“This shit may fly with the cable networks but it’s so not happening with any project I’ve got my name on, I can tell you that.”

“Ryan—man, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I’ll take care of it.”

“Damn right you will,” Ryan barked. “Because I am not stepping one foot in front of any cameras until it’s dealt with. We’ve only filmed for a couple of days. Fire her and get another actress. Someone professional that doesn’t have a drug problem.” Jonathan looked just as angry and frustrated as Ryan was, glaring at Parker in his own way.

Parker sighed heavily. “You know it’s not that simple, Ryan. We’ve already shot the promos, the stills.”

Ryan continued to freak out and argue.

His emotional rant was making this entire situation worse. I had to do something. The moment I locked eyes with Parker, I gave him a subtle nod in the direction of the door, hoping he’d give me time to calm Ryan down.

“We’ll take care of this, Ryan. Just relax.

Let me make some calls.” Parker pressed his phone to his ear on his way out.

Ryan was behaving irrationally, even punching one of the cabinets with his fist.

“Ryan . . .”

“What?” he snapped. “And before you start, I tried it a few times back in college, way back when. You know I don’t do drugs.” It was good to hear it, but him punching stuff was more my concern. “I know you don’t. Honey, listen. I know you’re furious, but lashing out and demanding that she gets fired is not the way to handle this.”

“You’re not the one with chemical poison in your fucking mouth, Taryn!”

“I know. But I also know what was written in the executive producer agreement that you signed.”

That got his temper to come down a big notch. There were several pages of legal mumbo-jumbo tossed in his direction that day he signed the paperwork; of course he didn’t read it all, trusting that his lawyer giving him the general okay was confirmation enough. But with several million dollars on the line, I read every damn word of his copy, not leaving anything to chance to be filtered to him through his lawyer.

“You have dual obligations to this film now. You accepted the responsibility to make sound decisions when you signed on for those rights. All of the producers are required to consult each other for any changes to main talent, so you need to support them and handle yourself professionally, not freak out on everyone.”

Ryan flexed his fingers in the air. “I just want to wring her goddamned neck.”

“I know, but you can’t.”

He wiped both hands down his face. “Grr.

Fuck. What am I . . . how do I . . . ?”

“Sit for a minute and try to calm down.” Ryan’s eyes were filled with dread, worry, fury—all vying to dominate as he gripped the cabinetry next to the built-in refrigerator.

“I’ve never had to deal with this before, Taryn,” he growled. “I’m at a complete loss here. I mean, what do I do with this?” Part of me was worried that the drugs from her mouth had affected him, given the way he was acting. I had no direct knowledge of their effects or symptoms to call upon, though, so I presumed he was just beyond riled. “Babe, sit. We need to thoroughly eval-uate

the

situation—rationally.”

I

was

surprised he did what I said even though he was still breathing hard like a rampant bull cornered in a china shop.

“Just take a deep breath. I want you to try to forget that you’re an actor and her co-star for a moment so you can start thinking like a producer. This is a business.

“First, calmly talk to Parker. You know that nothing can be resolved with you yelling at him.”

“I know,” he agreed, “but I’m so fucking pissed and—”

“I know, honey. You put a stop to filming so now they have no choice but to deal with it.”

“I’m not going back out there. There’s no fucking way.”

“Talk to Jonathan. Come up with a plan.

Her drug usage has halted production and therefore is putting this film in jeopardy.

They are going to act on this now. I’m sure there are a ton of legal and contractual ramifications here to deal with that we have to consider. Then discuss how to confront her and attempt to resolve this.” Ryan nodded. “I can’t believe she’d be so stupid. I suspected something was up from the moment I saw her but I didn’t say anything. And then during our scene yesterday . . . that’s when I knew for sure.” Now I knew his odd behavior wasn’t just because I was watching him have pretend sex.

“If she’s stupid enough to risk what could potentially be a turning point in her career over drugs,” I told him, “then she deserves to deal with whatever ramifications come from it. She isn’t a child. This is all stuff you have to learn to deal with if you’re going to be an executive producer of your own films. You have to consider everything objectively.” He seemed to acquiesce. “You’re right. All of it. Especially if we start our own production company like we talked about.”

I nodded. “But . . .” I waited until he made eye contact. “She’s young and she’s doing foolish things messing with drugs like this.

You need to help her.”

Ryan’s face twisted. “Help her?”

“Yes, help her. Listen, I know you are furious, but there’s obviously some serious issues plaguing her if she’s using such a hard drug like that.”

“And that’s my problem?” I knew he was lashing out at the situation and not at me. “Yes, babe, it is. Instead of filming, you’re in here fuming. People just don’t do drugs for the hell of it. Well, maybe some do, but meth? She’s been looking strung-out for a week, so I’m pretty sure this isn’t recreational usage going on. That girl is in serious need of an intervention.”

“Because someone told her she was looking fat or something stupid, this is now my problem? Fucking great.”

“Everyone deserves a second chance.

You’ve just called her out on it in front of everyone. Who knows? Maybe she’s scared straight.”

Ryan laughed at the likelihood of that.

“Be a leader, a mentor to her. You know firsthand how it feels to be under pressure.

She’s doing drugs because she’s trying to cope with something, and if you go on a tear to get her fired, you never know how bad she could get. Don’t let her become another Hollywood statistic, Ryan. So many others have thrown their lives away on drugs and alcohol. All it takes is for one person to make a difference. Find it in your heart to be the difference.”