Page 91 of Between the Lines

Blaise

She read it once, then again. It was polite and professional. Not a hint of overeagerness that she could detect. Satisfied, she hit Send.

Almost immediately, a flicker of doubt crept in. Maybe she should have waited. Maybe she should have done more research first. Maybe answering so quickly would make her seem desperate. Wouldn’t take much for him to figure out she hadn’t worked in a long time.

Although, if he’d listened to the podcast like he’d said, he already knew she was just getting back into things. She set the laptop aside, then, realizing she still had writing to do, picked it up again.

She read what she’d last written and put her fingers on the keyboard.

Her phone chimed before she had the second paragraph finished.

She blinked, then laughed under her breath when she saw the notification. An email. Already.

She opened it.

Hi Blaise,

Thank you so much for getting back to me. We’re looking at a one-day shoot as soon as we can make it happen. We’re flexible where that’s concerned, but sooner would be better. Our budget for talent is in the mid-four figures, with full usage details outlined beforehand. Happy to talk through specifics. Let me know what dates might work for you.

Regards,

Marco

Blaise sat back against the couch, phone still in her hand, a slow smile spreading across her face.

Mid-four figures. That was…good. That was very good. This could be the start of something major. Of her not worrying over every cent. She blew out a breath, blinking back tears. She sniffed and Beau woke up, looking at her.

She smiled. “Hey, baby. Everything’s okay. Everything’s better than okay, actually.”

She had the unmistakable sense that something wonderful was happening. Even better, she hadn’t responded too quickly after all.

She’d responded right on time.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Cece had three tabs open on her laptop and a legal pad on the desk next to her. She kept shifting her attention between them like she was afraid something important might happen if she looked away too long.

It was impossible not to be excited that her podcast was finally live.

That’s what the first tab was for. On it, she had the hosting platform for the podcast open. She refreshed it again to see if there was any new activity. She took a quick look, then forced herself to get back to work.

The numbers would be there whether she stared at them or not. Still, it was hard not to look. The first episode was actually live. Not just an idea, not waiting on some final tweak before she declared it perfect, but live.

People were listening. Joe had called to congratulate her early this morning, and the Queen Bees had been so supportive.

Regardless of what happened next, she’d done what she set out to do.

That didn’t mean she wasn’t hoping the podcast turned into a smash hit. That would be amazing, and even though she knew it wasn’t realistic, it was fun to think about.

She hadn’t really known what to expect with this first episode. Ten downloads, maybe twenty if she was being generous—but the numbers were already higher than that. Nothing viral. Nothing headline-worthy. But solid out-of-the-gate numbers. Enough to tell her that the podcast hadn’t vanished into the void.

Cece smiled, then clicked over to the second tab.

Joe’s interview sat there in pieces, waveforms stretched neatly across the screen. She’d cleaned up the audio, smoothed out the levels, and flagged a few spots she wanted to adjust further. His voice came through warm and steady, the way it always was. Listening to it now, she was struck again by how easy the conversation had been. He’d been so honest and open. His answers had been thoughtful.

Not once had he come off as though he had an ounce of ego. She sighed. He was an easy man to fall for, and she knew that was exactly what she was doing.

Or rather, had done. She liked him so much that it was a little frightening.