36. Noah
Chapter thirty-six
Noah
My first impulse is to punch Yong-rae in the jaw as soon as I walk through the door of his cramped Washington Heights apartment. I hold back, but just barely.
"What were you thinking!" I bluster, knocking over an ironing board that's doubling as a clothing rack in the process. It clatters to the floor and sets off a chain reaction of toppling glasses and flying papers. If he's been hanging out with Tabitha outside of filming, it certainly wasn't in here.
Yong-rae rushes to pick up the clutter, draping the fallen clothes on the stationary bike in the corner and clearing a space on the worn futon in the center of the room.
"Hi, Noah. Thanks for coming over so quickly," he starts, but I cut him off with a wave of my hand.
"Cut the bullshit, Yong-rae. Why the hell does The Post have pictures of you punching a club owner in the East Village? Why were you even at a bar when I thought we agreed you wouldn't drink? And why am I finding out about it after the fact instead of you telling me right when it happened?!"
Yong-rae hangs his head and slumps into the armchair across from me.
"It wasn't like I was out on a bender," he protests weakly. "It was one drink while we waited for her friend, who was doing a set with their band in the area. And I didn't tell you right away…because Tabitha asked me not to," he admits with a sigh.
"I wanted to say something, but since we left right after, and neither Tabitha nor I saw any cameras, we assumed that would be the end of it."
I pinch the bridge of my nose, a habit I must've picked up from Awa, and silently chant a calming mantra. He can't possibly be this na?ve, can he?
"Yong-rae," I start, trying to rein in my temper.
"You are the leading man in the next big film coming from Pinnacle.
Edward Ash is directing. We spent six fucking months closing this deal.
And apparently," I say with an irritated eye roll, "you were out on the town with Tabitha Styles, the biggest star since Jennifer Lawrence.
Why on earth would you assume there were no cameras? "
I expect Yong-rae to look ashamed. Hopefully remorseful. He did fuck up, after all. Instead, his face is defiant. He sits up and counts on his fingers as he speaks.
"There was no mob when we came in. There were no flashes or people standing too close while we were there.
We sat at a dim table in the back of the club, and we both kept our heads down.
Tabitha didn't think there were any cameras, and I deferred to her, seeing as she's the biggest star since Jennifer Lawrence, as you said.
" His tone is mocking. "I assumed she would know what she's talking about when it comes to paparazzi. "
"There may not have been cameras in the club, but from the full spread in The Post, there were definitely cameras right outside." I shake my head. Why isn't this getting through to him? "You still haven't answered my question. What the hell happened that had you in a fistfight outside a club?"
"That creep tried to put something in her drink, that's what!
" Yong-rae growls through clenched teeth.
"Our waiter was cool, discreet, but when the owner saw us, he came over.
He wanted to say hi and comp us a few drinks.
Tabitha humored him, and I got up to use the restroom while he mixed the drinks.
"But on my way back to our table, I glanced at the bar, and that's when I saw him.
He was pulling something out of his pocket, looking around like he was checking for witnesses.
" Both of Yong-rae's hands are fists. Anger radiates off him in waves.
"I saw him empty some kind of…"—he searches for the word—"vial into her drink and stir it with a straw. He was going to drug her!"
Seconds tick by as we sit in silence—him, taking deep breaths to calm himself down, and me, trying to wrap my head around what I just heard. Some sleazeball tried to drug Tabitha Styles?
"Yong-rae," I utter, unsure where to begin. "I'm so sorry." I rake my hand through my hair. "So…You confronted him, and that's when the fight broke out?"
He lets out a mirthless laugh and sits back in his chair.
"Maybe that's what I should have done. Instead, I came to the bar and 'accidentally'"—he makes air quotes—"knocked the drink over.
I was trying not to cause a scene. Then I went to the table and told Tabitha we needed to leave.
That's when he came over, talking about how we were walking out on his hospitality, being ungrateful.
I apologized, but said we still had to leave.
He grabbed my collar. That's when I punched him. "
I'm still so shocked, it's a struggle to form words.
"What day did this happen?" I ask. In my hurry to get here, I still haven't had a chance to read the article.
"Last Saturday."
"Saturday?" I echo, confused. "And the story's just coming out now?"
I sit up, my gut telling me something is off.
"Did anyone else see what happened? Did you report the guy to the police?"
He lets out a rude noise.
"Believe me; I wanted to. I wanted to walk straight from the bar to a police station. But Tabitha said cops don't really care about this sort of thing." I hear the disgust in Yong-rae's voice. "We had no proof, so that asshole got away with trying to spike my girlfriend's drink!"
Girlfriend? He and Tabitha are that serious?
"As for whether anyone else saw, I have no idea."
I shelve questions about my client's potentially high-profile relationship status for now and focus on the swirling in the pit of my stomach.
Something is definitely not right. If the owner had pictures and nothing else happened, he'd cash them in right away.
He wouldn't sit on them…unless he had another reason to want to keep things quiet.
Like maybe trying to destroy evidence before going to the cops?
Could security cameras have caught what happened inside?
I stand abruptly, startling Yong-rae.
"Tabitha was right. Don't take any calls from Pinnacle until you talk with Awa. She's the best in the business, and I trust her to have your back. I've got a feeling the owner is hiding something, and she has the resources to find out what it is."
"OK," Yong-rae replies, still looking forlorn. "And you think I'll still have a job after all this?"
I turn to him on my way out the door, my face grim.
"I won't sugarcoat it—this is bad. When you add this to how you started on the film, I'd be surprised if Pinnacle doesn't consider you in breach of your contract."
Yong-rae gasps. I feel for him, but I also truly believe this'll all be resolved in his favor. I have to.
"I know it's hard, but try not to freak out. Let me handle the calls with Pinnacle and you connect with Awa. We'll get to the bottom of this."
Yong-rae nods morosely, obviously not sharing my optimism. That's fine. It's my job to have enough for the both of us.
I run down the stairs of the dated tenement building; a cab pulls up within seconds. I'm dialing before we pull away from the curb, and Awa answers on the first ring.
"Awa, hey. Did you get anything else from Tabitha?"
"Unfortunately, yes," she answers, her tone bitter. "That asshole tried to drug her?"
"That's what Yong-rae said, yes," I answer. I shake my head, even though she can't see me. "But I think there's more to it. He said this happened last Saturday. So why didn't the owner come forward with the pictures sooner?"
"Uh…" She considers my question. "Actually, I don't know. You'd think he'd take it straight to the tabloids."
"Exactly!"
"So then what's your theory?" she asks.
"I think you don't sit on pictures like that unless you have something to hide. I think it's not this owner's first time pulling this shit. And I hope they have security cameras inside that caught what Yong-rae saw."
"Maybe," she says, her voice doubtful. "But if your theory is correct, he would've destroyed those before going to The Post."
"Not if they're, like, kept off-site or something." Awa hums, skeptical, but I forge ahead. "I don't know, OK? I've seen a few episodes of 'Law you're still better than most of the lawyers out there. I know you could handle a subpoena or something. Demand the tapes. Or put a gag order on the owner until we find out more."
She laughs quietly, and it's like a balm to my frayed nerves. This night started off so well.
"That's not exactly how it works, but I'll get the ball rolling. I'll call Yong-rae and get him under a temporary retainer, then I'll make some calls. But Noah?"
The lightness of her tone is gone. I know I won't like what comes next.
"Until this is all settled, however it's settled, you and I can't be seen together."
My heart drops.
"Oh."
"I'm getting serious pressure from my partners to distance myself from Yong-rae; they're pissed I already agreed to represent him.
And what if Pinnacle replaces him? I can't afford to risk even the appearance of a conflict of interest by dating—" She clears her throat.
"I mean, sleeping with my client's agent. "
And here I was about to declare my love for her. She thinks we're just sleeping together. This night could not get any worse.
When I stay silent, she adds,
"Once this is all resolved, maybe we can try again. For now, though, this is best."
"You're right," I admit resigned. "The press is already calling this production cursed. I doubt it could survive a full-on scandal."
"Yeah," she agrees, but she seems as down as I am.
"Anyway, I better let you get in contact with Yong-rae. He's expecting your call."
When she hangs up, I realize I'm blinking back tears. Once again, Awa and I are over before we really got started. I hope she can at least save my client's career, even if it means there's no future for us.