Which made Tate tense as hell as he parked in the alley behind the bar and went in the back door. John was chatting with the prep cook, who always arrived early to prepare for the day. They both paused when they saw him, John excusing himself from the conversation.
“You have a visitor. He wouldn’t give me his name. He was absolutely insistent, and frankly, kind of an asshole. He insisted that I call you and tell you he was here. I’m not sure about this.”
“It’s fine,” Tate assured him. “I’ll deal with it. It’s probably some jerk of a salesman who thinks this sort of tactic works. I’ll let him know that I don’t appreciate it, and then I’ll throw him out. Thanks for calling me. It’s not your job to deal with shit like this.”
Walking out into the bar area, scanning the room for his visitor, whom he was quite ready to put in his place. His gaze paused at a man sitting at the bar, drinking a soda and watching one of the televisions on the wall.
At first, Tate didn’t have an idea who he was, but then the man’s identity became clear. More gray hair and more lines on his face, but still tanned and handsome. He looked a lot like their mother.
Uncle Mark.
He must have found out they were looking for him.
Tate and his siblings had questions. Did Mark have the answers?
Cat was in her childhood bedroom changing clothes when her phone rang. The number was far too familiar, although she hadn’t heard from them for months.
“Cat, I’m so glad you answered. We need to talk.”
Toni Hughes, New York City agent to the most famous supermodels in the business. Toni and her husband, Liam, owned one of the world’s top modeling agencies.
“Is everything okay there, Toni? I didn’t expect to hear from you.”
Cat was, after all, retired. Her contract with the agency had ended, and they had all parted ways as friends. It had been Toni who had pointed out that Cat wasn’t nineteen anymore. She’d suggested moving to acting, but Cat had always known that she didn’t have the talent for it. Plus, her mother’s health at the time had been precarious. It had been better to simply retire.
“You never know what the world has in store for you,” Toni replied. “Guess who I talked to at a party last night? Never mind, I’ll just tell you. Grant Whitaker. Yes, that Grant Whitaker. He’s starting a new line of skin care for the mature woman, and your name was the only one on his lips. He wants you to be the face of it. It’s all he wanted to talk about, Cat. So we need to discuss the details. He didn’t mention contract specifics, but he said he’s absolutely determined to get you. Can you fly back today? I’d like to meet tomorrow morning or even tonight, if you can get here. There’s so much to do. His assistant has already called this morning, trying to set up meetings.”
Whoa. Just…whoa.
Grant Whitaker was the CEO of a large cosmetics company with several well-known brands that would be instantlyrecognizable to consumers. Cat’s own personal makeup stash had plenty of the products he produced. And now he was launching a skin care line for the mature woman.
Am I mature? I don’t feel mature.
Only in the modeling business could Cat represent the mature woman at the ripe old age of thirty-two.
“Toni, this is a surprise I never expected. I’m…not sure what to say.”
She’d thought she was done with that life. She’d come home to settle down and start the next chapter - whatever that might be.
Like Tate. And a home. Maybe a dog or a cat. All the things she’d given up when she’d signed on for that jetset lifestyle. It was fun to eat dinner in Paris and then wake up in Milan the next morning when she was twenty, but it had quickly lost its luster. Many nights, she’d longed for a comfy chair and a good book.
I sound like someone’s grandmother. But it’s true.
“What do you mean, you’re not sure what to say? You say yes. This is a huge opportunity that most women don’t get. This is a second chance at a career. You could ride this into more endorsements, Cat. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Get on a plane and get your ass back to the city. If you’re worried that you’ve gained a few pounds, don’t worry. We can get you back on the horse quickly. There’s a fabulous new doctor on Fifth Avenue who can help you out. You didn’t go and do anything crazy like cut off all your hair, did you?”
“I didn’t cut off my hair.”
Although she had gained about five pounds. She liked it too.
“Cat, what is all this about? Why are you even hesitating? You’ve worked for this. You’d be the exclusive face of this skin care line. There aren’t many people who can say that. This is big.”
It was big. A few years ago, Cat would have jumped at this opportunity with no questions asked. But she wasn’t that person any longer. She’d changed. The business hadn’t. It was the same, of course.
But she wasn’t the starry-eyed girl she’d been. She wasn’t even the jaded, cynical woman.
“I know this is big, Toni, but this is something I need to think over.”
“They’re going to pay you a small fortune, girl. They’re going to put your face everywhere.”
