What the little bitch had changed was his life with the stunt. Rhett determined that wasn’t going to happen. He would show her who was in charge. Taking a deep breath, he reined in his anger. He’d taken it out earlier on Cassie and she hadn’t deserved it. It wasn’t her fault he had a slutty girlfriend who craved publicity.
Rhett looked over at the scripts he’d found in the kitchen and thought he’d see what Cassie had done with them. He grabbed them and went to his favorite chair in his bedroom. It had a perfect view of the back yard and plenty of light came through the windows.
Both her summaries impressed him. She captured the essence of each script in two pages. She’d also done a character study for both roles he might play, addressing the strengths and weaknesses of each part and giving reasons why he should and shouldn’t consider the scripts.
Rhett already had read both screenplays so he simply focused on Cassie’s margin notes after that. She had keen insight into story and character. She should probably be his agent instead of Irv.
A couple of hours had passed for his temper to cool so Rhett walked back to the office. This time, he greeted Shep, ruffling his fur and baby talking to the mutt. Cassie’s eyes remained focused on the computer screen as she typed away, ignoring him.
He was hesitant to interrupt her. She had to know he was standing there, though.
“Uh, I found the two scripts you left. Thanks for looking over them so quickly. I read your notes. They were right on target. You’re a good judge of character and writing.”
Cassie stopped and looked at him. In a very professional tone, she said, “I’ll be happy to do the same for any scripts you give me. Now, if you don’t have anything else to discuss, I have some finishing touches to put on this PowerPoint for the charity proposal.” Her eyes returned to the computer screen.
“Cassie.” Rhett paused, waiting for her to look at him. She didn’t, so he walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“You know I’m sorry. This whole situation with People got under my skin. I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”
“Not a problem, Corrigan,” she said, her voice quiet. “I’m sure if my private life was spilled across the Internet, I’d have a burr up my butt, too.” She looked at him, a grin tugging at the corner of her mouth.
Rhett sensed things were back to normal between them and reluctantly removed his hand from her shoulder. “When are you meeting with the ACS people?”
“This afternoon at two. I’m about to leave as soon as I finish this last slide.” Cassie went back to work like an efficient worker bee.
“I’d like to go with you.”
She stopped what she was doing. “That won’t be necessary. We’ll only be in the preliminary stages. I have several ideas to toss out. I’ll get their feedback. We’ll confirm the date. No sense you getting involved so early in the game when I can handle it.”
“I want to go.” Rhett stared at her. “Seriously. I’m not doing anything this afternoon other than stopping by to see Carreen. I’ve wanted you to meet her anyway. Let’s grab some lunch, head to the meeting, and then swing by Carreen’s on the way home.”
Cassie thought a moment. “Mimi started today. In fact, Breck already weaseled breakfast out of her before her suitcase was through the door.”
He shook his head. “She can get settled while we’re out and provide dinner tonight. What do you say?”
CHAPTER 14
Cassie thought how normal Rhett’s childhood home looked as they drove by, almost like hers in Waco. The tan stucco he pointed out to her seemed an average size in a typical, blue-collar neighborhood. She realized that although Rhett might live in a multimillion dollar home now, his roots were humble.
“We’d stop in and see Mom, but today’s mahjongg. You do not want to be around that group of women. They are competitive, gossiping, margarita-swirling mamas, and nothing comes between them and their game. You can meet Mom some other time.”
Rhett continued down the block and turned right. “Carreen’s only a mile away. Mom loves being near her two grandkids. She probably changed as many diapers as Carreen and Bob did. Maybe more.”
“She sounds great.”
He smiled. “She is. I’d buy her a new house and have her shop on Rodeo Drive if I could but she doesn’t want to leave the neighborhood. Says she grew up with these women, all of them having babies together, learning to cook and sew together, bonding over divorces and deaths and God knows what else.”
Rhett eased the car into the driveway of a one-story ranch. A nativity scene, complete with scattered hay under the figures of the holy family, sat in the front yard. Santa and his reindeer rested atop the roof. A fake snowman stood in the corner with a large sign proclaiming “Merry Christmas from the Gormans”.
Cassie took it all in as she climbed out of the car. “Wow. Carreen must really like Christmas.”
Rhett nodded. “It’s her favorite holiday. Mom always did things up when we were kids. We didn’t have a lot of money but she’d put money away starting in March. Even though there were four of us, we each got more than we deserved. Carreen’s the same with her kids. Loves ‘em to death and spoils ‘em crazy.”
When they got to the front door, Rhett slipped a key into the lock.
“If she’s resting, I don’t want to disturb her. The chemo’s been rough but the doctor says her chances are really good. We’re staying positive.”
They walked in and he closed the door quietly.
“Rhett? Is that you?”
“Yeah, Carreen. I’ve got Cassie with me.”
They entered the den. Carreen Gorman reclined in a La-Z-Boy rocker, a plaid throw over her lap. She had the same gray eyes as her brother. Her face was thin and her complexion pale. She wore a bandanna tied around her head. Cassie supposed by now Carreen had lost all her hair.
Rhett bent and kissed his sister’s cheek. “Brought you some company if you feel up to it. This is Cassie Carroll, my new assistant. The one I told you about.”
Carreen held out a hand. Cassie took it gently. “I’m so happy to meet you, Carreen. I want you to know I’m just a temp. When you’re strong enough, Rhett wants you back. I promise not to mess things up too much until then.”
Carreen smiled wanly. “Anyone who can put up with Rhett for more than two days in a row is good in my book.” She looked at her little brother. “Actually, he’s pretty easy-going and almost always does what you tell him to do. If he doesn’t cooperate, let me know. I have a few tricks that make him toe the line.”
“I think we’ve come to an understanding,” Rhett informed her. “Cassie will do most of the work and I’ll take all of the credit.”
They laughed and Cassie saw the strong bond reflected in the telling look between the two siblings.
“Rhett, could you do me a favor?”
“Anything, Sis. Other than get you a spread in next month’s Playboy. I don’t think Bob would approve of that.”
Carreen sighed. “You couldn’t have landed me one six months ago when I had hair, Rhett. I’ve always been too flat and too bony.”