What is Anna doing here? He wanted to reach for her, to talk to her and find out what was going on, but he was frozen in place.

She stood in front of her ex-husband with a beseeching look on her face. Her hands were clasped in front of her. She should never have to ask that asshole for anything. The agent’s smug smile made John’s stomach turn.

“What the hell is going on?” John asked.

Anna turned around, and her face fell. Her eyes, normally sparkling and bright, appeared dull with pain. Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders. She appeared to be steeling herself for one last fight, like she had another piece of armor to put on, but didn’t want to have to do it. She flinched when he stepped toward her.

“Why would I ever lie to you, Anna?” Tom asked. “I don’t need to.”

Anna clenched her fists. Avoiding John’s eyes, she turned back around to face her ex-husband.

“Screenwriters have done a hell of a lot more to get a script in front of me.”

“You asshole, it wasn’t like that,” John said, stepping up beside Anna. Whatever was going on, she shouldn’t have to face it alone.

Anna tilted her head toward him. “Tom is the reason you were there?”

“It was a job. It wasn’t a conspiracy.” He was a third wheel in this conversation, and he didn’t like it. “You took a job from him too.”

“I would never take a job from Tom. Why would you think that?”

“Why would I think anything differently? We were both there.”

“This confusion is charming,” Tom interjected. “Cinematic even.”

John turned to the other man. “Can you please stop talking? The option expired, and you have no movie. I have no idea what the fuck you’re even doing here.”

“He has an option on your script?”

Every fear John had harbored for the past month came to life in that moment. He should have told her. He knew he should have told her. He needed to find a way out of this. He needed to explain. “He used to.”

“I don’t believe it.” Anna shut her eyes. “He’s the one who sent you the notes for the rewrites. He’s the one you’ve been working with.”

“If I may interrupt what promises to be an interesting fight,” Tom said. His smile looked like a villain’s sneer in an old horror movie. “John’s option hasn’t expired.”

“The contract was clear,” John said adamantly. “If you didn’t have a movie deal by three days ago, then we’re done. You told me it wasn’t packaged.”

“You believed him,” Anna said incredulously.

“It was right there in black and white.” How many times was he going to be treated this way? He had made mistakes, but he wasn’t a complete fool.