“What’s going on here?”

She handed me a piece of paper. It was a copy of a single email sent to Megan’s email account.

I read the contents of it. Then I read it again.

“Is this a joke?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

“Unfortunately, it isn’t,” Megan replied. “You’re being blackmailed.”

I looked down at the paper in my hands again. “For two million dollars?” I balled up the paper and tossed it away. Leaning forward, I looked straight into Tom’s eyes. “If you’re playing me, if this is something you two concocted together so I’ll get scared and clean up my act, you tell me right now, Tom. If I find out later, you won’t be happy. Neither one of you will.”

Tom’s jaw hardened and I saw his hands form into tight fists. “You think I would do this to you? On top of everything else, are you out of your mind too?”

“I’m not stupid, Tom. That alley was empty. If someone was filming me having sex with Gemma, or whatever the hell her name is—”

“You don’t even remember her fucking name?”

“I would’ve seen it,” I continued over his rising tone. “Those paps came out of fucking nowhere after we were done. By the time they got to us, it only looked like we were making out or something.”

“Obviously someone was there, Jason,” Megan countered and drew my attention from Tom’s angry face. “What good would it do us to make it look like someone is blackmailing you? Stop acting like you know nothing about this industry. Whether it was a pap or some stranger just walking by, they have you on tape.”

“I’m not paying anyone anything,” I spit out. “We don’t even know if they have what they say they have.”

“I replied to his email, asking for proof,” Megan countered. “I’m hoping we’ll hear back today. As you’ve already read yourself, if you decide not to pay, he’ll sell it to whoever pays the big bucks. I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to take it off his hands. We will send cease and desist letters, but once it’s online, you know that whatever you do it will always be out there, and that will screw your career in a matter of seconds. At this point, we’re beyond damage control.”

“Is this a new kink?” Tom piped up. “You have to fuck them out in the open, where anyone can get a free show?”

“Watch it,” I warned him wearily, all the fight seeping out of me.

Clearly not done with me, he got up from his seat and started to pace in the expansive room.

“This is the fifth incident this year,” he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Only this year, Jason. The first few, we managed to squash, but if there is a video and you refuse to buy it before it goes to a tabloid or a news outlet, there is nothing, absolutely nothing we can do to sweep it under the rug this time. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”

Stopping next to me, he continued on his tirade. “Do you even grasp the fact that you’ve lost two projects? Two very important projects with some big names, and you lost them because of the constant negativity in the press. They aren’t talking about the movies you’re making. And now this? You’re not a useless reality star, Jason. Stop acting like it. If you were forty, I’d say you were going through a midlife crisis, but you have no excuse for your recent behavior. None.” He waited for an answer, but I wasn’t giving one. “What do you think will happen? None of the studio executives are happy with you. The press junkets you were supposed to do? The whole European tour for The Witness? You are kicked out. They don’t want you to be the center of attention when you are supposed to be there to promote their fucking movie. You’ll only go to the opening in London. You’re fucking up your entire career.”

I said nothing. Up to a point, he was right. Of course I knew that. I was literally fucking my career away for nothing and I had no compelling explanation. I wasn’t damaged because my mom had committed suicide, or because my dad had died from a heart attack while he was in bed with a highly priced call girl. They didn’t have that kind of a hold on me. They had been my biological parents and that was the end of it.

“I get it, and you are right, which is why I gave you my word that I would cool it down.”

“Cool it down?” He laughed. “You’re not getting it, my friend. Your little Olive’s movie? The one you are surprisingly excited to be a part of? Forget about it. The second the public sees this video, the studio will cut you out. I told you they had restrictions. They don’t even want you to have a relationship while you’re filming and promoting their movie. Do you think they’ll be okay with having your video out there while they are getting ready to announce your involvement with the adaptation?”

I sat up straighter. “You told me yourself they don’t want anyone else. They want me to play Isaac.”

“Yes, Jason.” He nodded and let out a sarcastic laugh. “That’s exactly what I told you. I’m surprised you were actually listening to me.”

He lost his smile and gave me a hard look, waiting for something.

The meaning of what he was trying to tell me finally sinking in, I sprung up. “She signed the contract, damn it! They can’t give up on it just because I screwed up. This has nothing to do with Olive’s book.”

“You’re right, it doesn’t. But what do they care? Olive signing the contract means nothing at this point. It is just an option. You know how these things work; let enough time pass and the rights will revert to her.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Megan rise up and get on her computer.

“They only reached out to Olive Taylor because I told them that I would get you on board. You’ve read the book. I know you’ve read the book. Think about it for a second. It’s almost as if it was written for you. Why would they want someone else when you are the perfect fit?”

Turning around, I faced him again. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Sometimes you can be so stupid,” he said, groaning. He approached me as if he was nearing a dangerous animal. “You said you were childhood friends with Olive, right?”

I nodded curtly. “I practically grew up in the same house with her. Her brother was my best friend.”

“Yeah, well, I believe her inspiration for Isaac was you.”

“No.”

“Why the hell not?”

“I don’t do drugs, I never did. You know this. And Genevieve is Isaac’s friend. They never live in the same house. Olive was…” Even though she had been my friend, I couldn’t quite say it. “Olive was my friend’s sister. It’s different.”

He rolled his eyes. “So what? She is a writer. She uses her imagination. That version of you does drugs. This version of you fucks everything that moves. In public. That version of you is her friend. This version of you was her brother’s friend. It’s the same fucking thing! The movie isn’t about drugs. It’s about Isaac and Genevieve. Maybe she wanted to write a happy ending for the boy she was in love with when she was a kid. What the hell do I know?” Taking a breath, he lowered his voice. “All I’m saying is, the execs wanted you because you were perfect for the role: Hollywood’s troubled boy finally falling in love on the screen. Isaac is a strong character; he would’ve changed things around for you. Opened up new venues. I wanted you in this project because it was going to help your image in the public’s eye if it was done right. You might see it as just another movie, but the viewers would’ve seen more than that. In the end, they would’ve left the theater thinking about all the heartache you’d gone through. Finally, they would’ve seen a different side of you, someone who is capable of love.”

“Now you’re just trying to piss me off.”

“You think so? Show me one stable relationship you’ve had in the last few years.”

I ran my hand through my hair and picked up the pacing where Tom had left off.

“It doesn’t mean I’m not capable of love, Tom. For Christ’s sake, why are we even talking about this? I’m just not looking for anything serious, especially not with someone who is in this industry. And don’t talk to me as if you don’t know my schedule. I don’t have time for a serious relationship. It isn’t as if I never had any love interests in the movies I’ve been in.”