As it stood, her mom, and possibly her brother, were going to get an unexpected sneak preview of New York from the inside of a courtroom.
“Good news,” Grace announced ten minutes later. “Bonnie Wrigley will be at our office in the morning. How are things on your end?”
“Mom will fly in tonight with the items we need. The company Craig works for knows where he is and will get back to my father. Dad will call your office to let us know what’s happening.”
“Excellent. What do you want for lunch? They have great goulash and cheesecake at the deli down the street.”
“That sounds good.”
“Are you a coffee drinker?”
“No. Water or juice is fine.”
She nodded before buzzing her secretary.
“All right.” Grace sat forward with her fingers interlinked on top of the desk. “What Mr. Wallace will do is try to show that Red Rose Publishers willfully broke the law by using his client’s likeness on the covers for monetary gain without obtaining his permission.
“He’s asked us to bring the figures on the sales of those books to show that revenues went up when his client appeared on the covers.”
“This is all my fault,” Rainey whispered, feeling more and more ill by the moment. “He should be taking me to court, not the company.”
“We’re a family here at Red Rose. We defend our own, and we’ll prove it was an honest mistake. The worst to happen will be that we’re barred from using Mr. Sterling’s likeness on any more covers.
“It’s a shame, really,” she added. “Though he’s responsible for developing a whole new world-wide infrastructure, ninety-nine percent of our romance readership has no idea that Mr. Payne Sterling exists. All they care about is the man on those covers who is drop-dead gorgeous.”
Rainey averted her eyes. “He is that.”
“And you’re the remarkable artist who brought him to breathtaking life. Manhattan Merger ranks among the ten bestselling novels ever put out at Red Rose. That speaks highly for you and Bonnie Wrigley who wrote the terrific story in the first place. Red Rose is lucky to have both of you on the team.”
“Thank you. I hope you’ll still be saying that when the hearing is over.”
“I’m not worried. The truth will set us free, my dear. Why don’t you start by telling me the process you went through from the moment Don phoned you about Manhattan Merger until you shipped off your painting to New York. Don’t worry about dates. He has already supplied me with everything I need in that regard.”
Without preamble Rainey explained how she worked up a project. Grace interjected a question here and there. Lunch came and went. Still they talked. At three the phone rang through to Grace’s office.
It was Rainey’s father on the phone to tell her Craig’s company had flown him to Las Vegas by helicopter and he would be arriving at JFK airport before midnight.
Grace’s eyes lit up at that news. “Your brother will be one of the key witnesses in your defense. I couldn’t be more pleased to know he’s coming. This is going even better than I expected.”
“If you say so,” Rainey murmured.
“I do. Tomorrow morning we’ll assemble here at eight-thirty in the conference room down the hall. I’ll rehearse what’s going to happen and prepare your mother and brother for the kinds of questions Mr. Wallace will ask during cross-examination. Your job will be to perform for Mr. Wallace.”
Rainey frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I have a hunch he’ll show you a picture of a man or woman you’ve never seen before, then ask you to sketch them from memory. He’ll supply you with a sketch pad and pencils.”
“That won’t be a problem.”
“Of course not.”
“What should I wear?”
“The outfit you have on is fine.”
Rainey got up from the chair. “Thank you so much for your help. I’ll never be able to pay you back.”
“This is part of my job.”