Stéphanie Szostak
Rising executive Tim Wagner works for a boss who hosts a monthly dinner in which the guest who brings the biggest buffoon gets a career-boost. Tim plans on not attending until he meets Barry, a man who builds dioramas using stuffed mice. Barry’s blundering but good intentions send Tim’s life into a downward spiral, threatening a major business deal and possibly scuttling Tim’s engagement to his fiancee.
When Ricky Miller, a single, quiet 40-year old aspiring writer and manager of Debbie’s (think Denny’s) and probably the last person you’d notice in a crowd is ‘hit by lightning’ and meets the love of his life, the beautiful Danita on E-Happily.com, he is catapulted into a relationship online but it’s a lot more than what he bargained for – this includes being asked to kill! Hounded by his best friend Seth who thinks no “10” would even go out with a guy like Ricky unless she had ulterior motives (or needed glasses), Ricky starts to get skeptical himself. Turns out, Danita confesses she’s actually married to a handsome affable crime novelist and former Rabbi, Ben Jacobs. Is Danita telling Ricky the truth when she says wants to leave her husband but fears for her life if she does? Will Ricky go through with the plan to kill him so he and Danita can live happily ever after?
Will is a rising star in New York City architecture, managing a tough project and negotiating to join an important firm. He rarely smiles. His wife Catherine is on the rise as well, as the social engine of his success. They have a son, about eight. Will hits a bump when he meets Kate, a designer of smaller spaces whose work Will has seen (at his son’s school). He recommends her for a project, neglects to tell her he’s married, and sort of seems available. She falls hard, then meets Catherine and gets a job offer in L.A. Should Will sign with the big firm, go with Catherine on a dream vacation in the Caribbean, and wonder about Kate in L.A.? A flock of birds may hold the answer.
