“I’m listening.” Holly says. “It’s good to see you, Harold.”
“Sure, whatever,” he says. “Look, here’s the deal. Jackson there is apparently obsessed with getting you a movie, obsessed enough to nearly ruin my vacation over it.” Holly glances at me and I shrug.
“But he said something interesting. In exchange for funding this movie and getting the studio to take it on, Jackson is going to work on Brutally Dishonest for free. Isn’t that right, Jackson?”
“That’s right,” I say. “You can keep your millions of dollars.”
Holly stares at me, clearly shocked. “Jackson, that’s too much,” she says.
“It’s the deal I made,” I grunt at her.
“And we’re not going back on it,” Harold says, clearly annoyed.
“No, we’re not,” I confirm. “You want this movie, right, Holly?”
She nods. “I want it.”
“Good,” Harold says. “So it’s going to happen with you attached. Jackson’s working for free, I’m saving some serious fucking money, and we’re all happy. Okay? Can I send over the fucking papers for you to sign, Holly?”
“Send over the fucking papers, Harold,” she says. “Send them to Mickey Rains.”
I stare at her but I don’t say shit. Fuck Mickey, that rat bastard.
“Okay. And Jackson, your last stipulation still stands. Brutally Dishonest will be made, and I won’t retaliate against you. Oh, and the fake relationship fucking bullshit can be over, goddamn that was such a pain in the ass. And frankly, the media doesn’t give a fuck at all.”
I look at Holly again and she shrugs. “Fine, consider us broken up,” she says.
“Great. Now I’m going back to vacation. Mickey’ll get the papers soon. I hope I never speak with you again, Jackson. And Holly, we’re going to make a lot of money together.”
“Yes, we are,” Holly says.
“Adios, amigos,” Harold says and kills the Skype connection.
I lean back in my chair and grin at her. “So it’s done,” I say. “We’re broken up.”
She shakes her head, totally mystified. “You just gave up a lot of money,” she says. “And you’re stuck still working on this movie for months. All for what?”
“All to try and make up for a mistake I made a long time ago,” I say.
“You’re something else, Jackson Hendricks.” She grins at me. “I should have locked you down sooner.”
“You had no chance. Now go away. I’m calling some agents to try and find new representation. And I’m dumping your ass.”
“Fine by me.” She stands and heads to the door. Before she can leave, she calls out Tara’s name.
I sit up straight. She was the next person I was going to find once this was all straightened out. I’m sure she’s pissed and I don’t know what to say to apologize, but I don’t have a choice.
Tara walks into the room, looking a little pale. I stand up as soon as she enters.
“I’ll leave you two kids alone,” Holly says, and leaves.
Tara stares at me and I stare back. “Hey,” I say finally.
“You asshole,” she says softly.
I walk toward her. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t in the country. I couldn’t call.”
“You could have emailed. You could have done a million things.”
I walk toward her and stop close. “I’m sorry,” I say. “I had to do it, but I wasn’t leaving you.” I smirk at her. “I hear you hit Holly.”
She cocks her hand back and slaps me right across the face. It stings, but I know I deserve it.
“Just like that,” she says. “You asshole. You left me again without a word.”
I turn back to her, hanging my head. “You’re right,” I say. “But don’t you want to know where I was?”
“Fine, I’m listening.”
And so I tell her everything. I start with Mickey and I end with the Skype conversation I just had. By the time I’m done, we’re both sitting down at the conference table, and her mouth is hanging open.
“Did you seriously just sacrifice that much money?” she asks me.
“I did,” I admit. “But I still have a ton left over. And I’m not out of the game.”
“Jackson…” She trails off, shaking her head. “That’s insane.”
“Holly won’t be an issue now,” I say. “She won’t blackmail me. In fact, she seems really happy. The producers and the studio aren’t going to blacklist me, though Mickey is still dead in my eyes. So I have to work for free on this piece of shit, so what? Holly and I are broken up, for real this time.”