Danielle Steel - The Apartment

“Well, at least it’s not boring around here,” she said, and Alex laughed.

“No one would ever accuse this place of that.” They were allowed no contact with Valentina, and as far as he was concerned, that was a relief. Sasha had told her they were engaged, and Claire congratulated them both. And shortly after, Valentina called from the hospital with a tearful goodbye.

At seven o’clock that night, Sasha went to meet with the head of the residency program, who wasn’t happy about the situation, but agreed to let her work since she was heavily disguised, and she would be accompanied at all times by armed undercover policemen. But he warned her that he wanted no disruption for the patients or staff, and Sasha promised him there wouldn’t be. All she wanted was to do her job.

And at eight o’clock, she met the others at Max’s restaurant, and they had a relaxed dinner, with the two policemen at a nearby table. Claire talked about the shoe business she was starting with her mother, and they were all excited for her. Sasha and Alex had traded their shifts that night, and it was a relief to be together and act like normal people, even though Sasha didn’t look like herself, but she got to show off her ring. They all agreed it had been a crazy month, which included an engagement, a murder, and a dog. Not to mention Claire’s broken heart, getting fired, and the business she was starting with her mother.

“And what are we all doing for New Year’s Eve?” Oliver asked when he and Greg showed up for dessert, and everyone looked blank.

“We’re working,” Alex and Sasha said in unison. Morgan always helped Max at the restaurant, which left Claire and Abby free, without dates. Greg suggested the four of them go to Times Square to watch the ball drop and then go to Max’s restaurant for supper with Max and Morgan when things calmed down.

“Sounds like a plan,” Oliver said, smiling at the two women.

“Let’s hope it’s the start of a great year,” Max added, and they all raised a glass to that, and then toasted the newly engaged couple again.

Two days after Valentina was taken to an unknown location for her protection, Abby was peacefully writing at her desk, with Charlie asleep at her feet. Her cell phone rang. It was Josh Katz, the producer she had met at her parents’ on Thanksgiving. She hadn’t thought of him in a month, since she’d met him.

“I’m in New York for New Year’s.” He said he had moved back to L.A. since he’d seen her, but was visiting friends in New York for the weekend. “I read what you sent me. It’s strong.” She wasn’t sure if that was bad or good, but she thanked him for reading it, and told him she’d been working on additional chapters of her novel that were even more cinematic. “That sounds interesting. Do you have time to get together?” he asked her, and she thought about it. She wanted to finish what she was writing that afternoon.

“Sure. When?”

“How about today? Now? I’m staying in Chelsea, and I could come over in half an hour. I’m sorry I didn’t give you any notice. I wasn’t sure I could get away. I had to meet with some postproduction people for the film I’m finishing right now.”

“That’s okay. I’m just sitting here working. I can take a break.” She wasn’t sure if the meeting was business or social, but she could make the time.

He was there half an hour later. He was taller than she remembered, and he was wearing a ski parka and a heavy sweater. He noticed Charlie immediately, and stroked him.

“Great dog.” He was the kind of dog men loved.

“He adopted me a few days ago. We’re still getting acquainted.” She smiled at Josh, and offered him a glass of wine, and he accepted a cup of coffee instead. He didn’t waste time getting to the point. He wasn’t much for small talk, and was all about his work. And now hers.

“I’m here to make you an offer. I liked what you sent me. You write great stuff, a little dark, but I like the genre. I’m working on a movie now, and it’s right up your alley. We have a script, but I don’t like it. I need someone to take another crack at it. It’s based on a book I bought years ago. I’ve never done anything with it, but I think it’s a good time for it. It fits into the mood of the country at the moment. And the minute I read your work, I knew you were perfect for it. I want to hire you to write the script.” Her eyes grew wide at what he said.

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.” He smiled at her. “I’ve got great instincts for matchmaking. You’re perfect to do the script based on this book.” He told her the title, and she laughed.

“That was my Bible five years ago. I used to read it every night.”

“Then I was right.” He smiled.

“But it’s not a little dark. It’s very dark,” she corrected him.

“So is your work, but there are little touches of levity in it that I like. You know how to laugh at yourself, and it comes through.”

“So what would I have to do?”

“You have to come up with a script we can work with. I can show you how. And you told me yourself that you’re getting more cinematic. We can work on it together when I finish postproduction on this one. I need you in L.A. for a year, starting in March.” Her face fell as he said it, and he saw it. “You can come back here in a year. You don’t have to move back to L.A. forever. You can just live there for a year while we do the movie. Then you can do whatever you want, but you’d have an indie film to your credit, and you can call the shots on the next one, if the one we make together is a success. This film could give you a name people will want to hire.” He was a good salesman, and for a minute she wondered if her parents had put him up to it, but he was too independent for that. He was kind of a maverick, and she liked that about him. And he seemed like an honest man.

He told her how much he wanted to pay her, and it was more money than she’d ever hoped to make, especially at this stage of her career, with an unpublished novel.

“Why are you giving me this chance?”

“Because I think you’re good, and you’re fresh. You’re not jaded by Hollywood, and you haven’t sold out. There’s a raw openness to what you write that I really like. Will you think about it?”

“What if I get stuck in Hollywood forever?”

“That would mean that what you’re doing is a success. There are worse fates than that, my friend. And you can live wherever you want between films. I do. It’s not a bad life. And I don’t mind L.A. when I’m working. Everything you need is there.” She could hear Ivan’s voice in her head screaming “sellout” as she listened to him. But was that so wrong? To make an indie movie with a guy who wanted to pay her real money for her work? And he seemed to genuinely respect what she wrote and want to keep her style intact.

“I’ll think about it,” she told him, and he stood up. “How are your boys?” He smiled when she asked him.

“Thank you for remembering. They’re great. We just spent the holidays together. They’re a good age. I can take them anywhere, and they’re fun. I wish I’d had more.”

“Maybe you will someday,” she said kindly. He certainly wasn’t too old.

“Probably not the way I work. It drove my wife insane when we were married. She said I worked all the time, and she wasn’t wrong. I’m a little mellower now, but not much. I like spending time with my boys, though. And the rest of the time I’m busy.”

“Me too.” She smiled at him. And now she was writing what she loved, not to please Ivan, but herself.

“Then come work on my movie. Make it our movie,” he said, sounding very convincing, and she laughed.