Chapter 19: First Show

The streamer called at six, when the garage was empty and the ring light was off.

Tegan took the call standing at her desk with a pen in her hand.

"We'd like to order ten episodes," the executive said. "Behind the scenes of the Trail, your cut, your voice. We pay a full production budget."

"And the rights?"

"We would license it for three years."

"Licensed, not owned," Tegan said. "Open Door keeps the footage. You get first window, and you pay for it."

There was a long, careful silence on the line.

"Corbin Stegman told our legal department you'd be difficult," the executive said.

"Corbin Stegman is not a good judge of difficult."

The executive laughed.

"Send us your terms," she said. "I'll sign them tonight."

Tegan hung up and stood still for a moment.

Then she dropped into her chair and put the pen down very gently.

The door opened behind her.

Cal came in with takeout in one hand and the day's mail in the other, and he took one look at her face.

"Good call?"

"Ten episodes. My cut. My footage." She spun the chair. "Nobody gets to hold it hostage."

He set the food on the desk and crossed the room.

He lifted her out of the chair and kissed her until her toes left the floor.

"That's for the footage," he said.

"And the other thing?"

"The other thing I owe you at length."

His voice had gone rough, and she noticed the shadows under his eyes.

He had told her about the warehouse two nights earlier, in the dark, with his face turned away.

She had held him until he stopped shaking, and neither of them had said anything about it since.

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