Close to Destiny (A Magical Love Story)

Chapter 44

May 15, later

The telephone rang at 6:30 p.m. on the dot. My eyes stared at the bulky black antique. Paralyzed. Mesmerized by that old-fashioned "drrringgg" searing itself into my ears. Afraid that Will would be on the line. Irresistible. I had to resist. Finally, silence. I waited exactly one minute, counting the seconds on my watch, and hurried to the modern phone with the light flashing on its back. My heart raced as I pressed the button and listened.

But Will's voice wasn't the one rapidly chattering away. It was Liz. She had to talk with me immediately about the idea I had mentioned to her. "Please call me back as soon as you get this message, Kat. I'm in my office."

She had changed her mind about my article. That was obvious. It was the only scenario that could account for the urgency I had detected in her voice. I hit a combination of buttons on the phone to ring her number right back and settled into the corner of the loveseat. I didn't know what I would say to her. But I did know that I had to do this before I entirely lost my courage.

"Kat! Ah, I'm glad you received the message so quickly. How are things?"

"Fine. And yourself?"

"The usual, deadlines, long hours..." Then she lowered her voice a notch, and I could imagine her sitting there, knitting her eyebrows as she did when she concocted a new story idea.

"Kat, the reason I called is I think it's time to do that story. The one about the London hotel."

"Oh?" I feigned surprise.

"Yes, now listen, I heard about the death of this woman named Destiny—that unusual name stuck in my mind from our conversation. Is she the woman you were speaking of? There can't be many of them."

"Well, yes... I mean, yes, that's her, and I'm sure there aren't a lot of others."

"Perfect. That's what I wanted to hear."

"It's not like I knew her very well or anything." My heart was pounding. I wouldn't even consider writing a big exposé about my short relationship with Destiny. I hoped to focus on the mysterious nature of the hotel, but when I gave it more thought, I realized that the two were irrevocably entwined.

"Doesn't matter. The important thing is an angle involving her presence, the mystery surrounding the hotel and a section on what is happening today. I've made some calls on my own, and no one knows what's going on. The place is up for sale, but nothing is clear. I would like to know if you're still interested in looking into this and writing about it. Or do I offer the story to someone on staff?"

"No, no," I said, the words tumbling out before I could hold them back. "It's my story. I can do it."

"Wonderful. As for the details of payment, deadline... I'll have to call you back tomorrow. I have someone here waiting to see me, and I can't put him off any longer."

The click of the receiver echoed in my ear before I could say another word.

So that was how I ended up ensnared once again in the tangled web Destiny had spun around me many months ago.

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