Prologue – One Last Chance

“You had one job.”

His voice on the phone was a harsh growl. She swallowed as she refocused the binoculars. She watched them walk out the door with each other, smiling and looking happy.

“And you failed,” he said. “Pathetic, Mackenzie.”

“What was I supposed to do?” she asked, watching him jangle his keys as he walked with her. “Drag him down the aisle? He left me, it wasn't the other way around.”

“When you have a job to do, you do it. It's as simple as that. It's not rocket science. When you can't do the only job that you're given to do, when you're too incompetent to do that, what does that say about you?”

“I don't know, maybe that my ex is too in love with another woman to waste his life away with me?” she asked. She watched them reach the car, and him lean into her and give her a kiss on the lips. “He's happy with her. He wants her. I can't help that.”

“Let me remind you of the terms of our agreement,” he said, growling again. “If I get what I want, your career could find itself booming. If I don't...well, let's just say that the days of Louboutin shoes, vacations to Paris, and covers on Vogue magazine will be over.”

“You can't do this to me,” she responded, feeling tears sting her eyes. “You don't have the pull.”

“Like hell I don't.”

The tears came forth, running down her cheeks, and she put the binoculars down to wipe them away from her cheeks.

“Your mother is sick, isn't she Mackenzie?”

She pursed her lips as she let more tears fall freely, clenching her eyes tightly closed.

“Would be a damn shame if you couldn't afford to keep up with her medicine and doctor's appointments because you couldn't find work.”

“Please don't,” she said.

“Get this job done,” he said. “You have one last chance. There will be no more.”

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“So I'll see you around 4:30, then?”

Lance jangled his keys as they walked together towards their cars.

“You'll come to the station and hang out for the last part of the show?”

“Yeah,” Adeline responded. “That's still the plan, right?”

“Maybe I'll finally get you on the air?” he said.

“Fat chance,” she said, laughing.

“One of these days, Ad,” he said with a smile. “Anyway, then it's dinner with Michael and Monica and Lisa?”

“Looking forward to it.”

He walked her all the way to her car door, where he leaned down to give her a kiss. She was receptive, wrapping her arms around his neck, but he could feel something was different.

“What's wrong?” he asked her. “You've been quiet all morning.”

“And that's odd?” she asked, trying to force a carefree smile.

“For you, yeah. You hardly talked through breakfast. You picked at your lunch. You haven't even insulted me today, and I've given you plenty of chances,” he said, smiling. “What's wrong with you today?”

She looked him in the eyes and brought her hand up to his, resting on her cheek.

“I feel weird again today,” she said quietly.

“Weird how?”

She sighed. “You know how.”

He shook his head. “Not this again.”

She looked away from him, feeling she might start to cry.

“You're paranoid,” he said, trying to turn her head to look at him. “I love you, but you're paranoid. We're not being watched. We're not being followed. You're driving me crazy. You need to drop it, Addy.”

“Sorry that I'm driving you crazy,” she snapped at him, refusing to turn her head.

When she grabbed his hand and pushed it away from her face, he sighed.

“I'm sorry,” he said, grabbing her hand. “I shouldn't have said that. You're not driving me crazy, okay? I just don't like to see you like this, baby. That's all.”

She remained silent, fighting back tears at his words. But he never once let her go, even when she pushed him away from her. When he reached down at her side and caught her off guard by grabbing her ticklish spot, she couldn't stop the smile that played at her lips as she pushed away from him. He maneuvered his head to forcefully look in her eyes, smiling at her.

“Friends again?” he asked her.

She pursed her lips, but he returned a mock pout at her.

“I guess,” she said.

“Kiss and make up?”

She smiled as he brought his lips down to hers. As she wrapped her arms back around his neck, he parted her lips with his tongue, savoring each sweet second he had with her.

“I'm not sure I can just be friends,” he whispered as he pulled away.

“Go to work,” she said forcefully. “You're going to be late.”

“There's my Addy,” he said, and leaned down to give her another peck. “I'll see you at 4:30.”

He walked around the front of his Escalade, jangling his keys again. He pressed the remote on his key ring to unlock the door and the headlights lit up – but he stopped short of opening the door.

“None of this being followed business at dinner tonight, okay?” he said, his face softened this time. “Promise me, Addy.”

“I promise,” she said reluctantly.

“Good,” he said. He stopped to put his sunglasses over his eyes and smiled at her before opening his car door. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

She watched him get in the car and turn the ignition. He pulled out of the drive, giving her another look as he pulled out into the street, and she shifted her car key into her own hand as he drove out of her sight.

She tried to stuff the feelings back down as she put her key in the lock and turned it to unlock her car door, but the gray Cadillac across the street caught her eye as she watched it slowly and quietly pull out right after Lance.

She hated that he didn't believe her – she felt it in her gut. And he couldn't understand.