d been circling Jane since he got there and was waiting for the right opening, but he seemed like a nice guy, and he really liked the agency. He had no interest whatsoever in the theatrical side, only the literary.
Bob and Merriwether’s big film deal was coming together well. They were going back out to L.A. again soon for some final meetings.
They were approaching the date of Dan’s trial, and Bob felt sick about it. Martha had convinced Bob that Dan was committing legal suicide if he went to trial, given the testimony of his three victims, but no one had been able to convince Dan of that. Bob had gone to see him in jail a couple of times, and tried to urge him to plead guilty. Dan stubbornly refused to admit his guilt.