“You did it, Kara. You did it! All I want to do is get my phone back and call Samantha, and Joanne and Zack. Hell, I want to call the prime minister! This changes everything. And I’m so proud of you.”
As part of the requirement for confidentiality of the annual board meeting, a casino employee had been placed at the door and charged with holding cell phones, cameras, and any other electronic devices other than the little recorder Tom Longboat used as a memory prompt for writing the minutes of the meeting. That meant, while they’d been celebrating and taking libations with the board, their other family members were still in the dark as to the outcome. And as much as both Doug and Kara would’ve loved to run down to the pool to join her family to give them the good news, etiquette required them to wait until the outgoing chairman of the board, or at least the senior board members, dismissed themselves from the room.
As much as Kara was enjoying the attention, she was itching to tell Madeleine the good news. That was something new. She had never been interested in sharing with lovers or even girlfriends, but Madeleine was different. She was at a crossroads in her life. She had said so several times. Last night while they lay intertwined and clutching each other, it occurred to her: Madeleine was free. Free to leave Minneapolis, but more than that, free to leave the States. It would be so easy for the company to get her landed immigrant status. Kara knew a million people in both Toronto’s tourism and entertainment industries. Over the last twenty years, the Big Smoke had become Canada’s go to city for television production. More TV shows were filmed in Toronto than Hollywood and New York combined. And there was no shortage of demand for talent or production professionals. Madeleine had said she was tired of booking talent for conventions. She had experience on both sides of the fence but wasn’t sure what she wanted to do next. That didn’t matter to Kara. She would introduce her to everyone, from talent agents to television producers. Regardless of the direction of her new career, there were loads of opportunities to be had, if she could just convince her that Toronto had more to offer than Minneapolis.
City to city, they were very similar. Same weather, same hockey nuts, and both were cultural enclaves set in the middle of breathtaking woodlands, lakes, and rivers. But Minneapolis, no matter how far north, was still in the United States. Americans were squirrely about becoming ex-pats. Expatriates! What a title for an American to swallow. Kara made a note to herself, Do not use the term expatriate, or landed immigrant either. Perhaps she’d borrow the American term, green card, and talk about how many Americans, from top talent to the best producers, directors, and writers were all comfortable working and living in Toronto. Kara shook her head. She was already designing a sales pitch to convince her but what she really needed to do was just have a heart-to-heart.
* * *
Franco slipped into the bench across from Madeleine. This was her favorite diner and they had done all their business here, from their first meeting ten years ago when he initially signed her till today. “Jesus hon, the Jeep looks like it’s loaded down for the camping trip of the century!”
“That,” she declared, tipping her head to the new Grand Cherokee parked just outside the window, “I will have you know, is everything I own.” After a painful pause, she said, “I told her I was headed home.”
“Not heading out tonight, are you?” he asked, clearly surprised and checking his watch. “Jesus hon. Why not grab a room for the night and head out fresh and early in the morning? It’s almost four!”
“Thanks for your concern, Franco,” she said, giving him that look that said, I don’t really believe you, but thanks anyway. “The job’s over, and my life in Vegas is over too. It’s time for me to go.”
“That bad, huh? Listen, kiddo. I’m so sorry I pushed you into taking this job,” he said, taking a manila envelope from his jacket pocket. “I really thought it would be a breeze. You could walk away with a little finishing bonus. Hell, Maddie, I hate to see you go. You got talent, kid. I’m so sorry we never found the vehicle to truly launch your career. I really wish you would reconsider heading home.”
“You know there’s nothing for me here.”
He nodded. “I’ve got contacts in LA, good contacts. Why don’t you head west instead of east and let me hook you up with some Hollywood types? If nothing else, I know I can get you a ton of extra work. I know you. Once you get your foot in the door, it’s all they’d need to see.”
She sighed, taking a moment to look around the diner. The parking lot was littered with old beaters, a homeless man was living in the parking spot beside her truck, and another was picking cans from the trash across the street. This wasn’t the Vegas Strip. This was the other end of town; the home of broken dreams. “There was a time I would’ve jumped at an offer like that, but you and I both know LA is just more of the same.”
He slid the bonus envelope across the table. “I don’t know what you did, but they doubled the bonus.”
She smiled at him. “And how much of the bonus have you already taken?”
He tried to look shocked, but broke into a grin, “Dammit Maddie, I’m going to miss you!” His smile petered out, his gaze wandered outside the window too. “You’re my greatest talent and my biggest disappointment. You should have been headlining by now. I never realized how much bull went on for you girls. I should have found a way to shield you from that shit. I know that now. I should have done better for you. I’m so God damned sorry, Maddie.” His gaze finally wandered back to meet hers. His regret was undeniable, “Ain’t twenty-twenty a bitch.”
* * *
Kara was leaning against the poolside bar, waiting patiently while somebody found the proper gin to make her a Labrador Tea. She was celebrating, and celebrating called for premium booze. Although champagne might’ve been a better choice, she was holding off ordering, waiting for Madeleine to pop the cork. She had left a message on Madeleine’s cell and hoped she would join them soon. She couldn’t remember what Madeleine said she had on her schedule for today. Actually, she couldn’t remember them discussing it at all. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have some core corporate gig to attend to all evening.
After the board adjourned, Doug had dragged her to the pool where the family elected to wait out the storm, and she had assumed that included Madeleine. Doug had said he wanted to make the announcement to the whole gang and she followed along, just as excited to share the news. The five-day long conference would officially end tonight with a formal dinner and an awards ceremony.
Joining her at the bar, Joanne’s husband Zack wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Hey Kara, how’s it feel to be the big boss, finally?”
“Feels about the same as usual, except now I’m going to have to wrangle you badly behaved account guys to get any work done.”
He laughed a little too much. Joanne and Samantha, like Zack, had spent the afternoon in the sun drinking bright summer cocktails and splashing in the VIP pool. To say the three were tight would be an understatement. “I see I have some catching up to do. Hopefully, Madeleine will be here soon. I’m holding off ordering the champagne until she shows.”
Zack’s laugh escalated, culminating in a hard snort. Pulling her in for a sideways brotherly hug, he smacked his head into hers. “No point waiting for something that’ll never happen. The game’s over. Order the damn champagne!” With that said and a fresh beer in hand, he marched back over to where Joanne, Samantha, and now Doug were sitting.
What the fuck? Kara watched him. He was drunk, not something he normally was. But what the hell, they all had something to celebrate. So what did he mean when he said the game was over? What the hell game was he talking about? It was not like Zack to be a jerk; well not completely. He was a lot like Joanne; they took things literally and had a difficult time looking below the surface.
Samantha, Doug’s wife, was different. She was the company’s legal counsel, and, by personality, a detail type. Kara waited patiently while the bartender finally found the specialty gin she wanted and she picked up her drin
k. By then, Doug had found his swimming trunks and joined Zack in the pool for some sort of drunken water polo match. Even Joanne, tipsy herself, got excited and jumped in. Enjoying the mischief, Kara plunked herself down in the chaise lounge next to Samantha.
“Kara, I am so happy for you,” she offered genially. On the outside, she appeared more sober than her companions, but Kara knew the woman could drink the saltiest of sailors under the table.
“Sam, how drunk are you?”
Seeming surprised by the question, Samantha took her time to consider a response. “You know, I can’t really tell. Definitely not sober enough to drive. And I certainly wouldn’t appear in court in this shape. Why do you ask? I thought we were celebrating?”
“We are celebrating. I think?”
That caught Samantha’s attention, and she turned her body on the chaise lounge to fully engage her sister-in-law. Dougie had married a brilliant young barrister who had agreed to join their firm long before she’d ever considered Doug’s advances. Wexler-Ogelthorpe had been extremely fortunate to snap her up. Doug too had been lucky. Samantha wasn’t just brilliant; she had a sexual magnetism that set off all of Kara’s bells. Even now, dressed in the basic black one-piece bathing suit with her hair pinned up precariously, Samantha’s attractiveness could mess with Kara’s hormones and the woman knew it as she smiled her most alluring smile. “Ah, you’re looking for counsel.” She was still grinning, knowing exactly her effect on Kara. Still, she sat up, taking on a more businesslike posture. “What can I do for my president and CEO?”
“Tell me what the fuck’s going on?”
“Whoa!” Samantha leaned back as if slapped but leaned in again, still smiling. The woman loved a good verbal joust. It wasn’t just her law training; it was part of her DNA. “Okay, give me some context. If we’re going to debate I need to know what we’re talking about.”
Kara shook her head. “Zack said something weird at the bar. I told him I was waiting for Madeleine before ordering champagne.”
A cloud of pain crossed Samantha’s face, but she schooled her emotions quickly. Kara wouldn’t have noticed a thing had Sam not been half in the bag. Sam prompted, “And?”
“And, he said it was a waste of time to wait for her. To wait for something that will never happen.”
Samantha retrieved her drink from the poolside table, taking her time to swirl the ice in the last of whatever concoction. She was stalling, and the delay troubled Kara. What exactly could the woman be stalling over? “Come on Sam, spit it out. I haven’t been able to reach Madeleine, and Zack’s making cracks about ‘I have to accept it’s over.’ Did she say something to you, or Joanne for that matter?”
Sam shook her head, sighing. After a longing glance at the family members kibitzing in the pool, she said, “Kara, I’m so sorry, but it wasn’t supposed to go down like this.”
“Go down like what? What the hell are you talking about?”
“You weren’t supposed to fall for the girl. She was just supposed to get you out, get you feeling good, maybe get you laid, and get you back in shape to take on the board.”
“Get me laid?” It was the only thing she heard, other than the fact that meeting and being introduced to Madeleine had been no accident. “You?” She looked over at the pool. “You guys did this? You got me a girl, for what? So I would have the chutzpah to fight for the job?” On her feet and pacing the pool deck, she was thankful they were in the quiet and uncrowded VIP area. “So all this… all—she… It was all bullshit?”
“Hey look, it wasn’t my idea. I told the guys I thought it was stupid but once they convinced Joanne, that was it.”
“Joanne? Jo agreed?” It was all Kara could do to keep from screaming. “How the hell did they talk Joanne into the idea of hiring a prostitute to get me in the mood?”
“No!” Samantha was on her feet too and trying to corral her. “We didn’t hire a prostitute. Honest to God, Kara, that’s not what this was supposed to be! This was supposed to be just some fantasy girlfriend thing. She was supposed to be your date for events and take you out and help you have fun. That was it.”
“And jumping in my bed, whose idea was that? Let me guess, you had to pay extra. Fuck me! This is so much bullshit!”
“Kara stop, please,” she begged, as Joanne and the boys caught up to them. Joanne grabbed one arm while Samantha held the other. Dougie grabbed her shoulders, begging, “Sis, please don’t run. Please…come sit back down, and we’ll explain everything. Please, Kar, I’m begging you.”
Dougie had always been her backup and her sounding board, she’d always listened when he asked, and now, as mad as she was, she would hear what he had to say. Retrieving her gin and tonic, she downed half of it before she could even look at them.
She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. Whatever happened had happened because these dumbasses cared about her and thought it was a good idea. “What the hell did you guys do?”
Joanne planted herself on the same chaise lounge right beside Kara, Doug and Samantha sat side-by-side across from her. Zack was smart enough to stay out of the range of her mouth—or was it her fist? “Sis, we weren’t trying to hurt you. Honest,” Joanne said.
Doug chimed in, “Honest as the pure driven snow, Kara. We just wanted you to have some fun.”
“Fun?” It was all she could do to squeeze out the word without losing her temper or breaking down in tears. She’d fallen for Madeleine; she’d fallen, hook, line, and sinker.
Doug sucked in a ragged breath, but before he could explain more his wife placed a hand on his bare knee. “Let me,” she suggested. “Kara, I’m going to give you the condensed version. You deserve to know everything, but I have a feeling listening is going to be a challenge.”
Kara just nodded, holding her tears in check; she’d be damned before she’d cry in front of these guys, certainly not Mr. Big Mouth, Zack.
“Back in May when you made it clear this would be your last conference and you’d be leaving no matter what happened with the board, we all sat down to try to figure out if we could continue in the company without you there. The truth is we all knew change would happen this year. The board was dropping hints they were ready for new leadership. They also made it clear to Doug that if you weren’t going to take the reins, they would immediately start a search outside the company. No matter what happened, they made it clear that your dad was out. He’d keep his seat on the board but as a junior member with only the clout of his voting shares.
“Kara, when we realized this was finally the year you could step up and take the company reins and pivot us into the twenty-first century, we were so excited. Then you decided you’d had enough. We didn’t believe it at first, and Doug couldn’t break confidentiality and tell you the board’s position. When you handed him your resignation letter, well, we panicked. It was as if the whole of Wexler-Ogelthorpe had come to the end of the road. We could turn right and follow whoever the board dumped on us without question, or we could turn left and do what we’ve been aching to do and let you lead from the front.”
Dougie hunched forward in his seat. “Kara, really, we just wanted our sister back. We knew you could win the board. Especially if you delivered a knockout pivot-and-sprint presentation. We knew the old Kara could do it, but the way you’d been feeling lately, the way you’d been acting, we weren’t sure.”
“So you thought let’s get her a girl and get her laid?” she said acidly. “That was your plan?”
“No, no, oh goodness, no! That’s not what was supposed to happen!” Joanne insisted. “Madeleine made that clear. She isn’t like that. What I mean is, she decided she wanted to, but she didn’t get paid for that.”
“And you believed her?”
“Well, you did too!” Joanne whined as her response.
Kara closed her eyes. It was hard to concentrate in the baking sun. Unlike Dougie, she was still in her business clothes, although she had doffed the jacket and thankfully, her shirt was sleeveless. She had intended to
return to her room and change back into pool gear. And she had assumed she would need the time to make sure Madeleine could return too. Madeleine—what the fuck? Downing the rest of her drink, she bashed the empty plastic tumbler on the side table and stood. “I’m going back to the suite.”
Doug begged her, “Kara don’t go. Talk to us. Let us tell you everything else.”
“Everything else? What the fuck more is there to tell?” Suddenly the color drained from her face. “Let me guess, you paid off the board members to vote me in?”
“Hey,” Doug offered, raising both hands. “You won the board all by yourself. All we did was pay some fantasy company to set up a date for you. Just a date! That’s all it was supposed to be. They called it the big fantasy girlfriend experience. They even said there would be no expectation of sex. This was an upfront legal escort situation.”
“Legal? This is fucking Vegas, asshole,” she snarled, walking away. “Even prostitution is legal here!”
Chapter Twelve
Grand Junction, Colorado was the last place Madeleine expected to find herself on a Saturday night. It certainly didn’t fit with the week she had just enjoyed. Enjoyed? Yes, she’d enjoyed it more than she imagined possible. She also hadn’t imagined spending the last eight hours driving and thinking about Kara, the whole experience. She was tempted to drive all night and into the next day just to reach Minneapolis, but the thought of another fourteen or fifteen hours behind the wheel with nothing on her mind but Kara Wexler was too much.
It was just after eleven p.m. when she checked into the Holiday Inn Express. She tossed her backpack on one of the beds, kicking off her boots and grabbing the remote. She needed a distraction. She needed to find something, anything, to keep her mind occupied. Except some part of her didn’t want to be distracted from her thoughts of Kara. She wanted to be mad at her, hate her, but nothing could override the single emotion tumbling around inside her. Maybe it was better to quantify the emotions than trying to stuff them down. Grabbing pillows from the other bed, she stacked them up against the headboard and settled in to watch some TV. Maybe a little mindless sitcom was exactly what she needed to settle down. She knew she was kidding herself as she clicked from channel to channel, watching a minute or two from shows she’d seen or movies she knew. When she stopped at the latest Jack Ryan adventure, she realized she had been gawking at Keira Knightley. She remembered the first time she’d seen this flick. She and a long forgotten boyfriend had caught the midnight show after one of the lame chorus line performances she’d grown to hate.
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