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And damn it to hell, what a mess it was
Just yesterday, I had a long conversation with the film’s director, Susan Looked as if Maddie pulled another disappearing act I pressed her about what she knew She was cagey All she’d say was Maddie still wasn’t well Apparently lingering effects of the food poisoning she got I wasn’t a doctor, of course, but if she was so goddaet it taken care of once and for all?
In the process of her recurring flakiness, she costto put a picture together where the lead actress is nowhere to be found Unbelievable! Of course, I couldn’t mention my situation with Maddie to Susan I didn’t have any interest in sabotaging Maddie’s chances She was a damn fine actress But just like with the escort business, she had difficulty staying focused
Still, Susan was a pro She’d kept things together and as much on track as she could In the end, she left it up to me to sort out with Maddie While she was sympathetic with Maddie’s health problems, she was deferential to me when it came to the final decision about what to do And that is exactly what I had to figure out
What the hell to do
My hands were tied I had no choice but, once again, to go handle things with Maddie myself, in person And the list of people I could call upon was short Really short Carmen hadn’t heard a peep from her So, aside from Susan, there was only one other person ould have any idea of where Maddie ht be
Katy
When I asked her about it over the phone, at first she brushed offthe surprise, surprise, she’d also gone dark Yet again, I was left with no alternative but to go out there and deal with her And so later that night when I arrived in LA, I arranged to have Arency I lowered the divider between us as he drove across town
“Drop ”
“Yes, sir”
After another htenedin his direction, I snapped my jacket and walked towards the front door
Like an aniles of intent shot up my spine The concrete crunched beneathto keep oddahts inside flickered off, and Katy eht-illuht
She gasped as our eyes met
On instinct, I ht better of it
Katy’s mouth fell open as she watched me close in on her She flinched
“Look,” I began with the last ounce of restraint I could suodda on with her”
Katy crossed her arms at her chest
“Grey,” she began Katy hesitated for awhat she’d say to ot face-to-face You could always tell by the way someone moved their eyes Up and to the left was to recall a memory She tipped her hand as she uttered the rehearsed line “You know, before you went to get Maddie from her parents’ house, I actually held out a bit of hope for you I thought I even liked you But what you’ve done, your callousness It’s disappointing”
I’ll tell you Flying halfway across the country has a way ofa man dour and certainly in no ers of ht hand twitched as she sputtered her speech I felt my jaw flex as I clenched my teeth
Stifling rage, I glared down at her “What The Fuck Is that supposed to mean?”
Katy shifted in place but didn’t change the hard angles of her posture Instead her face withered with displeasure
“First of all, don’t cuss at me like that, and secondly, I think you don’t care what happens to Maddie so long as it doesn’t affect your bottom line It doesn’t e business If she’s doing anything to disrupt your precious cash flow, oh boy, do you ever co”
I felt the ue betweenmyself for a reply but she thwarted me and instead, continued to ramble
“But, when have you ever been there for her, Grey? Do you know the first thing about what she wants? Deep inside? Have you ever asked her how she feels about you? What you mean to her?”
I thinned my lips
“No, you knohat, Grey? You haven’t And do you kno I know that? Because Maddie told me”