Page 78 of A Very Snowed In New Year
I can’t stop smiling. I might never stop smiling. “I mean, I brought my laptop with me, so you can read it on there.”
“Go get it! Let’s make this a working breakfast!”
“Really?”
“You gonna make me beg to read your script? Because I will. You do realize that Shay Nicholls is in no way capable of ending your career, right? Tell me you know that.”
Just as he says that, another text comes in.
SHAY:You will NEVER work in this town again.
Holden looks up at me after reading the message and says, “Can I please text her back as you and call her a twat? I mean, the irony alone would be so high-level.”
I can’t stop laughing. “No! She’s my roommate’s sister. I have to be civil.”
“Well, that’s a shame. I do have to be civil too, I guess, since we’re at the same agency. But I need to know thatyouknow that one angry actress who isn’t even a household name can’t prevent you from succeeding as a screenwriter. If that’s what you want to succeed at.”
“It’s what I’ve always dreamed of succeeding at. And Shay is in three movies at Sundance this year. And she’s been doing a lot of self-care lately, so she’s probably feeling very powerful.”
That makes him laugh. He hugs me. “Get me that script immediately. I want to read it.”
I’ve been in the bedroom by myself for over an hour, trying to read an issue ofSunsetmagazine from 2013 that I found. I was so nervous watching Holden readHow We Got Hereat the table that I finally left. I don’t think he even noticed. He was so engrossed in it. I’ve heard him laugh out loud a few times, which is encouraging. But he’s been very quiet for the past twenty minutes.
My heart starts racing when I hear him simulate the static sound of a PA system turning on in the other room. “Piper Puckett? Please see Holden Archer in his production office immediately for a brief and very important professional meeting. Thank you.”
Here we go…
I poke my head around the doorframe and see him sitting at the head of the table, behind my laptop, tapping his feet.
“Hi, it’s a holiday,” I say. “Are you saying you’d like to meet with meright now?”
“Yes,immediatelymeansnow, Ms. Puckett.” He drums his fingers on the tabletop.
I stroll over to him, wearing his sweatshirt and sweatpants, one hand grasping the opposite arm behind my back. Stopping beside where he sits, I shrug and say, “Yes?”
“I think I’m going to need you to text Shay to let her know that she does not have permission to shop your script around. Just to be clear. Because I want to send her a text to let her know thatIwant to be attached to this script. As the male lead. So I can get a studio to buy it for me.”
“Whaaaaat?”
“Yeah, I don’t know if you know this, but I’m the star of the highest-grossing movie of the past two years and the twenty-seventh highest-grossing movie of all time, with another blockbuster releasing next month. If I attach myself as the star of this script I’m pretty sure a studio will buy it. I can’t guarantee it’ll get made, but they would pay you for it. And my people will do whatever they can to get it into production—it might just take a while.”
I am smiling so hard it feels like my cheeks are going to melt off. “You would do that? For me?”
“Screw doing it for you—I’m doing it for the world. I would be so damn charming in this. Can I be Henry?”
“Well…I mean, I did write this part with you in mind…”
The surprised look on his face is priceless…and unexpected. “Did you really?”
“Yeah. I’ve had you in mind for every male lead I’ve written for the past three years. I know of five other students in my classes who wrote scripts for you for their assignments. You’re kind of a big deal.”
“No wonder Henry’s so smartandlikable.”
I smirk. “But I would totally age up the character if Zac Efron wanted to do it.”
“Hey, I can act circles around that bozo. Has he ever played a guy with silver flecks added to his irises in postproduction? No, he has not.”
“He would look better with gold flecks.”
