Authors: Kelly Favor
“You are bad,” Kallie laughed. “But I love it. Text me the number.”
The detective did so. “Now we’re almost even,” he said. “I still owe you a few more favors before we’re truly settled up.”
Hunter was looking at them with suspicion. “What the hell is going on, Detective? Are you putting the moves on my girl?”
Kallie laughed. “No, he most certainly is not. But I can’t tell you what’s happening just yet. It’s a secret and I don’t want to reveal what it is until everything’s done.”
Hunter eyed her with even more suspicion. “Something tells me this is going to end badly, whatever it is.”
“It definitely has that potential,” Kallie agreed. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an important phone call to make.”
She walked out of the room and moved to a small waiting area near the elevators.
She had butterflies in her stomach as if she was calling Eliza to ask her out on a date or something.
The phone rang twice and then Eliza Johnston answered, her voice sounding cautious—almost fearful. “Hello….?”
“Hi Eliza, this is Kallie Young and I’m working with Max Weisman. You’ve been speaking with him about a film role, correct?”
“Yes…but my agent told me that someone else would be calling. I don’t think I have time for this right now…”
“The detective who called your agent works for me. Sorry about the confusion.”
“Huh?”
“I’m the person you need to talk to right now, Eliza. I just need an hour or two of your time. Are you free today?”
Eliza stammered. “I’m not sure. I have lunch plans…”
Kallie could tell that Eliza thought she was just some deranged fan or something.
She was losing her chance, blowing it.
“Listen, we just need a few minutes of your time. I work with Hunter Reardon—
“
Suddenly, Eliza’s voice changed. “Wait, you said your name was Kallie Young?”
“Yes.”
“Oh my God, I just realized who you are. You’re all over the news right now!”
“I guess I haven’t been paying much attention to the news. I’ve got a lot on my plate,” Kallie laughed.
“And you want to meet with
me
?” Eliza said.
“Actually, it’s not you and I that need to meet,” Kallie replied.
“I’m listening,” Eliza said.
And so Kallie began to put her plan into action.
***
When Kallie was done talking to Eliza, she called Bryson and filled him in on what he needed to do. And then she made the scariest phone call yet.
“Max Weisman’s office,” said the voice on the other end of the line.
“Kallie Young calling for Mister Weisman.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“Hold please,” the assistant said, suddenly sounding flustered.
A moment later, Max’s bellowing voice came over the phone. “Kallie Young?”
“Hi, Max,” she said, trying to sound chipper.
“My goodness, girl. I never expected to hear your voice so soon. How are you?
How is Hunter? My thoughts have been with the two of you. I was so shaken when I heard what had happened to you. The whole city, the entire industry has just been floored by this thing.”
He certainly sounded convincing, Kallie thought. But she knew it was all for show. Max had taken this opportunity to grab control of the production of Bryson’s film, and all his soliloquies wouldn’t change that fact.
“Thanks for saying such wonderful things,” Kallie told him. “I really appreciate your support, Max.”
“Anything. Anything for you and Hunter. I couldn’t have asked for two more lovely people to partner with on a film.”
“I’d like to meet with you today, if you have some time this afternoon.”
Max paused. “Meet? Today?”
“Yes, if that would be all right.”
“Well, sure. But whatever for?”
She didn’t want to arouse his suspicions at all. “I just thought we should discuss next steps.”
“Have you spoken to Bryson by any chance?” Max asked, casually.
“I did.”
“And I can imagine you might be upset about the change of plans. Now, let me just explain my thought process here.”
“If we could just have the discussion in person this afternoon, that would be great,” Kallie said.
There was a long silence. And then, he burst out enthusiastically, “Well of course we can have a meeting. Do I turn away heroes, do I say no to a meeting with Mother Theresa—do I say no to a meeting with Nelson Mandela?”
“I don’t think I’m in league with either of those people, Max.”
“Of course you wouldn’t dear, of course you wouldn’t. Just the same, let’s make this meeting happen for whenever is convenient for you.”
They finalized their meeting time and Kallie knew that everything was now in place. She just needed a heck of a lot of luck for this to work out.
***
Kallie spent the next hour in the hospital room with Hunter, who had descended back into a drug-induced sleep. She still didn’t care for the pallor of his skin, nor the way he’d behaved when he was awake.
It just wasn’t him—it wasn’t Hunter. Something felt off.
But everyone continued to tell her things were fine, and who was she to say differently than all the medical professionals and experts?
When she was readying to leave for her meeting with Max Weisman, Kallie was actually glad for Scarlett’s presence in the room. “You’ll stay and keep an eye on him while I’m gone?” Kallie asked her.
“Of course.”
“And please, please, please—text me or call me if there’s even the slightest change in his condition. If he spikes another fever, anything.”
“Kallie, I promise I’ll let you know,” Scarlett told her.
“Thank you,” Kallie said, still feeling anxious about leaving him. She gave Hunter a long kiss on his cheek, caressed his face. “I love you more than anything in this world,” she whispered in his ear. “You be strong and keep fighting.” And then she straightened and left the room.
Detective Phillips fell into step beside her. “Where are we going?”
“I’m going to meet with mega-producer Max Weisman. You’re staying here.”
Phillips gave her a look. “My job is to be with you, Kallie.”
“I know that. But I’m worried about Hunter. I want people here with him while I’m gone.”
“You need protection. We don’t know where Terrence’s son is. He could be waiting for a chance to catch you out alone.”
“Come on, you don’t really believe that, do you?”
“I’m not going to make the mistake again of disbelieving.”
“I need you with Hunter. Remember, you said you still owed me?”
The detective’s shoulders slumped. “Yes, I remember,” he said, glumly.
“Stay here and we’re even. Just do me this favor.”
Phillips nodded, but she could see he wasn’t happy about it. “I think this is a mistake. You need protection.”
“I’m going to be fine. The only protection I need is a spit shield when Max Weisman starts to scream in my face.”
***
Max Weisman did not keep her waiting long.
Kallie was sitting in the outer office waiting area for about five minutes, watching Max’s assistant scurry around and answer phones and run back and forth like a rat in a maze looking for bits of cheese.
Meanwhile, Kallie checked her own phone incessantly, hoping for the text or call from Bryson that would deliver the good news…well, it could be bad news, too. But Kallie wouldn’t allow herself to think that way.
Good news was coming. She just hoped it would arrive in time.
She was figuring to be kept waiting for at least twenty or thirty minutes, but the assistant told her Max was ready for her now.
“Now?” she asked, her voice betraying a hint of fear.
“Yes, Miss Young. And don’t worry, he doesn’t bite—often.” The assistant grinned, but his remark didn’t calm her nerves at all.
Last time she’d made the walk down the hallway to his office, she’d had Hunter and Bryson with her. Three people against one. Now she was just by herself, going into the lion’s den, with nobody to lean on for support.
And she knew that Max wouldn’t be happy with what she had to say.
When she entered the office, Max greeted her like his long lost daughter, hugging her to his fat belly and telling her how grateful he was that she’d been spared.
“Kallie, darling,” he gushed. “Tell me, are you hurt?”
She showed him the small, nearly-healed cuts on her hands. “This is about all I have to show for it.”
Max’s eyes widened. “What made those wounds on your hands?”
Kallie shrugged. “I’m not totally sure. I think it was from glasses that fell when tables got knocked over. I didn’t even know I was cut until it was all finished.”
Max shook his head. “Senseless violence. Like a scene from one of my films—
no wonder it happened in Hollywood, of all places.”
She smiled at his joke as she sat in one of the chairs. “Thanks for meeting with me on such short notice.”
Max’s large frame took up the center of the office as he stood over her. “You’re my partner, of course I’ll meet with you. Whenever and wherever.” He finally maneuvered himself back to his desk and sat down, breathing heavily through his mouth as though he’d just finished the 100-yard dash. “So, I think I have an idea as to why you wanted to meet today,” he said, smiling sadly at her.
Although he was being more than friendly, Kallie couldn’t quell the sense that Max could blow at any minute. “Obviously, when I spoke to Bryson and he told me that you were going with a different director, I was disappointed.”
Max nodded patiently. “I totally understand,” he said.
Kallie started to speak again, and Max cut her off, standing once more. “But, you see, there are parts to this scenario that you couldn’t possibly know. I wanted to discuss everything with you and Hunter, but once the tragedy occurred, it became impossible.”
Max maneuvered his way around the desk, huffing and puffing. “You’re not very familiar with the way Hollywood works, are you Kallie?”
She sighed, knowing this wasn’t going anywhere that would help her. “No, I’m not.”
“This is not a slight,” Max explained. “You brought us a terrific script and you brought Hunter and his company to the table. This is tremendous—this is more than most people ever do in their life. You made magic happen, Kallie.”
“Thank you, Max.” She folded her hands and let him spin his tale, as she knew he would.
“The thing is, this is a complex business. A very tough, difficult business,” he said, sitting on the edge of his desk, looking at her with his dark eyes, his blubbery mouth puckered as if sucking on something sour. “How do you think I got like this? Do you think I was always this obese?” He grabbed his stomach with both hands. “I used to be an athlete in high school. I was a standout basketball player. This happened to me when I came to Hollywood. Each year, like clockwork, I gained ten pounds at least. Some years, more.”
“I know it’s a tough business,” she said. “But getting back to the issue at hand—“
He waved her off. “Let me finish. Let me finish, please.” He held the edge of the desk and leaned towards her. “When people in the industry found out that I was working on a project with you and Hunter Reardon, my phone started to ring and ring and ring. This business feeds on momentum, and if you’re hot, you must capitalize on it immediately.”
“And we’re hot?” Kallie asked.
“What happened to the two of you was headline news. Hunter Reardon is a hero.
He’s one of us, a filmmaker—and now also a superhero who took on an armed assassin.
And you are the damsel in distress—no offense. We’re a storybook town, Kallie, and this was a drama to end all dramas. For me to be working with the both of you right now, with an exciting new project—I had more interest on this script than I’ve ever gotten before. And that’s how we got Eliza Johnston to attach herself to the screenplay.”
“If we have so many options, why does she get to dictate terms on who directs the film?” Kallie said.
“Well you don’t know this yet,” Max replied. “But people inside the system are aware that Eliza Johnston is about to break out and become a major—I mean major—
star. She’s got two films about to be released, and the advance reviews are absolutely stellar. She’s been on the cusp of greatness for a couple of years, but now is her time. If we waited even a few months, she would be unavailable to us, or available but at ten times the price.”
“There must be other leading ladies who would be happy to be a part of this film, and who would also work with Bryson as a director.”
“It’s a very tough sell,” Max said. “And I think we’re almost guaranteed a box office hit with Eliza attached.”
“Fine, let’s use Eliza. But Bryson needs to direct, as we agreed upon previously.”
Max’s face was turning red. “I don’t think you’re listening to me, Kallie.
Circumstances have changed. Hunter is sick, you’re the victim of a violent crime. I needed to make some fast decisions, and things are continuing to move quickly. I can’t afford to wait for you and Hunter to sign off on each and every piece that I add.”
“This was a non-negotiable piece, Max. And you knew that.”
“Well, I want to buy you and Hunter out. Let’s make a deal. My production company will move forward on this by ourselves. Either that, or let me do what I do, give me the reins so I can do my goddamn job.”
Kallie’s heart rate had continued to elevate as Max spoke, and now she felt her pulse racing. She looked down at the cell phone that was clutched in her hand.
Dammit Bryson, where are you? She thought. She needed him to tell her what had happened with Eliza, so she could figure out how to handle Max.
“Max, I’m sorry if I’ve offended you,” she said, trying to bring the intensity down a notch or two. “I realize you want to do what’s best to get this film made. But I also made a commitment to Bryson, which was that we would trust his vision and let him make this movie.”
Max folded his arms. “What do you know about making films? Have you ever even worked on a film?”
“No,” she said, softly.
“What were you doing for work the last year?”
“I was a nanny.”
Max smirked. “A nanny. A nanny wants to tell me how to make movies. Do you realize how arrogant that sounds, Miss Young? Do you realize that it would be like me watching an episode of General Hospital and deciding that I should operate on Hunter’s gunshot wound?”