See You Soon Broadway (Broadway Series Book 1) Read online

  “For some reason, this was all meant to happen. It’s as if Grandma led you to Beatrice.”

  I don’t disagree with her because I do believe I was meant to find that journal, to follow Grandma’s inspiration, and not give up on my performing. Although, now I’m starting to feel uneasy, especially after the conversation Beatrice and I had about Trevor. She thinks I was meant to find her because of him.

  “Maybe.”

  “There’s no maybe about it, little sister,” she interrupts. “You’re the connection to mend this friendship. You have to fulfill this task, so you need to ask her about Charles. I really think Grandma would want you to. She obviously got over it because she was madly in love with Gramps. She probably just never got around to talking it out with Beatrice and that’s where you come in.” That’s a lot of pressure.

  “Cassie, what should I do? Should I just come out and ask her if she stole her best friend’s man and married him?” Seriously, I feel like I’m stuck on some trashy talk show.

  “Of course you shouldn’t do that.” I can almost see her rolling her eyes through the phone. “She obviously really enjoys spending time with you and Mom told me we’re all invited to her birthday party. I definitely won’t be missing that party.” Okay, I guess my whole family’s attending this party now. Perfect.

  “You just need to continue to visit her and build her trust.”

  I feel so overwhelmed. Is Cassie right? Is there a deeper meaning to all of this? Was I meant to find the journal to repair an age-old heartache? Was it to lead me to move forward in following my own dreams or is there some other reason?

  I wish I knew.

  After I get off the phone with Cassie, I call my mom and apologize for accusing her of not really knowing her mother. I listen to her tell me all about the grandmother we all knew and loved. I think it makes her feel better. It’s really not her fault that Grandma kept this period in her life a secret. At least now we can get to know her a little better.

  ~*~*~

  “How excited are you? Don’t forget to bring me back some of those rainbow cookies.” Georgie is hanging out in my room as I’m getting ready to leave. The day has finally arrived for our New York trip.

  “I promise you I will bring you some,” I reply for the hundredth time.

  “Text me if you can, I want to hear all the details,” she begs.

  This trip could not have come at a better time. Things have been really tense at the studio and I think a few days away will be good for everyone. Lucy finally had Ash and I sit down together to hash things out and it wasn’t pretty. Ash basically accused me of forcing Mimi to choose me to be her instructor. She even had the audacity to accuse me of bribing her. Things got really heated when I reminded them of when she stole some of my material.

  “Really, Maris? I thought we moved on from that,” she yells. “You talk a big game but you really are full of it.” She folds her arms like a spoiled child.

  “We did move on from it,” I reply calmly. “That is until you went behind my back and put ideas in my student’s head. Mimi has always loved doing routines with the other students and they adore her. Now all of a sudden she doesn’t want to be a part of that. Coincidentally, this all goes down right after you tell Lucy to axe the group performance.”

  She continues to deny that she put any ideas in her head. Of course, we didn’t really get anything resolved and yet again we agreed to coexist. I don’t know how much more I can take. Poor Lucy is stuck in the middle and I feel bad about that, but I don’t know what else can be done.

  “Oh wow!” Georgie yells from the living room. “There’s a big fancy car outside. That must be for you.” I think she’s even more excited about this trip than I am.

  “Yeah, Kyle’s company sent a car to pick us up.”

  “Have fun!” She gives me a hug and I walk out to meet Kyle, who’s holding the door open for me.

  “You ready?” he asks, kissing me on the cheek.

  “Ready for New York? Always.”

  Chapter 11

  You really can’t get any better than a luxury hotel overlooking Central Park, I think as I look out my window. I’m still laying in bed waiting on my breakfast to arrive from room service. Kyle left very early for his training, so I’m on my own for the day. We’ve been in New York for less than twenty-four hours and so far I’m having a really good time.

  After we arrived, we met up with some of Kyle’s partners and their wives for dinner. He’s by far the youngest of the partners, but we had fun even though it felt like we were hanging out with our parents. Kyle promised me that this would be the only night we would do a work dinner. Today, I’m going shopping and I got up the courage to text Liv and ask for Miranda’s contact information. Thankfully, she texted right back and also offered to let her know that I may be contacting her. I admit that there’s a small part of me that wants to brag at the studio if I actually get to meet with an agent who will be attending the recital. I’m sure that will get Ash fired up and I really don’t care.

  When I’m finally ready, I take off on my adventure in the city. As soon as I walk out onto the street I feel this sudden exhilaration. Honestly, I could get used to this scenery everyday. I take my time as I head toward 5th Avenue; I have no doubt that I’m walking slower than everyone else in this city and I don’t care. My phone starts buzzing; I’m hoping it’s a message from Liv telling me that she spoke to Miranda but it’s not, it’s a text from Georgie.

  How is it?

  I’m actually surprised it took her this long to text me.

  Fine. Just got here. Heading to 5th Ave. Jealous?

  Georgie loves 5th Avenue, so I already know what her answer will be.

  Of course! No fair.

  I laugh as I continue my stroll, walking past Tiffany & Co. This store totally reminds me of that movie Sweet Home Alabama where Reese Witherspoon’s boyfriend proposes in the store and tells her to choose any ring she wants. That has to be one of the best scenes from a movie ever. I really could see Kyle doing something romantic like that, not in New York of course, but he is sweet enough to pull off a big surprise like that. Not that I want him to propose anytime soon, but if that were ever to happen it would be something very creative I’m sure.

  A few hours later, I’m sitting in Starbucks enjoying my decaf Caramel Macchiato and people watching when I get a text from Liv.

  Miranda is expecting your call.

  I feel like I may be imagining what I read.

  Wow. I will reach out to her. Thank you so much.

  Now that I have this opportunity, I don’t know what to say exactly when I call her. Should I tell her about my students or should I mention my own career? Considering that I’m not very happy with Mimi right now, she doesn’t deserve for me to go out of my way for her. In fact, the vindictive part of me almost wants to hand her over to Ash especially after what they’ve done to me. I pull out my phone and make some notes for my phone call. I’m really nervous all of a sudden, which is absolutely crazy because this isn’t the first time I’ve spoken with someone so connected in this industry.

  I call Miranda and she answers immediately. She’s really nice, but I can tell that she’s really busy or preoccupied with something. We make plans to meet for coffee on the last day I’m in New York, which is still a few days away. At least that will give me some time to think about what it is that I’m hoping to accomplish with this meeting because I really don’t know.

  When I finally get back to the hotel, Kyle is not back yet. I take a hot bath and wait to hear from him.

  I get another call from Georgie.

  “Checking up on me already? I just barely got back from my adventure on 5th Avenue.”

  “Ha! You don’t have to rub it in,” she snaps. “Actually, I’m calling to tell you that you got some very important mail today. The envelope is huge and I was wondering if you wanted me to open it?”

  In translation, she wants to open it because she’s super nosy.

  “Y
ou can open it, go ahead.”

  “Okay,” she says eagerly. I can hear the rustling as she opens the envelope.

  “Well, isn’t this fancy,” she says.

  She reads: “You presence is requested to join in celebration of Beatrice’s Ninetieth Birthday. Saturday, June 18 at 6 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and Spa. Please use the enclosed response card to confirm or decline your attendance.”

  “Thanks. I will have to check my calendar when I get home.”

  “You mean you’re still not sure if you’re going to go? I will gladly go in your place. This sounds like it will be an amazing party.” She asks, “Be honest with me, what’s really going on?”

  Just then Kyle walks in. Yes, I’m saved.

  “Hey, Kyle just got back. Can I call you later?”

  She knows I have no intention of calling her back tonight.

  “Ohhhhh yeah, have fun tonight.”

  Kyle has already laid down on the bed and he looks like he’s about to fall asleep. This isn’t looking very promising for a night out on the town.

  “How were your meetings?” I ask.

  “Good,” he replies. His face is in the pillow. I walk into the bathroom and continue to get ready because I’m going out tonight with or without him. I take my time doing my hair and makeup, giving him a few minutes to get a power nap. When I finish getting ready, I stand in front of the mirror, checking myself out. Here goes . . .

  “Kyle, wake up!”

  Chapter 12

  The next morning I get up early and go to the gym in the hotel. I haven’t been to the gym in months, so I guess this makes me one of those people who only exercises while on vacation but never in day-to-day life. While I’m walking on the treadmill, I think about the events of last night. When I finally got Kyle to wake up from his nap, we ended up going to Gramercy Tavern for dinner and drinks and I managed to get him to take a carriage ride through the park, which was pretty romantic. It was a nice evening even though I don’t think he really felt like going out. Again, he made it really obvious that he has no interest in enjoying the city. He was as sweet as ever to me but he would be that way no matter where we were.

  Anyway, today I have plans to pop into some studios to hopefully make some contacts, and tomorrow I have my meeting with Miranda. When Kyle asked what my plans were, I told him I was going sightseeing. I don’t consider that lying exactly. I just didn’t feel the need to give him specific details.

  After my very overdue trip to the gym, I get a text from Cassie. My heart sinks as I read it.

  The house has two offers, just wanted you to know. Love you.

  Wow, that didn’t take very long. I guess this is all really happening and there is nothing I can do about it. Throwing a tantrum or complaining about it isn’t going to change anything.

  Thanks for letting me know.

  I text her back and finish getting ready. I have two more days here and I’m going to enjoy myself even if I have to do it alone.

  So, despite the text from Cassie in the morning, I had a really good and productive day. I really love productive days. Although I didn’t make any contacts, I was able to make lots of notes and I found some studios to contact when and if I finally make a decision. In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy the night with my man.

  I look at the clock on the nightstand to see that it’s 6:45, and I’m beyond frustrated. Kyle texted me an hour ago and said that he was almost done with meetings for the day. I hope that nothing bad has happened to him. The last thing I need is for him to get mugged or stabbed or something crazy to make him dislike the city even more than he already does.

  I tried calling him a few times and his phone goes straight to voicemail. As I’m waiting, I realize that this trip has not been what I was hoping for. I know I had full disclosure that it was mainly a work trip, but at the same time I was hoping for more. As the minutes pass, I grow more and more angry.

  At 7:40, Kyle finally rushes into the hotel room.

  “I’m really sorry, honey. Jim and Tom stopped me and wanted to discuss a few things and my phone is dead.” He shows me his phone. “I will change and be ready in five minutes.”

  He doesn’t really give me a chance to say anything, which is probably the best thing since I’m pretty mad at him. I sit on the edge of the couch, tapping my toe with my arms tightly folded. I could carry out this silent treatment all night if I need to, my mom taught me well.

  On the other hand, we only have a few nights left here and I should try to enjoy it as much as possible.

  “I’m ready.” He hurries out of the bathroom, fixing his hair. “What’s the plan? I’m all yours.”

  I glance out the window and take a breath.

  “Where do you want to go?” I ask him.

  “I told you anywhere you want.”

  I don’t know what comes over me. It could just be my frustration over Kyle being late or maybe it’s a combination of everything.

  “I think it’s time I told you something,” I reply.

  His smile turns to a look of worry, so I reach over and grab his hand.

  “There has been something going on with me lately. I thought I could just ignore how I was feeling but I think it’s only fair I was honest before I make any decisions.”

  Kyle sits down slowly on the couch with me. His worried look has turned to fear.

  “You can relax, it’s nothing too horrible.” I reassure him.

  I explain everything to him about how I have been struggling with the path I should take for my future. Then I tell him about the moment I found the journal and I learned about Grandma being a radio performer. I tell him how I felt it could be a sign for me to reconsider my plans of following my own dreams. He patiently listens to me without interrupting and rubs my back as I get tears in my eyes.

  “I love you and I want to be with you, but I hate feeling like I may regret something if I don’t give it a chance.” I finally stop talking and wait for him to respond to my confession.

  “Why haven’t you said anything?” he says. “I knew that something was bothering you. You should have told me how you’ve been feeling.”

  “I wanted to but then you got the promotion.” I blow my nose loudly into a tissue. “And let’s be honest, you’ve made it more than clear that you have no desire or plan to move here. Then you asked me to move in with you and I was even more confused.” I shrug my shoulders.

  “You’re so amazingly talented,” he exclaims. “I think you would be able to continue your career no matter where you lived, so why would you have to be here? We can find you an agent and you can travel when they need you.”

  I appreciate his confidence in me, but at the same time I realize that he still has no intention of ever moving. I think I’m going to need to make this decision on my own.

  “Thanks. I just want you to know that I haven’t made a decision yet, but I promise you that I will consider every possibility before I do.” I walk to the window and stare out at the view of this city. The city where dreams come true, the city where my grandmother followed her dreams yet she still found love and happiness after her career.

  “Are you breaking up with me?” he asks. As sweet and patient as Kyle is, I can sense his frustration.

  “No,” I say. “Just please understand that I need to figure this out, so please be patient.”

  “Okay,” he says. “I’m really sorry I was late.”

  I smile. “I know.”

  Of course, our night has been ruined by my honesty. We ended up ordering room service and quietly watching some horrible made-for-TV movie. We briefly discuss our plans for the next day and I tell him about meeting with Miranda. He wishes me luck and we awkwardly kiss each other good-night.

  I have a horrible night’s sleep. I lie awake for what feels like hours and I watch the clock every hour on the hour. I drag myself out of bed after Kyle leaves for his meetings.

  As I slowly walk to Starbucks, I thought I would be more excited to meet with Miranda but I�
�m not. In fact, I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m just ready to go home. When I arrive, she’s waiting for me.

  “Maris, it’s fantastic to meet you. I’m Miranda Adams.” She holds out her hand to shake mine. Miranda is absolutely stunning and dressed perfectly from head to toe.

  “Thank you so much for taking the time to meet me; I know how busy your schedule is.”

  “Not at all. Livie is one of my dearest friends. I’m happy to do this for her.” She takes a sip of her Skinny Vanilla Latte (I know my Starbucks cups). “Okay, tell me all about these talented students I’ve been hearing about.”