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Neal opens the door to the suite, barely covered in a silky Sheraton robe.
“Oh!” When he sees us, he pulls the robe closed. Hastily but uselessly. “I thought you were room service.”
I tell him, “I need to speak to you and your colleague.”
“We, um…” He recognizes the production director, and his eyes jump.
“I’ll talk to you first,” I tell Neal. “It won’t take long.”
He backs inside. We enter, and Raphael closes the doors to the plush, disheveled mess of a suite behind us.
I tell Neal, “I need information about the person who wrote the hook lines for tonight’s launch.”
“Oh.” he brightens. Then he looks wary. “That was me. Ask me anything.”
“Really? Which of the stingers did you like best?”
His lips twitch. “Mm, The Über Phone.” he says, halting. “Wherever you are…”
My eyes narrow. “Okay. Get your colleague.”
His face falls. “Olivier! You need to come out. We have guests.”
“We have more guests?” Olivier wears a small towel and a wide leer as he comes out of what I guess is the suite’s main bedroom. “Oh!”
I take Olivier aside and I ask him who wrote the copy. “I did,” he smiles, uncertain.
I ask him about the tags and stingers. He tells me something about a Mega Phone. No wonder Marina didn’t use any of their ideas.
“So who was the girl who brought the copy up to the presentation?”
Olivier and Neal both laugh. “She’s just a contract cleaner.”
I sigh and turn to the production director. Raphael looks panicked. He’s taking out his phone. “I’ll call them, but they mostly employ staff on a casual basis.”
I leave the suite in disgust. If this is how they do business, no wonder they’re leaking money like a busted dam. I may reconsider the acquisition. I call the editor of the city’s biggest newspaper.
“I need your help, Pierre. I’m starting a hunt with a million-dollar prize.”
Chapter Ten
Ella
I’m so late.
As I open the door to the apartment, the babysitter is inside in tears. Kelly is a serious and conscientious sixteen-year-old. She’s not usually hysterical.
“What’s happened?”
She jumps up and hugs me.
“Nothing.” She grips her arms tight around me. “Everything’s fine. Now you’re back, it’s all okay. I was just upset because I really need to go. Suzi never takes her phone to work, and I had no way to get in touch with you. I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving little Amelia alone. I didn’t know what to do.”
She wipes her face, but she’s smiling as she leaves.
I take my laptop into little Amelia’s room. Only a mop of blonde curls and one little closed eye poke out of the fluffy covers. I slip onto the bed beside her, trying not to disturb her. I lay a hand gently on the top of her head. She smiles and wriggles to snuggle closer.
Here at last, with Amelia sleeping, knowing that she’s okay, nothing else matters. Everything in the world seems right. I’m contented and relaxed, on the bed next to my little niece, and I wish I could take her with me to the workshop.
