“We have a table.” He pointed toward a big table on the patio.
“I saw that, but I want to dip my toes in.”
His hand touched my back and he guided me toward the pool.
Pushing the chopsticks into my pocket, I took off my shoes, bent down, and rolled up my jeans. When I was happy with the length, I straightened up and stood at the very edge of the pool.
“It’s amazing up here, Jason.” When he didn’t answer, I glanced back and saw him taking off his shoes and socks. I bit down on my bottom lip to keep myself from smiling and turned back to face the amazing view.
Taking the chopsticks out of my pocket so they wouldn’t break when I sat down, I lowered myself to the ground and dipped my legs into the pool.
I closed my eyes and turned my face up toward the sky with a small smile on my face. There was a quiet splash of water, and I knew Jason was sitting down too.
“Thank you for inviting me up here,” I said finally, opening my eyes to glance at him.
His eyes were already on me. Smiling back, he shook his head and handed me my dinner, grabbing his chopsticks before I could hand them to him myself.
“You are different from what I’m used to, little one. Different from the little kid I remember,” he said as we started eating our dinner in a comfortable silence.
“Different how?”
“I don’t know yet.”
I thought about it for a minute, then in a conversational tone said, “Maybe it’s the boobs?”
Choking on his food, he coughed for a good minute while I sat there serenely, looking straight ahead.
At last, in a strangled voice, he said, “Yeah. It might be the boobs.”
Yup, he had noticed my boobs.
Score one for my boobs!
***
When Tom finally came around, it was almost nine o’clock.
“I’m sorry I’ve kept you guys waiting for so long. I was with another client.”
“Please, I should be the one thanking you for sparing time for me in your hectic schedule, and I have no idea what percentage you take for these kinds of things, but please let me know so I can—”
“That’s been taken care of, you don’t have to worry about it,” Jason cut in.
“But—”
“It’s okay Miss Taylor—”
“Please call me Olive,” I interjected as I reached out for the papers he had pushed in front of me.
Smiling, he continued. “Olive, it’s a pretty standard contract, but we’ll still go over it so you can decide if there is a clause you aren’t feeling comfortable with.”
I nodded. I knew nothing, nothing at all about this stuff.
“The first good news is,” Tom started as Jason got up from his seat next to me to get Tom a drink. “This project is never hitting the ‘development limbo’.” When I stared at him blankly, he explained in a bit more detail.
“After a producer or a studio options the movie rights to a book, the timeline is usually around twelve to eighteen months or sometimes even longer to get the production started, and even after that, there is no guarantee that it will ever happen. In your case, they want to capitalize on the buzz that’s been going around your book, meaning since they’ve already secured a big name like Jason, the rest of it will come through quickly.”
Reaching up, he accepted the whiskey—or maybe bourbon, either way they both tasted terrible—from Jason and kept going.
“Jason will be in Canada for a while for another shooting, then he has press junkets with the other cast members of The Witness. Because of that, they are aiming to start filming when Jason is back in the city. So, Olive, if you sign the contract, this is definitely happening. The casting for the smaller characters will get done while Jason is in Canada, but they will hold off on choosing the right person for Evie until Jason can spare a few days and come back to LA.” He turned to look at Jason. “We need to arrange your schedule accordingly. They want you to sit in on the auditions for Evie and do a screen test with the remaining few. You can come back on your day off from the filming.”
“Screen test?” I asked, looking between Jason and Tom. When I said I knew nothing, I meant it.
“A screen test is a method they use to determine the suitability of an actor or actress for the role. Since the book is centered on Jason and Evie’s relationship, they have to have a strong on-screen chemistry. It doesn’t matter if someone aces the audition. They need to see how she works with Jason, so he’ll have to come here for those last steps of the audition process.”
“They don’t want me to audition at all?” Jason asked, frowning at Tom. “I can do a reading from Olive’s book instead of waiting for the screenplay to be done.”
Tom took a sip of his drink and shook his head. “Since they know you are interested, they want you in it, and you’ve already established yourself as a strong actor. They don’t need you to audition. But the other stuff…” Tom glanced at me before hardening his gaze on Jason again. “The other stuff we need to talk about. Otherwise, everything you’ve worked on will go up in flames. You haven’t seen your contract yet; the studio has some restrictions over your personal life.”
“Fine. I get it,” Jason snapped at him. “Leave my shit out of this. You’ll get your say tomorrow at our meeting. Just go through Olive’s contract tonight.” Jason’s harsh voice made me turn to look at him. Without saying another word, he got up and disappeared from our sight.
A little confused, I had to force myself to focus on Tom when he started talking to me again.
According to my contract, I wouldn’t have any say on the final script. If they ended up changing the end—like they had hinted—I didn’t have the right to throw a fit over it. Since I was a new author and not yet established, Tom didn’t see a way where he could get them to modify that specific clause. The option fee was a flat fee, but the initial ‘purchase price’ for the movie rights would be three percent of the initial funding—with a cap of course. That was something Tom had already negotiated for, and I would be getting paid when production started.
In the end, we decided that there were only a few points worth negotiating before signing it, and apparently, the most important one was where and how they would be using the author’s credit—meaning, my name and the book’s title.
When we were finally done with everything, Tom left, and I found myself alone with Jason again.
“They actually want my book, Jason,” I said, hugging my knees as I sat on the fancy couch.
“They had you in their offices, little one,” he reminded me as he came to sit next to me. “Of course they want your book. Did you have any doubt?”
“Yeah. I think up until this moment, I didn’t take them seriously.”
“And now? How do you feel?”
Resting my temple on my knees, I looked at him through blurry eyes. I was having trouble containing my smile. “You’re probably going to freak out, but I might start crying at any moment now.”
I could already feel my nose tingling.
He stood up and offered me his hand. “Come on, I’ll give you a big hug. If you are going to cry, well, you deserve to have a hug while you cry.”
Can I swoon? And maybe take him down with me so we could do some naughty things?
Smiling through my tears, I took his hand. As soon as I was on my feet, I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him. My toes were barely touching the floor.
I had worked so hard and for so long on that book. My heart was in every page of it. My secrets, my dreams, my tears. It had taken a lot of time for me to be happy with every single sentence that I’d written.
And now that same book had brought me to Jason’s arms.
Swallowing, I leaned back and looked straight into those warm brown eyes. The same eyes I’d stolen glances at across the dinner table when I was old enough to know I was irrevocably in love with my brother’s friend. Those same eyes I’d shyly met when he was only a kid. Those eyes I’d watched on the big screen for years, longing after something I’d never had, missing something only he could make me feel.
Feeling happier than I’d ever felt in my life, I smiled. “My story will be on the big screen.”