Juliet watched the heart monitor. She squeezes Eli's hand tightly and wipes the tears from her face. How could this have happened? She wondered to herself. She looks back down at her phone, at the rejection email. "What do you mean 'too boring to be put on a shelf'?" She asked, squeezing Eli's hand tighter. She looked back up at Eli, his pale face was hidden under his shaggy, black hair.
She took a deep breath, breathing in the lavender scent, stood up, and kissed his forehead. "Please wake up…" She muttered as she grabbed her bag and headed to her car. She ran to her car through the rain. Lightning flashed a few miles away.
As she turned the key her phone rang. She answered it and put it on speaker as she started to pull out of the parking lot. "Juliet! I just got an offer for you. How about you ghost wright for a billionaire?" Her agent asked.
"Yeah, that sound-" A horn cut her off and she slammed on the breaks. She watched as the other driver climbed out of his car, a sleek charcoal Aston Martin. The man walked over to Juliet's car and knocked on the window.
"Juliet, what was that? Are you okay? Juliet? Answer me!"
"I'm fine Paige." She responded and hung up before rolling her window down.
The man crossed his arms over his broad chest. "Do you mind stepping out of the car so I can talk to you?" He asked, his voice deep and gruff. She rolls her eyes but climbs out anyway. He looks down at her and trails his eyes down her body. She pulled the olive-green cardigan tighter around herself. The man's eyes land on the necklace around her neck. A little metal quill pendant that Eli had given her on her twenty-ninth birthday. His eyes trailed back up to hers. Her dark hazel eyes were a contrast to icy-gray ones.
She narrowed her eyes at his stare, and he replied in kind. "You need to pay attention to the road, honey. Or else you'll be dead."
She glared up at him. "Did you just threaten me?" She crossed her arms and digs her nails into her arms.
"No, I was just warning you." The man said harshly. He tightened his tie around his neck and turned away from her. "I have a meeting to get to and you're wasting my time. Goodbye…"
Juliet sneered and climbed back into her car. She rolled her window up and drove home.
…
"Asher Vale. CEO of Luma Industries. He owns about three billion five hundred million dollars. And he needs a ghost writer for his biography." Paige said on the other side of the phone while Juliet shifted through the bills.
"Mhm…" She said while staring at the hospital bill. Seventy-eight thousand five hundred dollars, and she can't even sell her books. Tears flooded in her eyes and she buried her face in her hands.
"So, what do you say, I can set up a meeting for you both in the morning. How does that sound?" Paige asked, excitement evident in her voice. "Hello? Juliet? We can wait till-"
"No! Set up the meeting for tomorrow morning." She said, wiping her face. "I- I'll do it." She said, forcing a smile into her voice.