“Why would he need to lick his wounds?”
“Isn’t it obvious? His career wasn’t taking off, and they canceled an audition he was waiting for. Nick can be very…dramatic. Oh, don’t give me that look—I like the kid! I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about.” She lowered her voice. “Come on, you and I both know he’ll never make it big. You need more than a pretty face to make it in this town.”
Her words felt personal, as if we were no longer talking about Nick. Had she said similar things about me when she held my hopes and dreams in her hands?
I inhaled to compose myself, reminding myself why I was there. “Agatha, do you know where Nick is?”
“Meaning?”
I wet my lips. The office felt too hot. “I think you might know where Nick is, like you knew where I was all those years ago.”
Something dark flashed in her eyes. A warning? She laughed, but it came out pitchy. “How the hell should I know where you’vebeen all those years ago? You had a personal crisis, didn’t you? You said so yourself.”
“You sent me to Pickles, Agatha.”
“Excuse me?”
“You kept bugging me to go there,onlythere. You said it was the hottest place in town, but it never was. You also didn’t mention you knew the owner. Why wouldn’t you tell me that? And…” I stopped myself from saying that Nick also knew Eliot, because wouldn’t that mean I knew too much? I couldn’t make it known I was involved in a police investigation.
“Jonah, listen to me.” She leaned forward, her gaze colder than ice. “I don’t appreciate your wild accusations. Wherever Nick ran off to, it’s none of my business, and whereveryouran off to is even less. Honestly, Jonah, your career was dead in the water; no one even noticed you were gone. You need to move on before this turns even sadder.”
She meant for her words to cut, but I was no stranger to bleeding. “Eliot knew about most of my failed auditions in advance. I thought it was because he knew a lot of people, but he only needed to know one person—you. Did you feed him information about me for all those months?”
She stood up. “Get out.”
“Not until you tell me the truth.”
“Jonah, get the fuck out!”
I jumped to my feet, worried I might lose control and hit her.“You fucking ruined me!”
“You are delusional, Jonah, and it’s pathetic. Get out!”
The office door flew open. “A problem, Agatha?”
I turned to see a man by the entrance, filling the space with his massive frame, his smile as sharp as a blade.
“Jonah was just leaving.”
I turned to her. “We can still save him. Just tell me where he is. I won’t tell anyone that you—”
I was yanked back and landed on my back. Sharp pain pulsed up and down my spine.
“The lady told you to get out, friend.” The man offered me his hand, still smiling.
I wanted to wave him away, but I hurt too much. I let him help me up, my face burning from embarrassment.
“Make sure he leaves the building,” Agatha said, the anger in her voice already replaced by boredom.
“Sure thing, ma’am.”
He steered me out of the office until we reached the elevator. From behind, I heard the receptionist say, “Wait, so he didn’t know about the new Tarantino movie?”
The man stepped into the elevator with me, standing too close.
“Are you also with them?” I asked, pain and anger taking over my mouth.
He glanced at me, looking even more massive in the cramped space. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
