almost wistfully, and realized that this was as big a day for her as it was for Michael. That night in Bonaire, the night he proposed, he said that finding her had been the thing that turned everything around in his life. Taylor realized, as she stood there staring down at the pages, finding him had been the biggest break she’d ever had as well. She was already the star agent at Joan Delaney’s agency. Now this would elevate her several notches further.
Maybe, she mused, it was time to open her own agency, hang out her own shingle. Maybe she could use this as a stepping stone to lure even more heavy hitters to her own shop. At this moment, standing in her chilly New York kitchen on a cold day in March, it seemed to Taylor as if her options were unlimited.
The world had opened for her.
The shrill chirp of the cordless phone brought her out of her reverie. She picked the phone up quickly and hit the talk button.
“Hello.”
“Hey, beautiful! You’re back!”
Taylor smiled. “Good morning, Brett.”
“Morning, hell, there’s precisely ten minutes of morning left.”
Taylor glanced over at the clock on the microwave, which read eleven fifty-three.
“Not even that much,” Taylor said. “And I’m just getting out of bed. I should be ashamed.”
Brett Silverman laughed. “That depends on what you were doing in bed.”
“You’re terrible,” Taylor teased. “So what’s up?”
“I just wanted to make sure you got my message and picked up the
“Twenty copies,” Taylor said. “I thought we were going to have to hire a car to bring them home.”
“You could buy the car now,” Brett said. “A whole fleet of them. So tell me, girl, how was the Caribbean?”
“Unbelievable. Incredible. It was warm, balmy, sunny, romantic. We scuba dived-or is it scuba dove?-and ate and drank and slept late.”
“Either one, I think. Dived or dove. And what else did you do?”
Taylor hesitated. “What?”
“You know … Lots of?”
Taylor felt herself blushing. “Yes, plenty of that as well.
In fact, I’ve got a little surprise for you. Word’s going to get around anyway, so you may as well be the first. We’re engaged.”
Taylor jerked the phone away from her ear as Brett shrieked on the other end. The screeching went on for a full five seconds, and then evolved into an almost maniacal laugh.
“I don’t believe it!” she squealed after returning to the English language. “That’s awesome! Incredible!”
“Yeah, that was kind of the way I took it. It’s crazy, but I think we’re going to go through with it.”
“Where is he now?”
“Upstairs,” Taylor answered, cradling the phone in the crook of her neck so she could pour a mug of coffee. “Still knocked out.”
“That’s unbelievable,” Brett said again. “Have you set a date?”
“Haven’t gotten that far.”
“I’m really happy for you, Taylor,” Brett said, her voice suddenly serious. “I wish you nothing but happiness. Always.”
“I appreciate that. Really.” Taylor raised the mug to her lips and took a sip of the coffee without even adding her usual sugar and cream. The coffee was hot, strong, and she needed it now.
“So is this a big secret? Can I tell?”
“Sure. I’ll make the announcement at the office tomorrow.”
“Awesome … I mean, I can’t even find the words. But I do wish you luck. Marriage is hard, you know. I’ve been there three times.”
“Three?” Taylor asked. “I thought it was two.”
“Nope, there’s another one back there somewhere. I forget exactly where. I was young. It didn’t last long.”
“Wow,” Taylor said softly. “The truth is, I’m scared. I never saw myself getting married. Just didn’t think it was in the cards.”
“This was pretty sudden, wasn’t it?”
Taylor was silent for a moment, thinking. “Yeah, maybe a bit too sudden. But we’ll take it slow from here on out.”
“Good move, good thinking. Now, you got time for a little business?”
“Sure, shoot.”
“Okay,” Brett said. “First, Jack Hamlett from ICM called last week trying to find you. They’ve got the option terms worked out. They’re ready to go to contract.”
“I hope that means the higher figure we were talking about. You know my motto: ‘No cheap options.’”
“Got you covered there,” Brett agreed. “We’re not giving these guys shit. They’re paying top dollar. And he’s got a package he wants to present to you and Michael. He didn’t give me all the details, but he’s got George Melford set to produce and Jack Holt to star as Chaney.”
“Jack Holt,” Taylor said, impressed. “Damn, he’s good.
Sexy, too.”
“He’ll draw the chick demographic, that’s for sure.”
“So this is all looking good,” Taylor offered. “I can let Michael know.”
“Tell him to get his signing pen ready.”
“He’ll be locked and loaded, I’m sure.”
“And there’s one other thing, Taylor. This one’s a little weird. But have you heard anything from Carol Gee?”
Taylor frowned, set the coffee mug down on the counter.
“The publicist?”
“Yeah, have you heard anything from her?”
“No, nothing. Why should I?”
“Just wondered,” Brett said, pausing. “She’s sort of disappeared.”
“Disappeared?” Taylor asked, surprised.
“Yeah. Out of nowhere. She was set to take some vacation after the last tour ended. She was flying from San Diego to somewhere. Hell, I forget where. But apparently she never showed up. And when her vacation was over, she never came back to work.”
“Well, has anyone gone by her apartment or tried to call?”
“Kim over in publicity tracked down her roommates. She lives with three other girls in a two-bedroom apartment over in Woodside. They haven’t heard from her, either. Big mystery.”
“She got a boyfriend?”
“I don’t know. Nobody exactly knows how to handle this.
Human resources is taking the point on this, but they sent around an e-mail asking all of us who knew her to keep an eye out.”
Taylor shrugged. “I haven’t heard a word. But if I do hear anything, I’ll let you know. When’s the last time anyone saw her?”
“The last person we’ve been able to track down is the bookstore manager at Michael’s San Diego signing. The next morning, she did the automatic checkout from the hotel and no one’s seen her since.”
Taylor glanced upstairs in the direction of her bedroom.
“I’ll ask Michael when he wakes up. Maybe he knows something.”
“Yeah, do that. And are we still on for lunch Tuesday?”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Taylor answered. “See you at one.”
The two exchanged good-byes, then hung up. Taylor poured herself another cup of coffee and sat down with the rest of the Sunday
