“What?”

“You just don’t look as bad as I expected. I’m surprised.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Well, considering what you’ve been through,” she tries to explain.

I wave my hand at her. “It’s okay. No worries. I took a long run this afternoon to clear my head. I also listened to stuff on my iPod. It’s helping me keep my spirits up.”

“Good for you. Take care of yourself, and don’t let this stuff get to you too much.”

“If I fall apart now, it’s just one more thing that asshole took from me. I’m not going to let that happen.”

She nods and gives me a small smile. “Well, I applaud you.” She reaches her hands out. “Is that what you want me to give Brooke?”

“Yeah.” I hand it to her.

“What’s with the package of colored pencils?”

“I left the last page blank. She’s the only one who knows the ending…so I want her to show me what it is.” I point to the envelope pressed against the sketchbook in the clear plastic bag. “The note explains it.”

Her smile gets bigger. “I see. Okay, I’ll make sure she’s gets it, Nathan.”

I step back to leave. “Thanks, Morgan. Hey, will you call me after you see her. You know…just so I can hear she was okay.”

“I will. Hang in there,” she says. “I know this is going to work out for you guys…I just know it.”

“Well, she may have given up on us, but I haven’t. I’ll just have to be positive and fight for both of us.” I nod my head goodbye and turn to leave.

• • •

“Curtis?”

“Hey man, I’ve been worried. Why haven’t you answered my calls?”

“There’s so much going on,” I reply. “Honestly, I’m trying to handle one thing at a time.”

“I get it. This whole situation sucks.”

“Yeah. Besides, Billie really threw me when she went off on Brooke. I’m still not sure what to say about it.”

“Yeah, she was a little worked up.”

“I’ll say. Do you think you can work on her so she gets over being so furious with Brooke?”

Curtis sighs. “Yeah, my fiery girl was a bit too intense. I think she’s very protective of you. It’s really sweet. Don’t you think?”

“Sweet? No, I wouldn’t say that was sweet.”

“Yeah well, she’s still mad, but she’s calmed down a lot. So does this mean you and Brooke have talked?”

“No. But we’re going to…and it will be soon. I just sent her a message through her assistant and I’m hoping she won’t be able to resist reaching out to me.”

“That must be some message,” he says, his tone edged with skepticism.

“I have had my low moments this week, Curtis…but I know she still loves me. I just have a feeling…”

“Well, I hope you’re right. Maybe you’ll hear from her, and this crap will be over soon. Then you guys can start over.”

“Yeah, we can start over. Besides, I’m still planning on marrying her one day. It’s going to be a drag if Billie doesn’t like her. I bet she won’t even come to our wedding.”

“Marry her? Dude, your woman has left the building, and you’re talking about marrying her? You sound as loony as you were the first time we talked about her. Remember that? She was going to be your girlfriend, and she barely knew who you were yet.”

“I remember,” I respond, smiling to myself. Dad’s right, I’m pretty determined when I make up my mind about something.

“Are you listening to those crazy CDs again about manifesting your future and that kinda crap?”

“Don’t knock Wayne, Bro. He got me where I am today.”

“Well, right now, where you are today isn’t that impressive. I hate to say it, but face the facts.”

“But this is just one faulty step along my path. I’ll overcome it and be better for it. And I will marry Brooke one day…it may take a while. But just you wait and see.”

“Sure you will.”

“And you’ll be my best man.”

“And Sgt. Pepper will be the band at the reception.”

“I mean it Curtis.”

“Of course you do. And despite my giving you shit, I want to believe it too.”

• • •

Just before I leave to meet Joel for burgers and beers, I finally hear from Morgan again.

“How was Brooke?”

“Well, she looked like hell. She needs to get on your Pollyanna plan. But she seems determined. She said her lawyer has set up a meeting with Arnauld tomorrow.”

“She’s going to meet with him?”

“Yes. She wouldn’t tell me why, but if her lawyer is with her, it must be pretty serious. That isn’t Brooke’s style.”

“Did you give her my sketchbook?”

“Of course. Once I handed it to her she clung onto it like a life raft. She didn’t even let go of it to drink her coffee.”

“Thank you for taking care of that for me.”

“Of course. You know, Nathan, I’m worried about her. I hope whatever she’s doing tomorrow goes the way she wants it to.”

I realize that if whatever she’s planned with her lawyer doesn’t work, she may never be able to get past her guilt. What will that mean for us and our future? Even if I’m willing to forgive her for not being by my side this week, will she ever be able to forgive herself for all she feels responsible for?

Will she be willing at all to try to work things out with me? Can I keep waiting, knowing her reluctance? I take a deep breath and respond to Morgan’s hope for Brooke.

“Me too.”

• • •

“You’re dating Brooke Tobin? The Brooke Tobin in development…Arnauld’s girlfriend?” Joel gasps, completely stunned.

I look around the dive burger joint in Sun Valley to make sure no one we know hears us, and then realize that no one we know would ever come here.

“Ex-girlfriend,” I correct him.

“How in the hell did that happen, and how could I have not known?”

“We kept it quiet.”

“But wait a minute; he can’t fire you for dating her.”

“No, but he can fire me for doing the wild thing with her in a conference room. They got it on video.”

“Dude, no.”

“Yes.”

“Have you lost your mind?”

“I guess I’ve lost my mind over her…I’m in love…does that count?”

“If I wasn’t so pissed at you, I’d be impressed.”

“I hope you know, Joel, the last thing I wanted to do was to let you down. I really wanted to work on Robbie from Romania. It spoke to me, you know?”

“I know…I know.” He takes a sip of his beer and then suddenly looks inspired. “Hey, why don’t you get a DBA, set up a business with another name and your parents’ address, and I’ll hire you freelance. They won’t even know.”

“Isn’t that risky for you? I would feel like crap if you got in trouble.”

“Why don’t you let me worry about that?” he says with a confident look. “This show has to be great. I need the best…I need you.”

Joel saves the uprising talk for when Nick and Dani join us, so when they storm into the place at seven-thirty, it’s like an explosion.

“Nice place!” She jabs Joel, while sliding into the booth next to me.

“We’re safe here,” he replies with a shrug.

“How’s my buddy?” she asks, grinning at me.

“Hi, Dani,” I say, giving her a hug.

Nick nods. “Hey man.” He smiles as he slides in across from her.

“It’s the dynamic duo,” Joel says. “Ready to stomp out evil at every turn.”

“Damn right,” Dani agrees.

“You are unbelievable, my friends. People are still sending me updates and pictures. I am in awe of your talent,” I say.

“I know, right?” she agrees. “The execution was close to flawless. I swear my brother is a genius.”

“I doubt we could have pulled any of it off without him,” Nick chimes in. “He hacked into the security system so that a constant loop of previous footage played on screen. The security guards, who probably were asleep anyway, would’ve never known what was happening.”

“Whoa…impressive,” I say with a low whistle.

“I was wondering how no one noticed the set-up,” Joel responds.

“But what was even more impressive is that he hacked into the website. They had to pull the site down once they figured out what was on their homepage, and they still can’t get it fixed and back up live.”