Nora avoided his eyes. “They want to do a fifteenth-anniversary screening ofDirtbagsthis summer. Part of one of their festivals. Press, red carpet, Q and A, the whole thing.” She let herself look at him, gauging his reaction. “I think we should fly out and do it. I think…I think it might be good.”
Ethan looked down at his burrito.
He didn’t like to think aboutDirtbags.Just hearing the title was like a deep-sea fishing net trawling his subconscious, dredging up all those freaky, gasping, malformed memories that were better left to wallow on the ocean floor where they belonged. It was the first movie he and Sam made that had hit it big. The movie where he and Nora had fallen in love. Their first trip to the Academy Awards, Ethan’s win shocking them all. The three of them on the whirlwind media tour, barely believing their good fortune, their whole lives ahead of them.
If it hurt this much just to think about, how could he possibly consider watching it, let alone watch it in a crowd? He shut his eyes.Uhh, this next question is for Ethan? Yeah, hi, big fan. How does it feel to watch yourself and the two people you loved most in the world as bright-eyed optimistic twentysomethings, knowing that you would go on to ruin all three of your lives and you will never, ever come close to being that happy again?
He was trembling now. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been silent. Ethan realized his hand holding the burrito was now squeezing it so tightly that the filling was oozing out of it and falling onto the pristine white tile. Damn. His housekeeper had just been there that morning.
Nora was already in mom mode, hurrying to the counter andripping a paper towel off the roll. She knelt down to pick up the fallen filling.
“You don’t have to do that,” Ethan said helplessly, not moving.
“Already done,” she said, straightening. She crumpled the paper towel and pressed the pedal on the trash can, dropping it in before turning back to him. “You don’t have to decide right now. I know…I know it’s hard.”
She bit her lip, as if contemplating whether or not to say more. Her normally placid voice cracked with emotion.
“It’s hard for me, too, Ethan. I miss him, too. Every day.” Her eyes flicked back to the bottle on the counter, and she hesitated. “But this…this isn’t what he’d want for you. Shutting yourself away forever. I hope you know that.”
Ethan couldn’t bring himself to look at her. To give her the validation he knew she needed.
“I’m pretty beat. I think it’s time for me to hang it up for the night. Would you mind letting yourself out?”
Nora’s brow furrowed with concern, but he knew that she knew better than to express it. He was a lost cause tonight.
“Of course. I should get home, too. Take care of yourself.” The final platitude was delivered with a little more emphasis than was traditional.
Ethan heard the door shut. He was alone again.
He slowly moved toward his bedroom, as if in a trance. The burrito lay forgotten on the counter. On the way to his room, he grabbed a bottle of Macallan from the bar cart without missing a beat. No glass.
He shut the bedroom door behind him.
GREY HAD TO PEE ALREADY.She’d channeled her nerve into chugging the lemon-mint-infused sparkling water Audrey’s office manager had placed in front of her, but the plan seemed to have backfired now that she was almost done with her second glass and the meeting hadn’t even started yet. She had dressed intentionally for the climate: jeans again, and a cropped black sweater with her thickest bra underneath. She wasn’t taking any chances today.
Ethan had been early, surprisingly, and had already been sitting at the table when she’d arrived. He was dressed, like their last meeting, in jeans and a faded T-shirt, the kind of celebrity outfit that looked deceptively simple but likely cost four figures. Even so, his clothes were distressed in a way that didn’t seem prefab. Grey had a feeling if she touched his shirt it would be soft and threadbare from years of washing. She curled her fingers in on themselves to stop herself from reaching out to find out for certain.
He sat across from her at the long, shiny conference table, tracing a finger along the condensation on his own water glass. Next tohim was his agent, Paul Blackwell, who intimidated Grey so much she was afraid to look him in the eye. They’d never met before, but his reputation preceded him. He hadn’t bothered to introduce himself to her when he’d arrived, simply greeted Ethan and buried his nose in his phone.
She felt a rush of gratitude for Renata, sitting next to her with her rhinestone-encrusted glasses perched at the end of her nose, her phone extended as far away from her face as her arms could stretch. Grey watched Paul smirk as he looked up from his phone and observed Renata’s efforts. He glanced over at Ethan, who, to his credit, stared straight ahead, ignoring him. Grey was surprised that she felt grateful for him, too. She’d been Renata’s client long enough to know that this display was part of her strategy: lull everyone into thinking she was harmless, and strike when they least expected it. Grey focused on Paul’s spray-tanned forehead, trying to figure out exactly where his natural hairline ended and his hair plugs began.
They were in another of the private Greenfield & Aoki conference rooms, this one roomy and spacious, with a table large enough to seat thirty people. At the moment, though, it was just the four of them. Paul leaned over to Ethan and muttered something in his ear. Ethan turned his head to listen, but his eyes were fixed on Grey. She quickly looked away and took another sip of water.
Audrey entered the room, trailed by a middle-aged man in a suit. She smiled at them as they both took seats at the head of the table.
“Thanks again for coming in, everyone. For those of you who don’t know, this is Kevin Singh, chief counsel for the firm.”
Kevin nodded in greeting as Grey and Renata said hello. Ethan grunted, and Paul ignored him entirely, still scrolling through his phone.
Audrey continued. “Now, I think this goes without saying,but what we discuss here today never leaves this room. Kevin has drawn up averythorough nondisclosure agreement to that effect that I would appreciate everyone signing before we go any further.”
Kevin passed out the contracts. Grey scanned hers. It all looked pretty standard. Her eyes caught on one line in particular:Each Party acknowledges and agrees that upon a material breach of the Agreement, reimbursement of $1,000,000 (one million dollars) in damages will be owed by the disclosing party.She swallowed and flicked her eyes up at Ethan, who was signing it without hesitation. Of course. That was probably couch cushion change for him. Grey had spent herPoison Paradisemoney prudently, saving most of it, but a million dollars still represented a huge chunk of her net worth. Not to mention that she wasn’t exactly rolling in it after almost a year without work.
She glanced at Renata, who was looking it over herself, lips moving silently as she read. Renata looked back at her and gave her a reassuring nod. Grey picked up her pen, initialed, signed, and dated, and passed back the contract.
Kevin flipped through them and made sure everything was in order. “Looks good.”
“Wonderful. Let’s proceed.” Audrey smiled at the four of them. “I don’t think this has to get ugly, do you? I’m quite fond of both of you, and I think you’ll enjoy getting to know each other.” Grey thought she saw a playful glint in Audrey’s eye. “So, before we begin, let’s remember that we’re all friends here, and this arrangement is meant to benefit everyone. If anyone finds the terms unfair or…uncomfortable, for any reason, please, speak up. Don’t be shy.”
