“Nicer. And she smells like apples.”
Marley smiled. “Not surprised. And the junket went well, too?”
“Yeah, it was great,” he lied. The junket was terrible. He didn’t want to worry her by telling her how awful it was. “You’ve been resting today, right? Reena’s there?”
“Yes, and she knows not to let me do anything. Your sister came over to watchThe Bachelorwith me, too. She brought aloo parathas your dad made.”
He smiled. He’d thank Nalini for that later. “And your mother is taking you to the hospital for your appointment Wednesday?”
Marley nodded. “Yes. Drain output was low again today, so I’m hoping they can come out.”
“Crossing my fingers for you. I’ll be there that evening.”
“Okay. Enjoy Tinseltown and see you then!”
“Wait, Marley—turn on your camera. I want to see you.”
Seconds later her face filled the screen. She didn’t look tired, or sad. She looked beautiful.
“There you are,” he said softly. “You… sleep well, okay? I’ll see you in two days.” He didn’t disconnect the call, though. Neither did she. They stared at each other for several moments. Finally, Nikhil said, “I wish you had been with me today. These junkets are better with you.”
“I wish I could have been with you, too,” she said. “Maybe one day we can hang out in LA together.”
That was the first time she’d ever hinted that this—whatever this was between them—would continue past her recovery. He smiled widely. “I would love that.”
“Good night,” she finally said.
“Good night,” he responded.
She disconnected the call.
And Nikhil realized that Tyler was right. He was so in love with this woman.Again.
Nikhil had another talk show interview the next morning, which went fine. He suspected that Kaelyn gave them an earful about off-limit questions. After the talk show, he was whisked away for a lunch with Serena on the patio of a restaurant frequented by paparazzi. Serena spent most of the meal on her phone. At least the stuffed-pasta dish Nikhil had ordered was tasty. Reggie and the nutritionist were miles away—Nikhil deserved a treat. Finally, a car came to take him to the studio offices for a meeting with the LA publicity team. The sterile conference room he was led to was empty, but not for long.
“Darling! Ah, it’s such a delight to see you in person!” Esther came into the room with her arms wide.
He hugged Esther and kissed both of her cheeks. “Sorry to bring all this chaos to you.”
She patted his cheek. “Nonsense, my boy. And you need to drop those Canadian habits if you’re going to get anywhere. No apologizing. And don’t you worry—I’m going to fix everything.”
Nikhil didn’t really have the chance to say much, because four people came into the room then—two men and two women—but the only one he knew was Kaelyn. She introduced Nikhil and Esther to the others. There was Veronica, who was in publicity like Kaelyn, but more senior. And the two men were studio executives—Nikhil recognized their names but hadn’t interacted with them yet.
After they all sat, the taller man, Stuart, got right to business. “We need to talk to you about your poor media skills. We understand the junket didn’t go well.”
Nikhil felt like he was being sent to the principal’s office again. He opened his mouth to speak, when Esther put her hand out to stop him.
“No,” Esther said. “We need to talk toyouabout how the studio isn’t supporting my client. How can you send him into the den of alt-right wolves like that? Seriously? TheSci-Fi Sentinel? We all knew the fanboys weren’t going to love this casting, so why are you putting their spokesperson in front of him?”
“TheSci-Fi Sentinelhas been one of the Ironis franchise’s biggest supporters,” Kaelyn said.
“The problem wasn’t just yesterday,” the other executive said. Nikhil didn’t remember his name. “Can we discuss how many handlers he’s gone through? Plus stylists and trainers. Heeven saw three different dentists! Your client is clearly struggling. He also knew what he was in for when he took this role—he said he could handle it.”
“I haven’t fired anyone in weeks,” Nikhil said. Not since Marley came on board. Esther put her hand on his arm to shut him up.
“Let him handle the job he was hired to do!” Esther said. “He’s an actor, not a PR person.”
Stuart shook his head. “There are four weeks until shooting. And if we leave things how they are now, the movie will be a flop even before the first frame is printed.”
