Jenny asked about the contract length for those who were chosen from the audition.

"Six months to a year. Depends on the dancer's schedule, and how much we like them."

Bailey knew what her mom was thinking. If they auditioned that summer, and if by some act of G.o.d they were chosen for the cast, they'd miss at least the first quarter of the next school year. Her mom looked concerned about the possibility.

When the meeting with Sebastian was over, they walked to Ellen's Stardust Diner at 51st and Broadway, in the heart of Times Square. The place was a fifties-style hamburger joint with homemade malts and the smell of fresh french fries cooking in the back. The best part was how the wait staff sang while they worked. The music to one favorite hit song after another filled the place as the waiters took turns belting out the lyrics.

They found a table near the middle of the room and were just opening their menus when one of the waiters walked by singing "Love Me Tender." The guy had dark hair and striking looks, and his voice was incredibly trained. Tim leaned in toward the others. "What's he doing here? He should be down the street at one of the theaters."

Jenny nodded. "He was. He played Danny's understudy in Grease last year when we were here. This is where a lot of them work between shows."

"Except him." Connor pointed to a tall, curly-haired guy flirting with a table of teenage girls. "He can sing like crazy, but he's been here every time we've come."

Bailey watched the guy and wondered about him. They'd talked to him last time they were here. He explained that he made pretty good money, enough to survive. "And I'm doing what I love. Singing on Broadway."

The thought made Bailey shudder then and now. It was one thing to perform on a stage at a famous theater in town, but to perform while serving burgers and fries? There had to be another way to stay involved with theater - teaching with Katy at CKT back home, maybe. She would never want to live here that badly.

"You know?" Tim grinned at them. "This is the first place I'll apply when I move here. If I never get a part, this would be great."

Bailey glanced at him and then lowered her gaze to her menu. Tim's comment confused her. Her main attraction to him had always been the number of views they'd shared in common. But now ... Was this really how he saw his future? Here in New York City no matter what? Even if it meant waiting tables for years after he got a degree? Bailey couldn't imagine living here more than a few years. After that she'd want a place like Bloomington, where she could marry and raise a family.

They were halfway back to the hotel when her phone vibrated in her coat pocket. She checked it and her heart skipped a beat. It was a text from Cody.

JUST THINKING ABOUT YOU. YOU STILL IN NEW YORK?.

His message lifted her spirits more than anything all night. She thought about not texting him back, especially because she was with Tim. Or was she? She looked at him, again walking a little ahead of her, taking in the barrage of sights and sounds and barely aware of her. He wouldn't notice if she turned and walked the other way, let alone if she texted Cody back. She kept up with her mom and Connor and turned her attention to her phone.

YES. BUT IT'S NOT LIKE I REMEMBER IT. I'D RATHER BE THERE WITH YOU.

She sent the text and then felt her cheeks grow hot. There were a couple of ways he could take her message. She meant she'd rather not be in New York City at the moment. Not that she'd literally rather be with Cody. Right? She pushed back her guilt and lowered her phone to her side just as another text came in.

LET'S HANG OUT WHEN YOU GET BACK. I MISS YOU. I STILL WANT TO TALK.

Her mom slowed her pace a little so she was right next to Bailey. "Who're you texting?"

Another wave of guilt washed over her. Tim was still up ahead, talking to Connor. Even so, Bailey spoke barely loud enough for her mom to hear. "Cody."

Her mom didn't ask anything else. She only gave an understanding nod and slipped her arm around Bailey's shoulders, and the two of them kept walking.

Bailey thought about Cody's invitation. If she texted him back, he'd for sure think she meant she'd rather be with him. She pictured him, his phone in his hands, thinking about her and in as much time as it took her heart to skip a beat she knew exactly what she'd meant by her text. She swallowed hard. Again she lifted her phone so she could see it and she texted him one more time.

I'D LIKE THAT. I MISS YOU TOO.

She sent it before she could change her mind. Then she slipped her phone back in her purse. This was wrong, texting Cody while she was with Tim, and she ordered herself not to text him again tonight. But she felt lighthearted and giddy, unaware of the city sounds around her. Her guilt didn't come close to the thrill of what those few texts meant to her. Suddenly she couldn't wait for what lay ahead for her. Something she never thought would happen again.

The chance to hang out with Cody one more time.

Eighteen.

THE NTM MEETING HAD BEEN POSTPONED five times, and now at the end of April they were finally being ushered down an impressive hallway to the office of Ace L. Rustin, VP in charge of theatrical development for the studio. Keith tried to maintain a calm exterior, but everything about the afternoon had been surreal - from the private parking that had been arranged for them ahead of time to the walk down the studio's Brandon Paul Avenue to the framed posters of one hit movie after another. All that and the actual meeting hadn't even started yet.

A secretary held open a door and led them into a boardroom with a table longer than any Keith had ever seen. Give us peace, G.o.d. You opened this door. Let us walk through with Your confidence. He felt himself relax a little.

Besides him, their group was made up of Chase, Kendall, Stephanie Fitzgerald, and Luke Baxter, the lawyer Dayne Matthews had suggested. The five of them took seats across from each other at the front end of the table.

"I can't believe we're here." Chase folded his hands and kept his voice to a whisper.

"Don't talk like that." Stephanie wagged a finger at him, chastising him even while her eyes sparkled. "G.o.d did this. You're a child of the King!"

Keith wanted to add his own disbelief. This was NTM Studios, which meant he and Chase were doing well to breathe, let alone sit upright. But he kept his comments to himself. It was important that they stay on their game. NTM executives would certainly be on theirs.

In fact, a detail bothered Keith - a detail he hadn't mentioned to anyone but Chase, and even then only in pa.s.sing. The series of delays with NTM had raised red flags in Keith's mind. Not once had they expressed hesitation or uncertainty about meeting Keith and Chase.

"If Brandon's interested, we're interested," Ace had told Luke Baxter. "It's merely a matter of getting our schedules lined up."

If Luke had doubts, he hadn't said anything. But for Keith the whole set-up seemed a little too easy. NTM didn't need him and Chase. They had Brandon contracted for at least one more movie deal. It would be easier and more cost effective for them to find a fresh screenplay written by one of the writers in the NTM stable. In every possible way, it would be wiser for NTM to find a way around the producers, to convince Brandon to take another project, one where there were no authors or outside producers to slice up the pie with.

The door opened and Ace L. Rustin strode in. Keith had heard about the man, how he carried an aura that left people ready to agree with him. Now Keith would have to say his contacts had downplayed the reality. Ace was tailed by two a.s.sistants, men with clipboards and notebooks. They took seats on the far side of Keith and their group, while Ace moved to the head of the table.

He leaned forward and shook their hands, looking each member of their group in the eyes. Then he sat down and grinned. "Looks like we've got a lot to talk about."

"We do." Luke had a proposal in his notebook. He didn't bring it out just yet. "We have a project we want to develop, as you know."

"And Brandon wants nothing more than to star in it." Ace nodded confidently. "I'm well aware of the situation and excited to get things going." He raised his hands and let them drop back to the table. "I mean, how often does Stephanie Fitzgerald walk into your studio looking to make a movie deal?" He laughed a little too hard, a little too easily. He looked at the author. "How'd you hear about Brandon?"

"We're friends. Met on a set a while ago. Last thing I expected." Stephanie chuckled and launched into the story. Keith had heard the short version, but this time Steph drew out the details. The end result was a situation that felt nothing short of a miracle. Even to the typically jaded NTM folks.

The connection started when Stephanie was on the set of the first movie made of one of her novels. She was sitting on the tailgate of an electrical grip truck one evening, watching the crew film a scene in the driveway of the set house when she got a text from Brandon. "I like texting same as the next girl." Stephanie laughed again. "He'd already contacted me a few weeks before that and told me he loved my books. Now he was just saying hi."

I'M ON THE SET OF MY MOVIE, she texted back. THIS STUFF IS HARDER THAN IT LOOKS. MAKES ME APPRECIATE YOUR LIFE.

HEY, he responded, SOMEONE NEEDS TO MAKE UNLOCKED INTO A MOVIE.

"I remember smiling, because here was Brandon Paul knowing my books like they were his own." Stephanie enjoyed herself, telling the story for all it was worth. "I texted him that there was in fact a lot of interest in making Unlocked into a movie. His next message came almost immediately."

WHAT??? JUST REMEMBER THIS. I WANT TO STAR IN IT.

"I looked at that text and sort of shook my head. Crazy kid, I told myself. He probably had his future tied up to a dozen movies without starting in one of mine. But the next day Brandon's agent calls." She laughed. "Turns out he was serious. More than anything he wants to be in Unlocked."

Ace listened, smiling politely, engaged by the story. He looked at Keith. "Sorry, now ... How did you and Chase get involved?"

This was what Keith had feared. It was one thing that Brandon wanted to star in a movie based on a bestselling novel. But the fact that the novel was already optioned by a couple of no-name producers? What major studio would want a part of that scenario?

Chase cleared his throat. "We were contacted several months ago by Ben Adams and his daughter, Kendall." The two didn't need introducing in Hollywood. "We were told by Kendall that Stephanie wanted us to produce Unlocked."

"This was before Brandon came on the scene." Stephanie grinned at Chase and then Keith. "These two guys have talent and integrity beyond anything I've seen in the business. If Unlocked is going to be made, I want them to make it."

"I see." Ace nodded slowly, the smile still tugging at his lips. He sat taller in his seat and lay his hands palm down on the table. "So here we are. All the pieces in place."

"Right." Stephanie looked pleased with herself.

"And you'll be wanting control?" Ace looked at Chase, and then Keith. "Is that why Ben is involved?" Ace asked the question as if it was obvious Keith and Chase didn't have the money for a Brandon Paul movie.

"Yes." Kendall took the lead this time. "My dad is one of our primary investors. Because of him, we're prepared to provide half the money up front."

Luke was the only person in the room who appeared less than enthusiastic. "My clients will want creative control and a back-end deal."

"Very good." Ace allowed a slow nod and studied his notebook. When he looked up, he smiled at the group. "Well, it's pretty simple, then, straightforward. You need to produce a script everyone can sign off on - Brandon, his agent, and our team here at NTM. Then we set a date for filming and line up locations and cast. I have a few NTM actresses who would be perfect opposite Brandon. Something to think about, anyway."

"I like that." Kendall nodded at Ace and then the others. "Let's talk about which girls you have in mind."

"Great." Ace pushed back from the table. "Thank you for meeting with us." He shook hands with everyone at the table again and directed his final comments to Keith. "I'll shoot you an e-mail with some of our A-list screenwriters. I'm a.s.suming you'll have the budget to float that until we have the okay from all parties."

Keith tried not to gulp. An A-list screenwriter would want half a million dollars to write a screenplay for a movie with Brandon Paul. The preliminary screenplay had been written by a friend of Keith's, a writer whose price tag wasn't even a tenth of that. They could talk about this detail later. Keith smiled, unwavering confidence and nerves of steel. "We're prepared for that, yes."

"Good." Ace moved to the door ahead of them. "Let's try to have a screenplay before summer. That way we can meet again and make some decisions." He waved. "Thanks again. My secretary will show you out." His two a.s.sistants stood and followed him, and like that he was gone.

Keith didn't want to comment on the meeting yet. They needed a place outside NTM's studio lot where they could talk about what had happened, and the fears tugging at him. "I'd like to meet." He looked around the room and his eyes settled on Luke's. "Not here, of course."

"There's a Starbucks down the street. Outdoor tables. Let's meet in ten."

When they were all there, Keith got right to the point. "I have a funny feeling about this."

"Why?" Chase had ordered a vanilla frappuccino and was fitting his straw through the lid. "That's the easiest meeting I've ever sat through."

"Too easy." Luke raised an eyebrow at Chase. "Your friend's right. I get the feeling NTM is stringing us along, keeping us happy so we don't take the project across town to another studio. In the meantime, I have to believe someone in creative is working on a competing project, something where NTM would write and produce the film and Brandon would be just as happy with the storyline. Why in the world would they be content to give up half their profits or half the control?"

Keith was glad their attorney was tracking with him. Chase's smile fell away and he set his drink down. "Brandon wants to do Unlocked. That's what matters."

"Not really." Luke frowned. "NTM has one more film with Brandon unless he renews his contract. As far as NTM is concerned, they can put him in an NTM original screenplay and force him to wait a few years before doing Unlocked. There's simply no financial incentive in teaming up with us."

"Other than the obvious." Kendall looked indignant. She was sitting next to Chase and she looked to him for support. "The film's going to be a huge hit. It camped out at number one on the New York Times list for six weeks. That has to count for something."

"She's right." Chase shrugged. "They have nothing without the book."

Luke anch.o.r.ed his elbows on the table. "Ace Rustin has played these games with me before. I won't let him throw us under the bus. But I can only control so much." He pulled out a sheet of notes. "Here's what we need to do." He glanced at the paper in front of him and explained his strategy.

First, they needed a signed contract from NTM stating they were - in good faith - interested in proceeding with the project. Chase and Keith couldn't spend half a million dollars on a screenplay without a commitment in writing from the studio. Second, they needed Brandon Paul and his agent to talk with Ace and the team at NTM. "There needs to be no misunderstanding that Unlocked is the only film Brandon's interested in doing."

They discussed other options, but at the end of the brief wrap-up, Luke gave them what seemed like the straightforward truth. "There's a risk here that NTM will steal the idea and run with it. No, it wouldn't be a movie based on the bestselling novel. But it would be a movie starring Brandon Paul. Honestly, that's enough. They could even offer him a back-end deal, or convince his agent that he'll make less money if he stars in Unlocked over something the studio comes up with."

Keith felt dizzy. They'd landed at the top of this strange Hollywood world, and now their attorney was telling them, basically, that they could be knocked back to the bottom with little recourse. Luke promised to work on it some more tomorrow and then he was on his way, headed back home to Indiana. The rest of them were still talking when Keith's phone rang. It was Lisa, and just seeing her name brought Keith a relief he hadn't felt all day.

He gave her a quick synopsis of the meeting and the concerns he and their attorney were feeling.

"I have another concern for you." Lisa's tone grew heavier than he'd heard it in a long time. "It's Kelly. She isn't doing well."

"How do you know?"

"She hasn't been to Bible study in four weeks, and every time I see her she makes some excuse about why she can't get together or talk. Even her friend Laurie hasn't gotten anywhere with her."

Keith hated this, hated the way nothing they did was easy. "What do you think's the problem?"

"Honestly? I think she's depressed. She hasn't been doing her hair or taking care of herself. It seems like she's withdrawing from everyone." Lisa hesitated. "Chase must know something's wrong."

"He's aware of it, but we're busy all the time. It's easy to forget the trouble back home." Keith ma.s.saged his brow. "We can't lose this movie deal with Brandon Paul."

"Well, he better start remembering Kelly." She sounded more worried than frustrated. "Otherwise he'll lose more than a movie deal."

"That bad?" Keith glanced over his shoulder at his friend. He was sitting next to Kendall, the two of them lost in some conversation that involved Stephanie and seemed to shut out the rest of the world.

"Yes. Talk to him, please. Maybe she needs counseling or medication. Something."

"I think she still worries about whether we can really make a living doing films."

"Of course she does. We all do." The calm was back in Lisa's voice. "It's just maybe Kelly worries more than the rest of us. She's taking care of two little girls by herself, living on a budget that's barely realistic."

Keith knew. He was worried about the movie situation too - both The Last Letter and Unlocked. But he'd walked by faith before, and he wouldn't stop now.

As he hung up with Lisa, he closed his eyes and lifted a silent prayer on behalf of Kelly Ryan. She needs You, G.o.d. She needs a touch from You, a reminder. Because all of us need to walk by faith. It's just a matter of remembering that on a daily basis. So help her remember. In Jesus' name, amen.

He returned to the table and the discussion, which was about supporting cast for Unlocked. He would pray with Chase later on - about the movie and the challenge of working with NTM, and about his home life.

Because if that fell apart, the rest would too.

Nineteen.

KELLY WAS SICK AND TIRED of feeling sick and tired. She was doing it to herself, she knew that, and still she couldn't stop. For the past ten years, every time she'd hit a low like this she could muscle her emotions around and order herself to get in line again. G.o.d would meet her in the moment and she'd wake up one morning with the strength to carry on, to right her ship before the whole thing capsized.

But none of that was true now.

She was sinking fast, taking on water at an alarming rate without any ability to find that fresh day, that new morning when she'd turn things around. She'd prayed, of course. Maybe not as often as she should have, but she prayed. And today she was doing something she should've done a month ago. She was meeting with Laurie. Four times she'd cancelled, but today was Friday and Kelly had the feeling that if she didn't meet with her friend, the weekend would be terrible. She'd slip into an even darker place, one that maybe she'd never find her way free of.

Laurie arrived after lunch, and the two hugged for a long time. "You're not okay, are you?" She searched Kelly's eyes.

"No. I'm not." She wasn't ready to admit her obsessive overeating - not that she needed to say anything. None of her old clothes fit at this point. The trouble was obvious to anyone looking. "I feel dead."