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“Coffee, decaf please,” Fiona orders and laughs at my raised eyebrow. “I’ll be up all night if I drink caffeine too late.”
“Bourbon, neat.” I abandon the beer I’ve been nursing. This calls for something stronger. Something to calm my nerves.
“I didn’t realize you were back in North Carolina,” Fiona says, tracing circles across the cover of the phone she puts down in front of her.
“It’s a recent development. I landed a couple of hours ago.”
“I guess that means you haven’t been home to see your family?” She looks at me, and those beautiful brown eyes of hers hit me like a load of bricks.
“Not yet. I’m hoping to drive up tomorrow. Depending on your schedule and timeline, of course.”
“Should we grab a table?” Fiona asks when the bartender places our drinks in front of us.
I nod and scribble my name and room number on the bill that arrived with our drinks.
I follow her to a set of stuffed chairs and take the one next to her.
“Tell me about this project,” I say, leaning back and taking a sip of my bourbon. It’s smooth, and the heat of the liquid sliding down my throat steadies me.
“It’s not much of a project yet. More of a lofty goal to win an Oscar.” Fiona pours sugar into her coffee and stirs it, drawing my attention to her long, slender fingers. No nail polish, I notice. And her makeup is nothing like the thick mask most of the women I work with in LA wear. It’s light and natural, and I think I can make out a faint hint of the freckles across her nose I remember so well.
“There’s got to be a little more to it than that. Do you have a script in mind?”
“You’re right. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. Going for an Oscar is our top priority for the next eighteen months. C&C Production is ready to put all its resources behind this movie. And no, we haven’t chosen a script yet. That’ll be one of our first jobs, if you’re in.”
“I’m in,” I say without hesitation.
“I haven’t even told you yet what they’ll pay or what kind of budget we’re working with.”
I wave her off. “Samuel Cameron sent over a contract. I know everything I need to know. Besides, I’m not in it for the money.”
“You’re not?” Fiona looks surprised.
“No.” I shake my head. I have my reasons for coming back here, not the least of which is the woman sitting next to me.
“Why did you accept this? Did you know I was working for C&C?” she asks.
“Not when I was first approached about this, but I’m glad you’re here.” I reach over to take her hand.
Fiona pulls it away and picks up her coffee, wrapping both hands around the cup. “What got you interested in the first place?”
“I’ve been looking for an opportunity back east. My grandma is getting up there in age, and I wouldn’t mind spending a little time with her while I still can.” It’s one of the reasons why I’m here. Something tells me I’m better off keeping the others close to my chest for now.
“How is Grandma Anna?” Fiona asks.
“Fit as a fiddle. I figured you’d run into her at your grandma’s place.” The two women were thick as thieves.
She shakes her head. “I haven’t been back much lately. Work has been crazy.”
“And it’s going to get worse if we are going to pull this off. I’m assuming you have a slush pile of scripts we need to wade through?”
“Are you sure you want to do this? It’s not going to be easy, and we need everyone attached to be all in,” she says, her tone grave.
“I’m in and ready to give it a hundred percent of my attention. I can do this. We can do this.” Especially if I can convince her to use the script I have in mind.
“Alright. We have a few scripts we think could work. We can meet to go through them as soon as you get back from your visit. How long will you be in Rockville?” Fiona puts her coffee on the small table in front of her and picks up her phone, ready to schedule our first meeting.
“I’ll be in Wilmington for a little while. How about we met tomorrow morning at ten? Can you get me copies of what you’re considering?” I ask. My family can wait another day or two.
