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“We will,” Toby said.

He glanced Robbie’s way and winked.

Robbie couldn’t breathe. Everything he thought he knew had just been blasted to pieces. He walked on and out the door, but mostly because he had to get away. He had no idea what to do with the jumble of emotions spinning wildly within him.

FOURTEEN

Things were starting to change.Toby had the same feeling about the Hawthorne family as he’d had about his own life that day when Duckie had taken him under his wing and started opening doors for him in London’s financial world. Aaron from Silver Productions had come out to tour Hawthorne House the day after he’d presented his initial ideas to the family, and the day after that, yesterday, Aaron had called to say Silver Productions was very interested and would be taking the partnership to the next level, if the Hawthorne family was willing.

Things were changing with him and Robbie, too. As much of an utter fuck-up as Staffordshire had been in so many ways, it had also been a turning point for the two of them. Toby had been far too busy for the last two days to take Robbie out, or even sit down with him and discuss what was going on with them, but the anger had gone out of their interactions leaving nothing but potential.

The two of them had smiled at each other more than they scowled. They’d exchanged meaningless greetings and banal pleasantries when they’d met in the halls of Hawthorne Housea time or two. They’d only had one actual conversation, when Robbie came across Toby eating his lunch at one of the picnic tables set up in a shady spot near the Renaissance village part of the grounds, but they’d discussed the family situation instead of them.

Them. More and more, Toby thought there just might be athem. He could feel Robbie’s interest in him, even though neither of them said anything. He’d taken a couple of extra long showers at times when his mum and Gerry had been out of the house, imagining what would have happened if he and Robbie hadn’t been drunk in Staffordshire, and indulging in some much-needed wanking as he did.

Everything was going so well. Victory was within reach in so many ways. Toby felt like he was walking on sunshine. Which was why Aaron’s call three days after Duckie had nearly blown things to pieces with Willoughby Entertainment’s offer felt so good.

“A little birdie told me that Silver Productions is definitely going forward with the medieval series,” he said midway through the morning, when Toby was spending a now unusual day in the London office to get some paperwork done. “With a few, minor adjustments, the jousting arena will do perfectly for what we need. And I’ve got a list of spots around the grounds what we’d like to use as well for outdoor shots.”

“That sounds ideal,” Toby said, leaning back in his chair. “Shoot me an email with the specifics and I’ll take the idea to the family to see what they think.”

“Are you acting as the Hawthorne family’s agent now?” Aaron asked, without any malice.

Toby smiled, liking the sound of that. But he had to say, “No, not really. I’m just the point person on this. Once the ball is rolling, I’ll hand it off to whichever family member decides to take over. It’ll probably be Rebecca Hawthorne.”

“Sounds perfect,” Aaron said. “We’ll be in touch.”

Toby ended the call, then leaned back in his chair, smiling at his computer monitor without really seeing it. He felt like he’d done something good. He’d been hired to help the Hawthorne family, and he definitely had. Once a deal with Silver Productions was signed, Mr. Hawthorne could tell Willoughby Entertainment goodbye, and everything could continue on with business as usual.

And maybe, once he was no longer working for the family, he could figure out a way to ask Robbie out that wouldn’t seem weird or like a conflict of interest.

That thought made him happy, which is why his boss, Phillip Johnson, found him with a smile on his face when he approached Toby’s cube.

“Tillman. In my office. Now,” Johnson snapped.

Toby rocked forward quickly, his chair creaking. His smile vanished, replaced by a confused frown when he noticed how furious Johnson looked.

Johnson marched on, not looking back to see if Toby had followed him. Toby pushed out of his chair and strode to catch up with him, his heart beating nearly twice as fast as it had been moments before.

“Is there a problem, Mr. Johnson?” he asked as they turned a corner to where the executive offices were.

Part of Toby wanted to list all the potential things that could have gone wrong and come up with explanations on the spot, but he’d learned it was better to keep your mouth shut than to give people ammunition to use against you.

That didn’t stop the ominous feeling from creeping down his spine as he stepped into the spacious, corner office with a brilliant view of The Shard, only to have Johnson shut the door behind him. Hard.

“What’s this I hear about you ironing out a deal for the Hawthorne family with Silver Productions?” Johnson asked, striding around to take a seat at his desk. He pointed forcefully for Toby to sit in one of the chairs across from him.

Toby fought not to feel like he’d been called into the headmaster’s office yet again for troublemaking as he slipped into the stiff chair. “It’s true,” he said. “Inasmuch as I happened to end up in a conversation with someone from Silver Production about filming locations while in Staffordshire, and I suggested Hawthorne House.”

“That’s not part of your job description,” Johnson snapped.

Toby felt the proverbial ground under him crack and tremble. He didn’t know why, but he was in deep shit.

It was a feeling he knew well, but that didn’t make him feel any better.

“My job is to assess Hawthorne House for potential money making opportunities that will keep the Hawthorne family in the black,” he said carefully.

“Assessment only,” Johnson said, raising his voice. The man was angry, but Toby didn’t have the first clue why. “We’re not a brokerage. We’re not in the business of working out deals on behalf of our clients, unless that’s what they’ve paid us to do.”

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