Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 93699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
“Not that I know of. This is an engagement commercial for Tiffany & Company’s latest line of diamonds, right?”
“Right.”
“Well, I thought that the script you sent over was a little too tame and lame, if you catch my drift.” She smiled. “Whenever me and my husband go to parties, this is a little game we play, so I thought I’d infuse some realism so I could get a better feel for my character.”
“Wait a second.” Ralph said. “You’re already married?”
“Ten years and counting.” She nodded. “That’s why I’m perfect for this role.”
“The top requirement was literally a demand that you needed to be single for this.”
“How is that even legal, though?” She crossed her arms. “It’s a commercial. No one has to believe that I’m engaged to him. Hell, I’d never believe Travis Carter has a real fiancee anyway.”
“Miss Woods—”
“Oh my god, I can’t even say those words with a straight face.” She bent over, laughing. “Travis Carter. Fiancee? Bahahahaha…”
“That rumor made everyone in my office lose their minds.” She held her stomach. “Whew. Fiancée? Him?”
The three of us stared at her until she stopped.
“Sorry about that.” She cleared her throat. “Should I pick up where I left off now or what?”
“Actually, if you don’t mind, can you follow the security guard through the garden, please?” He smiled. “We should’ve given you a complimentary tour to get a vibe for the commercial before we began. Our apologies.”
“No worries!” She looked giddy as she was led away. “I’ll be more than ready for take two when I return.”
“I’ll handle this.” Ralph read my mind before I could say a word. “I’ll make sure the other girls are better prepared.”
“Speaking of which, do you have any secret flames or old girlfriends who you’ve been seen with before?” Madeline asked. “Any women your fans would vaguely remember?”
“I’ve never dated any woman publicly since becoming a professional.”
“Privately works as well.”
“No, Madeline. Never.”
“Hmmm.” She paced the grass. “Well, a female friend might work as well. We could make it look like a friends to lovers relationship.”
“My little sister is my closest female friend.”
“Yeah, I don’t think adding ‘incest’ to your list of public transgressions is what we need right now.”
“Funny,” I said. “In that case, I don’t have any female friends.”
“Well, unless you know someone who owes you one hell of a favor, we’ll have to continue weeding through the chaff. Oh, and by the way, can we go ahead and try a different location for these auditions because—”
“Wait. What did you just say about these auditions?” I interrupted her spiel.
“That we need to keep weeding through the chaff.”
“No.” I shook my head. “After that.”
“Someone who owes you one hell of a favor?”
“Yes, that,” I said, smiling. “We can stop the auditions now.”
“You mean reschedule them for whenever we find a new location?”
“No, cancel them,” I said. “Every single one. I have someone who can help me with this.”
“Who?” Ralph asked.
“Yeah, who?” Madeline looked worried. “We’re cutting it pretty close.”
“I’m aware.” I stepped back. “I’ll fill you in after she agrees to this.”
“How do you know that this ‘she’ will help you, Travis?” Ralph asked.
“Because she doesn’t have a choice.”
SEVEN
PRESENT DAY
TRAVIS
Midnight
Las Vegas, Nevada
Hot streams scalded my back as I stood in the shower.
I’d been standing in here for over an hour, contemplating how to get what I needed from Tatiana. If there was any woman who could convincingly act her ass off, it was her.
There wasn’t much room for negotiation, no space for “maybe later,” because despite how things had ended between us, we both believed in keeping promises.
I never broke one with her; I knew that she’d never break this one with me. (Well, minus the one when she swore she’d never leave me. I was still learning to deal with that one.)
Turning off the water, I wrapped a towel around my waist and headed to the kitchen.
I picked up my favorite bourbon and took a long swig.
My phone buzzed on the counter.
Text from Ralph:
Who is the woman you have in mind, Travis? I’ve called you six times…
Text from Madeline:
I’m still planning to audition alternatives in case your woman—whoever she is—doesn’t work out.
I set my phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode and carried the bourbon into my bedroom.
Through the windows, Sin City’s lights beckoned me to come out and play, to have a reckless night on the town like I used to, but I resisted their pleas.
Pacing the floor, I guzzled the alcohol until it burned my chest. Then I opened a hidden photo album on my phone titled ‘She Doesn’t Exist Anymore.’
I vowed to delete it year after year, but I never fully committed. On my worst days, opening it and reliving the best moments of my past was the only thing that reminded me that I once had someone outside the octagon.
I entered the passcode—the date I first met Tatiana, and hundreds of images and videos appeared onscreen.