Falling into Forever (Falling into You) - By Lauren Abrams Page 0,26

why we could spend a hundred million or so on each of the movies, but the screenplay had something different, an element of truth, of reality, that my last films had lacked. It was my chance at redemption, my chance to create something that would do more than make money.

It had gone on like that for a week, back and forth between us, until he and I had finally exchanged a series of words that had seemed to destroy everything.

“I’m out, Chris. I’m tired of corralling you, of treating you like some fragile object that I’m afraid to break. You know I love you, man, but this is the last straw. I’m done. End of the line. Go it on your own. You’ve always done that anyway, haven’t you? You’ve known what’s best, and I’m just here to help you make a quick buck.”

“I think I helped you make a quick buck, too, unless you’ve totally forgotten about one whole aspect of our little relationship: the fact that I’m the talent, and you’re nothing but an agent. You need me.”

Marcus took a deep breath, and his next words were a whisper. I heard each one, as if my photographic memory had suddenly transferred into one that audio records voices.

“That makes this easier. You’ve turned into a world-class prick, Jensen. World-class. And I can say that with absolute certainty, because I work in Hollywood, where there are a higher percentage of pricks per capita than anywhere else in the world. It’s impressive, really. Sayonara.”

Those words stung hard. We haven’t spoken since.

He must have known about Hallie. About Ben. About all of it. I grab my phone.

U have 5 mins to call me and tell me about H. After that, ur fired. For real this time.

My phone rings almost immediately.

“Fucking shit, Jensen. I was in the middle of a goddamn meeting and you spring that shit on me? What the fuck? Don’t you know that I’m trying to do serious work here?”

“She’s the reason why you wouldn’t do the deal for the Rage series, isn’t she?”

I wait for Marcus to say something, but he’s utterly silent until his next words come out in a gasp.

“Who told you?”

“I saw her. At the meeting for Rage.”

He mutters incoherently under his breath and his next words come out garbled. “I was hoping she wouldn’t be there. Are you okay?”

“Why didn’t you tell me about her and Ben? About Ben?”

“I was hoping you wouldn’t ask me that.”

There’s a little click coming from his line, and I can practically see him grabbing a cigarette from the pack he keeps in the bottom-right drawer in his desk. He doesn’t smoke, hasn’t in years, and thinks it’s a disgusting habit, but he keeps them around in case his latest conquest has decided to exist on a diet of cigarettes and pills. I’ve only caught him smoking one once, after his second wife left him for a producer at one of the big studios. It only serves to underline the seriousness of the conversation.

“I know exactly why I didn’t tell you, Chris.”

The certainty in his voice takes me by surprise, even though he doesn’t offer any other explanation.

“I’m waiting here, Marcus.”

He draws in a long puff. “It was simple, really. I asked myself how I was going to tell you that she had gotten married and widowed. I said to myself, now Marcus, how exactly are you going to say that? Maybe, ‘Jensen, the fucking love of your life has made herself a little fairy tale ending while you were lying in a pool of your own vomit. Oh yeah, and by the way, her fairy tale has been smashed to smithereens.’ It was the wrong question, but in thinking about how you might have responded to that statement, I asked myself another question. This time, it was the right one. What would Chris Jensen do with this information?”

“I would called her. I would have gone to the funeral. I would have created a Ben Ellison foundation. I would have tried to pick up the pieces.”

Marcus’s laughter is clipped. “Right. You would have done all of those things, but in the end, it wouldn’t have mattered, would it have? He still would have been dead, and you still would have been the guy who broke her heart five years ago. I’m not blaming that all on you, because as I remember, she can give as good as she gets, and I think she did a fair bit of heart-breaking, too.