and the funeral? She’d never dealt with anything like this before and honestly had no idea.
“And Friday morning is your table read for
Psychic Detectives
.”
Psychic Detectives
was a hit HBO series and she couldn’t pull out now. Not when she was due on the set to start filming in a week. “Okay.” She could be in L.A. Friday, then back to Charleston after the table read. “We can have Momma’s funeral any day but Friday.”
Sarah pulled two packs of Truvia from her tote and handed them over. “You have your second audition for the Steven Soderbergh film on Thursday.”
“You’ll have to reschedule the audition.” Vivien retraced her steps. “Sarah, this is Mrs. Whitley-Shuler. Nonnie, my assistant, Sarah.”
“Nice to meet you,” Sarah said and returned her attention to her cellphone.
“The pleasure is mine.” The pearl-wearing matriarch towered over the two of them like she was a queen. Slight displeasure appeared on her angular face.
Vivien carefully opened her latte and set it on the table. She tore open the white and green packets and dumped the artificial sweetener into her coffee. She didn’t know what bee had climbed into Nonnie’s bonnet, but she did recognize the pinch at the corners of her lips.
“The
Enquirer
called your publicist regarding the Christian Forsyth rumor.” Sarah’s thumb busily scrolled the screen of her cell phone as Vivien stirred her coffee. “She gave him a ‘no comment.’” Sarah was good at her job. Very little fell through the cracks, but at the moment, every word she uttered felt like another twist of Vivien’s already tight emotions. “
People
will feature you wearing the black-and-gold Dolce and Gabbana in their Red Carpet Spotlight next month, and they want a short Q and A about that special night.” She paused and Vivien fought the urge to grab the phone and throw it. With each item on her schedule, her anxiety rose. It was too much. It was just all too much. “We haven’t nailed down an exact date for your
Tonight Show
appearance. We’re waiting to see if they’ll reschedule to fit your calendar. Your landscapers broke the Venition urn next to your cabaña and …” She paused as her thumb scrolled lower.
“Good gravy, sweetheart,” Nonnie said as she took the phone from Sarah’s hand and dropped it in the tote. “Vivien is grieving her momma. Can’t all that wait?”
Taken aback, Sarah’s gaze darted from Vivien to Nonnie then back again. Poor Sarah. Before she’d come to work for Vivien, she’d dealt with a few difficult actresses and a wild pop princess, but she’d never met anyone like the Mantis. “What?”
For the first time in Vivien’s life, she was grateful for Ms. Eleanor Whitley-Shuler, direct descendent of Colonel John C. Whitley, secessionist and aristocrat. “Just tell everyone I have a family emergency and I don’t know when I’ll be back. Reschedule everything for the next two weeks.” She took a breath and let it out slowly. “I don’t give a darn about the dang urn.”
Sarah’s lips drew tight. “You start shooting
Psychic Detectives
on the nineteenth.”
“Okay.” She’d rack up some serious frequent flyer miles before she’d settled everything here. “There’s so much that needs to be done here.” Vivien knew she was asking a lot, but it couldn’t be helped. “But we should be able to get a lot done within the next two weeks.”
“We? Two weeks? You want me here for the next two weeks?” Sarah’s lips drew tighter and she shook her head. “There is no way I can be gone for two weeks, Vivien. I can’t leave Patrick alone for that long.”
Vivien raised her coffee to her lips and took a sip. This was a perfect example of Sarah’s immature antics. “My momma just passed and you’re worried about your cheating boyfriend?”
“He’s not a cheater. You don’t know him.”
Vivien laughed without humor and couldn’t believe she was having this conversation in her dead momma’s
“And Friday morning is your table read for
Psychic Detectives
.”
Psychic Detectives
was a hit HBO series and she couldn’t pull out now. Not when she was due on the set to start filming in a week. “Okay.” She could be in L.A. Friday, then back to Charleston after the table read. “We can have Momma’s funeral any day but Friday.”
Sarah pulled two packs of Truvia from her tote and handed them over. “You have your second audition for the Steven Soderbergh film on Thursday.”
“You’ll have to reschedule the audition.” Vivien retraced her steps. “Sarah, this is Mrs. Whitley-Shuler. Nonnie, my assistant, Sarah.”
“Nice to meet you,” Sarah said and returned her attention to her cellphone.
“The pleasure is mine.” The pearl-wearing matriarch towered over the two of them like she was a queen. Slight displeasure appeared on her angular face.
Vivien carefully opened her latte and set it on the table. She tore open the white and green packets and dumped the artificial sweetener into her coffee. She didn’t know what bee had climbed into Nonnie’s bonnet, but she did recognize the pinch at the corners of her lips.
“The
Enquirer
called your publicist regarding the Christian Forsyth rumor.” Sarah’s thumb busily scrolled the screen of her cell phone as Vivien stirred her coffee. “She gave him a ‘no comment.’” Sarah was good at her job. Very little fell through the cracks, but at the moment, every word she uttered felt like another twist of Vivien’s already tight emotions. “
People
will feature you wearing the black-and-gold Dolce and Gabbana in their Red Carpet Spotlight next month, and they want a short Q and A about that special night.” She paused and Vivien fought the urge to grab the phone and throw it. With each item on her schedule, her anxiety rose. It was too much. It was just all too much. “We haven’t nailed down an exact date for your
Tonight Show
appearance. We’re waiting to see if they’ll reschedule to fit your calendar. Your landscapers broke the Venition urn next to your cabaña and …” She paused as her thumb scrolled lower.
“Good gravy, sweetheart,” Nonnie said as she took the phone from Sarah’s hand and dropped it in the tote. “Vivien is grieving her momma. Can’t all that wait?”
Taken aback, Sarah’s gaze darted from Vivien to Nonnie then back again. Poor Sarah. Before she’d come to work for Vivien, she’d dealt with a few difficult actresses and a wild pop princess, but she’d never met anyone like the Mantis. “What?”
For the first time in Vivien’s life, she was grateful for Ms. Eleanor Whitley-Shuler, direct descendent of Colonel John C. Whitley, secessionist and aristocrat. “Just tell everyone I have a family emergency and I don’t know when I’ll be back. Reschedule everything for the next two weeks.” She took a breath and let it out slowly. “I don’t give a darn about the dang urn.”
Sarah’s lips drew tight. “You start shooting
Psychic Detectives
on the nineteenth.”
“Okay.” She’d rack up some serious frequent flyer miles before she’d settled everything here. “There’s so much that needs to be done here.” Vivien knew she was asking a lot, but it couldn’t be helped. “But we should be able to get a lot done within the next two weeks.”
“We? Two weeks? You want me here for the next two weeks?” Sarah’s lips drew tighter and she shook her head. “There is no way I can be gone for two weeks, Vivien. I can’t leave Patrick alone for that long.”
Vivien raised her coffee to her lips and took a sip. This was a perfect example of Sarah’s immature antics. “My momma just passed and you’re worried about your cheating boyfriend?”
“He’s not a cheater. You don’t know him.”
Vivien laughed without humor and couldn’t believe she was having this conversation in her dead momma’s
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