Page 79 of A Very Snowed In New Year
“True. Seriously, can I send a PDF of this to my agent? She’s been trying to find a rom-com script for me to star in forever, and I’ve turned down every offer. She would love this.”
“Okay, well, I also wrote Henry’s brother with Eddie Cannavale in mind, just so you know.”
“Really? Rita is Eddie’s agent too.”
“What?! You have the same agent as Eddie? Since when?”
“Forever. She’s the only agent I ever signed with.”
“I can’t believe I’ve been connected to you through Eddie all this time.”
“How are you connected to Eddie Cannavale?” He sounds wonderfully and comically jealous and possessive of me, and I don’t hate it.
I stop myself before saying I’m connected to him through the Holy Grail of Butts. “He’s my aunt’s husband’s brother. I was there when he married his wife, Birdie!”
He looks so relieved. “No shit? Has he read the script?”
“No, it never even occurred to me to ask him to read my scripts. Is that weird?”
He smiles and reaches out to squeeze my arm. “That, like so many other things about you, is refreshing, actually.”
“Ask me again if you can send my script to your agent.” I turn away from him and pull the sweatshirt off over my head.
“Piper Puckett, can I please send your script to my agent?” I let the sweatshirt drop to the floor and turn back to face him. I’m wearing the tiny crop top that Lainey packed for me. The one that saysYes, sir.across the front. The one that exposesa lotof very professional underboob.
Holden’s jaw tightens. His nostrils flare. Under his sweater, I am sure his nipples are hardening. “We’re gonna take this meeting into the bedroom.” He stands up so fast, the chair he was sitting in falls over. He picks me up and slings me over one shoulder as I squeal and giggle. “You’re wearing that to theWinds of Changepremiere next month, by the way.”
“Am I going to that?”
“Yeah. As my date. I’ll be sure to let Shay know when I text her later.”
TWENTY-THREE
Piper
NEW YEAR, NEW BOO
June
Dear Diary,
Hello, old friend. It has been so long since I have written to you. I think about you all the time, but I’ve been so busy. Too busy living my life to write in my diary?! Is this a tragedy, or is it sweet, wonderful irony? Whenever I think I have time to write to you, I realize I haven’t eaten or done laundry or showered either, so I prioritize those things because it seems like the adult-y thing to do. Lainey and Tracy got better at doing the dishes and vacuuming the apartment at least, so I was able to remove those items from my to-do list. But this non-journal-keeping trend has been going on for over half a year! It’s unforgivable, really. You are my touchstone. You’re how Iknow I’m me! It is my Midyear Resolution to make time to write in my diary every week again. Piper still loves you, Diary. DIAPER 4EVA.
I’m back in NYC for now. Graduated from UCLA last week. Sooooo much has happened this year.
First, I must tell you about my script—How We Got Here. The one I spent all last year writing and polishing in my free time. My passion project!
My boyfriend gave it to his agent. “Boyfriend?!” you ask? Yes, my boyfriend, Holden Everett Archer. AKA my HEA. He read the script on New Year’s Day and emailed it to his agent, Rita Baskin, that same day. Apparently, she is never not working. She dropped everything to read it when Holden told her he found a rom-com script he wanted to star in. She thought he was joking at first, but she read it and loved it.
She sent it to a really big talent and literary manager, Martin Hancock, who everyone calls Mahty Hancock, even though he doesn’t seem to want people to call him that. He is from Australia, and he represents some amazingly funny, handsome people, like Shane Miller (eeeek!) and Owen Brodie! He also reps some really talented writers and directors. Anyway, Rita thought he’d be a good fit for me as a manager and have good instincts for developing this project. He read the script and said that he wanted to represent me and put another junior manager on my team! I have an agent now too, but I mostly talk to my managers. I can’t even believe how lucky I am. I am one of ten undergrads in my department who signed with representation before graduating.
But if I’m being honest, it also doesn’t seem weird? I’ve just kind of always known this was what I was meant to be doing with my life. It was just a matter of waiting for my life to catch up. Once Mom and Dad finally got me the Final Draft softwareI wanted for my sixteenth birthday, there was no stopping me. LOL. Hi, Mom, in case I ever bring my diary home for a visit.
Anyway, there is so much more news on that front…
Marty Hancock recommended redeveloping my feature film screenplay into a ten-episode-season half-hour romantic-comedy series for a streaming network. Well, what he actually said was“This is an absolute bewdy of a script, Pipah, bloody ripper, but the best chance a rom-com has of gettin’ made nowadays is as a series. Now, don’t chuck a wobbly, love—we’ll help you get this sorted! I swear on my own arse it’ll be bonza, so why don’t ya give it a burl, give it a whirl, ey?! Wadda ya reckon?!”His assistant emailed me right after the meeting to explain what Marty meant, but he’s so handsome and pleasant, I just smiled and said okay to everything!
Holden and his agent thought it was a smart idea to write a pilot episode on spec, plus a pitch deck. There’s actually a bigger audience for this kind of romantic comedy on the small screen now. Things have changed since the days of my queen, Nora Ephron. It’s what she’d be doing now, if she were still around, I think. So I’m glad I agreed. It meant saying goodbye to a vision I had of how things would go and saying hello, possibly, to something even better than I could have Piper-dreamed for myself. Just like with Holden.
