Free Not a Day Goes By by E. Lynn Harris Page A

would do it, but I promised my son I would coach his peewee team again. Next week is the first practice.”
    “No problem. Just tell me where to go.”
    “I’ll have Angela set everything up. I also got some background information you can look over on the plane,” Brison said.
    “Cool. Who is the dude?”
    “His name is Zurich Robinson.”

13
    YANCEY HAD just completed her weekly voice lesson and had stopped home to pick up her workout gear. She bounced into her house and was welcomed by a ringing phone. Yancey started to walk into the bedroom where the caller ID display was, but instead she lifted the receiver.
    “Hello.”
    “Yancey?”
    “Yes.” The female voice sounded familiar, but Yancey wasn’t certain.
    “Please hold on for Lois,” said Debbie, the personal assistant to Yancey’s agent.
    A few seconds later Lois came on the line. “I have wonderful news,” Lois said.
    “What? Did you get me an audition with
Sex and the
City
?” She could tell Lois was excited about something and thought it had to be what Yancey wanted so badly.
    “No, but I’m still working on that,” Lois said.
    “Then what? I hope you’re not calling me for some local commercial or something.”
    “No, it’s not a commercial. I just got a call from the producers of
Chicago
in Las Vegas, and they want you to take over the lead when Jasmine Guy leaves the show.”
    “What? I don’t want to live in Las Vegas. Have you lost your mind?” Yancey screamed. “I want to be the first one in the lead! I don’t want some role that everybody and their mama have played.”
    “Now wait, Yancey. I’m not finished. It’s only for a month and they promise if you do this, you can either come back to Broadway or go to London. I think it’s a great opportunity, because there is no end in sight for this show, and you don’t even have to audition,” Lois said.
    “Audition? I know they aren’t foolish enough to ask me to do anything but show up. I know that show like the back of my hand, but why do you think I should do this?”
    “Because a lot of Hollywood heavyweights, meaning producers and directors, frequent Vegas all the time. I’ll send out announcement cards and this could lead to some movie roles. You can get to L.A. in less than an hour by plane.”
    “I don’t know. You know how much I love New York, and Basil is spending more time here. How much are they offering?”
    “I think we’re in a position to name our price,” Lois said confidently.
    “Tell them I want fifteen thousand and a percentage of the weekly gross,” Yancey demanded.
    “I don’t know if I can do that, I mean the weekly gross thing, but I’ll get you the best deal possible. This could really be big, especially when you come back to New York.”
    “See what you can do.” Yancey was always pushing Lois to be more aggressive. If she had the time, she’d be her own agent, manager, and publicist. No one could promote Yancey like Yancey.
    “I’ll call them back right now. How long are you going to be home?”
    “I’m getting ready to run out.”
    “Can you give me thirty minutes?”
    “I’ll give you fifteen,” Yancey said and hung up the phone.
    A few minutes later the phone rang again while Yancey was preparing some tea.
Damn, that was fast,
she thought. When she picked up the phone, the last thing Yancey was expecting was a voice from her past.
    “Is this Yancey Braxton?” a familiar female voice asked.
    “This is Yancey. Who’s calling?”
    “This is Charlesetta Lewis. You don’t remember my voice?”
    “Mrs. Lewis. What a surprise. How are you doing? How’s Derrick?” The question Yancey most wanted to ask the mother of her former longtime boyfriend was how she got Yancey’s unlisted number.
    “He’s doing alright. I understand things are going really good for you with your showbiz stuff.”
    “Yes, I thought this was a call from my agent. My, it’s been over five years since I heard from you,” Yancey said as she took a