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JOE
“Good morning, stranger.” Fiona walks out of her apartment at the same time I leave for work. Raising on her toes, she quickly kisses me before taking my hand as we make our way down to our cars.
“Good morning to you, too.”
“How’s the search for a home for Spike going? Any leads?” Fiona asks as we pass one of the flyers I’ve hung up in the building and around town.
“I’m meeting with a young family from the building tonight. The mom called me this morning. Roberts from the third floor.”
“Young girl, about four? I think her name is Kayla.”
I nod my head. “According to her mom, she’s been begging for a kitten for months. They rent, but the owner has no issues with pets. And they plan to move to a bigger place with a yard in the next few months. If it works out, it could be good for Spike.” Letting him go feels weird, but I know how crazy my schedule is going to get over the next few weeks. It wouldn’t be fair to leave him stuck in my place on his own all day.
“She seems like a good kid, with enough energy to match Spike’s.” Fiona grins. While she hasn’t seen him in person, I’ve shared plenty of stories about his antics over the past week.
“Your car or mine?” I ask when we get to the parking lot.
“Separate cars. I have errands to run and a lunch meeting. Won’t be around much. Dinner at my place tonight?”
“You’ve got it. Want me to cook?” I hold her car door open after she unlocks it.
“Let’s order something. I’ve seen your schedule, plus you have the meeting with the Robertses.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll call you after they are gone.” I bend down for a quick kiss.
“Just come over when you’re ready. See you at the office.” She shuts the door and is gone before I crank up my car.
The past week has been nice. We’ve spent most of our time together, either at the office where mum’s the word—though I think Cara is catching wind that we’re more than old friends—or here at home, having dinner together and crashing on the couch to watch a movie when we’re both too tired to do anything else.
And that’s only going to get worse with casting all wrapped up and filming starting this week.
“Good morning. Anton Kirk called. He wants to meet over lunch to talk about the script.” Cara is waiting for me when I walk into the office and hands me a cup of coffee.
“Anything else?” I take a sip, looking at her across my mug.
“The rest of your messages are on your desk. Nothing urgent other than that. Oh, and Louise dropped off a folder for you. She said to tell you she’s working from a cafe in town and to call her if you have questions.”
“Can you make arrangements for lunch? Something quick and easy. I don’t want to spend all afternoon stuff with the guy talking about method acting.” I’m still not sure Anton Kirk is the right guy for the lead role, but Fiona was adamant that he’s the one and Dave made it clear he wanted me to trust her instincts.
“You’ve got it.”
I walk to Dave’s office and knock on the open door.
“Come on in. What can I do for you?” he asks, raising an eyebrow when I shut the door behind me.
“If you have a minute, I’d love to talk to you about my future here in Wilmington,” I say, taking a seat when he motions for me to do so.
“Thinking about making this a bit more permanent?” he asks.
“I am. My family is close by, and it turns out I’m enjoying being back in the South.”
“Wait until you make it through an entire summer.” Dave shuts his laptop and gives me his full attention.
“Trust me, I’ll trade humidity and mosquitoes for smog and LA traffic any day.”
“How long are you thinking of staying down here?” Dave asks.
“Permanently. If I can find enough work to support myself.” I look at the man who’s hired me for a project that’s barely started. I know this is a big ask.
