Dave dug his hands deep into his pockets and walked toward the bay window, staring at the trees in the courtyard.

“A lot of things are changing.” Turning toward me, he exhaled deeply. “You’ve really changed just in the two years I’ve known you. Now that you’ve landed the big gig on the show, you’re like a different person.”

“What do you mean? I’m just the same!”

“No, no you’re not. You’re working all the time. You’re at the studio practically around the clock. You spent a whole week away, for that trip to Quantico. When we do hang out, you’re totally preoccupied all the time.” Now he did seem insecure, as if I were the one hurting him. “How could I not think you were going to bail on me?”

I felt helpless as I recognized what he was doing—he was shifting gears from acting forlorn and wounded to gaining steam for his own accusations. “I can’t even get through to you when I call,” he went on. “You’re always in a meeting with Steve Jacobs. Or as that bitch assistant Azita puts it”—he mimicked quotation marks with his fingers—“behind closed doors.”

“He’s my boss,” I said. “We have a lot of meetings. And usually when we meet the other writers are there too. It’s not like we’re alone.”

Dave scowled. “You know that guy is dying to get into your pants.”

“Stop it with this. You’re trying to put this on me, and it’s not going to work! I wasn’t cheating on you—you know that! Even when I was out of town, you were my last call before going to bed every night. Do you really think I’d call you at midnight and talk for twenty minutes and then slink off to bed with someone else?” I couldn’t believe the words coming out of my mouth. Why was I trying to force him to believe me?

Dave straightened up and folded his arms defensively across his chest. “Well, you could see how I have my doubts. Plus I had to hear about your plastic surgery from your mom. What was I supposed to think of that? You’ve been deceiving me this whole time. I thought you were factory!”

I rolled my eyes.

“You’ve been changing big time. It made sense when Chloe said you were hooking up with someone else.”