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Chapter Three

    CASSIDY SPENT THE next few days preparing for a keynote address she’d been asked to give at a women’s conference in early November. She had sat on a handful of panels before, but those had been at smaller, writing-specific events. Standing on a stage alone in front of hundreds of strangers was light-years out of her comfort zone, and she’d almost turned down the invitation, but then she’d found out the conference was in San Jose, which meant a free plane trip home for Halloween, so she’d agreed—albeit with some reluctance. Whenever her nerves started to get the best of her, she reminded herself that she was going to be able to take Caroline and Courtney trick-or-treating. Though they were only five and seven, she was already dreading the day when they thought it wasn’t cool to dress up for Halloween.
    She was in the middle of reviewing her notes for the presentation when her editor called. She set down the pad of paper and picked up the phone.
    “Hi, Nigel. How are you?”
    “Hi, Cassidy, I’m good. Listen, I’ve got good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”
    She stiffened. No author ever wants to hear bad news from her publisher. “I guess the bad news. What is it?”
    “I know we originally agreed on New Year’s for you to turn in your new book, but now I’m going to need it by the first week of December.”
    “What? Why?” She knew from experience that the publishing industry often operated by the motto hurry up and wait, so she didn’t want to rush without a legitimate reason.
    “The marketing team wants more advance time to promote it before the launch. But look at it this way—you’ll be able to enjoy the holidays without a deadline looming over your head.”
    She balled her hands into fists at the thought of the avalanche of stress she knew was coming her way. “OK, so you’ve just chopped a month off my deadline. What’s the good news?”
    “The good news is that Malcolm Lennox wants to include you in a short video he’s presenting to the board.”
    “Malcolm Lennox wants me in a video?” Malcolm Lennox was the CEO of Rio Media, the holding company that published Cassidy’s books and also had its fingers in many pies, including radio, television, and magazines, plus a number of Internet ventures.
    “Indeed he does. He’s giving a big shareholder presentation early next year, which will include a section on the publishing division, and he wants to feature three of our authors. You’ve been chosen as one of them.”
    “But why?”
    Nigel chuckled. “Do you want me to go ask him?”
    She chewed on her fingernail and laughed nervously. “Of course not. I’m just surprised, is all.”
    “Don’t be. Your books are selling great, Cassidy. You should be thrilled.”
    “I am thrilled. I’m sorry, I’m just a little…stunned. When do they want to tape it?”
    “We’ve rented a studio in Williamsburg for next Thursday. Are you free?”
    She flipped the calendar on her desk to the following week. “All clear.”
    “Cool beans. Someone from the production team will be in touch about logistics. They’ll send a car for you and take care of your hair and makeup, that sort of thing.”
    Cassidy raised her eyebrows. “They’ll do my hair and makeup?” Her mind immediately turned to Brandon. He hadn’t yet suggested a day for them to get together, but now she hoped it would be Thursday. What woman wouldn’t want to be primped by a professional before meeting a handsome man for a drink?
    “Of course. They’ll make you look great, not that you need much help.”
    She glanced down at the faded sweatpants she was wearing. “Er, thanks, Nigel.” If you could only see me now.
    “So any ideas for your next book? This video won’t be used for a few months, so that might be something worth mentioning in it.”
    Cassidy laughed. “Hello? I’m still working on this one. I don’t even have a title yet.”
    “Work harder, dear.