Change in Harmony (A Silver Script Novel Book 4)

by Weist, Jaclyn

  When they finally pulled away, Allison fumbled for the doorknob. “Thank you for the wonderful evening. I enjoyed myself. Maybe I should let you cook for me more often.”

  Nate kissed her on the nose. “Deal. Now go to sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow after work.”

  “Good night.” Allison went into her apartment and leaned against the door with a contented sigh. Voices came from Sam’s room, but Allison didn’t stop to say good night. All she wanted to do was drop into bed and let her exhaustion take over. If she wasn’t careful, the fever that seemed to be looming nearby would attack.

  Chapter 11

  Nate hummed as he pulled out his umbrella and made sure to lock the door behind him on the way out of the apartment. The night before had been better than he’d hoped for, and he wanted to have Allison back to his apartment soon.

  Visions of the ballroom dance ran through his head and he walked down the street to work. Besides the fact that Darren had been so rude to Allison, the dancing had gone well. He was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to convince her to partner with someone else, considering that they’d teamed up a year or two before and worked so well together—even if there was an obvious jealousy on Darren’s part.

  Nate’s phone buzzed and there was another text from Katie, asking to go out again. He should never have told her about the contract. All she wanted was to get her hands on a pair of Bróga shoes, and buttering Nate up wasn’t going to work. Not when all he could see was Allison’s eyes and feel the touch of her lips when he went to sleep the night before.

  Debra met Nate at his office when he walked up. “We just heard from Mr. Byrne. He loves your ideas. He’d like to see some examples. Well done, Nate. And about yesterday, I have to say I was wrong. I went back through the ads again, and you were right to change them.”

  “Thanks.” The praise shocked him. Not that Debra hadn’t ever been happy with his work before, but this was different. “Why did Mr. Byrne contact you instead of me?”

  Nate had waited all night for an email from Mr. Byrne, and it really bugged him that he’d gone over his head.

  Debra shifted her position. “He didn’t. I needed to talk to him about the budget, and he raved about your ideas. If you could get me some options for models, I’ll look through them. That way you can work on the other accounts.”

  “I’m still working out a couple of the concepts. If you could just approve the information I sent last night, I’ll be able to work on this one today.” Debra loved having the final say on models, but Nate really needed to do it this time. Maybe it would help him figure out what he was missing.

  “Sounds great. Oh, and I’ll be sending out a few more accounts later this afternoon. No one has been decided for any of them, but I figured I’d let you choose the ones you want.” Debra pushed off the wall and went into her office, leaving Nate standing shocked behind her.

  He’d get to choose this time? Usually he was just assigned them. These accounts must have hit a chord with her. He sat down and checked again for a message from Mr. Byrne, but there was nothing.

  There were other things he could be doing, so Nate pulled up the database of models. He could get the actors later once Mr. Byrne had approved his work. Because they would be doing several different eras, he chose models from different age groups, but tried to stick to those with an Irish background. As he found models he liked better, he’d cross others off the list.

  “Hey, Nate? You have a woman here for you.” Erin stood at the doorway.

  “Did she give a name?”

  “She says she’s your girlfriend.”

  Nate looked over and frowned. What was she doing here? He was pretty sure she had class. “Allison?”

  Erin shook her head. “She said her name was Katie. Want me to send her away?”

  “No. I’ll go deal with her.” Nate saved his work and stood.

  “Is this for the shoe campaign?” Erin stood next to him looking at the laptop.

  Nate sat back down and scrolled through. Katie could wait. “I’ll figure out the commercial after I figure out if this will work.”

  Erin studied each of them. “Those are good. I’ve worked with a few of them and they do a great job.”

  “I hope so.” Nate stood. “So where did you leave Katie?”

  “Downstairs.” Erin frowned. “She didn’t seem too thrilled to be left there.”

  Nate shook his head. “Sounds about right. Thanks, Erin.”

  “No prob. Oh, and Jake wanted me to thank you for the commercial the other day.”

  “He did me a huge favor.” Nate grabbed his phone and put it in his pocket. “In five minutes, call me up for a meeting.”

  Erin laughed. “Got it.”

  Nate took the elevator down to the reception area and found Katie standing there, pouting. “Hey, Katie. I was told you needed me.”

  Her pout deepened. “I’ve tried calling you over and over, but you’re not answering. I wanted to get some dinner with you.”

  “I have plans. I need you to stop calling, please. And don’t come to my work. I’m not allowed to have people visiting me here.”

  She batted her eyelashes. “I just thought you’d want to see me.”

  “I’m dating someone else. Now please. Just go.” Nate started back toward the elevator, but Katie grabbed his arm.

  “Who is she?” The anger in her voice surprised Nate.

  Nate sighed. “It doesn’t matter.”

  He walked away before she could say anything else. He just hoped she wouldn’t go after Allison. He’d have to be more careful who he asked out. Not that it mattered anyway, because he didn’t want to ask out anyone but Allison.

  Mr. Byrne finally called near the end of the workday and set up a meeting at the same pub they’d eaten at before. Nate considered inviting Allison to come with him, but decided against it. He’d just have to go over to her apartment later than he’d wanted.

  Nate packed up and left the office, hoping he’d have better news this time. Traffic was bad enough that he finally climbed out a few blocks early and walked the rest of the way. Mr. Byrne sat in the same booth as he had before. He waved when he saw Nate and waited for him to sit.

  “Thanks for meeting with me.” Nate reached out and shook Mr. Byrne’s hand.

  “Of course. I would have called earlier, but I was in meetings with my shareholders all day.” Mr. Byrne pulled out a folder and set it on the table. “These concepts are much better than the original ideas. I have to admit, I was a little concerned.”

  Nate smiled even though the comment annoyed him. He’d worked hard on it, and even though it hadn’t been exactly what Mr. Byrne wanted, it was still a good ad. “I’m glad you like them. I’ve been working on your ads, and I’ll have that over to you in the morning.”

  “Thank you.” Mr. Byrne smiled up at the waitress and ordered the stew again.

  Nate ordered and turned back to the conversation. “Once we have your approval, we’ll get back to the commercial and should have it out a week before Easter.”

  “Perfect.” Mr. Byrne leaned forward. “I’m curious, though. How did you come up with the concept?”

  “I visited several places here in New York that helped me out. The history was fascinating, and I knew I wanted to pull them in.” Nate’s mind went back to the joy on Allison’s face as she listened to the guides during the tours.

  “It really is.” Mr. Byrne sat back so the food could be set out on the table. “Ah, just what I needed.”

  “Thank you.” Nate smiled at the waitress and picked up his spoon for the stew. He’d been craving it ever since he’d come last. He definitely needed to bring Allison sometime. He sipped the rich broth and listened as Mr. Byrne told stories of life as a young Irishman in New York City.

  Nate looked up in surprise as music started over the speakers. “What’s going on?”

  “It’s March. They like to start St. Patrick’s Day a little early here.” Mr. Byrne smiled and nodded toward the center of th
e room.

  People lined up for dancing, and Nate recognized some of the steps from when Allison took him dancing. Nate shook his head. How had he not figured this out? “This is why you wanted me to change the commercials to go back to your roots. How can I be so stupid?”

  Mr. Byrne laughed. “Close, but no. That date is important, but I wanted to celebrate April twenty-fourth, 1916, when we proclaimed our independence from the United Kingdom.”

  “Clearly I need to study your history more. I guess we’d better step up production if we’re going to hit either of those dates.” Nate watched the dancers as joy radiated from them. The steps beat into him, and an idea tickled his mind. “I know what’s missing.”

  “What do you mean?” Mr. Byrne cocked his head to the side.

  Nate pulled out his wallet and dropped money on to the table. “We’ll start recording your commercial at the end of the week. I’ll make sure editing gets done. I felt like something was missing, and I just figured it out.”

  He hurried out of the restaurant, ignoring the questions from Mr. Byrne. He needed to catch Allison before she left the studio. She was the answer to the missing piece. It was one thing to have the shoes change in each scene, but he wanted something more—a dance that pulled each of them together.

  Because traffic had been so slow earlier, he ran straight for the subway, hoping he could get the right train in time. He cursed when he saw that he was on the wrong platform and had to race through another tunnel to get to it. The train pulled away seconds after he sagged into a seat. Allison still hadn’t answered his text, and Nate hoped that meant she was still dancing.

  Nate raced from the subway to the building where Allison usually practiced. The door was locked. He turned to find another way in just as a group of students left the building and grabbed the door just as it was about to shut. He checked each room on the way to the one Allison and Darren practiced in the day before.

  Music blasted from the stereo, but it didn’t cover the yelling between Allison and Darren. Nate yanked the door open to find them inches from each other, both with clenched fists. Allison jumped back when she saw Nate, and Darren walked over to turn off the stereo.

  “What’s going on in here?”

  “He just tried to kiss me.”

  Nate glared at Darren. “He did what?”

  Darren wouldn’t meet Nate’s eyes as he stared down at Allison. “She clearly wanted to be kissed by the way she was dancing. I just took her invitation.”

  “It was a dance. We were supposed to be dancing like that.” Allison’s voice was like ice.

  “We’ve been partners for years. You’ve never used moves like those before. You know you enjoyed it.”

  Nate moved forward to grab Darren, but stopped in shock as Allison punched Darren in the face. Blood spurted from his nose as Allison bowed in pain, holding her hand. She’d be lucky if she hadn’t broken something. Darren swore at her and yelled obscenities as he stumbled for the door. Nate followed closely with Darren’s bag and dropped it outside of the classroom before going back to Allison.

  “That . . . was amazing.” Nate led her over to the bench and gently took her hand. A bruise had formed around a couple of her knuckles.

  “My brother taught me to fight. I just never thought I’d have to use it.” Allison clenched and unclenched her fist, groaning as she did it. “I think I just ruined our chances for this audition.”

  “No, I’m pretty sure Darren did.” Nate laughed. “Maybe I should have your brother teach me. I’ve never seen such a powerful punch.”

  Allison grinned. “Boys didn’t mess with me back home.”

  “I can believe that.”

  “So what are you doing here? I thought we were meeting for ice cream later?” Allison bent over to grab her water bottle.

  Nate turned so he could face her. “I figured out what was missing from the commercial, and I need your help.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “I was helping you, remember?”

  “No, I mean . . . The idea was to have people in different shoes, right? Well, tonight I was at a pub with the owner, and when everyone started dancing, I realized that’s what was missing. We need something to lead from one scene to the next, and I was hoping that we could have some kind of dance that could do that.” Nate studied Allison’s face, hoping she’d agree.

  “That’s a fun idea. I like it. What kind of dance did you have in mind?” Allison stood in the center of the room.

  Nate stood and scrolled through the dances he’d found while on the subway. “Well, I was thinking of a modern twist to a couple of the traditional dances.”

  He pushed play and handed the phone to Allison. She tapped her foot as she watched the video.

  “This could work. And since the audition probably won’t happen now, I can get to work on choreographing it.” Allison handed Nate his phone and went over to the stereo where a binder sat. “I’m pretty sure there are some Irish songs—oh, here we go.”

  She played through a few of the songs while dancing and counting to herself, lost to everything around her. Nate sat in the corner to stay out of the way. As she danced, he ran the commercial through his head, trying to imagine how it would look with the songs she’d gone through.

  “What do you think?” Allison stood with a hand on her hip. A lock of hair fell into her face, and she pushed it back.

  “I like the second one best. The third ballad was beautiful, and it tells the story of the uprising, but I think it might be a bit depressing for the commercial. We want people to buy the shoes, not curl up and cry for the past.”

  Allison nodded. “I agree. Although, I kinda like that song more. Maybe we could find a way to mix it. You’re doing different eras, right?”

  “Yes, but we only have about thirty seconds for the whole thing. Unless we were to rent a Times Square space or something, but that’s a good million dollars right there. It’d take up most of his budget.” Nate tapped the floor, running numbers through his head. “Maybe it’ll work, though.”

  Allison stretched, her arm arched over her head as she leaned to one side. “What are you thinking?”

  “I think if we make a longer ad, we can use that on Times Square and then use a smaller cut of it for the rest of the stations. It’s going to take some major schmoozing to make that work. Good thing I know people. And by people, I mean my boss knows people.” Nate was pretty sure he could talk David and Debra into helping him get a spot. David could walk into pretty much any store in New York and ask for whatever he wanted, and Debra knew other connections in the industry.

  “Okay, I need to get going, but I can work on the dance over the next couple of days. How long do we have?” Allison leaned down and touched the ground.

  Nate’s legs hurt just watching her. “Until Friday. I can put it off if you need me to change it.”

  “That should be fine. I have the next couple of days off, because Eddie has some karaoke contest thing going on.” Allison changed her shoes and slid the bag over her shoulder.

  “Oh, does that mean you don’t work tonight?” Nate took her hand as they walked out of the room, making sure the light was off as they went.

  Allison shook her head. “I got the call just before I came here. It’s a good thing, though. My cough still hasn’t completely gone away and singing just makes it worse.”

  Guilt tugged at Nate. He was pretty sure she’d gotten sick because of their day touring the city. “I can take you home then. Should we grab some food on the way?”

  “My guess is Sam already ordered Chinese food. It’s our thing on Tuesday nights. You’re welcome to join us.” Allison flagged down a cab. “I hope you don’t mind. I just want to get home.”

  “A cab is great.” He opened the door for her. “We need to get you better.”

  Allison laid her head on his shoulder. “I’m getting there. Just slower than I’d like.”

  Nate caressed her fingers, careful to avoid the bruises. He still couldn’t believe she’d pu
nched the guy. Not that Darren hadn’t deserved it. Nate had been seconds away from doing the same thing.

  Sam had the containers of Chinese all set out when Allison and Nate got up to the apartment. When she saw Nate, she turned and grabbed another plate without saying anything. Allison set her stuff on the floor next to the couch and dropped into a chair.

  “Rough day?” Sam glanced between them and shoved a spoon into the rice.

  “It was pretty good, actually. I’m just exhausted. Oh, you got cashew chicken.” Allison dumped some onto her plate.

  Nate chuckled and sat next to her. “I take it you like it?”

  “Not usually, but this place makes it taste amazing.” Allison handed him the carton and moved on to the chow mein. “How was work?”

  “Boring, as usual. How’d class go?” Sam took a bite of her egg roll.

  A snicker escaped as Nate grabbed some noodles. “I’d say it could have gone better.”

  Allison grinned mischievously. “You’re probably right. Even if he did deserve it.”

  “Oh, come on. Spill.” Sam threw a wadded-up napkin at Allison.

  Allison told Sam what had happened, and Nate joined in, adding details where Allison skipped over them.

  “I’ve been wanting to do that myself. I wish I’d been there.” Sam tossed a fortune cookie to Allison and kept one for herself. “Sorry, Nate. I didn’t know you were coming or I would have gotten you one.”

  “That’s okay. I’ll survive. This time.” Nate took a bite of his noodles. The flavor was just perfect with the sauces and vegetables. “Okay, I have to know. Where do you get your Chinese?”

  “Place a block away from here. It’s on my way home from work.” Sam broke her cookie and made a face. “Hate it when they just put a saying in there. Waste of a cookie.”

  “That’s exactly why I didn’t mind not getting one. Mine always seem to be quotes.” Nate dished more of the noodles onto his plate. Once he was done, he stood and took his plate to the sink. “I’d love to stay and hang out, but I have a commercial to plan.”