Reaching up, he accepted the whiskey—or maybe bourbon, either way they both tasted terrible—from Jason and kept going.

“Jason will be in Canada for a while for another shooting, then he has press junkets with the other cast members of The Witness. Because of that, they are aiming to start filming when Jason is back in the city. So, Olive, if you sign the contract, this is definitely happening. The casting for the smaller characters will get done while Jason is in Canada, but they will hold off on choosing the right person for Evie until Jason can spare a few days and come back to LA.” He turned to look at Jason. “We need to arrange your schedule accordingly. They want you to sit in on the auditions for Evie and do a screen test with the remaining few. You can come back on your day off from the filming.”

“Screen test?” I asked, looking between Jason and Tom. When I said I knew nothing, I meant it.

“A screen test is a method they use to determine the suitability of an actor or actress for the role. Since the book is centered on Jason and Evie’s relationship, they have to have a strong on-screen chemistry. It doesn’t matter if someone aces the audition. They need to see how she works with Jason, so he’ll have to come here for those last steps of the audition process.”

“They don’t want me to audition at all?” Jason asked, frowning at Tom. “I can do a reading from Olive’s book instead of waiting for the screenplay to be done.”

Tom took a sip of his drink and shook his head. “Since they know you are interested, they want you in it, and you’ve already established yourself as a strong actor. They don’t need you to audition. But the other stuff…” Tom glanced at me before hardening his gaze on Jason again. “The other stuff we need to talk about. Otherwise, everything you’ve worked on will go up in flames. You haven’t seen your contract yet; the studio has some restrictions over your personal life.”

“Fine. I get it,” Jason snapped at him. “Leave my shit out of this. You’ll get your say tomorrow at our meeting. Just go through Olive’s contract tonight.” Jason’s harsh voice made me turn to look at him. Without saying another word, he got up and disappeared from our sight.

A little confused, I had to force myself to focus on Tom when he started talking to me again.

According to my contract, I wouldn’t have any say on the final script. If they ended up changing the end—like they had hinted—I didn’t have the right to throw a fit over it. Since I was a new author and not yet established, Tom didn’t see a way where he could get them to modify that specific clause. The option fee was a flat fee, but the initial ‘purchase price’ for the movie rights would be three percent of the initial funding—with a cap of course. That was something Tom had already negotiated for, and I would be getting paid when production started.

In the end, we decided that there were only a few points worth negotiating before signing it, and apparently, the most important one was where and how they would be using the author’s credit—meaning, my name and the book’s title.

When we were finally done with everything, Tom left, and I found myself alone with Jason again.

“They actually want my book, Jason,” I said, hugging my knees as I sat on the fancy couch.

“They had you in their offices, little one,” he reminded me as he came to sit next to me. “Of course they want your book. Did you have any doubt?”

“Yeah. I think up until this moment, I didn’t take them seriously.”

“And now? How do you feel?”

Resting my temple on my knees, I looked at him through blurry eyes. I was having trouble containing my smile. “You’re probably going to freak out, but I might start crying at any moment now.”

I could already feel my nose tingling.

He stood up and offered me his hand. “Come on, I’ll give you a big hug. If you are going to cry, well, you deserve to have a hug while you cry.”

Can I swoon? And maybe take him down with me so we could do some naughty things?

Smiling through my tears, I took his hand. As soon as I was on my feet, I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him. My toes were barely touching the floor.

I had worked so hard and for so long on that book. My heart was in every page of it. My secrets, my dreams, my tears. It had taken a lot of time for me to be happy with every single sentence that I’d written.

And now that same book had brought me to Jason’s arms.

Swallowing, I leaned back and looked straight into those warm brown eyes. The same eyes I’d stolen glances at across the dinner table when I was old enough to know I was irrevocably in love with my brother’s friend. Those same eyes I’d shyly met when he was only a kid. Those eyes I’d watched on the big screen for years, longing after something I’d never had, missing something only he could make me feel.

Feeling happier than I’d ever felt in my life, I smiled. “My story will be on the big screen.”

“It will, little one.” He smiled back, his dark brown eyes holding my gaze. The day after, I would obsess about how long he had looked into my eyes, but at that moment…I chose not to question every unexpected little glance, every extra second of eye contact.

“Thank you so much, Jason. For everything, thank you so much.”

“I didn’t do anything, sweetheart. This is all you.”

“The book, yes, but this.” I gestured to the copy of the contract I would be signing if the studio accepted the changes we wanted. “This I would’ve screwed up if I had to do it all by myself.”

“We both know that you’d have been perfectly fine, Olive.”

There was a slight hesitation on his part, but when he pressed another precious kiss on my forehead, I closed my eyes and held on to him tighter, certain I would have trouble letting him go this time around.

Chapter Eleven Jason

“Okay guys, we need to make this quick. I’m going straight to the airport after this is done,” I said as soon as I entered my publicist’s office. Alvin was right behind me, typing away at his phone at an inhuman pace. I assumed he was making sure everything was ready for our arrival in Canada.

“Alvin,” Megan said as she got up from her seat across from Tom. “You are waiting outside. Close the door behind you.”

After getting a quick confirmation from me, he was out of the room.

“Okay. Lay it on me. What’s the damage?” I took my seat in the middle of the leather couch, draped my arms over the back, and forced my body to relax. This part of my job, talking about my image, my fuck-ups…this was the part I hated deep in my bones.

Megan gathered some papers from her desk drawer then took her seat again. They both had equally grim faces.

“What?” I asked when they glanced at each other, obviously trying to decide who should go first.

A few seconds passed and Tom sighed; any man would wilt under Megan McDowell’s hard stare. She was the best publicist out there, the toughest of them all, but that didn’t change the fact that she was the only woman Tom had a soft spot for.

“Megan got an email this morning and it changes everything.”

“Explain.”

“Last week, did you have sex with Jennifer Widner…in that alley, before the paps swarmed you?”

There was no use denying it. If I did, they couldn’t do the job I paid them to do. So, I didn’t. “Yes. They couldn’t have gotten any shots though. It was a close call, I’ll give you that.” I checked my watch. “Anyway, you both saw the pictures from that night. It was implied that we were having sex, but they didn’t get the shots. You already gave me a lecture on it, Megan.” I stood up. “If this was just to remind me to behave in Canada, there’s no need.”

“Sit down, Jason,” Megan ordered in a curt tone.

Tom was rubbing his forehead; something serious must have happened for him to show his discomfort so openly. Not much stressed him any more after working for me from the very start of my career.