‘Of course.’
‘Why are you so obsessed with feeding me?’
‘Because I’m trying to fucking keep youalive, dipshit,’ she said, slapping me in the shoulder. ‘Do you have any idea what it would do to me if you suddenly dropped dead?’
I stared.
‘Lily,’ I managed to say. ‘Lily, I—’
‘No.’ She held a finger up. ‘We’ve had enough big emotionsfor tonight. I’ve reached my limit. Move over. I’m going to call room service.’
It didn’t take long to arrive. She pulled her shoulder straps back up and I rezipped my fly and we moved over to the table to eat. ‘This is a new level of luxury,’ she said, three fries in hand. ‘A hotel room with a dining table in it. You really have hit the big time.’
‘You, however, just very publicly quit your job.’ I nudged her foot under the table. ‘Are you in the market for a new one?’
She pointed the fries at me. ‘No. No charity.’
‘It isn’t charity. You know how this business works, Lily. You might not be doingWhereforeanymore, but if anything, what happened tonight is just going to make you a bigger star. You’re going to get more offers than you’ll ever be able to even look at. If you wanted to, you could make a living off spon-con alone.’
She laughed. ‘I could, couldn’t I? What a thought.’
‘You should take your time. You should consider your options. But I want to put one on the table. Consult for me.’
She leaned back in her chair. ‘I’m listening.’
‘I’m building six shows from the ground up. With more to come. I need someone who’ll tell me when I’m doing something stupid.’
‘Like rigging a season?’
‘Precisely. Plus, consultants get to work their own hours, so if you wanted to do other things, you could. And they get paid through the fucking nose.’
‘Now that interests me.’ Lily picked up another fry. ‘Because my partner is this big fancy exec, and I don’t want to be his kept woman.’
I rolled my eyes. She smiled and ate her fry. ‘Can I think about it?’
‘Absolutely. Take as much time as you want.’
‘And can I ask you something? Something that’s really been eating me up?’
‘Of course.’
The words came out of her in a rush. ‘What happened on Kumiko’s season? I’ve been driving myself insane trying to figure out what the twist could possibly be.’
‘Oh!’
I told her.
Her eyebrows shot into her hairline. ‘No way,’ she breathed. ‘Kumiko andZ?’
I nodded, my mouth full of hamburger.
‘Z? Our Z? Tom Zelig Z?’
I swallowed. ‘The very same.’
‘Fuck me,’ Lily said. ‘How the hell did you pull that off?’
EpilogueLilyThree years later
