Page 157 of The Holiday Fakers
“What? No! You have to!”
He shakes his head and smiles. “I don’t. I’ve just spent the last few hours hauling wood, and that was too much time away from you. We could have been together for the last twelve years, and now that I’ve finally got you, I don’t want to spend another minute away from your side if I can help it.”
“But—”
“It’s just a job. Nothing is more important than you. Nothing.”
Panic has its claws in my chest. “Have you told Marv yet?”
“Not yet.” He glances around the crowded space. “Have you seen him? I’ll tell him now.”
“You’ll do no such thing!” I hiss, dragging him away to put more distance between us and Marv.
“I’ve made up my mind,” Brody says calmly.
“Well, you’ve got to unmake it. Because I’m coming with you.”
He stops. “You can’t give up your career just to follow me. It’s not fair.”
“I’m not giving up anything! I’m getting more than I ever imagined!”
“Is your company letting you work remotely?”
“No. I’m quitting!”
“But—”
“I got another job, in New Zealand!”
He blinks, then glances around us. “How have you managed to do that in the last few hours while handling all this?”
I’m bouncing on the balls of my feet, excitement bubbling inside me. “I got an email from the showrunners ofThe Chronicles of the Sword and the Flame. They want to hire me as a concept artist for the series!”
“What?”
“After all the fans went crazy for my drawings, the showrunners said they want me to work with the production team on art to promote the series. They even sent me a provisional contract, which I signed a couple of hours ago!”
Brody’s staring at me like I just told him I met Santa and accepted a six-month contract to work at the North Pole.
“Yousignedsomething?”
“Yep!”
He rubs his forehead. “I feel like a total asshole right now, but do you even know if it’s legit? There are so many sophisticatedscams out there. And you should never sign anything without an entertainment lawyer looking it over first.”
“I did.”
“Did what?”
“Got an entertainment lawyer to review it. He called the showrunners, requested a few amendments, which they made and emailed back before I signed.”
“Who? Marv?”
“Jack Lourd.”
“Amanda Willis’s agent?”
“Uh-huh. And he’s my agent now, too. I’m not sure how to break the news to Marv that I’m not going with him.”
