Page 4 of (Un)Planned

“Yes,Dad, I’m a big girl. I can handle the big, bad city. I swear.”

“If you run into any trouble, give Adam a call.” Cole shifted to take out his phone. My phone chimed with a text, and I looked down to see that Cole sent me a contact.

“What’s he going to do from LA?” I asked, shoving my phone back into my pocket. There was no way I’d ever call him. Adam was the nicest person I’d ever met, but he was still a movie star. It was hard enough being in the same room as him without gawking. There was no way I’d work up the courage to ask him for a favor.

Cole shared a look with Alex. “He’s not in California right now.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “He’s taking a break from movies. Theo’s shitting a brick, but they’re both staying here for at least the next six months. Adam wanted to try something new.”

“Oh…” I say, curiosity piqued, but I shook it off before my mind could run away with any errant thoughts. With a glance up at the clock, I knew Devyn should be back soon, and I was looking forward to a few minutes to get my bearings on my own. “I’m not trying to kick you guys out…”

“But you’re kicking us out,” Alex chuckled, pulling meinto one last hug. “Seriously, Calla. Any time you need me, I’m here. All you have to do is call.”

“I know,” I say, trying to keep my chin from trembling. “And same for you.”

She squeezed me a little tighter before backing away, letting Cole give me a one-armed hug. “Take care of our girl,” I whispered so only he could hear.

“With my life,” he swore.

After one last look, they were gone, the elevator taking them back down to the lobby. I shut the apartment door behind me, setting my hands on my hips in determination.

This was it.

Time to figure out my life.

How hard could that be?

TWO

Do not murder your client.

Try your best not to murder your client.

Staring at Adam Rice across the table, I tried to calm my erratic heartbeat, repeating his words in my mind. His blue eyes were darting back and forth between mine and the script sitting in between us, the one I thought he’d happily scoop up, ready to jump headfirst into the next phase of his career.

But that was not what happened.

A break. My biggest client wanted to take a break.

Forget that he’d just become a household name, that his latest performance was garnering Oscar noise. No, none of that mattered to Adam. He wanted a break.

Fuck.

Maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing. I was just settling into life in New York, and the ink was barely dry on my new contract. When Wallace and Associates started talking about setting up a New York satellite office, everyone was determined to be the one leading the charge. I was honestlysurprised I was the one chosen when there were so many people vying for the job.

Not that I’d let anyone know that.

It had taken a couple of weeks to convince a few key agents to make the move with me, and then I was on a plane, bound for a new life in a new city. It seemed fortuitous that Adam also wanted a change from life in LA, enjoying the East Coast when he filmed his last picture in a small town upstate. I was under the assumption this would be the moment he’d make his mark and take his career from booming to legendary. How wrong I was.

“I need this, Theo,” Adam said from across the table, breaking me out of my thoughts. “I can’t keep jumping from project to project. I need some time to figure out my life away from the cameras, away from the press.”

Sinking back into the cool leather of my chair, I tried not to crush the ballpoint pen in my iron grip. It wasn’t like I didn’t have a heart, no matter what my ex-wife tried to suggest. As much as I cared about Adam’s career, I reminded myself that I cared about him as a person more.

I sighed, regretting the words before they even left my mouth. “How long are you thinking?”

“At least three months.”

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