Mariah took a seat on one of the hay bales surrounding the fire pit piled high with wood and listened as the two discussed a better way to arrange seating, then moved the bales, well, except the one she was sitting on, to suit them.
By the time it was nearly dark, Mariah had shifted so she sat sideways on the bale, her injured leg stretched out along the top as she noticed for the first time how bright the stars were. She was still staring up at them when she heard the low laugh and drunken stumbling of the executives from Sheppard Entertainment approaching. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, bracing herself for the coming evening and at the same time hoping they"d behave themselves but wasn’t going to hold her breath over it.
"Now that"s not very friendly," James said as they a
