but I really think if you can look past the way you feel about me, you’ll see the value in the project.”
She sucked in an audible breath, and her arms fell. She blinked her multicolored eyes at me and went pale. The heat of anger leaving her face startled me. I was tempted to reach out a hand because she looked a little like she might wilt into a faint.
“You wrote that script?” Now her voice was the one with the quiver.
I nodded. “I did. It started as a therapy exercise when I was at the treatment center, but it sort of took on a life of its own the farther along I got.” I cleared my throat. “I had you in mind the whole time I was writing, Maren. Your agent told me you weren’t interested in any project that had my name attached to it, but I can’t move forward unless I know you at least read through it. When she finally said you would take a meeting, I figured you’d read the script and realized that I just want to make amends. I didn’t know she sent it to you blind until I had to go to extreme lengths to meet with you. If we were anywhere else, you would’ve walked away by now.”
She let out a little snort. “If I had a parachute, I would be out of here in a heartbeat.”
A startled laugh burst out of me. “Still as sassy as ever, I see.”
“I don’t care how good that script is, Salinger. I’m not doing another project with you. The last time I worked with you, it ruined my life. You have no idea how hard it was to start all over from zero.”
I sighed and dragged my hand down my face. “I do know.” She made another mocking noise that grated across every nerve I had. “I lost everything because of addiction. If my younger brother hadn’t stepped in when he had, I would’ve ended up dead, not just alone and broke. Do you think anyone wants to work with a former addict? You have no idea some of the clauses I’ve seen added to contracts because I’m considered such a gamble. I get by day-to-day because my brother took over my finances a couple of years ago. But I was well on my way to spending every dime I made on shit that was bound to kill me. That script is my square one.”
She cocked her head to the side as if she was considering my words. Unfortunately, the raw honesty wasn’t enough to soften her toward me.
“The difference is, you crashed and burned because you couldn’t stop yourself. The reason my life went up in flames was also because of your lack of self-control. I had no say in the matter.” She squeezed her eyes closed briefly, and when she opened them back, I could clearly see all the pain I’d inadvertently put her through back then. “I swore to myself I had moved past all the negativity in my life, including what happened back then. But looking at you right now,” she scowled, “I’m still really, really mad at you, Salinger. And more than that, I don’t trust you. And you should know, I won’t work with anyone I can’t trust. Including Lennon.” She muttered the last part under her breath.
I wanted to reach out and hold her hand.
I wanted to touch her and assure her I wasn’t the same guy who’d blindly let bad things happen to her. I wanted to explain that over the last ten years, I’d been unable to forget about her, regardless of the harmful substances coursing through my veins.
But the expression on her face let me know that she wasn’t budging. She wasn’t willing to give me a chance to show her how much I’d changed from the kid she once knew.
I sighed heavily and slumped back in the leather seat. “I told your agent I could convince you to sign on if I got you alone and explained how important this project is to me. I was sure that, deep down, you would remember the way you tried to save me. I wanted to prove to you that it wasn’t a mistake to care about me back then. I know how much I’ve changed. I just never considered how much you had as well. The Maren I used to know had the biggest heart in the whole world.”
She would’ve forgiven me.
The woman sitting in