“Not yet, but the source did hear Mr. Davenport and his companion talking about an iguana or possibly a Komodo dragon.”
“I see,” Veronica says, shaking her head gravely. “Well, hopefully his injuries won’t have lasting effects. Any word on who the companion was?”
“A Crownie managed to secretly video him in the emergency, then followed him and his mystery woman, with whom it appears he is vacationing, as they pulled away on a speedboat. At that point, the fan lost sight of Mr. Davenport, but some have suggested that he was likely returning to Oprah’s mansion on the west side of the island.”
The footage of Emma and Pierce in the waiting room plays with Emma clearly saying, “Sorry, no photos. Hospital policy. He’d normally love to, though.”
The video pauses, the screen splits, and Giles nods. “You see there, her demeanour and how she speaks on his behalf, then she intimates that she knows exactly what he’d normally do…”
“Ah, yes, that suggests a very close relationship, doesn’t it?”
“I’d say it does, yes. And apparently, later when he was brought into the examining room, she accompanied him.”
“Interesting, Giles. There is a lot to unpack in this story. The first thing that comes to mind, though, is how disappointed his fans must be that he is not hard at work on the highly anticipated series finale.”
“Indeed, Veronica. And they’re not the only ones who are up in arms. Word has it that NBO studio head Kent Cromwell went on the warpath as soon as he found out about this breaking story. According to insiders at NBO, the legal team was brought in to discuss removing Mr. Davenport as one of the show’s executive producers for the final season and they have already amassed a team of writers to pick up the saga where he left off and complete it without his input, which of course would be a huge disappointment to fans everywhere.”
“Is there a possibility that he was there for work and not play? Like some sort of writer's retreat, for example?”
“It very unlikely,” Giles says, pursing his lips. “Especially given the fact that he is clearly there with a young woman who looks like she could be some sort of swimsuit model or, perhaps, even a professional beach volleyball player.”
“Absolutely shocking behaviour from a man who was once hailed to be one of the brightest stars of our generation.” Veronica shakes her head gravely. “Okay, thank you very much for reporting. I'm sure you'll keep us up to date as more details emerge on this important entertainment story.”
“Absolutely,” Giles nods.
“After this break, we will be checking in with the royal family to see how the wedding plans are progressing in what’s been dubbed Royal Wedding 2.0. We've got some surprising details about next month's upcoming nuptials between Prince Arthur and commoner Tessa Sharpe.”
* * *
Voicemail from Bunny: “Pierce, it's your mother calling. I'm not sure if you heard, but the wedding is back on. Arthur and that woman of his have set a new date. It looks like they'll be getting married in three weeks’ time, which is a great cause of concern for your father and I since you are out of the country. I'm just calling to see if perhaps you might wrap up your little book so that you can be back in time.”
* * *
Email from the desk of Kent Cromwell
President in Chief, NBO studios
Pierce,
I understand you've been injured and I offer my deepest sympathies; however, we do need to discuss the future of theClash of Crownsseries. Call as soon as you get this email, even if it’s the middle of the night. If I don't hear back from you within forty-eight hours, I will have to pass you off to our legal team.
Regards,
Kent
* * *
Text from Leo:Hey, bro, saw the footage. How's your hand? If that's not the worst timing ever to be attacked by a wild animal, I don't know what is. Too bad you didn’t join me in Bath instead of going off to the jungle. BTW, who's the hottie? Are you two an item or should I fire up the family jet and come ‘meat’ her?
* * *
Well, if I thought I was fucked before, I had absolutely no idea what the phrase meant. Here's what’s happened over the last eighteen hours: I've had my right hand stitched up and casted. Some arse at the hospital managed to take footage of Emma and me so now the entire world of Crownies is erupting on the Internet as they believe me to be on a relaxing vacation with a swimsuit model rather than completing the book. In this business,perception is everything, and unfortunately at the moment, the perception is that I'm a lazy ne'er-do-well who has no intention of finishing what I started.
To be honest, none of this bothered me too much for the first twelve hours because it turns out the medical staff at San Felipe Hospital are handing out some pretty good painkillers. But now that they've worn off, reality has set back in. I’ve got Kent Cromwell so far up my arse, I can smell his cologne, not to mention that the two biggest trending topics on Reddit are ‘Who is Pierce Davenport’s Mystery Woman’ and, my favourite, ‘Creative Ways to Kill off Pierce Davenport if He Doesn’t Finish theClash of CrownsSeries.’
My hand hurts like a son of a bitch, too. I don’t want to sound like a wimp or anything, but now that the drugs are out of my system, I’m left with a constant throbbing pain. But if I take more of the little blue pills they sent me home with, I’ll be knocked out again, which means no writing, which means losing everything I’ve built over the past eight years.
Not to worry though. I just have to come up with a plan…
