Page 55 of Kiss Me at Midnight
Rachel started laughing.
“I fail to find the humor in this.” Lily hated him. And rightly so.
“Do you honestly think Lily will believe anything you tell her now?” Rachel sank into the chair Paulo had vacated. “She won’t. But I have your confession of love on film, which I will gladly give to you.”
“For a price? Not a chance.” Jud moved toward the stairwell. He was done with the Cohens.
“Let’s go home, honey.” Abe reached for the wine bottle on the buffet.
“No!” Rachel’s voice was no longer calm and cold. Her voice was sharp, a painful cry for help. “My price for this cut of film is five million dollars.”
Five…
Jud turned slowly back around. “You want me to pay you five million for a clip of me confessing my love for Lily? You really need to work on your people skills.” But props to Rachel. She was evil and brilliant. She was mesmerizing to watch. “I just can’t see you and Lily ever being friends.”
“That’s exactly what Lily told me, although in more words. But no.” Rachel was folding Paulo’s napkin slowly and with precision. “I’m not asking you for cash. Five million dollars is the exact amount of money my father promised you if you helped stop my wedding. I want you to tell him the deal is off.”
“But…” Jud stopped himself from saying on camera that he’d fulfilled his end of the bargain.
“Rachel, a deal is a deal.” Abe topped off a large glass of wine.
“Everyone is leaving me, Daddy.” Rachel slumped in Paulo’s chair. “All I have left is you. I’m going to protect you the way you’ve always protected me.” She gave Jud a slow, considering look. “Dotty may not have all her marbles, but she knows what sells movie tickets. Your movie is a bad investment.”
“We shook on the deal,” Abe said wearily. “I can’t renege.”
“But he can back out.” Rachel’s stare pinned Jud in place. “It’s like the Kissing Test, only with money. You have to prove how much you love Lily.”
She was asking him to choose between Lily and a path his family approved of. Even while everything was blowing up in her face, Rachel was pivoting, scrambling, refusing to give up. She wanted fame more than she wanted love. To an actor, she was a fascinating character. He didn’t know if she was hooked on a chemical substance, a closet drinker, or had a health issue that made her pendulum swing at dizzying speed.
It was then that an idea formed. A stupid idea. Lily wouldn’t approve. But it might help them all find peace and happiness.
He turned to face Rachel. “I have an alternative solution.”
*
After taking the rest of the week off, Lily had spent Monday morning meeting with her staff. They filled her small office and discussed the repercussions of the days Lily had spent on the Cohen yacht.
Admission number 1:Representative Lily Summer went on vacation with childhood friend Rachel Cohen.
Admission number 2:Representative Lily Summer met and briefly dated actor Judson Hambly. She regrets that a crew member felt the need to profit from a photograph of them together.
Admission number 3:Representative Lily Summer is no long seeing Judson Hambly.
How Lily wished she could go back and rewrite the events of last week, starting with her reaction to Jud’s card being handed to her by a waiter. She should have slipped on her glasses and read his note:You have the most beautiful eyes. I’d like to get to know you better.
She should have shown the card to Violet before allowing Jud to escort her anywhere. Violet would have tested his sincerity right there and then. If that had been the case, Abe’s offer to help Hot Meals and Shelter would have expired and she never would have set sail on his yacht.
Lily frowned, but only briefly because her staff all took note.
She waved their concerns away. “I’m fine. What it comes down to is this:I’m human. Thank you all for understanding.” Lily looked at each of her four staff members in turn. “Next item on the agenda. Hot Meals and Shelter received a very large, generous donation today, one which will keep their doors open for at least another year.” Turns out, the cost of keeping people fed and sheltered in her district was a broken heart.
Her team applauded. No one asked if Lily’s sudden vacation coinciding with the donation to the food bank were related. But Lily knew that someone would.
She glanced at the next item on her list and swallowed. This was the hardest news to review. “We’re supposed to begin discussing re-election plans, but after much soul-searching, I’ve decided I won’t be running for re-election.” One of the lessons she’d learned from her time with Rachel was that she needed to reclaim her identity. The one those men had stolen from her fifteen years ago. Today, she’d worn a fuzzy pink sweater over a white skirt that fell above her knees. Not exactly politician attire. At least, not a staid and mundane politician. She was tired of playing it safe.
There was a knock on the door.
“Who’s that?” Nina asked. “We’re all in here.” She opened the door.
