“Ad…adren…aline slump. We’re fine.” River twined his fingers with Newt’s.
Newt sighed. “We might not have been.”
“But we are.” River pulled back to look directly at him. “We don’t know who he was going for. And the police arrested him so…”
“Apart from that little hiccup, are you happy with how it all went?”
“I did okay. Now I’m more con…cerned with how the film is received.”
“Nothing you can do about that.”
“Just worry.”
Newt brushed the hair out of River’s eyes. “You can’t please everyone. And some people you can’t please at all.”
“Thank you for saving me. Again. And Dila.”
“I’d sort of hoped you might recognise him. I hope itwashim who fucked up that hold on the rockface and then we don’t have to worry anymore. I suppose the police will find out.” He sighed. “I want to go for a swim. I want to empty my head.”
“I’m too tired. Don’t drawn…drown.”
“I’ll try not to.”
River was getting dressed after a shower, when his phone rang. “Hi, Max.”
“My God, River. What can I say? I’m almost speechless.”
“Good speech…less? Bad?”
“Good!”
River could hear the sound of conversation in the background. “At the party?”
“Yes. Are you home?”
“Yes.”
“You were already going places, but this film… Oh my God, this film is going to rocket you to mega stardom. Everything about it was wonderful. The story, the setting, the characters, the cinematography, the acting… Oh God, the acting. You were fucking electric. And it’s not just me saying that. The whole theatre was buzzing. Omid was great too, you made an excellent duo, butyoubrought everything to life. You dominated every scene you were in.”
River swallowed hard. But then Max was his agent, of course he was going to praise him. “Did you get…a…copy of the film?”
“Yes. I’ll send it. I didn’t hear any negative comments about your interviews. How do you think they went?”
“All good. Re…hearsing helped. Short answers worked. Have you heard from the police?”
“Not yet.”
“Will they want to speak to us?”
“Probably, but everything was caught on camera. And the police had already interviewed you. I made sure the officer in charge knew that.”
“Right.”
“I spoke to Misha a few moments ago. He said he’dtalked to you briefly. I made sure it was brief. He thinks you’re fine. I know you have a little way to go but he’s expecting you on set in late September, early October.”
“Do I still need to be atta…attached to Dila? I told her about the letters. It didn’t…feel fair not to.”
Max tsked. “Right.”
