Authors: Kelly Favor
Scarlett stared at him. She suddenly wanted a cigarette, badly. “Bryson, you seem
a little…I don’t know…all over the place.”
“This is just my process,” he said, wandering away from the table. “This is normal,
it’s how I work. It will come together, Scarlett. You’ll see.”
She watched him as he stared out the window, drinking his coffee. She wished she
could have as much faith in him as he seemed to have in himself. Maybe he was right—maybe
it would all come together.
Or maybe Max Weisman was right, and Bryson Taylor was going to be an unmitigated disaster.
***
Kallie was running around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to take care
of the final preparations for the dinner party she and Hunter were hosting at their
home.
It was strange to call it “their” home, when the castle was a place that had one time
felt completely foreign and intimidating and unlived in.
It still was slightly intimidating, but she was working hard to slowly make it her
own with little touches here and there throughout the house.
Hunter, for his part, wasn’t able to do a whole lot of helping with the party setup,
but he did what he could. He’d set the table in the dining room and chosen a few
wines for the occasion. He’d sampled the pasta dish she’d made, which was just about
ready to eat.
“Ten or fifteen minutes and the sauce is done,” she announced to nobody in particular.
Just then, the doorbell rang. “Can you get that?” she called out.
“Yes dear,” Hunter replied in a semi-sarcastic tone as he went to answer the door.
He hadn’t been completely in favor of this event, citing his need to relax and recover.
Of course, Kallie knew that wasn’t the real reason. Hunter was back at work on the
sequel to Blue Horizon and didn’t want to stop for anything.
As far as she was concerned, all the more reason to host a dinner party and take a
break.
When Hunter opened the door, Kallie heard Danielle’s unmistakable voice floating down
the hallway. “This house is so amazing—so gothic and dark, Hunter. Tre magnifique!”
Kallie smiled to herself as she stirred the pasta and then the sauce. Originally,
she’d only planned to invite Nicole and Red, just to have a quiet little foursome.
But then Danielle got wind of it and somehow horned her way in.
It was fine, Kallie thought. The more, the merrier.
Kane and Hunter began discussing some obscure business deal that Kane was in the midst
of, and Hunter said they should go up to the terrace. Kane came in briefly and gave
Kallie a kiss on both cheeks. “So good to see you, darling,” he said. “The food
smells delicious.”
Then he left and Danielle came in, her eyes alight with some secret enthusiasm.
“Look at you in here playing housewife, Kallie!”
“Playing?” Kallie asked, raising her eyebrows.
“You know what I mean.” Danielle came over and sniffed. “Delicious. We bought wine,”
she said, holding up a bag.
“Oh, thanks. You can put it on the table with the other bottles.”
“I guarantee you’ll love what Kane picked out. Maybe you should put the other stuff
back—save it for a different occasion.”
“Sure, we can have your wine instead,” Kallie said, already beginning to regret inviting
Danielle to this dinner. She’d forgotten that they didn’t particularly get along.
“Anyway, I’m so happy the two of you are back and healthy and happy.”
“And engaged,” Kallie said, holding out her hand.
“Oh my God!” Danielle shrieked. “That rock is huge! Like Kobe Bryant huge.
Are you kidding me? Hunter could have bought an island, but instead he bought you
that diamond ring.” She fanned herself dramatically.
“I’m pleased,” Kallie said, not sure how to respond to the hysterics.
“Let me help you with the food.”
“That’s okay, Danielle—“
But Danielle insisted, and as per usual, she got her way.
A few minutes later, Nicole and Red arrived, and Kallie and Nicole hugged for a long
time, both of them breaking into tears.
“I was so worried,” Nicole whispered into her ear. “I don’t know what I would have
done if something had happened…”
“It’s okay. We’re good.” Kallie hugged her back. They were truly like sisters.
“This is what it was like when I surprised Nicole on her wedding day. So much emotion,”
Danielle said, to everyone and no one in particular.
Finally, they all sat down to eat. The food was delicious—at least, everyone said
it was and Kallie thought she’d pulled it off quite well.
They drank Kane’s wine, and it was also pretty magnificent—or tre magnifique, as Danielle
would have said.
Red and Nicole were looking healthy and happy, and the meal was full of conversations
about funny times from the past—Red and Kane joking about their mutual hatred of one
another, Danielle recounting the time she’d first seen Red’s car sitting outside their
apartment and Nicole had made up some elaborate lie about why it was there.
Kallie asked Red and Nicole about baby Riley, who was with Nicole’s mother at the
moment. The two of them made some jokes about that one. But apparently Riley was
already learning some sign language—she was a very bright baby. No surprise there.
During a lull in the conversation, Danielle cleared her throat and seemed to be giving
Kane the evil eye for some reason.
He glanced at her and subtly shook his head.
She nodded at him, a little less subtly.
“So, Hunter—we hear wonderful things about this new film you and Kallie are working
on together,” Kane began, as if on cue.
Hunter nodded. “It’s very exciting. Did you hear how Kallie found the script in
my slush pile? She fished it out of the muck, polished it off, and sold it.” He
looked at her and grabbed her hand in his.
“We did hear as much,” Kane said.
“And did you hear that I put her in touch with Max Weisman?” Red asked Kane, grinning.
“Shame you couldn’t have been the one to do it.” He chewed his pasta with a big grin,
still happy to try and one-up Kane whenever possible.
“Well, it’s funny you mention that,” Kane said, shifting in his seat. He smiled,
but his smile was slightly tense—which wasn’t like him at all. Kane was always cool
as a cucumber, from that Kallie had always seen and heard.
“Funny?” Red asked. “How so?”
“It’s just that lately I’ve been dabbling a bit in the film industry as well.”
Hunter glanced at him. “Really.”
“Oh, yes. Just a little bit, but I’m intrigued. And now that Danielle’s acting career
is taking off—“
“Wait, what?” Nicole asked. She turned to Danielle. “You’re acting now?”
Danielle blushed and waved her hand. “It’s nothing. It’s really—“ she looked at
Kane and made a little face. “Honey, you shouldn’t have mentioned it. Tonight isn’t
about me and my acting career.”
But to the contrary, Kallie thought it quite obvious that Danielle had pressured Kane
to bring all of this up so that she could talk about it without appearing vain.
Kane shrugged and drank an extra long gulp of wine.
“So what parts have you gotten?” Hunter said.
Danielle smiled demurely. “I just shot a commercial spot for Wellington Tubs.”
Nobody knew quite what to say about that, and the table fell slightly silent. Red
cleared his throat. “Wellington Tubs…wait a minute…” he stuck his fork in the air.
“Those are the specialty tubs, the ones for older people who need help getting in
and out…”
“Not just older people,” Danielle said. “Also people with any kind of motor impairment.
Anyway, I’m just breaking in, but it’s been kind of a whirlwind for me.”
Red nodded. “Congrats, Danielle. Awesome.”
“I mean, lord knows I was driving Kane halfway out of his mind when I was just staying
home all day. Now I have direction, passion, focus.”
Kane nodded. “Yes. Yes she does.” He chewed and swallowed. “I say, there may even
be a part for Danielle in your film, Hunter.”
“There is?” Hunter said.
Nicole and Red exchanged glances and Kallie looked down at the table, worried she
might burst out laughing otherwise.
“Perhaps so,” Kane said. “I’m just thinking aloud here. But I’m sure you haven’t
cast every little bit part yet. Have you?”
“Not exactly,” Hunter said. “No.”
“Well, perhaps just think about it then. She’s quite gifted. Quite. And she’s working
with only the top teachers in New York.”
Danielle nodded and drank some wine.
Kallie decided she now knew why Danielle was so insistent on coming to this dinner
party.
“Yeah, we’ll definitely think about that. Right Kallie?” Hunter said, turning to
her with pleading eyes.
“Definitely,” Kallie replied.
The rest of dinner went smoothly. When it was over, Kane and Danielle said they had
to meet some business associates for drinks and went jetting off. That left just
the four of them. Hunter and Red went into the viewing room and put on a film that
Hunter was interested in showing him.
Kallie and Nicole went out to the terrace for some fresh air.
Nicole went to the railing and looked out into the darkness. “Goodness, the stars
are bright out here tonight,” she admired. “It is getting a little chilly, though.”
“Should we go back inside?” Kallie asked.
“No, I like it. The wine was starting to make me drowsy.”
Kallie went and stood next to her. “I’m so glad you guys came. It really meant a
lot to me. And Hunter.”
Nicole nodded. When she turned to look at Kallie again, Kallie realized that she
had tears in her eyes.
“Nicole, is something wrong?”
“No.” She smiled but had to turn away again.
“Okay, something is wrong. Please, tell me what it is.”
“I’m just being silly.”
“No you’re not. Is it to do with Red? Is it something I’ve done?”
Nicole took a few breaths. “I’m hurt. There, I’ve said it now. I’m hurt.” She
turned and looked at Kallie with steady eyes. “You left our home, left our family
and just…never came back again.”
Kallie felt as though she’d been punched in the stomach. All the air was knocked
out of her. Instantly, she knew how wrong she’d been. “Nicole, I’m so sorry. I
guess I just lost track of everything. It all happened so fast.”
“I understand that. But, we were depending on you. We brought you here to watch
Riley. You took a job with us and we had every expectation that you’d return to the
position at some point. Now, it seems you’ve just gone ahead and moved in with Hunter,
gotten engaged and started working with him. Where’s the courtesy to at least tell
us—tell me that you had no intentions of coming back?”
Kallie was stunned. She hadn’t meant to be so selfish, to think only of her own interests.
It had been such a fast process, and yet so gradual somehow—the thoughts had never
crystallized enough to even have the conversation. And then she’d been racing against
time to help Hunter…she’d just forgotten.
“I’m a bad friend,” Kallie said. “I know that. You’re totally right.”
“I didn’t say any such thing.”
“No, but I’m saying it now. You’re right that I’ve treated you and Red very disrespectfully.
With everything you’ve done for me—treated me like family—and I repaid you by being
irresponsible and selfish.”
Nicole sighed and stood up straight, folding her arms, shivering slightly as the breeze
kicked up. “I didn’t bring this up to make you feel bad. I just wanted to know.
Do you think you still might come back and be Riley’s nanny?”
Kallie’s stomach twisted. The look of hope on Nicole’s innocent face was heart wrenching.
But she knew that it wasn’t right to string her along further. Kallie shook her head.
“No, I don’t think so. I just don’t think it was the right line of work for me.”
Nicole’s lips tightened. “I understand.”
“Nicole—“ Kallie reached out to touch her shoulder.
“It’s okay.” She smiled briefly. “I just should go. I’m tired and overly emotional.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. As long as you’re happy.”
And then she left, and Kallie knew there was nothing more she could say to make it
better.
***
That night, after everyone had left, Kallie told Hunter about what had happened with
Nicole.
They were in bed together, cuddling, and she told him the entire story. He listened
quietly. “She’ll get over it.”
“Am I a horrible person?”
“No, you’re a beautiful person.” He looked at her. “You’ll find a way to make it
up to her. It will work out.”
She sat there, unable to take her mind off of it.
Hunter glanced at her. “Stop worrying, Kallie. I’m serious. Life is too good to
waste time on this crap. We have a wedding to plan.”
She shook her head. “I don’t feel like I deserve to plan my wedding. I feel like
a big jerk.”
He turned to her. “I think you feel bad because you’ve been bad.”
She smiled, knowing what he meant. She decided to play along. “I do feel particularly
bad right now.”
“Maybe it’s time you leaned a lesson about treating people the right way.” He suddenly
grabbed her wrists tightly. “Downstairs, now,” he commanded gruffly.
She got up out of bed, wearing just her bra and panties. “Should I—“
“No more questions. No more talking from you. Just down to the basement and wait
for me.”
Kallie went down to the basement, as he’d commanded. She didn’t even turn the light
on, determined not to make a mistake by assuming any control of anything.
Eventually, she heard his footsteps on the stairs and then the lights came on. He
was wearing his boxer shorts and a t-shirt and carrying a whip.
Her breath caught in her chest. “Hunter—“
“Go to the pulleys. Now.” He cracked the whip across the ground and it made a sound
that was so loud, it caused her to jump.
She went to the pulleys, near the part of the room where the ropes hung down from
the ceiling, and stood waiting for him. He came from behind her, grabbed her wrists
and extended her arms out, cuffing her to the ropes. Then Hunter began hoisting her
so that most of her weight was distributed to the pulley system, although some weight
was still on her feet.