Page 11 of Love: Take Two

I awkwardly pat his shoulder, doing my best to comfort him. My brothers and I may be close, but we're about as touchy-feely as Commander Spock. Henry is so cold, they call him Sub-Zero at work. Or they did, until Camila thawed his cold, dead heart. Yong-rae is nothing like Henry. I see that now.

"Everyone gets nervous on their first big job," I explain. "And this job is bigger than most, which is probably why the studio, cast, and crew have all given you as much leeway as they have."

"Gee, thanks," Yong-rae mutters. I cut my eyes at him; he's in no position to give me attitude after the shitshow I just walked in on.

"We just need to show everyone that you can do this. And youcando this," I insist when he opens his mouth to interrupt.

His shoulders are still rounded, but he looks at me with new resolve.

"OK," he says emphatically. "How do I get back on track?"

"First," I glare at the sink full of glass shards, "that right there needs to be the last alcohol that comes into this trailer. If you need that to deal with the stress, then you shouldn't have it around. Tell the crew you're sober if you have to."Maybe you should be.

I don't say that last part aloud, of course. He's acting like he fell off the wagon, but if anything, I pushed him. The leastI can do is not rub it in his face. And, I guess,helphim? But how do I do that? Abstaining is hardly my specialty.

He nods stoically, and I take it as a good sign that he doesn't push back.

"Next, you need to ask Rory when the best time is to apologize to the cast and crew. Your behavior has jeopardized this production, and you're lucky your costar's sue-happy lawyer hasn't already looked into your breach of contract clause."

Yong-rae's face pales, and as he sits in his panic, I finally allow myself to think about the blast from the past that blindsided me this morning.

What the hell is Awa Faye doing here? I've seen her name in the news over the years—when she joined Gehrig & Associates, when she was featured in Variety's Legal Impact Report, when a client thanked her on stage at the Emmy's—but I never read any further than the headlines. Never risked seeing any details that might send me down a rabbit hole to learn exactly what she'd been up to since I left her dorm that night and never went back. Since I threw away what started as a real friendship that might have been more.

I wipe a hand down my face.

I don't want more.Morecomes with obligations and fights and the risk of letting someone down.Moreis messy, and I'm perfectly content with surface-level relationships that keep my sheets warm and my calendar clear. Everything else belongs in a script.

"That's it?" Yong-rae questions skeptically. "You think if I don't drink and apologize, I'll be safe?"

I stop short of laughing in his face.

"Not even close. You're still gonna have to act your ass off. Go out of your way to help the crew do their jobs. Invite Tabitha out for coffee or something to clear the air. Use that killer smile and charm of yours to win everyone over.Thenyou'll be in the clear. Maybe."

"That's more than fair," Yong-rae answers. "I can do this job. Iknowit. I just…lost my head for a second. It won't happen again."

When he starts pulling liquor bottles from a cabinet and emptying them into the sink, I breathe a sigh of relief. If he were any other client, I'd call the studio myself; turning around such a bad first impression is no easy feat. But he's got years of discipline to fall back on. Apparently, he's also got me.

"And one more thing," I add over my shoulder, leaving to smooth a few more feathers on my client's behalf. "You're spending Thanksgiving with me and my family. Clearly, you can't be left to your own devices."

I catch Rory leaving the production trailer and raise a hand to get her attention. Her annoyance is clear in both the look she shoots me and the angry jostling of her ID lanyard as she stomps over.

"Tell me you have good news," she practically demands.

"Good news and bad news," I answer, doing my best not to wince at her anger. "The good news is that Yong-rae knows he messed up. He's also willing to fix it."

"And how exactly is he gonna do that?" she asks. "I need an action plan more than I need platitudes from some rookie actor about to cost everyone their jobs."

"Well, for one, we need to make this a dry set. I don't care if it takes security doing bag checks; we can't have any alcohol around."

"Is Yong-rae an alcoholic?" she asks, obviously concerned. "I would have had those measures in place from the beginning if I had known."

I'm taken aback by her response. No argument; just immediate acceptance and accommodation. If I had to guess the new emotion I see swirling behind her eyes, it would be…understanding. I choose my next words carefully.

"I honestly don't know. He wasn't much of a drinker until recently, but, as I'm sure you've noticed, he's suddenly struggling with moderation. He was dumping all the bottles in his trailer when I left, though."

She nods approvingly.

"That's good. A good first step, anyway."