12
“So, I’ve got something to tell you.” Harper pulled the strap across her lap, clipping the buckle in. Harper’d chosen the window seat, leaving the middle free for Caitie. She sat down beside her, sliding her phone and book into the pocket on the back of the seat in front of her. They were almost the last to board the plane; the flight attendants were already doing their final checks, pushing up trays and blinds as they tried to make themselves heard among the din of the full-to-bursting airplane. Caitie looked around, noticing the businessmen mixed in with noisy families, their faces lit with anticipation. Everybody needed to be somewhere at Thanksgiving.
“Is this a guessing game, or are you going to tell me?” Caitie grinned. She was amused at the anxious expression on her friend’s face. Harper never worried about speaking her mind.
“I’m not flying back on Saturday like we’d planned.”
“You’re not?” Caitie frowned. “Are you leaving earlier? Don’t you dare leave me to a Russell family Thanksgiving on my own. Not when it’s the first one I’ve been to in years.”
“No, I’ve extended my ticket. I have a few meetings in L.A. next week, so I won’t fly back until next Friday. That’s when your return flight is, right?”
“Yeah. I’ve got that big presentation in L.A. next week.” The pitch Caitie had been working on for months was finally coming to fruition. The choice was between her and another company, and the theme park owners wanted both of them to present their bids in person. “But why do you have meetings?” Caitie looked at her friend a tad confused.
“I’ve got a meeting at a studio. They have some vacancies in the costume department.”
“In L.A.?” Caitie shifted in her seat, a grin spreading across her lips.
Harper nodded, her eyes full of excitement. “Yes,” she squeaked. “The head of the department was in New York a couple of weeks ago and saw my designs off-Broadway. She emailed me, and I thought why not call her since I’ll be in California for Thanksgiving.” She widened her eyes. “I never thought she’d say yes to meeting up.”
“That’s great,” Caitie said, leaning forward to hug her best friend. “I never thought you’d consider giving up theater work, though.”
“Nothing’s guaranteed. I just want to have some options open, since we both know you’re going to win this theme park contract.”
“We do? I wish you’d tell my nerves.” Caitie sat back, letting her head fall against her seat. “I’m not going to be able to sleep all week. Every time I look at the presentation I see something wrong.”
“You’re going to be great,” Harper said, taking her hand. “You’ve got this, honey. I can’t think of anybody better to revamp their holiday offerings. Your ideas were amazing when I saw them.”
Caitie wasn’t so sure. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this anxious about a contract. But this wasn’t her usual movie or event. This was big. It meant having to dedicate all her time to the one job, while Felix, her assistant, ran the rest of her business. It was going to take some getting used to.
Their plane taxied to the runway. The flight attendants made their way down the aisle, running through the safety information. As soon as they were seated and the plane sped up for takeoff, Harper turned to her again.
“Imagine if we both end up in LA. Wouldn’t it be great?”
Caitie couldn’t help but smile at her. It was impossible to imagine her life without Harper. They’d been there for each other through thick and thin. She was lucky to have her.
“It would be amazing.”
“We could get an apartment with a pool. Imagine how much better we’d both look with a suntan.” Harper grinned. “Wouldn’t that be amazing?”
Caitie laughed. “I can’t imagine you with a tan. And I won’t be going near that imaginary pool in our imaginary apartment.”
Harper wrinkled her nose. “Ugh, yeah. I guess a beach house is out, too?”
“Yep.”
“Ah well. An apartment in L.A. will be fine. We’ll still have year round sun.”
“There’s just a little matter of us getting our contracts,” Caitie pointed out. “I’m sure you’ll be fine, but my competition is huge. There’s no guarantee they’ll go with my proposal.”
“Even so, there’s plenty of work out there for both of us,” Harper said with a shrug. “We could move out here anyway. You’ll still have Felix in New York. It’ll be fine.”
“Hmmm.”
“And there’s a little matter of Breck,” Harper added, her eyes twinkling. “Another good reason to move to California.”
Caitie blinked. Harper hadn’t mentioned Breck since the disastrous phone call last week. Not that either of them had the chance to talk very much. Caitie had been working late every night on her proposals, and Harper had been finishing her Etsy orders.
“Breck?” she said, her voice weak. “What does he have to do with it?”