Snap out of it. Carolyn turned on the shower and stepped into the cool stream of water. Scrubbing her sensitized skin, she tried to wash the memory of Annelie out of her mind.
Of course she was doomed to fail.
***
"Morning, Grey. How are you today?"
"Carolyn! I've been trying to reach you!" The agent sounded excited.
"Sorry, I forgot to switch on my cell phone earlier. The only good thing about that is at least the battery's still fully charged."
"Well, I'm delighted you called. I have contracts waiting here for you, several of them."
Carolyn stopped walking, causing a man to stumble into her from behind. Miami International Airport was buzzing with activity, and all the corridors were crowded.
"What on earth are you talking about?"
"A courier was waiting for me when I arrived this morning. He refused to let anyone but me sign for the documents—and I can't blame him. You have four different contracts waiting for your signature, Carolyn! The three Maddox movies and a special contract for more Maddox conventions. We're talking about roughly fifteen million dollars."
Carolyn was stunned and had to clear her throat twice before her voice would carry again.
"Oh, my God," she said huskily. "Good thing I'm on my way to New York, then. I'm at the Miami airport."
"That's what I like to hear. Get yourself right to my office when you land, my dear."
Inwardly shaking her head at her agent's enthusiasm, Carolyn couldn't blame him for being excited. This would be a nice feather in his hat, as well as a profitable 10 percent fee.
"I'll call you when I get there, okay?"
"Looking forward to it."
Carolyn disconnected and dialed her sister as she resumed walking toward her gate. "Beth, honey, it's me. How are you doing?"
"Lyn, I'm so glad you called. I have some news for you," her sister replied. "I've hired someone to help me around the house, part-time. Her name's Frances and she seems great."
Exhaling deeply with relief that the news wasn't bad, Carolyn smiled. "I'm delighted. Now, have her address ready for me when I call you next time, and I'll arrange to send her a check every week."
"But, Lyn…"
"No buts, darling, just humor me. Let me do this for you."
There was a sigh of mock exasperation. "All right, then. So, how was the convention? I haven't heard from you since you got back."
"The convention went very well, sweetie. Actually, I just wanted to let you know I'm on my way home for a bit. I have some things to take care of with Grey."
"Sounds exciting. Anything you can tell me?"
"No, not yet," Carolyn smiled and began to walk toward the gate as they called her flight. "I promise you'll be the first to know, though, when I can." The energetic tone in her sister's voice was reassuring.
"You better." Beth laughed.
"Hey, I have to go. It's time to board. Say hi to Joe and Pamela for me, okay?"
Beth promised and Carolyn disconnected, making sure she switched the phone off. Passing the smiling flight attendant, she returned to her thoughts of Annelie, wondering how the other woman would react to seeing her so soon. Impatient with herself for letting her nerves get to her, she found her seat, stowed her only bag in the overhead compartment, and sat down.
A short time into the flight, the screen embedded in the backrest in front of her lit up, and Carolyn was able to choose from a variety of TV shows. Browsing through the channels, she found E! News. She smirked as she watched with some amusement how several of her colleagues had made fools of themselves at a Hollywood mogul's housewarming party. Carolyn sipped her mineral water and almost choked on it when a familiar face filled the small screen. The narrator continued by presenting the next interview.
"E! News had the pleasure of bumping into the elusive publisher of the best-selling Diana Maddox books, Annelie Peterson, at LaGuardia Airport on Sunday morning. Several sources have confirmed Ms. Peterson is in the process of casting the movies based on the famous books. Here's what the blond beauty had to say on the matter."
After a shot of the covers of the three Maddox books, Annelie's face came into view again. "Ms. Peterson, can you tell us who's going to play Diana Maddox?" a reporter asked as Annelie, wearing large black sunglasses, hurried toward the exit.
"We're going to start the casting process tomorrow," Annelie replied. "I'll get back to you when I know more."
"So no hot tip about who the lucky actress is going to be?" the reporter insisted.
"No, we're considering several interesting names. As I said, I'll have to get back to you when I know more."
"Is Carolyn Black among the interesting names you're referring to?"
"Carolyn Black did a wonderful job portraying Diana Maddox in the audiobooks and was instrumental in making them even bigger bestsellers than the hardbacks and paperbacks. She's definitely of interest to us, but so are several other actresses."
"Can you give us a few more names?"
"No, that'll have to be a surprise. Supernova Productions will hold a press conference as soon as we have made a decision."
Annelie acknowledged the members of the press with a regal nod. Giving an equally royal wave, she disappeared into a cab and drove off.
Carolyn sat staring at the small screen, her blurring eyes making it impossible to see the face of the famous singer who'd been arrested during a cocaine bust in downtown L.A.
Unsure why the sight of the other woman would twist her stomach into a knot, she clenched her fists, her hands suddenly cold. Seeing Annelie in her professional role only added to the emotional distance she felt from the woman she had been intimate with so recently.
As she blinked back tears of confusion, Carolyn followed Annelie's example by putting on her large sunglasses and reclined her seat so she could lean back in it. Biting her lower lip, she was even more determined to obtain answers to her growing set of questions.
***
Annelie walked into her office, smiling at the receptionist sitting at the front desk.
"Good morning. How are you?"
"Ms. Peterson! Just fine. I didn't know you were expected in today, ma'am. I thought…" The new employee looked slightly panic-stricken as she browsed though her day planner.
"Don't worry about it. I flew in a day early."
The nervous young woman looked relieved. "Should I page Ms. Dillon, ma'am?"
Annelie's personal assistant, Margo Dillon, was also her personnel manager. The energetic woman hired everyone from the law clerks to the janitors at the firm. Annelie now headed for the main desk in Margo's office where the personnel manager usually sat, queen of her domain.
"Margo, do you have a minute?" she asked blithely, walking up to her and making her jump.
"Annelie! Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Are you trying to give me a coronary? You're here already?" Margo exclaimed in her familiar Irish accent. Rising, she freed herself from her headset. "Good to see you, girlie!" She rounded the desk and wrapped Annelie in a bear hug.
Margo was the only one who could get away with calling Annelie "girlie." A close friend of Annelie's mother, Margo had lived next door to them in Chicago and, after Annelie's mother died, stepped in and took the lanky seventeen-year-old under her wing. She became a different kind of female role model. Feisty, with a colorful vocabulary, the energetic, caring woman had been just what Annelie needed.
"It's wonderful to see you too, Margo." Annelie beamed at her friend, placing her briefcase on the closest desk before returning the hug. "I came earlier, which means I can participate in the meeting with the lawyers from city hall."
"Yeah, that petition is going to take some fine-tuning," Margo sighed.
After hearing the latest on the pending case, Annelie grabbed her briefcase and walked toward her office. Pushing the door open, she looked involuntarily at the two posters above the couch. One was of the first off-Broadway play she had sponsored, Dream Catcher. The critics had been impressed with the new playwright, and the audience had kept the show going for a year.