Page 138 of Under the Mistletoe with You

Oh no.He sits up, the blankets pooling around him.

‘Kurt.I’m not there.’

‘Oh.Can you be back this afternoon?I can bring dinner?’

‘No, Kurt.I’m ...I’m in Britain.’The other end is silent for so long that he briefly worries the connection died.‘Hello?’

‘Sorry, I got coffee all down me, because I was taking a moment to consider why my favourite client left the continent and didn’t tell me about it.’

‘Urgh, don’t be mad.’He regrets the whine to his voice.

‘Dude, why are you in England?’

‘Wales actually.’

‘What?’

‘I’m in Wales, not England.It’s a whole thing.’

‘Okay, sure, Wales.But why?’

This is it.He needs to tell him.‘I got scared and ran away.’

‘From what?’

‘The deal on the table.’

He can’t hear it, but he knows Kurt is currently cursing him under his breath for not talking to him directly and forbeing afucking idiot.This is the side of Kurt he never sees, but very occasionally hears if he takes a phone call in his presence.Exasperated-with-clients, getting-the-deals Business Kurt.

‘You’re going to have to explain this one for me, buddy.’

‘I know.I’ve been cowardly, but the reason I’ve been delaying is that I’m feeling a bit burnt out from acting, Kurt.And I really want to try something new, like writing or directing.I’ve got ideas I don’t know what to do with yet, and I’m worried that getting tied into this deal is not going to give me any space to grow as an artist.’

The last part feels embarrassing to admit, but there we go.He’s said it now.Radical vulnerability is the mode of the day.

Kurt breathes out slowly, a soft fuzzing sound through the speakers.‘Well,’ he begins slowly, ‘they’re interested in you as a brand.I’m sure that if we took this back to the negotiations to see what investment they’d be interested in making in you branching out, we might be able to find a middle ground.’

What?Is it really that simple?

‘Are you serious?’

‘Yeah, like they really want this franchise to keep going, and these kind of development partnerships are not unusual – look at Amazon with Donald Glover and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.’

‘Yes but they’re Donald Glover and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.I’m just Nash.’

‘JustNash?My dude, did you cross the Atlantic and forget who you are?You’re NashfuckingNadeau.You’re King of the Seasonal Screen.These guys aredesperateto nail you down so you won’t go off and make films with their competitors, who, for the record, have also been sniffing around recently.You’re a hot commodity and a rising star, and the reason I’ve been harassing you is because they’re desperate to get you signed up.’

‘Oh.’

‘Oh?’

‘Well, now I feel really stupid for not talking to you.’

‘And running away to Wales.’

‘And running away to Wales and getting stuck here because of a snowstorm that knocked out all the international travel for like an entire country.’

‘Oh no, for real?What have you been doing there anyway?’