Slow Tango With a Prince (Royal Scandals) Read Online Free PDF Page A

She had to forget about her encounter with Victor and find a way to beef up the content they planned with the Winstons.
    As the women rounded the final corner before arriving at the office, Rita’s cell phone rang. A half-beat later, Emily’s phone rang as well. Emily reached into her handbag just as Rita said into her phone, “We’re almost there. Yes, she’s with me.” She paused, listening, then said, “All right, tell us when we get there. Bye.”
    Emily glanced at her phone’s caller ID and, seeing that her call also came from the office, she let it go to voice mail and frowned at Rita as the older woman rolled her eyes skyward.  
    “I’m not sure what’s going on, but they need both of us right away.” Rita let out an exaggerated sigh. “Welcome to another Monday morning.”
    Emily forced a smile. “Well, they say bad things come in threes. First, we strike out in our attempt to get an attractive house hunter. Second, we have an apparent meltdown in the office. One more bad thing and we’re home free, right?”
    “We don’t know how bad the office is yet,” Rita warned as she pulled open the glass door, then held it for Emily.  
    As Emily stepped inside the sunny space, a dozen somber faces greeted her. She strode to the center of the room, where a map of Buenos Aires was spread over a glass-topped conference table. After depositing her handbag in one of the chairs, she said, “All right. What happened?”
    Maryam Tabrizi, one of the show's associate producers, grimaced. “It’s not good. The Winstons’ real estate agent just called us.”
    Emily put a palm to her forehead. “Don't tell me—”
    “Their son had a bicycle accident while riding to one of his classes at Stanford. Thankfully he'll be fine, but he has to have surgery tomorrow morning for a badly broken thumb.” Maryam shook her head. “Mrs. Winston asked if it’s possible to delay filming for a week or two so they can fly back to California.”
    “What did you say?” Rita asked. “We’ve already pushed the schedule back as far as we can.”
    “There’s no way we can do it, but I didn’t want to tell her that, not until I’d spoken with you two.” Maryam looked from Rita to Emily. “I simply told the agent that I’d have either you or Rita call as soon as possible. She gave me the number for the Winstons’ hotel here in Recoleta, but said they were hoping to check out before noon so they could get on a flight this evening.”
    “Whew.” This morning, Emily thought things couldn’t get worse. Without the Winstons in town, there’d be no finale at all. The network wouldn’t give her the budget needed for an extension, not when the show’s fate was already up in the air. Network executives would likely greet any request for an extension with a cancellation of the final episode. On the other hand, never in a million years would Emily keep parents from an ailing son.  
    “Rita, call the Winstons. Assure them that they’ve made the right decision. Tell them we hope their son has a quick recovery and not to worry about the show, that we have contingency plans for just this type of situation. Then call their real estate agent and tell her the same.”
    “Got it.”
    To Maryam, she said, “Have one of the assistants find out which hospital is doing the surgery and arrange to have flowers delivered. In the meantime, I’d like you and Rita to get together to talk tango.”
    “Tango?” One of the cameramen, a lanky Australian named Mike, whistled from the back of the room. “Rita and Maryam? Now that'd make great television.”
    Laughter echoed through the office, prompting Emily to shoot a grin in Mike's direction. It raised her spirits to know the staff had a sense of humor about their situation. It was part of what she loved about working with them. Even when everyone was frustrated, they kept a positive attitude.
    “Sorry, Mike. They’re discussing a possible tango segment.”
    A chorus of “awwww” echoed