Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 108531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
“Do you think he still cares about me?” The question sounded like it came from a child afraid of being alone in the world.
But weren’t they all just scared kids who wanted to make sure they were worthy of love and care? “Yes. But you have to care about him, too, and part of that is taking care of yourself so he doesn’t worry.”
Paul sat back and they were silent for a few moments. Another ping signaled a text, and Paul looked down. “He said that’s fine. If he gets his money tomorrow, my luck should change. I always trust the wrong people. Like my production partner. That asshole did everything wrong and he’s still suing me to take all the rights.”
“Like what?” Her legal mind was whirling now.
Paul shook his head. “Everything. He was supposed to arrange for our insurance. He said he did and then I find out he never paid the company the premium. We did all that work and if anything had gone wrong, I would have been screwed. I still could get screwed if anyone found out about it.”
Jayna tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “Is that in the contract? His duty to secure insurance for the production? It’s written into the contract?”
“I’m pretty sure,” Paul replied. “But I can’t out him for that because it would make me look bad, too.”
“Did he tell you that? Is that what he said?”
“Yeah. He’s right, too. Who’s going to work with me in the future?”
Oh, she was taking that guy down and getting Paul his rights back. “Everyone, because we’re going to prove that not only did you attempt to be the responsible one, he then attempted to blackmail you to cover his own dereliction of duty. If I get this right, I might be able to void that contract. I need to talk to some entertainment lawyers, but we might have a way out.”
“Really?” Paul sounded hopeful for the first time in hours.
“Really.” She would have to prove that Paul didn’t know it was going on during production, but she would bet these guys did everything through texts. “I’m going to need your text conversations with him and all your emails to and from him.”
“Sure,” Paul agreed. “You can have anything you need. I kept it all. My dad told me to always keep a paper trail, and at first I thought that meant I should print things out, but Quaid told me just not deleting things is enough. I keep everything. You might want to avoid any emails from a woman named Valarie. We might have been sending pics for a while now. You know. Fun selfies. Of parts that you probably should not see.”
“I will not open anything that looks like it might contain a venereal disease,” she agreed, her outlook sunnier than it had been before.
“Jayna, do you think we have some time before Mom needs me?” Paul asked quietly.
“I think she’ll be with doctors for hours. Why? Do you want some food?”
“I think I would like to go to a meeting. I think I need to.”
There was always an AA or NA meeting somewhere. And they were heading into NOLA. She could find him one. “I’ll get you there.”
She drove through the night, certain she could make at least one thing right in her world. Whatever her world was.
The rest, she would have to think about.
* * *
• • •
Quaid ignored the stale coffee sitting on the table. The waiting room they’d sent him to smelled slightly bitter, and he wished he’d brought a sweater or jacket, because the whole place was cold.
The door opened and the world became infinitely warmer as Jayna walked through followed by his brother.
“Hey.” She strode right up to him and wrapped him up in her arms.
He could breathe for the first time in hours. “I was getting worried about you. Did you have trouble on the road?”
She pulled back. “No. We made it fine. Just got waylaid. How’s your mom doing?”
“Have you talked to the doctor?” Paul asked.
“She’s having a stent placed right now.” He glanced at the clock. “She’s been back there for thirty minutes, so it shouldn’t be long. He said it might take up to an hour, but it’s a minimally invasive procedure. The blockage was bad, but the doctor says this is a routine procedure. She’s going to stay here for two nights and then she’ll have some rehab work to do. She’s going to have to make some lifestyle changes.”
“I’ll call Lila in the morning and make arrangements for home health care and her rehab appointments,” Jayna offered.
“And I’ll talk to Caroline about eating healthier,” Paul replied. “I wouldn’t mind a change. I can’t get paunchy.”
Jayna shook her head. “That’s good to hear.” She yawned behind her hand. “I got us and Paul rooms at the hotel down the street. I’m going to go check us in and maybe catch a couple of hours of sleep before I go back to Papillon. I’ve already arranged for Rene to come up here tomorrow afternoon so you’ll have a car.”