Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
“Please tell me what the movie’s about,” Josh requested quietly. “I don’t know because I never read your script. I don’t read scripts my agent doesn’t put in my hand. I certainly don’t read unsolicited scripts.”
“Then what do you do with them?”
“I would have thrown it out,” Josh said, not unkindly. “I can’t take the chance that I would read it and have any piece of it show up in something I do down the line and have you come back to sue me. That’s how I’ve worked for a long time. So you’ll have to tell me which of the films I’m working is similar.”
Allen stared at Josh intently. “You’re a liar. I talked to someone who knows you.”
She would hand it to Josh. He could handle scrutiny. She knew a lot of people who would have put some distance between them by this point, but Josh was cool and calm.
“A lot of people claim to know me,” he replied.
Allen pointed his way. “He said you were working on a film about a dad and his son who ride the rails during the Great Depression. That was my film. My film about my father and grandfather.”
There was some actor in the writer. At least some definite dramatic tendencies. He was playing out the scene with theatrical flair while Josh kept everything quiet.
Josh shook his head. “Allen, I don’t have anything historical in the works. I’ve got a big-budget sci-fi thriller, a romantic comedy, and the sequel to The Quick and the Enraged. I have no plans to work on anything like what you’ve described. I haven’t heard anything about a project like that and I know pretty much what’s happening everywhere. Whomever you were talking to lied to you.”
Allen stopped, seeming to deflate all at once. “But why? Why would he lie?”
“He was probably a troll. A real-life troll,” Josh replied. “I bet you were halfway drunk and mentioned something about it to him and he took the pass and played it until you were ready to hurt someone. Hell, maybe he knows me. Maybe he hates me and thought he could use you to hurt me. I don’t know. Did you get his name?”
Allen put a hand on his head like he was trying to wipe away some memory or invisible pain. “Yeah. Bob Black. That’s what he called himself. He bought me a beer. Three really. He said he worked with you.”
“I don’t recall the name,” Josh replied. “But then on a film set I can work with hundreds of people.”
But Kay knew the name. She looked up and Shane was frowning while Dec discreetly rolled his eyes. Was it a coincidence? Black was the name almost all CIA assholes used when they were undercover. The question was which of her CIA assholes had sent a bomb into her midst on her very first night on the job.
Of course if she asked, they would likely lie. The good news was she had skills, and figuring out if her CIA guys were already messing with her would be fairly easy.
“What bar were you at?” Kay asked.
Allen seemed to realize he wasn’t alone with the cops and Josh. He cleared his throat and his eyes wouldn’t meet hers. “I was in Santa Monica. It’s a place called Dirk’s close to my apartment. I go there a couple times a week. I sometimes like to write there.” He looked back at Josh. “You’re really not making my movie?”
There was a tinge of perverse sorrow to the question that Josh seemed to respond to. “I’m not. But you should send the script to my agent. It sounds interesting and I’m always looking for something fresh. If she reads it and thinks it’s good, she’ll either send it on to me or to someone who can give you some tips. I’ll let her know to look for it.”
Tears rolled down the guy’s flushed cheeks. “Why would you do that for me?”
“Because I know what it means to be desperate, too. Because I know how it feels to be used against someone else,” Josh replied.
“Because he’s way too soft,” Keller said with a sigh. “Come on. We’ll get you back to your apartment. You’re so fucking lucky. Pitt would have had your ass thrown in jail.”
“Did this Bob Black person drive you out here?” Kayla asked as the cops were turning the man back toward the door.
Allen nodded, seeming to sober a bit. “Yeah. I didn’t drive myself. That was lucky, I guess. He dropped me off at the public access. Didn’t get out of the car, but he pointed the way. Didn’t tell me how high the tide was already. Asshole.”
“It’s okay, Allen. We’ve all been there.” Joshua held a hand out.
Allen shook it. “You’re an amazing man, Mr. Hunt. I’m sorry I said otherwise.”