Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 57139 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57139 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Not helping.”
“Oh, I’m not done,” he continued cheerfully. “My personal favorite was when you dressed up like a T-Rex and greeted that fan at the airport. You never saw that punch coming. I bet she regrets it to this day. Shit on the internet never dies, bro.”
I leaned against the counter, staring at Harper’s silhouette in the other room. She was scrolling on her phone, like last night, her shoulders tight. The sight twisted something in me all over again.
“Say ‘hi’ to Harper for me,” my brother added. “The wife says her dress last night was killer. Also that you looked like you wanted to eat her out of it. Gross, honey—”
A female voice in the background, muffled but laughing: Sorry! Hormones again!
I hung up before he could keep going.
When I looked back toward the living room, Harper was still staring at her phone like she was reading her own obituary. Was she even blinking?
“They’re tearing me apart,” she said quietly.
I crossed the room and took the phone from her, setting it down on the coffee table. “They don’t know you,” I said. “And you don’t owe them anything.”
She lifted her eyes to mine, searching my face. “So why do I feel like I’m about to owe them everything?”
My chest tightened. I didn’t have an answer. Just the sudden, choking certainty that if she got burned in this, it was going to be my fault.
The doorbell went off again—long, impatient. Followed by more camera clicks from outside.
“Do they think we’re going to cheerfully answer if they keep aggressively ringing?” Harper muttered.
I glanced at the peephole. Not paparazzi this time. A man in a suit, sunglasses, and the confident stance of someone who’s never once had to wait for a table. A familiar man in a suit.
I opened the door a crack. “Not buying anything.”
“Ezra Wyatt?” His voice was pure PR-polish. He knew exactly who I was and I knew who he was. He looked past me. “And you must be Harper, my wife and I have been watching along with the Network.” Bullshit he probably just got caught up this morning and saw dollar signs in his Cheerios. Asshole. “A goldfish? Really?”
She appeared at my shoulder, arms crossed. “Yeah well apparently there are worst situations, and you are?”
“Graham Lang,” he said smoothly. “I represent a network of shorts that buys out series from content creators and puts them on other streaming services. I think we should talk.” I almost laughed and added. “Oh and takes the entire IP so enjoy!”
Sadly, I couldn’t say much so Harper let him into the living room. I already knew what she was thinking, if a network or streaming service grabbed her series or added to it then she’d have more than enough proof for the lawyers to keep the apartment. It wasn’t that she didn’t have a great career as a teacher, it’s that Harper wanted to prove it was enough, and her Aunt, crazy as she was, wanted to give her the opportunity. I don’t think dear Aunt Trudence saw this plot twist coming. A tv show, with a network showing that she could earn a living being creative? It was the final piece of proof that would end the discussion, and sign the papers.
Graham perched himself on the edge of the couch like he was about to deliver a sermon, I glared at him from the armchair. He looked completely comfortable, most evil things did since they had no souls.
“The episode last night was… unexpected,” Graham began, pulling a sleek folder from his briefcase. “But the numbers don’t lie. Views are skyrocketing. Engagement is through the roof. People love you together and so do I. I think if you just extended this series past the two dates with whoever you choose,” he glanced at me. “No offense.”
“None taken.” All of the offense was taken actually.
“And if you maybe allowed us to add in one or two more dates with some other lucky gentleman in order to show that new love can exist, well then we’ll have enough episodes for a short and to sell to a few streaming networks, not only would you be paid well but I did a little digging and it looks like you’re doing all of this in order to prove you can make a living this way. I for one think it’s brilliant your Aunt left you such a legacy of self-reliance and you’re hell bent on keeping it alive.”
He didn’t. Again, he saw dollar signs, and if she signed on for this it wouldn’t just be this show and it wouldn’t be this easy, I had to find a way to explain that without exposing myself and my own sordid past—great.
Harper blinked. “Actually, we were just trying to think of how to maneuver all of this and that might be the answer!’