Page 93 of In Love with Lewis Prescott
“Don’t forget about tomorrow. We’ve got that meeting with the crew fromThe Best of Itand you’re hosting it here at your house, remember?”
A fire lights within me. “Yeah, I remember.”
The corner of Katie’s mouth hooks up in a smile. “Good. We need you on the top of your game if we’re gonna take Darren down.”
I clench my fists at my sides and stand up to my full height. “We’re gonna nail his ass to the wall.”
I’m blown away at how many people showed up. Almost every crew member fromThe Best of Itis sitting or standing in my living room, ready to do whatever it takes to take down Darren.
For an hour, we’ve all been catching up on what’s been going on ever since the show’s hiatus. None of the network higher-ups cared to get rid of Darren, even when I and the rest of the crew told them about his history of harassing crew members and extras. Because of that, everyone is refusing to return to the show when it’s scheduled to start filming again. Darren is pissed, of course. No crew means no show, which is costing the network money, and that means they’re breathing down his neck.
“He’s threatening to blacklist every one of us who refuses to come back to work,” Katie says. She runs a hand over the shaved side of her scalp, a telltale sign that she’s anxious. “I have no doubt he’ll do it. I mean, look what he did to Lewis, and he was the freaking star of the show.”
Almost everyone murmurs their agreement.
“We have to figure out a way to hold him accountable and expose him,” says Mariah, the head of wardrobe. “I don’t want to work for that bastard anymore. None of us do. But we need to make money. This industry is our livelihood, and we can’t let him ruin us.”
When Mariah’s voice shakes, Katie grabs hold of her hand.
“Are you all okay with me going public with this, then?” I ask, my gaze scanning the room. Everyone nods.
“I want to nail Darren’s ass to the wall,” I say. “I want everyone to know what a sack of shit he is. But I also know that it could come off the wrong way too. Like, it could rub people the wrong way to see me, the star of the show, a man who wasn’t one of Darren’s victims, spearhead the campaign against him. I don’t want it to look like I’m taking the focus away from any of you.”
Nearly everyone shakes their head.
“We want you to help us, Lewis,” says Aja, the script supervisor. “A lot of times when harassment happens, male allies are hard to find, let alone celebrities with a platform and influence. They don’t want to call out a fellow man for their predatory behavior. But you’re willing to. And that’s exactly what we need for people to take this seriously and hold Darren accountable.”
Everyone voices their agreement.
“Okay. I’ll do it.”
The mood of the room lightens as people start to smile and chatter. I walk over to Katie and tell her what I’m planning. Her eyes go wide.
“Your agent is going to murder you.”
I shrug. “I think I’m done with that guy.”
I tell everyone to help themselves to whatever they want in my kitchen and to stay as long as they’d like, then I head to my office and make some calls. When I finish and walk back out over an hour later, half the people are still there.
I grab a green juice from the fridge and drain it, feeling enlivened and exhausted at once at what I’m about to do. I’m likely going to burn every bridge I’ve spent the last ten years building in this industry, but I don’t give a shit. I want to do this—and it’s the right thing to do.
“Hey.” Katie walks up to me. “Thanks. For everything.”
“Thankyouand everyone else for supporting me.”
She pulls me into a hug. “We’re family. This is what we do for each other.”
When I start to turn away, she holds me in place. “Have you figured out a way to talk to Harper?”
My stomach knots at the thought. I nod anyway. “I hope so. We’ll see after I make this call.”
She steps aside. “Don’t let me stop you.”
I walk into the hall and dial the newly saved number in my phone. I owe that IT guy a huge favor for what he did to get it. When she answers, my heart lodges in my throat, but I force myself to talk anyway.
“Hey. It’s Lewis. Please don’t hang up.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
