The sun beat down on Rome’s head and shoulders, the blue ocean in front of him twinkling as the waves rolled against the yacht. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, not sure what to do.
It was evident Tim was not in a compromising mood, nor was he feeling friendly. Rome had attempted to speak to him, to congratulate him on getting the role, but Tim blew him off and walked away. While almost everyone else was wearing swim trunks and T-shirts that could come off once they reached the point in the ocean where Wynnie had mentioned stopping the yacht for some t
Rome sprinted around the edge of the boat, the fury inside blinding him to everything else except for catching up to Tim and making sure he paid for what he’d just done. He grabbed ahold of Tim’s arm, shoving off one of the men who was escorting him away from the scene, away from where Mark’s bleeding body still lay.“Come back, Tim Bolt! Come back and see what you’ve done! Mark Hutio’s body still hovers just above us, and yet you walk away!”&
Aunt Genevieve was sitting on the floor in her bedroom, her cell phone in her hand, tears streaming down her face as she screamed, “My baby! My boy! Tim! Timothy!”“Aunt Gen, calm down!” Ella begged her, dropping down and wrapping her arms around her aunt’s shoulders, trying to figure out what had happened. “What’s going on?”
The police station was just as cold and impersonal in real life as it was on television. Rome sat in a stark white room, with only a desk, a few metal chairs, and a Styrofoam cup full of water someone had given him when they first brought him in. He’d refused medical treatment after the Coast Guard had torn him out of the water. He had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. At some point, Bart had gotten his shirt and shoes to him, but he didn’t know where his phone was. All he knew was that Mark and Tim were dead, and the police were trying to figure out whether or not Rome had killed Tim or if it had been an accident.
Her phone was ringing in her pocket. Ella couldn’t ignore it, even though now seemed like an awful time to take a phone call. Aunt Genevieve was sitting next to her, bawling again, and Henry was trying to navigate driving in LA, which wasn’t all that easy for natives, let alone visitors. Ella wanted to just sit there and be quiet, but when she saw it was Bart calling, she had to take the call.“Hello,” she said, her voice soft and serious.
“What in the world have you gotten yourself into now?”Monty Verona was clearly not happy, and even though Rome knew there would be dire consequences for all that had happened, he’d never been happier to see his father, or the lawyer by his side. Franklin McNair was one of the top lawyers in all of California, probably the country. If anyone could make sure Rome wasn’t charged with anything, it was Mr. McNair.
Ella had agreed to stay at her aunt’s house. Tim’s dad was on his way home from New York City and would be there in a few hours. In the meantime, Aunt Gen had taken something pretty potent that was helping her sleep. Henry had gone back to Teresa’s house. He’d promised to let her family know what had gone on so she wouldn’t have to call any of them. Her dad had still called, but Ella didn’t have much to say to him. She was numb.One of Aunt Gen’s butlers announced she had a visitor; Ella blinked a few times and looked up at th
Rome’s mother was still crying. He’d been home for a few hours, and she was still sobbing as if he was the one that was dead. His father and McNair had spent most of that time in the study while Rome sat in his bloodstained shirt with his arm around his mother, apologizing.Eventually, the two men came out. “Lacy, why don’t you leave us be for a few moments?” Monty asked in a tone that conveyed it wasn’t a question.
About an hour after Mary had gone home, saying she’d consider Ella’s offer to come and work for her as her personal assistant, the same butler who’d led Mary in earlier ushered in new guests, unwanted ones.Ella had been sitting with her bare feet tucked underneath her, staring at the wall, but when her father, his lawyer, Bob Shiner, and Henry walked in, Ella stood, not sure what she should do. The three of them were dressed in suits, and the older gentlemen looked extremely serious, as if Ella was th
Nervous energy bubbled throughout the theater. Dressed in probably the most amazing gown she’d ever seen in her life, including her wedding dress, Ella sat next to Rome holding his hand, and waiting for his award category to come up. The long red ball gown shimmered in the dim light, its full skirt moving and flowing when she walked like butterflies’ wings. If Rome’s category didn’t come up soon, she thought she might explode with anxiety. It already seemed like they’d been waiting for half a day, even though it had only been a few hours since they’d gotten into the limo and made their way to the famous theater in Hollywood where the biggest award show of the year was always held.
It was a gamble. Attending Henry’s funeral was a risk because there would be people there who knew her as Ella Sinders, and as Juliet stood on the periphery, watching the black clad mourners gather around the casket where the pastor was speaking, she spotted the one person she most needed to avoid in the whole world--her father.Of course he was there. Even though Henry’s father had disowned him after he stabbed Rome and then killed himself, refusing to even fly his son’s body back to his native France or attend the funeral himself, Lloyd Sinders had
The fuzzy feeling in his head radiated down his entire body as Rome tried to open his eyes and found it much more difficult to do so than he’d ever experienced in his life. The realization that his arms and legs were heavy, that there were tubes protruding from various body parts, and that there was a steady beeping sound in the darkened room reminded him of what had happened as his eyes finally opened a crack.“Oh, thank goodness!” His mother’s sobbing voice was not at all what he wanted to hear upon realizing he was still alive, that Henry ha
Sitting in the hospital waiting room, Ella was doing her best to keep herself together, but she was struggling. The ambulance had arrived quickly to the scene at Capressies, where Rome lay in her arms, bleeding from the wound in his back near his lung. Henry had buried a six inch steak knife to the hilt. Whether or not it had collapsed Rome’s lung, she didn’t know. No one would tell her anything.The police had arrived a few minutes after the ambulance. While the EMTs worked to stabilize Rome, the officers had asked her a slew of questions about what had h
Not seeing Henry had become nearly impossible. Juliet had absolutely no desire to see him whatsoever, but his constant calling and insisting that she go out with him was getting old. Now that he no longer had control of Rome’s contract, she decided it was time to rip off the band-aid. She’d already told Parker that they were just going to have to be friends, a realization he hadn’t taken well, but she thought he’d get over. She wasn’t sure how Henry would react.She walked into Capressies knowing he was there already. She was purposely tw
Rome walked into the sound stage building, dreading every step he took closer to another day of pretending to chase around unicorns and annihilate them. Drew’s acting was almost as atrocious as the script. The little girl wasn’t bad to work with, but she could only be there for a few hours each day. He spent most of his time listening to Guy argue with the set construction team, hating his life, and praying that the lawyers would hurry up and process the sale of his contract from Henry to Lloyd. It had been two weeks since the Montage show, and so far, nothing had changed, even though he’d only given Lloyd one week to get it done initially. Every day, he walked past the Vinune, wrapped and stored in his living room so that if and when the sale went through, he
“Well, tell me all about it!” Fae insisted as Ella came into her room at the nursing home and settled onto the couch. She had two cups of tea ready on a silver server. Ella wondered how she’d managed that without a kitchen but figured Fae had her ways. The staff absolutely adored her, for good reason. “Did you have a nice time?”Ella smiled at her, slightly amused that she was most concerned about whether or not Ella had had a pleasant experience. She honestly couldn’t say that she had, but she’d choose her words carefully for
Walking away from his wife when she clearly wanted to talk to him wasn’t the easiest thing to do, but Rome knew it was more important for Juliet to speak to Henry at the moment. She could talk to him later--at home. Besides, he wasn’t sure he wanted to speak to her considering what he’d done. The bottom line was, they’d gotten what they wanted. Or, they would, as soon as Sinders sent him the finalized contract.He stood in the back of the gallery, speaking to actress Chrissy Indiana, not hearing a damn word she was saying, despite the fact that
Schmoozing the filthy rich wasn’t something even Juliet enjoyed (Ella despised it) but it was part of her job as owner and chief executive officer of Montage, so she put her head down and did it. So far, it had made her a lot of money. After her first show, months earlier, she didn’t think it was possible to bring in much more revenue at one event, but she’d been very wrong. Even without the Vinune, she was going to make three times more money than she had at the first show, in profits alone. She was sitting in a good position to be able to buy Henry’s entire company outright if she wanted to.