“Thanks,” she said, searching his face for the warmth that seemed to be missing. Of course he’d be too distracted by Justin’s find to deal with anything personal right now. Who knew when he’d have any time for her again?
On the other hand, she was pretty sure he was going to get his show. And she’d just bought herself a job, too. Jenny Craft, a reborn reality-TV star. She wasn’t sure about the television part, but treasure hunting definitely had its thrills.
“Is anyone inside?” Al asked after introductions. His mirrored sunglasses made him look forbidding, even to her.
“Yes, sir, Justin Hutch, one of our team members.”
“Stay here,” Al said. “We’ll take a look then be back for a chat.”
Delilah waved at Thor’s camera as she followed the detectives into the cave.
Jenny stared at Crowe’s profile. She had the craziest urge to jump into his arms, wrap her legs around his lean waist, and do a dance of her own. But that moment hadn’t been for her. She’d missed the find, too focused on her usual routine to be there for the excitement of a lifetime. Her life needed to change. No one received the opportunities she’d been handed on a platter. Time to take advantage of them before it was too late.
Chapter Seven
Crowe pushed back the covers of Justin’s guest-room bed and sat up, groaning. Daylight assaulted his burning eyes around the edges of the blackout curtains. He needed to find more time to sleep. Richard McHughes had finally called late the previous night on his way back from Kenya. He and the boys, along with the off-duty police officers that the Crafts had procured for them, had stayed at the cave until McHughes’ security team arrived to secure the cave.
Jenny had vanished long before that. He’d been pulled in so many directions that they’d never spoken. She’d been a wonder at crowd management, though, displaying yet another of her many talents. He’d caught her staring in his direction from time to time, but her expression hadn’t given her thoughts away. Had she considered their future? Someone would pick up his show now. They’d be spending time together, but as co-workers or as a couple? Or both?
“I need to get her under contract,” he said aloud.
Thor poked his head into the doorway. Crowe hadn’t realized the door was cracked open. “Shower’s free, bro. We need to get down to the cave ASAP.”
Crowe scratched his chest and searched his suitcase for clean clothes. “Anything going on?”
“Justin said they’ve had to put guards on the entrance to the McHughes estate up on the cliff, too. People came onto the property from above. I’m not sure how they got through the gates up there, but they made it down the private stairs to the beach.”
“They were headed off there, I assume?” In a way, he was glad for the excitement. It would generate press for the team’s find.
“Yeah. And Richard said he’d talk to us at ten, right? About the procedure for reporting the find?”
“Yeah, but it’s after seven now. Thanks for letting me sleep a whole three hours.”
“You’re the on-camera talent.” Thor smirked at him. “Wait until you hit thirty and the Erickson under-eye bags take hold.”
“Hasn’t happened to you yet, big brother,” Crowe called as his brother walked away, water dripping from his still-wet hair.
“I’m only twenty-nine!”
“Jackass.” Not everyone in the family had the under-eye bags. And if Brad Pitt’s career had survived his imperfectly aging face, so could Crowe’s.
He took an extra-long shower, using up the rest of the hot water so he could stretch. An early morning workout would have to wait.
He walked into the kitchen, smelling freshly brewed coffee. Breakfast was a frozen egg biscuit from the freezer. He tossed it into the microwave, then sat down with the guys to powwow.
“Should Jenny be here?” Justin asked, setting down photos of the bandit markings Crowe and Jenny had found on the cave walls. “She’s part of this too.”
“Her restaurant is open seven days a week,” Crowe said. “Until she’s getting a salary from us I think she’ll just show up when she can.”
“It was cool that she came down yesterday. Nice lady,” Justin said.
“She’s not that much older than you.” Thor curled one side of his mouth. “Jenny is our brother Viking’s age.”
The doorbell rang. “I wonder who that is?” Crowe said. The microwave dinged and he reached for his breakfast.
“Could be anyone in town,” Justin said. “Someone who wants to hear the news first-hand.” He pushed back from the table and went to check the door.
“We might need security here too,” Thor said. “In case some moron thinks we’re hiding the gold here.”
The person who followed Justin into the kitchen was searching for the gold, but in a different sort of way. Roger Dalton pushed his orange frames up on his nose as he walked in, followed by three flunkies.
They’d come up in the world, to have three flunkies arriving with Dalton. The first time he’d only come with two, and those had been younger, more intern than assistant producer.
“Saw your new reel, boys,” the producer said, shaking hands with the three of them.
Justin poured him a cup of coffee. The flunkies lined up along the kitchen counter.
“You came down just to talk about the reel?” Crowe asked, skepticism coloring his voice.
Dalton stared at him for a moment, then broke into a wide grin. "You've got more of these finds, right, son?"
Crowe laughed as Dalton pounded his shoulder. “I knew you could do it! You’ve bought yourself a show.”
“I figured that,” Crowe said, picking up his sandwich and folding back the paper towel covering it.
“Tell me everything,” Dalton said, settling back in his chair and picking up the coffee mug Justin placed in front of him. The logo on the cup read “Keep Calm and Carry On.”
Good advice. “We can talk for a while, but I’ve got to be at the cave at ten.”
“Can I get a tour?” Dalton asked.
“I really don’t know. It’s not my property. There’s security now.”
Dalton frowned. “You taped everything, right?”
“Yes, and I’ve backed it all up,” Thor assured him.
“You need to get your entire team under contract and secure the footage. I’m going to make you an offer today, Crowe, to produce. I’ll have a show deal for you by the end of the week.”
“That’s fantastic,” Crowe said. “But first I will have to negotiate with my team.”
“You should bring Delilah on, too,” Justin said. “She knows coins and she’s gorgeous.”
“Too old for you,” Crowe said in a snotty tone.
Justin smiled brightly. “She’s Jenny’s younger sister.”
Thor rolled his eyes.
“We’ll get more cameras down here,” Dalton said. “You should have a team of three. And Thor needs to get out from behind the camera.”
“Only if we have something more to shoot,” Crowe said. “My meeting at ten is with the property owner. We could get shut down.”
Dalton pursed his lips. “Let me at him, son.”
“Not this time,” Crowe said. “I don’t want to bring in your muscle at this point.”
“I’ve known the property owner my entire life,” Justin said. “Jenny has, too, I expect. We need to act like friends for now.”
“Very well,” Dalton said. “Can you show me the footage, Thor?”
Thor glanced at his brother. Crowe nodded. If nothing else, they might get some advice. “Justin can show you the highlights on the computer. We already broke out the best stuff, but I need Thor to film at the cave this morning.”
Dalton nodded. “Absolutely. You have a couple of hours before this meeting with the property owner, right?”
“If we can get into the cave. I want every inch on camera if I can get it.”
“I agree.” Dalton flicked his fingers. “Get going. We’ll talk later. I’ll
leave a sample talent contract for you here at the house.”
A few minutes later, Crowe and Thor had loaded up and were in the truck heading to the McHughes estate. They’d been invited to reach the cave that way from now on.
“You going to talk to Jenny this morning?” Thor asked, his eyes on the road.
Crowe held up his finger. He was dialing a new contact, a production assistant at the History Channel that comedian Duff Jester, of all people, had given him. “Hey, Brian, Crowe Erickson here. I don’t know if you’ve heard my voice mail from yesterday.”
“Yes, it sounds really exciting.” Brian had a young, eager voice. Crowe pegged him as a recent college graduate.
“Have you got a minute? I’d like to get you up to date. We’ve got a big find here, and I really would love to work with you guys on my show.”
Brian whistled. “A big find?”
“You bet. Gold coins. Roger Dalton, the producer, was already looking at our show reel, and he’s ready to go to contract after hearing our big news. I wanted to make sure signing with him didn’t damage a future relationship with you.”
“Can you send me the show reel? I’ll get it to the right people and have them contact you. I’m not senior enough to make any decisions, but I’ve certainly heard of Roger Dalton.”
“Great. I’ll pass it through to you and wait for a call.” Crowe hung up and fiddled with his email for the rest of the drive.
“Yeah, so Jenny?” Thor asked again, after he pulled up outside of the McHughes property, a new temporary fence with a remote-controlled gate already in place.
“She is the real treasure,” Crowe said. “I hope I didn’t gain gold and lose her.”
Thor smirked.
“Don’t give me that be-a-man garbage,” Crowe warned.
His brother gave a theatrical sigh. “Fine. You need to find the time to talk. Don’t fall into the friend zone in the middle of working together. She’s so busy that it could happen.” A security guard walked over with a clipboard. Thor rolled down his window and showed his identification.
“I know. I’m afraid she’ll back out of the show.”
Thor lifted his hands from the steering wheel. “No, it’s not over yet. I heard she hired an assistant manager yesterday.”
“Really?” Crowe said. “That’s a great sign. For the show, at least.”
The security guard opened the gate and Thor drove through, then pulled up next to another car by the inner gatehouse, a building that was more decorative than functional. “I think you should try to have it all. The show and the woman. But that means you need to devote time to both.”
He was just desperate enough to ask. “What do you advise?”
“We’ll shoot this morning. Then have the meeting with McHughes and then go to the restaurant.”
“With the contract,” Crowe said.
“Not with the contract,” Thor said. “With flowers or something.”
“She’s the one who was supposed to be deciding.” A muscle ticked in Crowe’s jaw. “I already said my piece.”
“She came yesterday,” Thor said. “With water and food. Her sister. The cops.”
“That was for the show.”
“So now, remind her about the relationship.”
“Flowers,” Crowe muttered.
“Or whatever you think she’d like.”
“She loves flowers.” Crowe opened his door. “But right now, we have work to do.”
“There’s someone here to see you,” Taylor said, poking her nose into Jenny’s office right after the lunch rush.
Jenny put the carton of soft-drink lids on her desk and turned around. Her fingers shook from sleep deprivation, or maybe from adrenaline. She was going to be back on television again, and she was working on a new relationship. Nothing spelled nerves better than either topic. She’d never forget the way she trembled as she sold her father on that first contract with the Laguna Nights show. And she hadn’t slept at all the night before she’d lost her virginity as planned to a crew member of the show just after she’d quit. “Privately, or do I need to come out to the counter?”
Taylor fluffed her hair. “Privately, definitely. There are gifts involved.”
“Well, then, send the person in,” Jenny said, handing Taylor the box of lids. She grabbed her purse and quickly swiped lip gloss over her lips.
Crowe was in the doorway before she’d even capped her gloss. Exactly the person she most wanted to see, which didn’t untie her tongue in the least. He had that slightly dusty look of a person who’d been outdoors for hours, though his clothing looked clean.
“You look tired,” she blurted. “Did you get any sleep last night?” Honestly, he was so handsome, even with dark smudges under his eyes. Why did she have to point out his exhaustion? It was the least important thing.
“A few hours. All Thor would allow. He’s a stern taskmaster.” He pulled an ice-blended coffee from a cardboard cupholder and handed it to her. “Delilah stopped by and said our big find interrupted your coffee drinking yesterday. This is the replacement.”
She took the cup, cradling the chilly, damp plastic between her palms. “Thank you. That was sweet.”
“Thank you so much,” he said with emphasis, “for everything yesterday. We really needed that water, and the sandwiches, too. Even with my research and everything, you don’t expect to hit a cache like that.” He spread out his hands.
She’d been reading a little about treasure hunting, like the find of King Tut’s tomb, and knew it could take years to be successful. Some treasure hunts continued for centuries. Crowe had been exceptionally lucky. “Just doing my bit. I know I’m not fully contributing to the team, but I do want to be involved where I can.”
He gazed at her intently for a moment before pulling the second iced coffee from the tray and taking off the straw paper so he could take a sip. “So you’ve decided that for sure.”
She nodded and pointed to her recycle bin so he could dispose of the tray. “I wasn’t sure what you would think about continuing to include me if Roger Dalton passed on your show, but honestly I’d decided I was in before you found the cache of coins. I just didn’t have time to tell you before that.”
“It’s okay. Everything happened really fast. We’ve only known each other for a little over a week.” He sounded so much calmer than she felt.
She brushed her hand through her hair. Her ponytail went lopsided. She tried to put it back together with her shaky hands, feeling like a mess both inside and out. “I heard a rumor that Roger Dalton’s limousine was seen heading toward Laguna Woods this morning.”
Crowe nodded. “He stopped by early. Offered us a personal contract.”
So Crowe had struck gold twice. First in the cave and the second with a hot producer. “Did you sign?”
He sucked heavily on his straw for a moment. “No, I had all the excuses. The team isn’t under contract to me yet, for instance. I need to take care of that paperwork. Also, I wasn’t sure what Richard McHughes was going to do after yesterday’s shocker.”
She sat on the edge of the desk and canted her body forward. “Are you going to try to escape Roger Dalton? Is there a better producer?”
A little smile danced across his lips. “You thought he was a slime ball.”
She regretted what she’d said. “He’s effective. He’d be your slime ball. I want the show to get picked up fast, for your sake.”
“So you think I should sign with Roger?”
She pressed the cup to her chest. The coolness felt perfect. Nerves were overheating her. “Yes. I talked to people around town who are in the reality TV business. I’ve officially changed my mind.”
His eyebrows lifted. “Good to know.” He set his cup on top of a file cabinet and stuck his hands into his pockets. His gaze went around the room.
“What is it, Crowe?”
He glanced down, then found her eyes and spoke rapidly. “I still feel like I’ve lost.”
She frowned. “Lost what
?”
“You,” he said, kicking his toe against the floor. “I’ve gained my show but I feel like I’ve lost you.”
She took a moment, running his words through her mind. He hadn’t changed his mind. Finding treasure hadn’t changed him at all. She set her cup on her desk and went to him, stopping a couple of inches away. “But you didn’t.”
“I didn’t?” He blinked and held out his hand.
She took it. “You’ve had me so tongue-tied I couldn't think straight. That first night, I didn’t want to be living a lie. I thought you saw me as that pretend Jenny the waitress. I didn’t realize you’d moved past your old crush.”
“You’re so much more than that wisecracking teenage girl I saw on an old reality-TV show, Jenny. You’re a sharp businesswoman and a sincerely kind person.”
“That’s nice of you to say,” she said in a low voice. But how well did he know her, really?
“It’s obvious,” he continued. “I’m a good observer. You know all your customers. You talked down the McHughes kid yesterday. Of course you’re an asset to the show, but you’re also—” he grinned. “You. My girl.”
She let her body press against his. “Your girl?”
“Yes, and I’m yours. If you want me.” He smiled hopefully at her. His palm went to the top of her head and he stroked her hair.
She nuzzled his neck, feeling the warmth of his body against hers. Given the warm day, there was little fabric between them. She could smell his fabric detergent, his spicy deodorant, his skin. “So much change.”
“Yes, but a little bird told me you’ve already hired an assistant manager. That tells me you’re ready for it.” He wrapped his free arm around her waist.
“It’s like I’m leaving the nest.”
“It’s home. Your restaurant will always be home. You’ve worked here for half your life.” His gaze went to the far wall. “Your sister’s place is right over there. But change is fine. You’re spreading your wings.”
“And getting very dirty in the process.”
“In every sense of the word,” he joked.
Laguna Beach: A Treasure in Laguna (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 10