Page 43 of The Restaurant on Plum Island
“Of course,” Harley said, nodding in agreement. “Tell her.”
Ethan had just closed the door and was about to call his sister when his phone buzzed. He saw it was Harriet.
“Hi,” Ethan answered.
“Hi,” Harriet greeted him. “It’s good news that Carly has agreed to do the show.”
“Yes.” Ethan’s voice was stilted. “I take it you’re phoning to negotiate the terms of her contract.”
“Of course, we need to do that,” Harriet told him. “But what I need from you right now is to give your good friend Trinity Woodrow from the Boston talk show Trinity Time a call.”
Ethans’ eyes narrowed suspiciously for a few seconds as he realized where Harriet was going with this. “Let me guess.” He sighed, realizing Carly was going full steam ahead with her resurgence into fame. “You want me to offer Trinity an exclusive on Stella Hart’s comeback?”
“Look at that. We’re still in sync,” Harriet teased. “Yes. And we want you to set it up for tomorrow.”
“That’s impossible,” Ethan said. “Trinity won’t just be able to drop everything and get here that quickly.”
“Then it’s lucky for you that she’s filming in Newbury Port right now,” Harriet informed him. “I’ll bet you two bottles of my favorite champagne that Trinity will drop everything for this exclusive.”
“I’ll do my best,” Ethan promised, taking a breath. “You know, I’m not sure about you being a talent manager. You’re so bossy.”
“Exactly.” Harriet laughed. “I was born for this job.”
“I think your family would disagree,” Ethan teased her back.
“No,” Harriet said. “My parents are very happy with my new business. My brother and uncle, not so much, but hey, you can’t please everyone.”
“Now you sound like Alex.” Ethan laughed.
“I taught him everything I know,” Harriet said her goodbyes not long after that and made him promise to call as soon as he knew if Trinity would do the exclusive.
Two hours later, Ethan was sitting in his study, getting ready for an early night. Tomorrow was going to be a big day. Ethan had to be up early, as he, Brad Danes, Harriet, and Jennifer were going to prep Carly for her interview with Trinity Woodrow the following evening.
Ethan had to admit to feeling the same as Harley about Carly becoming Stella Hart again. But Sam did have a point that it was one way to get whoever was behind this to play their hand.
Ethan was about to go to his room when his phone buzzed. He picked it up and frowned when he saw it was a message from Alex.
I know you said you would cut me off, but you have no right to go through my boat or house.
“What the heck?” Ethan’s brow creased tighter as he hit dial on his brother’s number.
“What?” Alex, who never raised his voice or got angry, snarled over the line. “Do you have a trace on my phone now too?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Alex,” Ethan told him. “What’s going on?” He sat on the edge of his desk. “Are you sure you’re not just being paranoid, and the cleaners left something out of place?”
“Well, then I’m definitely firing the cleaning service,” Alex told him. “Especially when they should be cleaning and not ransacking the place.”
Ethan had just hung up after finally ensuring his brother he had nothing to do with ransacking his house or boat when a message came through from Harley.
I just heard back from my contact who checked out the Town Hall. There’s been a breach in their records systems.
Ethan froze as the truth sank in—Harley was right. This was about something bigger, and Ethan was sure it was no coincidence that no sooner had the records been breached than Alex’s house and boat had just been ransacked.
CHAPTER 11
Carly sat on a high bar chair at a round table on the deck of her Beach Hut, a steaming mug of coffee cradled in her hands as she watched Reef, her son, ride the waves. The sun had just begun to rise over the ocean, casting long shadows across the sand and painting the sky in hues of pink and gold. She took a deep breath, inhaling the salty air that mingled with the aroma of fresh coffee. In moments like this, she felt a connection to the earth, sea, and sky that grounded her, even as her life seemed to spin out of control.
Her thoughts drifted to the mock interview scheduled for later that morning involving Harriet, Jennifer, Brad, and Ethan. A knot of anticipation formed in the pit of her stomach as she thought about seeing Ethan again, their kiss still tingling on her lips. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts of him. This was about her careerand flushing out a malicious stalker trying to control their lives, not Carly’s tangled emotions.
