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they fall?”
    â€œYeah, something like that,” Maren agreed with an uneasy laugh. Jan chuckled as she went back to the reception area and Maren continued to look over the contracts with Sterling Records. What was the hitch? Was Kyle Sterling considering pulling his account from Festival Productions?
    Her stomach knotted as she thought about the last time she had seen Kyle Sterling. It had been her first and only glimpse into the personal side of the man. All other contact she had with him had been strictly business.
    Nearly a year ago, feeling the pressures of social commitments for the sake of making a name for Festival Productions, Maren had accepted an invitation to a gala event celebrating Mitzi Danner’s recently signed multirecord deal with Sterling Recording Company. In a much publicized event held at the attractive young singer’s Beverly Hills address, Maren had quietly sipped her champagne and watched Kyle Sterling from a distance.
    The man had style. Whether natural or acquired, genuine or fake, the man had style. Begrudgingly Maren noted that he always seemed to be the center of attention in a crowd of the Hollywood elite. He wasn’t loud, quite the opposite. It was his understated manner, brooding gray eyes and flash of a rakish smile that made him stand out.
    The festivities were held in the center courtyard surrounding an oval-shaped pool. The house was a rambling, two-storied nineteen twenties home built for a silent-screen star. It was as eccentric as the gaudy young singer who now occupied it.
    Kyle had seemed at home beneath the colored Japanese lanterns that were strung from the fragrant lemon trees surrounding the pool, and yet, as Maren watched him, she noticed that there was something about him…a restlessness that added to his aloof charm. Through part of the celebration, he had somehow seemed detached, as if he would rather be anywhere else than in the throng of Hollywood faces who were milling around the oval pool. In the crowd of the most famous people in Hollywood, Kyle Sterling alone had held Maren’s interest. She had tried to blame it on the fact that he was a powerful man in the recording industry, but she had the disturbing feeling that she was deceiving herself.
    And now, at the memory of that warm summer night, Maren was apprehensive. She searched through the large stack of legal papers on the desk for some clue as to why Kyle Sterling wanted to see her. What was happening? Festival Productions needed Sterling Recording Company and, until earlier this afternoon, Maren had suspected the reverse to be true. If Sterling decided to pull his account, it would be difficult to keep Festival Productions operational. It was true that recording stars finally had discovered Festival and business was beginning to increase, but by the same token, the costs of expansion were staggering. On top of all the ordinary costs was the large outstanding debt to Jacob Green, the original owner of Festival. The escalating payments in the contract took an ever larger bite out of an already tight budget. All of which didn’t begin to touch Maren’s personal expenses, which were monumental. But that was her fault, she reminded herself grimly. Her fault and her responsibility. Unfortunately there was no end in sight.
    It would be no less than a disaster if Sterling Records decided to pull out. Maren couldn’t let it happen. She’d worked too hard to make Festival Productions profitable, and she wouldn’t let it slip. She couldn’t. If not for herself, she had to at least think of Brandon. He was depending on her.
    Quickly she pressed the intercom button on the phone. “Jan, could you please cancel all of my appointments for the rest of the afternoon? Reschedule them for later in the week.”
    â€œI’ll give it a try…. What about Joey Righteous?”
    Maren had to think swiftly. Joey was hot on the charts and a real pain in the neck. “Reschedule