Topic: A Snake In The Grass

Lelah

Date: 2011-05-04 16:05 EST
Wednesday morning, the 4th of May...

The conference room on the third floor of the Plaza de Troyes rang in the aftermath of the CEO of 21twelve studios' shouted question. She stood at the head of a long, mahogany table, and stared into each of the ten silent, stunned faces collected around it. Her lush, full lips, normally parted in a wide smile or an infectious grin, were compressed into a thin, tight, harsh line. Fire burned and danced in dark, kohl-rimmed eyes, and high spots of color were picked out in her tawny cheeks. Lelah Rivka was angry. No, she's wasn't angry ? she was livid.

?Who the f*ck did this?? Lelah shouted again, once more stunning the department heads by her use of obscenities. She was clutching a copy of the morning's edition of the Rhy'Din Post, open to a page whose headline read: 21twelve Studios Script Leak!. The paper had been laying innocuously upon the table, next to a stack of signed contracts when the department heads had entered the room, called away from their desks by an emergency staff meeting. Every single one of them had known what was going to happen when they received that phone call. They'd all seen the buzz around the three leaked scenes on the extra-nets. They knew what it meant for their careers. None of them was short-sighted enough to think that they could find work on other worlds if they screwed over Lelah on Rhy'Din. The woman had powerful backers in her little enterprise, men and women with fingers in all the pies of business and commerce on many, many worlds. If they betrayed Lelah, they wouldn't find work in a diner in Podunk, Idaho.

With a disgusted snarl, Lelah threw the paper to the floor at her feet, where it lay discarded and broken, like the body of a carrier pigeon that delivered bad news. Then she picked up the stack of signed contracts, eyes skimming the names of each before she tossed them at the appropriate person. ?You all signed non-disclosure statements. You all signed contracts that strictly forbade you from speaking to the press about up-coming projects. Do I need to get attorneys involved in this? Do I need to not only sh*t-can the person who did this, but sue them for repudiatory breach of contract as well??

The department heads all exchanged panicked looks, no one saying anything. None of them had done this. None of them was stupid enough to have done this. Lelah might be a small, beautiful, easy-going woman, but she was also not only an award-winning actress, but a director as well. She was used to dealing with stubborn, pig-headed men and aloof, ice-queen women. She had a length of steel running down that shapely backbone, a length of steel that she could wield as a bludgeon if need be.

The silence stretched out uncomfortably for several seconds before Adam Higgins, the production designer, spoke up. Adam was a short, middle-aged man with a goofy smile and the ability to poke fun at anyone and anything and not be offensive. ?Lelah,? he said, his voice breaking before he cleared his throat and started again. ?I think I speak for everyone here when I say that no one here would be dumb enough to do this. Perhaps,? his voice broke again and he reached up to wipe away a condensation of sweat on his upper lip. ?Perhaps it's time to look at other people in our departments. Secretaries, gophers, even the camera and sound techs. Maybe...maybe even the FX department.?

Marie-Therese LaCroix, head of the hair design department, gasped when Adam mentioned the FX department. It was no secret that Ori Simon, the wizard Lelah had hired to produce most of the studios' special effects needs, was a close friend ? possibly even a lover ? of Lelah's. Was Adam intentionally committing career suicide or did he know something none of the rest of them did?

Lelah blinked, blindsided by the mention of Ori's department. Then she burst out in a fit of hysterical laughter. Tears ran down her face and she gasped for air, her slight shoulders rocked by the force of the giggles and guffaws. The rest of those collected in the conference room looked at each other, the thought that perhaps Lelah had finally cracked obvious in their expressions. When her laughter finally died down, she delicately swept tears off her cheeks with the tips of manicured fingers. Lelah blew out a deep breath and shook her head. ?Oh, Adam,? she said with the sort of look that a tiger has on its face before it dove at the throat of its prey. ?That is the funniest thing I've heard in a very long, long time. Do you want to know why?? She included the rest of them in this question, looking steadily at each face before saying, ?Ori is the only one here, the one person in the entire office, who hasn't received the script yet. He hasn't even seen it!?

The shocked silence didn't have time to settle, the implications of Lelah's statement didn't have time to penetrate the sluggish brains before she braced herself on the table in front of her and leaned forward. In a voice that betrayed no small amount of that steely resolve, she said quietly, ?Each of you will run an investigation into this within your own departments. Each of you will speak to every single member of your department and ask them if they did this. Use computer forensics, use truth-sayers, use whatever the f*ck you can get your hands on, and uncover who did this. You have until Friday afternoon to bring me the person who did this. Or I will fire each and every one of you.? Frankie Dellatore, the production manager, opened her mouth to question this decision, but Lelah held up a single finger and said, ?Yes, I can. Yes, I can fire you all in one fell swoop. And if you don't figure out who did this, I will.? She put her right hand over her heart and raised the left in the air. ?My hand to God, I will. Now get out.?

Ori Simon

Date: 2011-05-08 23:52 EST
When they'd arrived at work Wednesday morning, everything had been great. Ori's first and second days on the job had gone well; Adam really was a nice guy and easy to work with. Adam been thrilled to have someone else to help with the story boarding. Furthermore, things between Lelah and him were great, wonderful, amazing. They'd hardly left each other's company since Saturday, and he loved it. It was a completely new and exciting experience to wake up in the morning with another person in the same bed, to have breakfast together, get ready for work together... He was happier than he'd ever been.

Of course, it took less than five minutes of being at work on Wednesday for disaster to strike. After Lelah went off to her office, Jenny, the blonde receptionist leaned over her desk conspiratorially and hissed, "Did you see The Post?"

She sounded worried, and he immediately started wondering what was in the paper. "No...?" She practically shoved a copy of the paper into his hands, and he looked down to see the headline 21twelve Studios Script Leak!

"Oh...crap," he whispered. He looked over towards Lelah's office, remembering that she'd picked up a paper, too. Had she already read it?

A button on Jenny's phone lit up and she gasped. "It's Ms. Rivka," she hissed at Ori and then answered the call with a pleasant sounding, "Yes, Ms. Rivka? How can I help?" She listened intently for a moment or two, the blood draining from her face. "Yes, Ms. Rivka. Right away. I'll call you back right away." She carefully hung up the phone and glanced at Ori. "She wants numbers for lawyers."

Well...that answered his question, didn't it? "Crap," he said again. "How mad did she sound?" He was going to go out on a limb and guess that she sounded furious. And if she was calling for lawyers...

"She sounded really, really pissed," Jenny said as she flipped through the Rolodex on her desk and picked out three different attorneys' numbers. "Sorry, Ori," she said and picked up the phone to call Lelah back. "I've gotta talk to Ms. Rivka."

"Sure, sure go ahead. I shouldn't stand here listening, either. It's impolite. Thanks for showing me the paper, Jenny." He turned, taking a few steps towards the production room, then paused, looking at Lelah's office again. He wanted to go in there and try to help somehow, or just comfort her, at least. He couldn't, though. She was working, and they'd both decided to keep things as professional and discreet as possible at work. The fact that they were seeing each other wasn't a secret by any stretch, but there was no reason to throw it in people's faces. So he took a deep breath and kept walking, trying to think about storyboards instead.

There wasn't any distraction to be found working, either. Adam had clearly seen the paper, too; he was nervous and snappish, couldn't concentrate on working. When he was called away for an emergency meeting shortly afterward, it was actually a relief to be alone for a while. Right up until the point when Lelah's voice rang through the entire floor in a voice that promised death (or at least getting fired) for someone. It was the first time he'd heard her use the f-word. "This is not good at all," he muttered. Worse, once again, he couldn't do anything about it. He certainly couldn't go interrupt her meeting with the studio heads. So he sat there for almost half an hour, not getting any work done, just worrying.

When Adam came back from the meeting, he was obviously shaken, but his attitude had done a complete 360. He was suddenly being nice to the point of sucking up. Which didn't make much sense, since Adam was a studio head, and Ori wasn't. It was another relief when lunch time finally rolled around. He left the production room and headed over to Lelah's office. Her door was closed, and he stood in front of it for a long moment, listening and wondering. Finally, he lifted one hand and knocked hesitantly.

Ori Simon

Date: 2011-05-08 23:53 EST
"Come," Lelah barked. When the door swung open, she was sitting at her desk, typing something on the computer, a look of grim determination on her face. The small table that was most frequently used for lunch and impromptu meetings was covered in piles of paper. They looked like contracts and the resumes of everyone who worked in the studios.

He poked his head in the door, and spoke hesitantly, voice low. "Lelah?" She looked ready to murder someone. He stepped inside and stood there awkwardly.

She glanced up, the harsh lines of anger in her face instantly smoothing away when she saw him. She sighed and closed whatever document she was working on and then went to close the door to her office. Then she threw her arms around him and clung desperately to him.

He held onto her and stroked her head, not saying anything. There was nothing he could say that would change things. All he could do was try to comfort her.

She tilted her head up to look at him. "You heard?" she asked softly. Of course he'd heard. Everyone on the entire floor had heard her shouting, her use of obscenities, her threats to fire everyone.

He looked down at her and nodded. "Yeah, I did. I...saw the article, too." He looked away for a second, then back at her. "I...it wasn't me."

She laughed, a bitter, humorless sound. "As I pointed out to Adam when he practically accused you of having done it, you and I are the only people I know for certain aren't the leak. You haven't even seen the script yet. I should fix that." She left him, going over to a locked filing cabinet in the corner and pulling open a drawer. Fishing out a thick, bound stack of papers, she shut the drawer again and made a point of locking it before returning to his side and handing the papers to him. "Here. Might as well get a head start on your ideas for effects."

"Oh, you're right," he said, relief flooding through him. He hadn't actually seen the script. He knew it hadn't been him who did it, of course, but without seeing the script, no one else could think it was him, either. "Maybe I should just read it when I'm here," he suggested. Safer that way.

She shook her head. "The damage is done, azizam. You might as well take it home, read it there." She sighed deeply and returned to her chair, sitting down heavily in it. "I suppose I should look on the bright side of things, right? At least with the script being leaked to the internet thingie and to the Post, there will be a lot of interest in the film, right?"

He went over to the chair and stood behind her, rubbing her shoulders and neck, trying to ease the tension he could feel there. "Yeah," he said. "Any press is good press, right? And it wasn't really that much of the script. Hardly more than a trailer would show."

She closed her eyes and forced herself to relax under his hands, letting the tension flow from her rigid muscles down into the floor beneath her feet. "You're right. It'll be fine. I'll ferret out the assh*le who did it, fire them, and then we'll be good."

He felt her relaxing, but kept up the massage on her shoulders and neck. He liked touching her, was that so bad? "I always wondered why people would do something like that. What do they hope to gain from it?"

She shook her head. "I have no idea. Maybe I'll ask before I fire him...or her. Do you have any ideas who it might be?"

He thought about it for a minute. "Probably not any of the heads. It would be counter-productive for them; they're only hurting their own profits. If money was the motive, I'd look for someone who isn't very highly placed. Same thing with prestige, too."

"Like an assistant or maybe even a secretary?" She opened her eyes glanced towards the windows that faced the interior corridor. The blinds were pulled, blocking out the view of her office from anyone passing by. She stood up, turned around and hugged him again, tilting her head up to his.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure it wasn't Jenny. She showed me the article, and I'd think she wouldn't want to draw attention to it if it was her." With her looking at him like that, he couldn't resist dipping his head to brush a little kiss against her lips.

She made a soft, happy sound at the kiss and stood up on tip-toe to get another...and another...and another. "I don't think it was her, either," she said at last. "She's too sweet and honestly, not that bright. I think it was someone in Adam's department...and he knows about it."

He closed his eyes as they kissed, feeling immeasurably better than when he'd come in. In Adam's department... "He was really nervous and snappish when I got in...and then after the meeting, he was overly nice. Like kish mir en toches nice.?

She'd figure this one out. One couldn't spend much time in Hollywood without running into a few Jews - usually in high profile positions within studios - so she was familiar with a little Yiddish, toches being one of the words she knew. It was then just a matter of sounding out the rest of the sentence and the context he'd used it in to come up with, "Kiss your *ss?"

He grinned, nodding, all proud of her for getting it. "Yes, exactly!"

"Go me! You'll have me fluent in no time, huh? Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, starving. Worrying takes a lot of energy. Ask any Jewish mother."

She laughed and went to grab her bag. "I think we should go out and have a long, long lunch. Hours, in fact. When we get back, maybe the culprit will be sitting in here, awaiting my final judgment."

"Well...it's not like anyone's going to fire you for taking a long lunch...and since you'd be the one to fire me, I'm probably safe, too." He grinned, reaching for her hand after she'd gotten her bag. "Let's go, then." He led her, hand-in-hand, down the hallway to the receptionist's area. With a wave to Jenny, they slipped into a waiting elevator crowd and headed to Lelah's loft.

((Big thanks to Lelah's player for this scene.))

Lelah

Date: 2011-08-02 20:44 EST
Monday afternoon,the first of August...

Nearly three months had passed since bits of the script for Crowes had been leaked to Rhy'Din's internet. Lelah had fired one of Frankie's, the production manager, assistants after a computer forensics report traced the upload of the script pages to the assistant's computer. Frankie swore that she had no knowledge of the girl's transgressions and after speaking to people in Los Angeles who knew Frankie well, Lelah came to the conclusion that the woman would rather shoot herself in the head than sabotage her career this way. A healthy deposit of $15,000 from a numbered account in the Grand Caymans into the assistant's checking account helped convince Lee that Frankie was not behind the script leak. Frankie simply did not have that kind of money lying around.

Lelah thought she'd fixed the problem after firing the girl, and relaxed her iron-fisted control of the studios' media relations slightly. Her reaction was misplaced. It was quickly followed by leaked dailies ? those raw and unedited scenes that were shot each day. The list of people who had access to the dailies, which were kept under lock and key in Larry Stern's office, was short. It consisted of herself, Larry Stern, and the three lead actors.

She grilled Larry for hours and finally determined that he hadn't been behind it, and neither Aimee (who was, frankly, not intelligent enough to bolster her career that way) nor Lasse had any opportunity to leak the scenes. Eliminating these three left her with two choices for her suspect ? herself and Jon Granger. Of course she knew she hadn't done it, and so she was left with the sick feeling that Jon Granger had betrayed her.

The mood on the set for the few days following this determination was horrible. Everyone sensed that Lelah was upset and everyone suspected that Jon was the reason, but no one knew what had happened to cause Lelah's attitude towards one of her closest, dearest friends to sour. Rumors ran rampant as everyone involved with the movie speculated ? Jon and Aimee had begun a sexual relationship and Lelah found out and flew off the handle in a jealous rage; Jon and Lelah had started sleeping together and Aimee was the jealous one; Jon had started using drugs again and refused to seek treatment for it; Lelah had started using heroin and Jon had found out.

Lelah tried so hard to take a step back from the situation and and look at things logically. She had to believe in her friend; Jon would never do something like this. He was far too professional and more than that, he valued their friendship and working relationship too much to sabotage it by doing something so horrible. On a purely emotional basis, those two reasons were enough for her to know that Jon hadn't done it, but she would need far more concrete evidence if she was going to take someone to court over the matter.

So she looked at the scenes themselves. Only Jon and Aimee were in them and it was the first time that Jon appeared onscreen. Either of their careers would receive a huge boost from the act, but only Jon had the representation who was savvy (read:oily) enough to capitalize on it. Lelah knew that Jon and his manager, Mason, had been having problems over Jon's decision to leave Hollywood and New York behind in favor of returning to the stage and screen in Rhy'Din. Another trawling of bank accounts revealed that the editor who Larry had brought in to begin work assembling the film had received a $20,000 from the same numbered account in the Caymans.

After telling the cast and crew that she wanted to do half-days of shooting during the week before her birthday, Lelah went into her office on the third floor of Plaza de Troyes and put in a call to Jon's agent in Hollywood. Much to her surprise, he took it immediately, greeting her with a breezy, ?Hey, babe,? as if they were life-long friends, instead of it being the first time in their lives that they'd spoken.

?Mason, so nice of you to take my call. How's the weather in LA today?? Lelah asked, staring out her floor-to-ceiling windows that commanded a breath-taking view of the city. She could see all the way to the Southern Glen and watched ships sailing on the Rhy'Din River.

?Warm and sunny and the air is clear,? Mason said with an audible smile. ?You can almost see Catalina from my office. How can I help you, Ms Rivka??

Lelah was silent for a moment, trying to decide which tactic to take in confronting him. She decided on her best approach ? blunt and straight forward. It had yet to fail her. ?Why'd you do it, Mason?? she asked him in a calm, non-confrontational manner. ?The script leaks, the dailies? What did you hope to accomplish??

?What? I didn't leak anything! What are you??

?Let me just stop you right there, Mason,? Lelah interrupted the man before he could launch into a line of bullsh*t. ?I know you paid off Frankie's assistant to leak the script pages. I know you also paid off the editor to leak the dailies of Jon's first scene. What I don't know is why.?

?Listen here, you little b*tch,? the agent snapped viciously. ?You have no idea the damage you've caused with this ridiculous little film of yours. Jon was on the cusp of fully realizing his stardom when you hired him for this mire of crap and because you're friends or because you f*cked him once a lifetime ago, he feels beholden to you.?

Lee took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She let the insults and accusations slide right off her, like water from a duck's back. She knew from the vehemence in the man's tone that she'd backed him into a corner. It left her with a terrible taste in her mouth. ?So it was for Jon's career then. Is that what you're trying to tell me??

?Damn right it was for his career. You're paying him $50,000 for the lead in your little film. He passed up a $15 million contract for a blockbuster action film, directed by Zack Snyder himself. $15 million!?

?Jon's never been concerned with money, Mason. He acts because it's what he loves.? She stopped talking, realizing that this line of argument wouldn't sway the man. Mason cared about exactly one thing ? his own bottom line. ?Ten percent of $15 million is a helluva lot more than ten percent of $50,000. So you figured you'd tank his career here and he'd be forced to go back to LA, right??

Mason chuckled and said, ?You got it. Jonathon Granger isn't just a person, you know. He's an industry that generates almost $15 million a year and employs more than 50 people. And each and every one of those people depends upon me for the safety and security of Jonathon Granger. I gotta look out for him. It's my job.?

?Well, after I bring this evidence to him, I have the feeling it won't be your job anymore. Enjoy your afternoon.? She hung up the phone and sighed deeply. Then she hit her intercom and asked Liv to track down Jon and ask him to meet her at the Inn for drinks tomorrow. Somehow, Lelah was going to have to explain all of this to him. She sincerely hoped he didn't take it too hard. He had enough crap to deal with as it was.

Lelah

Date: 2011-08-03 22:38 EST
Wednesday evening, the third of August

Frankly, after the way she'd been treating Jon lately, Lelah was surprised that he agreed to meet her at the Inn this evening. But hopefully, the news that she had to relay to him wouldn't further ruin their relationship. She showed up at the Inn a few moments early and selected a bottle of red for them to share before staking out a booth.

She settled in the booth and poured out two glasses of wine and then set a Manilla envelope on the table and tried not to stare at it too intensely. Inside was all the hard evidence she'd compiled against Mason - bank statements, the forensic computer tech's report, even a tape of the conversation she'd had with him on the phone Monday afternoon. She was pretty sure that Jon wasn't one to shoot the messenger, but she was still very worried about how he'd take the news.

She took a sip of the wine, her brows raising in surprise. She hadn't expected to find something so good in a place like this and glanced at the label. Oh, well, that explained it. She'd apparently come across a bottle of Argento Luna, Julian Marx's vintage. With a tiny smile, she took a moment to wonder what it said about her that two of her principle investors were involved in the making of alcoholic beverages.

Jon found Lelah's attitude toward him lately a little peculiar, but he had enough problems of his own to worry about and didn't dwell on it too much, chocking it up to the work stress and worries about the film and an upcoming birthday.

Taking pride in his punctuality, he arrived at the Inn in the Bentley, on time, as usual. He was dressed casually in a pair of khakis, a plaid short-sleeve shirt, and leather boat shoes, his hair pushed to the side, a few unruly curls drooping onto his forehead. He was a little nervous, considering what was going on in his personal life, and hoped she wasn't growing suspicious about the "research" he'd been doing on the side. He'd been careful to hide his tracks and as far as he knew, not even his sister suspected anything was amiss. After making sure the Bentley was secure, he made his way up the porch stairs and pushed his way into the inn, pausing to take a look around before spying her in the booth and making his way over.

Spotting Jon out of the corner of her eye, she looked up at him and smiled what she hoped was a reassuring expression. "Thanks for coming, Jonny. Have a seat," she said and nodded towards the opposite side of the booth.

The smile, well-intended or not, did little to reassure him and he was feeling like a kid who'd just gotten called into the principal's office for doing something wrong. He wasn't worried about getting fired. They were too far into filming for her to recast the part now, but he had a feeling she didn't want him to meet her here just to have a drink and hang out. He returned the smile, depending on his acting ability to ensure he didn't appear nervous and took a seat across from her, cutting straight to the quick. "What's going on, Lelah? I have a feeling this isn't just a social call." He noticed the manilla envelope on the table before her and wondered if someone had gotten photos of him on the seedier part of town.

She waited until he was settled before launching into the speech she'd been working on for two days. "I wanted to first apologize for being so...distant towards you lately." She paused for a moment as she tried to decide whether or not it would be prudent to explain to him why she'd been so cold. In the end, it was best to lay it all out and clear the air. Maybe that way they could salvage their relationship. "You know about the script leak and the dailies that were released to the Post, right?"

He assumed the second glass of wine was for him and reached for it without asking. He lifted the glass and took a small sip, which did little to calm his nerves, though to look at him, you'd never know he was nervous in the least. He lifted a single brow at her inquiry, wondering if that was what this was all about and what it had to do with him. "Everyone knows about the leaks, Lelah."

She nodded and ran her finger idly around the bottom of the wine glass before lifting it for a sip. Putting it down again, she studied the way the meager light from the filthy windows lit the ruby liquid in the bowl of the glass, very obviously not wanting to meet his eyes. "Did you know that I've had all sorts of investigators looking into it? Banking officials, computer forensics, private eyes?" She darted a glance at his face and then let her gaze fall to the wine again.

He didn't say anything regarding her apology just yet. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing to forgive. He understood what kind of pressure she was under and didn't want to make it any harder for her. He was furrowing his brows as he watched her now, studying her expression, her body language. She wouldn't meet his gaze, but why? She couldn't possibly suspect him, could she? Was that why she'd been so distant? "No, but..." He hadn't really thought much about it. He'd had other matters on his mind. "What did you find out?"

"Well, I... I suspected you did it. I mean, there were only a few people who had access to those dailies, you know? Me, you, Aimee, and Larry - that's it. No one else could have gotten their hands on them without one of us knowing." She paused for a moment and took a deep drink of the wine, nearly draining the glass before setting it back on the table. "But, I know you didn't do it...wouldn't do that to me. You're too professional. And I know that our friendship means too much to you for you to betray me like that." She looked up at him, her dark eyes soft with an unspoken apology and the deep-seated hope that her confession wouldn't change things between them.

Actor or not, he couldn't hide the hurt from his face. Though he understood her reasoning, he thought she knew him better and trusted him more than that. He felt a stab of guilt. Even if he hadn't been responsible for the leaks, he almost felt like he'd betrayed her in another way. "Right." He said nothing more, for now, allowing her to continue with wherever this was going.

Lelah

Date: 2011-08-03 22:39 EST
She frowned softly and dropped her gaze once more, as she experienced a little stab of guilt of her own. "So, I uh... Well, I started thinking about who would benefit the most from all the publicity that was stirred up by these leaks. Obviously the studios would, so that could have meant that Mataya or Alain or Edward were responsible." She shook her head and poured another glass of wine for herself. "None of them would sabotage their investments like that. Then I looked at Aimee and you again. I still felt...no, I knew that you wouldn't do it, and frankly, Aimee's not...savvy enough to capitalize on the situation. And that led me to this." She slid the envelope across to him and said, "Open it."

He watched her closely as she slowly explained, reaching for the envelope and sliding it closer, dreading opening it, but curious who was to blame. "I'm not going to like it, am I?" He just had a feeling about it.

She shook her head sadly. "No. You're not. Not even a little. But I suspect it won't really come as a surprise."

He took a small breath as he opened the envelope, all kinds of thoughts running through his head, hoping it wasn't anyone in the family or anyone else he cared about who might have used him for their own purposes somehow. His lips formed a thin line and his face visibly paled as he pulled the contents out of the envelope and examined them, the bank statements in particular, and put two and two together.

"I'm so sorry, Jonny," she said softly and reached across the table to cover his hand with hers and gave it a quick, light squeeze before withdrawing it once more. "That tape's of a conversation I had with him Monday afternoon. He confessed," she added lamely.

"I might have known. The greedy bastard. He's been after me to go back to Hollywood since I got out of rehab." He picked up the tape for a moment as if by looking at it, he might glean some understanding, and then set it back down, shuffling through the pile of documents, a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Says I'm wasting my time here."

She nodded, biting at her lower lip as she sought something helpful or at the very least comforting to say to him. The best she could come up with was, "I won't pursue legal proceedings against him if you don't want me to."

Jon tossed a few of the bank statements onto the pile of evidence and snorted in disgust. "You nail his ass to the wall, Lee." Yes, Jon knew that suing his manager might open a can of worms. Some dirty laundry might come out because of it, but he didn't care. Let the truth come out, all of it, and let people judge for themselves.

Her brows rose in surprise. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I've got nothing to hide." That wasn't exactly true, but he was pretty sure Mason knew nothing about his little trysts with the bloodsuckers and even if he did, he was doing nothing illegal.

She nodded and then took a deep breath. "You might want to get your own counsel, just in case he launches a counter-suit and names you in it. Just to be safe."

"What the hell's he gonna sue me for? Breach of contract? I'm his bread and butter. I pay his goddamn bills. Or have up until now. As far as I'm concerned, he's fired." He sighed, jaw clenching, as he returned each piece of evidence to the envelope, wondering if Riley would agree to represent him or if she still wanted nothing to do with him. It was his turn not to meet Lelah's eyes as he closed and fastened the envelope.

She shrugged a little. "With his type, you never know." Then she glanced up at his face and asked in a soft voice, "Are we okay, Jon?"

"We're fine," he told her abruptly, obviously upset, but not with her.

She gave him a relieved, grateful smile and sat back in the booth, studying his face minutely. "Can I... Is there anything you want me to do? Find someone you a lawyer? Send Daniel after him, maybe?" That last question was meant as a little joke, but she felt certain that if she asked Daniel to do it, he would be happy to have a word with Mason.

"No, I don't want anyone else getting hurt because of him. Let the court take care of it." He handed her the envelope, his expression grim. "You know Riley Lo?"

"Yes, silly. I shot your scenes with her last week." She tucked the envelope away in her bag and finished her wine.

Lelah

Date: 2011-08-03 22:40 EST
"Right." He sighed and shoved a hand through his hair. "I think I'm losing my mind. I need a drink." He reached for the glass with a slightly shaking hand.

She chuckled softly. "It's alright. It happens when you're old."

"Right, twenty-five going on seventy," he mumbled. He didn't seem amused by her good-natured teasing, which was not really like him at all.

She frowned, wondering if there wasn't something deeper going on with him. "Jonny... Is there... Are you okay? I mean, apart from this mess. Is there something else going on? Something you want to talk about?"

He shrugged and took a swallow of wine. There were plenty of somethings going on, but only one that had him feeling guilty. He thought he should probably tell her. If anyone would understand, it was probably her.

"If you don't want to talk about it, I understand,? she said in a gentle tone. ?But... It's me. You know? We've been through some stuff together and...well... I'm here for you. Whenever you need. Okay?"

He took another sip of wine and lowered the glass, idly swirling the liquid around and watching it, rather than meet her gaze. Actor or not, she knew him well enough that she'd probably see right through him. "You're not gonna like it. It's bad, Lee."

Bad. That could mean only one thing where Jonathan was concerned. "You're using again?" She tried so hard to keep the accusation and hurt from her voice but failed miserably. She knew she shouldn't pass judgment on him - after all, how many times in the past six months had she come that close to using again herself? - but just the fact that she'd stayed clean meant that Jon could, too.

"No..." he told her, sounding a little defensive. "No, not that, thank God, though sometimes..." He frowned. Once an addict, always an addict. They both knew that. But in some ways, it seemed, he'd just traded one addiction for another. "I haven't used since I went into rehab."

She flashed him a quicksilver, relieved smile and then sat forward again. "So, if it's not that... Then what?" Frankly, as far as she was concerned, there was nothing so bad as using again. Anything else he could confess wouldn't be insurmountable.

He set the glass on the table and lifted his gaze to her, a guilty expression on his face, worrying that he had let her down somehow. That he'd let a lot of people down. "It started out as research... I was doing research on vampires... for the movie."

Her brow arched slowly, brain running at full speed to try and figure out what he could possibly be researching to make him look like a little kid who'd just broken his mother's favorite lamp. "Okay," she said hesitantly. "So... You, what? You went and found a vampire?"

"You don't just go out and find a vampire, but yeah, something like that. An old one, too. She..." He broke off a moment before continuing. "She read my mind somehow and told me that..." He sighed and leaned back. He dropped his voice for her ears alone, though those with exceptional hearing might still pick it up."I know it sounds crazy, but she told me she could give me back my memories in exchange for some blood."

"In exchange for blood," she repeated emotionlessly, dropping her voice to match his. She glanced out into the room and realized that they were no longer alone, so she reached up and drew the curtains that surrounded the booth, effectively shutting out anyone who might be eavesdropping and ensuring they could have privacy. "Your blood, right?"

He also noticed they were no longer alone as Lelah was shutting the curtain, like that would stop anyone from listening. "Maybe we shouldn't talk here."

She nodded. "Maybe not. Your place or mine?" she asked with a cheeky grin.

"Bentley's out front. Where do you wanna go?" He didn't really have a place of his own anymore. He was living back at Maple Grove with his sister.

She shouldered her bag and opened the curtains before rising from her seat. "Ooh, a ride in the Bentley. I'm special, huh? Let's head back to the carriage house and I'll make dinner."

"You are that," he smiled and slid from the booth. "It's been a while since I've had a pretty girl in the Bentley."

"A pretty girl, huh? Should I tell my boyfriend he's got competition?" she teased Jon as he led the way to the door, opening it for her, before following her out to the car and eventually away from the Inn.


((Many thanks to Jon's player for this scene!))