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“Wonderful. There was this weird little news story out of there a couple months ago. A shooting. Gigi Rivers, oldest daughter of Houston’s founding family. She was the family’s black sheep. She’s lived in Italy for thirty years. Suddenly, she’s back in Houston and she wasn’t there very long before she was shot right outside the Riverses company headquarters.”
“Someone shot her?” I gasp. I remember that family. Remi told me their families were rivals.
“Yes.” She raises a scandalized eyebrow. “Word is, the bullet was meant for Hayes Rivers. The official story was that it was a disgruntled former employee looking for revenge. It could be, right? I mean it’s Texas, they love guns, right?” Her wide eyed stare is expectant, so I nod.
“But, what if it’s more than some whacko who got fired? His aunt made a full recovery but instead of scurrying back to the safety of her Tuscan villa, where not even the police have guns, she’s still in Houston.”
“And?” I ask impatiently. I’ve got so many ideas for the part of the series I’d be producing called “Bad at Love” looking at cold cases where crimes of passion had been suspected.
This story sounds a little Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous to me. I know that right now, beggars can’t be choosers but I’m confused by the assignment.
“Jules, this sounds intriguing, but it also sounds like gossip. I want to investigate things that matter. I’m not a gossip columnist. We’re not a gossip magazine. We report on real people and when they go missing it rips a hole in the lives of the people left behind.”
She purses her lips in disappointment.
“They are one of the most powerful and influential families in America. Their influence is vast and people care about them. We need viewers, or we can’t sell advertising. And if we can’t sell advertising, none of us will have a job. So I’m sending you after a story that to you feels fluffy but is exactly what our viewership wants. You know how much interest there is in this family.”
“Yes, and between E! Television and People Magazine, they get all the information they need.”
She leans back in her chair and raises a haughty eyebrow at me.
“Please don’t do me the insult of thinking that I would be suggesting we report this like it’s salacious gossip. I’ve got another interesting tidbit from my source, and that’s what I’m sending you to Houston for. According to a credible source, there was a DNA test ordered for Hayes Rivers last fall.”
I gawk at her. You don’t have to live in Houston to have heard of the return of The Rivers King, as they call Hayes Rivers, from Italy. It was big news everywhere. They are one of the last remaining true family dynasties in the United States. And the fact that they all look like movie stars, only makes them the subject of intense interest.
There were dozens of interest pieces detailing his background, really casting this aura of mystery onto his return. We ran a documentary that to date has one of the highest number of views of anything we’ve done.
“And if Hayes Rivers is not the heir, then who is? That’s going to be one of the most talked about missing person’s story of the year if we can get it. These are the kind of dramas that get made into movies. Your familiarity with the neighborhood and the city make you the perfect person to lift the veil.”
Excitement wells in my gut. This is my chance. I’ve fucked up everything else, but if I can get my career right, maybe I can start to get back on my feet. “Yes. I agree. I can do that.”
“Of course, you can. You’re pretty, you’re curious—almost too curious for your own good—and you’re hungry, but not in a ‘I’ll do anything to win kind of way,’ like Slugman is. I look at you and I see myself. You’re what? Twenty-nine?”
I cringe. “Thirty one.”
“You’re in competition with a twenty-two-year-old college graduate. You reek of single mother starting over and I want you to win because I think you deserve it. So go and get this story.”
I think about Bianca and what it means if I go to Houston for work that could take weeks or months to complete. But if I get it, I can pay Fallon back for my shit show of a divorce and finally get back on my feet.
I look down at my bare legs. Think about my empty fridge and empty bank account. I can’t say no. I’ll ask Kelli for air miles to get Bianca a ticket down to spend a weekend with me. It’ll be fine.
And Houston means Remi.
I push that thought away. That’s really the last thing that should be on my mind. But it is increasingly so, since my divorce.
I’m single. And he is, too. I haven’t seen him in eight years. And that last time had been so painful, I’m not sure he’ll be happy to see me.
It may not be a good idea to poke at old wounds. I’m just asking for more heartbreak. But the truth is, even after all of these years, my heart is still his to break. Even now, just at the thought of seeing him, the foolish thing is beating wildly.
23
MISSING
KAL
“I’m meeting Kalilah Greer,” I hear a voice behind me speak softly to the maître d’.
“Regan?” I call to her back and she turns around and gapes at me.
