Looking for You (23 page)

"Great,"
she said, perking up. She'd started the book club two months ago, to pull more
revenue in. Last month she had eighteen attendees—eighteen people who
bought not only the book they were discussing but also drinks and pastries.
This month she was hoping to double attendance.

"The
idea you had to do a singles night is excellent too," Allison said.
"God knows it's hard to meet anyone unless you hang out in a bar."

"What
do you know about dating?"

"I may
be happily married, but a lot of my friends are getting divorced and starting
over. They talk, sometimes too much. Unlike you."

"I
don't have anything to talk about."

"My
point exactly." Her barista got a calculating look in her eyes. "I
hear online dating is all the rage."

"My
best friend Freya did that, and don't even
think
about putting up a
profile for me behind my back."

Allison
exhaled. "Killjoy."

Her cell
phone rang, and Eve reached into her apron pocket to answer it. The glow from
Allison's praise melted away when Eve saw it was Charles on the phone. She
groaned. "I have to take this."

The older
woman shooed her away. "Go talk in the kitchen. I'm fine out here."

Nodding
glumly, she waited until she was in the kitchen and out of Allison's hearing to
answer. "Hey Dad. What's going on?"

"I got
your check for this month's rent. It was late."

"It
should have only been a day late."

"Late
is late, Evangeline."

She put a
hand to her temple. She'd thought it was bad when her father was her
boss—it was ten times worse having him as her landlord. "I missed
the mail deadline and sent it a day later than I meant to. I'm sorry. Next time
I'll just drop it off."

"You
can't go around stiffing money to your business partners."

"Dad,
I didn't stiff you money. I just—"

"I
knew this store of yours was a bad idea," he continued, speaking over her.
"You work all the time and are in debt up to your eyeballs."

"It's
not
that
bad." It was, but he didn't know it. He thought she'd
invested all her savings. She hadn't told him that she'd taken a second
mortgage on her condo too. And there was no way in hell she was telling him
that she was thirty days from bankruptcy.

"It
was a mistake to encourage you by leasing that property. I shouldn't have let
you convince me."

She hadn't
asked him to take the lease out for her—it'd been his idea to lease it
and rent it to her. But she wasn't sure she would have qualified for it on her
own, so she went along with it.

Mistake.
Big mistake.

"You
want me to
what
?"

Everett
Parker would have smiled if he were that kind of man. But he wasn't, so he
patiently watched and waited. He was excellent at waiting, and even better at
getting what he wanted.

"This
is a joke, right?" The young man swept his hand through his hair.
"Well, it's not funny."

Leaning
back in his leather chair, Parker took a sip of his scotch before answering,
aware of the tension he was causing. "No joke, Michael. You heard
correctly the first time. I want you to shoot the film in Mill Valley."

"Shit."
The director speared his fingers through his hair again and started to pace.

Parker
nursed his drink, watching him coolly. Once Michael's tantrum ran dry, he'd do
what he was told. After all, the terms of the offer would be irresistible.

I'll make
sure of that.

It was almost
a shame he had to do this. He admired the young man. Of all the people around
him, Michael Wallace was the only one who stood up to him. The rest of them
cowered in corners, peeing on themselves as he walked by.

He wasn't
manipulated easily, something Parker usually relished. At this moment, it
irritated him. He needed Michael's cooperation, but he'd never consent of his
own free will—meaning Parker was going to have to force him. Not easy,
but certainly not impossible. He just had to find the right bargaining chip.
"Sit down."

Glaring,
Michael dropped into the guest chair. To his credit, he remained silent, though
his heated eyes said enough.

Good boy
, Parker
thought, feeling paternal pride even though Michael wasn't tied to him in any
way other than business.

Which was
what he intended to remedy. "You're the hottest director in the business.
You can't be surprised I want you to direct
Love Unbound
."

The corner
of Michael's lips quirked. "That wasn't what surprised me, and you know
it. Stop playing games, Parker."

Once upon a
time, the boy had called him Everett.

One more
thing he had to set right.

Parker
pushed aside the nostalgic thoughts so untypical of him and got back to the
matter at hand. "Mill Valley is not only the perfect backdrop for the movie,
the town is working with us to supply permits. It's as simple as that."

"There
are dozens of little towns in California that would be just as suitable."

"I
want the movie shot in Mill Valley."

Michael
leaned forward, brimming with repressed intensity. "Why? What does Mill
Valley have that can't be found anywhere else?"

My daughter.
"Mill Valley is the most picturesque of quaint
California towns."

"Since when?"

"Since it had a complete
facelift a few years ago."

"Mill Valley would need more
than a facelift to improve it. It'd need complete reconstructive surgery."

"Most of the filming will be
done outside Mill Valley. At Pembroke Farm."

"Oh,
hell
no." The
young man shook his head vehemently. "There is no fucking way. I can't go
back to Pembroke Farm. Even you must see that."

"Enough," Parker said
quietly. Most people froze in fear when they heard his low, menacing tone.

Michael was an exception. "No,
it's not enough. I want to know why it's imperative to shoot this film
there."

"Because I say it's imperative."

"Get some other director to do
it then. How about Blasdell? He's up-and-coming and needs a break."

"I want you to direct."

"And if I say no?"

Parker cocked a brow in mock
astonishment. "What about your contract with Parker Pictures?"

"I'll break it."

"Break it and you'll never
work in this industry again."

"Damn it, Parker. What the
hell is your game?"

"No game." With the
instincts of a seasoned predator, he moved in for the kill. "I want
you
to direct this movie. I'll make any provisions I see fit and you'll follow
them, just like your contract says. In return, once this movie is wrapped up,
I'll release you from your contract."

Michael looked up sharply.
"What?"

Everyone had a weak point. Find it,
and they were yours. "You heard me."

"I want it in writing."

"I wouldn't have expected
anything less."

The young man stared at him through
narrowed eyes, fingers tapping rhythmically on his thigh. "Why don't I
believe it's going to be that easy?"

"It will be." Parker
sipped his scotch and waited.

"Isn't it too early in the day
for that?" Michael asked out of the blue.

"It's never too early for
fifty year single-malt."

He propped his elbows on his knees
and rested his chin on his steepled hands. "Jesus, Parker. Does
she
know?"

Kate likes
piña coladas, getting caught in the rain, yoga, and champagne. She's a kung fu
master, has raspberry-colored dance sneakers, and loves mayonnaise with her
fries. Voted by her friends as the woman they'd most want to stroll with down a
dark alley, Kate's as likely to be spotted at the opera as she is doing tai chi
on a rooftop.

The author
of the bestselling Laurel Heights series (Perfect for You, Close to You, and Return to You), Kate
also has a number of other books the Family and Love series (Project Date, Playing Doctor, and Playing
for Keeps) and the Guardians of Destiny series (for those who like their romance with a kick-ass twist).

Visit Kate at
www.kateperry.com
, or email her at
[email protected]
.