To Love Jason Thorn (5 page)

“Keith is right.” Bobby took over again.
“We want you to look at this as the first step of our partnership. You don’t
have to decide on anything today, but you should know that we are extremely
eager to take on this project. You should also be aware that—excuse me.” He paused
when his phone pinged with a new text message. Lifting his eyes, he absently
waved his hand in a gesture that said ‘keep going’.

“I need to check on something, but please
go on without me for a few minutes and I’ll be right back. We might even have a
surprise for you, Olive. I think you’ll like it.”

I forced a smile on my lips and then Boobie
Bobby was gone.

“Let’s get to it, shall we?” Keith asked
and got a nod from both Harry and me. “As Bobby just mentioned, we are
interested in optioning your book. But—” He lifted his hand as if to stop me
from cutting in.

I’m all ears, Keith. No one is stopping
you.

“We wanted to set this meeting so we could
get to know each other better and see if we can impress you. After today, if
you like what you’re hearing, I’d be happy to set up a lunch meeting so we can
go over the details and present you with an option agreement for the exclusive
rights.”

“Okay,” I nodded, because that made sense,
right? He wasn’t saying anything scary, not at all.

Keith nodded back at me with a big smile that
showcased his blinding pearly whites again and kept going. “So, essentially, Olive,
we want to stay true to your story as much as we can. You captured so many
hearts from so many different age groups, so we want to keep the heart of your
story. The only difference is that we want to elevate it even more. Polish the
main characters, maybe do a few small changes here and there, add a few new
secondary characters, big names from Hollywood of course. We haven’t decided if
we want to change the ending yet, but that’s just the details I’m sure you’re
not interested in.” Linking his hands together on top of the table, he looked
straight at me. “We want the movie to get everyone’s attention.”

Somewhere in the middle of his explanation
of the studio’s intentions with my book, had he just said that I wouldn’t be
interested in the changes? What on earth was he talking about?

“It all sounds great, but maybe we should
take a few steps back,” I said. “I really feel like I’m out of my depth here.
When you say a few small changes…?”

“I’ve read your book, Miss Taylor, and
while everything was great for a book format, for a movie it won’t translate
the same way. Making changes will be necessary at certain parts,” Harry said,
speaking for the first time.

“We’ll walk you through everything.” Keith
assured me, cutting in. “Usually it takes time—around a year or possibly even
more than a year—to gather funding for the movie, to find the right director
for the story, the right actors, the production company, and many other steps…but
we want to use the buzz of your book to our advantage and keep the momentum
going. Since you don’t have a book agent, I would highly suggest you to find
one or have a lawyer go over the contract we’ll be presenting you at our next
meeting so there won’t be any issues in the future.”

“Sure, sure. But what about those changes?”
I asked, feeling more overwhelmed by the second.

Keith must have seen something on my face
because his smile softened.

“I don’t think we asked you, would you like
to have something to drink? Something to celebrate, maybe?”

“No, I’m good. Thank you.”

“Next time then. So do you have any
questions for me?”

I glanced at Harry, but he was having none
of it.

“I think I do. First of all, it’s very
exciting to hear that you’re interested in my book, but to be honest, the
changes you mentioned you want to make are…I don’t know how to put it into
words actually. The thing is, I’ve spent years on this novel. While I do want
to see my characters come alive on the big screen, I’m not sure if it’s worth
it to go through this whole thing only for it to end up completely
unrecognizable.” Every word in that book held a special place in my heart.

“You are not interested in selling the
movie rights?”

“I didn’t say that. Actually, I did some
research and I believe in some cases authors can act as a consultant. Would
that be an option for me? Will I have any say in the making of the movie?”

“Olive, trust me, all authors feel the same
way as you do at first, but when the project goes forward and the production
starts, everything changes. The screenplay isn’t written yet, so we can’t
really comment on any changes, but I’ll definitely make sure that you are
included in the process.”

Thankfully, I was smart enough to know that
having a say in the screenplay and being ‘included in the process’ were nowhere
the same thing.

“Let’s talk about the casting,” he said
while I was still trying to decide how to answer.

“Isn’t it a little early for that?” I
asked, fidgeting in my seat.

“That’s one of the first things we focus on
because securing the right actor for the role will change everything. We
already have a few names we think would be a perfect fit for Isaac and
Genevieve.” He checked the notes in front of him. “For Isaac, your main
character, we have one specific actor we are trying to get in touch with, but
for Genevieve we have a pool of names we are going through. Do you have any ideas,
maybe suggestions for the casting?”

“Well, when I picture them in my mind, I
don’t see them as other people.”

Lie, Olive. Lie through your teeth.

“I would love to hear the names you’re considering
though,” I added.

Right at the end of my sentence, the door
to our left opened and Bobby walked back into the room with another man right
beside him. Keith’s gaze shifted toward them too, and before I knew what was
happening, Jason walked in behind them, playing with the phone in his hand.

As in Jason
fucking
Thorn.

My mouth dropped open.

Shit!

My Jason.

Double, triple shit!

No, not my,
my
Jason.

Shit! Shit! Shit!

In shock and stuck in my seat, my mouth was
still hanging wide open when Bobby chuckled, drawing my attention. I’m sure I
was a sight to see.

“Olive, I want—” Bobby’s mouth was moving,
but none of it was getting through to me.

Remember the peaceful waterfall Lucy tried
to trick me into believing I was?

It was gone. All dried up. It was a
disaster, really.

I was an avalanche—the mother of all
avalanches to be precise.

Jumping up from my seat in a rush, I turned
my back to them before Jason could notice me. Maybe I was acting crazy, but
there weren’t that many Olives in the world. What if he remembered me? Remembered
my name?

Damn it!

What if he saw my last name on the book
cover that was sitting so prettily in the middle of the table?

Searching for a quick exit, I found none.
Surely it would hurt a bit too much if I tried to break the window and jump
out. Noticing the bar cart next to the window, I shakily made my way toward it.

Damn that Keith guy, why did he keep
calling my name?

Reaching for the pitcher of water that had
floating lemon and lime slices in it, I grabbed a glass and started pouring.
Since my hands were shaking, some of it didn’t land in the glass, but who
cared. As soon as it was half full, I chugged it down and poured another one.

Alcohol would’ve worked much better, but
water was doing the trick.

Someone touched my arm, and I was ashamed
to say I almost lost my grip on the pitcher, making an even bigger fool of
myself.

“Olive, are you okay?”

Noticing it was just Keith, I slowly
lowered the pitcher down and clung to my glass.

“Ah, sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
I tried to smile, but to him it probably looked more like a grimace.

Keith chuckled. “It’s not every day you see
a movie star this close. I understand your excitement.”

He understood nothing. Why was he talking
about Jason as if he was an animal in a zoo?

“Let’s take our seats again so we can
introduce you two. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

Actually I’d hate that, thank you very
much.

There went my hopes that maybe Keith would
be nice enough to smuggle me out of there.

“Sure,” I mumbled, using the glass of water
as a shield in front of my face.

When I glanced at the table, I saw that
Harry was gone and Bobby had taken his seat. Next to him sat the man who had
walked in next to Bobby.

And
then,
there was Jason…

I tried not to look at him at all.

Dear God, please help me breathe
.

Still using the glass as my shield as I
kept sipping water, I sat down right across from the unknown guy—who had an
amused expression on his face—and then I jumped a little and sloshed water on
myself when Keith pulled out the chair next to mine and sat down.

Jesus
…
get
a grip, Olive.

I was ready to jump out of my skin and run
away to find Lucy so I could kill her. Surely this was all happening because
she hadn’t come with me.

Keith started the introductions. “This is
Jason’s agent, Tom Symond, and this is the author I mentioned to you, Tom,
Olive T—”

“So very nice to meet you,” I said in a
louder voice than Keith’s, interrupting him before he could say my last name.

Tom Symond chuckled, rose up, and reached
for my hand.

Then I had to get up, too. Don’t you just
hate being civil sometimes? As we were shaking hands, I slipped and glanced at
Jason since he was being so quiet. When I noticed he was looking at me with a
frown on his face, I quickly looked away, sat down, and reached for my beloved
water glass.

“Jason Thorn is who we want for the role of
Isaac. We think he’ll be perfect,” Keith started up again.

Damn, but the guy talked too much.

“We still have a lot of things to talk
about, Keith, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” said Tom.

I nodded enthusiastically. What kind of
hell was I in that they had brought in the ONE actor that I would be—

“Olive
Taylor?
”

Oh, god…

Death could be so peaceful. My own heaven.
Didn’t that sound nice? Breathing was so overrated anyway.

“Olive?” Jason asked again in a surprised
voice. There was complete silence in the room.

My stomach grumbled.

Anyone up there? Kill me.

Kill me now.

“Nice to meet you…Mr. Jason Thorn,” I said miserably
when nobody else spoke for several seconds, silently shaving off years of my
life.

Of all the things I could’ve said at that
moment, of all the things I could’ve been doing instead of sitting there
shaking like a leaf…

“Little one,” he said once he got up from
his seat. There was affection in his voice. Definitely surprise, too, but
mostly affection.

All the hairs on my body stood up.

Jason was already rounding the table coming
toward me.
No escape now.

Defeated, I let go of my water glass and
pushed my chair back to face Jason.

Once he reached me, only two steps separated
us. Two short steps after not seeing him for so many years.

“Olive,” he said, his lips cracking into a
big grin. His eyes took in every inch of my body, causing me to blush.

Then he was in my space, his hands cradling
my already flushed face. Involuntarily, I took a step back, my ass almost
sitting on the table. He just came with me.

“Little one, look at you.” He laughed,
triggering a smile on my face. “I can’t believe it, Olive. Fuck, look at you,”
he repeated again.

The dimple? It was still as heartwarming to
see as it had been the first day I’d met him.

“Hi,” I said, lifting my hand in a little
wave.

He threw back his head and laughed.

Wow
.

“Mr. Jason Thorn? That’s what you say to
me?”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” I mumbled, my
face heating up.

“Jason?” his agent asked from behind. “You
know her?”

“Yeah, I know her,” Jason answered, his
eyes still on me. “I was her favorite person in the whole wide world. She said
so herself when she was eight years old.” He tilted his head, his eyes
narrowing. “Or was it maybe seven?”

“Probably seven,” I muttered and closed my
eyes. Yup, I had done that, because he had been exactly that for me.

“Oh, this is a nice surprise,” Bobby cut
into our unexpected reunion. “We didn’t know you two knew each other. This will
definitely be a plus for the project.”