Page 12 of Jason
“Something like this opens you up for lawsuits, as I am sure you know.It can be very costly very quickly if you aren’t proactive.”
“I know, Uncle Graham.”
He nodded.“Too bad about Darien Simmons.I really liked him inComes the Night.”
“Everyone did.He’s a great actor.Too bad he’s got an issue keeping his fly shut.”
“Yes, too bad.You can never guess a man’s sexual predilections, can you?But that kind of scandal with less than fantastic ratings?”He shook his head.“Not good.”
“We don’t have mediocre ratings,” Jason said sharply.“We really don’t haveanyratings.This show just started airing.You have to give people time to get invested.”He realized that he was arguing about the efficacy of some stupid score on Rotten Tomatoes and then arguing it didn’t matter, but Uncle Graham always put him back on his heels.
“I didn’t say they were mediocre.I said they weren’t fantastic.You know, like one of thoseAvengermovies.”
Why did it always feel like Blackthorne Enterprises was pointing a finger at him?Sometimes, this business with the Blackthorne name was too much.It was never about accomplishments, it was always about whatever he was doing had better be damn good.He better not eventhinkabout besmirching the sacred Blackthorne name.
Uncle Graham was watching him, his brow furrowed.“Did I say something wrong?”
Jason shook his head.“It’s a good show.It’s not campy, it’s not trashy.It’s gritty and real and the people at Netflix love it.Darien, we’ll deal with.And a bad review here and there is to be expected—you can’t please everyone all the time, Uncle Graham.From my perspective, it’s going well.”
“That’s great to hear.But we both know if you lose a star, you lose money.That’s just the way things go.”He shrugged.He looked at his watch.“I need to get on the road.Check in on your grandmother while you’re here, okay?”
“Sure,” Jason said.The last time he’d “checked in on” Nana, she’d ended up pouring him into his bed, laughing at how he couldn’t hold his whisky.
“All right, Jason, I’ll see you soon.”Uncle Graham picked up his Perrier and went out the kitchen door, taking the path down to Nana’s cottage.
Jason watched him go.Maybe he was defensive, but it always felt like he was held to a higher standard than his cousins or brothers.Phillip, his older brother, just made everything into a prank and laughed about it.And Brock, well, he took it to the other extreme.He was so into the Blackthorne image that he made Jason’s art department redo the thistle logo a dozen times before he’d get off their ass.
He shook his head.
When was Mallory getting in?She’d remind him of all the positive news they were getting, of the critical acclaim—at least he hoped there was some critical acclaim.If there was any good news floating around, Mallory would find it.She always had his back that way.She had a lot of positive energy, and she would want to get this Darien thing behind them as quickly as possible.
He paused in the middle of draining his glass.Did hereallycall her at three thirty?He’d make it up to her.He’ll get dinner ordered in or something like that.Maybe ask Pam O’Reilly, the housekeeper, if she could arrange something.
He finished his smoothie, picked up his phone, and started making calls.
Chapter Four
Mallory believedthat flying around in private jets at the drop of a hat was an incredible waste of both environment and money.She was totally prepared to have her environmental principles completely offended.She was 100 percent going to tell Jason that calling her in the middle of the night to command her to fly to Maine was not only borderline psycho boss behavior, but also meant he didn’t truly care about his carbon footprint or the environment.
But then she was distracted by the news coming out about Darien—specifically tweets claiming that the intern wasn’t the only woman who had trouble with him.So typical.But what surprised Mallory was that it wasDarien.If it had been Cass Farenthold, she would have had zero problem believing it.
Cass despised Mallory for reasons she did not really understand, particularly as she’d been perfectly respectful to him.She admired his work.She was thrilled when she got to meet him.But there was that one time when they were casting what was supposed to be a transgender friend of a season one character.The actor Cass wanted was not transgender.Mallory said she thought they ought to ask transgender actors audition.Cass’s gaze was cold enough to make her want a parka.He did not take suggestions well.
On the day of shooting, the young actor could not convincingly portray a transgender character, and the writers were sent scrambling to repair the scene.The delay was costly, and since then, Cass could hardly look at her.
Big baby.
Anyway, on the way to the airport, Mallory found her indignation again, and was once again prepared to give Jason a talking to.But this time, she actually stepped onto that private jet, and it wasawesome.
Mallory could see why people might possibly forget their environmental principles to pass up the crowded airports and shrinking seats and the constant dinging of the wallet by the airlines.She could understand why the lure of wide and soft seats that made into beds made flying fun again.She wassoglad she’d worn a dress instead of the “sweats” Jason had called her athleisure attire, because it seemed like a flight like this demanded a different sort of vibe.Preferably, a vibe of having some money.She did not have money, but she was a good enough actor to pretend like she did.
The plane had six seats covered in supple leather, a bathroom that was the size of her closet, and recessed overhead lights.The trim was mahogany, the glassware crystal, and even the flight attendant looked like a superior form of human.His name was Chasen, and he was tall and quite fit, and was very solicitous of her, although he wore an expression that suggested he was bored by her.Maybe because he’d seen her type before.Mallory had blurted in her excitement, “This is my first time on a private jet!”
Chasen kindly offered her a pre-flight glass of champagne.But beyond that, he seemed not inclined to share Mallory’s wonder at the marvels of private air travel.He was, however, inclined to show her how her personal lights and television worked, how to put the seat down into a bed, and where the blanket was stowed.And then he dimmed the cabin lights.
Mallory had planned to eat and drink everything that flight offered her.She had intended to luxuriate on the leather seat in full recline position, with five full hours with on-demand movies and television.And she had planned to report back to her friends—nay,gloatto her friends.Unfortunately, no thanks to Jason and his middle of the night phone call, and maybe thetwoglasses of champagne she’d very cheerfully allowed Chasen to serve her, she’d fallen asleep almost at once, and didn’t wake up until the captain announced they were landing.
The announcement startled her out of a deep sleep, and she was so disoriented for a moment that she jerked up and wrenched her neck.“Ow,” she whispered, rubbing her nape.She opened the window shade and looked out as the plane began to descend.They were over ocean—she couldn’t see much more than that until the plane touched down.Even then, the only thing she could really see was a rather plain building with one gate and a wind sock on top.Off to the side of the building were two smaller planes, and in the distance, a hangar.
