Page 89 of House of Deceit

“Good morning, George,” I say to my driver as I pull open the back door and climb in.

While a large man, George is one of the most unimposing people I’ve ever met. Always with a soft, kind word, he cares for the people around him. After meeting him for the first time on season four when our normal driver couldn’t join us, I told Sheila we would be bringing him back from now on.

“Good morning, Mr. King. Would you like to make a stop for tea this morning?” he asks.

He doesn’t only drive me around, as I typically just need to go between the motel and the filming location, but every morning of shooting, he is waiting for me as steady as the sun.

“That would be great, thank you. How’s your wife doing?” I ask.

“Oh, she’s doing fine. She’s started nesting. We have about a month left, so her mother has moved in to help her until I can come home. She sends me pictures every day of whatever she’s put together for the baby,” he says, in his thick New Orleans accent.

His wife, a California native, convinced him to move there once they found out they were pregnant.

“That sounds nice. As I’ve told you before, please let Sheila or myself know if you need to leave to go be with her. You’ll be compensated regardless.”

“Thank you, Sir,” he says before fading away into silence.

“Hey George, we are going to make one other pit stop this morning,” I tell him, a small smile on my face.

My tea is perfect this morning as I walk into the wranglers’ quarters, a book tucked away for Charlie in my bag, making my way to my office. Sheila’s assistant, Peggy, cuts me off in the hallway telling me I’m needed.

Turning on my heel, I head to Sheila’s space, wrapping a knuckle on the open door.

Barely taking a second to look at me before returning her attention to her screen, she says, “Seven different brands have reached out about their interest in Charlie as a spokesperson this week.”

Putting my backpack next to the chair in front of her desk, I take a sip from my cup, trying to hide my smile.

“That’s great. Which ones, specifically?”

“The usual, but there’s one in there I have a feeling she’ll take a particular interest in,” she says before finishing her task and turning to me. “Have you talked to Tom Cochran yet?” she asks.

I knew this was coming and I still don’t know exactly what my answer is going to be. If this were any other season, or hell, just a few weeks ago, I would have taken this job without a moment’s hesitation. But that’s all I seem to be doing now. Hesitating.

“Not yet, but it’s on my list for the day.”

“Good. Make sure it happens. Now, get out and take those with you.” She indicates to a stack of papers.

Snatching them up, I make my way to my office.

Each company that is interested in Charlie has provided a breakdown of what they would like to partner with her for and the various different things based on how far she makes it for the last few weeks. As a winner, she stands to gain a substantial uptick in money for each of these deals. I look through them until I come to the second to last one, a large smile taking over my face.

While Charlie can take a combination of any of these deals or none at all, I know of at least one she will be signing on for.

Charlie has the papers laid out around her on the floor of the interview room with my gift tucked in her lap. She gave me a deep kiss for the new pirate book I found for her. It’s one Lorelei had told me about from her book club and I thought Charlie would enjoy it.

Various notes are scribbled in the margins of all the different deals as she weighs the pros and cons of each brand based on when she leaves the game.

“You don’t have to choose right now,” I remind her. “You’ll want to talk to your attorney about them before you sign anything.” After an hour of muttering to herself, she doesn’t seem any closer to a decision.

She twists her hair up, sticking my pen through the strands, pinning them in place.

“I think I have them ranked from most enticing to least,” she says, a slightly deranged look in her eyes.

For a moment, I take her in and I see the weight of worry she is carrying. Tucking my phone away in my pocket I squat down in front of her, moving her papers so I don’t mess them up.

“Hey,” I say, lifting her chin so she looks at me, “all of these are good deals. But I have one you’re going to like even better. I wanted you to give the other ones a fair shot before I showed you.”

Reaching over, I pull the final offer out from my back pocket. She snatches it from my hands and I watch her read it.

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