Essence of the Witch (Witches of Keating Hollow Book 8)

by Deanna Chase

  “I’m sorry,” Silas said to Levi, catching Gideon’s attention.

  “I know.” Levi leaned over and kissed his boyfriend on the cheek, giving him a small smile. “So am I.”

  Silas draped an arm over Levi’s shoulders and pulled him in for a sideways hug and then took a mug of coffee into the other room.

  Levi picked up two mugs and moved to sit across from Gideon, handing him one of the coffees. “Sorry about that. We’ve been… having a disagreement.”

  Gideon took a sip of the coffee. “Want to talk about it?”

  Levi averted his dark eyes and shook his head.

  “I understand. Sometimes a man just needs to process stuff on his own.”

  “Or maybe his boyfriend should just keep his word for once,” Levi blurted. Then he grimaced. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  Gideon set his mug down on the table and took a guess at the problem. “Scheduling issues?”

  Levi glanced over his shoulder toward the living room and then back at Gideon. “How did you know that?”

  Gideon let out a humorless chuckle. “I’ve worked in the film industry my entire adult life. I also know that Silas just signed on to an accelerated project. It wasn’t that hard to figure out. I imagine the studio is putting a lot of demands on him.”

  “So, I’m overreacting then?” Levi asked, looking genuinely upset.

  “I didn’t say that.” Gideon was well aware of how hard Hollywood was on relationships. It didn’t help that Levi and Silas were both young. The chances of a long-term relationship were slim under the best circumstances. Add in a high-profile acting career and it was a recipe for disaster. Still, the two seemed to care for each other, and if anyone knew what it was like to find their person at a young age, it was Gideon. He’d also let her go, and it had nearly broken him, but it had been right for her. “Your feelings are valid and important.”

  Levi rolled his eyes. “You sound like my sister Hope.”

  Gideon’s lips twitched with amusement. “Your sister sounds like a smart cookie.”

  He shrugged. “I guess, but telling me I’m entitled to my feelings doesn’t change the fact that Silas is leaving two weeks earlier than he was supposed to and breaking his promise to be here on New Year’s Eve. We were supposed to spend it together, just the two of us. I planned—never mind. It doesn’t matter what I planned. It just sucks that he won’t be here.”

  “Is he leaving because of filming?” Gideon asked.

  Levi nodded. “And that’s why I’m not allowed to be upset.” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “It’s just hard having a long-distance relationship, especially with someone who’s always being pulled in twelve different directions. He’s been back in town for a week and today was the first day we’ve had together that didn’t involve conference calls or last-minute meetings, and we spent it fighting over when he’s leaving.”

  “That’s tough.” Gideon gave him a sympathetic smile. “It’s not easy letting someone go when we love them so much.”

  Levi sighed. “Yeah. It’s really hard.”

  “Can I give you some advice?”

  “Sure.” Levi held Gideon’s gaze.

  Gideon had to give the kid credit. He appeared wiser than his years, and it was obvious he really cared about Silas the person, not Silas the famous actor. “The hardest thing you can do when you love someone is let them go. But if you love them, you want them to follow their passion, otherwise you’re stifling the person you care about most. And that never works.”

  “If you love someone, let them go?” he asked.

  “Exactly.”

  Levi glanced back at the living room and then back at Gideon, his eyes narrowed in concentration. “How did that work out for you?”

  Gideon stared at the young man across from him and then shook his head as he stifled a humorless laugh. “To be honest, Levi. Not well. But she’s turned out to be the person she was meant to be, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted for her.”

  “And what about you?” Levi asked. “Did you turn out to be the man you were supposed to be?”

  “Yes,” he answered honestly. What he didn’t say was that he didn’t turn out to be the man he wanted to be. He’d been born into the role he played as a Hollywood producer, and he’d done it well. That idealistic artist of his youth had disappeared somewhere along the way, and most days he barely remembered that kid. But walking into Keating Hollow and spending time with Miranda had rekindled something in him, and he was starting to wonder what his life would be like when he went back to LA. Would he slip back into his role as producer, or would he finally find himself making use of his home art studio? He didn’t know, and as long as he was in Keating Hollow he didn’t need to find out.

  “Excuse me for being blunt, but your energy says you aren’t exactly happy about that, Gideon,” Levi said.

  “You can feel my energy?” Gideon felt weirdly exposed, but for some reason, he didn’t seem to mind.

  “Yeah. Sorry about the intrusion. I’m a spirit witch. It’s not something I can control most of the time.”

  “It’s all right.” Gideon leaned back in the chair. “It’s not exactly a secret that Miranda and I had something special. That book she wrote, it’s more fact than fiction. Anyone would regret losing a relationship like that. But life happens. All you can do is keep moving forward.”

  “That sounds pretty pessimistic to me.” Levi leaned forward and lowered his voice. “It seems to me that it’s not too late to change things.”

  “I doubt that’s in the cards.” Especially since Miranda appeared to be dating Cameron Copeland. There was no doubt she had a lot more in common with the screenwriter than him. Certainly, their lives would be more compatible. Still, the very idea of never having another chance with Miranda made everything inside of him turn to ice. He got up and said, “Excuse me. I think I need some air.”

  Just as Gideon reached for the backdoor latch, a cry of frustration came from the living room.

  “Miranda?” He spun around and rushed into the other room. Silas was nowhere to be found while Miranda was standing in the middle of the room, one fist clutching the script and the other buried in her thick hair as if she were trying to pull her own hair out. “It’s that bad?”

  Her fierce gaze met his, and she ground out, “They have Mandy hooking up with Charlie and Greyson walking in on them.” There were angry tears in her eyes as she added, “This is… It’s a garbage rewrite. I need to talk to Olivia right now.”

  Gideon walked over to her, gently took the script out of her hands, and then pulled her in for a tight hug.

  “How could they do this to my book?” she asked him, her voice shaky.

  Gideon couldn’t say he was completely surprised. Hollywood screenwriters often took source material and completely twisted it into whatever they thought would play better with the audience. Or their egos were so big that they just had to make sweeping changes, otherwise they felt they hadn’t put their mark on the work. Sometimes the changes were needed. Sometimes they were necessary. But in the case of Witching for You, the rewrites were completely lazy and reeked of clichés. “I’m sorry, Miranda. I’ll do anything I can to help you fight this.”

  She pulled away, shaking her head. “I just need to talk to my damned agent.” After yanking her phone out of her pocket and nearly dropping it, she wiped the tears from her eyes and made the call. Her angry expression turned to downright fury as her jaw tensed and her lips twisted into a snarl. “Olivia, you need to call me back immediately. This script is completely unacceptable. If I don’t hear from you this afternoon, you can expect to be hearing from my lawyer.”

  Gideon opened the script and started to scan while Miranda paced the living room, grumbling at her phone. From what he saw, it was even worse than he’d feared. The screenwriter had been heavy-handed with every plot point, and all of the charm of Miranda’s novel was completely lost. If he was the producer, he’d have rejected it just on quality alone.
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  He immediately started to run through the names of the execs who might be working on the project, and he wondered if there was someone he could talk to behind the scenes to get the inside scoop on what exactly was going on. Witching Hour Productions was usually a great studio to work with. Something about this just smelled bad.

  “She’s not going to call me back,” Miranda said. “Now that I’ve threatened a lawyer, that’s how she’ll respond. And I don’t even have a lawyer.” She flopped down onto the couch, appearing completely defeated.

  “I can get Shannon. She can probably help,” Silas said from the doorway between the kitchen and living room. “She has connections. Access to entertainment lawyers.”

  “I don’t want to bother her at the shop,” Miranda said.

  Silas’s face flushed red as he cleared his throat. “I, uh, already messaged her. She’s on her way here. Miss Maple is at the store today.”

  Miranda closed her eyes and said, “All right. I can use all the help I can get.”

  “I’ll be right back,” Gideon said and slipped outside. After scrolling through his contacts, he landed on Vincent and made the call.

  “Gideon Alexander,” his friend Vincent said, sounding both happy and surprised. “Where the hell have you been?”

  “Why? Who’s looking for me?” Gideon responded as his lips twitched into a smile. Vincent was a good guy who’d worked for him for a few years before he’d been wooed away by a startup. The startup had been acquired by Witching Hour eight months ago, and by some miracle, Vincent had survived the layoffs.

  “Lenora for one. Damon for another.” He cleared his throat. “I don’t know what’s going on over there at Ace Media, but there’s a ton of gossip about your dad backing this new movie.”

  “What new movie?” Gideon’s brow furrowed. All of their current projects had been on the schedule for months. They weren’t supposed to be looking at anything new until January.

  “Witching for You. You know, that one that’s based on the book your ex wrote.”

  Gideon was stunned into silence. Had he heard Vincent correctly? He couldn’t have. “Uh, Vincent, what are you talking about? Why would my father be backing anything at Witching Hour Productions?”

  Vincent chuckled. “That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?”

  “Oh, hell. I’ve got to go. Can I call you later tonight?”

  “Don’t bother. I’m off to Belize with the girlfriend for the holidays. Hold on.” There were muffled voices in the background. “Sorry, Gideon. Got to go. Talk to you after New Year’s?”

  “You got it. And Vincent?”

  “Yeah?” he said.

  “Thanks, man.”

  “Anytime.”

  A moment later, the phone was ringing as Gideon called Lenora, his assistant.

  “Finally!” Lenora’s voice boomed over the phone. “I can’t believe you didn’t take any of my calls. What’s that about? Did I piss you off or something?”

  “No. Calm down,” he said, amused by her anger. Lenora had worked for him for ten years and was the one person who was never afraid to tell him exactly what she thought. “I was just trying to take a much-needed break. And if I answered your calls, I’d be pulled back into whatever the crisis of the week is, and we both know you’re more than capable of handling whatever it is.”

  She scoffed. “Not this time. Who’s the one person who never listens?”

  Gideon groaned. “What’s he done this time?”

  “He’s been locked in his office, taking secret meetings with someone from Witching Hour. At first, I thought there was some sort of merger going on. But when I started badgering his assistant, Kim said he’s just financing that movie that’s based on you and your ex. She says it doesn’t have anything to do with Ace.”

  “You mean he’s personally financing it?” Gideon asked, completely confused. His father had tried to stop the book’s publication. Now he was backing the movie? That didn’t make any sense.

  “Yes,” Lenora said. “But that’s not even the weirdest part.”

  “It’s not?” What could be stranger than his father backing a movie with another media company? And on top of that, the movie was Gideon’s story. The story his father had never wanted to see the light of day.

  “No. The weirdest part is that he’s having his calls bypass Kim. She hasn’t answered a call all week. The only reason she knew about him financing it is because her cousin works for Witching Hour and let it slip by accident.”

  “So he’s secretly financing Witching for You and doesn’t want anyone to know?”

  “Exactly,” Lenora said. “I tried to tell you days ago, but you never answered.”

  “Damn. Thanks, Lenora. I appreciate the information.”

  “You’re welcome, but don’t freeze me out, all right?” she said with a sigh. “If you don’t want me to bother you with anything other than pure emergencies, I can do that. Just say so.”

  Guilt crawled up his spine. Lenora was an excellent assistant. He should’ve known she’d understand his need for a break. And if he’d answered her calls, he would’ve known about his father’s strange action days ago. Not that he knew what to do with the information. As far as he knew, his father had never personally backed anything. Why would he when he had Ace Media? “You got it. I promise to answer and return your calls as long as you don’t call me for anything you or someone else in the office can handle.”

  “I’m on it, boss.” She ended the call without saying goodbye, making him grin. Lenora was a no-nonsense assistant and wasting time wasn’t in her DNA.

  He hit his dad’s number and waited. Sure enough, he answered it himself, proving Lenora’s intel that his dad was taking his own calls. Gideon couldn’t remember a time that Kim hadn’t fielded his calls to his father.

  “Gideon. Where are you? You’re supposed to be back already,” his father groused.

  “I’m in Keating Hollow, on vacation, right where I told you I’d be.”

  “Right. Right. Okay then. When are you coming back?”

  “Not until after Christmas,” Gideon said, frowning. His father sounded distracted, not at all like the high-powered executive who never had time for small talk.

  “I guess that’s fine. Your stepmother and I will be in Costa Rica until after New Year’s. Lenora and Damon can cover for you while you recharge.”

  Recharge? His father didn’t believe in recharging. He lived by the philosophy of work hard and play hard. His idea of recharging was hiring a massage therapist to visit the office on his lunch break. “Good, because I told Lenora not to call unless absolutely necessary.”

  “Good. That’s good.”

  “What the hell is going on?” Gideon demanded, unable to keep his cool. “Why are you financing Witching for You?”

  Throm Alexander sputtered, actually sputtered, and then cleared his throat. “Where did you hear that?”

  “Does it matter?” Gideon ground his teeth together and waited.

  “I guess not.” There was silence over the line until his father finally said, “I was looking for a decent personal investment, and a friend of mine over at Witching Hour mentioned it. Is that a problem for you?”

  “No,” Gideon said, caught off guard that his father had thought to even ask him how he felt about it. “But I am surprised. You never wanted Miranda’s book published in the first place.”

  “Can’t I do something nice for my son without suspicion?” Throm sounded annoyed now.

  There was no way Throm Alexander invested in Miranda’s movie just to be nice. Gideon’s father didn’t do anything without a return. “Cut the crap, Dad, and tell me the real reason.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Gideon. Now I’m ending this conversation before we both say something we’ll regret. Enjoy your holiday. I’ll see you in the New Year.”

  “Da—” The phone clicked, indicating his father had hung up. After trying two more times to reach him and being sent straight t
o voicemail, Gideon blew out a frustrated breath and walked back into the house.

  Chapter Eleven

  Miranda felt sick to her stomach. She’d just finished reading the script for the second time when Shannon Ansell strode through her front door with her phone pressed to her ear and her jaw clenched in annoyance.

  “I don’t care if he is busy, Poppy,” she said. “I need to talk to Tim immediately. It’s important.” Shannon nodded at Miranda and then Silas before turning her attention back to her phone call. “We have a breach of contract, and it’s time sensitive. No, it’s not for Silas. It’s my new client, Miranda Moon.”

  New client? Shannon was taking liberties with the truth, but if it helped get her on an entertainment lawyer’s radar, Miranda didn’t care one bit.

  “Yes. You can call me back at this number. Miranda is here now.” She nodded as if Poppy could actually see her. “That’s right. We’ll be waiting.”

  Shannon ended the call and turned to Miranda. “Poppy is going to get Tim to call us back as soon as he’s out of his meeting.” She grabbed Miranda’s hands and held them tightly. “How are you doing? Are you all right?”

  “No. Not at all.” She launched into a rant about the script, her payments, and how she was sure she’d burned the last bridge with her former agent, Olivia Volt. “I feel like I’m out to sea without a paddle.”

  “Well, your life preserver is here,” Shannon said, moving to the couch and pulling Miranda down to sit with her. “If you want me, that is.”

  Miranda didn’t really know any of the specifics regarding Shannon’s work managing Silas’s career. But it was no secret that Silas was happier than ever with his sister at the reins. And judging by the way she’d handled the call with the lawyer’s assistant, Miranda had no trouble believing Shannon was more than capable. “Are you saying you want to manage my film rights?”

  “I will if you want me to,” Shannon said. “But right now, I’m doing this as a favor. The lawyer, if you end up using him, will have his own fees.”