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NANCY: Hi, Eli, we have a situation. Do you think you could come down?

ELI: What kind of situation?

I don’t think Nancy has ever texted me. She normally goes through Neil or Kelly, her boss.

NANCY: Please just come down.

Of course, my mind goes right to Reese, but she texts back right away.

NANCY: It’s not Reese. She’s not in yet. And nobody’s hurt. I just need you to see something.

My relief is short-lived. Whatever it is, it can’t be good.

When I get there, Nancy’s waiting for me just inside the restaurant doors, which are locked, seeing as L’Aubergine doesn’t open for another few hours while filming is going on.

“Eli,” Nancy says, cutting right to the chase. “We have a problem.”

“Where’s Kelly?”

“She’s not in.” Nancy gives me a look that mirrors mine.

Not good.

“Come with me,” Nancy says, leading me back to the kitchen.

Our weekly check-in meeting with the crew was called off yesterday because Kelly wasn’t feeling well. She hasn’t been feeling well a lot lately. I haven’t seen her around set the last few times I’ve been downstairs. Not that that’s a problem, honestly. Except Neil seems to be feeling just fine, and now that I think about it, when I asked him about her last week, he waved it off, like he wasn’t concerned at all.

It’s no longer my business to care about whether Kelly’s okay, but the whole thing feels off.

In the kitchen, it looks like filming is on a break. The cameras are off, and the crew are standing around craft service, which is a prep table at the far end of the kitchen.

“Where’s Neil?”

Nancy purses her lips. “He’s the reason I needed you.”

She walks us over to the filming area. We pause, just off to the side of the prep stations.

Neil is leaning over Augusta’s prep table. Not just leaning—he’s somehow crowding her, his arms spread wide. He looks for all the world like he’s hittingon her.

Augusta, meanwhile, is chopping an onion half the size of his head with the kind of violence that would have a less oblivious man backing up. Her jaw is tight.

Anger floods my throat. I understand now why Nancy asked me for help. The normal person to go to about something like this would be Kelly, but this is probably why Kelly isn’t here.

“How long has this been going on?” I’ve been so wrapped up in Reese, I hadn’t noticed what’s going on down here. Reese obviously hasn’t either, given she doesn’t come in while they’re filming.

“Awhile. It was harmless at first, but it’s like he’s losing touch with reality. If I call him out on it one more time, he’s going to fire me.”

I move to go over there and—I don’t know what—knock Neil upside the head. But Nancy puts a hand on my arm. “Wait. Augusta’s okay right now—she’s tough and won’t let anything actually happen. But I need you to approach this carefully, Eli. Because I also need Neil to finish hosting this show. It can’t blow up now.”

I take a breath. Then I look around. “Where’s Jacques?” He wouldn’t stand for this either.

“Neil doesn’t do it when he’s around, but whenever we’re not filming, he’s usually off somewhere with Marcel. Today, they’re filming a segment about that ghost over in the east wing.”

I vaguely remember that being on the schedule. “Why aren’t you there?”

Nancy eyes Neil. “My AD is covering for me.”

I understand. She doesn’t want to leave this situation alone for longer than it took to get me a moment ago.