18. The Double Crosser

I enteredthe law offices and shook Mr. Thompson’s hand. “Have a seat,” he gestured. Only then did I realize Delta was here, as well.

“Oh, hi. I didn’t expect you’d be here.”

She simply gave me a sympathetic smile. Wearing all black, she touched a tissue to her nose. “I’ve been crying all night. Hardly slept a wink. Cal was so good to me.”

“Yes. To both of us.”

Mr. Thompson cleared his throat, taking his seat behind the desk and shifting a pair of glasses further down his nose. He peered at us over the rims. “You two have been invited here today because your names appear in the will of Cal Tomms. And now I shall read the details.”

He read it all from the start and my heart raced until he finally got to the important part. Who gets what?

“…And I hereby leave the entirety of my estate and business to Delta. To my stepdaughter, Honey, I wish you well.”

All the oxygen in my lungs left my body as I pushed to my feet. “What? Let me see that.” I lunged for the document. After reading the words a few times each, I sunk back into the chair. “How could this be?”

“I guess getting on my knees for Cal paid off,” Delta grinned.

“H-How could you?”

“Easy. Your mother always won everything. She promised she’d do whatever it takes to help me get jobs with her. But all she ever did for me was let me be her personal assistant.”

“But this isn’t right. Dream Waves should be mine.”

“No, I helped her build it. If anyone deserves it, it’s me. My security team will accompany you to the office where you can pack up your things, then to the house. You have a day to move out of there.”

“I’ll sue you.”

“You can try. But you’re not Cal’s daughter by blood. You’re not even adopted by him. You really have no legitimate claim to stand on. Sorry, Honey. No hard feelings. This is business, and very, very personal.”

Left with nothing, mortified wouldn’t be a strong enough word for what I experienced. But wasn’t this exactly what I deserved? I went for revenge all these years, not caring about anyone who stood in my path, only to have the tables turned on me.

A week later, the couch had a permanent groove where my body had been lying in a fetal position, crying my eyes out. I finally got up and showered and fixed my hair because I couldn’t just waste away. So I got knocked down; it didn’t mean I was out.

A call with my lawyer resulted in no promises that a lawsuit against Delta would earn me back Dream Waves. What the hell was the use? I fought hard for revenge and lost. Why couldn’t Cal have at least left me the company? The money I could have done without, but the company was rightfully mine.

That witch Delta sat at the helm like a victorious queen on a throne. There’s not a damn thing I can do about it.

All was lost. I reached for the box of things I brought home from the office. The one that practically jumped out at me when I lifted the lid was Buddy’s script. Now it really would never see the light of day because Delta wouldn’t touch it. She’s already changed the name of Dream Waves to Delta Dreams Studio.

Unless… If I could convince Buddy to help finance the film, this could be the start of my new film studio. What better revenge than to make my own way with productions bigger and better than ever? I could do this, with his help to start up.

The way I left him, though, would he even take my call? It was awful of me to do that to him. To deny my heart, the feelings for him, I hid away. If life for me were different, like a normal childhood, actual parents, and a career… If I’d met Buddy then, a relationship, marriage, kids would all be within reach.

Who the hell dictates what’s normal, anyway? We had a spark of something between us, so surely he’d be willing to help me now.

I reached for my phone and dialed, silently sending him a message. Help me Buddy. You’re my only hope.

“Yellow.”

I smiled upon hearing his voice.

“Hi Buddy. It’s me.”

The silence on the phone was uncomfortable until he finally spoke. “Honey. What do you want?” Certainly not the warm greeting I’d hoped for.

“Where are you? I thought we could meet and talk,” I suggested.

“I’m back in Boston. Even if I was in California, I don’t think a meeting would be a good idea.” The pain in his voice registered. I groveled.

“I feel awful about the way I left you in the hospital. But my focus has always been to get Dream Waves back, and you knew that.”

“Well, congratulations. I hope you’re happy.”

“Wait. I didn’t get it. At the reading of the will, Delta got everything. To say I didn’t see that coming would be an understatement.”

His heavy sigh came through the call. “That’s a shame. I know how much that meant to you.”

“Yes. The biggest disappointment of my life. I’ve done nothing but cry all week. Then today, I realized the biggest regret I have is the way I left things with you.”

“Don’t be. We had a simple agreement. Cal’s passing negated it. That’s it.”

Did he feel nothing real for me then? Another long silence passed between us. I weighed my options. Let the floodgates open and pour my heart out about how much I fell for him and see if he reciprocated. Or keep things professional.

“I have your script still. Delta won’t make your film, but I’d love to. I just need to finance it, and I could start my own studio?—”

“My father’s fallen ill, Honey.”

“Oh… God, I’m sorry to hear that. Um. Is he okay?”

“I hope so. I can’t leave my father’s side right now. He needs me. So you’ll understand if I table this conversation for another time.”

“Yes. Of course.” Oh God. Should I offer to fly out there to be by his side? I glanced down at the ring he gave me, the one I still wore every day. My last hope seemed to be slipping away. “Um. Let me know when we could talk. I’d like to see if you’d be interested in investing in my new studio. I thought I’d call it Waverly Films, after the town where we, you know. Erm, so I could work up some figures and budgets…” I trailed off and regretted everything the second it all slipped from my mouth.

“Fuck. What? After everything we’ve been through, you have the nerve to ask me this? It’s always about money with you, isn’t it?”

“No, but making films in Hollywood doesn’t come cheap.”

“Actually, I retract my script for consideration.”

“But it’s really good. All the revision you started just need finished. When will you be back in L.A. I have some notes on it?—”

“I said no, Honey. And I don’t plan on returning anytime soon. Maybe never.”

“Buddy, if this is about the way we left things?”

“It’s not about you, okay? It’s about me. About my father. My life. I’m here and you’re there and it’s probably best we keep things that way.”

“But what about our wedding night and the morning after?” Yes, dammit, I needed to go there. He must know how much he’d come to mean to me. “I-I thought it all meant something. For real.”

“Look, I need to go. But…” Another sigh. “For what it’s worth. I still believe in you. You’re an amazingly talented woman. Now that this one door has closed, I’m sure you’ll find another and be successful.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

“Hey. Don’t let those Hollywood pricks keep you down. You’re better than they are. Bye, Honey.”

The line went dead, along with any remaining hope I had for us. Alone on the couch, with no one to turn to, no family, no friends, nothing, my heart broke. And now, the only regret I had was meeting Buddy Rodgers in the first place.