“Did anyone say about what? Am I worried or happy?”

“I’m sorry, she didn’t say. For what it’s worth, she didn’t seem the least bit upset.”

Maya tried to find comfort in that. “Does she ever?”

“Sometimes.”

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

Bailey laughed. “A little, but I doubt anything is wrong.”

“I guess we’re going to find out.”

* * *

DESPITE IT BEING a weekday, there was plenty of traffic on the highway leading to the hotel-casino. Del drove his truck onto the property, then found a parking space in the back lot. He and Maya walked toward the large building.

“Nervous?” he asked as they approached the glass doors leading into the casino.

“Yes. I want to say I’m not, but I am. I saw the raw footage for the commercials. We did a great job.”

“Mostly you,” he told her.

“Thanks. I hope there’s not a technical problem.”

She was too careful for it to be that, he thought. She’d had multiple cameras, had checked each shot, backed up the footage. If there was a mistake, it wasn’t on her end.

Del liked that Maya was careful about her work. She took pride in what she did—something he could respect. Too many people were only interested in doing just enough to get by.

Once they were in the casino, they followed the signs that pointed them toward the hotel. In the lobby, the concierge directed them to the general offices where a receptionist led them to a small conference room.

Ernesto and Robert were waiting inside.

“Thank you for coming,” Ernesto said with a smile as he rose and shook their hands.

Robert followed his business partner, then gestured for Del and Maya to take a seat.

The businessmen sat on the other side of the table.

“We’ve seen the rough cut of the first two commercials,” Ernesto said, nodding as he spoke. “Very impressive. We’ve worked with several production companies before, and none of them have captured exactly what we were looking for nearly as well as you two did.”

Robert leaned toward them. “We like what we saw very much. Ernesto and I have talked it over. We’d like to hire the two of you to handle all our publicity videos. We have twelve properties in all—two are in the United States and the rest are around the world. The shoots would likely take about eight weeks a year.”

Del hadn’t known what to expect from the hoteliers, but it hadn’t been a job offer. Sure it was just part-time, but making commercials? Talk about an unexpected second act.

Ernesto explained about what would be required, then named a proposed salary offer that nearly made Del laugh out loud. He would guess it was about double what Maya was currently making with the city. Not bad for a few weeks’ work.

He glanced at Maya and saw she was wide-eyed with obvious shock. She looked at him, as if asking what he thought. He nodded slightly. She turned back to their hosts.

“You’ve made a generous offer,” she told the two men. “We’ll need to talk about it.”

“Of course. Let us know if you have any questions. We can work around your schedule by planning well in advance. This could be a profitable partnership for all of us.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

“I’M IN SHOCK,” Maya said for the third time since they’d left the casino. “I can’t believe it.”

The offer was incredible. Not just the money, although that was spectacular, but all of it. The chance to work so creatively, to learn and grow. To see other parts of the world.

Del pulled up into her office parking lot, then turned to face her. “I had no idea they were so impressed with your work.”

She opened the passenger door and got out. “Our work. They’re hiring both of us.”

“You’re the talent,” he told her, then stepped out and joined her.

“Behind the camera,” she said with a laugh. “You dazzle in front.” She grabbed his arm. “Del, this is incredible. Do you realize the opportunities this opens to us? With your name and my contacts...” She waved her free hand in the air. “I don’t even know where to start.”

There were a thousand things they could be exploring, she thought. More commercials. Shorts. Taking his ideas for the videos about the kids and running with them. Possibilities swirled, each brighter and more alluring than the last.

He stood in front of her, illuminated by the sun. Tall and handsome and exactly who she always wanted to be with.

“We should find out where the other casinos are,” he told her. “Maybe we could piggyback trips. You know, film the commercials and then go locate a couple of schools. We would already know the area.”

“I was thinking the same thing. Obviously we’re not doing videos for every hotel every year. But that’s okay. It means that in a couple of years, we’d be going back to the same location. We could follow up. See how the children we filmed before have grown and changed. Ask the same questions and get the new answers.”

“We could also find a writer somewhere. Someone who does freelance work. Maybe hire him or her to write articles on what we’re doing to drum up interest.”

She nodded excitedly. “Or do companion articles. Supplement the videos. For teachers, like we talked about before. Sample discussion questions. With everything digital it’s easy to change and update content.” Maya pressed her hands together. “What about an online newsletter? We could talk about where we’re going next. Students could subscribe. We could give kids in other countries a forum for talking to kids here.”