Imagine With Me (With Me in Seattle 15)

“I told you we’d hit our stride,” I reply. “And we have.”

“You’re also not quite so hardheaded,” she replies. “At least, not as bad as you were that first week.”

I grin because I know she’s not going to like my next question.

“But speaking of that, we need to talk about this next scene. The one where she thinks she’s catching the killer, but it’s the wrong guy. I want to discuss the dialogue here. I just don’t think it flows well.”

She blinks at me, and then that scowl slides into place, and I know I’ve pissed her off.

“I’m not trying to make you mad here, Lex. I’m trying to make it sound as good spoken as it does on the page.”

“How do you propose we change it?”

“I want her to speak softer. I know she’s in a potentially dangerous situation, but instead of yelling and being so aggressive, I think her voice should be hard but not raised.”

She shakes her head and rubs her temples. I’m in for a fight.

“I think it’ll be more believable, given how you’ve written her before this scene. She’s not one to fly off the handle.”

“And she’s not doing that now,” she insists. “She’s doing her job.”

I lick my lips. “She’s being a showboater. She’s showing off, Lexi, and that’s out of character for her.”

“Are we even reading the same book, Shawn? Because that’s not how it’s written at all. Maybe you’re one of those men who’s intimidated by women who feel confident in their job and their skin and know what the hell they’re doing.”

“I’m staring at one of those women, and trust me when I say, I’m not intimidated by you in the least.”

“Well, change my story, and you will be.”

I blow out a gusty breath and stride out of the office, heading straight for the kitchen.

“Don’t run away,” she says as she follows me. “We have to resolve this.”

“After lunch,” I reply as I start pulling out the ingredients for hoagie sandwiches. “I’m hungry, and we need to cool down.”

She sighs and sits on a stool, brooding.

“You’re sexy when you’re mad.”

She doesn’t reply. She just frowns at me.

I finish her sandwich, cut it in half, and slide the plate across the island to her, then start building my own.

“Why are you trying to change my story?” she demands before taking a big bite of roast beef and swiss.

“I’m not.”

“You are. You’re changing her. And I wrote her the way she is for a reason, Shawn.”

I sigh as I close my sandwich and cut it in half. “Did you give your editor this much shit? Or does he just tell you that it’s perfect the way it is?”

“She gave me plenty of feedback, thank you very much. But she didn’t try to change who the character is.”

“I’m not either, Lexi. I’m just trying to make it flow better for film.”

She shakes her head. “You don’t get it.”

“Then bloody explain it to me, damn it.”

“That character is everything I wish I was, Shawn. She’s brave and strong. Trustworthy. She’s so fucking badass.”

I can only stare at her, shocked by the words coming out of her gorgeous mouth.

“What are you talking about? You’re exactly those things, Lexi.”

She shakes her head again, more stubbornly than before. “No, I’m not. I’m some of those things here, which has been a surprise to me if I’m being honest. But when I’m home, just living my life, I’m not those things at all. I’m a coward. I’d rather sit in my condo and write stories about other badass women than go to the freaking grocery store. I hate leaving my house. I hate crowds. Strangers. People in general.”

“That’s not the woman I know at all,” I reply honestly. “I don’t know who she is. You’re the woman who walked into that kitchen the other night and basically told Taylor to fuck right off.”

“And I’d do it again,” she says without thinking, and then she lets out a little surprised laugh. “See? I don’t know why I had to come to Seattle to find some courage, but…here we are. And, no, I don’t think it’s going to follow me back home.”

“You didn’t have to find anything. Maybe you just had to be out of your element for a while to grow into this part of yourself. It’s not like I hooked you up to a machine and put the sass inside of you.”

“The point is,” she says, “I don’t want to change the tone of that scene. I think it fits perfectly for where we are in the story. It’s written that way on purpose.”

“What if we write it both ways?” I ask her. “And we make a note that the director can make the final call.”

I can see that she’s not convinced. She tells me I’m stubborn all the damn time, but Lexi is the most bullheaded woman I’ve ever met.