Page 105 of Crossing the Line
Over afternoon tea they caught up. Kate’s sources told her the explosions at the premiere had the unintended side effect of creating quite the stir around the movie. Theaters around the country had sold out on opening night and continued to sell out prime show times.The Dedicationwas getting buzz that studios dreamed of.
“This could bethemovie,” Kate told her. “The one that lets you pick your projects and name your price from here on out.”
Waverly sighed. She still didn’t feel the rush of pride and excitement. “My mother must be over the moon. All her dreams are coming true,” she said wryly.
“Speaking of, she’s on her way to rehab now… or whenever tonight is back home.”
“Mmm,” Waverly made a non-committal noise. This would be her mother’s third stint in rehab. She’d already used up all her hope on the first two stays.
“Xavier made the arrangements. It’s some schmancy private place in Northern California that’s part spa, part rehab. Very hush-hush, very hoity-toity.”
“Sounds right up her alley,” Waverly said. “What’s the publicity plan?”
“Hush-hush there, too. Gwendolyn’s going to anonymously release some unused pictures of your mom driving around downtown to keep her visible. She also had me do an impromptu photoshoot around the house yesterday. Sylvia doing yoga, playing piano, sitting by the pool, blah blah blah. I’ll be posting those every couple of days on Instagram to keep up the ‘Sylvia’s not in rehab’ pretense.”
“Think they’ll hold up?” Waverly asked.
“They should. And if the natives get restless without a sighting, I dragged out that walking boot she had a few years ago from her skiing mishap and took a couple of pics of her in it. We can go with the whole, ‘Poor Sylvia and her stress fracture’ route.”
“Uh-huh.”
Kate shot her a sidelong glance. “In addition to the new talking points—stalker, fearful for your life, poor little rich girl—Media Barbie did give me a list of things you can do to help sell the whole thing.”
“Yeah, I think you can tell Media Barbie that she shouldn’t count on my help this time around,” Waverly sighed.
“That bad, huh? I figured it must have been a shit storm for Xavier to drag you off of a yacht and go into hiding.”
“Every time you think it can’t get worse, they both toe over that line just a little further. But that doesn’t mean that I have to be responsible for cleaning it up anymore.”
Kate dropped her smoked salmon tea sandwich back on her plate. “I’m sorry,” she said through the bite in her mouth.
“No one’s fault but their own,” Waverly said philosophically. Kate knew not to ask details. Waverly wouldn’t give them, and Kate respected that boundary. There were areas in their friendship that remained off-limits, and it worked for them. “So Agent Travers called me when we got in yesterday.”
“Still spinning their wheels?” Kate asked.
“He mentioned the fact that we need Ganim to make another move or the investigation is likely to stall out.”
“Why was he telling you that?” Kate frowned.
“I think he was sending me a message.”
“Oh, boy. Xavier’s not going to like this,” Kate predicted.
Waverly grinned. “But it’s better than sitting around and hoping for the best. I’m tired of sitting on the sidelines of my own life.”
“And that’s why you wanted me to bring that sewing project with me.” Kate slapped her forehead.
“Think you can find a tailor who’ll provide emergency services?”
“You’re diabolical.”
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Agent Travers and Xavier were comparing notes regularly these days. Xavier filled him in on precautions for the London premiere in two days. The press junket was tomorrow, and he was confident that no one was getting past the army of security the hotel and studio were ponying up for the event. It was the same with the premiere the following day. A security circus that was mostly for show. There had been no threats made, no contact from Ganim. But by reminding the world that Waverly Sinner was a target, it brought a new level of attention to the movie.
“Bottom line is—our best bet at bagging this asshole is having him stick his head out of whatever hole he’s hiding in to wave hello to your girl again,” Travers said from the screen of Xavier’s laptop.
“We’re not using her as bait,” Xavier warned Travers.
