Left for Dead Came Back for Everything novel Chapter 127

"Eliza," Gwen's voice cracked.

"You better remember this."

Gwen sniffled hard, tilting her head back and blinking rapidly to fight back the tears.

"I want the glass cabin on the cliff, and I want the biggest suite they have."

"And we're taking a cruise ship to sail around the entire island twice."

"If you back out... I will never speak to you again."

"I swear it."

Eliza held out her pinky finger.

Gwen stared at Eliza's hand for a moment.

Then she hooked her own pinky around it.

"Pinky promise."

"Pinky promise."

Their fingers locked tightly together.

Eliza peeled the very last shrimp on the plate and held it up to Gwen's mouth.

Gwen bit into it, mumbling through her food, "Mmph—you treat me ten thousand times better than you treated your idiot ex-husband."

"I treat stray dogs on the street better than I treat him."

"Hahahahaha—"

Their laughter echoed warmly through the late-night apartment.

Their wounds were still bleeding, but in that moment, they had each other.

...

The next morning.

Eliza was jolted awake by the violent buzzing of her phone.

She groggily fumbled for it and squinted at the time—7:15 AM.

An unknown number flashed on the screen.

She hesitated for a split second before swiping to answer.

"Hello, is this Ms. Eliza Shaw?"

The voice belonged to a young woman, her tone brisk and professional.

"Speaking."

"Ms. Shaw, hello. This is Zoe Wyatt, a production assistant with Prism Media Group. I apologize for the early call, but we received your contact information from Director Andrews' studio."

Eliza's eyes snapped wide open.

Eliza knew exactly what collaborating with him would mean for her career.

"Ms. Shaw? Are you still there?"

"...I'm here." Eliza pressed a hand to her pounding chest. "Could you please send an official letter of intent to my email? I need to review the specific terms and scope of work."

"Of course. Director Evans mentioned his schedule is quite tight, so if you're available, we're hoping to schedule an in-person meeting sometime this week. You can choose the venue."

"Understood. I'll review the letter and get back to you as soon as possible."

After hanging up, Eliza sat frozen in her bed, her phone still gripped tightly in her hand.

The morning light slipped through the crack in the curtains, pooling softly over her knuckles.

She glanced down at the smiley-face sticky note on the back of her clear phone case.

Then, she unlocked the screen and dialed Gwen's number.

It connected on the second ring. Gwen's groggy, sleep-heavy mumble came through the speaker, clearly having just been woken up.

"Who calls this early... Are you dying or did you win the lottery? If it's neither, do not interrupt my beauty sleep..."

"Gwen, it's me."

Eliza's voice pitched up several octaves.

"It's good news. Just now! Director Lucas Evans wants to meet with me! He wants me as the head choreographer for his new show!"