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“Ready to quit?” Lee joked.
But Harrison wasn’t joking. “I think I should.” Sure, it was for a completely different set of reasons than yesterday — and it had not escaped Harrison’s notice how little time had passed — but it was the right thing. He could handle working with the studio a little longer if it meant she got the recognition she deserved.
“Whoa, what? You’re serious.”
“Deadly. Tell them I’ll write whatever they want.”
“Uh, you might want to hold that thought. There was something I didn’t you about this whole deal. Hayley’s contract is on the chopping block. The only reason they allowed her to pick a co-writer was because it was you. Look, I don’t know how they knew, but they set you both up to fail.”
The fuck? “Tell me you’re joking.”
“I wish I could. They want to cut her loose, man. It’s bullshit, but it’s true. Why do you think I pushed you to stay?”
“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”
“Because I was afraid you’d tell her.”
“Damn right I would have. This is complete fucking bullshit.”
“You don’t have to tell me. I’m trying to help both of you here.”
Fuck. He didn’t even know where to start. Pacing seemed as good a place as any. Self-loathing a close second. He’d almost eaten right from their hand.
“That’s why I called. They want the first draft by morning.”
“What? That doesn’t make sense. Even if I send it right now, they won’t have time to read it by tomorrow. It’s an arbitrary deadline. They gave us a week.”
“Exactly. They want to prove that you couldn’t work together. By pushing up the timeline —”
Hayley shuffled back into the room.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Okay,” Harrison said, catching Hayley’s fond smile as she joined him. “Don’t worry, we’ll get it done.”
“Sounds like it’s going well with you two.” And oh god, his voice had turned smug again. The last time it did that, Harrison had ended up in this mess. “What’s this I hear about a honeymoon suite?”
“Such a shame I’m going through a tunnel right now,” Harrison said, just catching Lee’s “asshole” through the phone before he hung up.
“What’s wrong?” Hayley asked.
“The studio needs a draft by tomorrow.” He scrubbed at his face with both hands. “I should call him back and tell him we won’t make it.”
“What are you,” she paused to yawn, “talking about? The drugs shouldn’t kick in for at least an hour. Let’s get through as much as we can.”
“Are you sure? You look pretty tired.”
“I thought you said I looked beautiful.”
“You do, and stop changing the subject. Are you feeling up to this?”
Hayley grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him in with a surprising amount of strength, considering she was struggling to stay upright. “Yes. Are you?”
He fought back a smile, worried she’d find the strength to kick him in the dick if he laughed at how adorable she was. And he liked his dick. He planned on using it again at some point, hopefully with her. He nodded.
“Great. So we’re both good.”
A chuckle escaped him, and he pulled back just as she whacked his shoulder.
“Stop laughing and get in here. We have work to do.”
