Hayley was seated at a prime table in Redman’s, a trendy restaurant in the theater district, with Laurinda Black. Laurinda was in her late forties and had produced several successful off-Broadway shows. The Tides Return would be her first foray on the Great White Way. She was dressed casually, as if she had just run over from the theater, which she had. Black top, jeans, curly hair, not much makeup, glasses on a chain around her neck, Laurinda had the look of someone who knew that she didn’t have to get dressed up, even at a place like Redman’s.

Laurinda tore at a piece of bread. “Hayley, congratulations. I’ve been hearing all good things about the premiere last night.”

“Thank you,” Hayley answered.

“The movie opens in theaters tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

Laurinda popped the bread in her mouth. “I’ve heard it’s not that great.”

You’re not going to get me to say anything negative about a client, Hayley thought. “Unfortunately I never get to watch the movie at these events. I’m too busy.”

Laurinda nodded. “Gotcha.” She ran her fingers through her curly brown hair that was flecked with gray. “We’re still working on the script of our show. It’s going to be great. It just needs a little bit of tweaking.”

“With a new play, I imagine there could be revisions made right up until opening night,” Hayley said cheerfully.

“Next time I’ll do a revival of a classic. You can’t make changes.” Laurinda sipped her sparkling water. “You have much trouble with people crashing your parties?”

“No,” Hayley replied quickly. “We make sure to have enough people working the door. If your name’s not on the list, you don’t get in. What I hate dealing with is all the people who call in the days before a big event, trying to weasel an invitation.” Like Scott, she thought.

“I’m sure that happens a lot.” Laurinda tapped the table. “When I first started in this business, there was a guy who crashed parties all over town and got away with it. He was harmless and just wanted to have fun. But now there are so many phonies and wannabes out there trying to get ahead. They go to these things to make connections, see what they can get from people they meet.” Laurinda looked around. “A wealthy friend of mine was taken in by a guy she met at a fund-raiser. He was really handsome and asked her out. He took her to his favorite restaurant, where the waiters fell all over him. Turns out all he wanted was to invest her money.”

“Really?” Hayley asked.