Free The Player's Club: Finn by Cathy Yardley Page B

screwed, and not in a good way.
    “Don’t be silly,” she said, surprising him. “I’ve already taken care of all that.”
    “You’re, what, thirty, and you’ve made your own funeral arrangements?”
    “Thirty-five, and cremation,” she said stiffly. “Why would I want to purchase a plot of land for something I won’t even enjoy using?”
    “That’s actually very sensible,” Lincoln said, with obvious amusement.
    Finn rubbed his palm over his face, appalled. “So…you’d write a manual. And that’s it.”
    “Well, yes.”
    Finn looked over at Lincoln, then the rest of the Players. “Um…this is…” He struggled for the right word.
    “Unprecedented?” Juliana supplied, tongue-in-cheek.
    “At least she didn’t say she’d steal anything,” Lincoln murmured, kissing Juliana’s neck. Then he looked at the rest of the Players. “Anybody else have any questions?”
    To Finn’s surprise, Amanda, one of the newest Players, approached Diana. She was a slender, almost elflike woman, with silvery blond hair and a delicate face. She was smiling. “I think I’ve got this one, Finn.”
    Diana watched her, almost warily. “There aren’t many women here, are there?”
    “We’re changing that,” Amanda said, pulling up a folding chair of her own. “Actually, I’m glad to see you here.” Like the classic good cop, she kept smiling. “So, there’s nothing you wish you’d done, like when you were a kid? Nothing you would regret missing out on, if given the chance? Have you wanted to travel or anything?”
    “I’ve traveled a lot for my job.”
    “I’ll bet,” Amanda noted shrewdly, “but have you seen anything outside the airport, hotel room, or conference room? Did you ever just…you know, wander around? Do anything for fun?”
    Diana squirmed. “I’m not a huge ‘fun’ person.”
    “Okay, so travel, then,” Amanda said, with a meaningful look at Finn. Finn shrugged. “Any place in particular?” Amanda pressed.
    Diana seemed to stare into space for a second, and Finn wondered if she was falling asleep—she probably hadn’t had much the night before. “You know,” Diana finally mused, as if she’d forgotten everyone else were there and was only talking to Amanda, “I have kind of wanted to hang out in Paris. See the Louvre, have coffee in some café or something. The people there always look so…I don’t know, sophisticated and artsy and mellow, without being annoying about it.”
    Amanda burst out laughing. “You’d love Paris. What about when you were a kid? Any place you wanted to see?”
    Diana colored, and Finn found himself leaning forward, eager to hear what she was going to say.
    “I’ve never been to…” She glanced around defensively. “Um, Disneyland. Not that it’s a big deal, but I imagine that would’ve been fun. As a child. At some point.”
    “Great,” Amanda said encouragingly, then looked at Finn. “Anywhere else?”
    “Not really.”
    “Anything you wanted to do?” Finn tried again. “Hang glide? Parasail? Bungee jump, maybe?”
    “God, no,” Diana said. “Heights are not my thing. I’m more of a water girl, myself.”
    “Water,” Finn repeated. “Huh.”
    “This little getting-to-know-you interview has been fun, and all,” Diana said sarcastically. “But are there any other questions, or can we move on to the hazing aspect of this, or whatever you call it? I’ve got to go to the office in the morning, and I’m running on about three hours of sleep.”
    Finn looked at Lincoln.
    “None of them are Everest,” Lincoln replied. “But she’s got her three.”
    “No way,” Finn protested. “No way am I letting ‘write an office manual’ be one of her challenges.”
    “Wait,” Diana interrupted. “Three what?”
    “She’s the one who said it,” Lincoln countered, smiling wickedly. “Besides, maybe it’ll help her, especially when she’s on that long flight to Paris. And then to Disneyland.”
    “Wait! Paris? Disneyland?