Billionaire’s Trust(22)

Katy exhaled as I finished my thought. “Well, okay. Hmm…”

The two of us sat in silence for several seconds until an idea entered her consciousness and stirred her to speech.

“Ah!” she exclaimed. “I’ve got it! Appeal to his practical side."

I frowned, unsure of where she was going with her idea.

“What do you mean, his practical side?”

“Come on, Maddie,” she began. Her voice perked up as the plan sputtered from her lips. “Don’t be dense. You know Trevor is all about Trevor.”

There was nothing earth shattering about that revelation. Still, I wasn’t quite following. “What do you mean?”

“It’s simple, Maddie. All you have to do is frame this in a way so that it makes Trevor look like he’s the one in charge, making the decisions, solving the problems. You know how to negotiate, Maddie. Hell, you convinced one of the world’s greatest dealmakers to marry you on your own terms. You’ve totally got this!”

“Okay, Katy. I’m listening. What do you have in mind?”

“I’ll tell you in a second,” she began. Katy paused for a moment and as she did, her voice hitched. “Maddie, I want to say something.”

“Okay,” I replied. “Is everything all right Katy?”

“Yes, yes,” she replied, without hesitation. “This isn’t a bad thing at all.”

“Okay.”

“I just want you to know how proud I am of you, Maddie. Jesus, you’ve been through so much. I know if it was me, I would be a total wreck. But you, you’ve shown tremendous courage and bravery. And now, on top of losing the baby and the engagement, here you are handling this whole thing with Trevor. It’s… amazing.”

As she spoke, a hard lump formed in my throat.

“Katy, uh, Jesus! What are you doing right now? Please don’t say stuff like that!”

“I’m sorry!” she pleaded. “I can’t help myself. I love you so much, and I’m so proud of you.”

I closed my eyes as I felt them fill with wetness.

“Katy…” I began. “Thank you. Please, I know you mean well, but you are going to have me crying all over the place here in a minute if you don’t stop.”

“Okay, okay…” she groaned. “I’m so sorry. I’ll stop.”

“Good. But, I really appreciate it, okay?”

“Mmm, hmm.”

“Now, back to business. What did you have in mind for Trevor?”

Over the next several minutes, Katy laid out her plan. It could work. Hell, it would have to work.



MADDIE

Fifteen minutes after I’d finished talking to Katy, I made my way back to the studio offices. A game plan now in mind, I marched across the parking lot with purpose.

Even so, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t at least a little apprehensive Trevor might balk at what I had to say. In one sense, I had to rely on his good graces, and considering the huge blowout we’d had not more than an hour earlier, well, I gave myself about a fifty-fifty chance of success, at best.

At last I arrived at his office door and after a deep breath, I knocked against it.

“Come in!”

I twisted the knob and pushed the heavy oak open. As I entered, Trevor lifted his attention from his paperwork towards me.

“Well, well,” he groaned.

I turned my back to him for a moment as I closed the office door. Rolling my eyes at the enormity of the task ahead of me, I clicked the door shut.

“What the hell are you doing here, Maddie? I think we’ve said enough to each other for one day.”

I swallowed and closed my eyes for a brief instant before turning back to face him. This was it. Time for the performance of a lifetime. Pasting on the most apologetic face I could muster, I turned and began to walk back toward his desk. As I did, Trevor leaned back in his chair, lifting his chin in a gaze of suspicion.

“Look Trevor,” I began, as I closed the distance between us. “I overreacted earlier. I know you’re only doing your job. I was out of line.”

As I finished speaking, I stood in front of his desk. I was far enough away to see the uncertainty in his eyes. On the other hand, I was close enough to tell I had his attention. Even so, I paused long enough to give him a chance to hear what I had to say or throw me out.

He looked at me in silence as he decided. They were a long few seconds.

“Go on,” he said at last.

I nodded in acceptance of his willingness.

“Well, it’s just that I think you should at least reconsider,” I said. Without wasting any time, I started right up, pursuing the idea Katy and I discussed. “At this point, the picture is almost halfway finished. Now that I’m better and have no distractions at all, I can be here seven days a week for however long it takes.”