Page 8 of Jason
“I need you to come to Maine.”
Mallory blinked.She snorted.“For a moment there, I thought you said I should come to Maine.”
“I did say that.You really, like, need to get a cup of coffee or something, Mal.You sound like a truck driver who hasn’t slept in a few days.”
“Ihaven’tslept, Jason.I’ve been super busy.”She pushed herself up to sitting.All she could think about in that moment was her short film.She was so close to being done.“I can’t come to Maine.”
“Why not?Look, it’s not a big deal.You fly out as soon as you can, you’re back in a couple of days.”
“No!”Mallory insisted, and got out of bed.She didn’t know where she was headed, she just felt the need to be standing.“You can’t call me at three thirty in the morning and tell me to get on a plane if there isn’t an emerg—Ouch!Crap!I think I broke my toe.”
“Better watch where you’re going.”
“I really, really want to kick you right now,” she said.“It’sdark.”
“So what’s the problem with coming to Maine for a couple of days?”he asked, glossing over the possibility of a broken toe.“Three, max.”
Mallory groaned.Her toe, it seemed, was not broken.Just as annoyed as she was.“Butwhy?There is so much to do here.”
“Here’s why, Mallory.Keep this on the down-low, but we have a crisis brewing.Darien has been accused of sexual assault with one of the production interns.It will hit the news tomorrow.”
“What?” Mallory shouted, shocked.“Oh my God!Oh myGod.”Darien Simmons was a well-regarded actor.He was tall and stately and charming and the gray around the temples made him sexy.Mallory was shocked, but maybe she shouldn’t be—this seemed to keep happening in this town.“Who?What did he say?”
“Some eighteen-year-old intern is all I know.He said there was no truth to it.That she came on to him.”
Mallory snorted her opinion of that.
“I fired him.”
Mallory gasped.“Youfiredhim?”
“In a minute,” Jason said emphatically.“Forget the kind of attention it’s going to bring the show, which, let me tell you, no one is going to like, andeveryone,from our investors on down to the grip, are going to have an opinion about, but personally, I have a real issue with men assaulting women and I don’t want it anywhere near my show.We need to replace him and fast.The casting director is putting together some headshots.I’m going to have to make a quick decision.”
Mallory was still absorbing the news that Darien had been fired.That he’d abused a production intern, probably some girl who had stars in her eyes and was hoping to get a foot in the door.“But what…how—”
“See?Lots of questions.And I have a lot of phone calls to make.I need you to come, Mallory.Hire a plane.”
“No!Wait, Jason, let me think.We can’t just hire a plane—”
“I’ll find room in the budget.”
“It’s not that.”There was plenty of money in the budget for emergencies, she’d made sure of it.“It’s the emissions!We’vetalkedabout this—”
“Okay, you can get the middle seat in coach on a commercial flight, although I don’t see how that fixes the emissions problem or whatever it is you’re worried about.Is that what you want me to do?”
Mallory squeezed her eyes shut.“That’s hardly a choice.”
“I’ll call my guy and send a plane.Be ready to go in about, oh, I don’t know, about six hours.”
“Jason!”She shoved her fingers through her hair trying to think.“I have plans.That’s the other thing we talked about, remember?That you can’t just assume I’m available at all hours of the day and night.”
“I will make sure you’re well compensated for this, Mallory.I’ll let you write your own check.”
She rolled her eyes.“It doesn’t actually work that way.Itneverworks that way.”
“I’ll make it up to you.It’s just a few days, not a lifestyle change.So pull on those sweatpants you like for weekend work hours and be ready to go.”
Sweatpants!“It’s called athleisure wear and it’s really in right now—”
